Chapter 10
After her shower, Yeonha roughly dried her hair with a towel and took out her laptop to work on her assignment.
Lying prone on her bed, she turned on the laptop. The moment she plugged in the USB drive, her laptop froze.
As the screen turned black and became completely unresponsive to keyboard and mouse inputs, a flustered expression spread across Yeonha’s face.
“Uh, what’s wrong with this? Ah, seriously. Of all times.”
Yeonha’s laptop was a hand-me-down from her older brother, so it wasn’t in great condition. It had been getting progressively worse lately, and she had already been thinking that once her part-time paycheck came in, she would buy a cheap new one, even if it wasn’t top-of-the-line.
There were only about one or two weeks left until her paycheck would arrive. It seemed her laptop had decided it couldn’t hold on for just that little bit longer.
Even after force-restarting it several times and even giving it a few taps, the problem persisted. Deep in thought, Yeonha cautiously peeked outside her room. The living room lights were off, leaving it dark, but a sliver of light seeped out from the gap under Jian’s door.
Knock, knock.
“What.”
“senior… I have a small favor to ask…”
At the sound of Yeonha’s cautious voice, the locked door made a clicking sound and opened. He always said there was no need to lock doors and such, so why did he keep locking his? She couldn’t understand it, but that wasn’t the important issue right now. So, Yeonha put on her most pitiful-looking expression and got to the point.
“My laptop just froze on me. Would it be possible for me to borrow yours?”
“No.”
Despite Yeonha’s pleading, hands clasped as if in prayer, Jian coldly and firmly refused.
“I’m in the middle of an assignment too.”
I’m screwed.
The assignment deadline was in just two days. The task was to watch a specific classic film and write a review.
Tomorrow, Yeonha’s schedule was packed with lectures and back-to-back part-time jobs. If she couldn’t watch the movie now, she would have to pull an all-nighter tomorrow night.
Dejected by Jian’s refusal, Yeonha slumped down for a moment before staggering to her feet, heading to her room to pack her bag.
Fortunately, Seoyeon University’s library was open 24 hours. She thought she could go to the library’s media room and watch it there.
‘Of course, it might be a little scary.’
Even though it was her university, Yeonha recalled a horror movie set in a high school and shuddered. Just as she was about to start changing her clothes, Jian called out to stop her.
“What’s this about.”
“I have to watch a classic film by tonight, but my laptop is dead.”
Yeonha, who had stopped mid-motion, unable to change because Jian had followed her, answered.
“So, where are you planning to go at this hour?”
“The media room at the school library.”
At the words implying she would go back to school so late at night, Jian let out a sigh, Huh, as if he found it ridiculous. It seemed Yeonha still didn’t know that people could be scarier than ghosts.
No matter how close it was, it would take a good 30 minutes to walk from Jian’s officetel, past the university’s main gate, to the library located at the far end of the Seoyeon University campus.
The thought of a girl going that distance alone in the middle of the night was astounding.
‘How utterly annoying, really.’
Finally, Jian lowered his head, let out a sigh, and asked.
“Where is the movie saved?”
“The movie is on the USB…”
“Then watch it on the living room TV.”
His eyes widening at Jian’s words, Yeonha found her wrist grabbed and herself being pulled towards the television.
Jian, familiar with the setup, turned on the TV with the remote and plugged the USB drive Yeonha handed him into the port on the back. The movie started playing immediately.
“Oh my god, there’s a way like this!”
As Yeonha stared in amazement, eyes round as if she’d seen a flying carpet, Jian sat her down on the sofa. As he tried to go back to his room, Yeonha grabbed the sleeve of his clothes.
“Will you watch it with me? They say it’s really good.”
“What movie is it?”
Upon hearing the title Yeonha told him, Jian stood still for a moment, contemplating, his gaze fixed on the paused opening scene on the TV. It was a movie Jian himself had enjoyed watching for an assignment last year.
After a moment’s consideration, he decided to rewatch it and went to the fridge to grab a beer. The thought of his unfinished assignment briefly crossed his mind, but he figured he could work on it more later when he had time.
As soon as Jian placed the beer on the table in front of the sofa and sat down next to her, Yeonha pressed the play button on the remote.
The movie played for a considerable time, and empty beer cans piled up on the table. Yeonha was inwardly surprised, as she had rarely seen Jian drink at school events or gatherings.
‘Seems like he has quite a high alcohol tolerance.’
Unlike Jian, who showed no signs of being affected despite having drunk several cans, Yeonha’s cheeks, the corners of her eyes, and even her neck were flushed red.
Seeing her thin arms revealed below the short sleeves of her white t-shirt and her legs stretching out below her shorts, both tinted red, Jian guessed that even the unseen parts of her were probably flushed as well.
Her entire body, flushed here and there, should have looked strange, but strangely, it turned him on.
Enough to make him want to forcibly reveal the hidden, secret skin concealed from view.
As Yeonha had guessed, Jian’s alcohol tolerance was quite high, so he wasn’t drunk at all. He was as rational as ever, which was why he could barely stop himself from pinning down the annoying girl sitting next to him and mounting her.
‘Is that a misfortune or a blessing?’
Thinking that he himself didn’t know the answer, Jian squeezed his eyes shut. It would probably be better if he couldn’t see her.
Perhaps misinterpreting his expression, Yeonha leaned closer and waved her hand briskly in front of his closed eyes.
“senior? If you’re going to sleep, you should go to your room. Your back will hurt tomorrow morning.”
As if she couldn’t bring herself to shake him awake by touching him, Yeonha called his name a few more times. Still, Jian’s eyes remained closed.
‘Maybe he was already drunk?’
Or does he just fall asleep when he’s drunk?
Jumping to conclusions, and around the time she felt sure Jian was deeply asleep, Yeonha slipped off the sofa, brought the blanket from her room, draped it over him, and then sat down on the floor next to the sofa.
There were about 10 minutes left in the movie’s runtime; she figured she could just finish watching and then go to bed.
Just then, Jian tossed and turned, lying on his side. His head was now facing Yeonha, causing his breath to touch the nape of her neck.
“…!”
A gasp of breath lightly skimming her neck made Yeonha straighten her back with a start. She cautiously turned her body to look at Jian.
His face, eyes tightly shut in sleep, was right there, within reach. The movie now completely forgotten, Yeonha gazed at Jian’s face, which was level with her eyes, as if admiring it.
Unlike his usual cold expression, his face with its gently closed eyes looked neat and proper.
The naturally upturned corners of his lips, even when he wasn’t smiling. Yeonha had always thought that was one of Jian’s charming points.
He was always saying cold things, wearing an expression of finding everything bothersome, and looking down on all others in the world with indifferent, cold eyes.
But looking at the upturned corners of his lips, so contrary to his attitude, sometimes she’d get the illusion that he was smiling just for her. In that moment, she thought that maybe this illusion was part of the reason she couldn’t let go of her feelings for him.
Yeonha stared at Jian’s slightly parted, red lips and gulped.
‘…If I just do it lightly, maybe he won’t know?’
He seems to be in a deep sleep, so just a touch, like it did and didn’t happen. Just that much.
…Just, once.
Biting her own lip firmly, Yeonha ended her momentary deliberation. She carefully pressed her lips once to each corner of Jian’s mouth, then pulled away. As expected, they were moist and soft.
Looking down at Jian, whose face was now flushed and eyes closed, Yeonha couldn’t resist. She lowered her head again, and this time, properly pressed her lips against the very center of his.
Her lips lingered on Jian’s for a moment, and then her small, soft tongue gently slipped out and softly licked his lips. The sensation of the tongue, lightly skimming like licking soft cream, made Jian’s body flinch slightly.
Whether it was that small movement that jolted her back to her senses, Yeonha abruptly shot up and ran to her room as if fleeing, closing the door behind her.
‘I’m crazy, I’m crazy!’
Covering her mouth with both hands, Yeonha leaned back against the door before sliding down to the floor.
She had sneakily kissed someone who was drunk and asleep! If Jian found out, he could ban her from his apartment or even report her for sexual misconduct, and she’d have no excuse. Moreover.
‘It wasn’t just a peck, it was a kiss!’
Of course, her tongue hadn’t delved deep inside, but it also wasn’t just a simple press of lips either, so she figured what she did probably fell into the category of a kiss.
Slumped on the floor, Yeonha could only hope and pray that Jian was in such a deep sleep that he would never find out what she had done.
But.
From outside the closed door, she heard the sound of Jian’s door opening and closing. He had gone into his room not long after she had fled to hers, which made her think that maybe, just maybe, he had been awake.
No, it was probably safe to assume he was.
“What do I do…?”
The feelings she had been desperately suppressing had momentarily slipped out due to the alcohol and her lowered guard. She worried that he might really forbid her from coming to his place, and at the same time, wondered how she could ever face him again.
‘Before Sunbae tells me not to come, I might become unable to come here on my own.’
As she tried to stagger to her feet, Yeonha slumped back down to the floor in despair. It looked like it was going to be a sleepless night.
After Yeonha stole a kiss and ran into her room as if fleeing, Jian slowly opened his eyes.
The sensation of the soft lips that had touched his, and the smooth, moist tongue, still lingered, making the surface of his lips tingle and feel warm.
Uncrossing his arms, Jian brushed his lips with his thumb and let out a quiet, scoffing laugh.
‘After pulling a stunt like that, are you going to stop liking me now?’
‘Like hell.’
He tried to get up from the sofa but sat back down with a low curse, bowing his head.
A certain part of his body was standing proudly and vigorously beneath his thin cotton shorts.
‘Ha, shit. That lunatic, Bak Yeonha.’
He thought it was fortunate she hadn’t seen this before going inside. Jian ran his hands through his hair irritably.
Him turning his head to face Yeonha while pretending to sleep had been completely intentional.
He found it somewhat amusing that she believed he was truly asleep, and he was also curious how she would act with the face she liked so much right in front of her.
So, he had deliberately let his breath touch her neck, making her turn around.
Based on Yeonha’s usual behavior, he had assumed she would just gaze at his face and be done with it. And that was a huge miscalculation.
‘I never thought she’d actually kiss me.’
He knew she was bold, but he hadn’t realized she was this wanton. Unable to control his body, which had become completely aroused by Yeonha’s kiss, Jian irritably got up and went into his room, locking the door.
If things continued like this, it seemed like it would end in one of two ways: either he would devour Yeonha, or he would be devoured by her.
Now, Jian needed a decisive measure to prevent Yeonha from coming to his home.
