CHAPTER 40

Despite Jingyeom’s efforts to dismiss the situation as a minor mishap, Leeseo felt her own face gradually stiffening, unable to find the words to respond other than to listen, as the story was too intimate and personal.

She couldn’t understand why the man who had once antagonized her, shooting arrows of anger at the mere mention of her embarrassing situation, was suddenly sharing such an uncomfortable story in such an intimate manner.

Jingyeom, seemingly not expecting any comforting words from Leeseo either, continued speaking, unfazed by her lack of reaction.

“Anyway, thanks to the flashy evidence that was left behind, it’s ultimately a happy ending. I’ve decided to move out. I always wanted to live on my own but the old man and Lady Shin were dead set against it.”

“…”

“At this age, living with parents is embarrassing, isn’t it? I’m not a kid anymore.”

It sounded a bit like an immature pretense to Leeseo, who had always wanted to live with her parents, but now it was impossible, but she didn’t let it show. Because Jingyeom’s face was so serious as he lowered his eyes and frowned.

“And most of all…….”

Jingyeom’s voice trailed off as he hesitated. He swallowed dryly several times and licked his lips. Something was off. His eyes, which were the only part of his face visible, scanned Leeseo with an intense gaze.

Then he sighed heavily. The air, which had been steeply rising in altitude, seemed to level off, as if it had found its place. Barely controlling his ragged breathing, Jingyeom suddenly shoved his hands into his pants pockets.

“Do you want some?”

It was such an abrupt change of topic that it felt awkward. Leeseo had thought he was reaching for a cigarette out of habit, but what he pulled out unexpectedly from his pocket was a chocolate wrapped in a luxurious wrapper.

He raised his voice when he asked her if she wanted some, but he was already tearing off the wrapping before he could hear her answer. His large hands fumbled a few times as he tore the rustling wrapping paper away.

The chocolate, with its elegant gold foil and thin inner wrapping, looked slightly distorted when revealed. It looked like it had melted in the hot weather, lost its original shape, and then refroze. Jingyeom’s face showed a hint of embarrassment at the unimpressive shape of the chocolate.

“Damn, why does it look like this?”

He muttered to himself, almost inaudibly, his nose wrinkling and trying to explain.

“It just looks like it but it’s still good to eat.”

Jingyeom’s hand outstretched to Leeseo, clutching a small chocolate, looked uncharacteristically modest. She glanced down at his hand, then raised her eyes to meet his gaze.

“I don’t care what it looks like, I just don’t like chocolate that much.”

“……What?”

Jingyeom’s eyes widened as if he had heard something shocking. It was a strange reaction. Something was definitely off about Kwon Jingyeom today. An unpleasant premonition was hovering around him. It felt like she could uncover the truth by simply reaching out, but Leeseo had no desire to do so.

“I liked …….”

Jingyeom’s voice rumbled as he swallowed the words into his mouth.

“What?”

Leeseo asked, and Jingyeom stared at her intensely, as if probing.

“You used to like it, chocolate.”

“……Did I?”

“Yeah, you did. Don’t you remember?”

“I don’t.”

Jingyeom’s expression twisted as if he had been hit by a blow at Leeseo’s calm and indifferent response.

Whatever chocolate-loving Hyun Leeseo was in his memory, it must have been a long time ago, before he had taken notice of her. Just a faded piece of the past that left no significant trace on her and no longer sparked any emotions in her.

“Well, I don’t like it anymore.”

Unlike Leeseo’s numbness, Kwon Jingyeom looked uncharacteristically devastated, as if his memories had been destroyed. He stared at her for a moment, with a lost look in his eyes, before realizing he was making a fool of himself and jerked his head away abruptly.

Jingyeom looked disappointed as he shrugged his shoulders and laughed, gazing dejectedly at the empty air. Then he suddenly stopped laughing and cursed under his breath.

“What the f*ck…….”

Jingyeom opened his eyes wide and stared intensely through the transparent glass wall of the greenhouse. Leeseo absentmindedly followed his gaze by turning her head. Standing in the place where Jingyeom’s sharp gaze had lingered was a man, it was Kwon Taegyeom.

A tension she’d never felt before ran down her spine. Her throat tightened and her stomach settled like a heavy stone in her gut.

Leeseo instinctively swallowed dryly, trying to moisten her parched throat. She felt Jingyeom’s gaze briefly shift towards her, as if he had keenly noticed her small and subtle change.

“Why are you staring instead of leaving? Are you just going to watch?”

Jingyeom grumbled discontentedly, his eyes fierce. Although Jingyeom’s muttered words were unlikely to reach Taegyeom outside, Leeseo couldn’t help but notice the strong sense unpleasantness radiating from his entire body.

Jingyeom’s eyes were wild, radiating condensed energy, telling Taegyeom to get lost. The muscles of his crumpled face twitched as if in convulsion, as if he were about to pounce at any moment.

In contrast, Taegyeom was excessively calm and cool. He leaned at a tilted angle, like an intrigued spectator, and his usual sensual eyes, specifically focused on Leeseo and Jingyeom inside the glassed greenhouse, were ruthless and chilling.

A strange sensation as if she had experienced a similar situation before crept in. Without even trying to recall the memory, the scene of that day vividly resurfaced in her mind, as if it were captured in a photograph.

Taegyeom glanced at her playing around with Jin-gyeom, one day, with worldly bored eyes and passed by indifferently. At that time, his unenthusiastic gaze, his slow and languid gait, the strange flow of air surrounding him, and even the pale moonlight that fluttered over his jet-black hair.

The man that had passed by Leeseo and Jingyeom so casually, as if they were nothing more than a mere backdrop, was now standing still and looking in their direction.

Taegyeom’s changed demeanor pressed like a stab to the heart. A tingling excitement surged within him. It didn’t matter whether it was a slight interest, a trivial curiosity, or just an animalistic possessiveness towards the woman he was mingling with; he just wanted his desire to intensify.

As much as he wreaked havoc on her, exactly that much.

So he hoped that eventually a crack would appear in those cold pupils.

“……”

Leeseo thought he was looking at both of them, but in really, Taegyeom’s eyes were fixed only on her. With a slow tilt of his head, he placed a cigarette between his lips and ignited his Zippo lighter.

The red flame that flickered at the tip of the jet-black Zippo lighter transferred to the end of the cigarette. For a moment, the lighter’s light cast an ecstatic shade on Taegyeom’s face before it faded.

Taegyeom inhaled deeply, as if savoring the flavor, just like when he pressed his nose to the nape of Leeseo’s neck after pushing all of himself into the deepest part of her in a gesture of his hunger.

His hungry gaze bound Leeseo tightly, rendering her immobile, as he meticulously explored her. Taegyeom sucked on the cigarette until his cheeks hollowed out. His chest, filled with breath, swelled tightly.

His gaze seemed to suck in every inch of her body. He looked at her the same way as he explored her body. She could feel herself growing hotter by the second. The slow movement of Taegyeom’s eyes sent a shiver down her spine.

Next to her, Jingyeom was muttering something incomprehensible or just something she couldn’t register in her ears. Leeseo unknowingly clenched her fist. Cold sweat began to accumulate on her skin. She didn’t want anyone to notice this change in her.

It was the first time she had ever seen him smoke, in front of her. She watched Taegyeom in fascination as he sucked on the cigarette. She had never imagined him smoking because he always smelled of clean water.

It was a strange feeling. A strange feeling swirled in her stomach that she couldn’t quite put a name to.

She knew she must have looked stupid, staring at him like she was lost in thought. But she didn’t know what else to look like, and suddenly it occurred to her, somewhat twistedly, that a man who loved alcohol and s*x so much couldn’t resist a cigarette.

She’d never thought of a man burning a cigarette as cool, but Taegyeom made an unexpected exception for her.

Slowly and gracefully, Taegyeom finished his cigarette and pulled out his cell phone. His long, straight fingers moved smoothly across the phone’s surface. His movements stopped, and at the same time, the phone she had placed in her pants pocket vibrated.

Leeseo tightly closed her eyes. Not only the thigh that touched the phone but also the depths of her body resonated deeply. A shiver, similar to the thrill of cl*max, ran through her entire body.