Chapter 8 (Part 1)

Sunlight greeted her.

Seo-hye, who pleasantly opened her eyes, briefly furrowed her brow as she looked at the unfamiliar ceiling, then remembered it was Do-jin’s house.

She tried to slowly lift her upper body, but it felt as if she was pinned down by a heavy boulder, unable to move.

Upon closer look, Do-jin was sleeping while tightly hugging her body.

His face, seen up close, was astonishingly handsome.

His eyes were long and refreshingly open, his nose sleek, his skin flawless, and his lips so red and ripe that they could be placed on any woman’s face without seeming out of place.

Was this truly the man who kept asking her to marry him whenever he had the chance, and was he really this handsome?

It hadn’t been long since she laid eyes on him, yet her heart was pounding wildly.

Seo-hye tried to suppress the sound of her heartbeat and her ragged breathing as much as possible, turning her body slightly more towards him.

Her body, which was nestled at an angle, was now more deeply embraced in his arms as he lay sleeping on his side.

She liked the feeling of fitting together seamlessly with him, as if they had embraced each other a million times.

She watched him quietly, afraid that he might wake up.

She thought about raising her hand to touch his cheek, but she gave up, thinking that would definitely wake him up.

She wanted to take in the beautiful sight a little longer.

Anyway, is he originally someone who sleeps this late in the morning? Isn’t it time for him to go to work?

As Seo-hye wriggled, wanting to check the time, the man’s grip suddenly tightened.

Startled, Seo-hye looked at him, but his eyelids remained closed.

Yet, his gentle voice suddenly reached her ears.

“Since coming to South Korea, this is the first time I’ve had a wet dream at this age.”

Seo-hye held her breath with a tense expression.

“It happened on the day I dreamed of you, Lee Seo-hye.”

He slowly lifted his eyelids.

The decadent eyes that had been asleep all night began to gradually become clearer as they held Seo-hye.

“Do you know when that was?”

“……”

“The day after I first met you at the hotel.”

The meaning of his words was somewhat indecent, but to Seo-hye, it sounded like a confession that he had wanted her from the beginning.

“It happened often after that too, you know. It’s quite embarrassing, having to relieve myself several times while sleeping.”

“……”

“But maybe because you’re next to me, I didn’t have any dreams today.”

Seo-hye awkwardly cleared her throat and averted her gaze.

“So I’m feeling quite restless. I need to relieve myself somehow.”

“……What?”

The hand that was wrapped around her back moved down to grasp her large mound.

Before she could push his hand away in surprise, his large hand slipped between her legs.

“I want you now.”

He deeply captured her lips and climbed on top of her in an instant.

As he trapped her beneath him, rendering her immobile, he gently caressed her body, then, seemingly in a hurry, spread her legs and entered urgently.

“Ah!”

Her startled gaze quickly began to fill with pleasure.

***

After a passionate morning, while Do-jin was showering, Seo-hye checked the time.

10 a.m.

When he was at the hotel, he would usually leave around 8 a.m., so this was much later than his usual work time.

She worried whether he had overslept because he was exhausted from yesterday all day because of her.

Concerned whether it was okay for him to be late for work, she paced around the bed anxiously.

Meanwhile, Do-jin came out of the shower, briskly shaking the water from his hair with his hand, and watched Seo-hye.

“Why, is there a problem?”

“It’s Friday today, isn’t it? Won Do-jin, aren’t you going to the office? It seems… late.”

“I’ve postponed all my morning work to the afternoon.”

Seo-hye finally felt relieved and showed a slightly more comfortable expression.

“Go wash up. There’s somewhere we need to go.”

Without asking further questions, Seo-hye headed straight to the bathroom.

She thought he was suggesting they go to the police station regarding yesterday’s incident.

However, after they finished getting ready, the place they went to was Seonghan Hospital.

Even after parking in the hospital parking lot, Seo-hye just stared blankly ahead without unbuckling her seatbelt, prompting Do-jin to ask:

“Don’t you want to see your mother? I postponed all my schedules thinking you’d be most curious.”

“……”

“Why are you spacing out meaninglessly? Aren’t you going to get out?”

In truth, Seo-hye was very curious about Hyo-young and wanted to see her very much.

However, she felt sorry to bring up her mother again to Do-jin, who had saved her yesterday, so she tried not to mention it.

She was afraid he might ask if the only reason she was sticking by him was because of her mother.

Of course, that wasn’t the case, so Seo-hye tried to keep her words to a minimum, but, as always, he seemed to look right into her heart and give her what she wanted.

Was there ever a family in Cheongun-dong who tried to give her what she wanted?

There was no one.

It felt as if a man who had nothing to do with those lonely times was compensating for all her sorrowful times, making her heart feel unbearably heavy.

“Why?”

Do-jin pulled Seo-hye’s arm to make her look at him.

Her heart felt like it was breaking as she looked at his serious face, and Do-jin sighed.

“Well, this won’t do.”

Do-jin hardened his expression, turned his body, and grabbed the steering wheel again.

As the car started moving, a flustered Seo-hye grabbed his arm.

“W-why are you suddenly driving away? Weren’t we here to see my mom?”

Do-jin paused for a moment before calmly responding.

“Isn’t it because you’re hesitant due to the wounds from yesterday’s incident?”

Seo-hye slowly lowered her gaze, looking at her hands, then turned her head toward the window.

She could see her face faintly reflected in the glass, still marked with scabs.

Realizing she hadn’t thought about these wounds, Seo-hye felt her face flush with embarrassment.

“I was just taking a moment because I was grateful that you were so considerate of me.”

Do-jin softly said, “Ah,” and then asked,

“If you’re grateful, you’re grateful. Why did you hesitate?”

She thought of him as her savior who came to tell her not to give up on life.

So she didn’t know how to say that she couldn’t do or say anything.

She smiled faintly, deliberately changing the subject.

“……And I’ve shown these kinds of wounds many times, so it’s okay. My mom thinks I fall often, so I can just say I fell again this time. Let’s park again.”

Living in Cheongun-dong, there were quite a few times when she met Hyo-young with scratches on her face due to Hae-mi’s indiscriminate assaults.

Since her feet were small for her height, she often fell after entering middle school, and Hyo-young believed that lie without question.

As Do-jin did nothing, Seo-hye lightly grabbed his arm and shook it.

“Huh? Let’s hurry up and go see my mom, and then you should go to work.”

Do-jin, as if he had something to say, stared intently at Seo-hye before moving the car.

After parking again in the quiet stillness, they both got out of the car.

They entered through the entrance directly connected to the VIP ward, verified their identities, and took the elevator.

As they neared Hyo-young’s hospital room, Do-jin, who had been silent the whole time, stopped and grabbed her wrist.

“I thought it’s time to be honest with your mother.”

“……About being the outcast of Cheongun-dong?”

At Do-jin’s brief “Yes,” Seo-hye closed her lips and thought.

It might be better to tell the truth now.

She had been avoiding asking how and to what extent Do-jin would bring Lee Hwa-woong down, out of fear, but now it was time to draw a line with the Cheongun-dong family, including Hwa-woong.

Even if not for that reason, since Do-jin was the one who saved her and Hyo-young, she needed to explain him to her mother, which meant she had to reveal her life in Cheongun-dong.

“Yes. I should tell her… So I can explain you to her.”

Hearing Seo-hye agree to tell her mother the truth, Do-jin gave a faint smile.

“It sounds like you’re introducing me as the man you’re going to marry.”

His characteristic playful tone made Seo-hye chuckle.

“No, I’m not.”

Seo-hye turned her shoulders first and started walking.

Do-jin pulled her back, making her stop and face him again.

“How long are you going to keep saying no?”

“……”

“What exactly is our relationship that we’re sticking together like this? I doubt you’re bold enough to toy with me, Seo-hye.”

Though he tried to ask as calmly as possible, the urgency in his eyes was palpable.

Seo-hye felt both happy and sad about his urgency.

She was pleased because she liked him too and had a desire to live by his side for quite a long time.

But how long she and Do-jin have known each other?

At most, a month.

There was an anxiety that they hadn’t spent enough time for him to bet his life on her.

Moreover, there was his grandfather, who didn’t welcome her existence, and the world’s gaze that would point fingers saying she didn’t suit him.

She couldn’t confidently say she could endure all those things and stay by his side.

It’s the first time in over ten years that she’s finally able to breathe.

It’s the moment she started to desire her painting and her life.

Is it okay to start that beginning with this man?

When you ask me to marry you, these complicated thoughts come to mind first, but what about you?

He furrowed his brow slightly and tilted his head.

Only then did her blurred focus, lost in thought, properly capture him.

“Now that I see it, it’s a habit. When you’re at a disadvantage, you keep thinking about other things.”

“No. I wasn’t thinking about other things… You asked what our relationship is. We’re… a one-night stand, right? Marriage is something that should be considered carefully.”

Seo-hye turned her body again, worried that he might get angry at her answer.

However, she heard a small laugh from behind.

Reflexively, her eyes turned back and caught his smiling face.

“I was going to scold you if you gave a strange answer, but you gave quite an admirable one.”

As Do-jin started walking, he came closer to Seo-hye.

Seo-hye, surprised that it wasn’t the reaction she expected, forgot to walk and stared blankly at him, so Do-jin explained.

“Seo-hye, you always said I was ‘the man to marry your sister.'”

With those words, Do-jin took the lead and entered the corridor connected to the hospital room.

Seo-hye couldn’t take a step for a while, watching his back as he walked away, feeling good about what he said.

She wanted to choose shamelessness, putting aside all her complicated thoughts.