Lingering Kisses and Lingering Frustration
The cool draft brushed over Woo-hee’s body, leaving only her underwear and stockings. Woo Je-hyeok had not hung up after their kiss—had not even stopped after the sharp slap of his cheek. He waited as if he expected her to break first.
Woo-hee felt the same old chill settle between her shoulder blades, the same one she had felt a month ago in the gallery. Then, too, he had stood her in front of him and continued the call. Now, as then, the man who cared for the slightest form of courtesy hated him.
“Come over then. Tell me the place.”
‘Maybe three of you? Ah, four might work too.’
She remembered the words he had once spoken.
“I’m done with that place. I’m not even in the mood to get there.”
“…Hang up.”
Even when she ordered him to, he did not end the call.
“Hang up, please.”
His eyebrows lifted slightly, as if to ask whether anything was wrong. Woo-hee’s fist clenched on its own.
Je-hyeok glanced at her fist as though it were laughable, then tapped its knuckles with his fingers.
In the gallery he had treated her like a ghost; tonight she was nothing but a toy. Either way, neither choice pleased him.
She slapped his wandering hand away. The sting made him look up and meet her eyes. There was defiance in hers—once he had been generous with her gaze, now he would not be.
Something inside her snapped in that instant. She hated those eyes of his. She would not be ignored by this arrogant, vile man any longer. Who do you think you are? Just garbage. She did not hide the emotion welling up in her.
“I already told you to hang up.”
She rose on her toes, cupped his cheeks with both hands, and pulled him down. She crashed her lips against his roughly, pressing them hard so he could not open his mouth. Over the phone she heard someone calling.
—What is this? Where did you suddenly disappear to? Hey, Woo Je-hyeok, Woo Je-hyeok…!
Je-hyeok ignored the voice calling his name and wrapped his arms around her waist. His lips parted, clearly ready to deepen the kiss. But before his tongue could slide in, Woo-hee pulled away.
He smiled in bewilderment, then twisted his head to cradle her cheek in his palm.
“Now it’s my turn to slap your cheek?”
His voice was icy. Woo-hee’s heart raced strangely—part from fear that he might actually do it, part from the narrowed space between their lips that promised a kiss and withheld it at the same time.
Yet his gaze held none of the earlier harshness. It was not the look of a man about to strike. Woo-hee spoke quietly.
“Stop making long calls in front of people.”
“Why?”
“Because it is rude.”
“Rude?”
“Yes, rude.”
Ah, the man who turned off the sound smiled coldly.
“Keeping a promise for more than an hour counts as proper etiquette?”
“I told you the traffic was bad.”
“That is your problem.”
The arrogant reply left Woo-hee speechless.
“I did not say anything. I sent a vague text, and you only answered after I asked first. You were supposed to be here on time, no matter what excuse you had.”
His slow words seemed to ask, Did I say something wrong?
She had nothing left to say. No one in her life had ever spoken to her with such arrogance. Aside from her father and his family, she had never met a man this shameless. No one had ever demanded she defend her own mistakes.
In the silence she glared at him. Je-hyeok still smiled serenely, as if her stare amused him.
Woo-hee finally fell silent. Only then did his gaze shift slightly.
I won. The thought warmed his eyes as they slowly swept down her body once more.
“You won’t take anything off?”
“……”
“Shall I undress you?”
Woo-hee turned her face away. The night view beyond the window made her head spin and left her dizzy.
“…Now that I think about it, I should shower.”
“Too late. You should have showered already.”
But he pulled her face back toward him. Their lips met again. His hand slipped inside her bra and gripped her breast tightly. Woo-hee struggled once more.
“You’re disgusting… you smell disgusting too.”
“Yeah, you do.”
There was no conviction in the answer. The man’s tongue, which had been licking her lips, slid lower and licked the curve of her jaw, neck, and collarbone.
“Disgusting, and you smell. You.”
He said it playfully and bit her earlobe, chewing gently.
Shame flooded her. Heat rose in her cheeks. He pressed his lips between her breasts. With his signature woody scent mingled with a faint pool-water smell. She had probably just come from the swimming pool.
She pressed her own breast against his nape and said stubbornly.
“…You smell too.”
“Yeah?”
His reply was half-hearted.
“Yeah, you’re disgusting too…”
Woo-hee’s firm answer made him smile faintly.
“Then let me shower you. Shall we finish in the bathroom?”
The tips of his fingers stroked her bare skin teasingly, his touch surprisingly gentle despite his lewd intent.
Fire spread through her body, as if following his fingers. Something shallow inside her seemed to ignite. It was only a small flame so far. Yet strangely, a sudden fear rose that the faint blaze would soon turn into red waves.
Why? She had been with men before.
Perhaps because he was too skilled. It felt dangerous. As his hand delved between her legs, she instinctively squeezed them together. Still, his hand brutally pried them apart and pressed through the stocking until it found and rubbed her most sensitive spot.
She felt sparks of friction deep inside. Her body twisted helplessly. Whether in agony or rising heat, she could not tell. The man knew how to kiss and pleasure her far too well. She had never met one so skilled.
“You’re disgusting, you smell, and you’re soaked down here.”
Despite the lewd words, Je-hyeok chose his next ones carefully.
“No.”
“What’s no?”
He swallowed her lips and seized her breast through the bra. Her body slammed against the glass. When she regained her senses, she was trapped between the window and Je-hyeok.
He caught the back of her neck and lifted her, kissing her again. Her waist was pulled taut and her heels lifted. He pressed closer until their kiss grew thick with desire.
His long fingers parted the slick space and tormented the opening, pressing and circling. Woo-hee groaned and tried to shove his thick forearm away.
Je-hyeok pulled his lips away with an irritated expression.
“Why do you keep pushing me away?”
“……”
“You didn’t take anything off expecting this? Or is teasing me your strategy?”
His irritated gaze was cold. The smile and playfulness from moments ago had vanished.
Her breath caught under his stern stare. She murmured quietly.
“…We can go slowly.”
“What?”
“I’m flustered because you’re too fast.”
“It’s my fault?”
He asked in surprise, then grinned. The dimple at the corner of his mouth looked almost innocent. His expression changed with every passing mood.
“How slow do you want me to be?”
“……”
“Show me.”
He tilted his head and leaned in slightly. Shadows fell across Woo-hee’s face. He wanted a kiss. She only stared at his teasing face with displeasure. He was secretly playful.
“Why, is this uncomfortable? Should I make it easier?”
He carried her to the wing chair nearby, flicked the clothes she had placed on it aside, and sat. Then he placed her on his thighs and faced her.
“Do it.”
The man’s posture was loose, his expression arrogant. Woo-hee disliked it. She did not even want to kiss him. Yet she had no choice. She leaned in, then slid her lips up to the collar of his shirt and kissed.
Their lips met and their breaths tangled. When their tongues touched, she froze for a moment. Even though this was not their first kiss, she hesitated for some reason. All because of Je-hyeok. Because of the massive, hot erection pressing against her from below.
She sat on the hardness and thought, Impossible. That can’t be his penis. It can’t grow that big so quickly. Did I mistake my thighs? No. A human thigh can’t have three.
She kept having strange thoughts. Her nerves kept pulling downward, so the kiss felt unnatural.
Finally Je-hyeok let out a heavy sigh.
“You said you’re older than me.”
He flicked her breast with his fingertip.
“What is older than me about this? You have no skill at all.”
“…That’s why I wasn’t a whore like you.”
His low laugh was strangely sweet. The look in his eyes seemed almost adorable. As always, when she spoke sharply, he only found it amusing.
Woo-hee’s gaze, which saw him as funny, trivial, and laughable, looked at a life far beneath her own with arrogance.
“I’m not a whore either.”
“……”
“Why do you look like you don’t believe it?”
He gave her a pure smile and kissed her lips loudly. Then he lightly kissed her nose, cheeks, and chin. What was it about this man that made him so natural? Even in the car yesterday, even in the restaurant earlier, even now.
“Why do you kiss so much…?”
“Let’s play together.”
He lowered his head again. In one swift motion he caught her hand, which was wiping her lips, and pulled it down.
“This will be more fun.”
This time his tongue plunged deeper.