The Empty Morning After
The crack of the lighter flared once, then sank into silence. Thin white smoke drifted upward like a veil across the night sky.
Cold dawn air sliced through the coat he wore, and Woo-jin turned instinctively, glancing back.
The door connecting the terrace to the bedroom stood sealed tight. He peered inside again, half-convinced Shin Yu-won might still be asleep, but nothing stirred. Of course not.
Woo-jin drew on the cigarette a second time, deeper this time, until the smoke burned the back of his throat. The woman had been unconscious, sobbing; it would take hours for her to wake.
The image of her face crumpled in tears flashed behind his eyes again, and something hot and tight coiled low in his abdomen.
Her grief never hid her clumsiness. He had already lost the last of his restraint long ago.
Every time Shin Yu-won bit her lip and tried to swallow the broken sound, Woo-jin pushed her harder. When she finally broke and gave him the wet, helpless cry he wanted, a strange satisfaction bloomed inside him. Did he really have such a cruel streak?
Her transparent lashes trembled beneath his gaze, tears clinging to them. The woman who had surrendered so completely beneath his hands.
Shin Yu-won, flushed and glistening under him, had been heartbreakingly beautiful.
The thought of her sleeping naked on the bed now came unbidden. He wanted to see that pale, soft skin with his own eyes.
Woo-jin crushed the cigarette against the terrace table and rose.
Just tonight.
He remembered the trembling, solemn way Shin Yu-won had whispered those words. A faint, twisted smile touched his lips as he opened the bedroom door.
Perhaps.
The urge to hold her one more night still burned fiercely inside him, but he knew every feeling had its end.
When he reached that point, he would let her go without hesitation, no matter what stood in the way.
Even if it meant destroying everything Shin Yu-won had built.
***
When I opened my eyes, the ceiling above me was unfamiliar.
Was the ceiling really this high? Why was the comforter so impossibly soft?
…Was this a dream?
Shin Yu-won lay in a daze for a moment, fingers brushing the silky fabric. Then her head snapped up, heart hammering.
“Ah…”
Even the dull ache between her legs was nothing compared to the vivid memory of last night.
You’ve gone mad, Shin Yu-won.
She bit her lip hard enough to taste blood, dragging the blanket over her body as she slipped out of bed.
“Ugh…”
A short, involuntary whimper escaped as she searched blindly for her clothes.
“You’re awake?”
Woo-jin stepped out of the dressing room, fingers idly straightening his tie. The greeting was calm, almost courteous, like any morning exchange. Shin Yu-won clutched the blanket tighter, cheeks burning.
“How… how are you feeling?”
“I’m fine.”
Her voice cracked, raw. Her skin was a map of bruises, her legs trembling like a newborn foal’s.
She had wanted chaos, and she had gotten it. Yet seeing him standing there, untouched and composed, twisted something painfully inside her.
“What is there to be so angry about?”
Woo-jin’s gaze sharpened, amused. Shin Yu-won turned her face away before her blush could betray her.
“First, go wash up.”
He spoke as though nothing had happened, already adjusting his cuffs. The scent of his cologne drifted over, cool and sharp.
“My… my clothes aren’t here…”
She hesitated, and he turned again.
“Should I help you wash?”
“Wha—”
His hand paused mid-motion. The moment his eyes met hers, Shin Yu-won clutched the blanket to her chest and took a step back. What he had just said was impossible as a joke.
“I’ll wash and come out.”
She fled into the adjoining bathroom, legs finally giving out. Hot water roared over her skin as she sank into the tub and stayed there, staring at nothing.
“Hah…”
Every muscle protested. The soreness between her legs was nothing compared to the ache that radiated from her shoulders to her toes.
Last night, when she had come here, all she had wanted was to forget—forget Kim Hak-yeon’s blackmail, her mother in the hospital, the man she was not allowed to love.
She had begged for just one night to dissolve everything. Instead, the morning only sharpened the truth.
A bitter realization settled over her: she had done something irreversible.
Now she would simply return to her own place.
Focus.
Shin Yu-won lightly pinched both cheeks, then forced her numb arms to scrub herself clean.
“Tell me where my clothes are.”
When she emerged from the bathroom wrapped in the bathrobe, Woo-jin was waiting.
“This feels like the woodcutter who stole a shirt as a reward.”
He pointed. Shin Yu-won’s gaze followed his finger.
…
A large shopping bag sat on the bedside table. She recognized the logo of a well-known luxury brand.
She had no memory of it from last night. She had been too disoriented to notice anything before she went into the bathroom.
Exactly when…
Woo-jin’s chin lifted again, a silent command. She crossed the room, opened the bag, and found a soft beige two-piece set inside.
She didn’t need to check the price tag to know one outfit cost more than her entire monthly salary.
“What is this?”
“Clothes,” he answered casually, as if she had asked about the weather.
“Then why—”
“I thought you might need something to change into.”
“…”
“Don’t you like it? Shall I bring something else?”
He pulled out his phone. Shin Yu-won waved her hands frantically.
“No, that’s not—”
Her lashes trembled. Her eyes must have been swirling with everything she refused to name.
Don’t look at me like that, she thought, lowering her gaze.
“I don’t want to receive this.”
“You don’t want to receive it? Why?”
Woo-jin’s brows drew together for a moment, then smoothed as understanding dawned.
“Ah.”
“…”
“Does it feel like you’re being paid? That’s why you refuse?”
“Yes.”
Caught, Shin Yu-won nodded without hesitation.
Woo-jin let out a low, almost inaudible laugh and tilted his head.
“Listen, Shin Yu-won.”
“Yes, President.”
“The payment should come from you. You asked me to help you, didn’t you?”
“That’s…”
“You’re calculating oddly.”
He had no answer. She had thrown herself at him first last night.
“And you’re planning to wear the same clothes you wore yesterday while coming to work with me?”
“…”
“Am I supposed to be advertising that I slept with the President? What fresh scandal are you trying to stir up?”
Kim Seung-ju’s name felt like something from another lifetime.
There was nothing more to say. Shin Yu-won lifted the shopping bag.
“I’ll pay you back when my salary arrives.”
“Suit yourself.”
She turned to leave, bag in hand.
“…”
Woo-jin’s arm shot out, snatching her waist and pulling her flush against him. She dropped the bag and collided with the hard wall of his chest.
“President—!”
Woo-jin caught her chin with the opposite hand and lifted it. His eyes were ice-cold, but his touch burned.
Standing this close, meeting his gaze felt unbearable. Even if she wanted to turn away, his grip held her perfectly still—firm enough to prevent escape, gentle enough to allow her head to move a fraction.
“What is this?”
“Don’t like it?”
His thumb brushed her swollen lower lip with deliberate laziness. The thin skin beneath it quivered, sending an electric jolt straight through her.
Shin Yu-won sensed the change in his stare and squeezed her eyes shut. The moment she did, last night flooded back in vivid color.
The heavy weight of him, the scorching heat, the strange sensations that had spread all the way to her toes, the sounds she had made.
Just remembering it made her toes curl, and something deep in her belly twisted and throbbed.
Woo-jin’s low command rang out.
“Eyes open.”
“…”
“If you don’t want to be eaten, then open your eyes.”
When she parted her lashes halfway, his eyes had already returned to their usual dark calm.
“Change and come out.”
He released her chin, then reached for the collar of her bathrobe and straightened it with quick tugs. Shin Yu-won stood frozen, blinking.
“Ah.”
Woo-jin turned to go, then paused. He looked back at her and let the corner of his mouth lift.
“Did you really expect me to wear something else?”