CHAPTER 58

Upon hearing Taegyeom’s low, murmuring voice, Leeseo felt her body go limp. It was strange; all he needed to do was show his face and ask her to open the door, but he was such a strange man.

The thought that she almost closed the door, mistaking him for an intruder, and could have broken all of his fingers flashed through her mind, making her heart pound. Of course, it wouldn’t have been easy to slam the door on him because the man’s strength was so inhuman.

Taegyeom scrutinized Leeseo’s pale face and squinted one eye.

“Aren’t you going to open it?”

“….”

“I won’t bite.”

In the midst of all this, Taegyeom jokes like that, and Leeseo burst into laughter, surprised at the absurdity. Wiping away her faint smile, she spoke with a dry voice.

“You have to move your hand for me to open it.”

Only then did the hand, which had firmly held onto the door, smoothly withdraw. After closing the door and undoing the latch, Leeseo took a short breath and then opened the door.

“Hi.”

Taegyeom, who had leisurely waited for the door to open, greeted her. It was a common, overused greeting, but it didn’t sound boring because of his unnecessarily overly handsome face, and Leeseo looked up at him mesmerized.

The large leaves of the trees behind them fluttered as if a typhoon had come to the front of the yard. The leaves that had fallen from the trunks danced in the air, tangling with the wind. Amidst the turbulent world, Taegyeom stood still, gazing at Leeseo as if she were in the eye of a storm.

Time seemed to freeze, and the wind ceased. The whole world lost its color and stood still like a lie, a strange world. A wave surged in her stomach. A wave hit his stomach. For some reason, tears threatened to fall, and she bit her lip. 

Why does he look at me like that, why?

She resented him for looking at her like that. 

Why does he look at me like that, like I’m holding his whole heart?

Taegyeom reached out and touched Leeseo’s hair, slowly and delicately, as if to confirm that she was there. It was strangely cautious as if he was taking his time.

Maybe she wouldn’t forget this moment forever, she thought.

The hand that had been working its way down from her hair finally curled around her nape. It tightened strongly, and something that had been tickling and swelling in her stomach erupted with a bang. He finally engulfed her as if he were devouring her.

His kisses rained down on her, her chin tilted skyward. At the same time, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pushed her inside.

She lost her grip on the doorknob, but the front door didn’t close as the wind blew it open. The loud noise outside made her shoulders jerk, but it seemed Taegyeom didn’t hear it, deepening his penetration inside her mouth.

The sounds of their lips smacking together, the quick movement of the tongue, the soft moans escaping with a throaty resonance – all of it blended with the howling wind. The overwhelming sensations made her feel nauseous. She almost wished the rough typhoon would sweep away all this dizzying intensity.

He released her tongue, proceeding to sensually suck on her lower lip. As he often did when he was enjoying the afterglow.

With a popping sound, their lips separated, and she felt a hand gently stroke through her tangled hair. Leeseo slowly lifted her eyelids. His eyes met hers as if he was checking on her.

His eyes were tender as if he was asking how she was doing after a week of him being away from Korea, but also intense and piercing, as if he was checking up on something. In front of him, she felt n*ked without the slightest defense.

There was a time when she faced him with an unknown determination, perhaps pride or ego. But now, she knew that such premature provocations would only stimulate him unnecessarily. It was all pointless.

Leeseo lowered her gaze. She reached for the doorknob to close the door, which was still flapping in the wind and making a noise as it slammed against the wall.

But Taegyeom’s hand was quicker, and as he closed the door, the noise outside was drowned out.

“Is this your home?”

Taegyeom said as they stood on the porch, barely a foot wide, standing close to each other like sandwiches. He looked around at the interior, which was barely big enough to call a house.

He seemed fascinated by the cluttered interior, overflowing with items that would be awkward and embarrassing to showcase.

“Oh, that’s your bed, the one you always crawl into when you leave me alone.”

Fixing his gaze on the bed with its somewhat messy state, Taegyeom muttered softly. The urge to kick him out overwhelmed her, so she spoke in a pointed tone.

“Why are you here?”

“Why not?”

His gaze questioned her as if to say, ‘You don’t know the reason why I’m here?’ And then it clung to her. The feeling of being glued together intensified, and the saliva in her throat dried.

“Since you didn’t answer my calls, and I can’t contact you, naturally I’d come to find you.”

Taegyeom kicked off his shoes in the cramped entryway and stepped inside. Leeseo stood a step behind, watching him with a strange feeling as he surveyed the mismatched painting hanging on her wall.

Taegyeom’s height was so impressive that it felt like the ceiling was unusually low. She looked up at his head, which was high up, and noticed that, despite the strong wind outside, his hair remained impeccably unruffled.

His gaze, now seemingly appreciating the interior of her room, lingered on the desk where she had been sitting just moments ago. Approaching with wide steps, he glanced at the major textbooks spread open halfway and asked.

“Were you studying?”

Leeseo walked over to Taegyeom’s side and snatched the journal he had picked up with a nonchalant eye, closing it with a clatter.

She had intended to meet Taegyeom again and talk after organizing her confusing thoughts to some extent, but his unexpected visit had left her head spinning. The swirling emotions kept trying to burst out of her throat on their own.

“No, no. I was just reading up on it. I plan to return to school starting this semester.”

Her answer came out slowly as she tried to organize her thoughts.

“Return to school?”

He repeated Leeseo’s words shortly. At first, Taegyeom’s Taegyeom’s eyebrows arched in a disapproving line before settling back into place.

“If you’re returning to school next semester, is it in September? It’s not far off.”

“Yeah.”

Taegyeom’s words about it being not far off made her heart skip a beat. She felt his gaze keenly observing her. A perceptive man, like a sharp-eyed predator, flashed a piercing glance as if instinctively sensing something suspicious. Ironically, a cold sweat broke out on her back.

“If you’re going back to school, that’s something to celebrate, but….”

“…….”

“Why did you ignore my calls?”

He asked, somehow making the connection between going back to school and today’s lack of contact, setting a trap as he inquired. She thought about it for a moment, rubbing the worn spot on the corner of her journal. After a thoughtful sigh, she spoke.

“I was busy. Meeting friends.”

“You have friends?”

Taegyeom frowned displeased. She looked at him with a puzzled expression.

“I’m not supposed to have friends?”

“It’s not that it’s not okay. I just wish you didn’t.”

He said it so casually that he wished for her to have no friends. Then she stares down at him, her expression bemusedly nonchalant. There’s even a wry smile at the corner of her beautifully curved mouth.

Amused by the incredible situation, Leeseo chuckled, finding an opening as Taegyeom fired consecutive questions.

“Are your friends guys? What were you doing?”

A strong hand wrapped around her waist as if he was holding her captive to prevent her from escaping. He lifted her off her feet before she could even resist.

Taegyeom sat her down on the desk, gripped the corner of the desk with both hands and tilted her upper body forward at an angle. She was now trapped between his thick arms. He was close enough that his breath, seeming like it would touch her but never quite did, created a dizzying tension.

Despite having kissed his lips and slept with him countless times before, she didn’t know why the mere touch of his breath sent such a shiver down her spine. The dominance only a strong male possesses. The oppressive atmosphere compressed the air.

Instinctively, her spine tensed, and her neck stiffened. The fact that he could ask such an intimate question so casually was his power. Someone who demanded answers to what they wanted to know, without hesitation.

No matter how childish and out of line they were. The petty concern that he might appear jealous never seemed to matter to him.

With a composed expression, Leeseo looked at Taegyeom, who was waiting for her answer with an indifferent face. Despite feelings of resentment and annoyance, his sparkling hazel eyes were truly beautiful. Light brown, and rippling, they turned into a mesmerizing golden color when exposed to strong light.

She looked into his eyes and asked.

“……Are you interrogating me now?”

“Not interrogating, just interested.”