TO 5

Chapter 5

“Ah…”

With a sweet sigh, Seo-ah’s lips opened completely. Taehyuk slid his tongue inside. Entwining his tongue around hers before she could escape, he led it back into his own mouth.

The more Seo-ah’s wet tongue struggled to break free, the more a strange, electric pleasure radiated through her as their tongues rubbed together. Her heart pounded, surging with a flush of heat.

“Ah… ahhn…”

After thoroughly sucking and savoring her tongue, he turned his attention to exploring the rest of her mouth. He sucked and licked at her inner lips, turning the ruby-red flesh as deep and vivid as a split pomegranate.

Under his kiss, her mouth filled to the brim with saliva, rising and falling in waves. Every time it did, Taehyuk’s throat surged roughly. Swallowing her saliva, he felt an even deeper, unquenchable thirst.

“W-wait a second—”

When Taehyuk pulled his lips away for just a fraction of a second to shift his angle, Seo-ah spoke out in a rush. Her fingertips trembled, and her heart beat as if it were about to burst.

Yet Taehyuk showed her no mercy. Relentlessly, slowly, and meticulously, he set about devouring her lips.

Taehyuk was consuming her.

More than when he bought her flowers, more than when he gave her good-night hugs—Taehyuk was working harder at this than ever before. So much so that even he was surprised by his own intensity.

Seo-ah closed her eyes, but sleep wouldn’t come. Her heart was still beating at a breakneck speed, and her lips felt numb, as if she had been holding ice in her mouth.

‘Is it ending with just a kiss?’

Those were the words Taehyuk had tossed at her when she barely managed to pull him away from the onslaught of his kiss. His challenging tone and sharp glare had clearly betrayed his irritation.

‘Y-yes. For today!’

Seo-ah had turned away in a hurry. If Taehyuk’s kiss had lasted even a moment longer, she would have exposed the true feelings she had kept tightly sealed beneath her heart.

Yet, unlike someone who had just delivered such a feverish kiss, Taehyuk had let her go surprisingly easily.

Even now, from a short distance away, she could hear the steady, calm rhythm of his breathing.

Is he really this unaffected? Even after a kiss like that?

Then again, it was Jang Taehyuk. He was a man who remained completely unbothered even after far more intimate acts.

Am I doing the right thing?

Seo-ah rolled onto her side.

Using the child as an excuse felt like a self-deceptive justification.

Perhaps she had simply craved this man’s warmth all along.

Though calling it ‘warmth’ felt like a stretch…

Seo-ah traced her fingers over her lips. They were still tingling from Taehyuk’s kiss.

Her chest swelled with a quiet wave of emotion. Soothing her heart as if comforting a crying child, she closed her eyes. The sensations Taehyuk had given her became all the more vivid.

As the rustling movements from Seo-ah settled down, Taehyuk quietly sat up. Though he had been lying flat and pretending to sleep, he hadn’t been sleeping either.

Sitting up in bed, Taehyuk looked at Seo-ah. Lying with her back turned to him, her shoulders looked as narrow as a blade.

Her thin muslin pajamas clung softly to her curves. Recalling the feeling of holding her slender body trapped in his arms, Taehyuk’s gaze grew heavy.

Soon, however, he left the bed.

Stepping into the living room, he picked up a bottle of liquor and a glass. Sitting alone at the table, he silently filled the glass and drained it down his throat, over and over again.

Yet even the strong liquor couldn’t wash away the lingering sensation that filled his mouth.

How absurd, Jang Taehyuk.

Taehyuk ran a hand through his hair. Pale moonlight settled thinly over his features.

‘Still… you can do this much for me. It’s not that hard. To someone who has spent her life holding onto nothing more than your empty shell, you can at least do this much at the very end, can’t you?’

An empty shell?

Taehyuk couldn’t agree with those words.

To the woman who was meant to bear his child, he had given himself completely.

To call that an empty shell?

When the person who made things this way in the first place was—

Taehyuk tossed back the rest of the liquor in his glass.

It was something he had tried so hard to forget.

‘Don’t come near me. Don’t touch my body for the time being.’

Back then, Lee Seo-ah was supposed to be forgotten.

Closing his eyes, he waited for his current emotions to evaporate as well.

Hoping that the lingering heat burning inside him would disappear along with them.

Seo-ah sat in her chair, tapping her fingernail boredom against her phone screen. Normally, this would be the time she texted Taehyuk to tell him what kind of flowers to bring home.

Ever since he bought roses the first time, Taehyuk had bought nothing but roses.

‘Please bring some other flowers, too.’

It wasn’t that she disliked roses. She simply wanted him to put a little thought into what flowers to buy—and what flowers she might like. She wanted him to think of her, just for a moment.

However, Taehyuk had merely loosened his tie with an annoyed expression and said:

‘Then just tell me what flowers you want. Don’t give a busy man extra chores to worry about.’

From then on, Seo-ah began texting him the names of flowers.

Roses, lilies, peonies.

Today, though, flowers were the last thing on her mind. Her head was entirely consumed by the kiss she had shared with Taehyuk.

Asking Taehyuk for flowers and good-night hugs had all been a ploy to get used to him. Even though they were married, she still felt as awkward and cautious around him as she had on day one.

Undressing and lying with him feeling like that made every night feel like being with a total stranger. Her body would freeze up in front of Taehyuk, and at times, she even felt a surge of shame.

She thought letting her guard down came first. But yesterday…

It was just a single kiss.

She tried to soothe herself, but it felt like sinking into a quagmire. The more she struggled to break free, the deeper she sank—almost as if under a spell.

To think he was a man who knew how to kiss like that…

His eyes, usually like cold icicles, had softened with warmth, and his chest, usually like a Siberian wasteland, had felt as hot as a tropical beach.

Right then—

Buzz— Her phone vibrated, displaying a text on the screen.

[Do you not need flowers today?]

It was Taehyuk.

Is he waiting for my text?

Seo-ah’s eyes sparkled.

As she hesitated briefly, contemplating what flower to choose, another text arrived.

[I’m going to be late today. I’ll have my employee buy flowers and deliver them, so text me what you want if there’s anything specific. I’m heading into a meeting now.]

An employee?

Then all the flowers he’s brought home until now were…?

With a hollow expression, Seo-ah let her phone drop onto her lap.

What was I thinking? Did I really think Senior was buying those flowers himself?

Seo-ah knew better than anyone that he wasn’t that kind of man.

“How stupid of me, really,” Seo-ah muttered, staring out the window.

Though Taehyuk’s coldness sent a chill through her, a part of her felt relieved.

It added firm resolve to every step she took toward her decision.

It proved that any warmth or kindness he had shown was nothing more than a hollow illusion.

It meant that Lee Seo-ah still meant absolutely nothing to Jang Taehyuk.

“President, the executives are waiting for you.”

At his secretary’s words, Taehyuk raised his head. He was holding his phone in one hand. Even to the end, nothing appeared on the black screen. Taehyuk raised an eyebrow. Five minutes had passed since he sent the text, yet no reply had come.

Does she not need flowers?

Taehyuk stood up from his seat. Switching off his phone as usual, he slid it inside his jacket pocket. It would remain turned off throughout the meeting.

“For today’s flowers, just get something suitable—”

Taehyuk paused mid-instruction as he crossed the office.

He had bought roses two or three more times because she seemed particularly happy when he brought them the first time.

But did she really like roses?

None of the flowers Seo-ah requested after that had been roses. Every single one had been a new flower.

Taehyuk quickly brushed the thought aside with an indifferent expression.

Whatever, a flower is just a flower.

“Just order whatever is suitable—no, wait. Have them deliver the largest and most expensive arrangement from that flower shop.”

By the time the lengthy meeting ended, darkness had fallen outside. It was a meeting that had forced them to skip dinner altogether. Stepping out of the conference room, Taehyuk’s secretary approached and bowed his head.

“Thank you for your hard work. Are you heading straight home?”

Taehyuk powered on his phone and replied calmly.

“Haven’t you had dinner yet either, Secretary Kim? Let’s grab a bite before heading back.”

“Yes, I’ll go ahead and reserve a table at a nearby Japanese restaurant.”

Taehyuk often dined alone after late meetings. Eating alone wasn’t an unusual routine for him. He enjoyed having a meal accompanied by a glass of his favorite liquor in a quiet, private room. Surrounded by people all day, it was one of his rare moments of peace.

“Ah, and the flowers have been successfully delivered to the madam. I requested the shop to prepare the largest and freshest arrangement available.”

Did she like it?

The sudden thought made Taehyuk quicken his pace in awkward fluster. Yet his curiosity about the expression Seo-ah must have worn receiving the flowers wouldn’t fade.

As if trying to shake off the persistent thought, he pulled out his tablet PC. The documents he had been reviewing throughout the meeting spread across the screen.

Looking at the countless inflection points, curves, and red and blue figures, Taehyuk waited for his mind to settle as it usually did. Predictable, quantifiable data gave him peace, as they were things he could control and prepare for.

Yet unlike those neatly webbed numbers, Lee Seo-ah—with her dark eyes and harmful smile—was a complex riddle he couldn’t decipher or prepare for.

Buzz— Taehyuk’s newly revived phone vibrated.

[I’d like roses for today’s flowers.]