Chapter 17
My head was throbbing. My body felt strangely heavy, and my disheveled hair kept tickling my cheek.
“Oww… my head.”
As Lee Yeon weakly lifted her neat eyelids and slowly opened her eyes, the familiar ceiling came into view.
Startled, Lee Yeon sat bolt upright and looked down; thankfully, it was her own room.
“What happened…?”
Her memory cut off from last night.
It didn’t seem like she had done anything outrageous, as the sheets beside her were smooth and unwrinkled. Her slightly rumpled but otherwise fine clothes were also proof that nothing out of the ordinary had happened, so Lee Yeon breathed a sigh of relief.
Suddenly coming to her senses, Lee Yeon picked up the phone on the nightstand to check the time.
The screen showed it was just past five in the morning.
A faint, greyish light was seeping through the gap in the curtains; dawn hadn’t fully broken yet.
Only then did memories of last night slowly come back to life.
Her head felt numb, and her stomach churned slightly.
No matter how much she thought about it, the person who must have brought her back to her room last night was Woo-kyung.
Pulling the duvet up to her chin, fragments of memory popped up here and there in the blink of an eye.
The moment she stopped him in the hallway, and even herself, staggering and leaning into his embrace, were vivid.
It felt like her breath was stuck.
The scene was so clear that her face burned even under the covers.
“Ah, really, why did I do that…?”
The moment that thought surfaced, Lee Yeon, who had been mocking herself, tapped her forehead.
She couldn’t understand why she, who was usually so cool and composed, fell apart so easily in front of him.
It felt too vivid to blame on the alcohol, and too embarrassing to make excuses for.
Under the covers, her fingers twisted and untwisted repeatedly.
‘Did I say something strange? Surely not… that couldn’t be it, right?’
Every time her thoughts spiraled, her heart beat louder.
After staring at the phone screen by her bedside again, Lee Yeon finally buried her face in the pillow.
“In front of Cha Woo-kyung… I really… why do I become such a fool…?”
Her trailing words were muffled and blurred into the pillow.
After tossing and turning like that for a while, Lee Yeon let out a deep sigh.
With each exhale, it felt like the regret and embarrassment in her chest flowed out too.
She eventually pushed the duvet away as if kicking it and got up from the spot.
“Ha, I must really be crazy.”
Her head was numb, and the effects of the alcohol still rose faintly from her skin.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, she stared blankly at her palms for a moment before getting up weakly.
When Lee Yeon went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror, she saw herself with disheveled hair and red-rimmed eyes.
Seeing her reflection, Lee Yeon shook her head side to side.
When Lee Yeon, after washing up hurriedly, re-entered the bedroom, her surprised eyes widened and her gaze wavered.
“You’re up?”
In Lee Yeon’s field of vision, Woo-kyung, impeccably dressed in a black suit of a different shade than yesterday, walked towards her, fastening the cufflinks on his shirt sleeve.
“Um, about yesterday… Did I perhaps make a mistake?”
He lifted his gaze leisurely, moving his neat eyelids calmly.
“Nothing much happened.”
But Lee Yeon’s relief crumbled at the playful words Woo-kyung added.
“Except for you grabbing my jacket and pulling me first.”
Her face instantly flushed. Too embarrassed, Lee Yeon hung her head deeply.
In the midst of her embarrassment, a memory vaguely surfaced—Woo-kyung’s voice, though she was half-asleep.
Just before Lee Yeon woke up, in the pre-dawn hours, a burning thirst made her search for water.
‘Huh? Water?’
Hearing her ask for water, Woo-kyung abruptly sat up and grabbed the water bottle on the nightstand.
Intending to shake Lee Yeon awake lightly, he unconsciously turned his gaze, and his eyes caught her plump lips, slightly parted as she breathed thinly.
Woo-kyung hesitated for a moment before, as if making a decision, he reached out with his own body, unsteady from drink.
There was no sign of her waking up, so Woo-kyung poured the water directly onto Lee Yeon’s lips.
‘Open your mouth.’
Lee Yeon slowly opened her mouth. He carefully tilted the cup. But then, a trickle of water escaped the corner of her mouth and ran down her jawline.
And it seeped into her thin blouse, leaving a cold, damp mark.
‘Yoo Lee Yeon, open your mouth a bit more.’
What on earth had he done?
Suddenly, Lee Yeon smiled bitterly, recalling the faintly stained mark on her thin blouse when she changed clothes.
“I’m sorry. I drank too much last night…”
Lee Yeon’s voice was genuinely apologetic but also tinged with a hint of embarrassment.
“These things happen.”
Woo-kyung gave a short reply, briefly lowered his gaze, and then slowly approached Lee Yeon.
“Uh… why?”
Just as Lee Yeon widened her eyes and tried to step back, Woo-kyung abruptly closed the distance.
And then, without any warning, his face descended near her neck.
His breath, neither hot nor cold, brushed lightly against her, making the skin on the back of her neck tingle.
As his fresh, clean skin scent faintly grazed the tip of her nose, a surprised Lee Yeon leaned back slightly. At that, he tilted one eyebrow.
“Cha… Cha Woo-kyung?”
At Lee Yeon’s call, he lifted his head. His gaze, settled under thick eyelashes, was playfully half-lidded.
“You still smell like alcohol.”
Lee Yeon’s hand involuntarily covered her own white neck.
“I-Is that so? I had no idea…”
“Of course you don’t, since you’re the one who drank.”
He laughed impishly as he took a step back, his expression filled with nonchalance.
Lee Yeon nervously shifted her gaze here and there before finally unable to hold back, she looked at him again.
Suddenly, the face of the woman who had visited the law firm last night came to mind.
Her refined speech, perfect appearance, and the name that had flowed so naturally from Woo-kyung’s lips.
‘He said she was his first love…’
She felt an inexplicable twist in her stomach.
Lee Yeon deliberately asked, feigning nonchalance.
“About the person who came yesterday.”
“Who?”
“That… the one you said was your school senior.”
“Ah, her?”
One of Woo-kyung’s eyebrows tilted up.
“What about her?”
Lee Yeon hesitated for a moment before biting her lip slightly.
“They said she’s Cha Woo-kyung’s first love, is that true?”
For a moment, Woo-kyung’s eyes wavered slightly.
Then he let out a soft chuckle.
“Why are you curious about that?”
“No reason, just…”
Lee Yeon trailed off as she answered.
“Then… was she also your first… everything?”
“…What?”
This time, Woo-kyung was truly at a loss for words.
A subtle expression spread across his face.
An expression mixed with surprise, bewilderment, and disbelief.
Seeing his reaction, Lee Yeon’s insides churned复杂ly.
‘So it was true…’
She remembered how, just the other day, she couldn’t breathe just from his lips touching hers.
Meanwhile, he had acted so composed, as if he had already experienced everything, and the fact that she was the only one stumbling at every moment strangely hurt her pride.
‘So I was just… being led around by Cha Woo-kyung.’
The corners of her lips stiffened slightly.
Her fingertips were already clutching the hem of her shirt tightly.
Lee Yeon quietly steadied her breath and then closed the distance to Woo-kyung’s side.
“Yoo Lee Yeon?”
But Woo-kyung’s words were cut off. A hot, determined sensation landed on his lips.
Woo-kyung’s eyes widened as if he’d had the wind knocked out of him. With Lee Yeon’s hand clutching his shirt collar, her approach was clumsy, but her lips accurately targeted Woo-kyung and crashed into his.
Inexperienced, all she could do was press her lips against his, but she did her best.
When their briefly connected lips parted, Lee Yeon’s pupils were fixed steadily on Woo-kyung.
Slightly breathless, Lee Yeon asked.
“How is it? Still just clumsy?”
After confessing so frankly, her heart raced uncontrollably.
But she knew better than anyone that she couldn’t take it back.
As her first-ever bold action turned into emptiness, the self-mocking edge of her words cracked with suppressed emotion.
“You, is this your usual drinking habit?”
Woo-kyung asked in a low voice.
“Huh? I’m completely sober now!”
Lee Yeon replied, sounding wronged.
“Yeah? Then how did you develop this habit? You did it yesterday too.”
“Yesterday?”
“Throwing yourself at people, I mean.”
Lee Yeon was silent for a moment.
Her lips trembled slightly, but her reply was clear.
“…It’s because it’s you, Cha Woo-kyung.”
At her words, Woo-kyung’s black pupils dilated.
“What did you say?”
“I said it’s because it’s you, Cha Woo-kyung.”
“What does that mean?”
“I can smell your scent.”
Lee Yeon said with a shy face.
“I can’t help it.”
Woo-kyung’s gaze wavered.
“That… what does it mean.”
Sensing his voice had dropped considerably, Lee Yeon thought for a moment before answering.
“Don’t misunderstand.”
“……”
“Then again, I guess you’re not new to this.”
The lines of Woo-kyung’s neat eyes stiffened minutely.
“But I…”
Lee Yeon continued quietly.
“…I’m the only one for whom it’s the first time. That just makes me feel unfairly resentful too.”
Lee Yeon’s voice faltered and faded.
It was as if long-held emotions were leaking out all at once.
Woo-kyung didn’t answer.
He just lowered his gaze slightly and looked quietly at Lee Yeon’s face.
His fingertips brushed carelessly near her cheek.
“Lee Yeon-ah.”
At the affectionate tone, Lee Yeon’s eyes blinked.
“Yes?”
“Don’t say things like that just anywhere.”
“What do you mean?”
“Guys like me get the wrong idea.”
Lee Yeon, her round eyes wide open, moved her lips slightly for a moment before slowly lowering her head.
“……”
“And then.”
Suddenly, the surface of his lips roughly met her soft ones.
There was no hesitation.
The moment he firmly captured Lee Yeon’s lips, his hot breath plunged in unhindered.
It was an unexpected ambush. By the time a strong hand grabbed Lee Yeon’s waist, she had no time to resist, completely trapped in his embrace.
Woo-kyung’s tongue boldly parted Lee Yeon’s defenseless lips, ruthlessly biting and sucking on her tender mucous membranes.
It was the first time she felt like she might melt, the first time emotions surged so high.
Just as Lee Yeon was running out of breath, he released her lips. Lee Yeon, flustered, could only stare at him, her mouth agape.
“Things like this… I’ve only done with you.”
Before she could even form a word, Woo-kyung’s lips finally swallowed Lee Yeon’s lips once more, completely.
