Chapter 28 – Steps Toward You

She wanted to satisfy Ryu-il. She wanted to ease his mood somehow. She could never truly make up for it, but she wanted to do her best to please him.

But that wasn’t all.

Her body, which hadn’t forgotten him for so long, grew hot with anticipation. Along with the misery of standing before him like this again, she was strangely satisfied to think that her nights with him must have been good enough for him to seek her out again. It was a shameful desire so intense she could barely face him. Just as she couldn’t forget him, she didn’t want him to forget her.

She led him to the small room that held the traces of her life for months. Strictly speaking, it was the Pharmacy Director’s house, but it had become hers for now. She thought, as always, that she should start things. She sat Ryu-il on a creaky chair, then with trembling hands, undid his shirt buttons. As he watched her with complicated eyes, she pulled down his pants and knelt between his legs.

Had he met another woman overseas in the past few months? She thought about how he’d always been skilled in bed, and wondered if he’d lived letting women come to him like this. Jealousy for a faceless rival surged, and she swallowed his *rection in one go. As she moved, her mouth full, he twitched.

She put everything else aside, relieved that the man she wanted wanted her. Determined to erase the pain of the past few days, she sucked him deep, feeling his large hands grip her head. Sunlight flooded in, touching even the dust between them. He threw his head back and let out a deep breath.

Her face shook with his hands. If this was how she’d be destroyed, she wanted to shatter completely. Suddenly, she realized she’d been waiting for this moment since he first came to the pharmacy. As she faced his animal desire, he abruptly gripped her head with both hands and pulled her away.

“…Ha…”

With a long strand of clear liquid trailing from her lips, he lifted her onto the flower-patterned mat she’d tidied that morning. She wondered if he’d ever seen such a mat before. He pulled open her pharmacist’s coat, hastily rolling up her T-shirt and underwear. Gripping her hands tightly, his eyes greedily roamed her chest.

“Ah…”

Just his gaze made her body twist. She wished he’d touch her already. His burning eyes examined her thoroughly, and even without contact, her hips arched. With tears in her eyes, she whispered,

“…Please… anything…”

Saying it made her feel ashamed, so she closed her eyes. She felt him pulling down her skirt and underwear. She couldn’t feel anything, but between her legs she was already soaked. She was sure he was watching her like that, and her breath grew short. He hadn’t even taken everything off, just lazily undressed her, and her body trembled.

“Senior Executive Director… please… okay?”

She gripped the rustling mat with both hands, feeling his breath below. As his hot breath reached her, her hips jerked up. His tongue slowly licked her below, and the wet sounds grew louder. His tongue moved faster, and as she twisted her hips, he sucked hard, almost punishing her.

“Ah!”

She screamed and sobbed. She missed this pleasure. She had longed for this electrifying moment where she could think of nothing, as if she had arrived in another world. When she was with him like this, it felt as if their own world was separated from all other spaces. At the same time, his fingers entered her, touching the sticky depths. The stimulation, felt after so long, was so intense it shook her whole body. She couldn’t even think to open her eyes, only gasping for breath.

At that moment,

“Pharmacist Jung, where did you go?”

From below, Grandma Soonbok’s voice called out.

“Did you go to the bathroom or something?”

The pharmacy and the house were connected by a single staircase. She was startled and covered her mouth. The moaning wasn’t loud enough to be heard, but cold sweat trickled down her back.

“Pharmacist?”

Surprised, she finally opened her eyes wide and saw Ryu-il’s tense face. As she tried to sit up in a hurry, he pressed her down to the floor with a commanding gaze. His finger entered her mouth, as if to tell her not to speak. Grandma Soonbok clicked her tongue.

“Geez, Pharmacist Jung is usually so thorough, but she didn’t even lock the pharmacy door… Not that anyone here would steal, but still.”

“Grandma, let’s just go for today.”

Surprisingly, Grandma Soonbok wasn’t alone.

“She must have gone to the neighborhood store or something. Isn’t this the time when there aren’t many customers?”

It was a young man’s voice. She’d heard several times that Grandma Soonbok’s grandson was staying with her, but it was the first time he’d come to the pharmacy. She rolled her eyes in silence. Ryu-il’s brow furrowed. She couldn’t move, and suddenly he began to caress her stiff n*pples. Already tense, the sudden stimulation made her bite down on the finger in her mouth. Ryu-il whispered in her ear.

“That hurts.”

“Ah…”

“S*ck.”

She began to s*ck his finger frantically. Kisses rained on her ear, and his hot breath scattered across her neck. Meanwhile, his hand on her chest moved so slowly and teasingly that her legs twitched. Even as her attention was drawn downstairs, she wanted stronger stimulation. Painfully, the conversation below continued.

“So I’m just trying to make an impression! Pharmacist Jung is very pretty and kind. If she graduated from a pharmacy school in Seoul, she must be really smart, right? The other grandmas are all looking for matches for her.”

Grandma Soonbok clicked her tongue again in disappointment. Ryu-il, with deepening eyes, finally flicked her n*pple as if rubbing it. She barely managed to stifle a gasp. He pulled his wet finger from her mouth and, with rough hands, began to stimulate her cl*toris, making it vibrate. Her lower body, already twitching, shook violently. Waves of pleasure swept over her entire body. She struggled to contain the m*ans that kept bursting out.

“They say Pharmacist Jung doesn’t have a boyfriend, so maybe you should marry her. You said you liked her from afar, right?”

“Grandma, you don’t even know what Pharmacist Jung thinks…”

“Why! You’re good enough for anyone! Remember when the whole village celebrated when you got into medical school?”

At that moment, he pressed close and entered her. She barely stifled a scream. It was deep and fast. Each powerful thr*st pushed her body back. Her pharmacist’s coat and clothes underneath shook messily, half-removed. The intense pleasure spread from deep inside to every nerve ending.

“Grandma, medical school admissions were ages ago…”

“If you open a hospital here, won’t there be prescriptions? Rural areas make good money, you know.”

Her heart pounded as the conversation below continued. Meanwhile, the overwhelming pleasure made her whole body tremble. Her vision flashed white, and her head spun. Ryu-il hadn’t even taken off all his clothes, but after all the f*replay, he entered her urgently. She worried the sound of their bodies hitting might reach downstairs, but he didn’t stop. In truth, she couldn’t stop either.

“Sigh, she’s not coming… Maybe she really went out for a stroll?”

“Let’s go, Grandma.”

“Why! You were the first one interested! You said you liked her when you saw her around! Okay, stop pushing me!”

Her vision sparkled. The rough movement hurt, but felt good. Just knowing someone was downstairs gave her a strange sense of taboo, making the forbidden act even more exciting. Ryu-il pressed his face to her ear and whispered mockingly.

“What a shame, for that grandma.”

“…Ha, ha…”

Trying desperately to suppress her m*ans, his thr*sts grew rougher. Sparks flew in his eyes as he drew closer.

“The granddaughter-in-law she wants so badly is under another man right now.”

“…W-what… ahhh…”

Stunned, she mouthed the words as footsteps finally moved away.

“Let’s come by tomorrow, Eun-gyu.”

With a jingle, the pharmacy door closed. Before she could even sigh in relief, Ryu-il bit her br*ast hard. She cried out, her hips jerking. As he tried to withdraw, she instinctively held onto him.

“…It’s a safe day.”

She was embarrassed even as she said it. Amazingly, he cl*maxed right then. He should have known how much trouble a child out of wedlock would cause a chaebol family, so how could he trust her words… Neither of them had ever been careless about contraception before. Something sticky and pungent flowed down her thigh.

Their heavy breaths mingled.

It felt different from the times they’d had s*x at Ryu Gil-jae. This place was humble but her own space. It was the first time he’d entered her world. Tears streamed down her face. She’d thought of the word “illegitimate child” without meaning to.

It was a word that came naturally in such a shameful relationship. How much smaller could she become before him? When the breath-stealing pleasure ended, tears always flowed down her cheeks.