Volume 2

 

You shall wear me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm,
for love is as strong as death, jealousy is as cruel as the grave. 

Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord.

Song of Solomon 8:6

 

07. Boundary

Taeri drifted in and out of sleep, plagued by a recurring nightmare.

‘Get out into the world, gain some experience, and come back when you’re older, kid. You’re not my match yet.’

‘You’ve grown up. And mellowed out a bit.’

‘It’s a coincidence.’

“It’s ripened just enough to be palatable now.”

‘Your father… Should I get him out?’

“If you’re so touched, then just spread them for me, Taeri.”

The dream was filled with Park Chigyeong. Her dream world was entirely consumed by him. And she wondered why she defined this dream, featuring Park Chigyeong, as a nightmare.

‘Thank you, thank you, thank you, really thank you, Prosecutor Park.’

Why did she detest this man, Park Chigyeong, so much? This man, who was trying to help them. The man who had brought a smile back to her mother’s face. The man who would soon restore her father’s honor. The man to whom her family would be indebted for life, like a benefactor.

Looking back, sleeping with him had been her choice, not anyone else’s coercion. It was she who had asked him for help in the end. But why? She couldn’t figure it out. 

Why? 

Why?

She didn’t know. She just found this man, Park Chigyeong…

‘You’re still not mellowed out. When will our Taeri finally break completely?”

…unsettling.

Gasping, Taeri opened her eyes and looked around. She was still in the bed of the unfamiliar bedroom. The orange sunset she had seen before was gone, replaced by darkness.

What time was it? 

She forced her heavy eyelids open and checked the time. 10:48 p.m. How many hours had she slept?

There was a message from Seo Jungeun on her phone.

[Taeri, how are things there? Are you comfortable? It’s so nice here. I feel almost guilty about imposing like this. He’s such a valuable connection, such a kind person. Whether things work out or not, regardless of the outcome, you and I should live with grateful hearts towards the Prosecutor. Okay, Taeri? We must.]

A valuable connection, a kind person. Right. She mustn’t forget.

Park Chigyeong was that kind of person to her family. She must never forget.

And before opening this door, before facing Park Chigyeong, whenever she started to feel uneasy about him, whenever anger surged within her, she must remind herself again and again.

Park Chigyeong is a kind person. A kind person. A kind person. A kind person. A kind person. A kind person. A kind person. A kind person. A kind person. A kind person.

Then, perhaps, he would miraculously start to seem like a kind person.

Click. 

The sudden sound of the door opening made Taeri flip her phone over and squeeze her eyes shut again. It was a reflex.

It felt like someone was peering into the room, holding the doorknob. Then came the sound of someone stepping inside. Shuffle, shuffle. The sound of slippers dragging against the floor sounded just like a snake slithering closer. Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle.

Unlike the chilling sound that stimulated her hearing, a delicious smell wafted in the room, assaulting her sense of smell.

Clack. Someone placed something down and then approached the bed. Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle, and then another scent stimulated her senses.

The strong smell of cologne. This damn cologne smell, overpowering even the smell of food.

She knew all along that the someone was Park Chigyeong. That’s why she couldn’t open her eyes. She absolutely mustn’t open her eyes.

Suddenly, a hand reached out and touched her forehead. She flinched, her body trembling involuntarily. The hand slid down, and the back of the man’s hand, with its visible veins, lingered on her cheek for a moment, as if checking her temperature.

The hand on her cheek moved away, and the goose-down duvet, which had been around her waist, was pulled up to her neck, covering her.

Was he checking if she was sick?

This simple act of kindness, which she would have accepted as natural if it had come from Seo Yijoon, felt oddly, incredibly strange coming from Park Chigyeong.

It would be much more like Park Chigyeong to kick the bed and yell, “Hey, wake up, you fucker, I know you’re pretending to sleep.” That would have been much more comfortable, for both of them.

“Oh, Prosecutor, you’re here?”

The voice of a passerby drifted into the room, like a single ray of light. The voice must belong to one of the housekeepers.

“I heard she hasn’t eaten dinner.”

Taeri felt like Park Chigyeong was deliberately lowering his voice, as if he was concerned about waking her up.

“Yes, Prosecutor. She must be very tired, as she hasn’t come down once. I brought her some porridge a few times, but she just kept sleeping without eating it. Shall I reheat some porridge for her?”

“No, it’s fine. You can go.”

“Yes, Prosecutor. Then please rest.”

Even after the housekeeper left, Park Chigyeong lingered for a while before slowly moving away. 

Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle.

They say that when sight is blocked, hearing becomes more acute. The sound of the door closing and Park Chigyeong’s footsteps descending the stairs sounded exceptionally loud, like thunder.

Finally opening her eyes, Taeri sat up. Her eyes darted around, searching for the source of the delicious smell.

On the nightstand, a little distance from the bed, was a pretty tray laden with tteokbokki¹ and fried foods. Taeri’s favorite snacks.

Her mouth watered uncontrollably, so she sat in front of the nightstand and picked up a fork.

As she carefully placed a tteokbokki in her mouth in the darkness, she thought about how the sauce of the tteokbokki the man had bought her for the first time was particularly sweet and delicious.

…Uncontrollably.

* * *

After Park Chigyeong left, sleep evaded Taeri. She simply sat on the sofa, her gaze fixed on the window.

The Han River beyond the window shimmered in various colors depending on the time. Orange during sunset, black when night enveloped the world, and a bluish hue at the break of dawn…

As she quietly observed the ever-changing Han River, the faint clinking of dishes drifted up from downstairs. Shifting her gaze from the window, she checked her phone screen.

5:00 AM. The start of a new day.

After showering and neatly grooming herself, Taeri closed her eyes and recited to herself ten times before turning the doorknob.

Park Chigyeong is a kind person. A kind person. A kind person. A kind person. A kind person. A kind person. A kind person. A kind person. A kind person. A kind person.

As she opened the door and stepped out, the second floor appeared brighter than the day before. This place was less of a house and more like a collection of art pieces. Even the sharp, right-angled structure felt artistic.

How much would a house like this cost? She thought someone like her couldn’t even imagine owning a single 5-pyeong². She needed to be careful. She might fall in love with this house at this rate.

Taeri shook her head, dismissing her admiration, and descended the stairs.

A guest was just a guest, and she was going downstairs to help the housekeeper.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs and entering the dining room, Taeri hesitated. She had expected to find only Mrs. Shin there, but an unexpected figure occupied the space.

Park Chigyeong, dressed in comfortable pants and a t-shirt, unlike his usual formal attire.

He must have just finished showering, as his hair was still damp and covered his forehead. Perhaps because of this, he looked much younger than when his forehead was exposed, a refreshing change from his usual appearance.

Taeri checked the time on her phone. 5:50 AM. He seemed to have come home late yesterday, too. When did this man sleep? Was he even human? Did he not need sleep?

Lost in these worthless thoughts, Park Chigyeong, sitting at the long dining table, sipping coffee, asked her without turning his head. 

“You’re awake?”

Did he have eyes on the side of his head? Thinking another useless thought, she entered the dining room and replied curtly, “Yes.”

“I was worried you might have insomnia in a new place. Seems like I worried for nothing.”

He could have just asked if she slept well.

“Well, I guess that explains how you can easily spend a night at any man’s house. Don’t you think?”

After uttering these incomprehensible words, he pushed back his chair and stood up. Taking another mug from Mrs. Shin, he looked at Taeri. His eyes, visible beneath his damp hair, were particularly cold.

“This is ssanghwa-tang³. You still seem to have a cold. Come and drink it.”

He gestured with his chin towards the seat opposite him, and after a moment of hesitation, Taeri walked over and sat down obediently. As she received the mug he offered with both hands, warmth immediately spread through her palms.

“You should build up your stamina. What’s this, getting sick after just one round of sex? It’s inconvenient for both of us.”

Sitting back down and bringing the mug to his lips, he muttered softly under his breath.

Taeri immediately glanced at Mrs. Shin, who seemed preoccupied with breakfast preparations. Relieved that she hadn’t heard him, Taeri looked directly at Chigyeong and retorted, 

“It wasn’t just once. It was at least four times…”

As Taeri trailed off, he chuckled, tilting his mug. Taeri felt her cheeks flush for no reason and lowered her gaze.

Park Chigyeong brought the mug back to his lips and scanned Taeri with his eyes.

Had she lost weight in just a day? Her small face seemed even smaller today. Her translucent skin, revealing the delicate tracery of veins beneath, looked even paler. Perhaps because of that, his eyes were drawn to her slender, long neck. Her collarbones, extending to her shoulders, also seemed more prominent. He let his gaze travel lower, to the gentle swell of her breasts beneath her apricot-colored knitwear.

Should I undress her?

He took a sip of his aromatic coffee and looked at Taeri’s face again.

His eyes were drawn to her lips first.

Should I make her open them?

Her shiny hair.

Should I grab it?

It looked even more beautiful when it was tangled, and disheveled from below.

Unaware of his vulgar thoughts, Taeri opened her lips, the very lips he wanted to put his cock in, and mumbled softly, 

“The tteokbokki… Thank you, sir.”

Sir. 

It was a term he hadn’t heard in a while. When complete strangers called him “sir,” he found it so irritating that he considered tearing their mouths apart. But with Kang Taeri, it was different. When Kang Taeri called him “Prosecutor,” he found it incredibly displeasing.

Why did he like it when she called him “sir?”

“Thank you. It was really delicious.”

Why did hearing her thank him sound so incredibly good? 

What was so special about those words he heard dozens of times a day?