The Tyrant Husband - Chapter 1.4

Chapter 1.4

Cursing her own tongue, she retreated to the powder room next to the bedroom.  

However, the sticky air still reminded her that it was impossible to escape the fierce pheromones radiating from the man.  

Instead, they became even clearer and more distinct.  

Not only distinct, but they also felt dynamic.  

Even though Kwon Jeong-hyeok moved with calm and precise gestures, the masculine energy he exuded felt as if it might pounce on her at any moment, sinking its teeth wildly into her nape.  

At that moment, a sound came from the bedroom.  

Hurriedly, she sat down at the dressing table. Pretending to be calm, she squeezed lotion onto the back of her hand, but in the mirror of the dressing table, his lower body eventually came into view.  

Slowly, like a well-fed predator, his deliberate yet graceful steps drew closer. Soon, the mirror was filled with his broad, straight shoulders forming a perfect right angle.  

“Sol-ah. Should I brush your hair?”  

Standing behind her, he asked softly.  

Eun-sol didn’t answer. She simply stared blankly at the round wooden brush he held in his large hand.  

After all, it wasn’t a question seeking her opinion. It was a notification.  

She vaguely sensed that this act of informing her in advance was the greatest form of consideration a man like him, who only knew how to dominate others, could offer.  

Only the sound of brushing echoed in the quiet space.  

Surprisingly, his brushing was delicate. He lightly held the ends of her hair, ensuring her scalp wouldn’t be tugged as he brushed.  

Each time the brush moved downward, the veins on the back of his hand, which bulged fiercely, grazed the nape of her neck.  

Whenever that happened, the contrast between the softness of the brushing and the roughness of his pronounced veins sent chills through her body.  

The scent emanating from him was no different. Contrary to the atmosphere he exuded, which suggested he might smell like luxurious cologne or rugged masculinity, he carried the fresh scent of soap.  

Strangely, this soap scent didn’t feel unfamiliar. Unlike the smells of lotion or other cosmetics, it didn’t churn her stomach.  

Sometimes, it made her wonder if this man was truly hers.  

But perhaps it was just a common soap scent, and that was why it felt that way.  

“Sol-ah. Let me apply some ointment.”  

His deep voice flowed through the sound of brushing. At some point, the brush had disappeared from his hand, replaced by a round silver tin case.  

It was an ointment that had been sitting on the dressing table since the first day she was discharged from the hospital, one she had completely forgotten about.  

‘What kind of ointment was that again?’  

The moment she recalled what the ointment was for, her pupils involuntarily shook.  

“No, I’ll apply it myself…!”  

The ointment in the tin case was for the scars left by the car accident.  

She truly couldn’t understand why this man was acting this way today.  

Brushing her hair was one thing, but applying ointment was an entirely different matter. Applying ointment to scars required a much more intimate touch.  

“You haven’t applied it even once. It’s obvious you won’t apply it in the future either.”  

He inspected the completely unused ointment and scolded her.  

“I can apply it myself. I’ll make sure to use it properly from now on….”  

But her words seemed to disappear into a black hole. He simply dipped his index finger into the ointment without a word.  

Soon, his thick eyelashes lowered as he focused on the scar on Eun-sol’s nape.  

“Then… just here… The rest…! I’ll handle it myself.”  

She hastily added. The other scars were located near her chest.  

Without responding, he faintly curled his lips. It was an enigmatic smile, leaving her unsure whether he was agreeing or not.  

“Jeong-hyeok….”  

She called his name again, staring at his unresponsive lips. 

Why did I have to plead like this over something so trivial?  

“Sol-ah. Turn around.”  

He spoke as if coaxing a child.  

But she couldn’t. She planted her feet firmly on the floor—a small act of resistance.  

However, with a casual flick of his foot, he spun the round stool of the dressing table. Her resistance seemed laughable as the stool effortlessly turned to face him.  

“Lift your chin.”  

He tilted his own chin slightly, signaling her to expose the scar on her nape.  

“Hm?”  

His voice, soft yet ominous, left her no choice but to reluctantly lift her chin slightly.  

Kwon Jeong-hyeok’s face, so unrealistically handsome that it sent chills down her spine, drew closer and closer.  

She wanted to squeeze her eyes shut. Even though it was just his face coming closer, it felt as if she were willingly placing her head into the crimson jaws of a sinister serpent.  

‘Still, I mustn’t close my eyes.’  

It wasn’t even a kiss, so closing her eyes would make it even stranger. In fact, such an action might provoke Kwon Jeong-hyeok even more.  

The touch of his hand on her chin made her head spin, and her heart fluttered uncontrollably. Her emotions grew increasingly strange, and her breathing quickened.  

The man’s lightly closed, crimson lips kept expanding in her field of vision. His warm breath, flowing out languidly, tickled the tips of her eyelashes that barely managed to stay open.  

Soon, his fingers touched the nape of her neck. Her body flinched as if electricity had surged through her.  

He applied the ointment with a circular motion of his fingers. Her shoulders instinctively curled inward in response.  

The problem was what came next. The next scar was located just below the curve of her chest.  

“I’ll apply it there myself.”  

She tried saying it again, but his hand ignored her words and simply lifted one side of her bathrobe’s shoulder.  

A rush of cold air invaded the area above her exposed n*pple through the slightly opened robe. Perhaps it was due to her heightened tension, but the sensitive tip of her n*pple stiffened immediately. At the same time, her spine straightened as if on high alert.  

“Jeong-hyeok!”  

She urgently grabbed his wrist.  

“I told you I’d apply it there myself….”  

The sensation of the man’s hand pressing into her palm felt unfamiliar. His forearm, radiating a heat as if his blood were boiling, also felt strange. A peculiar tingling sensation coursed through her. She hadn’t done anything, yet her breathing grew erratic. Still, she couldn’t let go of his arm.  

“Why does it have to be that way?”  

He asked, gazing quietly at his restrained wrist. Although she was the desperate one, his voice somehow carried a deeper sense of yearning.  

“Because… because it’s embarrassing.”  

She answered in a voice that sounded like she was stomping her feet in frustration. He let out a small laugh.  

“Cute. Even your little tantrums.”  

Cute? A tantrum?

The strength she had been putting into her grip suddenly drained away.  

This man sometimes broke her resolve with simple, harmless words. Just like now.  

“When you were unconscious and lying in bed, I applied ointment to your wounds. I didn’t want to entrust your body to someone else, not even a female nurse.”  

Kwon Jeong-hyeok explained gently. Her mind went blank. There were scars in very private places, and he had seen them all.  

“Is it really something to be so alarmed about? We’re married, after all.”  

He furrowed his brows slightly.  

“You just don’t remember, but… we’ve kissed and… done more….”  

He paused briefly between his words. The man’s Adam’s apple moved roughly as he swallowed a low breath.  

“We’ve done everything—thrusting deep, rubbing. We’ve gone all the way. I’ve reached places within you that even you can’t touch.”  

Eun-sol couldn’t find the words to respond. Each word he spoke was humiliating.  

Looking down at her silently, he spoke as if hammering in a nail.  

“Every time you saw me, you were soaking wet.”  

That couldn’t be…! 

Eun-sol shook her head, gripping his arm even tighter. Losing her memory left her without any grounds to refute him, which frustrated her even more.  

“Is that not true?”  

His cold laugh sent a chill through her, and his hand suddenly slipped inside her bathrobe. Before she could even exhale, he grabbed her n*pple in one swift motion.  

“…Haah!”  

The sound of her sharply inhaled breath escaped through her clenched teeth as a short moan.  

“Should we check together?”  

“…Uhngh!”  

He asked as he slowly twisted her n*pple. This time, there was no warning—just an action that came a beat too late. While he rarely took her opinion into account, at least he usually gave her some notice before acting. But not this time.  

She regretted it. She should have just agreed with him. Acting foolishly had only served to provoke him further.  

“It’s already hard.”  

“T-that’s just because the air is cold…!”  

He tilted his head slightly, as if conceding that it might be possible. Then, he began to slowly rub and twist her n*pple again.  

“…Uhh!”  

Another maddening wave of stimulation hit her. Although it wasn’t her eyes being touched, even her eyelids throbbed.  

Furthermore, he occasionally let her n*pple slip from his fingers while rubbing it. He pretended it was because of the slippery ointment on his fingers, but it was clearly intentional.  

And when he grabbed her n*pple again, he kneaded and teased it even more roughly and aggressively.  

“Ah, Jeong-hyeok!”  

His provocative touch made it impossible for her to catch her breath. She wanted to ignore the sensations that were swelling deep in her lower abdomen.  

“Jeong-hyeok…! P-please stop!”  

“You should start getting used to at least this much, Sol-ah. We’ll be doing far more than this in the future.”  

Considering how sexually reserved he had been until now, this sudden crossing of boundaries left her even more bewildered.  

“Ah, but even if you get used to it, it probably won’t make much of a difference, will it?”  

The light from the dressing table illuminated his eyes, which twisted mercilessly.  

“If you get used to this, I think I’ll want to do even worse things.”  

“…Hngh!”