Chapter 804. Sequence 7

(WARNING: NSFW)

Before her lips touched his, he pulled his head back. He was spitefully agile. The warmth in her lips scattered without being transferred. He was making an expression like that of a frightened child.

“What are you so afraid of?”

He seemed to have a lot to say but had no intention of saying anything. His sealed lips would probably not budge through normal methods.

“Are you really not going to say anything?”

Alright – she said before taking her hand off his cheek. He stroked down his cheek with his palm and stood up. Even though the night was breezy enough that there was no need for air conditioning, his forehead was drenched with sweat.

“I don’t know why you are doing this, but it’s a misunderstanding. I just put the autograph there in hopes that you’d do well. Not as a lover but as a friend.”

The words that came out of his lips, as she had expected, sounded like excuses. His voice tone was all over the place, and his eyes moved around chaotically like a fly with just one wing. He, who liked using gestures while speaking, had his hands clenched into fists and stuck to his thighs. This meant that he was really nervous. Just what was driving him to a corner? What was the reason that the man who seemed like he could enjoy a holiday in the middle of a storm was so flustered? She couldn’t even imagine.

He started uttering various things as though there would be big trouble if he stayed silent. He was probably trying to buy time, but she didn’t plan to miss this opportunity. If left alone, this man would probably collect himself soon and come up with sturdy logic in order to put this situation to rest. She had to dig deep while his eyes were chaotic, and his hands were stuck to his pants. Gaeul did not say anything and just opened a can of beer before holding it out to Maru. He, who kept explaining the events of the past five years, blinked before looking at the can of beer.

“Alright. I get it, so let’s drink a little. I need to cool down first, too.”

“Yes, good idea.”

The moment he stopped speaking and grabbed the beer with a heave of a sigh, Gaeul grabbed the defenseless man by the collar and pulled him towards her. Honestly, she didn’t have the confidence to win against him in words. He was the guy who had used his words to resolve most things since he was young. Fighting on his turf with a weapon that he specialized in was practically declaring her loss. If she wanted to win, she had to drag him down from his favorite field; to a world where words were unnecessary.

A thud sounded in Gaeul’s ears. Whether that was the sound from the can of beer that dropped down or from their foreheads colliding, she did not know. The attempt was good, but it did not go like in the movies. Her forehead stung. The beer sprouted out after the can fell on the ground and wet her feet. It was cold and slippery. Her hands were still grabbing him by the collar. She realized that her grip strength was pretty strong. Her eyes caught Maru’s pupils which had gone beyond the realm of being flustered and into the realm of incomprehension. She instantly knew that he was completely defenseless and couldn’t put up a resistance. Her body was quicker to act than her thoughts. A second failure was intolerable.

Their lips met. He soon started resisting, but Gaeul did not let go. She felt that they would go past the point of no return if she pulled away right now. Their lips interlocked with each other. His firmly sealed lips resisted until the last moment, but the gates to the castle were eventually opened. The warmth that she could not transmit before was now transferred from mouth to mouth. This was a world where conversations were unnecessary. This was the scene from a silent movie. He placed his hand on her shoulder. She could feel a pushing force. She felt his desire to talk this out with words. She didn’t plan on listening to him.

She ran out of breath. Her head felt dizzy. A tingle ran down her back. There was a flash of lightning whenever all of her senses concentrated in her lips, touched something, and then rubbed against it. The hand on her shoulder eventually lost strength. The enemy general had raised a white flag. The stiff castle gates that had to be forced open had turned into a marshmallow. Only now could she feel his breath. It was close; it was hot; it was blurry.

She slowly pulled her lips away. She wanted to take a step back in order to have a good look at his face, but the floor was slippery, making her lose balance. He grabbed her by the waist. For some reason, Gaeul felt a chuckle escaping her.

“The beer is slippery.”

When she sat up properly again, her nerves were focused on his hand on her waist. It seemed that the nerves which had been running amok in her lips had gone to her waist.

“Do you still not have anything to say?”

“You really are.”

“Are what?”

“A woman who’s wasted on me.”

She could see his pupils, which had been shut firmly like prison doors, loosening up. The emotions that had been hidden until now flowed out onto his face in one moment. He, who was daring since their first meeting; who was smiling as he gave his first kiss; who was stifling his cry at the cinema, was right in front of her. Gaeul raised her hand to touch Maru’s eyes. She touched his nose, his cheeks, and his lips. It was all him.

“Should we wipe this for now?”

She faintly nodded. She felt like she could let go of Maru for now. Maru brought a rag and some tissues from the kitchen and wiped the beer on the floor. Gaeul helped him as she prevented the dog from approaching and licking the beer. Maru brought a towel from the bathroom.

“Your feet.”

“I’ll do it.”

She tried to take the towel from him, but he shook his head. Having no choice, she sat down on the sofa. For some reason, she felt like he had stolen the lead from her. The towel was damp. It seemed that he had soaked it with water. He wiped her right foot, which had beer on it, before looking up at her silently, his face having turned from an attorney driven into a corner into that of a prosecutor who had gotten clear evidence. She pressed her lips together and tried to pull her right foot away, but he did not let go.

“The time is past midnight; a woman has intruded into a single man’s house; the woman that gave the man a kiss. Defendant, your excuses will no longer work.”

He put his lips against her foot. She faintly screamed before pulling her foot away. Her entire body felt ticklish to the point it gave her chills.

“What are you doing?”

She demanded an answer, but his lips stayed quiet. He slowly approached her and placed his hand on her shoulder. She flinched and fell down in the direction of his push.

Her heart, which was supposed to be in her chest, felt as though it had moved right next to her ears. Her thumping heart was working so hard that it wouldn’t be strange if she died because of an overdose of blood. Maru climbed onto the sofa slowly. She averted her gaze away from his downward gaze and looked at the dog. She didn’t have the confidence to look in front of her. She did expect it. She even predicted that things would eventually come down to this. However, a mental simulation was completely different from the real deal. A part of her desired this, yet a frightened part of her definitely also existed. The floundering heart that he had let go of seemed to have come to her. What would happen if she said ‘only a kiss is allowed’ in this situation? The fear of the one who had lost control started numbing her entire body. It was a strange thing. A part of her definitely desired this.

The moment Maru’s hand clutched her, she moaned and closed her eyes. She tried to act calm, but she couldn’t help her body from trembling. It might be okay if the next action came quickly.

𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

She didn’t know how much time had passed. Nothing happened. She carefully opened her eyes. What she saw was him, smiling brightly.

“Why did you let me do it when you were going to be this frightened?”

“Who’s frightened?”

“Just like how you can see through my lies, I can also see through your lies. You were almost about to cry.”

He hugged her gently and sat her up. A sense of relief and disappointment perked their heads up at the same time within her.

“Don’t you need to go back to the hospital?”

“I was going to be discharged tomorrow anyway.”

“Then spend the night here.”

“Han Maru.”

“Tomorrow. I’ll tell you everything I can tomorrow. But there aren’t that many things that I can tell you.”

Go get washed – Maru added that before turning on the lights in the bathroom. Gaeul nodded before walking into the bathroom. She closed the door and looked at the mirror. Her face had turned beet-red. Her neck and back were drenched with sweat. The nervousness, the expectation, and the fear she felt during that short moment created this outcome. Knock knock – he knocked on the door. She was naked, so she opened the door about halfway.

“Here’s a toothbrush, a towel, and some change of clothes. I don’t have any underwear, so I got shorts.”

“Thanks.”

“You should wash with warm water so that you don’t catch a cold. A sick girl came all the way here in patient clothes. Geez, you’re quite something.”

“Whose fault do you think it is?”

She closed the door and started washing herself. Although it was an unfamiliar shower, she did not feel any sense of rejection from it. In fact, she even started humming. She wiped herself with a towel and brushed the mirror, which had fogged up. She checked herself with the mirror.

“Is this okay?”

The fact that she hadn’t put on any makeup started tugging her mind. She wrapped her hair with the towel before leaving. He had prepared a hairdryer and some cosmetics. She crouched down in front of the bathroom and started drying her hair. The more her hair dried, the more embarrassed she felt. The anger that consumed her before she barged in had disappeared in an instant, and it seemed that her courage was flushed down with it. Her eyes headed towards the veranda. There were clothes hanging there. Boxers were fluttering in the wind. The first thing she did when she came to his house was move to the veranda, so why didn’t she see it back then?

“What about your schedule?”

“I don’t have any. Someone else is taking over the radio for now.”

“Then I guess you should get a good rest. There’s a bed in the bedroom.”

Maru was laying out a duvet on the sofa.

“You’re sleeping there?”

“Then should we sleep together in the bedroom?”

He grinned sneakily. She had completely entered his playground. Now, there was no way for her to win against him. She entered the room. There was a faint smell of mint as though he had just sprayed some Febreze. She carefully pulled up the duvet and lay on the bed. The smell of mint became faint and an unfamiliar scent entered her nose. She had never smelled it before, but she felt relieved the moment she smelled it. It felt cozy as though she had been living in this house for a long time.

“Are you asleep?” he asked from outside.

She pulled the duvet up to her chin and replied,

“No.”

“There are many things I want to tell you but can’t.”

“I know. I don’t understand, but I feel like I somewhat know now.”

“Get some good rest for now. Let’s talk face-to-face tomorrow.”

“Alright.”

She stayed silent for a little before asking again,

“Uhm, I want to hear an answer to my question from before.”

There was no reply. Did he return to the sofa? – she sighed a little, when,

“I loved you from the beginning. I loved you when you weren’t in front of me, I loved you when I hated you, and I loved you when I wanted to forget about you. See you tomorrow.”

She pushed the duvet away. She got off the bed and pushed off the ground with all of her might to approach the door before turning the doorknob and pulling it open. He was standing in front of the door. There was no more hesitation. The fear was still there, but a feeling much larger than that had consumed her. She assaulted him with her lips and hugged him by the neck. His hands touched her waist before pulling up her top and reaching inside. The hand that freely roamed about her body seemed to know what part about her was sensitive and which places made her pleased.

“Don’t you need some sleep?”

“It’s already too late.”

“You’re sick too.”

“I don’t care.”

“You’re still afraid though.”

“Then relieve me of my fears.”

“Sorry about everything.”

“No. Tell me something else.”

“I love you.”

“I wanted to hear those words for so long. So… dearly.”

The hands that touched her body were cold yet warm. His hands slowly awoke all the senses in her body. Her body became sharp like a needle before melting like ice cream. Sparks would go off whenever his lips touched her neck. He put his lips against her neck, breasts, and stomach as though he was engraving into her that she was his. She lay on the bed and grabbed his hair slightly. After kissing deeply on her stomach, he raised his head. She smiled in embarrassment and looked into his eyes. She could see his world in its entirety.

“Kiss me.”

She accepted his whole body weight. Heat arose wherever his skin met hers. Their bodies were clamped together with a force even stronger than the one attracting their lips. She locked her fingers behind his neck. She would not let go. Ever.

“Don’t worry. I will not let you go. No matter how bad things are,” he said.

For some reason, those words sounded uneasy, but when she brushed against his body, the worries dissolved into nothing. Reason had no room here. Their bodies were honest, and the conversation of their bodies was just about to begin. The night was going to be too short to tell each other everything.

A gasping breath escaped through her teeth.