CHAPTER 24 – Grilled Eel (Part 3)

The illuminated hanok house looked like a whale’s back. Seoyeon stood in front of the traditional Korean house and opened her mouth. When she looked at Dojun, he shrugged his shoulders.

“This is too…”

She had mentioned wanting to eat bean sprout rice, and he promised something better, bringing her to this place. The choice of restaurant left her speechless. As if snacks for the night weren’t enough, he brought her for eel, known for its stamina-boosting properties. It was blatantly obvious.

“Too much what?”

“Too obvious…”

Seeing Seoyeon struggling to find the words, Dojun said,

“You’re right. I’m being too obvious about feeding you.”

“You didn’t come here to feed yourself, you came here to feed me? Why would you do that?” 

Seoyeon looked at him questioningly, and Dojun casually replied,

“I don’t have to eat. I’ve come to feed you, Yoon Seoyeon.”

Why else would I offer you eel? 

Dojun conveyed with his expression, then took the first step forward. Following him through the gate, Seoyeon said,

“I don’t really like eel that much.”

“Eat it anyway.”

“I’m telling you I really don’t like it.”

“There are other menu options besides grilled eel.”

“Of course, there would be.”

There are probably eel soup, eel sweet and sour, eel rice, and fried eel. 

Seoyeon squinted at Dojun. Dojun stopped for a moment and asked Seoyeon.

“Should I cancel the reservation?”

He grabbed his cell phone and said it as if he was about to make a call. He knew what Seoyeon was weak at. The idea of canceling a reservation with just one call. 

How annoying. 

Seoyeon pressed her lips together and walked ahead.

“CEO, you’re here.”

The owner at the counter greeted Dojun warmly.

“I’ve prepared the private room.”

“Thank you.”

Dojun responded and strode purposefully, not even glancing around to find the room. He took off his shoes and went up to the room with the sliding door open. Seoyeon followed him inside.

“What is this? There’s nothing here.”

He said the preparations were all done, but there was only cutlery and dishware set up, nothing else. Feeling deceived, Seoyeon glared at him, and Dojun chuckled, turning to the staff who had followed them.

“Please serve the meal right away.”

Dishes started coming in one after another. Mung bean porridge and crispy fried bones were served first, followed by an array of side dishes – stir-fried skate, potato salad, various kimchi and salted seafood, fried shrimp, and soybean paste stew. In the center, a large stone grill held the grilled eel.

“And bring the rice as well.”

Dojun told the departing staff, who responded that they would bring it right away. Staring at the spread in bewilderment, Seoyeon saw the small cauldron of rice served. Dojun shuffled the rice scooped a full bowl, and placed it in front of Seoyeon.

“Eat.”

Fortunately, many side dishes were edible besides the eel. No, even without the eel, there were plenty of side dishes to eat.

Thinking of the effort put in, Seoyeon took a spoonful of the mung bean porridge, even though she didn’t like it much. The soft taste was good, so she took another spoonful, but Dojun placed the eel tail on top of Seoyeon’s spoon.

“Ah, seriously.”

Dojun burst out laughing at the words that unconsciously slipped out.

“Selective eating is not good.”

As if anyone didn’t know that. 

Seoyeon glared at him and moved the eel tail back to Dojun’s rice. Then she took a piece of the eel with sauce, which was easier to eat, and put it in her mouth.

“You should eat some too, CEO.”

Dojun laughed heartily. Seoyeon pretended not to notice and took a spoonful of rice into her mouth.

She voluntarily ate a few pieces and forced herself to eat two more. Most of the eel was eaten by Dojun. After she pushed the remaining eel towards him, Dojun smiled and said.

“How are you going to handle it?”

And then he looked down at Seoyeon’s chest. It was the chest he hadn’t touched before. As Seoyeon’s face blushed, the corners of Dojun’s mouth twitched upward.

“Can’t we do it here?”

“Of course not.”

Why was he asking the obvious? 

Seoyeon covered her chest with one hand and glared at him, and Dojun laughed again. And as he put down his spoon, he said,

“Let’s go home.”

* * *

Seoyeon couldn’t go straight up to the house. During the drive, Dojun, who had appeared relaxed, unbuckled her seatbelt and kissed her. As he kissed, he caressed the chest he had not touched before.

Only gentle caresses followed, making Seoyeon let out a sigh of frustration. The caresses were nice, but the longing was stronger.

“Let’s go upstairs.”

Dojun pulled away from the kiss and spoke. Seoyeon couldn’t ask why he wasn’t doing it like before, so she just looked at his lips, w*t with her saliva, and nodded.

After opening the front door and stepping inside, Dojun didn’t rush her. He asked if she wanted coffee, and when she said yes, he brought her a hot cup.

“Do you want to wash up first, or shall we wash up together after?”

The words were quite embarrassing to hear, considering they were said while handing over the coffee. The other person was calm, but the listener’s face turned red. 

You’ve been acting boldly in many ways today. 

Seoyeon swallowed the lump in her throat and replied to Dojun.

“I’ll finish my coffee and wash up first.”

She said she would wash up first because she didn’t dare to wash up together yet. For a moment, she even doubted whether the day would come when she would wash up with a man until she died. That was a different kind of embarrassing thing than mingling bodies.

“Okay, then.”

Dojun answered, taking a sip of his coffee. Seoyeon thought about how she was getting used to this, one step at a time, and took another sip of her hot coffee.

When she came out of the bathroom, the living room TV was on. Dojun, who had been sitting on the sofa, turned around and looked at Seoyeon, saying,

“There should have been a robe in the bathroom.”

There was. But wearing a robe over her n*ked body to go out felt too goal-oriented, so she struggled to put her clothes back on while her body was still w*t.

“I felt more comfortable in my own clothes.”

Dojun, who had been listening half-heartedly, patted to the side and said.

“Sit down. Let’s watch a movie.”

Seoyeon hesitated for a moment. She was unsure what the proper etiquette was for this situation. Eating dinner together made sense since they both hadn’t eaten, but was watching a movie together like a dating couple the right thing to do? Yet, it also felt odd to simply shower and head straight to bed.

“I’m not sure I’ll be able to concentrate properly, but…”

At Dojun’s words, Seoyeon sat down on the sofa. He selected a movie with a few button presses on the remote and hit the play button. It was an old movie about space that Seoyeon recognized.

Dojun pressed the remote again, dimming the lights and closing the blinds. As it grew darker, Seoyeon felt more at ease and leaned deeper into the sofa. As the movie started, Dojun’s body leaned towards Seoyeon.

Feeling the changing colors of the light, Seoyeon pressed her lips to his. Her body was pulled forward, and she ended up on top of Dojun. With her back to the TV screen, the flickering light danced across Dojun’s face.

Seoyeon pressed her lips against his and Dojun gently inserted his tongue between Seoyeon’s parted lips. She ran her hands deep into his hair and wrapped her arms around his neck.

As the kiss continued, Seoyeon’s blouse came undone, and her bra fell to the floor. Grabbing both br*asts with both hands, he pulled the peak of one br*ast forward. 

Why only that side again? 

Seoyeon thought, tensing her legs, when Dojun broke the kiss and said,

“Do you want me to suck it?”

Good grief.

That was too explicit. 

While thinking this, Seoyeon opened her eyes to look at Dojun, and he slowly lowered his face. Embarrassed by the anticipation of his lips moving down her neck, to her collarbone, to the mound of her br*asts, Seoyeon covered her face with her hands.

Dojun circled the peak with his tongue, then lifted his face. As Seoyeon exhaled a sob-like breath, Dojun took it fully into his mouth and sucked.

Ah.

As her br*ast was pulled into the vacuum of his mouth and kneaded, Seoyeon arched her back and let out a loud moan. It was a moan that marked the prelude to a long night.