MS Ch 2 part 2

It was the sound of the front door opening. Euncho’s eyes burst open. She quickly pulled her hand back and dragged her pants and underwear up. She barely managed to fix herself before the door opened.

“Omo, sweetie. You’re not asleep yet?”

“Uh, yeah. Mom, you’re home?”

Euncho pretended to greet her mother as she got up from the blanket.

“It’s late, so why aren’t you sleeping?”

“I was, but I woke up. I was just about to go to the bathroom.”

“I see.”

Euncho lowered her head and nearly ran to the bathroom. Click. She flipped the switch, and a yellowish light illuminated the room. Euncho quickly washed her hands in the sink.

“Euncho, I need to wash up. Are you going to take long?”

“N-No. I’m going out now.”

She hurriedly turned off the faucet, but she couldn’t leave right away. She recalled the moan that had left her lips not that long ago, and her ears began to burn.

But that wasn’t the problem.

Even though she had removed her hand, she still felt uncomfortable somewhere deep inside her belly. As if it were yearning for something. Along with lingering curiosity.

* * *

Now that summer break had officially begun, Euncho was rolling around at home. Just before 11 AM, she received a text message from Heejin.

Euncho hadn’t been thinking about anything before she got the text, so when she saw the word ‘bibimbap’, her eyes widened. She did need to eat… After mulling over what to do, Euncho sent Heejin a message saying she’d join her. She quickly received a reply.

Euncho took the rice paddle and scraped up all the cold rice she had. A bitter feeling spread inside her heart. She hadn’t seen Heejin in a while. Even though it wasn’t intentional, she didn’t think she could face Heejin, so Euncho hadn’t left the apartment very often lately.

And naturally, a certain man would come to mind whenever she thought of Heejin. Euncho stroked her lower stomach. It was the place where Ki Taeju’s hand had touched.

Whenever she recalled his touch, Euncho’s entire body would shiver and tremble. Even though it wasn’t anything special, she would also remember that night when she had secretly played with herself.

Ultimately, because of all this, Euncho didn’t have the courage to face Heejin. Unnie and Ki Taeju. Their relationship. Although it couldn’t be defined, she could not deny that tangling bodies like that was somewhat special.

Euncho couldn’t shake off the feeling that she had needlessly slipped herself in between two people. It felt awkward.

“Is my Euncho finally here?”

When she arrived at Unit 203, Heejin called out. She greeted Euncho warmly. Judging from her eyes, it didn’t seem like she knew anything. Because her unnie’s face was relaxed, Euncho naturally began to behave like nothing was wrong.

“Why did you want bibimbap all of a sudden?”

“I was on my way back from work when it came to me. The summer of the year before last, the two of us and Auntie went up to the rooftop and ate some together. Maybe it popped into my head because it’s summertime now.”

Heejin took the cold rice from Euncho and dumped it into a large brass bowl before adding some red pepper paste.

“Has Auntie gone to work already?”

“Yeah.”

“Auntie has been working hard lately. I saw her leaving for work when I came home yesterday. She probably left early this morning, too.”

“You’re right. That’s why I’m always home alone these days. That was probably going to be the case today as well if you hadn’t invited me over and saved me.”

Euncho began to whine to Heejin about the things she couldn’t tell anyone else. Heejin chuckled and stroked the back of Euncho’s head.

“Shall I add some fried eggs? Over-easy?”

“Obviously over-easy.”

The smell of boiling oil filled the small room. Like the time they ate ramen together, they sat across from each other at the small table and ate the bibimbap.

“Unnie, do you want to try this on?”

Rubbing her full stomach, Euncho was walking out of the apartment when she suddenly pulled out the wishing bracelets she had brought with her. Before summer break had begun, Euncho had managed to receive some wishing bracelets, an accessory that was trending these days.

“What is it?”

“They’re wishing bracelets. They say that if you put one on as you go about your day and it snaps off, it means your wish will be granted. It’s the hot trend right now among teenagers.”

Heejin put her pale skin up against the bracelet bands. She realized that Euncho had done her best to pick the colors that matched her, so she began to laugh.

“Your wish will be granted? How cute.”

“You don’t believe it, do you, Unnie? I’m telling you, there’s a kid that had their wish granted for real. They said they were wearing this one day when it snapped off. The next day, the guy she liked confessed to her.”

“If that’s what you consider a wish, isn’t it too weak? At the very least, it should be something like winning the lottery.”

“You’re too worldly, Unnie…”

Heejin’s smile grew brighter at Euncho’s grumble.

“Let’s give you the green one.”

“Okay, I’ll take one. But I don’t know if I’ll be able to take care of it properly before it snaps.”

“Why not?”

Heejin did not answer. When she was met with silence, Euncho looked up. Heejin’s bright smile had transformed into a bitter one.

When Euncho saw this, she realized.

By working a job where she sold her body, she was basically leaving her dignity in someone else’s hands. Even if someone mistreated her, they would pay the price with money, leaving no room for her own resistance.

One day, Heejin-unnie said something in passing. She told Euncho that there were many people who paid for a night who would ask to do unimaginably terrible things. If she were seeing people like that, it wouldn’t be surprising if one of them snapped the bracelet off and threw it to the side.

“If it snaps off, I’ll just tie another one on for you.”

Euncho didn’t ask any further and spoke up. Heejin laughed and stroked Euncho’s cheek.

“Huh? Unnie, your nail polish came off.”

After tying the bracelet on her wrist, Euncho had been pulling her hands back when she noticed the state of Heejin’s nails. It must have been scratched off at some point because it had rubbed off in patches. Heejin looked at her fingernails as if they didn’t belong to her and murmured, ‘You’re right’.

“Do you want me to paint them for you?”

“I’d be grateful if you did.”

Euncho took the nail polish that Heejin pulled out and carefully lifted the brush. She needed a lot more focus to paint Heejin’s nails than she did when she tied the bracelet. Her hand tensed around the brush. She must have looked so serious because Heejin began to laugh.

“Seeing you like this takes me back.”

“Takes you back?”

“Yeah. The day you first visited my place.”

Back then, Euncho had just entered middle school, and her mother was late getting back from work. She was home alone, hungry, and waiting for a meal. At the time, their situation was even worse than it was now, so their apartment didn’t even have side dishes. And because she was still just a student, she didn’t have any money to buy food. All she had was a crumpled 1,000 won bill.

Euncho decided to at least buy herself an ice cream at the convenience store and walked out of the apartment with the 1,000 won bill. She had just picked up the chocolate-flavored ice cream bar when she heard someone speak up next to her.

‘Ah, hi there.’

It was Heejin, who was just now getting home from work.

‘Hello.’

‘You’re going to eat ice cream?’

‘Yes.’

At the time, they had only met in passing, so Euncho felt awkward.

‘I’ll buy that for you. Have you eaten yet?’

‘No.’

‘You aren’t going to eat before you have dessert?’

‘There’s no food at home, so…’

When Heejin heard Euncho’s timid voice, her eyes widened. Everyone was in the same boat around here, so Heejin read between the lines of what Euncho told her and smiled.

‘That’s too bad. At your age, you should be focused on growing. Do you want to come to Unnie’s house and eat something before heading back?’

Heejin’s unexpected offer startled Euncho. But Heejin’s friendly demeanor won her over, and she slowly nodded.

‘You can eat this as a snack later.’

After paying at the register, Heejin handed the chocolate ice cream to Euncho and led her to her apartment. That day was the first time Euncho had eaten food made by a stranger. After eating, Heejin told her that Euncho should play at her place for a bit before heading back if no one was home.

Now that her belly was full, Euncho realized how awkward this was. Wondering whether she should head back or not, Euncho looked around. Her eyes stopped at the bottles of nail polish in the drawer.

‘Do you want to try?’

Heejin realized that Euncho was showing interest in the nail polish and asked in a friendly voice. Euncho felt that this was the moment when everything began. Even though they did not share a drop of blood, they began to treat each other like true sisters.

“Unnie, what did you think of me back then?”

“What did I think of you?”

“As you played with me. Did you regret bringing me over?”

Euncho straightened up and asked in a playful voice. Mm, Heejin hummed as she propped her chin in her hand. Heejin let out a spirited ‘Jeez’ before bursting into laughter.

“I wish I had a little sister like Euncho.”

“Hm?”

“That’s what I was thinking. Back then.”

Heejin’s smile was as soft as silk. And the words that came out of her mouth were no different. Even though Euncho was the one who had asked, the answer was unexpectedly sincere, and it made her feel bashful. Realizing this, Heejin poked Euncho’s cheek and said, “Aah, look who’s embarrassed.”

They joked around like this until Euncho successfully finished painting Heejin’s nails. Heejin checked her phone that had been placed in the corner. After staring at the screen for a moment, she told Euncho that she was feeling tired after eating all that food.

When Euncho heard her sudden excuse, she immediately realized what it meant. To keep Heejin from feeling awkward, Euncho told her she’d head back to her own apartment now.

She took the remaining bands of the wishing bracelets along with the container for the rice and left Heejin’s apartment.

Once she arrived at the third-floor corridor, Euncho did not enter her apartment. Instead, she stood still. She stood in front of her kitchen window where the man usually stood and looked down from the railing.

A few moments later, a sleek sedan appeared and parked in front of the villa.

A man with a familiar face got out of the car. His face was more than familiar now.

Ki Taeju.

He was the person who had contacted Heejin-unnie.

Before he noticed her, Euncho turned around and entered her apartment.

Bang. The door closed, and she was plunged into darkness. The day had quickly passed as she chatted with Heejin. The dark sky was now pushing the sun down. Euncho shook off the strange feeling that crept up her feet and took off her shoes.

She found the remote buried underneath the pile of blankets and turned on the TV. She flipped a switch on the wall, and the yellow lamp on the ceiling turned on. She walked to the refrigerator and pulled out the 1.5-liter bottle of water. Even though the veranda door was half-open, the room still felt suffocating, so Euncho opened it completely.

She sat down and leaned against the wall opposite the TV. She clicked a button on the remote and flipped through the channels.

A group of panelists burst into raucous laughter, but Euncho didn’t hear anything. All her other senses were working fine, but her hearing seemed to have stopped working.

A few moments later, she realized that the TV was muted.

Euncho didn’t turn the sound on right away. Instead, she continued to sit in silence, her body stiff. The apartment looked the same today as it did yesterday. The heavy silence pressed down starting from the top of her head. For some reason, the silence felt different today. It caused goosebumps to rise on her skin. This would occasionally happen whenever she was left alone in the apartment while her mother was at work.

Her body was here, but her heart felt like it was somewhere else. She felt like she was on the edge of a cliff, on the verge of falling. Euncho did her best to deny it. Deny that all of her nerves were focused on the unit downstairs in Heejin’s apartment. Her curiosity was so intense that it could have burst through the walls as it made its way to its target.

He came again. To see Heejin-unnie.

If he reached out to Heejin-unnie, it meant that he wanted to see if she was home. And since he was here, they were probably doing that. Like last time. After taking all of their clothes off. Rolling around the linoleum floor like animals. Would Heejin-unnie cry today, too? Would she turn into a mess as the area between her legs grew wet?

No. This isn’t it. I don’t think this is right. Thinking of Heejin-unnie like this is inappropriate.

Euncho sat like a broken doll. Suddenly, she burst up to her feet.

She felt like she was thinking these thoughts because she wasn’t doing anything. At times like this, it was better to move around. Euncho glanced at the corner of the room and found something to do.

The blankets.

I better wash the blankets.

These past few days, she found herself sweating in her sleep. She dragged the comforter out. She pulled out hers, her mother’s, and the spare and walked into the bathroom.

She took out a large basin and filled it with lukewarm water before adding some detergent. She put all of the blankets into the basin and stepped into the basin with her bare feet. Squish, squish. She stepped down on the blankets evenly so that they would be clean. She knew she should be careful and pay attention so that she didn’t fall, but her mind was a bit scattered.

She stepped on the blankets for a few more minutes before rinsing them. She stomped on the blankets again to squeeze the remaining water out. She repeated this a few more times until beads of sweat formed on her forehead.

It was still summertime. Her breaths grew ragged because of the hot weather. Her throat was dry. She decided to drink some water once she was done with the laundry.

She struggled to wring the water out of the blankets and did her best to squeeze it out on her own. The blankets were now a lot heavier due to the water. She managed to wrap them around her shoulders. After thrusting her feet into her slippers, she exited the apartment.

The sky had gotten a little darker. Euncho couldn’t help but look down.

The black sedan was still here.

When she saw the sedan that was as dark as the night, she frowned. How much time had passed since she’d started washing the blankets? Was he still at Unnie’s house? Euncho held onto the last of her pride and refused to look back down as she walked towards the rooftop.

She took each blanket out and shook them. Then she barely managed to hang them on the clothesline. Unlike clothes, the blankets needed to be completely dry in order to avoid wrinkles. Judging from the clear sky, the weather was going to be dry for the foreseeable future.

Thanks to Euncho’s handiwork, the three rectangular comforters were now blowing in the breeze. Even when she saw how flat and tidy they were, she didn’t feel better.

In the end, Euncho ended up succumbing to the urge. She couldn’t help it. It gnawed at her, and her heart kept slipping. The man who had come in and out of her own home was currently inside Heejin-unnie’s apartment.

With the door tightly closed, they were probably doing the deed secretly, away from prying eyes and ears. The thought made her stomach churn. Even though she didn’t want to imagine it, it was as if her mind had short-circuited. It began to act all on its own. She kept seeing it over and over again. The two of them together.

Her stomach began to burn.

She suddenly remembered how Ki Taeju’s palm had slipped onto the skin of her stomach. It seemed that Euncho remembered the feel of his fingers more clearly than the man they belonged to.

His hand circled her belly as it pressed down and then pulled away at the perfect moment. His randomly moving hand would occasionally indicate that it wanted to move upwards. However, before it reached the roundness of her lower breasts, it would lose its courage and fall back down as it stroked her belly button once again.

Euncho could clearly feel the waves of heat that seemed to surge from his actions.

At that time, Ki Taeju…

“…Ah.”

A damp breath burst out of her lips.

She discovered Ki Taeju leaning against his car as he looked up at her on the rooftop. Since when had he been there?

Euncho froze and stared back at him as he languidly smoked a cigarette. He must have just lit it because the white shaft of the cigarette was still long. Huu—, Ki Taeju pulled the cigarette out of his mouth and breathed out the smoke.

Her eyes remained fixed on him as he disappeared behind the smoke and reappeared when it scattered.

He ruffled his hair as if he were dissatisfied. His smooth, waxed hair grew disheveled under the night sky. Then he straightened up.

Was he leaving the villa? Now that he had gotten what he’d come here for with Heejin-unnie?

Unlike her expectations, Ki Taeju walked towards the villa. Was he going to Heejin-unnie again? Even though she thought this was certain, her heart couldn’t help but race. She heard echoes of someone’s footsteps coming up the staircase leading to the rooftop.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Ki Taeju’s familiar voice emerged on the rooftop.

Because he was so tall, he had to bend down as he passed through the door. He asked the question as he walked towards her. Euncho’s eyes tensed at his abruptly aggressive attitude.

“What do you mean?”

“What are you doing here?”

Her ridiculous question was answered with another question. Euncho quietly gazed up at Ki Taeju as he stood in front of her. Then she looked behind her.

“I’m washing the blankets.”

“Is that so?”

“……”

“The blankets from your place?”

“Of course. Why would I wash someone else’s blankets?”

Why was he asking a question with such an obvious answer?

When she snapped at him in a vexed voice, Ki Taeju laughed. He leaned back against the banister. As he continued to smoke, he gazed at the blankets Euncho had hung on the clothesline with much difficulty.

Something warm flickered in his languid eyes. Euncho felt that Ki Taeju’s eyes looked lewd. She didn’t know why she felt this way. She felt her stomach contract. The tension between them felt so strange, so she opened her mouth.

“Does that taste good?”

The topic switched to the cigarette between his lips.

Ki Taeju pulled the cigarette out and glanced down at Euncho. His eyes seemed relaxed as he observed her face. Then he burst into laughter.

“Don’t. You’ll get hurt.”

It seemed that he thought Euncho was actually interested in smoking cigarettes.

“I’ll get hurt…”

“Why are you suddenly curious about this?”

“Just ‘cuz. Whenever I see you, you’re smoking.”

When he heard this, Ki Taeju pulled the cigarette out of his mouth and quietly stared at her. As the embers of the cigarette glowed, a thin sliver of smoke rose in the air. Euncho could taste it on the tip of her tongue. It was bitter.

“Do you think I do this because it’s tasty? I do it because it’s a habit.”

“Do people get addicted to it?”

“Probably.”

Ki Taeju pushed the cigarette back between his lips and looked back at Euncho. His eyes seemed to be assessing her. Euncho did not avoid his gaze and met his eyes.

“Are you that curious?”

Euncho must have had a stubbornly curious look on her face because Ki Taeju asked in a languid voice. She wasn’t particularly curious, but the man’s behavior was gentle as if it wouldn’t take much for him to let her try. As if she were in a trance, Euncho nodded.

“Just try one puff.”

He held out the cigarette that had been in his mouth. He shook it as if telling her to take it. On one hand, it seemed playful, but on the other hand, it felt like a challenge.

There was no harm in putting it up against her lips. Euncho took the cigarette. Even though he was the one who had given it to her, when Euncho took it from him, he froze.

Euncho lowered her eyes and brought the filter of the cigarette up to her red lips. She slowly sucked the cigarette and breathed out the pleasant, inky smoke. It was bitter, potent, and sour… Euncho felt the flavor sticking to the walls of her mouth and looked up. Ki Taeju’s eyes were staring intently at her lips.

“Why…”

She couldn’t finish asking him why he was staring at her. As if he’d returned to his senses when he heard her quiet voice, Ki Taeju dragged his eyes away from Euncho’s lips.

As soon as the single drag was completed, he snatched the cigarette back. He leaned even further back against the banister and sucked on the cigarette as he stared into Euncho’s eyes. This time, Euncho was the one who couldn’t look away. Even though she’d seen him do this countless times before, her neck was stiff as he smoked right in front of her.

Ki Taeju’s lips stretched into a grin.

“We just had an indirect kiss.”

He gestured to the filter of the cigarette with his eyes. As if savoring the flavor, his tongue poked out and licked his lips.

“Though I have to say, this kind of thing is too childish for me.”

“……”

“Ah, is this too much for the upstairs baby?”

He murmured to himself and snickered. Euncho’s head stirred.

Ki Taeju was acting strange. Even though there was absolutely no need for it, he was being mean. As if he were trying to lighten the tense, suffocating mood.

“Do you kiss Heejin-unnie?”

For some reason, Euncho felt bad, and the question hissed out through her teeth in a fit of rage.

“How is that any of your business? Are you going to glare at me and tell me to stop bothering her again?”

Euncho took that as a yes.

Euncho felt her mind slowly sink and grow dark. However, she did not take her eyes off Ki Taeju’s lips. She stared openly as if she couldn’t see anything else.

The smile on Ki Taeju’s lips gradually disappeared.

The breeze subsided, and the air grew still. The two of them continued to stare at each other with blank expressions, and their eyes did not waver. Euncho wasn’t sure if it was because of the sweltering summer weather, but it felt like their eyes were burning into each other. Her palms began to tremble.

“Do you want to take another puff?”

Ki Taeju broke the silence. As if she were completely bewitched, Euncho’s head slowly nodded.

Even though he was the one who had offered, the man took a deep drag of the cigarette.

While Euncho stared at him, dumbstruck, Kim Taeju grabbed Euncho’s chin and pressed his lips against hers.

When her mouth opened in shock, the smoke flowed from his mouth to hers. Euncho’s shoulders hunched back. She reflexively dragged her foot as she took a step back, but Ki Taeju followed her. He took advantage of her parted lips and deepened the kiss.

Because his head had been tilted to the side when he drew closer, the kiss deepened with ease. A bitter taste that caused the tip of her tongue to grow stiff entered her mouth. Something sticky and smooth soon followed.

“Hm…!”

To keep her from retreating, a thick arm wound around Euncho’s waist and pulled her forward. Tongues tangled together. When she felt something rub against her tongue, a shiver ran down her spine. As if the indirect kiss with a cigarette had made the two of them realize what was missing, they drew closer until they were clinging to each other.

Ki Taeju’s tongue lapped at the walls of Euncho’s mouth with sticky strokes. As he sucked on her mouth, he tasted every nook and cranny. Lost in the throes of the first kiss of her life, Euncho struggled to breathe as she was swept away by this man. Her half-lidded eyes trembled like aspen trees in the wind.

He held her chin and wrapped his other hand around the back of Euncho’s head. Chuu, he pulled his tongue out of her mouth and nipped and pulled at her lower lip. Seemingly pleased by its plumpness, he did this several more times, drawing it into his mouth before pulling it out. A little while later, he did this to her upper lip as well. He continued to go back and forth as he tasted her lips.

Suddenly…

“Ugh, hnng!”

He squeezed Euncho’s bottom, and Euncho shook as if she’d been struck by lightning. Ki Taeju froze. Euncho’s dazed eyes opened. She felt something hard pressing against the area between her lower stomach and thigh…

A few moments later, the arms around Euncho fell.

“F*ck!”

He frantically turned his head away as an explosive curse burst out of his mouth. He ran to the door and stormed out of the rooftop.

Left alone, Euncho covered her mouth with the back of her hand. Her wide eyes shook in confusion. The back of her hand continued to rub against her lips. They were wet with something. It was obvious what it was. It was either her saliva or his. Probably a mix of both…

Her lungs burned as she tried to catch her breath. Haa, haa. Now that her breaths were slowing down, she came back to reality.

Her hand stopped rubbing her lips when she discovered the cigarette butt on the ground. As soon as she saw it, she became alert. He kissed me. Ki Taeju kissed me. Euncho blankly looked down at it with a flushed face before running out of the rooftop.

She needed to catch Ki Taeju. Whether she managed to ask him about the kiss or not, she had a feeling that she shouldn’t send him away like this.

“…Huh?”

That’s why, when Euncho exited the villa, she suddenly had a strange feeling. She thought that when he had rushed out of the rooftop, he would run to his car and drive away. But when she got here, Ki Taeju’s sedan was still parked in its spot.

At first, she was astonished. And then she felt a rush of heat.

Don’t tell me…

Euncho reflexively turned around and looked towards the villa.

No way. There’s no way. He didn’t…

Euncho walked up the stairs and stopped in front of the door to the second-floor corridor. Her heart was racing. But it was due to a completely different reason this time. A dull pain spread throughout her chest with every beat. Something throbbed. What if her hunch was correct? An ominous feeling surged through her.

She passed by Unit 201. She skipped over Unit 202.

And now Unit 203…

The door was slightly open. As if someone had opened it in a hurry and hadn’t bothered to check if it closed behind them.

Euncho held the doorknob and slightly pulled. There was no need for her to enter. The entire studio apartment could be seen with one glance. Euncho’s feet were glued to the floor, and she was unable to walk through the doorway.

“W-Why are you suddenly… Aagh! Ugh, nng, wai—… Taeju… Haagh! Ugh, hnnng!”

Heejin’s long hair fluttered to the floor. Veins bulged on Ki Taeju’s hand as he pinned her head to the linoleum floor. Heejin was bent over like a dog, and the way he took her from behind had no sign of warmth. As if there hadn’t been any time to take their clothes off, only his pants and her skirt were pulled down. His cock frantically thrust into her dark entrance.

As Ki Taeju continued to thrust mercilessly into Heejin’s helpless body, he discovered Euncho watching them. Like that fateful day, Ki Taeju did not try to avoid her gaze. Instead, he panted and violated Eucho’s eyes, nose, and mouth with his eyes as if she were his true target. His tongue poked out and wet his lips.

Right now, anyone could tell with one glance who this man was thinking of as he embraced Heejin.

Sweat trickled down Euncho’s back. Was it due to the summer weather? No. It was cold sweat. Shock and misery. She couldn’t tell which one was more prominent as they closed around Euncho’s heart.

This… This wasn’t right.

This was an offense against Heejin and herself.

Even as he was continuing to perform this disrespectful act, Ki Taeju didn’t even blink. Instead, he seemed even more aroused as he hungrily stared at Euncho.

It was quite strange.

Her brain knew just how wrong and disgusting this was, and alarm bells began to ring inside her head. However, as she watched this scene unfold before her eyes, as she continued to look into Ki Taeju’s goading eyes, she couldn’t help but feel like she was a part of it.

A place deep inside began to tingle. Euncho stepped back as if she wanted to escape this unusual scene.

She silently closed the door. Then she covered both of her ears. Heejin’s moans and Ki Taeju’s hot gaze. They tangled together and continued to follow her.