Just Let It Happen (12)

"Why the hell do I have to suffer like this? Why!"

For this one moment alone, she hated Tae-kyung—the man who had abandoned her—far more than Jung Yun-seul, who had mocked her so mercilessly.

The tears that had stopped came pouring out all over again, and a poisonous wave of self-loathing crashed down on her.

Some time passed like that.

Then the front door opened, and Tae-kyung trudged wearily inside. Only belatedly noticing Sa-ra, he rushed over with a worried face and wrapped his hands around her shoulders.

"Don't touch me. You're annoying me."

When Sa-ra slapped his hand away with an irritable flick, Tae-kyung's face twisted violently.

He had just come from groveling at Yun-seul's feet like a dog, his pride shredded to ribbons. And now Sa-ra, far from sympathizing with his filthy mood, was snapping at him the moment he walked in. It made no sense to him.

"Why are you in a mood? I'm already about to lose my mind here."

"Oh, why? Let me guess—our amazing, brilliant Seul-ie refused to forgive you in the end?"

She had heard every sweet word Tae-kyung murmured to Yun-seul from inside that closet. Knowing full well they were all lies didn't stop the bile from churning in Sa-ra's gut.

He'd walked out after Yun-seul and left her behind, and the sting of that made every word come out sour.

Yet the reaction she'd expected—soothing, coddling—was ice cold.

"Min Sa-ra. Is this really something you think you get to sneer at me about?"

Sa-ra's eyes wavered violently. Her nose stung, and the rims of her eyes flushed red in an instant.

He couldn't possibly treat her this coldly—not after she'd been locked in that dark closet for over an hour.

"You should have sent her home as fast as you could! While you were busy kissing Min Yun-seul's ass, I could barely breathe in that pile of reeking clothes!"

As Sa-ra burst into furious tears, Tae-kyung let out a long sigh. He was every bit as angry, but he had no desire to let things escalate, so he swallowed it and coaxed her instead.

"...I'm sorry. Oppa lost his temper for a second. My fault, Sa-ra."

He apologized, but Sa-ra felt as if the sky were caving in on her. This was the first time since they'd gotten together that they'd screamed and fought like this—and over nothing more than Min Yun-seul. It was absurd.

"Forget it. I'm going home."

Shoving roughly past his chest, Sa-ra grabbed her handbag and walked out of the officetel. But Tae-kyung stayed rooted to the spot, not moving an inch.

"Why the hell are you taking this out on me? Fuck..."

His mood curdled, and he kicked the living room sofa with all his strength.

She was the one who had barged into his home uninvited, the one who'd begged to suck him off because it looked like fun. And now that things had gone sideways, every arrow of blame swung back toward him. It was infuriating.

Tae-kyung massaged his still-stinging cheek and dropped heavily onto the sofa. What filled his head right now wasn't Sa-ra. It was Yun-seul.

'I never want to see your face again. Never come looking for me.'

Was it really over, just like that?

Ha... fuck. It can't be.

Back when Sa-ra had first made her bizarre proposal, Tae-kyung had refused. Playing with a woman on the side was one thing—marrying Yun-seul was another entirely, and he hadn't wanted to give that up.

But then Sa-ra had told him something interesting.

'Min Yun-seul's biological father is a tycoon. Insanely rich.'

His fortune could be in the tens of millions of dollars—maybe hundreds. And Yun-seul had no idea. Sa-ra said the man had no other children, which meant that entire fortune might one day flow straight into Yun-seul's hands. At that, Tae-kyung had flipped his position as easily as turning over his palm.

Three years passed that way. All that remained was the wedding, and then everything would glide smoothly into place.

And then she'd rejected his proposal.

He never imagined the woman who'd acted as if she loved him to death would turn him down. Still, he'd believed nothing would truly change—only that it would take a little more time.

And then this catastrophe had erupted. The tower he'd spent years stacking brick by brick had collapsed in a single instant.

'If it ends like this, what happens to me? What if Yun-seul never changes her mind, no matter what?'

Like the dog that chased the chicken and ended up staring at the roof—screwed. Completely fucked... shit.

At that moment, a single thought flashed through his mind.

Sa-ra and Jung-hee were family to Yun-seul. He was an outsider. His was a seat that could be replaced at any time. If he lost Sa-ra too, even that faint glimmer of hope would vanish entirely.

"This is no time to be sulking."

Tae-kyung sprang to his feet, flung open the front door, and sprinted outside. If he didn't want to end up a nobody with nothing, he had to hold on to Min Sa-ra with everything he had.

Fortunately, Sa-ra was still standing in front of the elevator. The damn thing, so agonizingly slow it always made him seethe, chose today of all days to be on his side.

"Sa-ra."

Tae-kyung called her name in a heartbroken voice. Then he sprinted at full speed, hooked his arms around her waist, and hoisted her up over his shoulder.

"Put me down! I said put me down!"

Sa-ra hammered her fists against his back and squirmed, but Tae-kyung didn't so much as flinch as he carried her straight back inside.

No one knew better than Tae-kyung the fastest way to soothe her—and to make her submit.

He opened the door, walked in, and went straight to the bed. He tossed Sa-ra down roughly, climbed over her, and pressed his weight into her upper body, gathering her wrists together in one hand as if binding them.

"Let go of me."

"Sa-ra, let's just throw it all away. You're all I need. Why would I ever need a woman like Min Yun-seul when I have you? It was always for our future—yours and mine. I want to give you the things I can't give you now."

He murmured exactly the words she wanted to hear while pressing his lower body flush between her legs.

In that instant, Sa-ra's violent struggling stopped as if it had never existed. Not because she was moved by his earnest excuses—because he'd found the spot that made her melt.

For all her aloof, frosty beauty, Sa-ra turned to jelly the moment physical pleasure touched her.

As Tae-kyung ground his hips against her in slow, deliberate strokes, the furious crease between her brows smoothed away and color bloomed hot across her cheeks. By now, he knew without looking that she would already be slick and wet.

"You think I enjoyed begging and groveling to that worthless bitch? My pride was dying. The only reason I kept my mouth shut even when she slapped me was you, Sa-ra. And if you won't even understand how I feel, what am I supposed to do?"

"Nnh... Oppa, that's not... ahn..."

Her voice, sharp as a blade a moment ago, had gone soft and yielding as overripe fruit, dissolving into low, breathy moans.

Tae-kyung released her wrists; there was no longer any need to hold them down.

He slid his hands beneath both her knees and spread her legs wide. The skirt covering her thighs rode up to her waist, baring panties already soaked dark with want. He stripped off her bottoms and underwear in one motion, then gripped her full, heavy breasts with one hand as he pressed his rigid length against the damp fabric and dragged it up and down.

"Hah! Oppa... nngh... hah..."

At the relentless friction grinding against her folds and the swollen bud beneath, Sa-ra's eyes slowly went hazy and unfocused.

"Haah... haah..."

When Sa-ra's heated moans spilled out, Tae-kyung's own body burned in answer. He pumped his aching, engorged length against her in fast strokes until Sa-ra arched off the mattress, her head twisting against the sheets.

"Ah—Oppa, hurry... please..."

At last, the plea he'd been waiting for broke from her lips. Only then did Tae-kyung slowly peel down those panties, so small they nearly vanished in his palm.

He pressed himself against her glistening entrance and whispered in a low voice.

"Sa-ra, we shouldn't be fighting over a woman like Min Yun-seul. Right?"

"Yes! Ahn—yes, you're right! Ohh, Oppa, you're right!"

He drove into her hard enough to make the mattress springs shriek, and with every deep thrust Sa-ra clenched around him with maddening, desperate heat.

After a long, breathless tangle of bodies finally came to an end, the two of them lay side by side on the bed, drenched in sweat. Hands idly roaming each other's skin in the lingering afterglow, their minds were already churning again beneath the returning weight of reality.

Back home, Yun-seul pulled a bottle of cold water from the refrigerator and gulped it down. The cold trail sliding down her throat washed the foul memory away.

Min Sa-ra. Woo Tae-kyung. Those two no longer held even a speck of power over her life.

'I will never shed another tear over people like you. Never hurt over you again.'

Yun-seul headed to her room, sat down at her desk, and turned on her laptop without hesitation. Then, as if nothing had happened, she buried herself in her screenplay work.

A long while later, she heard a knock at her door. She didn't need to look to know who had come looking for her.

'Welcome, unnie. I've been waiting. You still have so much left to pay back.'

Staring at her monitor, Yun-seul let the corner of her mouth curl slowly upward.