Chapter 67
Unable to contain the emotions rising from my resurfaced memories, I covered my face with one hand. I wanted to scream and thrash about, but with Kim Doyun beside me and being on a tree branch, it was obvious I’d fall right off if I did, so I had no choice but to hold it in.
“Ow, ah…”
“Seongho-ssi?”
Kim Doyun looked down at me with a puzzled expression as I made strange noises. I thought it was quite fortunate this was happening at night. Had it been daytime, Kim Doyun would have caught me completely flushed and burning up.
“Are you hurt somewhere?”
“…No, I’m not hurt. Just a little…”
As I rubbed my face, Kim Doyun made a sound like he understood and laughed. Embarrassed, I turned my head away from him, only speaking again after quite some time had passed. Honestly, from the moment our lips touched, my mind had been spinning wildly. I regretted not asking him right then and there. So Kim Doyun does think of me that way, right? Or does he? Of course, Kim Doyun had been very kind to me, helping and being considerate, but still.
I genuinely wondered why Kim Doyun liked me. To be honest, I didn’t think I’d done anything to make him interested in me. Recalling my past behavior made me want to shake my limbs in embarrassment. It was unbelievable, and my mind went blank. But what exactly did he mean by not letting me run away and taking things step by step?
“Step by step…”
Lost in thought, I unconsciously muttered those words, and Kim Doyun laughed as he buried his face in the nape of my neck. The feeling of his straight nose and lips, along with the breath escaping between them against my neck, made my neck stiffen and my shoulders twitch. It tickled and made my hands and feet curl up.
“Yes, step by step.”
Kim Doyun’s face fell over mine. Something soft touched my lips and then moved away with a light smacking sound. It was the second kiss of my life.
“Do-do-do-do-Doyun-ssi.”
I was so flustered that even saying his name wasn’t easy. I felt like my entire body would melt from embarrassment. In the darkness, Kim Doyun’s lips stood out with unusual clarity in my vision. Noticing that I couldn’t take my eyes off his lips, Kim Doyun laughed softly.
“…Then Doyun-ssi also, me.”
Kim Doyun’s lips touched my eyes as I stammered my question. My mind became hazy from the warm, soft lips. Though there was no verbal answer, that alone was enough. The body half-covering mine was large and firm. Kim Doyun tightly embraced my waist as I froze in shock, unable to move.
“…How is it?”
I was so dazed that I didn’t even notice Kim Doyun’s question. The breath that escaped from our closely pressed lips as I asked him to repeat himself pounded against my foggy consciousness.
“Wh-wh-what?”
“How do you feel about what I’m doing?”
One arm wrapped around my waist, while his other hand climbed up to my chest. Tap tap, his straight fingers drummed against my chest. Kim Doyun’s chin rested on my shoulder. Though warmth transferred from his cheek pressed against mine, I couldn’t help but shudder as if touched by fire. Kim Doyun whispered softly.
“I’m feeling quite good right now. Being like this with Seongho-ssi…”
Kim Doyun’s body pressed tightly against mine. Not just our backs touching, but our thighs pressing together too. The hand that had been touching my chest now pressed fully against it with his palm. As if trying to bring our bodies even closer together. His thumb lightly brushed against my waist. I couldn’t even answer and just exhaled rapidly.
The smile on Kim Doyun’s face looked incredibly soft and gentle. But contrary to that, the hand gripping my waist and pressing my chest wasn’t so gentle. The only consolation was that that hard thing pressing against my thigh was at least remaining calm…
“Th-this, this is, this…”
“If you don’t like it, I won’t do it.”
With the strength of Kim Doyun’s arms, my body quickly turned around. A firm thigh wedged between my legs, and his figure looming over me rippled in the darkness. There was no light at all, so if he moved even slightly away, I couldn’t properly see Kim Doyun’s face. Whether I should consider that fortunate in this situation… I gulped and fumbled to grab his hand that was propped beside my head.
“I-I don’t dislike it.”
A laugh sounded from above my head. I’m glad. With Kim Doyun’s soft whisper, his lips lightly brushed from my temple to the tip of my chin. Had static electricity built up? For a moment, my head stung, but not unbearably so. Rather, it was his lips traveling down to my neck that was hard to endure. I could clearly feel his large hand stroking my collarbone, pressing my chest, and flowing down to my lower abdomen. As he caressed my stomach, which tensed and sucked in, Kim Doyun laughed briefly, then touched my pelvis and moved down to my thighs.
“W-w-wait a moment!”
I hurriedly stopped Kim Doyun’s hand. To be completely honest, it felt really good. I had realized I liked Kim Doyun, and there was nothing bad about being touched by someone I liked. Just the fact that he was attracted to me made my head tingle and involuntary sighs escape.
But the situation wouldn’t let me completely fall for Kim Doyun. We were in a tree, and even though only we were awake, Jang Jae-gyeong and the children were not far away. Doing this sort of thing when we weren’t alone in a room? And isn’t this moving too fast? My reason screamed in absolute opposition and tore up the white flag.
“When we’re not alone, this kind of thing is a bit…”
I stammered, trying to gauge Kim Doyun’s reaction, but surprisingly, he took it lightly.
“I understand.”
As Kim Doyun nodded, the tension drained from my stiff body. While I felt relieved, I was strangely disappointed too. No, no. We almost kissed in a place with other people around—I shouldn’t feel disappointed. …I need to get a grip.
“Then, shall we try when we’re alone?”
Is that how it works? While I was flustered and fumbling for words, Kim Doyun’s lips touched my neck.
* * *
“…What the hell are you doing every time I look away?”
“What do you mean?”
“Your eyes are completely glazed over right now.”
Jang Jae-gyeong looked down at me like he was seeing something strange. Junwoo, who had been holding onto Jang Jae-gyeong’s leg, suddenly rushed into my arms and gently patted my face with both hands.
“Daddy’s eyes are dark underneath!”
“Junwoo, that hurts daddy’s face.”
By now, the word “daddy” flowed naturally. Seungwoo, who had been dozing off wrapped in a blanket, rubbed his eyes while yawning repeatedly.
“Uncle, did you do something fun?”
“Uh, what?”
My heart thumped at the question about doing something fun. The kid hadn’t been awake, had he? With a face still drowsy from sleep, Seungwoo poked under his own eye.
“Mom always scolds me when I stay up late playing games. Says a child’s eyes get dark underneath when they don’t sleep. Is that what happened to you, uncle? What were you doing instead of sleeping?”
Thankfully, it seemed he hadn’t seen anything. I let out a deep sigh of relief, but my conscience stung.
“Hmm… what would I be doing? I was just thinking, that’s all.”
As I rambled my excuse, I noticed Kim Doyun smiling as if he knew nothing. It left a bitter taste in my mouth that I seemed to be the only one flustered and at a loss. To be honest, I was the one who got played… While I was pressing down on my aching conscience, Jang Jae-gyeong tapped my head and then stroked it.
“If nothing’s wrong, that’s good, but you should get plenty of sleep.”
“Jae-gyeong-ssi, I think you treat me too much like a child.”
His final action of lightly tapping my cheek made it feel even more so. As Junwoo followed suit and tapped my cheek too, I frowned at Jang Jae-gyeong. Really, he should be more careful with his actions in front of the kids.
“You’re five years younger than me, so you are a child, what else?”
But Jang Jae-gyeong wasn’t affected at all. After patting Junwoo’s back, I sent him off to play with Seungwoo. Kim Doyun stood behind the children as they crouched and chatted. He seemed to be protecting them in case they fell off the branch while playing. I was planning to ask him to do that anyway, so I was glad he was quick to notice. Kim Doyun looked my way and gave a slight eye-smile.
“Ahem, ahem.”
“Did you catch a cold?”
Since this happened while Jang Jae-gyeong was looking at the children, he didn’t seem to notice. I just smiled and said my throat was dry, then got serious. Come to think of it, there was something I really needed to ask.
“Are you alright, by the way?”
“What?”
“You being in pain yesterday.”
What I saw was very brief. He’d been acting so normal afterward that I was wondering if it wasn’t serious. But Jang Jae-gyeong, who had been relaxed and slick until now, tightly pressed his lips together. With a grim face, he scratched his neck and turned his head this way and that before frowning. I wondered what he was looking at—it was Kim Doyun. Jang Jae-gyeong quickly turned his head toward me as if he’d seen something disgusting. I stared right back at him. As I waited for his answer, Jang Jae-gyeong’s face grew grim again.
“I wasn’t injured, but…”
“Then what? Is it some kind of chronic illness?”
“Hmm… something a bit similar.”
“And you’ve been going without sleep all this time?”
I had thought Jang Jae-gyeong was a really healthy person. Staying up late at night and handling monsters in the village. But he had a chronic illness? I didn’t believe Jang Jae-gyeong’s assurance that he was fine. I quickly approached him and looked at his chest area, which he had been clutching in pain.
“Heart disease? Myocardial infarction? What chronic illness do you have?”
“No, it’s not that serious.”
“Then what?”
Jang Jae-gyeong didn’t speak and only tapped the handle of his knife. I felt hurt, wondering if it was something he couldn’t tell me. I had received so much help from Jang Jae-gyeong that I wanted to help him somehow, but he was treating me like a child… My feelings must have shown on my face. Seeing my expression, Jang Jae-gyeong looked a bit surprised before laughing loudly.
“I’m really fine. It’s truly nothing, that’s why I’m not mentioning it. It’s like saying you got injured when you scratched your finger on a thorn. It’s just that level.”
“Still, tell me if you’re in pain…”
“Okay, okay.”
Jang Jae-gyeong grinned and ruffled my hair. Though he still treated me like a child, I felt relieved that he promised to tell me. As I was smiling while brushing my messy hair, I noticed Kim Doyun staring at us. He was scrutinizing Jang Jae-gyeong and me with a frown before he smiled and beckoned me over. Did he have something to say?
“What is it?”
I approached him and bent down. Kim Doyun was sitting on the ground to watch the children, and I didn’t sit down beside him since I was planning to just hear what he had to say and then go back to ask Jang Jae-gyeong more questions. As I just bent over to look at him, Kim Doyun tilted his head slightly. Seeing his furrowed brow again, something seemed to be bothering him. Suspecting something, I crouched down next to him, and his brow relaxed.
“I just wanted to call you over.”
Kim Doyun whispered with a gentle smile. My face heated up. As I fumbled awkwardly, Kim Doyun gently rubbed my ear and burst into laughter.
“Your ears have turned red.”
I quickly covered both ears. Seeing my reaction, Kim Doyun smiled again and gently smoothed my messy hair. He did this with a serious expression and no smile, which felt strangely affecting. It felt awkward having our relationship change in just one day, and my body felt all twisted up.
“There, it’s fixed now.”
I nodded with an embarrassed smile. The children pushed their heads forward, asking Kim Doyun to pat their heads too. As I awkwardly touched the hair Kim Doyun had just smoothed and turned back toward Jang Jae-gyeong, I saw him cursing with his face.
“That damn fox bastard.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
