Leave the Door Open
I followed my sister with my eyes as she vanished through the open doorway when a bang—the strike of a hammer—snatched my attention.
He was truly driving nails high up with ease, no chair needed. Every time power surged through the long reach of his forearm, the muscle split and corded hard.
Bang. Bang. Each heavy thump that made the wall shudder seemed to vibrate all the way into my mouth; I was rolling my tongue against it when he suddenly turned. I flinched and tightened my grip on the cup.
“Come help a little.”
“What am I even supposed to… help with?”
“Get over here.”
There didn’t look like anything I could actually do, yet my feet moved as if under a spell. On the way I set the cup on the vanity and absently wiped my palms down my clothes.
One step, another—each time the distance shrank, a wild scent drilled into my nose.
“What do you need me for?”
“Closer.”
I sniffled dryly and stopped beside him. Bang—the hammer rang again. The solid crack made me hunch my neck a little, and without any warning he sealed his mouth over mine once more.
Watermelon sweetness flooded the open space of my mouth. Guided by his hand, my back met the hard wall. Both of his hands braced beside my head; he bent at the waist and pressed deeper, and my eyes squeezed shut.
“Hnn.”
Spilling the heat I’d been holding into his mouth wasn’t a choice. After twisting his lips a moment the way he had earlier, he pushed his tongue inside—no, he drove it deeper than before.
That long, thick tongue felt alien; I tried to recoil on pure reflex, but I was already flush against the wall from head to heel, helpless. My mouth had no choice but to be invaded.
The sensation of someone else’s body completely occupying mine was still strange. I went blank and poured every nerve into that single point—then his lips dropped away with a soft break.
“Mmm…”
What had been filling me vanished so abruptly that a thin, disappointed sound slipped out. Why stop? I caught my breath and looked up. Cha Seon-tae shrugged and straightened.
“If the gap’s too long, it shows.”
“……”
Above my head the hammer took up its bang, bang again. Once he’d finished driving one nail home he stepped aside; the blocked view opened and the open bedroom door came into sight. Panic punched a short breath out of me.
“The door… is open.”
“……”
“I’ll close it.”
Hee-yeon had already gone down to the yard; no one was likely to come up. Still, kissing with the door left wide open left me feeling like I’d done something dirty.
I pressed the back of my hand to lips that felt swollen and tried to slip free of the space between him and the wall, but he was faster. He pulled me back; my spine met the plaster again.
“Leave it.”
“What? Why?”
“Finish with a kiss.”
The hand that had circled my forearm rose and lightly claimed my chin. He tipped my face up, pressed his thumb against the joint of my jaw until my mouth opened, and slid his tongue straight in. Almost at once he pulled away again, and an involuntary little sound of protest leaked out of me.
“Why do you keep starting and stopping?”
We’d already broken the seal; I wanted to feel that unfamiliar sensation properly, yet he refused to give me the chance. I pouted. Looking at me, Cha Seon-tae clicked his tongue and gently rocked my chin from side to side.
“That’s what you get for letting a guy into your room right from the start.”
“What?”
“I carefully kept the intensity low so you wouldn’t freak out, and now you’re flustered. Makes it awkward.”
“What are you even saying.”
He was the one who’d chased after me and shoved his tongue in first—what was this about being flustered? I snorted and pushed his hand away, then felt a sudden wrongness and dropped my gaze. I was a little startled. His left thigh stood out thickly against the other. After staring a moment I lifted my eyes; he shrugged.
“Better leave the door open, yeah?”
“……”
“And tongue-sucking about this much seems right. It’s still work hours, more or less.”
“True enough.”
I agreed that it was probably the wiser call for now. A thick arm rose above my head and he started driving the remaining nail.
Bang-bang-bang. Every strike shook his body with it; a few drops of sweat flicked free of his hair. One of them landed on my cheek. I wiped it away roughly with my hand yet made no move to leave the spot.
The space between wall and man—the humid heat, the sticky scent of his skin, the charged air left by what had already happened—kept pulling at my curiosity. I vaguely wanted to stay inside that atmosphere a little longer.
Back pressed tight to the wall, I slowly rolled my eyes over him. The solid chest right in front of me, the broad split of his shoulders, the thick forearm and column of his neck, the bulge of his Adam’s apple. My gaze traveled naturally up the line of his jaw until our eyes met. He raised one eyebrow with a soft tsk.
“I’m seriously curious—are you pure, or are you just shameless?”
“About what?”
“Yeah. Okay. Thanks for the answer.”
“What are you talking about…”
He smirked, drove the last nail home with a solid thud, and lowered his arm. Then he crouched to tidy the toolbox. With him no longer filling my vision a pointless sense of loss washed over me, but I didn’t let it show.
“So. What are you hanging on the wall?”
“You already know it’s not about that. Why ask?”
The nailing had been nothing more than consent to his advances from the start.
“Since we put them in, we should hang something or it looks weird.”
“Just… any old picture frame.”
“That so?”
Cha Seon-tae answered indifferently, picked up the toolbox, and rose. He tried holding the box this way and that to hide the swollen front of his pants, then gave up and roughly raked his hair back.
Luckily his thighs were thick to begin with and the pants weren’t tight; if he was careful he might still be able to hide it.
“Director’s gonna suffer alone. I’m out.”
Unlike the body still running hot, the back that walked away carried no lingering attachment.
Watching him, I thought he was oddly diligent. He looked the type to loaf and cut corners, yet I’d never once seen him do it. How had a gangster reformed this thoroughly? I stared blankly after his receding figure; he never looked back as he left.
“……”
I was alone in the room now. Even so, the muggy heat still hung in the air, and the phantom bang, bang of vibration seemed to keep ringing above my head, filling the space.
I tipped my head back and gazed at the two nails driven side by side while my fingers absently traced my lips.
I stayed like that for quite a while.
“Why? Is it hard?”
A soft voice reached my dazed ears. A beat late I lifted my eyes and found Do Ha-jin peeking his face in right beside me.
“It’s the same type as the one you just solved. Want to look?”
Before I could answer he flipped the page forward, then launched into a running explanation of a math problem. None of it entered my ears; I let it wash past until I realized my left arm and his right were overlapping.
It hadn’t registered at all—zero stimulation. Once I noticed, though, it grated. I shifted sideways; mid-explanation he paused for a second.
“…So here, you have to solve it with this formula.”
“……”
“Got it?”
“Yeah.”
I answered vaguely and scooted the chair farther away, then checked the clock. Five in the afternoon. A whole hour left until we finished.
“You’re staying for dinner today, right?”
Sensing my boredom, Do Ha-jin set down his pen and steered into small talk.
“No. I’ll just go home.”
“Why… Oppa’s pasta is really good, you know.”
His arm brushed against mine again, carrying that signature cologne. Still not appealing. Apparently I preferred the natural kind. The moment I unconsciously recalled Cha Seon-tae’s scent, the train of thought slid straight into my mouth.
It felt like soft flesh rolling around in there; I flexed my tongue, then licked my dry lips. What I was replaying was sticky and wet, yet somehow my mouth kept drying out—I didn’t understand it myself. I licked upper lip then lower, lightly bit down, and felt a sudden flinch right beside me.
Do Ha-jin was staring down at me. His loosened gaze had landed on my mouth. I could read exactly what he was thinking, yet he made no real move. Desire flickered in his eyes while he kept stealing glances and letting our arms bump—that was the whole of it.
“If you don’t want pasta I’ll make something else. Anything you’re craving?”
“Nothing.”
Maybe he thought he was being careful. Careful was a generous word for it; he was simply dull. The blandness only made me think, with a twist of irritation, of Cha Seon-tae—who had shoved the door open and claimed my mouth the second he got the chance.
Of course I’d ridden here in the car he drove again today. Same as last week he’d come out of Hee-yeon’s bathroom grumbling about the soap smell while I watched from behind, making vague comparisons. But Do Ha-jin had already been waiting in the parking lot, so no real opening appeared.
I glared at the minute hand that hadn’t even advanced five minutes and propped my chin on my hand. Might as well solve problems so time would move. I was spinning the pen in my fingers when—
Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep. The door-lock chime snapped both Do Ha-jin’s head and mine toward the entrance at the same moment.
“Father? He never said he was coming early today. Let’s go say hi.”
“Okay.”
Looking puzzled, Do Ha-jin stood. I rose as well to greet them.
“Father, you’re early?”
“Mm. But whose shoes are those?”
“Ji-yul’s. Today’s a tutoring day.”
“Ah… is that right?”
“Hello.”
I followed out and bowed. It wasn’t only her father; a middle-aged man in a suit I’d never seen stood with him. Our eyes met, so I offered him a greeting too.
“Ah, Ji-yul—sorry about this.”
Her father spoke in a slightly awkward tone.
“Would you mind heading home for today? As you can see, I have a guest. Sorry you came all this way.”
“It’s fine. I’ll go.”
The news was so welcome I answered at once. I raised my brows and glanced at Do Ha-jin; he looked regretful but couldn’t contradict his father, so he only scratched his cheek.
“Let’s stop here for today. I’ll make up the class next time.”
“Okay.”
I went straight back into the room, grabbed the phone from the desk, and hugged the three workbooks to my chest. Do Ha-jin trailed after me and grumbled playfully.
“Aren’t you a little too happy? Makes me sad.”
“You know I hate tutoring.”
“Still… then since we have free time, want to go out for dinner with Oppa?”
Had a ghost that starved to death latched onto him? I was just opening my mouth to refuse when an ally’s voice floated in from outside the door.
“Ha-jin, bring out some wine.”
“……”
“Go entertain the guest. I’ll slip out quietly.”