“…Hngh!“

Yeon-woo’s upper body lurched wildly. However, his face was pressed down, instantly forcing him back into the bed.

“…Ha… Ah. W-Wait…. Hnk!“

When she opened her tightly closed eyes, the pure white ceiling came into view. As he slowly lowered his gaze, he saw hair as black as his own eyes.

Fine strands of hair swayed over her br*ast as if dancing. He gathered both sides of Yeon-woo’s br*ast towards the center and licked the prominent n*pple with the tip of his tongue.

“Hnngh!“

An electrifying thrill surged from her head to her toes. Unable to catch her breath, she shook her head and gasped for air. It was the first time anyone had touched her br*ast, let alone licked it, and she felt as though she might faint.

Despite her desperate shaking of her head, he ignored her and took the saliva-slicked n*pple into his mouth in a single bite. After prodding the *rect n*pple with the tip of his tongue, he began to s*ck on it greedily.

Sucking as if he were going to tear it free, he nearly drove her to the brink of suffocation.

Her entire body trembled violently. The burning heat originating from her n*pple circulated throughout her body. After voraciously sucking the right n*pple, he moved on to the left one.

He teased it playfully with the tip of his tongue before sucking and gently chewing it.

“…Ngh!“

Yeon-woo raised her hand, which had been clawing at the sheet, and pushed it against his shoulder. Through moist, tear-filled eyes, she looked at the face lazily turning towards her.

It was hard enough to believe that he was hovering over her, but having her n*pple in his mouth felt even more surreal. Holding the small nub between his lips, he silently asked her with his eyes why she had pushed his shoulder.

“Stop…. Please, stop.”

The heat that had been coursing through her body now seemed to have shifted towards her lower abdomen. Although she could not pinpoint its exact location, she could feel a tight, hard knot forming in her lower belly. The sensation of something swelling, as if on the verge of bursting, filled her with fear.

“Ngh!“

As if displeased by the plea to stop, he bit down on the n*pple with his teeth like a punishment, bringing tears to Yeon-woo’s eyes.

“It hurts, it hurts!”

Although her voice had failed to carry properly, coming out as a small murmur, he must have heard it.

He licked the painfully bitten nub gently, as if to soothe it. Yeon-woo felt dizzy. The world was spinning round and round.

Finally, he pulled his lips away.

Yeon-woo blinked rapidly, struggling to hold back her tears, and stared weakly at Taecho as he raised his upper body. Realizing why his lips were slightly swollen sent heat rushing to the back of her neck.

“……”

His dark gaze swept over her face, then slowly travelled downwards. He stared silently at the places he had touched moments earlier, then swallowed dryly.

Seeing the smoldering heat in his eyes, Yeon-woo swallowed the question she wanted to ask.

Taecho reached out and gently brushed the corner of her eye.

The problem was that she liked his touch rather than hating it.

“This is also part of what it means to sleep together. Do you understand?”

His voice was impossibly low.

“And the ‘effort’ you spoke of involves far more than this.”

He clicked his tongue and asked how she expected to endure it when this alone had already overwhelmed her.

“……I have no intention of taking back what I said, so you had better prepare yourself.”

The hand caressing the corner of her eye slowly descended, gliding over her chest and stomach. Each time Yeon-woo flinched, Taecho let out a quiet laugh.

“Taecho……”

“Say it.”

Yeon-woo parted her lips.

“……It’s nothing.”

“What is it? If you have something to say, say it.”

“It’s really nothing.”

Taecho climbed off her.

The moment his warmth disappeared, a cold breeze brushed against her skin and raised goosebumps all over her body. Yeon-woo pulled the sheet over herself, but she was still cold and rubbed her arms for warmth.

His heavy footsteps gradually faded away. When she heard the bathroom door open and close, she realized that he had gone to shower.

But hadn’t he showered earlier?

Simply knowing that he was now in the bathroom drained all the strength from her body. Without realizing it, Yeon-woo touched the places where his attention had lingered.

Startled by her own actions, she quickly pulled the sheet over her head.

“……Should I have asked him?”

Heavy sighs repeatedly escaped from Yeon-woo’s lips.

Taecho was in love with a woman.

In fact, he loved her so deeply that he was willing to marry someone else just to protect her.

Yeon-woo wanted to ask why he had shared such an intimate moment with her when his heart was still occupied by someone else. Yet she could not bring herself to ask, and her own cowardice made her feel pathetic.

She tried desperately not to think about the other woman, but she could not dispel the weight settling on her heart.

What did Taecho truly feel?

Yeon-woo knew that someday she would have to ask him.

Nevertheless, she desperately wanted to believe the saying that the strongest of feelings could fade with distance.

She wanted to believe that Taecho’s heart was slowly turning towards her.

However, she could not ask him because, whether it made her seem calculating or foolish, she simply could not help herself.

She felt sorry for the other woman, but Yeon-woo was Taecho’s wife now.

If Taecho’s heart truly began to turn towards her, she felt she would do anything to hold on to it.

Perhaps the shock had left her exhausted. She knew she needed to get dressed, but her eyelids were growing heavier and heavier.

‘……I need to get up.’

But before she could move, sleep overtook her.

***

Before Taecho left for work, Yeon-woo watched him fasten his necktie from bed.

She was completely exhausted.

It had been two weeks since they started sharing a room.

Since then, Taecho had been touching and teasing her at will, leaving her sleep-deprived.

Last night had been no exception.

Even when she was half-asleep, he continued to caress her, preventing her from falling into a deep sleep. He had been so persistent that her chest still felt painfully sensitive.

The lightest touch of her bra against her tender skin made her wince.

The only fortunate thing was that, although his hands occasionally wandered lower, he always stopped short of crossing the final boundary.

However, Yeon-woo was no longer sure if she should see this as a positive thing.

Whenever he touched her persistently like that, there were moments when she secretly wished he would go further.

Perhaps sensing her gaze, Taecho turned his head while adjusting his tie.

Their eyes met and locked in the air.

They hadn’t even gone all the way, yet his touch alone had already left her feeling exhausted.

What would happen if they truly became intimate?

Since Yeon-woo had never experienced it before, she couldn’t help but be curious.

“Go back to sleep.”

Tae-choo approached the bed and laughed quietly when he saw that Yeon-woo was just looking up at him. She watched him silently as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

“I’ll come home early.”

Recently, Tae-choo had started getting home from work much earlier than usual. During their first year of marriage, she could count on one hand the number of times he had come home early. These days, however, he often arrived before she had eaten dinner.

Knowing exactly why his schedule had changed made Yeon-woo’s face turn scarlet.

Taecho’s expression suddenly stiffened.

Yeon-woo tensed up instinctively, her shoulders growing rigid.

“……”

He reached out and gently caressed her cheek.

His touch was warm, and she loved it.

Because of that warmth, Yeon-woo failed to ask him about the woman he loved once again.

His hand slowly slipped beneath the sheet to caress her sensitive chest, drawing an involuntary m*an from her lips.

“Ah……!”

His fingers teased her tender skin as he fixed his heated gaze on her. As Yeon-woo swallowed dryly, he followed the movement of her throat with his eyes.

Taecho lowered his head as though he was about to continue, but then stopped.

His phone began ringing loudly.

After moistening his lips, he checked the screen and sighed.

“……I have to go.”

Having been kept awake all night, Yeon-woo should have felt relieved when he finally stopped.

However, her body had grown accustomed to his affection over the past two weeks, leaving her feeling strangely disappointed when it stopped. She curled her toes beneath the sheet and carefully controlled her expression so that he would not notice.

“……Have a safe day.”

Her throat was sore from suppressing her voice the previous night, making the words emerge hoarsely.

“I’ll be back.”

Tae-cho answered with a low laugh.

It was the first time he had ever promised to come back, and Yeon-woo felt warmth blossom in her heart.

She watched his figure as he walked away until he disappeared from view.

Was she allowed to hope?

Smiling, she rolled onto her stomach.

“……Ugh. It hurts……”

The friction against the sheet made her tender skin ache, and she frowned.

Now fully awake, she decided to shower. The moment she turned on the water, a steady stream poured from the showerhead.

“This is driving me crazy……”

Even the water stung her overly sensitive skin. She turned away from the spray, lowering her gaze and noticing that her skin looked darker and more swollen than before.

Considering how relentlessly Taecho had tormented her, it would have been strange if she hadn’t been sore.

The mere memory of his touch sent a wave of heat coursing through her body.

He had promised to come home early today, which meant he would undoubtedly torment her all over again.

This was becoming too much.

Could he not let her have one night of proper sleep?

She was utterly exhausted.

Taecho truly had no sense of moderation. Once, he had refused to even look at her, but now…

Whenever their eyes met, he immediately reached for her.

That presented an entirely different problem.

“This won’t do.”

Determination flashed in Yeon-woo’s eyes.

Today was the day of her father’s medical examination.

Which meant……

“I should spend the night away from home.”

Yeon-woo’s expression became more resolute than ever.

Several hours later.

“You heard the doctor say that your inflammation levels have increased, didn’t you?”

Yeon-woo grumbled as she glanced at her father, who was seated in the front passenger seat.

“……Are you angry?”

Her father cautiously studied her expression before speaking.

“Of course I am!”

How could he even ask?

“I know the old residence is important, but please take better care of your health.”

Yeon-woo was driving home with her father after his hospital appointment.

“Please reduce your workload from now on. You should travel with Mom too.”

It upset her to see him so completely tied to the old residence when money was not something he needed to worry about.

“I only have two wishes.”

When the traffic light turned red, Yeon-woo stopped the car and looked at her father.

“Wishes?”

“Yes. I want to hear you play the gayageum again, and I want to meet my grandchild. Those are my only wishes.”

Yeon-woo’s face turned bright red.

“I don’t know…… But why do both of your wishes involve me?”

Both of the only wishes he had were connected to her.

Her expression darkened at the thought that her father seemed to have no dreams for his own life. Then he gently patted the back of her hand and held it tightly.

“All this father wants is for his daughter to be happy.”

Unable to return her father’s gentle smile, Yeon-woo looked out of the window instead.

Above all, she wanted her parents to be happy, too.

The memory of the day she had first met them brought tears to her eyes.

It had been the middle of winter. For reasons she could not understand, she had been punished by being made to stand barefoot in the orphanage corridor.

Her parents found her there and immediately swept her into their arms.

They had originally come to adopt a baby. However, after seeing Yeon-woo standing alone in the cold corridor with her bare feet, they could not stop thinking about her.

As they clasped her hand tightly and promised to become her mother and father, Yeon-woo made a vow.

‘Someday…’

Someday…

She would make her mother and father truly happy.

Before she was adopted, Yeon-woo had never experienced love.

She had grown up without ever understanding what it meant to be loved. She was surrounded by an orphanage director and staff members who constantly tormented her and children who beat her up. She spent her days swallowing every sound and making herself as small and unnoticeable as possible.

Then she met her parents.

From that moment on, she was surrounded by more love than anyone else in the world.

Now, she believed it was her turn to repay that love.