Chapter 16……………………………………………
“…Do I really look that shameless to you? Shameless enough to ask another woman to pretend to be my wife when I already have one?”
“If not, then fine. I was just asking.”
As his irritation clearly showed in his tone, Chohui hurriedly tried to smooth things over.
“I don’t think you’re that shameless… probably?”
“A tremendous improvement.”
At his sarcastic reply, Chohui averted her gaze slightly. She was supposed to get him in a good mood and make him drink more, but she had irritated him without realizing it.
She deliberately clinked her glass against his, but he no longer drank.
She had to change the subject quickly.
“From the way you speak, you don’t seem to be from Sinuiju. Where are you from?”
“Gyeongseong.”
“Which part of Gyeongseong?”
“My family home is in Sajik-dong.”
“Sajik-dong isn’t that far from where I was. I worked at an academy in Sunhwa-dong, teaching children there.”
“…I know.”
“Do you remember the empty lot in front of Sajik-dong? There used to be a market there.”
Please, let this be a topic that creates a sense of common ground.
Chohui tried hard to find similarities between herself and Dowoon. If they were from the same hometown, things might go more smoothly than she expected.
But her brief hope was cut short as Dowoon drew a line.
“I don’t remember. I only lived there when I was very young.”
“…I see. Then where did you live after you grew up?”
“From the age of ten onward, I lived in Japan.”
“Ah…”
There went the hometown angle. She had to find another point of commonality—fast. After thinking for a moment, Chohui clapped her hands lightly and spoke brightly again.
“Then you learned English in Japan! You said you know the basics. Have you learned any other foreign languages?”
“No. I barely managed English.”
“What about learning another language? I could teach you well.”
“I have no intention. I only claimed I wanted to learn English as an excuse in the first place.”
Dowoon kept giving answers that didn’t align with her intentions, making Chohui grow anxious. Her lips kept drying out, and without realizing it, she bit down on her lower lip.
What do I do? It’s so hard to find any similarities.
After thinking it over, she decided to retreat for now. Maybe talking about work would loosen things up a bit.
“Then when did you come to Sinuiju? Was it because of business?”
“The time came, and I came. And something I happened to get involved in worked out well.”
It was hard to glean anything useful from his vague answer.
“It couldn’t have been easy for a Korean to run a business. You must be quite capable?”
“I was just lucky.”
“Where is your company? The new district? Andong-hyeon? There are some foreign companies around there too.”
“You seem to be very curious about me.”
Instead of answering, Dowoon deflected with another remark, frustrating Chohui.
When someone asks a question, you’re supposed to answer—but this man skillfully dodged every one.
Clenching her teeth in frustration, Chohui bit the soft flesh inside her mouth. She could feel it being chewed, but perhaps because of the alcohol, she felt no pain on her lips.
“Ah!”
While fidgeting with her lips, she pressed her sharp canine too hard against her lower lip, tearing it. A metallic taste of blood spread in her mouth.
“Ugh…”
As she raised her hand to stop the bleeding, Dowoon moved faster.
He lifted the ice bucket he had brought earlier and held it out in front of her.
“Use this.”
“Thank you.”
Chohui took out a piece of ice and tried to press it to her lip, but it slipped and fell. She tried several times, but picking up the ice proved surprisingly difficult.
“Oh, come on.”
As she tried again, she suddenly felt something cold against her lips.
Huh? I didn’t put it there.
“……”
Dowoon had come close without her noticing and was holding the ice directly against her lips.
She should have pulled his hand away immediately. But the cool sensation easing the bleeding felt so good that she missed the moment to refuse.
“……”
“……”
Ice should be cold—but strangely, her lips felt as though they were burning.
His fingers holding the ice brushed lightly against her lips.
Blink. Blink.
Dowoon slowly closed and opened his eyes. His dark gaze wasn’t on her lips, but on her eyes.
Unable to avoid his persistent stare, she met his gaze. His pupils wavered, if only for an instant.
For some reason, her cheeks grew hot. It felt like the alcohol was surging again.
Thump, thump, thump.
At the heat of his touch, Chohui’s heart began to race wildly.
Perhaps because of the warmth of his fingers, the ice melted quickly. Water trickled down from the ice, along his fingers, soaking into his sleeve.
“It’s getting wet.”
“…It’s fine.”
He replied shortly, keeping the ice pressed to her lips until it fully melted.
Only then did he finally lower his hand.
Chohui could breathe deeply again.
Trying to cool the heat in her face, she lifted her glass—still more than half full—and downed all the whiskey at once.
“Ugh!”
The moment she swallowed it, her head spun, and the study began to whirl before her eyes.
Dowoon, who was watching her quietly, doubled, then merged back into one.
“I’m… dizzy.”
“Looks like the alcohol is finally hitting you.”
“I didn’t even drink that much.”
“Is this your first time drinking whiskey?”
“I’ve had wine… wine is liquor too, isn’t it? Foreign liquor.”
“Ha…!”
Dowoon let out a short breath—half sigh, half laugh.
Then he slowly opened his mouth.
“Can you reconstruct it?”
“Reconstruct what?”
“The third rule of information gathering. Reconstruct everything the other person has said.”
“…! You knew?”
Chohui’s eyes widened, as if she had never imagined he’d realize. Her gaze darted around in panic.
“Did you think I wouldn’t? You openly said we were similar, kept firing questions even when I didn’t answer.”
“Y-you didn’t e-even give proper answers.”
Hic!
Startled, Chohui hiccupped and pressed both hands firmly to her temples.
“I taught you how to gather information—never thought you’d use it on me.”
“It was j-just practice.”
Her flimsy excuse made him laugh. Did she really think he would believe that?
“So the reason you suggested drinking was to extract information from me.”
“Th-that wasn’t the reason.”
“A lie. You should’ve just asked honestly.”
He spoke provocatively, and as expected, Chohui bristled.
“If I asked honestly, would you answer?”
“Depends on the question.”
“So you’re saying you wouldn’t.”
“Ha ha.”
At her sulky tone—as if she had expected that all along—Dowoon burst out laughing without realizing it. She was complaining about him, yet somehow it amused him.
“Then how about this? We each ask one question we’re curious about.”
“I get to ask too?”
“Only fair, isn’t it?”
It was a tempting proposal. As expected, Chohui nodded.
“What if it’s a question you don’t want to answer?”
“Then you drink a glass of this whiskey.”
“Deal. But no lying.”
Seeming in better spirits than before, Chohui confidently lifted the whiskey glass resting on the side table.
This is getting dangerous.
Dowoon thought he should be careful not to ask something she couldn’t answer.
“I’ll go first. Mr. Lee Dowoon—answer honestly. Are you really a businessman?”
“Is there such a thing as a fake businessman?”
“N-no… that’s not what I mean. I mean… are you someone who does bad things?”
“…The answer would differ depending on the point of view. I might do bad things to some, and good things to others.”
He answered deliberately vaguely. She seemed curious about his true identity, but he had no intention of revealing it.
Chohui blinked slowly, looking unconvinced.
“Then is it my turn?”
At his words, Chohui swallowed hard. She looked like a frightened rabbit, utterly tense.
“What is it that you fear the most?”
“If I tell you, you’ll use it to threaten me again, right? I won’t say.”
She quickly grabbed the glass in front of her.
One of Dowoon’s eyebrows shot up. He reached out to stop her, but he was too late. Chohui downed the entire glass.
“Ugh…”
She groaned, clearly very dizzy.
“Are you all right?”
“N-now… hic! It’s my turn.”
“You should stop drinking.”
“Th-that day… what kind of dream did you have… at dawn?”
“……”
At her question, the hand moving her glass away froze.
He hadn’t expected her to bring up what happened at dawn first.
“…It’s always the same dream. Something that happened long ago.”
“It must have been something bad, if you still dream about it.”
“That’s right.”
“W-want me to tell you—hic—how to escape nightmares?”
“There’s a way?”
“Of course… It’s very simple. When you have a nightmare, someone else wakes you up.”
“…Then someone would have to be beside you.”
“That’s n-not even—hic—hard. Next time you have a nightmare… I’ll wake you up.”
Not even aware of what she was saying, Chohui smiled brightly. At that smile, Dowoon impulsively brushed the back of his hand lightly against her cheek.
Her flushed cheek was just as soft as he had imagined. He turned his hand over. Her cheek and neck fit entirely in one of his hands.
“It’s cool….”
Drunk out of her mind, she seemed not to care that he was touching her, instead placing her hand over his. And then she smiled again.
The warmth of her skin beneath his hand was maddeningly hot. Or was it he who was hot?
And the way she kept smiling—Dowoon felt as if he might lose his senses at any moment. A heavy, electric sensation spread through his lower body.
“Chohui—”
Before he could finish speaking, she suddenly collapsed into his arms without warning. He reflexively caught her with one arm.
After swaying drunkenly for a while, she had finally lost consciousness.
“…I’ve lost my mind.”
Regaining his composure with effort, Dowoon shook his head and calmed his stirred body.
Looking at Chohui dangling limply in his arms, he sighed, then slid his other arm beneath her knees and lifted her up.
“So that’s what you meant by staying beside me…”
She didn’t respond at all.
Carrying her lightly, Dowoon laid her down in a guest room on the second floor.
After returning to the study, he began tidying up.
As he reached for the ice bucket on the side table, his hand suddenly stopped. Chohui’s face surfaced in his mind without warning.
Her soft lips as he pressed the ice to them. Her breath when she drew close. And those deep eyes whose thoughts he couldn’t read.
The scene was etched far too vividly in his mind.
Dowoon roughly rolled up his wet sleeve.
“…It’s damp.”
He muttered in displeasure. The area of his arm touched by the soaked fabric felt as though it were burning hot.
