As Taeyun rolled his tongue, her moans gradually grew louder.

When he sucked hard enough to hollow her cheeks and lightly grazed her tender skin with his teeth, her slender waist twisted helplessly.

The way she reacted to his touch made her even more endearing.

Taeyun held both her br*asts, taking turns to draw the sensitive peaks into his mouth.

“Haa… ha…”

He had been kissing her chest, but then he looked up.

Ina’s tightly closed eyelashes trembled faintly.

Her pale cheeks were flushed red.

She had bitten her lips to suppress her voice, and they were reddened.

Taeyun watched her quietly, a smile slowly spreading across his lips.

She was so beautiful and lovable that he felt a dull ache in his chest.

After marking her white skin as much as he pleased, he slowly moved lower.

“Ah…”

All of her senses became focused on Taeyun’s lips.

From the line of her neck to her chest, then further down along her flat stomach and toward her hips—

Her heart began to pound as if it might burst.

“B-brother… slowly.”

Her voice trembled so much that the words barely came out.

After quietly telling her he understood, Taeyun quickly removed the last pieces of clothing covering her body.

“…”

Moments later, she found herself standing completely n*ked in front of him.

She could feel the tension gathering in her stomach.

She had sometimes fantasized about being with him like this.

Even those fleeting thoughts had embarrassed her at the time.

Now that it was real, her face burned uncontrollably.

Taeyun removed his own shirt and tossed it onto the floor.

Running his hand along the curve of her hips, he lowered his lips to her skin again.

As his mouth moved slowly along her hips, her legs instinctively pressed together.

“Ah… mm—”

Ina bit down on her lower lip.

The unfamiliar pleasure made her back arch slightly.

Seeing how tense she was, Taeyun gently stroked her stiff thighs.

“You’ll end up sore tomorrow if you stay this tense. Relax a little. Breathe.”

“Haa…”

She tried to steady her breathing.

They hadn’t even properly started yet, but her heart was beating so fast that it was almost unbearable.

Her trembling hands clutched at the bedsheets.

As his hand slowly traced her thigh, Taeyun moved lower.

“…!”

The moment his warm breath brushed against her most sensitive spot, Ina parted her lips.

She froze, unable to make a sound.

Taeyun spent a long moment easing the tension from her body.

Although he was becoming increasingly aroused, he wouldn’t allow himself to rush things.

He wouldn’t take her hastily or selfishly.

“Ah…”

Every time he drew her tender flesh into his mouth, she bit her lip to stop herself from making a sound.

Her toes curled instinctively as heat rushed to her face.

Sometimes, a sharp, overwhelming pleasure would surge through her. When the sensation peaked, she lost all strength, her mind going blank.

“It’s too…”

It was strange. Embarrassment, hot enough to make her face burn, mingled with an unnamed pleasure.

Wherever his hands touched her, warmth spread through her skin. As though he were handling something precious, his touch remained careful and restrained.

Ina squeezed her eyes shut, breathing unevenly.

“Ina.”

“Haa…”

She could just make out his voice.

The warmth between her legs faded as he slowly moved back up.

Ina opened her hazy eyes and looked at him.

Taeyun’s face was flushed, too.

Was she the same right now?

Sweat glistened on his forehead. Ina lifted her hand and gently wiped it away.

“If it’s too much, tell me. Okay?”

It was a quiet warning of what was to come.

Ina nodded softly.

Taeyun reached for the small box, opened it and tore open the condom.

“Haa…”

Exhaling deeply, he put it on. The blood had rushed there so strongly that even the slightest touch felt almost painful.

Moving closer again, Taeyun captured Ina’s lips in another kiss.

Her dry lips slowly softened with his warmth. She wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the kiss.

“Mm…”

A sudden heavy pressure made Ina flinch. Her hands instinctively gripped his shoulders.

As her head tipped back without meaning to, Taeyun followed, gently kissing her lips again.

“Hk…”

A pain she could not endure surged through her. Ina gasped, breath trembling as her tightly closed eyelids quivered.

“Haa… just a little.”

His voice sounded almost pleading as he pressed himself closer.

The deeper pressure sent a sharp pain through her body—something she had never felt before. It was so intense that her whole body trembled. Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes.

“I’m sorry.”

Taeyun murmured softly, brushing a light kiss against her swollen lips.

Sweat had gathered on her forehead as well. He reached up and wiped it away.

Even though they had barely begun, it felt as though her mind might scatter completely.

Taeyun took a slow breath.

Ina’s fingers clutched tightly around his arm, the knuckles pale from the pressure.

“Are you okay?”

“…Yes.”

Only after hearing her reassurance several times did he begin to move slowly.

Even when he stayed still it had felt unbearable, but when he moved the pain struck even deeper.

Ina held tightly to his strong arm and accepted him.

‘If it was pain he gave her, she could endure it.’

It felt completely different from when they had just kissed.

Their heated bodies were entwined and their breaths mingled.

It was as though her entire being was being drawn towards him.

The mere thought of finally being in the arms of the man she loved stirred emotions that she could not put into words.

Amid the pain, a strange new pleasure emerged. A different sound slipped from her lips.

“Haa—”

His hot breath scattered across her face. As though it were a signal, the bed began to move more intensely.

“Haa…”

Pulling her slender waist closer, Taeyun pressed himself deeper.

From her hair to her toes, he left traces of himself everywhere—as if marking her as entirely his. The blooming red marks on her skin looked strangely beautiful.

“Ah… ah—”

As his pace quickened, Ina’s thoughts scattered.

Even when her body twisted, his hold kept her firmly in place.

“It feels… ah… strange…”

In a bid to stop the sounds from escaping, Ina opened her eyes.

Taeyun was looking down at her.

His gaze was unlike anything she had ever seen before: dark and filled with unrestrained desire.

For a moment, she felt as if she might be completely pulled into them.

She had always felt a sense of heaviness in her heart because she felt that she could not truly give him anything in return.

But seeing how deeply he wanted her made her chest ache.

Tears slid quietly down her temple.

She remembered the moment they had first met.

She remembered the bright smile he wore when he travelled all the way to Changwon just to see her.

She remembered how happy he had been when she was accepted.

All the time they had spent together flashed through her mind.

Countless emotions tangled inside her.

Swallowing back her tears, she slowly lifted her slender arms and wrapped them around his neck, pulling him closer.

“Mm!”

Taeyun immediately lowered himself, devouring her lips with a rough kiss.

She lost her breath under its intensity.

She tilted her head back, drawing his tongue deeper into the kiss.

A moment later, they both let out a sound simultaneously.

Her arms slipped from around his neck and fell onto the bed.

As she struggled to steady herself, Taeyun leaned down and kissed her deeply again.

“Ina.”

Ina lifted her gaze and looked at him quietly.

His dark eyes were filled with emotions too many to name.

Even without words, she felt she understood how he felt.

“I like you so much.”

The simple confession carried complete sincerity.

Could the words I like you ever feel this painful in the heart?

Ina gave a small smile and nodded.

“Me too.”

“…”

As she answered, Ina gently placed her hand on his cheek.

Taeyun took her hand and guided it down, pressing it against the left side of his chest.

Thump. Thump-thump. Thump.

The rapid rhythm of his heartbeat pulsed beneath her palm.

The corners of Ina’s eyes turned faintly red.

Taeyun smiled softly and pressed a kiss to the corner of her eye.

“This is driving me crazy.”

‘Can someone really feel this happy?’

No words felt strong enough to describe the heart pounding inside his chest because of her.

Watching her beneath him—shifting restlessly, soft sounds slipping from her lips—made him feel as though he could die happily right there.

Taeyun pulled her into his arms.

“Hic—”

An overwhelming surge of unnamable emotions washed over Ina, and she began to cry.

Taeyun gently stroked her back.

That tender touch made her feel as though her heart might melt.

She wrapped her arms tightly around his broad back.

Pressed together, she could feel the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.

Ina thought to herself—

Even if they went their separate ways one day. Even if misunderstandings arose and they ended up hurting each other,  she would never forget the way Han Taeyun had looked at her tonight, the way he wanted her.

The way he wanted her.

It was a birthday she would never forget.

No —

— a birthday she would carry with her for the rest of her life.