Wash and Come to Bed

“I have one request I’d like to make.”

To the slow, lyrical strains of the wedding song, the two of them moved forward. Mo-jun adjusted his stride out of consideration for Do-yeon in her long-trained dress.

Anyone watching would have seen a picture-perfect couple walking the virgin road where peonies and hydrangeas bloomed in lavish abundance.

“Please tell them I absolutely want us to make our entrance together.”

“Why?”

For the first time, Do-yeon averted her gaze from the eyes of the man asking the question.

“I don’t want my father holding my hand.”

Even she thought the answer rather childish and unkind.

Nevertheless, Mo-jun replied that he would do as she wished—gazing at her with the very same look he wore now.

“The stars of today’s ceremony have finished their entrance and now stand before the altar.”

The two faced each other as they listened to the emcee’s announcement.

Somehow meeting his eyes was difficult. The way Mo-jun looked at her was far too genuine to be acting, far too heavy for someone entering a marriage of convenience.

The newlyweds exchanged bows, half-listened to the marriage declaration read by some uncle with an impressive title, then bent at the waist without a soul toward both sets of parents.

“Kang son-in-law, take good care of our Do-yeon.”

Amid the empty formalities that stretched longer than reality, the only moment Do-yeon smiled of her own will was when Ju-ran—who had never once been a mother to her—patted her son-in-law’s shoulder and entrusted her future to him.

Fortunately, after that they still had to greet the guests, and the procession followed at once. Thanks to that, no one noticed that the upward curve of Do-yeon’s lips came from scorn.

“Congratulations! Be happy!”

“Thank you for coming.”

After a quick change of clothes, the two were so busy circulating among the tables offering greetings that they barely had time to breathe. Remarks about never having seen such a beautiful bride, about them being a perfect pair of handsome man and beautiful woman, and every other sort of flattery and empty word piled layer upon layer atop the floral decorations winding through the banquet hall.

She had been told the guests were strictly selected, yet the reception had been far more crowded than expected. By the time they saw off the last guest after the ceremony ended, Do-yeon had barely a handful of stamina left.

When they returned to the suite, her entire body already felt wilted. She felt exactly like a plant left abandoned under the blazing midsummer sun.

“Please call for me anytime if you need anything.”

The moment Secretary Kim bowed politely and left, Do-yeon collapsed onto the sofa. She was so exhausted that even the sound of Mo-jun chuckling right beside her barely registered as annoying.

Strangely, her eyelids felt heavier than her limbs. Unable to fight the weight, Do-yeon closed her eyes with the internal excuse of just a moment.

“…….”

For a while, no sound came.

But only briefly—someone touching her hair made Do-yeon snap her eyes open at once. Mo-jun had approached from behind without a sound.

“What are you doing right now?”

With her head half-tilted back, Do-yeon glared at him. Her slightly upturned eyes looked just like a cat with its fur fully puffed.

“I’ll help. It looked uncomfortable to do alone.”

Mo-jun swallowed a laugh and showed her a single hairpin in his hand. At that, Do-yeon’s bristling wariness deflated like a balloon losing air.

With repeated soft clicks, a little graveyard of hairpins grew on the tea table. Following Mo-jun’s movements, her long hair, which had been coiled up, cascaded down in places still stiff with product.

Before long the large hands stopped. Before Do-yeon could even say thank you, Mo-jun spoke first.

“Go wash up.”

The whisper right beside her ear sent a light shiver racing down the nape of her neck.

Startled, Do-yeon reflexively sat bolt upright and turned around.

What suddenly…

Mo-jun’s face as he gazed at her was stranger than on the day they first met. Though not a single fingertip had touched her, a hot sensation seemed to spread through her whole body.

Moreover.

The clause from the prenuptial contract she had reviewed in this very suite at the end of February flashed through her mind.

“……Right now?”

“Yes, right now. You have to wash before we go to bed.”

Whether it was her imagination or deliberate, his voice was leisurely and suggestive.

Her pure white hands clutched the hem of her dress full.

Clearly, until she signed the contract it had been nothing. She wasn’t a child; she had thought there was no need for either of them to make a fuss over something embarrassing.

“…….”

But the moment the words “let’s sleep” came from this man’s mouth, her heart trembled with fluster.

Mo-jun, perched on the arm of the single sofa, smiled faintly. Then he undid the buttons at his shirt cuffs with soft tugs.

It was far too direct and blatant. No, the sun hadn’t even set yet…

Unable to find a place to rest her gaze, Do-yeon rolled her eyes this way and that. Meeting his eyes would reveal her tension-stiffened insides, yet she couldn’t just watch him undress either.

“I-I take a long time.”

“That’s fine.”

Do-yeon stammered uncharacteristically. In contrast, Mo-jun’s face remained perfectly composed. He merely raised one eyebrow slightly as if to say time was no issue, then lowered it.

At this rate she would say something unnecessary. Do-yeon sprang up from her seat and crossed the living room with quick steps.

Clack.

The bathroom door closed with a loud sound. In the mirror, her tightly bitten lips bore a faint flush.

There was good reason Do-yeon was this flustered.

Up until now, Do-yeon had never dated anyone. Aside from Subin—her senior from her study-abroad days who had given her a short-term part-time job until recently—no one knew this fact.

She didn’t think it was wrong. No one had dared ask her what she had been doing not dating even at that age. She had been too busy to hear such things, and she wasn’t the type to keep people around her.

But with her first experience right around the corner, the tension and sense of being at a loss were inevitable. If she had to compare, it was similar to when she went for her first interview at a five-star hotel, and when she received her first commission as a freelance florist.

‘……Why are even your hands shaking, Baek Do-yeon.’

She couldn’t just hide forever. This was a marriage she had entered of her own will, and she had to keep the contractual terms that came with it.

The two feet that had stood frozen before the sink for a long while soon headed for the shower booth. Amid the sound of pouring water, the sigh she couldn’t swallow melted away without a trace.

It took time for her stiff body to warm. As she washed carefully, the tension eased considerably. That much was good, but.

“……Ah, damn.”

The moment she reached for the towel hanging on the handle, another problem occurred to her belatedly. She should have brought a change of clothes, but in her earlier haste to flee, Do-yeon had come empty-handed.

What to do.

With her brow deeply furrowed, Do-yeon quickly turned over ideas. She absolutely did not want to ask Mo-jun for help. How was she supposed to say she had run away naked because she was trembling.

“Ah!”

Fortunately, there wasn’t no way at all.

Wrapped tightly in a large towel and stamping her feet, Do-yeon walked to the closet attached to the bathroom entrance. As expected, there was a bathrobe inside.

The eyes that had sparkled with hope for a moment soon sharpened.

—Go wash up. You have to wash before we go to bed.

The reason she was this wound up was all Kang Mo-jun’s fault. The wedding had only ended a few hours ago, and he was saying such face-burning things to make people uncomfortable.

So the one who should be embarrassed wasn’t Do-yeon. She hadn’t made the first move, and the one who had kindly informed her of what came next was that man.

“Since we’re going to take it off anyway, why bother putting anything on.”

As she slipped her arms into the robe, Do-yeon steeled herself. She fumbled two or three times tying the waist sash, but now the voice muttering to herself was nonchalant.

If it was something that had to be done anyway, it was better to just get it over with quickly. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, Do-yeon carefully dried her hair.

When Do-yeon emerged into the living room again, her face was clearer than before, and strangely resolute. Above all, her attire was unexpected.

“…….”

“…….”

Walking stiffly down the hallway, Do-yeon faltered the moment their eyes met.

Are you regretting it now, when we’re going to live together for the rest of our lives? It’s far too late to back out.

Amused by such a bland thought, Mo-jun chuckled. Almost simultaneously, Do-yeon clenched both fists. Her expression looked like she had something to say.

“Do it.”

After a fleeting silence, Do-yeon spat the words. Unlike her calm voice, her gaze was slightly averted from his eyes.

What.

Additional explanation was needed. Mo-jun silently watched Do-yeon’s flushed face.

“……Sleep. Right now.”

For a moment, Mo-jun doubted his ears. It was a proposal far too provocative for her pure appearance.

A heavy sensation spread from his waist. At the same time, seeing Do-yeon’s tightly bitten lips, he thought he knew where that resolve came from.

It seemed the problem was attaching the word “bed” after the invitation to wash. Suppressing the laugh that threatened to escape, Mo-jun spoke as if it were nothing.

“Ah, that.”

“That?”

Immediately Do-yeon raised the end of her words again like a frightened cat.

The way she glared at him sharply while dressed in an outfit that would end with one tug of the waist sash was pleasing to Mo-jun. It was proof that Do-yeon accurately remembered the “obligation to maintain marital relations” detailed in the contract.

“That wasn’t the intention. I meant wash up and go rest in bed.”

Even amid the tussle, his breathing grew a little hotter. Still, not now.

No matter how much my body is burning, I don’t lack the patience to jump her right after a big event.

Mo-jun crossed his long legs. Today wasn’t the only day.

“Then, separately……”

The moment her words ended, Do-yeon hurriedly changed direction. Anyone could see she wanted to put as much distance as possible from him.

Especially the word “separately” grated on Mo-jun’s ears.

“But that interpretation isn’t bad either.”

“What?”

Mo-jun immediately cut off Do-yeon’s words. The large hand seizing her slender wrist was instantaneous.

“I happen to be ready, too.”

The cream-colored leather sofa made a loud friction sound. The man who had risen from his seat before she knew it looked down at his wife and lifted the corner of his mouth in a smile.