“Um, yeah…” I nodded and gave the adjacent seat to the man.
This was the first ti I wasn’t bothered by a stranger using informal speech with . My heart beat so loudly I pressed at my chest, worried the man would hear. I couldn’t even talk to him properly.
However, the man, now sitting down, followed up with a gentle question, “What were you doing?”
“I-I’m just… I felt frustrated, so I was…walking.” I tried my best to respond to the man’s interest. As I spoke, I found myself rambling and losing track of my words–mostly because I was preoccupied with looking at the man’s face. But… the man listened to patiently, without losing interest or focus.
Even after I finished talking, the man’s gaze did not drop from . He stared at my eyes, my cheeks…even the hand that pressed to my chest.
While the man scanned my body, bit by bit, I awkwardly straightened my posture. Then, suddenly, it occurred to that I didn’t know who this man was nor why he was here.
“E-Excuse , but…”
“Yeah.”
“Who are you? This is… Moon Issak’s house.”
I didn’t know how to describe the expression the man made at that mont. Cold ridicule, anger, desolation, and lancholy all passed through the man’s face, one after another. In the end, he rely smiled calmly.
Then, with a slightly cracked voice, he replied, “My na is Seo Dawon. I… live nearby.”
“Huh…? Really?”
Upon hearing the man’s response, I looked around. I couldn’t see any other buildings adjacent to the wall we were leaning against, but a few upscale villas were visible just one block away.
Even so, there was sothing strange about him entering Moon Issak’s yard–especially since it was surrounded by a high fence, but…
‘Criminal… He doesn’t look like soone who would commit cris.’
He didn’t look like a man who would do anything bad. Besides, if the man wanted to harm , he would have had enough ti to do that by now.
So, I relaxed a little as I spoke with him. There were questions I wanted to ask him earlier–questions that were circling my brain. “For so reason, I feel like I’ve heard your na before…”
“……”
“But, how pretty. Your na, too…”
The problem, though, was that I had voiced out loud my true feelings. It was only after I saw the man’s lips twitch that I realized what I had said; sha violently overtook .
“Ah!, No… I an…”
“Thank you.” Fortunately, the man nad ‘Seo Dawon’ smiled softly without bringing attention to my foolish words.
When I saw his smile, I felt strange–like tears were welling up in my eyes. So, I took a deep breath to calm myself. Seo Dawon, without saying a word, looked at as I sniffled. It was as if he knew exactly how I felt.
But, it would be weird for to cry suddenly, so I started to say whatever I could; I needed to focus on another topic to shake off this gloomy mood. “T-There was sothing in my eyes…”
“……”
“Cough, cough… By the way, how old are you?”
“I’m the sa age as you.”
“Ahhh…Huh? How do you know my age?”
“I just guessed,” Seo Dawon laughed.
I was montarily dazed at that sight before laughing alongside him.
* * *
I was completely unaware of the flow of ti as I talked with Seo Dawon. In addition to his extrely good looks, the man had the ability to make people feel at ease.
At certain tis throughout the conversation, my tears poured out uncontrollably, even though I couldn’t understand why. However, Seo Dawon didn’t even point that out or soothe my sobs. He just kept watch over , which allowed to shake off my despondency and speak more without crying any further.
Seo Dawon showed deep interest in my words; his thoughtful attitude comforted .
“Does your…left hand hurt a lot?” he asked.
“It hurts a little when it rains, but it’s okay now.”
“This hand… Did Moon Issak do this?”
“Yeah… But I’m relieved. He said he thought about making unable to use my legs, but held it in.”
“……”
“And, I think he’s beco a little more generous these days?”
“……”
“I-In any case, it’s all my fault…”
As I continued talking, Seo Dawon’s expression grew somber, but I kept laughing because I liked the way he gently stroked my left hand.
Seo Dawon’s hands were excessively cold, as if he had Raynaud’s, 1 but, excluding the temperature, holding hands with him felt really good. Seo Dawon seed to be aware of my feelings, since he continued to hold my hand.
Then, upon seeing my fingers twitching due to a muscle spasm, Seo Dawon encouraged to try and move them one by one. However, because the fingers had been severed and reattached, it had beco quite challenging to move each one independently. Especially my fourth finger–it had been severed multiple tis and had almost no sensation left.
After hearing that, Seo Dawon didn’t ask to try and move them anymore. He simply lifted my hand and gently pressed his lips against my fourth finger before closing his mouth around it. I found it quite ticklish, but I didn’t ask him to stop.
As he continued to press his lips against my finger, he asked slowly, “Anywhere else besides your fingers?”
“Hm?”
“Does anywhere else hurt?”
“Nope. I’m alright.” I placed a hand near Seo Dawon’s eyes. His skin was white and nearly transparent under his eyes, but, sohow, it felt as if the man was shedding tears.
Tracing my finger over his dry cheek, I leaned closer to Seo Dawon. When I kissed his cheek, he didn’t pull away.
This was my first ti kissing a man I had just t, yet I strangely felt no repulsion. Instead, my heart happily throbbed as if it had wanted to do this for a long ti.
Creaaakk–
However, the mont our eyes t, I could hear the sound of Moon Issak’s car entering through the now-open gate.
In that instant, as soon as I heard the sound, I returned to my senses and quickly stood up from my seat. Overwheld by rising fear, I had no choice but to push Seo Dawon aside.
Without holding back, Seo Dawon loosened his gentle grip on my hand.
“Ah, the ring…” I ran towards the mansion, leaving Seo Dawon behind . When I reached the door, I rembered the ring Moon Issak had given earlier–the very sa ring I angrily threw out the window.
The headlights of the car in the parking lot had already been turned off. It wouldn’t take Moon Issak more than five minutes to exit the lot. My hands trembled with fear as I looked between the darkened garden and parking lot.
It was then–
“Are you searching for this?” Seo Dawon’s voice–I had completely forgotten about his presence–rang out, startling . When I turned around, he was holding out a silver ring. Moon Issak’s gift.
Seo Dawon approached my stiffened self and gently held my left hand. He then slowly placed the ring on the ring finger of my left hand. I looked down at the ring, unsure if my trembles were from fear or excitent.
However, sothing was strange.
The ring Moon Issak had given during the day was a simple engagent ring made entirely of diamonds. However, the ring that Seo Dawon handed had diamonds that exuded a reddish hue which slowly faded away.
When the light disappeared, the ring looked exactly like the ring I had abandoned earlier. Seo Dawon briefly kissed my forehead–which was furrowed in confusion–and whispered in a lowered voice, as if he were playing a prank, “It’s gone–without a trace, right?” 2
“Huh?”
“Moon Issak won’t notice.”
“Ah.” I realized that Seo Dawon had helped , and so of my extre tension released. Seo Dawon placed his cold hands on my trembling shoulders and rubbed them a little.
I could finally take a deep breath and calm down. However, that wasn’t the end. As I heard the sounds of Moon Issak’s footsteps approaching on the gravel path, Seo Dawon, with a smile on his face, promised , “I’ll visit your room next ti. When I knock on the door, open it for .”
Then, he gave a brief kiss to my parted lips as I was about to respond. I closed my eyes for a mont and opened them again, but unfortunately, the ecstatic sensation had disappointingly vanished in that short period of ti.
Like a dream one would have in the middle of the night.
Beco a Patron!
TL: Choi Lee-kyung is extrely consistent–that boy definitely has a type.
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