Side Story 1.6

When she still didn’t respond, he smirked and said, 

“Must’ve been some really dirty jokes.”  

That nonchalant attitude of his made her feel a little frustrated. Even though people were making degrading jokes about him, he remained so unconcerned.  

“From what I hear, those weird rumors have been around for a while. Why didn’t you do anything about them?”  

“Well, it seemed like too much trouble.”  

Junhee was dumbfounded. Whether he cared or not, Dowook casually played with her curly hair, wrapping it around his fingers like a child toying with a new toy.  

“They say curly hair is dominant. Do you think our kid will have curly hair too?”  

Junhee yanked her hair away sharply.  

“Of all the things to find troublesome, you pick this?”  

“Why should I care?”  

Having his “toy” taken away, Dowook furrowed his brows briefly before leaning closer. He pressed quick, playful kisses to her forehead. While Junhee was serious, Dowook remained grinning and teasing, which only made her feel more frustrated.  

“This isn’t about someone else; this is about you.”  

“I barely have enough time to think about what to do with you all day.”  

“Don’t get used to this kind of thing. Don’t let people talk about you so carelessly. If you leave it alone, rumors will snowball. One day, those rumors could come back to bite you.”  

No matter how heated Junhee became, Dowook didn’t seem to care. Then, out of nowhere, his playful demeanor shifted, and his eyes gleamed with a sharp intensity.  

“But who the hell said that in front of you?”  

“Does it really matter right now?”  

“It does. Who dared to say something so filthy in front of you?”  

Dowook seemed less upset about the fact that false rumors about him were circulating and more enraged that someone had said such obscene things in front of Junhee. He was angrier at the thought of her ears being sullied by such words than at the rumors themselves.  

“You should’ve stopped those rumors before they even started.”  

A heavy breath fell from his forehead. His eyes, no longer smiling, were sharp as blades. Junhee tried to guess what he was thinking. Was he mentally listing the people who had been near her at the drinking party? She wondered how long this tense standoff would last.  

“Fine.”  

But then, like an obedient student, he gave a compliant answer.  

“I’ll make sure you never have to hear such rumors again.”  

“…….”  

“Can I kiss you now?”  

Dowook lowered his head again. He drew closer, as if he were about to kiss her any second. His gaze, devouring her lips with greed, made Junhee doubt whether he had truly understood her words.  

“…All you ever do is kiss.”  

“What?”  

“You’re such a coward. You can’t do anything beyond that.”  

Dowook laughed.  

“For someone so clueless, you sure carry around some strange rumors, talking about kids and all. You—mmph!”  

In an instant, Dowook captured her lips. Tilting her chin and angling his head, he deepened the kiss. His tongue intertwined with hers, more fervent than before.  

Junhee quivered briefly but soon wrapped her arms around his back. His chest was broad and firm, and she liked the solid weight of him pressing against her. No matter how high she stood on her tiptoes, she couldn’t reach his forehead.  

His tall frame filled the narrow alley completely. Junhee, liking this about him, hugged him tighter, as if she wanted to crush him in her embrace.  

His tongue, like a predator’s, greedily explored her mouth. Even as he poured out heated breaths, his movements were skilled, flipping and twisting her tongue. When he widened his tongue to brush against the inside of her mouth, it felt like he was showing off just how good he was at kissing.  

A soft moan escaped her lips as she struggled to catch her breath.  

“What did you hear? Tell me.”  

“Dowook… haah… ugh…”  

“What did you hear, from whom, and where, that made sweet Woo Junhee so angry?”  

Dowook bit her lower lip gently while pressing his body firmly against hers. His hands roamed over her back, stoking the heat between them even further.  

The overwhelming kiss had been difficult at first, but she gradually grew accustomed to it. Her mind fogged as she let out a yearning sigh.  

“Haah… Wook… ah, ah…”  

“Keep calling my name.”  

“What…?”  

“Keep calling me Wook.”  

He seemed pleased with the way she addressed him. However, Junhee couldn’t call his name anymore. He leaned in again, breathing hotly against her, making her feel as though her entire body was melting. Unlike the roughness of before, this time, he adjusted the intensity, gently rubbing their tongues together.  

“Did you want this with me?”  

During the brief moments when they parted for air, Dowook whispered.  

“Hmm? Did you want this with me?”  

“Haah, ha… no.”  

“You wanted this. That’s why you said those mean things to provoke me.”  

“No… haah, no…”  

“You wanted to see me, didn’t you?”  

“Ugh… Dowook… haah… Wook…”  

“Even when you were drinking with those guys earlier, you were dying to see me, weren’t you?”  

Yes, I did. I missed you. I missed you so much.  

The words that wanted to escape her throat were the truth.  

After confirming their feelings for each other in Nonsan, Dowook and Junhee had been practically inseparable. Wherever Junhee went or whatever she did, Dowook would follow and stay by her side. His presence became a constant in her life.  

When she entered university, started new classes, and made new friends, it felt strange not having Dowook next to her. It hadn’t even been that long since things became this way, but it already felt odd. Even though her lectures would end, and she’d meet Dowook again to spend more time together, the hours without him felt empty.  

So, this is how important you’ve become to me.  

Junhee admitted this to herself with ease. While biting Dowook’s lips, she whispered softly, almost inaudibly.  

She told him that she had missed him terribly, that she had thought of him constantly whenever she had a free moment.  

Dowook couldn’t hold back his laughter. His laugh was long, and because of it, their kiss stopped, giving them both a moment to catch their breath.  

They wrapped their arms around each other’s necks and laughed together. Then, with a quick peck, they kissed again. Light and soft kisses followed, playful and gentle, before their tongues intertwined once more.  

The kiss that resumed didn’t end quickly. It stretched on, shallow at first, then deepened, slowed, then quickened, calmed, then grew intense again.  

The fact that they were on a university street, that countless people were passing by noisily just outside the alley, that it was late at night, and that their bodies were worn out from alcohol and fatigue—all of it didn’t matter.  

What mattered was just the two of them. That they were sharing this moment together. In the deep night where even the streetlights didn’t shine, in this narrow, damp, shabby alley, they felt an arrogant certainty that they would always be this way.  

Junhee recalled a night from a few days ago. When they had been lying on the sofa at the bar, endlessly rubbing against each other.  

Remembering that moment, she pulled Dowook’s broad back into an embrace. Tilting her head, she slipped her tongue deeply into his mouth. Her hands roamed over his thick neck, his back, and his chest as she pressed her body closer to his.  

Something large brushed against her between her legs. It was just a touch, but it made her thighs heat up instantly.  

Dowook suddenly let out a deep groan and paused the kiss. Locking eyes with Junhee, he exhaled the breath he had been holding back.  

The intense look in his eyes resembled the gaze he had that night a few days ago.  

Eyes filled with impatience. Yet, they also hesitated fiercely, suppressing something.  

Mesmerized, Junhee stared into those eyes before carefully reaching out. Her hand slid from his chest to his stomach, his waist, and lower still. Her fingertips brushed against something below—his manhood, which was enormous and rigidly outlined beyond the fabric of his pants.  

Ah, damn.  

Dowook cursed under his breath, groaning. His voice carried a dangerous edge, enough to make his shoulders tremble for a moment. Yet strangely, Junhee didn’t dislike hearing him curse.  

Just as she was about to stroke him further, Dowook grabbed her hand.  

His face twisted into a fierce expression.  

“What do you think you’re doing?”  

His words made Junhee feel like a child caught doing something naughty.  

“I was just curious. It’s been sticking out so much.”  

Dowook gave her a look like she was unbelievable.  

“You said the same thing when you kissed me for the first time.”  

“I did?”  

“It’s like a habit for you, luring people in that way.”  

Did I?  

“It’s cute, though.”  

Junhee remembered initiating their first kiss, but she couldn’t recall making that kind of excuse.  

“If you do that with someone else, I’ll kill them.”  

Though his words were harsh and his gaze threatening, the back of Dowook’s neck and ears were flushed red. Even in the dim alley, the redness of his skin was vivid.  

Despite all his posturing, it was amusing and fascinating to see Dowook so affected by just a few touches. Unable to hold back her laughter, Junhee smiled, her eyes crinkling. That’s when Dowook lunged at her again.