TIC 09
by KANThe room was dimly lit by the streetlights filtering in through the window.
“Ji Cho-yeon-ssi. Ji Cho-yeon-ssi?”
He called her name twice, but she just groaned without answering.
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“Are you sick? Ji Cho-yeon-ssi. Wake up.”
Not knowing how to take care of a sick person, he put his hand on her forehead. Fortunately, it wasn’t hot, but it was wet with cold sweat.
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Did she have indigestion?
He wondered if the soup he had given her had upset her stomach. Had she forced herself to eat it out of politeness, even though she had no appetite? He felt guilty. It seemed that his unusual act of kindness had backfired.
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“Ji Cho-yeon-ssi! Wake up. Please?”
She slowly opened her eyes. Min-hyun’s right hand rested on her shoulder. Her delicate form trembled under his touch.
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“Are you sick?”
“Ah...”
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Waking up, she sighed in relief. Tears welled in her eyes as she looked up at him.
“I’m not sick. Did I… scream or something?”
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He was about to ask if she had had a nightmare so terrible that she had screamed in her sleep, but stopped himself.
“No. You were just moaning.”
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“I’m sorry I woke you. I was having a little… nightmare. Please go back to sleep.”
She pulled the blanket up to her chin and turned away. Min-hyun looked at her for a moment before he lay back down.
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It hadn’t even been a full day since they had properly introduced themselves. But it seemed like her dream had been so terrible that she felt relieved when she saw Min-hyun. And from her accustomed reaction, he concluded that her nightmares were not temporary, but an ongoing phenomenon. This must be the cause of her insomnia.
She breathed evenly and seemed to be asleep again. Min-hyun, his attention fixed on her, found it difficult to fall asleep again. This was very unusual for him.
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About thirty minutes after her breathing had settled, she began to groan again.
“Ji Cho-yeon-ssi?”
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He put his hand on her shoulder to wake her up when she suddenly grabbed his hand. His heart skipped a beat. She really had a knack for scaring him.
Still holding his hand, she turned to face him. Then, as if in prayer, she brought her palms together, squeezed his hand between them, and pressed it against her soft cheek. Min-hyun ended up with his right hand resting on her face. It was more of a hand pillow than an arm pillow.
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His heart pounded. She sobbed and held his hand tightly. Min-hyun didn’t even think about pulling his hand away and remained silent. Her sobbing became more distressing.
Of course, he stretched out his left arm and gently patted her back. Each time he patted her, his fingers brushed her spine. She was thinner than he thought.
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She must be so thin because she can’t sleep or eat properly.
Just as his concern for her surfaced, her small body wriggled closer, a primal movement seeking warmth.
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She buried her face in his chest, her rapid breaths penetrating his t-shirt and reaching his skin. The hand pillow had become an arm pillow. His hand, still stroking her back, continued its soothing rhythm.
Her sobs subsided and her breathing became calmer. Min-hyun closed his eyes, lulled by the rhythm of her breathing. They slept surprisingly peacefully, as if they had been falling asleep in each other’s arms for years.
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***
Cho-yeon awoke slowly, her eyes still closed. A smile touched her lips. Her body felt refreshed. She felt incredibly good. The warmth of the blanket was soothing and blissful.
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How long had it been since she slept so soundly?
The scent of the blanket was different, but pleasant. Cho-yeon buried her face in the blanket and hugged it tightly.
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Why is this blanket so warm and hard? Like a heated stone bed.
Her breath caught when she opened her eyes. She was completely wrapped in a man’s embrace. It didn’t take long to find out who he was.
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Cho-yeon bit her lower lip and held her breath. First, she had to figure out what to do with her arm, which was wrapped tightly around his warm, hard torso.
She slowly removed her arm, careful not to wake him. Unconsciously, she swallowed and her heart skipped a beat. Now she had to free her legs. If removing her arm was beginner level, removing her legs was expert level.
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Her right leg was tangled over his right leg, which was tangled over his left leg. She tensed her toes and slightly twisted her knee. He shifted his left leg as if sensing the movement between his legs. Was that unconscious or conscious?
As she hesitated for a moment, something began to stir beneath her thigh. A soft, squishy mass rose menacingly like a snake. Her already racing heart skipped another beat.
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Cho-yeon quickly lifted her thigh. Only now did she realize that she had pressed her thigh against his p*nis.
Now it was important to get up without making a sound, without waking him up. She pushed against the mattress with her left arm and shifted her upper body first.
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Creak.
The bed, which they had insisted was a twin and not a double, creaked loudly. She realized now that she had left her own bed and entered his. The thought that she was clearly the one who had crossed the line made her feel uneasy. How had it come to this?
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Once she had put some distance between them, she quickly got out of bed. She stood awkwardly and looked at him lying on the bed. He was sleeping soundly, seemingly lifeless.
But could someone sleeping so soundly be so still?
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Something felt wrong. But there was no way to know if he was awake or just pretending to be asleep.
Cho-yeon decided to take a shower first. Sometimes she came up with good ideas in the shower. She hoped this would be one of those times.
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Her morning showers not only served to cleanse her body, but also to chase away the remnants of sleep.
Usually, she entered the bathroom sleep-deprived. She had to stand under the hot water for a long time to loosen her stiff neck and shoulders.
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But today, a quick, refreshing shower was enough. She felt light as air. Her head was clear, her eyes bright, and her muscles didn’t hurt. Her previously upset stomach felt comfortable and her appetite returned.
She felt a surge of life force. It had been a long time since she had felt this energetic, this capable.
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As she turned off the faucet, her mind clear, she made a decision.
Thinking back to the moment he’d moved his left leg, it didn’t seem like an unconscious act.
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Apologize.
She had to apologize for crossing the line, even if it was in her sleep.
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***
They left the room in silence.
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“We’ll have breakfast at the restaurant I booked. It’s not far from here, so is it okay if we walk a little?”
He just nodded at her question. His face, as far as she could see, looked very tired. His eyes were hollow and his complexion was dark.
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“Do you eat jaecheop soup? I booked this place because Professor Park Tae-hee likes it. It’s also a local favorite. You know how famous Seomjin River jaecheop is, right?”
She was more talkative than usual. People tended to be less talkative when they were tired. They spoke only when necessary, and sometimes they didn’t even want to.
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But the invigorating energy of the morning made Cho-yeon brighter and more talkative than usual.
“Yes, I know. I eat jaecheop soup too.”
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He replied in a voice that clearly showed his fatigue, but he seemed pleasant and indifferent. Suddenly, it occurred to her that his speech might have been a trait that came from his job. She also remembered how he had apologized on the bus yesterday for slipping into his usual way of speaking after checking the itinerary.
But his tone wasn’t authoritative. His way of maintaining emotional distance and expressing his opinions clearly was dry but polite.
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They walked in silence to the restaurant, about a kilometer away. They could hear the gurgling of a stream beside the road and the chirping of unidentified insects.
“What’s making that sound?”
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She wanted to start a conversation on a topic he was familiar with.
“It’s the sound of grasshoppers chirping.”
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“Grasshoppers chirp?”
“Yes, they do.”
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“Why?”
It seemed like a silly question, but he answered seriously.
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“It’s their mating season. It’s their courtship song to attract mates.”
Suddenly, she remembered the contents of his trunk.
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“Those specimens in the trunk back then… he said they were insects in the midst of mating.”
“He said?”
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His question was suddenly sharp.
“Ah, I didn’t get a good look because I was flustered. My friend, the one who was there when we exchanged trunks, told me they were specimens of mating insects. Were they caught mating?”
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His face seemed brighter than before, as if he appreciated her curiosity.
“Yes. They were frozen in liquid nitrogen.”
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“A kind of insect death by snu snu, then.”
She had slept well, felt refreshed, enjoyed the scent of the wild flowers, found the chirping of the grasshoppers pleasant, and in her excitement the words ‘insect death by snu snu’ had slipped out. She felt as if she were being frozen in liquid nitrogen.
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