DFY Ch 4

Driven by curiosity, Junwoo pressed Sodam about the reason for her breakup, even though he knew it was rude.

But Sodam didn’t answer. Instead, she fled to the restroom.

When she didn’t return for a while, Junwoo started to get anxious. Her belongings were still there, so she hadn’t gone home. He suddenly felt a pang of fear. Could she be in the restroom, crying because he’d asked about her broken engagement?

Junwoo stood up and headed towards the restroom. The women’s restroom door was locked tight.

“Ms. Wang Sodam? Ms. Wang Sodam, are you in there?”

There was no sound from inside.

Worried, Junwoo pounded on the door, wondering if he should call the manager. Just then, the door opened, and Sodam stumbled out.

“Oh? It’s the team leader…”

Had she gotten drunk in that short time?

Sodam slurred her words.

“Team leader, do you need to pee too? Hurry up and go! We need to have another drink!”

Drunk Sodam had no filter. But Junwoo was so smitten that he found her words endearing, a smile spreading across his face.

Sodam staggered ahead. She couldn’t even find the private room where they had been dining, wandering around confused.

As Junwoo hesitated, wondering what to do, Sodam swayed and reached for the wall. But her arm lacked strength, and she slid down.

Junwoo barely managed to catch her before she hit the floor and helped her back into the private room.

Sodam’s eyes were glazed over, as if her reason had vanished.

Was the pain of heartbreak that intense? It must be so hard. To be on the verge of marriage with a man she’d loved for five years and then have it end…she must feel like dying.

Thinking about how devastated Sodam must be, Junwoo’s heart ached. He felt this way after just one year of unrequited love; he couldn’t imagine the depth of Sodam’s pain after five years.

“Let’s go.”

Junwoo helped Sodam up and gathered her belongings. Unable to stand on her own, Sodam leaned heavily against him. Junwoo felt a surge of pleasure as the petite woman nestled against his chest. It wasn’t how he’d imagined holding her, but…

Hours earlier, in the elevator, Sodam had tensed up, resisting his embrace. Now, completely drunk, she melted into his arms.

His heart fluttered uncontrollably. He knew it was wrong to have these thoughts about a heartbroken woman, but he desperately wanted to capture her heart, right then and there.

Outside the restaurant, Junwoo hailed a cab. He couldn’t send a drunk Sodam home alone in a taxi, so he joined her in the backseat.

“Where to?” the driver asked.

Junwoo nudged the dozing Sodam.

“Ms. Wang Sodam? Tell me your address.”

Annoyed at being woken, Sodam frowned and rubbed her eyes. Then she gestured for Junwoo to come closer.

His heart pounded. As he leaned in, she whispered in his ear,

“You asked me earlier why I broke up with my boyfriend, right?”

Why bring it up now? He was conscious of the taxi driver watching them in the rearview mirror, waiting for the address, but he wanted to hear her answer.

“My boyfriend…” Sodam began to sob. What could have happened to make her cry like this? He wanted to find the man and throttle him for hurting Sodam.

“He…sniff…”

Tears rolled down Sodam’s pretty face. Junwoo’s heart twisted. Sodam was the one who’d been dumped, but he felt his own heart breaking.

“Well, sniff, my boyfriend…”

“Did he cheat on you?”

Junwoo asked, unable to contain his frustration.

Sodam wiped her tears and looked at him with glistening eyes.

“My boyfriend… he was impotent.”

“What did you say?”

Impotent? He must have misheard. Impotent? No penis? No testicles? Surely not both?

Junwoo furrowed his brow. Sodam’s shocking revelation left his mind in turmoil.

“Sir! Where are we going?!” the driver yelled impatiently.

After whispering her confession about her impotent boyfriend, Sodam fell fast asleep.

Junwoo’s mind raced. What should he do with his drunk subordinate? Under pressure from the increasingly irritated driver, he blurted out his own address.

“Hannam-dong, please.”

As the taxi headed towards Hannam-dong, Junwoo pondered the definition of impotence. Was there another meaning he wasn’t aware of? He searched for “impotent” in the online dictionary. The definition confirmed his understanding, and he sank deeper into his contemplation. What could possibly be wrong with the man’s genitalia?

✦ ✦ ✦

He’d given his address on impulse, but now, standing in front of his apartment, he was in a quandary. It was a dangerous world. He didn’t want to leave a drunk woman alone in a hotel, fearing the worst.

Junwoo scooped Sodam up in his arms like a bride. They said drunk people were heavy, like wet cotton, but petite Sodam felt as light as a feather.

“Ms. Sodam will sleep in my bed,” he murmured to the unconscious woman, then carried her inside.

He went straight to his bedroom, still unable to believe he had brought Wang Sodam to his apartment.

“Sleep well, Ms. Sodam.”

His heart raced.

As he gently laid Sodam on the bed and covered her with a blanket, she suddenly opened her eyes.

Junwoo jumped, feeling guilty. Was it wrong to bring his drunk subordinate to his home? But he couldn’t just leave her anywhere…

Lost in thought, he didn’t notice Sodam suddenly grab his tie and yank it hard.

“Oof!”

He tumbled onto her. Aware of the compromising position, he tried to get up, but Sodam only tightened her grip.

“Team leader, I have one question for you.”

She spoke with surprising clarity.

“Gasp… Please let go of my tie first.”

“Not until you answer.”

“What… what is it?”

Despite being choked, the fact that Sodam was beneath him was strangely exciting.

“Team leader, are you impotent too?”

Junwoo’s face contorted.

“Impotent? What do you mean? Are you asking if I… lack genitalia?”

No matter how much he adored Sodam, this was an offensive question. He couldn’t exactly drop his pants to prove her wrong. Apparently, Wang Sodam didn’t realize a man’s confidence came from between his legs. What did she take his overflowing confidence for?

“Team leader.”

“Yes, Ms. Wang Sodam.”

“Do you know what’s most important in a marriage?”

Sodam suddenly threw him a curveball. Marriage required many things: compatible families, similar backgrounds, shared values. But beyond all that, he believed the one thing that could bind a man and a woman together forever was love.

Confidently, he answered, “Love, of course.”

“Wrong!”

Sodam declared, releasing his tie.

Junwoo quickly loosened the tie around his neck, finally able to breathe properly. Still, he didn’t move from his position on top of her.

“Then what is it?”

“The most important thing in a marriage…” Sodam paused, then smirked.

“Is an unyielding penis!”

An unyielding penis? His head spun. Did this mean she really had broken up with her boyfriend of five years because of his…equipment? He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Junwoo was utterly bewildered.