Chapter 28: Punishment

Through the tangled strands of her hair, he slipped in his long fingers and firmly caught Yooa, who was trying to escape.

She called his name and pounded her small fists against his chest, but the look in her half-open eyes made Lee Jun’s heart ache as if it were burning.

How could he let her go?

How could he ever cut her off?

“You’re driving me crazy… because of you.”

The thought of her smiling in another man’s arms made it hard to breathe. He even felt jealous of her past—sharing ice cream, arms linked with someone else.

“Was I always this pathetic?”

As he finally loosened his grip enough for her to breathe, Yooa’s slender neck trembled as she gasped for air. He could hear her racing heartbeat in his own ears.

Lee Jun gently brushed her damp lips with his thumb.

“Did I… do something wrong?”

“No.”

“Then why does it feel like I’m being punished?”

“You didn’t do anything. I did.”

Because he was greedy for her.

Even while touching her, he wanted more.

As if confessing, he whispered the words, and Yooa wrapped her arms around his neck. Tied by the seatbelt and unable to move much, this was likely the only way she could embrace him.

By doing so, she could stop him from kissing her again and catch her breath—even for a moment.

“Then… let’s just say we’re both at fault. I’m tired, Jun. Can’t we go up…?”

“Do you even know where we are?”

“What?”

“What if I devour you? Why would you say things like that, huh, Yooa?”

Since the parking lot gate had lifted, this must be one of Lee Jun’s many homes scattered around Seoul.

She assumed it was one of the many properties he had transferred to her name after they got married.

“Still… I don’t like it here.”

Yooa was no naive child. She knew exactly what was in Lee Jun’s mind when he brought her here.

Her gentle hand touched his cheek.

He held her wrist and left a light kiss in her palm.

His lips against her soft palm were burning hot.

***

“Nngh… ah…”

Lee Jun’s movements were rough.

Her whisper in the underground parking lot—that she didn’t reject him, just the place—was the last clear thought before he completely lost control. He could barely remember how they got into the bedroom.

Despite lifting her up and down emotionally, she looked up at him with a clueless expression. That alone drove him to the brink of insanity.

“Ah!”

Yooa, bracing herself with her toes, dug her nails into his arm. The once-perfectly smooth bedsheets were now wrinkled with traces of their passion.

As she mumbled that she had no strength left to even lift a finger and drifted off like she’d fainted, Lee Jun gently wiped her with a warm, damp towel.

“There’s not a single part of you that isn’t beautiful.”

He found it amazing that he wouldn’t mind staying like this all day.

He brushed back the strands of hair cascading over her sleeping face.

“Yoon Yooa.”

Even the slight frown on her face, annoyed by the tickling touch, was adorable.

“Yooa.”

Watching her licking an ice cream, she had no idea what kind of thoughts had passed through his mind.

No—she mustn’t know.

If she ever realized how he had held her and messed her up until even his mind was in shambles, she might want to run away.

What if she saw him watching her care for the child who had fallen in the store—imagining someday she’d have his child?

“In just that short moment… I imagined us with four kids.”

He couldn’t stop picturing her smiling while camping in a yard with their children, wondering whether their first child should be a boy or a girl.

Would she be embarrassed if he told her that?

Or disgusted, even.

Which is why he couldn’t say such things in front of her.

“…Crazy bastard.”

Lee Jun muttered that it was a relief she was asleep.

Because with just a hint of discomfort or displeasure on her face, she had the power to control his entire mood.

“Jun?”

Yooa sleepily called out to the empty spot beside her in bed. Was he on a call? She sensed movement just outside the half-open door, and Lee Jun walked in briskly.

He sat gently on the edge of the bed and smiled as he tucked her messy hair behind her ear.

“You must be hungry. Want to come out? I’ve got breakfast ready.”

She had skipped dinner after falling into a deep sleep, and now her stomach growled. Hearing the sound, Jun chuckled softly.

“There’s a hotel downstairs. I ordered room service. The croissants and cream soup are pretty good.”

He added there were also omelets, pancakes, granola yogurt with honey—and her heart began to race.

As she pulled the blanket aside and placed her feet on the floor, a groan escaped her lips.

“Ugh!”

As she clutched her waist and nearly toppled forward, Lee Jun wrapped an arm around her.

“What’s wrong?”

“…I can’t stand up.”

The deep muscle soreness pressing and pulling at her body was the problem. It hurt more than expected, and tears welled in her eyes.

Seeing Lee Jun reach for his phone, Yooa shook her head violently.

“Don’t. You’re calling Dr. Lee, aren’t you?”

“You said you’re in pain.”

If you’re hurt, you see a doctor. And if that’s not enough, you go to the hospital—Lee Jun replied logically.

Yooa blushed, saying she’d be mortified to explain to her physician why her back hurt so badly she couldn’t walk.

Jun, ever the rascal, said he’d explain it for her—she could just stay in bed.

Wasn’t that worse?

Yooa glared at him with triangular, narrow eyes.

“And whose fault do you think this is?”

His smug smile infuriated her. If he had to be this handsome, couldn’t he not smile like that?

His looks alone made it impossible for her to argue properly.

“Where does it hurt? If you really hate calling the doctor, want me to help instead?”

He asked if he should massage the sore spots to ease the pain.

Yooa leaned back suspiciously, easily seeing through his intentions.

“You said that last night too… and then, twice….”

“Did I?”

“Don’t touch me.”

No matter her expression, he smiled, eyes curved like crescent moons, and leaned in close—face almost touching hers.

“I should take responsibility. So tell me yourself what I did last night.”

Did he know she was weak to his face?

Probably. Kang Lee Jun was a master at handling crises.

“See, you say that and then—again!”

“Hm?”

Startled by being lifted into the air, Yooa’s face turned pale.

Without hesitation, he slipped his arms beneath her shoulders and thighs and walked out with light steps.

“Aren’t I heavy?”

She stomped her feet and asked to be put down, but he said he could hold her all day if she wanted.

Once seated in a chair, she gasped at the feast laid out before her. It looked like a full party breakfast—with croissants, baked goods like financiers, and coffee all neatly arranged.

The marble half-moon table was so full that not a spot was empty. Yooa was speechless.

“How… who’s going to eat all this?”

“You are, Yoon Yooa.”

Just as she snapped at him for joking, a hot hash brown was stuffed into her mouth.

Reflexively biting down, she was struck by the savory buttered potato flavor and reached for her fork without thinking.

“You’re just cranky because you’re hungry. Eat first.”

“…That’s not it.”

“Mm-hm.”

Watching her nibble away at breakfast in one of his oversized shirts like a dress—unguarded and soft—Lee Jun felt happy.

If only tomorrow, and the next day, could be like this too.

Resting his chin on his hand, he silently gazed at her. Yooa self-consciously touched the corner of her mouth.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Do I have something on my face?”

“No. You’re just… beautiful.”