Chapter 34

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: What Must Be Hidden
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Taeseo pressed his lips against Yuna's, parting them.

A tongue that only formed words he didn't want to hear. A mouth that held words he didn't want to hear.

He kissed and sucked every corner of her mouth, almost frantically.

After a long moment, their lips parted.

Yuna looked up at Taeseo with a bewildered gaze. His reflection was captured in her dark pupils.

“This is what I want, not money.”

He had to explain, had to define this kiss.

“What?”

“I wasn't going to tell you I talked to your uncle about compensation. I was just planning to take the money and leave this neighborhood, but consider your lips the price for telling you.”

In truth, it had been an impulsive act, one where he hadn't even considered compensation.

His body had simply moved on its own, driven by the desire to shut Yuna’s mouth as she spoke so casually of her own sacrifice.

“Sit. You wanted me to teach you how to drink.”

Contrary to his cold words, both of Taeseo’s ears were burning red.

Taeseo turned away from Yuna and carelessly rummaged through the bag she had brought, pulling out the soju and beer and setting them on the table.

Yuna sat down at the table. She was still blinking, looking dazed.

Taeseo placed two glasses on the table and spread out snacks like chips and dried squid.

Yuna, seemingly lost in a daze, couldn't say a word.

His attempt to shut her up had been successful, but Taeseo was also confused by his own actions.

When he opened his mouth, words tumbled out without any order.

“If you came to learn how to drink, you came to the right place. I’ve probably drunk more than that cousin of yours and his friend.”

“…”

“Beer, soju?”

“…”

“As you know, soju is bitter, beer is less so.”

Taeseo took out a foreign stout in a black can from the things Yuna had brought.

When Yuna couldn't choose, Taeseo poured less than a centimeter of soju into a glass, then topped it with the stout.

He placed the glass, foam barely contained, in front of Yuna. After filling his own, he raised it.

“It’s your first drink. We should have a toast.”

A hint of hesitation was evident in Yuna’s fingertips as she picked up the glass.

Though she had been the one to ask him to teach her, living with an alcoholic uncle and a loafer cousin must have ingrained in her the belief that alcohol was nothing but harmful.

“Alcohol has its good points, you know. There’s nothing like it for closing the distance between awkward people.”

Taeseo raised his glass and clinked it against Yuna’s. A clear, ringing sound echoed.

Yuna brought the glass to her lips and drank. The beer foam coated her lips, leaving a trace above them.

Putting the glass down, she spoke, unaware of the foam around her mouth.

“It’s not as bitter as I thought. The aftertaste is a bit like chocolate…”

“That’s why people who like stouts drink them.”

“Oh, I see. But why mix them? My uncle only drinks soju.”

“Because there are few drinks that can get you drunk as cheaply as soju.”

Taeseo poured the rest of the stout into his glass. When he shook the empty can, a rattling sound came from inside.

“There’s something called a widget in here. They say it’s what makes the foam so rich.”

Shamelessly, after stealing a kiss from her, he found himself spouting unsolicited facts. He felt pathetic, but Yuna’s eyes widened at his words.

“A widget? Do all beers have one?”

“No, just this one.”

“Ah. So that’s why the foam is so smooth.”

The drink in one glass contained about a shot of soju and 110mL of beer, but after just two cans, Yuna’s face was flushed red.

The thought that she was damn pretty crossed his mind, and with it came the premonition that their relationship would change from this point on.

Whether it was because of the alcohol or the kiss, the An Yuna of before tonight and the An Yuna of after would undoubtedly feel different.

If not, he was determined to make it so, even if he had to borrow the power of alcohol.

“Can I kiss you one more time?”

Yuna blinked. Perhaps it was the alcohol, but her blinking seemed slower than before. Taeseo pushed himself up from the table and leaned over toward her.

Across the narrow table, he lifted her chin. His reflection appeared in her dark pupils. Yuna froze, not even blinking.

“Let me kiss you one more time, and I’ll wait until you convince your grandmother.”

It would have been simple enough to report to headquarters that he was raising the compensation for Kim Kkotnim’s grandmother’s land to 1.2 million won per pyeong, then incite Yuna’s uncle to forge the power of attorney and settle it.

So, at this moment, Taeseo was clearly making a losing deal.

“You’re not supposed to ask before a kiss…”

The distance between them shrank. They were so close their noses were almost touching.

“Touching someone without their consent is what scumbags do.”

Taeseo paused just before her lips and spoke.

“So you come to me.”

Yuna lifted herself from the chair, pressing her palms against the table.

Her face moved toward his, and the gap between them disappeared.

Their lips met.

He had thought kissing was something for kids, but the moment their lips touched, Taeseo found himself closing his eyes.

His fingertips tingled, his eyelashes fluttered. He wondered what he was doing at twenty-eight, but he was more nervous than he had been for his first kiss.

In truth, Taeseo had lost a great deal with this one kiss.

He now had to take the long way around a path that could have been easy, and his return to Seoul was once again a distant prospect.

A sweet but clumsy kiss. With just two kisses, Taeseo had handed all his cards over to An Yuna.

A soft sound, and their lips parted after the brief kiss.

Taeseo licked the foam from around Yuna’s lips. As she’d said, it tasted like chocolate.

Savoring the sweetness that lingered on the tip of his tongue, Taeseo compromised with himself that a loss of this magnitude was worth enduring.

It was ironic; he had mocked An Yuna for being a pushover, but now he had become one himself.

* * *

Knock, knock, knock.

The sound of knocking came as the hour hand of the wall clock neared nine.

After yesterday’s kiss with Yuna, Taeseo had slept soundly. With no reports to write and no dilemmas over An Yuna, his mind was clear.

Having finished brushing his teeth in the bathroom, Taeseo went to the front door. When he opened it, Yuna was standing there.

“Have this.”

Yuna held out a drink in front of his face. It was a juice with a round pear drawn on the package.

“They say this is good for hangovers.”

“A hangover?”

“Yes. A hangover.”

He had to laugh at Yuna mentioning a hangover. It was likely an attempt to use alcohol as an excuse to smooth over what happened yesterday.

He considered playing along, but having kissed An Yuna at his own expense, he had no intention of going back to how things were.

“You were the one who got drunk yesterday. I wasn't drunk at all.”

At the mention of yesterday, Yuna’s face turned bright red.

“Yesterday was…”

“Yesterday was what?”

Taeseo couldn't resist. He grabbed her hand and pulled her inside the doorway. With a beep, the door locked.

Taeseo pinned Yuna against the wall and lowered his head toward her face.

He parted her lips, which were swollen from last night’s kisses. A sweet taste emanated from her saliva.

“Drank the pear juice, I see?”

“What?”

“Your mouth tastes like pear.”

“Ah, yes.”

“But what should I do? I don’t touch pear juice.”

That wasn't true. Taeseo didn't dislike pear juice. While he wasn't exactly an unfussy eater, he had been raised not to be picky.

As long as it wasn't unsanitary, he would eat anything, and pear juice was no exception.

“But if you feed it to me with your mouth, I might try it.”

And yet, Taeseo was being deliberately provocative. He knew he was acting out of character.

“You said you didn't have a hangover. Then you don’t have to drink it.”

But Yuna wasn't experienced enough to fall for such a provocative line. She naively tried to leave with the pear juice.

“Ah, I think I’m suddenly feeling a hangover coming on.”

Now it was Taeseo who was in a hurry. He opened the drink and held it to Yuna’s lips. Startled, Yuna took a mouthful of the pear juice.

Taeseo drank from her mouth as if it were nectar. Looking down, he saw goosebumps rise on Yuna’s skin.

“Why are you so tense?”

He knew that unlike him, this was all a first for Yuna—the kisses, this kind of experience. He wasn't the type to place importance on a partner’s experience, but it felt quite good.

“Think I’m going to eat you up?”

“What?”

“Should I really eat you up?”

He took the pear juice from Yuna’s hand and took a mouthful. He was going to make their relationship clear.

Taeseo parted his lips and let the juice flow into her mouth. The amount she could have swallowed in one gulp, Yuna took in three small swallows.

Even after the juice was gone from her mouth, Taeseo didn’t pull away, his tongue sweeping the inside of her mouth.

It was a slow kiss, the wet sounds echoing in their ears.

Unlike a kiss driven by breathless passion, every movement, every sensation was sharp and clear.

Eventually, Yuna began to move in sync with him. Their tongues intertwined.

He sucked on her tongue, then pulled away, only to take another mouthful of pear juice and let it flow into her mouth.

They held each other’s gaze intently, moving only their lips and tongues.

“You were the one who asked to be fed, why are you giving it to me…?”

“Try that again.”

“You asked to be fed, Taeseo…”

“I told you I didn't have a hangover.”

Taeseo caressed the spot next to the wound on Yuna’s forehead, at her hairline. The stitches were stained red with dried blood.

“When are you getting the stitches out?”

“I was supposed to get them out yesterday…”

“Tell An Yunho to get up. You need to go get your stitches out.”

“He’s probably not awake yet.”

“He’s lazy because you coddle him.”

Taeseo reached for Yuna’s phone, which was tucked into the pocket of her convenience store uniform.

Yuna tried to snatch it back, but he held it high above her head and turned it on.

“What kind of girl doesn't even have a lock on her phone?”

“Because I have nothing to hide.”

“Lock it, starting today. I’ll give you something to hide.”

Taeseo found An Yunho’s number and pressed the call button.