Just Take It All Off
“Let’s go to my house.”
At the words “my house”, Yulri’s eyebrows twitched for a moment. But she quickly composed herself and followed him calmly.
Ding-ding-ding! The cheerful sound of the door unlocking echoed.
Following Jeho into the apartment, Yulri cautiously looked around the unfamiliar space. At the same time, the door clicked shut behind her.
The instant the sound of the door closing reached her ears, reality hit her.
I… just walked into a man’s house all by myself?
Of course I have to go to the house for disinfection. It’s not something I can do in the car, she reasoned. But the situation felt far more serious.
Oh no…
Her head went blank, as if she had been struck with a hammer. Her heart pounded wildly, and she instinctively gripped her bag tightly with both hands. Jeho, seemingly unaware of her inner turmoil, strode toward the living room.
Yulri paused at the entrance, hesitating.
Could I just turn around and leave now?
She quietly took a step back and reached for the doorknob. But the thought made her smile faintly. Kwon Jeho was the cousin of her fiancé, Kwon Minwoo. Soon, when she married Minwoo, Jeho would be part of her in-laws. Yes—who else would take care of her future in-law if she didn’t?
Leaving now would look far stranger.
Steeling herself, Yulri took a deep breath and stepped inside. Jeho leaned back against the sofa, eyes closed, exhaustion written across his face. Feeling her approach, he gestured toward the cabinet along the living room wall.
“The first aid kit is in the second drawer.”
Yulri approached the cabinet and opened the drawer holding the kit. The long, heavy drawer required both hands to pull open. In his condition, it probably would have been difficult for Jeho to open it himself.
Grabbing the kit, she quickly moved to his side. As she settled beside him, he slowly opened his eyes and looked at her.
“…But…”
His gaze remained fixed on her as he began unbuttoning his shirt with one hand.
“Is it really okay to follow a man into his home alone like this? Are you fearless—or just reckless?”
His teasing tone seemed like a provocation, but Yulri barely registered the words. The moment she saw him unbutton his shirt, a fact she had forgotten immediately resurfaced.
To treat the wound, he had to take off his shirt! She couldn’t pour disinfectant over clothes.
Not only had she embarrassed herself by walking into a man’s house alone, but now she had to watch him undress right in front of her…
And he was doing it right now.
As each button came undone, glimpses of bare skin appeared. Overwhelmed, Yulri swallowed nervously, trying to hide her flustered state.
The chest revealed through the open shirt was like a finely sculpted piece of art. A perfectly proportioned, toned chest flowed seamlessly into a defined abdomen. Simply looking at it drew an involuntary sigh of admiration.
Her face began to burn without her realizing it, and she quickly turned her gaze away.
After a short while, the rustling sound stopped—he had fully unbuttoned the shirt, leaving his injured shoulder exposed while sitting with his back to her.
Yulri opened the first aid kit and took out the supplies needed to disinfect the wound.
“Do you need to… take the rest of your shirt off?”
She quickly added, to avoid any misunderstanding:
“If you keep it on, the medicine will spread to your clothes and ruin them.”
Following her instructions, Jeho slowly removed the shirt completely, adjusting his position to make it easier for Yulri. The bloodstained shirt went into the laundry basket, and a fresh one was brought out.
With everything ready, Yulri carefully dipped a gauze pad in disinfectant and brought it to the wound.
“It might sting a bit.”
“Ugh.”
As expected, a low groan escaped from Jeho the moment the gauze touched the wound.
“Does it… sting so badly you can’t bear it?”
Yulri paused, surprised, and tried fanning the area with her hand. Not satisfied, she even pressed her lips to the wound and blew gently.
“…Hmm.”
Her breath brushed over the injury, and he groaned softly again—not from the pain, but from the ticklish sensation of her close contact.
Seeing him clench his fists, she mistakenly interpreted it as extreme discomfort.
“I’m sorry. I’m not very skilled… Does it hurt much?”
She was clumsy, but somehow, her awkward touch felt strangely stimulating. She didn’t even notice that she was practically pressed against his back. The subtle brush of her hair against his skin was far harder for him to endure than the pain of the wound itself.
“So….”
Muttering to herself, Yulri scolded him lightly.
“Even though you’re not fully healed, why do you recklessly run into danger?”
“Hah, who ran in without thinking first?”
Instead of arguing, Yulri let out a small laugh. Every time he spoke casually like this, it reminded her of the past. From the very first meeting, he had naturally used informal speech.
“Can I ask you just one thing?”
“Yes, go ahead.”
Yulri nodded lightly at his invitation to speak.
“When you see someone in danger, do you always run in?”
“No, not always. Mostly only for children… Maybe I got it from my mother. She used to do the same.”
She replied matter-of-factly as she wiped the blood spreading across his shoulder with disinfectant.
“Do you know how my dad first got elected as a congressman?”
He shook his head. Yulri placed a gauze pad over the disinfected wound and continued.
“The opposing candidate was a seasoned local politician, well-known in the district. My dad had just started in politics, and everyone said he had no chance. During the campaign, an accident happened.”
Even though it was a children’s protection zone, a speeding car came straight at a child crossing the street. Yulri’s mother, So-yeon, who saw it happen, instinctively pushed the child to safety—and was hit herself.
Coincidentally, the opposing candidate’s wife was also present. But unlike So-yeon, she looked away and stepped back. A reporter on the scene quickly captured the incident on camera.
The event made headlines and filled the news for days. Congressman Chae’s campaign slogan at the time was, “Enough with politics in words. I’ll act with my body!” True to his words, So-yeon risked herself for the child, while the opponent’s wife did nothing. The act of bravery perfectly aligned with the slogan and gradually won over the voters.
“That accident left my mom severely injured. But thanks to her, my father won by a huge margin over his opponent.”
Everyone agreed: it was all thanks to So-yeon. She earned greater trust within the constituency than her husband and swept votes in every election.
“However, the accident caused complications. A broken rib pierced her lung. She went through repeated surgeries and hospital stays, and eventually passed away a few years later.”
A year after his wife’s death, Congressman Chae married his aide, Ahn Misook. The rapid remarriage drew criticism from voters. To counter it, the campaign used Yulri, who bore an uncanny resemblance to her late mother, as a campaign figure. Voters remembered So-yeon when they saw Yulri, which proved highly effective. Consequently, Yulri often stood beside Chae during campaign events instead of Ahn Misook.
Yulri looked down at the necklace hanging around her neck, a keepsake from her mother. She said nothing, lost in thought, blinking slowly. Jeho’s gaze landed on the familiar piece of jewelry.
“That… you’re still wearing it.”
His words pulled her back to reality. She touched the necklace lightly, smiling faintly. After almost losing it once, she had kept it safe in a jewelry box for a while. But after discovering her father’s affair, she wore it again—wanting to keep her mother close in some way.
“You still remember this necklace?”
“Of course. After all, I went through quite a bit just to get it back…”
He smiled knowingly. That time, he had risked himself climbing a cliff to retrieve the necklace Yulri had dropped. She remembered his arm scratched and bleeding during the rescue.
“Thank you so much, Jeho. If it weren’t for you, I might have lost it forever.”
“Huh.”
A sound came from him—it was hard to tell whether it was a sigh or a laugh.
“You were crying your eyes out, looking so miserable. I couldn’t just stand by.”
Yulri smiled bitterly at the memory. Then a question suddenly crossed her mind.
Did he retrieve the necklace just because she was crying? Or was he a man whose heart melted easily at a woman’s tears?
“Well….”
He paused for a moment before speaking in his usual blunt voice.
“I don’t show that kind of kindness to everyone.”
What did he mean? Yulri kept listening as she placed a bandage over the wound.
“I only do that for someone I want to.”
The phrase someone I want made Yulri’s hand tremble slightly. Why did such a casual remark make her heart race? Surely, it simply meant someone he cared enough to help.
“All done.”
Yulri finished the treatment and pulled his shirt up as she stepped back. Jeho quietly fastened the buttons, but struggled with one hand, fumbling repeatedly.
Suppressing the urge to help, Yulri turned her head…
“…Could you?”
A low whisper from Jeho reached her.
“Could you fasten the buttons for me?”
The request made her feel strangely fluttery. In her dreams, she usually unbuttoned his shirt—but here, she was buttoning it for him.
“Sure.”
She nodded and carefully reached out. For some reason, she tensed the moment her hands touched the buttons. Maybe it was because they were facing each other. During treatment, she had sat with her back to him, so their eyes never met.
Her gaze locked on him made her fumble the buttons repeatedly. She couldn’t just stare, nor could she close her eyes.
Better to finish quickly.
She whispered this to herself and worked her hands swiftly. In her haste, her fingers slipped and brushed against his smooth skin. Her fingertips felt as if on fire, but she stiffened her expression, biting her lower lip to hide any reaction.
“All done.”
After securing the last button, she stepped back quickly. To avoid the awkwardness, she looked around—and finally noticed the clean, modern interior of the apartment. White and gray tones dominated the contemporary design.
“Herringbone pattern,” Yulri commented, pointing at the floorboards.
Jeho, leaning against the sofa, glanced down at the floor.
“It’s not really my taste. It’s my friend’s.”
“Your friend’s taste?”
“Yes. I’m just staying here temporarily.”
“Oh…”
So the apartment wasn’t really a man’s house after all. Yulri let out a relieved breath, only to hear a meaningful remark in her ear.
“And right now, it’s just you and me here.”
