Chapter 20
I had a deep, long sleep for the first time in a while. Waking up to the morning sunlight, my whole body felt refreshed, and a pleasant stretch came naturally.
Had I ever slept this well since coming to Korea?
The already uncomfortable house felt even more like sitting on pins and needles without Dad there, and on top of that, thinking about Dad lying in the hospital always left a corner of my heart unsettled, so even when I slept, it never felt like proper rest.
But today, I woke up having slept very well. It was truly unusual.
Ever since Chansook came, I had rarely felt this comfortable and at ease at home. For today to feel so fulfilling and satisfying was strange.
Then, Eunha’s eyes snapped open. The thought that this wasn’t her home suddenly occurred to her.
Then, this place was…?
“Did you sleep well?”
That single voice was all it took for Eunha to realize exactly where she was.
Hotel Jeil, Room 2301.
The place where she had spent the night with Dohun, and where Dohun had called her to come back to.
So, right now, she was in a place with Dohun.
Eunha shot up into a sitting position. But as the blanket covering her slipped down, she felt a draft. She looked down at her body and saw that her chest was exposed.
Only now did she realize she had been sleeping in bed without any clothes on, not a single stitch.
“Oh my.”
Eunha quickly pulled the blanket up to her neck. Her face instantly turned bright red.
She had no memory of how this had happened.
The first thought that came to her was fear.
‘He didn’t do anything to me while I was sleeping, did he?’
Even if they were going to get married, doing something to her while she was asleep was unthinkable.
The more her ‘what if’ thoughts grew, the sharper Eunha’s eyes became.
Dohun, who had been watching her, found it so absurd that he let out a short, scoffing laugh, the sound of deflating hope.
It was clear she was misunderstanding him. She couldn’t bring herself to say it, but she was glaring at him with her eyes.
‘No wonder she seems like a real cat.’
Eunha right now resembled a little female kitten who, despite knowing it couldn’t win against a beast that had invaded its territory, was making a big show of being displeased.
The problem was that such kittens were too cute, and similarly, Eunha also seemed cute to him.
The way she held the blanket tightly, wary of him, not knowing the situation.
Honestly, until now, he hadn’t had any particular interest, so he didn’t know, but perhaps because she was young, she looked even cuter.
Whether it was a strange sadistic urge or not, he found himself wanting to see more of that expression, but thinking that he might get reported to the police right then and there, Dohun spoke up.
“What’s with that look? I’m pretty sure I told you, I’m not a scoundrel.”
Eunha furrowed her brow.
Was he saying he had touched her, or that he hadn’t…?
She seemed not to understand Dohun’s way of speaking, as she rolled her eyes.
Finally, Dohun explained the situation plainly.
“Nothing like what you’re imagining happened.”
“Then, why are my clothes…?”
“No one sleeps in a shower robe, right? It looked uncomfortable, so I took it off. You were the one sleeping in just a robe, wearing nothing underneath.”
“Ah…”
Eunha’s face turned even redder than before.
Come to think of it, it was her own fault. Even though she knew he was coming, she had fallen asleep so defenselessly.
And yet, she had misunderstood him and given him a strange look, which was embarrassing and awkward.
By the way, she was sure she had fallen asleep on the sofa… so did that mean the person who moved her from the sofa to the bed was also…?
As soon as that thought hit her, Eunha looked at Dohun again.
“Of course, I carried you. I took the robe off after moving you.”
Dohun answered as if he had read her mind.
Eunha’s expression crumbled as she pursed her lips.
The thought of being carried in his arms to the bed was embarrassing in its own right, and the fact that he had seen her naked body without the robe, without any hesitation, made her so ashamed she wanted to hide in a mouse hole.
“I did tell you to rest, but you were sleeping so soundly it was disconcerting.”
“What do you mean by that? You told me… to rest?”
Eunha asked, hiding her flushed face somewhat as she opened her eyes wide.
She had ended up in this embarrassing and awkward situation because she had fallen asleep before Dohun arrived, but she was still curious about why he had summoned her to the hotel.
“Just what I said. Since it’s the day before the meeting with the parents, I thought you should rest comfortably, eating and sleeping at the hotel. So I deliberately came back late, and in that time, you had fallen asleep.”
Dohun thought back to last night and let out another soft chuckle.
Knowing that Eunha had been staying at the hospital lately, Dohun had booked a room and contacted her so she could relieve her fatigue and rest comfortably.
His dinner schedule had ended earlier than expected yesterday, so he could have come on time, but upon reflection, he thought Eunha might rest more comfortably if he wasn’t around.
So he deliberately came to the hotel after dinner time. So she could eat alone, comfortably.
But in that time, Eunha had already fallen asleep.
Since he had told her to rest, the objective was achieved, but the problem was that it had tormented him.
Why did she have to fall asleep wearing only a shower robe?
Moreover, even when he picked her up, laid her on the bed, and even took off her robe, she slept so soundly it was almost irritating.
He didn’t know how many times he had to suppress the urge to hold her and touch her all night.
It was a torture like no other, so even though he wanted to sleep, sleep wouldn’t come.
It was the first time he realized he was such a weak person when it came to desire.
In the end, Dohun stayed up all night with his eyes open.
While he was walking the path of asceticism all night, Eunha had slept deeply without waking up once.
Even he thought the current situation was ridiculous.
“I had no idea…”
Hearing the explanation, Eunha felt even more sorry towards Dohun.
Of course, it was probably because the parents’ meeting was that important, but still, thanks to his consideration, Eunha had been able to eat well and sleep well last night, so she also felt very grateful.
So she first expressed her gratitude to Dohun.
“Thank you very much.”
“I think I told you, you don’t need to give such formal thanks? If the woman I’m going to marry is staying in a hospital room every day nursing her father, anyone would have done the same as me.”
Ah, so he knew after all…
While talking to Dohun, Eunha had wondered if he knew she was staying at the hospital.
Otherwise, there would be no reason to book a hotel room just for her to rest.
Thinking that made her feel even more grateful, something Dohun alone seemed unaware of.
“Still, thank you.”
Eunha smiled faintly and thanked him once more. Because that was how she truly felt.
With her fatigue gone, her mood was definitely refreshed and her body felt light. This was all thanks to Dohun.
But for Dohun, looking at Eunha like this was painful.
The moment he saw her smile, his mind went blank.
It seemed like he couldn’t hold back the desire he had barely suppressed with the last shred of his rationality any longer.
Dohun finally walked over to the bed and sat down in front of Eunha.
Seeing this, Eunha flusteredly gripped the blanket she was holding even tighter with both hands.
Dohun let out a short laugh and met Eunha’s eyes.
As his dark, deep pupils stared intently at her, Eunha’s heart began to pound for no reason.
Yet, Dohun didn’t move a muscle, just looked into Eunha’s eyes and spoke.
“If you’re that grateful, can I have a kiss?”
“Huh?”
“What about sex?”
“That’s…”
“Even if you tell me not to, seeing you keep thanking me makes me feel like I can’t hold back what I want to do either.”
“Mr. Dohun…”
“I barely held back wanting to hold you all night.”
Eunha’s pupils shook helplessly. Staring into those eyes, Dohun spoke again.
“But you can refuse. Just for today.”
Because she might not want to be intimate on the morning of the parents’ meeting.
Even if that weren’t the case, just for today, he was determined to wait until Eunha gave her permission.
He didn’t want to rush in on his own accord and see her hurt expression again like last time.
But as soon as he said it, Dohun immediately regretted it.
When he was this earnest, why did he have to act needlessly proud?
The time waiting for her answer felt longer than a thousand years.
And fearing that the answer might be a refusal, anxiety rose within him.
“No… it’s okay.”
Eunha looked at his eyes shyly and answered in a trembling voice.
“Anyway, we have to get pregnant… Mmph.”
She had been about to say ‘it’s okay because we have to get pregnant anyway.’
But those words were swallowed by Dohun’s impatient lips.
“Hah, hah.”
The sound of rough breathing filled the quiet room.
Whether his words about holding back all night were true, Dohun’s tongue pushing in felt hotter and more passionate than ever.
He ravaged the inside of her mouth as if mad, stealing away her senses.
Dohun pulled Eunha’s waist tightly, seating her on his lap. Because of that, the blanket covering Eunha’s body slipped down.
