Chapter 184: Interlude - For a Better Yesterday than Tomorrow (3)

Late-blooming passion always burned the hottest. Having tasted a pleasure sweeter than anything they had ever known, the two now clung to each other like newlyweds. Every time their eyes met, they couldn't keep their hands off each other.

When they woke up in the morning and locked eyes. When Kwon Oh-Jin snuck up and hugged Song Ha-Eun from behind while she awkwardly tried to make breakfast. When she tiptoed into the bathroom wearing a swimsuit while he was showering.

They made love throughout the day like they couldn’t understand how they had ever lived without embracing each other.

Well, it’s not like I’ve got anything else to do anyway.

Normally, Kwon Oh-Jin would've been focused on getting used to the new powers and abilities that he had gained after the Black Heaven’s seventh enlightenment. Right now, he had no choice but to focus on recovering the internal injuries that had worsened during the battle against the Living Armor.

Lee Woo-Hyuk and Isabella have already handled the report for this case anyway.

Isabella had scolded him furiously for disappearing without a word. Still, he managed to brush it off with the excuse that his injuries were too severe and that he needed immediate treatment.

I should rest for now.

After all, his long-awaited love with Song Ha-Eun had finally blossomed. While he was recovering, he wanted to enjoy some time with her.

“Oh-Jin, wanna watch a movie together?” Song Ha-Eun asked.

“A movie?”

He hardly ever had the chance to watch movies because he had grown up poor. They could watch whatever they wanted now that Song Ha-Eun had ordered a brand new seventy-five-inch TV.

“What do you wanna watch?” he asked.

“Isn’t

Crab Game

still trending? I heard it’s really good.”

“That’s a drama, not a movie, isn’t it?”

He had heard that it was a global hit on the news.

“Oh, is it? Well, whatever. Let’s watch it together!”

She tugged on his arm with sparkling eyes.

He smiled and nodded.

“

Hehe!

Then, let’s order chicken first!” She excitedly held up her phone.

The chicken soon arrived. The two plopped down on the couch and turned the TV on.

Snuggled up so close their thighs were touching, Song Ha-Eun opened her mouth like a baby bird waiting to be fed.

“

Ah~

”

She wore dangerously short dolphin shorts and a loose white T-shirt. With her eyes closed and mouth open, Kwon Oh-Jin couldn’t keep the impure thoughts out of his mind.

Swallowing hard, he picked up a drumstick and held it out to her. She took a bite, her lips gently closing over the meat.

“

Hehe

. It’s good.”

Her cheeks puffed out as she chewed. How she looked in that moment was more than words could ever capture.

“Eat more.”

He pulled the chicken box closer and fed her piece after piece. After eating two drumsticks and a wing, the happily munching Song Ha-Eun suddenly came to her senses while cuddled up to his arm.

“Oh-Jin, you should eat too!”

“A dad gets full just watching his daughter eat, you know.”

“Shut up.”

Song Ha-Eun snorted and reached into the box, digging around the chicken pieces.

“

Hmph

. There’s no more drumsticks.”

Well, yeah, because you ate them all. Or, more accurately, I fed them to you.

“There are no drumsticks left, so how about this instead?”

She stretched out her long, slender leg and plopped it onto his thigh. He could clearly feel the smoothness of her skin.

“It’s a bit big for a chicken leg, don’t you think?”

He lightly patted her leg.

Slap, slap.

It made him smile every time he saw her right foot. No one would ever know that she had once lost her leg.

“You’re not gonna eat it?” she asked.

“How am I supposed to eat your leg?”

“

Hehe

. Why not use your tongue like last night,

slurp, slurp—”

“Hey.”

This girl really doesn’t hold back.

Kwon Oh-Jin slightly frowned and tickled her leg playfully. The ridiculously ticklish Song Ha-Eun flailed and pulled her leg away in a giggling fit.

“It’s fine. I can eat other parts besides the drumsticks.”

He reached for a piece of chicken breast.

“Wait! Hold on a sec!”

She suddenly sprang up and skipped over to the front door. Then, she opened the door and proudly walked back with another plastic bag.

“

Tada

~ I actually ordered one more!”

Strutting like she owned the world, she placed a second box of chicken on the table. This chicken was coated in a sweet and spicy sauce.

She picked up a saucy drumstick and held it out to him.

“Open wide~”

With a soft chuckle, he took a bite. The sweet sauce, crispy batter, and tender meat formed a perfect harmony that burst in his mouth.

Holy shit, this is good.

Looking back, he couldn’t believe he had survived for years on nothing but protein bars.

“Good, right?”

Song Ha-Eun smiled brightly, sucking the sauce off her fingers. Kwon Oh-Jin nodded and pulled out a tissue to wipe her fingers.

“I feel cheated for all the years I didn’t get to eat this,” he said.

𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

It hadn’t been too long ago. Just a year and a few months ago, eating chicken like this would’ve been a luxury he couldn’t even dare to imagine.

Song Ha-Eun smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder.

“You can eat lots of it from now on.”

She slightly raised her head and whispered in his ear, her breath tickling him.

“Just like me.”

Kwon Oh-Jin froze at the sweet voice that flowed into his ear. The intense desire he felt several times a day blazed up again.

This woman, seriously...

They often teased each other like this, but her jokes had become far more outrageous ever since they started sleeping together.

Driven by the rising heat, Kwon Oh-Jin reached for her and forgot all about the chicken.

“

Hehe

, let’s start the drama now.”

As if teasing him, Song Ha-Eun pressed play on the remote before he could touch her.

Kwon Oh-Jin leaned back on the couch with a defeated expression.

“

Ugh...

this plot is giving me PTSD.” Song Ha-Eun frowned at the screen, resting her head back on his shoulder.

The drama showed debt-ridden people forced into a bizarre and brutal survival game. The harsh depiction of poverty and despair stirred up memories from their own past.

“It’s good, though,” Kwon Oh-Jin said.

“Yeah.”

He thought the show would be boring at first, thinking how lame the story was when monsters and Awakeners roamed the streets. As expected of a drama that achieved global fame, it was highly engaging and well-made.

“So, in that world, there are no monsters or anything, right?” she asked.

“Probably not.”

“Watching this really makes it hit me. How our world is more fictional than fiction itself.”

Song Ha-Eun stretched out and lay her head on his thigh. Feeling the soft touch of her cheek, he gently ran his fingers through her hair.

“

Haa...

This is nice.”

Resting her head on his lap and sipping a cold beer while watching a drama. It felt too good. So good that it was almost scary.

“Oh-Jin.”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

Those words came out of nowhere, catching him off guard. His hand that had been stroking her hair twitched slightly.

She rubbed her cheek against his thigh and smirked. “Something hard is poking the back of my head.”

“Be quiet.”

She burst into giggles and rolled over to face him.

“Are you not watching the drama anymore?” he asked.

“Watching you is more fun than the show.”

“I’ll admit, I am pretty nice to look at.”

When he looked in the mirror after a shower, he often thought to himself,

‘Hey, not bad. I’m kinda handsome, right?’

“

Nah

, your face looks funny as hell.”

“The fuck?”

“I’m just kidding, you idiot.”

Laughing again, she reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck. She gently pulled his head down and pressed her lips to his.

Silence fell between them, but it wasn’t awkward or uncomfortable. Kwon Oh-Jin stroked her forehead softly as she lay across his lap.

Nothing had been fully resolved yet. In fact, there were more unresolved issues than settled ones. Even though he had healed her eye and leg, things that threatened their peace were still everywhere. Pretending to be a Regressor to Vega, hiding the Black Heaven, and fighting the Black Star Society and the Serpent...

Kwon Oh-Jin had too many problems to count swirling in his mind. Even so, he wanted to savor this moment that his past, or rather, his future self had desperately longed for. He didn’t want it to vanish or be erased. Just like yesterday and today, when he opened his eyes tomorrow, he prayed that she would still be lying beside him.

She glanced toward the bedroom and asked, “Wanna go?”

The two stood up and walked toward the room, leaving behind the half-eaten chicken in the living room. The TV continued flickering like stars in the night.

***

A sticky darkness had settled over the streets.

A woman with waist-long platinum blonde hair walked leisurely along the dockside, where crushed containers lay scattered. Her pitch-black dress clung to her figure, which was as delicate as a young girl's, as she dragged its hem across the ground like a snake slithering through grass.

Swish, swish.

One of the Heaven’s Grace Guild Awakeners, stationed nearby to stand guard, approached her.

“This area is off-limits.”

The woman silently stared at the guild members who had blocked her path. Then, she lightly snapped her fingers.

“What are you—”

Thud.

The guild members, who had squinted suspiciously and stepped forward to stop her, suddenly fell limp with dazed eyes.

The woman passed by the fallen guild members and walked deeper into the dockside.

“

Hmm

. It’s broken?”

She looked down at the half-melted black armor with a sensual smile.

“

Hmm?

”

She poked through the melted armor with her black heel, which was peeking beneath her dress. Her eyes then suddenly widened.

“Oh my, what’s this?”

She dug through the armor again and again as if she couldn’t understand it.

“

Ha. Haha.

”

Her quiet chuckle soon grew into laughter soaked in madness.

“

Kyahahahahahahaha!

”

A crazed laugh echoed through the darkness of the dockside.

She delightfully smiled and trembled as if writhing in pleasure.

“I found you. I found you. I found you. I found you. I found you. I found you. I found you!”

Her long red tongue, reaching down to her chest, danced wildly.

“

Ahhh

. So this is where you were, my God.”

Spreading her arms wide as if to embrace the black sky, she licked her lips with her long tongue.