TET Ch 5

Looking at his dry eyes, like the autumn wind, Yeonha suddenly realized something.

It wasn’t a child’s mischievous prank that killed a real frog, but the ‘pitiful frog’s heart,’ helplessly susceptible to that prank.

Whatever his answer had been, she would have wanted to find some positive clue within it. She would have dissected his response word by word, agonizing until she found a hint of the meaning she desired.

The frog was already fully prepared to be hit by the child’s stone.

Thus, Yeonha’s boldly thrown question ended anti-climactically. Once again, only the quiet chirping of crickets filled the air.

After walking for some time, they arrived at a cluster of shops at the entrance of the village, a place one could hardly call a bustling street.

The shops were already closed.

The only place still open was an old franchise convenience store, its sign barely legible.

“Wait a moment.”

Kanghyun left Yeonha on the street and entered the convenience store alone.

A shabby convenience store in the dark countryside. And inside, casually strolling, was Seo Kanghyun, the next owner of Korea’s largest conglomerate.

Yeonha couldn’t take her eyes off the strange and bizarre sight.

Kanghyun, picking up various items from the shelves, suddenly turned his gaze towards the front glass window. As if it were meant to be, their eyes met.

Yeonha subtly turned her head away, as if she had been caught stealing glances at his profile.

Then she encountered an unexpected view.

The shimmering night sky and the dark horizon dividing the endless rice paddies.

“Ah…”

Yeonha sighed softly at the captivating darkness unfolding before her eyes. The countryside night was truly clear and beautiful.

She walked over to a nearby blue plastic chair and sat down.

The hard, cold feel, the fragrant smell of grass, and the clear night air enveloped her.

Her head swam with the effects of alcohol and excitement.

It felt as if the real Ban Yeonha, chased by enormous debt, was drifting away into the distant darkness.

She sat there for a long time, blankly staring ahead, when someone sat on the chair across from her, separated by a table.

A person she could recognize without looking.

Kanghyun placed the items he had bought from the convenience store in front of Yeonha.

Wet wipes, medical bandages, bottled water, a hangover drink, warm honey water, cold ice, candy.

It was a strange assortment.

And the strangest of all was a cheap chocolate bar, the kind made and sold for years by a domestic confectionery company.

“Eat.”

Which one should she eat first?

Surely… not this?

Yeonha glanced at the particularly eye-catching chocolate bar and then at Kanghyun. A strangely emotionless laugh threatened to escape her.

“You said it wasn’t good for you.”

Kanghyun followed her gaze to the chocolate and replied,

“That’s right.”

“Then why…”

This isn’t like the high-quality chocolate I occasionally include in your refreshments, or the ones Secretary Kim gave me…

Kanghyun answered in a gentle yet dry voice.

“It’s okay. Because I’m giving it to you.”

“…….”

“You only have to like what I give you.”

He threw another pebble. Like ripples spreading in a circle, her heart swelled.

Yeonha quietly picked up the chocolate and thought for a moment.

Could the pebbles I throw have any impact on you?

She knew it was impossible. Still, she wanted to try at least once.

“I never liked the one Secretary Kim gave me.”

Did he understand what she meant?

That she, too, wanted to like only what he gave her. That she, too, wanted to throw such futile stones at him.

Yeonha held the chocolate tightly in her hand and observed Kanghyun’s reaction.

And she saw it.

Him smiling.

Ah.

Yeonha stared at Kanghyun with the same expression she had worn while looking at the countryside night scene.

The corners of his lips curved upwards in a beautiful motion.

“I gave it to you to eat, not to keep.”

“…Now?”

“Yes.”

I want to take it home and keep it…

Yeonha reluctantly peeled the wrapper off the chocolate. As always, his words held an irresistible power.

The chocolate stuck slightly to the thin aluminum foil. She must have been gripping it quite tightly.

Such a waste.

She unconsciously moved to lick the traces left on the wrapper, but stopped. Fortunately, she still had enough sense left to refrain.

As she bit into the chocolate, she felt a warm gaze clinging to her eyes and cheeks. She was relieved once again that she hadn’t licked the wrapper.

While Yeonha ate the chocolate, Kanghyun waited silently.

Rather than waiting, he was silently, intently, watching Yeonha.

It made Yeonha’s stomach churn. She could barely taste the sugary chocolate.

“Is it delicious?”

“…Yes.”

“Give me some too.”

“Yes?”

Unlike his deepening gaze, his voice was utterly dry. Yeonha was once again impressed by the consistency of Seo Kanghyun.

“This is probably much worse for you than the chocolate you told me to dispose of.”

Kanghyun narrowed his eyes as if he’d heard something strange. He seemed displeased with her answer.

Yeonha looked down at the chocolate.

How should she give it to him?

The surface had melted quite a bit, and it didn’t seem like she could break off a piece cleanly.

As if sensing her dilemma, Kanghyun quietly stood up and sat down in front of Yeonha.

Her chocolate-colored eyes, half-glazed from the alcohol, and his dark, firm eyes met at the same level.

“…….”

“…….”

Before the flustered Yeonha could ask anything, Kanghyun took her hand and gently pulled it towards him, taking a bite of the chocolate.

Right from the spot where her small bite mark was.

“Ah…”

Her heart felt like it was going to explode.

Chocolate smudged beside his sensual, red lips. But he didn’t care. He focused solely on slowly savoring the chocolate in his mouth.

While staring at Yeonha.

More precisely, while staring intently at Yeonha’s lower lip.

Only then did Yeonha realize the source of the sweet scent that was wafting up to her nose. He was looking at the chocolate smudged on her lower lip.

The warmth that had subsided in the cool night air spread again, heating her cheeks.

Could the act of eating chocolate be this sensual?

Yeonha had never been in a relationship, never even been kissed. But looking at that languid gaze, she felt she knew exactly what he wanted to savor. Because…

Actually, she was curious too.

Would the taste of the brown mark on those blood-red lips be as sweet as the taste lingering in her mouth?

Her heart and the world pounded with that curiosity.

“So, have you thought about what you’ll give me?”

His voice was calm, unlike his intense gaze.

He was starting that conversation now, in this situation?

Yeonha tried to calm her quickening breath and forced herself to recall what she had been agonizing over for three days. But it wasn’t easy. Her gaze couldn’t leave his lips, and her ears were ringing.

This wouldn’t do.

“If it’s alright with you…”

She tried to avert her gaze, but…

“If it’s alright with me?”

Kanghyun picked up where she left off, slowly licking his own lips.

Ah.

Surprised by a sudden, inexplicable thirst, Yeonha’s eyes met Kanghyun’s waiting gaze.

Her lips moved mechanically.

“If it’s alright with you, could you give me a little more time? No matter how much I think about it, something that would be useful to you…”

Saying so, Yeonha licked the chocolate off her lip. Seeing Kanghyun’s clean lips made her feel like she should do the same.

Kanghyun’s eyes flicked down and then back up to meet hers. His renewed gaze was no longer dry.

He stared intently at Yeonha, as if searching for something that had flowed away and disappeared.

“Well, it’s true that I have more. Then…”

“…….”

“Is there anything Secretary Ban wants?”

“Yes?”

He enunciated each syllable clearly.

“What you want from me.”

Was it her imagination? His eyes seemed dark and moist.

They drew in Yeonha’s gaze helplessly.

Kanghyun blatantly scanned Yeonha’s eyes, cheeks, lips, and neck with his gaze.

Her skin flushed under his dark gaze. Her heart pounded in her chest.

When Kanghyun’s eyes met hers again, his voice was no longer dry either.

“Tell me. What you want.”

His voice resonated like a shaman’s spell.

As if encouraging her hesitant gaze, he added kindly,

“Right now, what do you want?”

Yeonha moistened her dry lips and finally succumbed to the temptation.

“…A kiss.”

The impure thought that had been stuck in her mind since the moment he bit into the chocolate escaped into the world without any filter.

He chuckled, relaxed like a victor.

And in an instant, he pulled her face towards him.

Before she could even think, What is this?, a soft, supple touch landed on her lips.

Her shoulders flinched.

He slowly, tantalizingly licked the remnants of the cheap chocolate from Yeonha’s lips. The languid act continued, making her heart melt.

Her heart sank, viscous like his flesh against hers.

Around the time she became aware of her hot, ragged breaths escaping between their lips…

Kanghyun lifted his thumb and slowly rubbed Yeonha’s wet lips, still licking the corner of her mouth with his tongue.

It was strange.

The touch of his fingertips on her lips felt hotter than her own breath. The firm pressure of his touch was clearly excited.

And finally, he delved inside, tracing the tender skin inside Yeonha’s lips. At the intrusion of the unfamiliar, firm touch, Yeonha reflexively closed her lips.

“Haah.”

He let out a low breath, his thumb still caught between their joined lips.

It was a blatant moan, hot enough to make Yeonha’s lower abdomen tingle.

A strange feeling ran down her spine. As if he was slowly undoing and releasing a restraint button he had been holding down for a long time.

The chocolate on her lips must have been long gone, yet he continued to trace her lips with his tongue, as if searching for something.

Yeonha obediently closed her eyes, ready to offer whatever it was he sought. If he was searching for something from her, she was willing to give anything at this moment.

She slowly parted her lips, which had been blocking his finger.

“Haah. Ban Yeonha.”

His lips parted from hers. But Yeonha didn’t feel disappointed.

Because she was certain.

Certain that he would return soon, more fiercely.

“You only like what I give you.”

Looking at Yeonha with her eyes closed, Kanghyun repeated what he had said before, his voice raspy as if he had thrown and ground something within him onto this countryside dirt road.

Yeonha understood what he meant.

“…Yes.”

Something was about to enter her mouth.

And that something belonged only to Seo Kanghyun.

As if to make up for the time their lips were apart, Kanghyun quickly closed the distance again.

This time, he tilted his head and properly captured Yeonha’s lips. Where his finger, which had been exploring the tender flesh inside her mouth, reluctantly retreated, a wet, soft flesh intruded.

“Ah.”

Yeonha let out a soft, unidentifiable gasp.

The blood rushed to her head.

And she was completely consumed.

Seo Kanghyun, who had seemed so dry and cold, was surprisingly hot all over.

His two hands cupping her cheeks.

His smoothly wet lips.

His breath escaping between their lips.

Even his ferocious desire, as if to devour every inch of her.

The darkness spread like the universe.

The old, white light illuminating their backs.

On the hard plastic chair.

Their first spark ignited there.

As hot as she had longed for, and a little impatiently.

It was a dazzling, distant night.