PSS Ch 19
by soapa“Why don’t you get some sleep.”
He spoke, having offered me his shoulder, stroking my forearm and occasionally kissing my head.
“If I fall asleep like this, when will we get back to Seoul?”
“I can just lay you down in the passenger seat and start driving.”
“I don’t want to. I want to stay like this for a little longer.”
Was there some reason he had to arrive in Seoul early? From the moment we first set off until now, still not having arrived in Seoul, he seemed incredibly conscious of the time.
“Why? Do you have a pot of honey hidden away in Seoul or something? Will the sky fall if we arrive late?”
“I think the pot of honey is right here next to me.”
“Then why? You’re not going to tell me it’s because the baby has to go to bed early again, are you?”
He looked at me with an expression that said, ‘How did you know?’ I couldn’t hold back my laughter and burst out laughing loudly.
He was truly a man I could never figure out. I didn’t know why he was so obsessed with feeding me and putting me to sleep. When did he ever stop calling me a slut or loose and acting like he couldn’t wait to tear me apart? Yet, sometimes, he acted as if he were my guardian.
Maybe that’s why I liked him even more. If he had been nothing but kind, if he had only acted like a complete gentleman, I might not have been attracted to him. Maybe I liked him because sometimes he was a bad person, sometimes he was rough, and other times he was gentle.
“What are you thinking so hard about?”
“About you, Mr. Jang.”
“Are you trying to seduce me and make my heart flutter?”
“No. I’m just saying it plainly. Because you’re fascinating, Mr. Jang.”
I shifted my posture to face him. I stared intently into his pitch-black pupils, their depths unknowable, and then gave a soft smile.
“How did you know? No, wait. Finding out the anniversary of my mother’s death would have been a piece of cake for you, Mr. Jang. How did you think to come all the way here? Did you come down here with me because you wanted to see me get emotional and burst into tears?”
“What if I did?”
“You succeeded. I was so moved earlier that I sobbed my eyes out.”
“I’m glad.”
His weighty tone of voice was so familiar that I laughed again.
“I really can’t figure you out, Mr. Jang. Just what kind of person are you, really?”
He pulled my face toward him. He kissed my lips several times, briefly, then looked at me from up close.
“Shall I tell you a secret?”
My interest piqued, I perked up my ears.
“What is it?”
“I am not the son of my father’s legal wife.”
It was the first time I had heard this, and my eyes widened on their own. As I frowned and looked at him, finding the fact hard to believe, he spoke nonchalantly with a casual and serene expression and tone.
“I am a child born out of wedlock, and my mother passed away early. On the anniversary of her death, no one visits her grave. It was only natural for me to go alone, and I thought that Mr. Lim Jaegyeong must have done the same.”
“Mr. Jang…”
“That’s why I wanted to go with you. I thought it would be too lonely for Mr. Lim Jaegyeong to go by himself.”
I watched him without a word. Inside the car, where darkness had fallen, I saw his eyes, sunken deeper than the abyss. Looking into those eyes, I wanted to ask. Just as he said he thought I would be lonely visiting my mother’s grave alone, hadn’t he been lonely, too?
“From now on, I’ll go with you on the anniversary of your mother’s death, Mr. Jang.”
But instead of asking if he had been lonely, I told him we should go together next time. Just as he had embraced my pain, I wanted to comfort him as well. I didn’t know if someone like me could comfort his pain, but I wanted to at least fulfill my role as his lover.
“Will that be alright?”
“What’s there to not be alright about?”
“It’s the end of the year. The last day of a very cold year.”
Suddenly, the memory of last year’s final day, spent at Mr. Jang Taejin’s house, came to mind. The sight of him, curled up like a beast in his study back then.
The employees’ words about how he was never home around the end of the year… The wounded look I saw on his face that day… Had he always been like that? While everyone else was excited to welcome the new year, did he visit his mother’s grave alone, ending his year so desolately?
“By then, Mr. Jaegyeong’s belly will be quite big. It might be a bit difficult to travel far.”
“I don’t care. Something like that doesn’t matter.”
All of a sudden, I wanted to hug him. I wanted to soothe his wounds.
“So, let’s go together, for sure. Okay?”
He smiled. I deliberately buried myself deeper into his embrace, my face feigning ignorance.
⋆.˚🦋₊ ⊹
The weekend arrived. He, who always spent the entire weekend with me, got out of bed and, first thing, prepared my breakfast. Behind him as he cooked himself, the kitchen aunty hovered restlessly, fidgeting with anxiety. I always smiled seeing that. The back of an alpha cooking was, as always, so reassuring.
“I’ll eat well.”
For me, who was getting tired of mala tang, he made a spicy pasta. It was all thanks to me constantly complaining about feeling nauseous. Thanks to his unfailing culinary skills, my mouth was in for a treat from the morning on. The slightly spicy tomato sauce was a perfect match for my palate. I twirled the pasta, chewed, and swallowed, then finished with an ade made with freshly squeezed lemon juice. I had a pleasant morning, eating bread flavored with dill-infused butter on the side.
“Is there anything you want to do?”
As I leaned back in my chair after finishing my meal, patting my full stomach, he put down the fork he was holding and asked.
“Hmm… Not really.”
“Anything you want to eat, or a place you want to go.”
He asked so seriously that it felt like I absolutely had to find something to answer with.
“Ah. Then let’s go shopping for clothes.”
Something I had wanted to do for a while came to mind, and as I said it, Mr. Jang Taejin immediately picked up his phone.
“I’ll call a personal shopper to the house. Do you have a desired style or a preferred brand?”
“No, no. Not clothes for me. Baby clothes.”
At my words, Mr. Jang Taejin’s hand that was handling the phone froze. He was so surprised he couldn’t close his mouth, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Don’t call a shopper. I want to go and pick them out myself.”
“Won’t it be tiring?”
“No. Not at all. I’ve wanted to try doing that. Going to a store and picking out baby clothes and shoes and things like that.”
Only then did Mr. Jang Taejin put down his phone. Then, with his handsome face, he smiled and readily nodded his head.
We got ready to go out and headed straight for the department store. It was a department store that was currently all the rage, about an hour’s drive from home. The staff guided us to the VIP lounge. After spending some time there and having drinks and snacks, we took the elevator exclusive to VIP members up to the 5th floor. On the 5th floor, a seasonal theme event was in full swing. A massive character doll, so large it reached the building’s ceiling, swayed its body, drawing people’s attention. It would have been nice to look around for a bit, but I first headed to the children’s clothing section on the same floor to pick out clothes for Parang and Bora.
Since it was such a popular department store, it housed not only regular children’s clothing brands but also high-end international luxury brands for children.
“The designs here are too stiff. I wish they felt a little cozier…”
I said, as if complaining, while holding a checkered layette suit and staring at it for a long while.
“Then let’s go to another store.”
“Shall we?”
We entered a store that sold products from a regular brand, not a luxury one. True to form, it was filled with adorable and cute clothes that suited the tastes of Korean parents. Even though I hadn’t been interested in this sort of thing before, ever since Parang and Bora came along, I had really wanted to go shopping like this. Just thinking about Parang and Bora wearing these cute clothes made my heart swell with emotion. I even forgot Mr. Jang Taejin’s presence and quickly scanned the clothes displayed on the racks, pointing out every single pretty thing I saw.
“This one, and that one, and this one, too. This little thing, too. Ah, could you take that one down for me as well?”
The clerk didn’t seem annoyed at all by me asking to see this and that, even though I wasn’t going to buy them all. It was something I would never normally do, but I was so preoccupied with thoughts of the babies that I kept asking to see more clothes. No matter how many I looked at, every piece of baby clothing was pretty. I didn’t know their sexes yet, so I couldn’t tell whether I should pick boys’ clothes or girls’ clothes, but they were all so pretty that I just wanted to have them all.
“What are you thinking so hard about?”
“Now that I think about it, I think we came too early. We don’t even know our babies’ sexes. I don’t know what I should buy… They’re all so pretty.”
Mr. Jang Taejin burst out laughing with a “Puhaha.” It felt like he was making fun of me, and I blushed with embarrassment, but he said nonchalantly.
“It would be best to buy them all.”
“What if they don’t suit our baby?”
“Wouldn’t that be better than regretting not buying them later?”
He told the clerk to ring up all the clothes I had chosen. The clerk, delighted, gathered an armful of clothes and headed toward the back of the store. After finishing the packaging, the clerk reappeared holding shopping bags in both hands. Mr. Jang Taejin’s executive assistant approached and took the bags from her.
“Ah, this one. I’ll…”
I held onto the shopping bag containing the clothes I liked the most. For some reason, I really wanted to hold this one myself. The white, thin-fabric christening gown seemed like it would suit both Parang and Bora.
“There’s a decent restaurant in a nearby hotel. Shall we have dinner there?”
Since we had a late breakfast, I wasn’t particularly thinking about lunch. That was even more so after having drinks and snacks in the lounge earlier. So when I suggested skipping lunch and just having dinner, Mr. Jang Taejin proposed it as if he’d been waiting. It seemed to be a good restaurant that could satisfy his picky palate.
“Sounds good. I got to do whatever I wanted today, so I’ll defer to your taste for dinner, Mr. Jang.”
Watching me speak with a swagger, Mr. Jang Taejin just smiled. He didn’t seem to mind my attitude, which might even be considered shameless.
“By the way, what’s that place good at? What do they sell?”
“Well. I don’t want to tell you that.”
“Why not? You haven’t ordered something weird again, have you?”
“Have I ever fed Mr. Lim Jaegyeong anything weird?”
“You never know. Maybe you will from now on.”
We had just arrived at the elevator, bantering with each other.
“Huh? Huh?”
A familiar voice came from somewhere. My gaze naturally turned to where the sound was coming from. Upon seeing the person pointing a finger at me, I froze on the spot.
“Father…”
He-no, they- were my family. People who were clearly on my family register, but were family in name only, with whom I never even exchanged a single call.
They seemed to have come to the department store for some weekend shopping, as they encountered me with shopping bags in their hands. The one who spotted me first was my younger sibling, Yeonsu. Next to him were my stepmother, who covered her mouth in a dramatic display of shock, and my father, who was looking at me with a sour expression.
“It’s been a while.”
He deliberately glanced between Mr. Jang Taejin and me, then tossed out a fatherly remark before immediately turning his gaze to Mr. Jang Taejin.
“It has been a long time, Mr. Jang. Have you been well?”
He approached as if to offer a handshake, but when Mr. Jang Taejin pointedly placed a hand on my shoulder, he flinched and awkwardly withdrew his outstretched hand.
“I hope my boy hasn’t caused any trouble. He is such a lowly fellow.”
To my father, who insisted on putting down his own son to make conversation, Mr. Jang Taejin replied leisurely with his characteristically languid expression.
“Of course not.”
“If he causes any problems, please give him a stern scolding. He was a boy who didn’t listen well at home either.”
“Mr. Lim Jaegyeong is a grown adult; I can’t imagine there’s anything for me to scold him about.”
I was extremely uncomfortable with the current situation, but Mr. Jang Taejin didn’t seem to mind at all. Yet, he was still looking out for me. The firm grip on my shoulder, the arm that pulled me close for all to see, seemed to be telling me that it was okay, that it was nothing.
“But what brings you here? To think you’d come to a regular store, Mr. Jang…”
My father’s gaze fell on the shopping bag in my hand. The moment he identified the brand on the bag, his pupils trembled uncontrollably.
“That is…”
It was a disaster. It felt like my father had caught on. In the first place, this floor was lined with only children’s and baby clothing stores, aside from the event zone. There was no reason for Mr. Jang Taejin and me to be walking around a place like this with a shopping bag from a baby clothing brand. Unless, of course, I was pregnant.
“I apologize, but we must be going. We have a dinner reservation nearby.”
Mr. Jang Taejin cut my father off, signaling the end of the conversation. My father, who had been staring intently at the shopping bag in my hand, turned his gaze with an unreadable smile and looked at me and Mr. Jang Taejin in turn.
“Ah, of course, of course. If you have a reservation, you must be on your way so as not to be late.”
“Then, we’ll be off.”
“Ah, wait. Just a moment.”
My father abruptly grabbed my arm. Mr. Jang Taejin glared at my father’s hand gripping my arm.
“My boy. Why have you been so out of touch? Come by the house for a meal sometime. Alright?”
With a face that was anything but benevolent, my father spoke, feigning the utmost benevolence.
“…I understand.”
“Good. Well then, I’ll be in touch.”
With a look full of reluctance, he slowly let go of my arm. As the old hand fell away, Mr. Jang Taejin pulled me into his arms and quickly left the area.
While riding the VIP-exclusive elevator down to the underground parking lot, countless thoughts floated through my head. My father would have definitely noticed, and then some. That I was carrying Mr. Jang Taejin’s child, and that Mr. Jang Taejin was also happy about that fact.
A sense of dread enveloped my entire body. I had merely let my family know I was pregnant, yet my heart was pounding as if it would burst with anxiety.
“Are you alright?”
Mr. Jang Taejin asked. I couldn’t say a word. He placed me, dazed, into the back seat of the car, and he sat down as well. As the driver, who had finished arranging the shopping bags received from the executive assistant in the trunk, sat in the driver’s seat, he spoke.
“Let’s go home.”
The car we were in passed by the hotel with the decent restaurant and headed straight for Mr. Jang Taejin’s house.
⋆.˚🦋₊ ⊹
After coincidentally running into my family at the department store, I spent my days trembling with anxiety. The vile smile I had glimpsed on my father’s face when he realized I was pregnant made me uneasy. I was worried he might try to do something. Thanks to throwing my phone away in a supermarket restroom when I ran away from that house, he had no way of contacting me directly, but I still couldn’t easily shake off the feeling of anxiety.
“Are you really alright?”
Mr. Jang Taejin, having finished getting ready for work, approached me as I sat on the edge of the bed, mindlessly chewing on my innocent fingernails. He had been extremely worried about me, as I had been constantly restless lately.
“Ah… Are you all ready?”
“I finished a while ago. Mr. Lim Jaegyeong just didn’t notice.”
“Did I not?”
I got up from my seat. I was about to bid Mr. Jang Taejin farewell when he suddenly wrapped his hands around my waist and pulled me in forcefully.
“Will you really be okay here alone?”
“What’s there to not be okay about?”
“I have to be away from home for three days.”
“It’s okay because this room is full of your scent, Mr. Jang. Nothing will happen.”
Mr. Jang Taejin would be away from home for three days starting today. He had to go on a business trip that he had been putting off and off because of me. The thought of him being gone for a few days was a little strange, but it wasn’t completely unbearable. Just as I’d told Mr. Jang Taejin, this room was full of his scent. If I was feeling a little unwell, I could just go to the closet, pull out any piece of clothing, and smell his scent.
“Perhaps it would have been better to go with you.”
“I don’t want to. I don’t want to be a bother when you’re going to work, Mr. Jang.”
“You say that, but you’re going to miss me, aren’t you.”
“Who says? That I’m going to miss you, Mr. Jang.”
When I spoke a little playfully, he narrowed his eyes and looked down at me. He brought that handsome face right up to mine, grabbed my chin with his hand, and pulled it down to part my lips.
“Didn’t you say you masturbated before, rubbing yourself with my handkerchief?”
Whoosh. My face flushed hot.
“What are you going to do if you want to do it again this time? Are you planning to rub against my underwear this time?”
“Wh-who said I would do that…!”
“Should I tell one of the employees? To leave some of my unwashed underwear out for you?”
“…Mr. Jang!”
When I shrieked, he chuckled as if he found it amusing and pressed his lips to mine. He pushed his tongue through the parted gap and explored the inside, forcing a soft, lewd moan out of me.
“It hurts. Let go.”
When I complained after the kiss, he let go of the chin he was holding. But it seemed he had no intention of pulling away, as he held me so tightly it felt like he would break my waist and kissed me again and again. I could feel his heart thumping against his large chest, which was pressed against mine. He was getting excited from just one kiss. Just like me, he was clearly forcing down his own desire, which had grown from just kissing my lips.
“If you’re going to do it anyway, do it while showing me. While letting me hear you moan.”
Having finished the kiss, he pointed to the table. I had been so preoccupied with thoughts of my father that I hadn’t noticed at all, but following his gesture with my eyes, I finally realized that there was an unfamiliar object on the table.
“Aah…”
It was a cell phone. Until now, there had been no need for us to contact each other via phone, but now that he had to be away from me for a few days, it seemed he thought it was necessary and had gotten one for me.
“Mr. Lim Jaegyeong, do you know this?”
“What is it.”
“They say a baby in its mother’s womb instinctively knows the existence of its mother.”
“Is that so?”
“But not the father, apparently.”
“Ah…”
“So they say you have to let them hear your voice often. That way, they feel, ‘Ah, there’s a person called Dad.’”
He tightened his grip on my waist again. He bent his head so close it was as if he would devour my lips at any moment, and his gaze met mine, lingering intently.
“So don’t miss my calls, and answer them well.”
“Yes. I will.”
“And you should call me diligently too, Mr. Lim Jaegyeong.”
“I will.”
He hugged me so tightly it felt like I would be crushed. Even being completely trapped in his embrace, it didn’t feel stuffy at all. His broad chest was reassuring, and his scent was warm. In this moment in his arms, I didn’t even think of my father, nor was I worried about what he might do.
“When you masturbate, make sure to video call me.”
He said, releasing me from his embrace. Flustered by his mischievous teasing, I pounded on his chest.
“Go on now. You’ll be late.”
Feeling like this could go on forever, I soothed and coaxed him out.
“Be careful on your trip. And don’t forget to buy me a present.”
“If you need anything, contact Secretary Yeo. He will take good care of you while I’m gone.”
“I’ll manage. Don’t worry.”
“How can I not worry? When you’re even carrying a child.”
Even though I was trying to send him off quickly, we continued to bicker with him in the car and the window rolled down. Deciding it was no use, I told him again to hurry up and go. In the end, his face, tinged with reluctance and worry, disappeared behind the rising window. He left me standing at the main gate, waving. Watching the luxury sedan recede into the distance, I let out a small sigh. I had said I was fine because I didn’t want to be a burden to him, but as expected, spending several days in the house without him would be difficult.
“Ah…”
Then I quickly shook my head. I knew better than anyone how busy he was. A person like that had been dedicating so much of his time to me lately. While I liked it, a part of my heart always felt heavy. I shouldn’t be like this. Wasn’t I being unnecessarily greedy with a person who was trying to adjust everything to me?
I shouldn’t do that. He was already too good for me… I organized my thoughts and turned around. I passed by the employees who had come out to see him off with me and weakly entered the house.
A gust of wind that blew over the autumn garden caused a rain of fallen leaves to pour down. I placed a hand on my stomach, thinking of the children inside, and blankly stared at the red leaves swaying along with the wind that brushed past outside the window. The hormones flooding my body to maintain the pregnancy were making my heart unstable. It probably wasn’t just a matter of hormones, but it was hard to shake off the gloomy mood. My situation, which I had forgotten for a while after coming back to live in this house, hit me anew, and my heart felt desolate. For the sake of Parang and Bora in my belly, I should be having pleasant imaginings and happy thoughts, but I couldn’t because my father’s face, which I had run into at the department store, kept popping into my head. It was even more so because it coincided with Mr. Jang Taejin’s business trip. There was nothing more depressing than blankly staring out the window in the room where he was absent.
“My goodness, you should be resting in your room. Why did you come out here?”
The kitchen aunty spoke with disapproval upon seeing me, who had come to the kitchen thinking that it wouldn’t do any good to be alone in my room. Whatever the aunty said, I went to her side as she stood in front of the counter, intending to help with the meal preparation.
“What are you going to do with these?”
I asked, pointing to the round chestnuts that were piled up, having just been washed.
“I’m going to peel them and make mattang.”
“Mattang? Don’t you make that with sweet potatoes?”
“You don’t know a thing. It’s more delicious when you make it with chestnuts. We have an expectant mother in the house, we have to eat seasonal food. These are fresh chestnuts harvested this fall.”
“Aah.”
I took a paring knife of a suitable size from the knife block on the sink and picked up one of the washed chestnuts.
“I just have to peel these, right?”
“Oh my. Leave it.”
“It’s okay. I’ve done this a lot during the holidays, so I know how.”
“No, I said leave it. If you cut your hand, how am I supposed to face Mr. Jang?”
“It’s really okay. I’m really good at it.”
This time, it wasn’t a lie, it was true. I used to sit side by side with the lady who worked at my family’s home during the holidays and peel water-soaked chestnuts. My fingers hurt more than I expected, but seeing the well-peeled round chestnuts even gave me a sense of pride. It was just as well since my mind was complicated. If I did some chores like this, my complicated heart would soon be forgotten.
“Gosh, you’re really something else. Then take it and sit at the table to do it. An expectant mother shouldn’t stand for a long time.”
I finally got the aunty’s permission and headed to the table with the chestnuts, which were resting in a sieve, and the paring knife. When I sat in the chair, the aunty also took a seat next to me. We began to prepare the chestnuts, sitting side by side as if we were really mother and son.
“You’re really good at it. Where did you learn something like this?”
“Have you been deceived your whole life? I told you I’ve done it every holiday.”
“Still, be careful. The chestnut shell is surprisingly thick and tough, so you can easily hurt your hand.”
“I know.”
In fact, I, who had only ever peeled the inner skin of chestnuts that had already had their outer shell removed, was a little surprised by the harder and thicker outer shell than I had expected. Still, thanks to the aunty skillfully cutting off the top and bottom, all I had to do was peel it off, so it wasn’t difficult.
“Your belly is showing a little.”
The aunty, who was glancing at me as I sat, said as if in passing. I looked down. Come to think of it, my belly was showing just enough to be ambiguous. It wasn’t noticeable at all when I was standing, but sitting like this, it was just enough to look a little bulging.
“You’re right.”
“You must be in the stable period now. The hard times must be mostly over. Your belly will get bigger in no time. In another month, it’ll be noticeable just by looking.”
My belly is showing… It was natural since I was pregnant, but the feeling was different. It meant that Parang and Bora were growing well. I wonder if it’s not too crowded for the two of them? Thinking of the babies squirming to take up space, a smile inadvertently hung on my lips.
“Ouch!”
I shouldn’t have been thinking about other things while holding a knife. My mind was so preoccupied with thoughts of Parang and Bora that I ended up cutting my hand with the paring knife.
“Oh my goodness!”
The aunty jumped up from her seat, making a fuss. I stopped her as she hurried to get medicine and a bandage, saying I was fine.
“A pregnant woman probably can’t even apply ointment. I just need to stop the bleeding.”
“No, what should we do? What if it gets infected?”
“It’s okay. It’s not a deep cut.”
I chided myself for my carelessness and put the finger that was bleeding into my mouth. Even though it wasn’t a big wound, the aunty was worried sick. If Mr. Jang found out that I got hurt while helping the kitchen aunty peel chestnuts, he would surely give her a hard time, and I was worried that my offer to help had made things worse.
“Don’t tell Mr. Jang. I’ll be quiet about it too.”
“Even if I don’t say anything, a report will surely go in that you got hurt.”
Come to think of it, everything that happened in this house was already reaching his ears. There was more than one pair of eyes watching, so it was impossible for Mr. Jang not to know just because the two of us kept our mouths shut.
“I’m sorry. To have put you in a difficult position because of me.”
“Is that the problem? An expectant mother got hurt.”
“This will heal quickly.”
I obediently put down the paring knife I was holding. It seemed I should refrain from coming to the kitchen for a while. With a heavy heart, I hung my head and left the kitchen.
At night, after taking a shower and just as I sat on the bed, the cell phone I had placed on the table rang. Having lived without a cell phone for a while, I had forgotten its existence and was startled by the sudden vibration, approaching the phone.
“Hello.”
The caller was, of course, Mr. Jang Taejin. The heavy voice coming from over the receiver pierced my eardrum and weighed heavily on my chest.
—What were you doing that you’re just now answering?
“I was taking a shower. I just got out.”
—From now on, keep the phone with you even when you’re showering. I don’t like not being able to reach you.
“Yes. I will.”
His voice coming through the phone felt a little unfamiliar. So this is what Mr. Jang Taejin’s phone voice sounds like. It was much lower and sweeter than when I heard it next to me in person. He was a person with a great voice to begin with, but hearing it over the phone was even better.
—I heard you got hurt.
As expected. There was no way that incident hadn’t reached his ears.
“It’s nothing. I just got a little scratch from a paring knife.”
—Why is that nothing? A pregnant woman can’t even apply ointment recklessly.
“It happens. How can I be careful every single time?”
—Hah. You don’t let a single word pass.
“That’s because I’m afraid you’ll make a fuss over nothing, Mr. Jang.”
—Me?
“Didn’t you know? You’re so overprotective of me, Mr. Jang. It’s like, are you my lover or my guardian?”
As I muttered as if to myself, I heard a low laugh from the other side of the receiver.
—Mr. Lim Jaegyeong has done things before. What if you run away again? Saying some nonsense about being afraid I would leave you or whatnot.
“Come to think of it, you have a bit of a grudge, Mr. Jang. Are you still holding that in your heart?”
—I’m a narrow-minded alpha, limited to matters related to Mr. Lim Jaegyeong.
“I’ve misjudged you all this time.”
Time flew by just with idle talk. This feeling, this sensation. It was unfamiliar yet good. I didn’t know before how sweet a phone call with someone I liked could be. Who knew that the meaningless jokes we usually exchanged could become so special just because I was talking to him, who was far away, on the phone.
—Why didn’t you call? I waited all day.
“You’re busy. You said you’d call when you had time, so I waited.”
—From now on, you call first. I’ll answer even if I’m in a meeting.
“You can’t do that. You’re a grown-up, why don’t you know that? You have to separate your public and private life.”
—I want to try it just once. The feeling of having a call I want to take, even if it means stopping a meeting.
He had told me at the villa that he had never liked anyone before. That’s how it had been until now.
Perhaps, like me, this was his first time in a relationship too. Was he also just as eager to experience that feeling of waiting for someone’s call and dragging the answer button with a happy heart when it finally came?
“Okay. I’ll be the first to call next time, for sure.”
I just didn’t want to be a bother, but I thought that might have felt a little disappointing to him. Since this was his first time in a relationship, too. He would want to feel this kind of emotion just as much as I did.
—Haven’t you masturbated today? I heard that pregnant people have a rather high sex drive.
I, who had been completely immersed in the sweet taste of romance, was instantly flushed red by Mr. Jang Taejin’s sudden and intimate remark.
“Wh-what are you talking about? It’s only just gotten to be night.”
—Ah. So you were about to start now?
“What do you mean? When did I say that?”
—Should I have made it a video call? To see Mr. Lim Jaegyeong’s pretty face, too.
“I’m a mess right now…”
—Did I not tell you? That Mr. Lim Jaegyeong is even prettier when you’re a mess.
My gaze suddenly shifted to the mirror. Having just finished showering, my hair was damp and tousled, and my flushed cheeks were unsightly. At this rate, I would definitely not look good on camera. I only wanted to show him my neat and pretty side.
“No. Next time.”
—I’ll call back in one minute.
“Yes…?”
—Pick it up on the bed. With all your clothes off.
“Hey, wait a minute. Mr. Jang? Mr. Jang!”
The call really did hang up. I stared blankly at the phone screen, which had now switched to the wallpaper, before snapping to my senses and hurrying to the mirror. I roughly ran my fingers through my messily tangled hair to tidy it and applied toner to my flushed cheeks to calm them down. No matter how I looked, an ugly face was on the other side of the mirror, but there was nothing else I could do.
Still in my robe, I took the phone and headed for the bed. Mr. Jang Taejin had told me to take off all my clothes and answer, but that was really too much. I calmed my breathing and leaned against the bed, waiting for the call. A moment later, the phone rang again. It was a video call from Mr. Jang Taejin. I gulped once and dragged the accept button.
Seeing his face fill the screen, I thought my breath would stop. Mr. Jang… did he look like this? I knew he was a handsome man, but seeing him like this, he was even more stunning. Like me, he seemed to have just gotten out of the bath, his hair completely wet, and he was wearing a white robe. Droplets of water clung to the ends of his wet hair. My gaze was fixed on the sight, so sexy that my heart pounded fiercely.
—I believe I told you to take it all off.
He chided me right away. He seemed to be displeased with the robe. I was about to think of an excuse when I suddenly noticed that he was also wearing a robe and pouted my lips.
“What about you, Mr. Jang? You should take everything off, too.”
Just as I was feeling proud of myself for coming up with a rather appropriate excuse on the spot, Mr. Jang Taejin delivered a heavy blow.
—Does my naked body turn you on?
“Yes… Yes?”
—Then I’ll take it off.
I thought about it seriously. It was embarrassing to frankly admit that I was turned on, but on the other hand, I wanted to see his naked body. If just his wet face was this sexy, how much sexier would he be naked? It was a body I had seen many times, but seeing it on a screen like this would be a different feeling. Thinking that, I felt I absolutely couldn’t stand not seeing it.
—What should I do? Take it off? Or not.
“Ta-take it off.”
In the end, I gave in to my instincts. The flushed tips of my ears were an added bonus.
—If I take mine off, Mr. Lim Jaegyeong takes his off too.
“…Okay.”
He raised the hand holding the phone. Staring at the phone screen, he untied the knot of the robe with his other hand.
“Ah…”
The robe that had been covering his front opened. The white robe slipped down his firm, copper-toned body. A clearly defined body was revealed. I couldn’t bear to show him my gaping mouth, so I covered my face with one hand. Following the movement of his hand, the phone’s lens pointed downward.
Above the thin skin, where it seemed no fat existed, the inguinal ligaments were distinct. My gaze followed the sharp, slanted muscles downward. His core filled the screen. It wasn’t erect yet, but the long piece of flesh stretched down his body and onto the bed covers.
I knew well what a hideous weapon that thing, which was still just a piece of flesh, turned into when it got excited. It would become a hard, thick weapon, turning bright red as if heated by fire, with veins tangled all over it. I wanted to see that fearsome object. Just seeing his naked body on the screen had already made my own cock erect and stiff, but I wanted to see him get hard with excitement, too.
—Now it’s Mr. Lim Jaegyeong’s turn.
He moved the screen back up. His handsome face and large pectoral muscles were captured together again. He looked down with half-lidded eyes, his expression languid, yet he couldn’t hide his deep anticipation. He was thoroughly excited, waiting for me to become naked before his very eyes.
“I, um…”
—You’re not about to say you won’t do it, are you?
“It’s embarrassing. To do this in front of you, Mr. Jang.”
—What’s so embarrassing? I think I’ve seen Mr. Lim Jaegyeong get undressed over a hundred times.
Sometimes, when I had to be punished by him, when he would take me roughly, he made me undress myself in front of him. I always did it reluctantly, but it was at least manageable because he usually had his gaze elsewhere. But now, the situation was completely different. He was focused on me. How could I casually take off my clothes when he was staring intently at the screen?
—So, are you not going to do it? I already took mine off because Mr. Lim Jaegyeong told me to.
“I-I’ll do it. I will.”
I chewed on my lip for a long while before lifting the phone just as he had done. I untied the robe’s sash with one hand and exposed a shoulder. My bare shoulder appeared in the small window on the phone screen. My unimpressive body, not broad-shouldered or full of muscle like Mr. Jang Taejin’s, was slowly revealed. I was embarrassed and ashamed. I was embarrassed to be undressing in front of him, and ashamed of this shabby body. Nevertheless, he was staring intently with a serious face, as if he couldn’t miss a single moment of me undressing.
“Don’t look at me like that.”
—Then how should I look? Should I rub my cock while I watch?
“I don’t like it. Talk like that.”
—Your nipples don’t seem to dislike it, Mr. Lim Jaegyeong.
At his words, my gaze drifted downward. I had known since a while ago that my cock was erect, but I hadn’t realized that even my nipples had gotten hard.
“Th-this is… because of Parang and Bora.”
—Are you blaming the children who haven’t even been born yet? What did they do? Did they suck on Mr. Lim Jaegyeong’s nipples?
“No, no. Because I’m pregnant. That’s why they’re so sensitive.”
—Do nipples just get hard for no reason? Isn’t it because you’re turned on, Mr. Lim Jaegyeong?
“…”
—Your nipples get hard when you’re turned on, Mr. Lim Jaegyeong. Even a light touch makes them stand up straight, begging to be sucked.
“Please stop.”
—Seeing how embarrassed you are, Mr. Lim Jaegyeong, I think I need to do it more.
I was well aware that he enjoyed lewd talk, but for him to be like this even in a situation where I had to undress in front of him, I couldn’t bear the embarrassment. To make matters worse, my nipples had gotten hard, leaving me unable to do anything but bite my lip. The white bathrobe was hanging only halfway off my body.
—So, when are you taking the rest off?
“I don’t know. I’m too embarrassed to do it because of you, Mr. Jang.”
—Hah.
He let out a short laugh.
—This won’t do. I’ll have to make you take it off by force.
How was he going to force me to take it off from so far away? Thinking his words were contradictory, I blinked, and he suddenly changed the angle of the screen. Holding it up so that his face and body were visible at once, he grabbed his cock, which had gained some firmness.
—Seeing Mr. Lim Jaegyeong’s hard nipples made me like this.
When it first appeared on screen, it definitely didn’t look like that. It was just a piece of slightly dark flesh, hanging limp, but now it had become thick and hard. The color had deepened, making it look grotesque at a glance.
And that made it look even more delicious. Its grotesque appearance was incredibly lewd and good. He held the gradually swelling flesh, moving it slightly, and gazed at the screen with somewhat hazy eyes. His gaze was as lewd as his hardened member.
—Show me more of your nipples, Mr. Lim Jaegyeong. So I can see them hard.
His voice was mixed with ragged breaths. I, too, was becoming breathless, my chest heaving. As he commanded, I brought the phone to my chest and showed him my brown nipples. My nipples, which had been closer to a light pink, had turned a completely dark brown since I became pregnant. To make matters worse, they had also grown larger and the areolas had swollen thickly, so I had only thought of them as grotesque, but Mr. Jang Taejin preferred my changed nipples.
—Haaah. Rub them with your hand, Mr. Lim Jaegyeong. Grab your hard nipples with your fingers.
His voice, as he rubbed his cock, became even lewder. As if hypnotized by the voice that drenched not only my eardrums but also my parts below, I placed my hand on my nipple. I placed two fingers on the thick, swollen areola, with the plumply raised nipple in between, and gently rubbed. I narrowed the angle between my fingers and gripped the nipple, stimulating it.
“Aheung…”
A moan escaped on its own as the sensitive erogenous zone was touched. The stimulation of my nipple, combined with the fact that he was watching, excited me even more. My hips bucked and my eyes closed. Tilting my head back, I managed to check on him through barely open, slitted eyes. He was stroking his cock, watching me touch my nipples. Saliva pooled in my mouth at the sight of his head, thick and swollen with excitement, a glistening bead of pre-cum at its tip, and I licked my lips.