TO 8

Chapter 8

“Lee Seo-ah. I told you, you’re drunk.”

Taehyuk’s brows knit sharply. He despised drunk women. Yet even facing his stern expression, Seo-ah didn’t care in the slightest.

“Yes, I am drunk. So tell me. Why didn’t you kiss me like that? If you had kissed me like that sooner…”

Seo-ah’s gaze swept lingeringly over Taehyuk’s body. Having thrown on his bathrobe without much thought, Taehyuk became acutely conscious of his chest exposed through the gap in the robe.

“If even kissing Senior felt that good, maybe I wouldn’t have thought about leaving.”

Was it really that good?

While Taehyuk stood there unable to decide whether he should feel pleased or angry, Seo-ah stumbled to her feet. Then, she grabbed both of his cheeks with her hands.

“W-what are you doing?”

The scent of the wine she had just consumed drifted from her. Though he had drunk the exact same wine, the fragrance coming from her mouth was sweet enough to make his head spin.

“Do it again.”

“What?”

“We have to practice. I need to get used to Senior’s kisses so we can move on to the next step. That’s how we can have a baby.”

Suddenly, the corners of Seo-ah’s mouth curved upward. Even though her eyes were half-unfocused, her smiling face seemed to radiate light.

I must be the one who’s drunk.

Taehyuk turned his head away, averting his gaze from her.

“Look at me. I’m right here.”

Seo-ah’s voice was sweet as honey. Perhaps because of that voice, Taehyuk’s eyes drifted back to her. At that, Seo-ah let out a soft, giggling smile.

Was she always a woman who smiled like this?

The corners of her eyes and lips curved toward each other in harmony.

“I told you to do it again!”

Seo-ah pouted her red lips for all she was worth. Her lips stole Taehyuk’s gaze once more.

“You’re drunk. I don’t mess with drunk women.”

Taehyuk replied coldly.

“Che. Dummy.”

“What?”

Taehyuk frowned.

“Lee Seo-ah, keep your drunken habits within bounds…”

The moment Taehyuk grabbed Seo-ah’s shoulders, her body—which had been standing upright moments ago—went entirely limp in his arms.

“Whoa.”

Startled, Taehyuk quickly held her body close. Seo-ah was already asleep, her nose buried in his chest.

“Ha?”

Looking back and forth between the empty wine glass and Seo-ah in disbelief, Taehyuk realized belatedly that just as he didn’t know her alcohol tolerance, he didn’t know her drunken habits, either.

“Lee Seo-ah, wake up.”

Taehyuk spoke sternly. But Seo-ah was already fast asleep.

“If you don’t wake up, I’m leaving you right here.”

Taehyuk spoke again. Limp in his arms, Seo-ah was sleeping peacefully.

“Unbelievable.”

Taehyuk muttered, scooping Seo-ah up into his arms. Seo-ah naturally wrapped her arms around his neck.

She looked so comfortable that it almost seemed like this was where she belonged all along.

“And after all this? You feel unfamiliar with me?”

Taehyuk grumbled, but Seo-ah merely leaned against him with the most peaceful face in the world.

“Ugh, my head.”

Seo-ah clutched her head as she sat up in bed.

“Huh? When did I come to bed?”

Her head was a complete blank. She tried to recall something, but every time she did, a headache rushed in like a barrier blocking her thoughts.

“Ah, my head feels like it’s going to split open.”

As she muttered, a cup of coffee suddenly appeared before her. Surprised, Seo-ah raised her head to find Taehyuk standing there in a bathrobe, looking as though he had just stepped out of the shower.

“Drink.”

“T-thank you.”

Seo-ah carefully accepted the coffee cup. The heavy, roasted aroma made saliva pool naturally at the base of her tongue, and her headache felt as if it were subsiding.

Taehyuk drank from the coffee cup he held in his other hand. Morning sunlight poured over him like a blessing. Yet the area beneath his downcast eyes was dark with fatigue.

“Didn’t you get any sleep?”

Seo-ah asked. Taking a sip of coffee, Taehyuk looked at Seo-ah, raising one eyebrow in disbelief.

“So you’re saying you don’t remember a thing?”

“Remember… what?”

Seo-ah asked back, her eyes going round. Taehyuk let out a quiet sigh.

“Why are you so reckless when you can’t even handle your alcohol? You should at least know your own limits.”

“I do know my limits. One can of beer.”

“What you drank yesterday was wine.”

“Yesterday… my stomach was empty, so I guess I got drunk faster.”

Seo-ah scowled, rubbing her flat lower abdomen.

Setting his coffee cup down on the table, Taehyuk spoke up.

“Is the money I earn not enough for you to buy food?”

“It’s not that.”

Taehyuk looked at Seo-ah’s limbs, which were already dangerously thin to begin with.

“I just didn’t have an appetite.”

“Don’t you need to eat well to get pregnant? The mother’s nutritional status is important, too.”

“Ah, right.”

Seo-ah’s face flushed red like a well-ripened persimmon. Because her face was slightly puffy from drinking, she looked so cute he almost felt tempted to poke her cheek.

“Just as I’m keeping my promise to you, I hope you won’t forget your promise to me, either. It’s not as if I’m doing these things because I want to.”

Taehyuk spoke bluntly.

“I will.”

“And alcohol.”

Taehyuk raised an eyebrow.

“It would be best if you didn’t touch it for the time being.”

“I don’t… usually drink much alcohol anyway…”

“The alcohol itself isn’t the problem. You when you’re drunk—that’s the problem.”

At those words, Seo-ah’s eyes went wide.

“I’m the problem?”

“Do you really not remember a single thing?”

Taehyuk narrowed his eyes. Seo-ah’s heart sank.

Did I say something weird yesterday because I was drunk? No way… when I get drunk, I usually just fall asleep…

Growing anxious, Seo-ah placed the coffee cup on her lap and hung her head low. No matter how hard she tried to pull up her memories, her mind was as pitch-black as the coffee. Right then, Taehyuk leaned his massive upper body toward her.

In an instant, a shadow fell over her body. Her eyes round, Seo-ah lifted her head. Taehyuk’s long fingers reached out toward her.

“Why…”

Seo-ah shrank her shoulders back. Seeing her frightened reaction, Taehyuk somehow felt like a hoodlum picking on a fragile girl despite his massive frame. Yet he intended to make her pay properly for the way she had tortured him last night.

His hand, which had briefly paused, gently stroked her hair.

A pleasant scent drifted from him. Perhaps because he had just showered, his face looked lively and refreshed. Not only that, but what showed through the gap in his open bathrobe was his bare chest. Realizing that Taehyuk’s broad chest was right in front of her nose, Seo-ah hurriedly averted her eyes.

“Are you still scared of me?”

Taehyuk asked.

“That’s…”

“Ah, did you say I felt unfamiliar? Yesterday?”

Taehyuk intentionally bent his body further down. Through his loosely parted bathrobe, his solid chest was revealed tantalizingly. Seeing the defined contours carved out by shadow, admiration pooled in Seo-ah’s eyes.

She tried to look away, but as if unable to resist, a lush, tempting sheen flowed across her softly bitten lips.

“It seems you’ve finally become curious about what’s in here. But looking at it so intently won’t make it visible. If you want, I’ll show you.”

Taehyuk issued a languid provocation. Startled, Seo-ah snapped her head up, her two eyes as big as walnuts.

What? He saw everything? Ugh, how embarrassing.

Seo-ah rolled her eyes anxiously like a small animal wary of its surroundings. The corner of Taehyuk’s mouth twitched into a smirk.

“Or do you want a kiss?”

“K-K-K-K-Kiss?”

Clatter. The coffee inside the cup resting on Seo-ah’s thighs created a fierce wave.

Like Poseidon summoning a storm inside a coffee cup, Taehyuk watched her agitation with a razor-sharp gaze.

No, if he could, he wanted to blow an even stronger wind to shake her up a little more—so that whatever plot she was hiding inside would come tumbling out.

“Why? You told me yesterday. You asked me to kiss you. You asked why I had never given you a kiss like that until now.”

“Th-Th-That’s…”

Taehyuk grabbed Seo-ah’s chin, fixing her gaze on him. In the bright morning sunlight, her face—vividly colored with life—was completely defenseless.

“Look at me. That’s how we kiss.”

“N-N-N-No. I haven’t even brushed my teeth yet…”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Taehyuk tilted his head at an angle. A pleasant mint scent drifted from his breath. Overwhelmed by his solid body emanating a fragrant soap aroma and a familiar aftershave, Seo-ah was completely immobilized.

“N-No. I…”

“I’ll do my best with all my heart and soul. Who knows? Maybe then you’ll want to stay by my side just because you love my kisses.”

At those words, Seo-ah opened her eyes wide and stared at Taehyuk. Looking into Taehyuk’s eyes right in front of her face, Seo-ah held her breath.

It was practically the first time she had ever looked at Taehyuk from this close, in a place this bright.

For the first time today, Seo-ah learned that his eyes sparkled like deep honey when caught in the sunlight.

“Are you saying… you don’t want me to leave?”

At Seo-ah’s question, Taehyuk’s brow furrowed.

“You’re not listening to my words at all. You were the one who insisted on a divorce in the first place.”

“That’s… true, but…”

“I made it clear. I don’t want to waste any more time with marriage or anything like that. And I thoroughly despise being harassed by my mother, too.”

“Th-That’s why having a child was the condition, wasn’t it?”

“That’s right. But wouldn’t it be best for the mother to raise the child?”