TLR 32

Chapter 32

“……Joon-hyeok threw his robe over there yesterday.”

“Ah, right. So that’s it.”

Joon-hyeok slowly released the tension in his hands.

Lee-seol pulled the blanket over herself, quickly covering her body again.

“You don’t like being seen, but looking is fine?”

Lee-seol pretended not to hear the man lying on his side, and slipped out of the bed.

After arriving at the bathroom, she placed the blanket in the empty bathtub. Looking in the mirror, a lament of “Oh my goodness” immediately escaped her.

Her entire body was a mess of red and purple marks. Even if she wore long sleeves, she couldn’t exactly wear a scarf in this season.

“Okay, a bandage for this one, and since this one’s a bit smaller, concealer…”

She studied herself carefully, pondering ways to cover them, but decided to wash up first and think about it later. Maybe they would fade a little with time.

Lee-seol finished her shower and looked in the mirror again. The marks seemed even darker now that water had touched them.

She frowned at her reflection, then forced herself to think it was just her imagination and picked up her clothes. Dwelling on it wasn’t going to provide a solution anyway.

The bedroom was empty, so she went outside. Joon-hyeok was sitting on the sofa.

“Breakfast will be here soon.”

Given the atmosphere, she’d thought he’d still be lounging in bed, but it seemed he’d washed up as well. He was already fully dressed.

“Come here.”

Unlike the bedroom, where the curtains had been drawn over the windows, sunlight streamed in abundantly through the large glass windows here.

Feeling awkward facing him in such a bright space all of a sudden, she hesitated. Joon-hyeok even raised his hand and called her over.

Lee-seol slowly walked toward him.

It felt too embarrassing to sit next to Joon-hyeok on the three-seater sofa, so she planned to sit on the single-seater.

“Hey!”

Joon-hyeok swiftly grabbed her waist and lifted her onto his lap. Specifically, onto one of his thighs.

“Why are you going so far away? The seat next to me is empty.”

Joon-hyeok whispered lowly by her ear. Then, he nuzzled her face aimlessly with the tip of his nose and lips.

Held tightly against his body, she felt as if she was drowning in the cool, refreshing scent of the just-washed man.

Lee-seol hung her head and swung her feet in the air. She felt like she was going to die of embarrassment.

“Let me go.”

“I don’t want to.”

“I can just sit next to you. Please, let me go.”

“You missed your chance. This is your punishment, so stay like this until the food arrives.”

“If I sat next to you, you wouldn’t be doing this, right?”

“Yes, I would.”

Joon-hyeok shamelessly lied and then parted his lips slightly. He lowered his head to press his lips against her slender neck.

That was the moment. Lee-seol grabbed his hair.

“Excuse me.”

Lee-seol’s voice dropped low, as if she had never been embarrassed.

Joon-hyeok paused for just a moment, then opened his mouth again. Like a dog that can’t give up a bone, he couldn’t back away when the fragrant, soft skin was right in front of his nose.

Lee-seol then put more strength into her hand and pulled his head back.

He could have easily shaken her off, but Joon-hyeok just let out a dry laugh and let himself be pulled by her.

“This is a bit unexpected.”

“Sorry.”

“You say you’re sorry, but you’re still holding on.”

“I’m sorry. But the neck is off-limits.”

“You seem awfully familiar with grabbing people’s hair.”

“I’ve pulled my little brother’s hair a lot.”

Lee-seol whispered softly.

“Ah, I see. But why is the neck off-limits?”

Lee-seol gathered her own hair in her hand and lifted it.

Seeing the red marks revealed in the bright sunlight, Joon-hyeok had no choice but to agree with her.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know my limits.”

“No, it’s fine. Ah, and I apologize again for grabbing your hair.”

“What’s that between us. Come to think of it, you grabbed my hair a lot yesterday too, Lee-seol.”

“……Yes. Unintentionally.”

Joon-hyeok lifted Lee-seol by the waist and sat her on the sofa, then got up. He walked over to the phone on the side table and picked up the receiver.

– Yes, this is the concierge.

“Bring thirty women’s scarves. As fast as possible.”

– I’ll prepare them right away.

Joon-hyeok hung up the phone and turned around.

Lee-seol stared at him with suspicious eyes, as if asking if all thirty of those were for her.

“Lee-seol, you don’t like showing your body to others, do you?”

“Even so, thirty is a bit…”

“Wear them, changing them every day until the marks disappear. If anyone asks why, say you have a cold.”

Joon-hyeok cut off Lee-seol’s words with a cold voice.

He didn’t like that Lee-seol was hesitant about what he was giving her, but more than that, just imagining anyone—man, woman, young, or old—seeing Lee-seol like that made his blood run cold.

“It shouldn’t take up to a month, though.”

Lee-seol muttered softly. However, the man’s expression, who had even smiled when she grabbed his hair, was so terrifying that she couldn’t refuse further.

A beautiful breakfast was laid out on the table. Golden-brown toast, cute little jars of jam and butter, a delicious-looking omelet, fresh fruit, and more.

“May I take a picture?”

“Of course.”

Joon-hyeok replied leisurely, as if to say why wouldn’t she.

Lee-seol quickly got up and fetched her phone.

Then, she subtly glanced at Joon-hyeok, moved the vase that was at the edge to the center of the table, and took a picture.

Lee-seol looked at the photo with a satisfied smile. She didn’t use SNS and had no friends to show it off to, but it seemed like it would make her feel very happy to look at before going to sleep.

“Coffee?”

“Yes, thank you.”

Joon-hyeok moved the bothersome vase aside, then lifted the thermos and poured her coffee.

Ah, I should have taken the picture after the coffee was poured. I knew something was missing—the white coffee cup was empty.

Lee-seol couldn’t bring herself to ask to take another picture and picked up her fork. Only then did she notice that Joon-hyeok hadn’t poured coffee for himself.

“Joon-hyeok, don’t you drink coffee?”

“No.”

“Come to think of it… when I worked at the café, you always ordered coffee, but you never drank it.”

“I have trouble sleeping, so I avoid caffeine as much as possible.”

“Ah, so that’s why… You know, you could have just ordered something else.”

She had racked her brains for a full two months, wondering why that man ordered coffee and never drank it.

Feeling annoyed at the wasted time spent on useless worry, Lee-seol slightly frowned.

“I liked watching you make the coffee, Lee-seol.”

“……I see.”

The unexpected answer made her feel shy, so she lowered her head.

But Joon-hyeok had clearly said he didn’t remember asking to borrow a lighter on the street.

So then, did he order coffee he wouldn’t even drink from the very first day, at a café he happened to walk into?

Just as a strange sense of dissonance washed over her, a chill ran down Lee-seol’s spine.

“What’s wrong?”

When Lee-seol just sat there holding her fork without moving, Joon-hyeok asked.

“Huh? It’s nothing… Ah, hold on.”

The phone she had placed on the table began to vibrate.

Seeing the caller ID that said ‘Mom’, Lee-seol put her index finger to her lips, signaling to Joon-hyeok.

“Hey, Mom. What’s up?”

– Why weren’t you answering? I sent you a message earlier!

“Huh? I was asleep. It’s Sunday, you know…”

Lee-seol’s voice trailed off, growing quieter.

Joon-hyeok knew she was hiding this relationship from Dong-hee, but it was still awkward to lie with him right there in front of her.

– I’m getting on the bus now. Come pick me up at the terminal.

“What? Why are you coming so early? You said you were leaving late after lunch!”

– I had a fight with your second aunt.

“A fight? Why?”

– She’s been jealous all her life that I married well, and now that she’s fallen on hard times, she’s openly mocking me, asking what I’m going to do. I’m so frustrated I can’t stand to be around her anymore.

“Ah…”

– Why is your second aunt so mean-spirited? Even though your eldest aunt kept telling her to stop, she just kept going on and on… Ugh!

She wondered why she called her ‘second aunt’ instead of ‘second older aunt’—it seemed she didn’t even want to use the term for an older sister.

Lee-seol put down her fork and rested her forehead on her hand.

– Who’s going to see her as a Gangnam madam now? She kept going on about how pitiful I am, but she’s never even set foot outside that rural village her whole life—who’s she to call anyone pitiful?

Geum-hee, Eun-hee, Dong-hee. Until now, it was said that the youngest of the three sisters, Madam Yoon Dong-hee, had made the best match.

Thanks to that, she had also been insufferably smug about it, to the point where it was embarrassing to watch. It seemed she was now reaping what she sowed.

“Mom, calm down a bit. So, what time do you get to the terminal?”

– Every holiday, she’d send enough dried fish and Hanwoo beef to rot! And I gave it all to my family, without telling Shin-cheol!

“Mom, Mom? Are you listening to me?”

– She was all thankful, saying she got to eat this because of me! What happened to that?!

“Mom!”

Lee-seol yelled out.

Dong-hee was silent for a few seconds before speaking.

– Why are you yelling?

“I asked what time I need to be at the terminal.”

– I’ll be there at 12, so don’t be late. We’ll eat outside. I’m in too bad a mood to do anything else.

“Okay.”

– Bye.

It felt like all the energy in her body had been drained. Lee-seol lowered the hand holding her phone and looked at Joon-hyeok.