# Chapter 114
I think this is the first time I’ve truly understood what it means to be possessed by a ghost. Even after receiving a text message from my parents agreeing that I could spend the night at Kwon Dojin’s house, I couldn’t hide my dazed expression.
“How did it end up like this?”
Maybe I was enchanted by Kwon Dojin’s face; my memory was fuzzy. Among the fragments that occasionally surfaced, I could only recall my impression of how Dojin’s face changed in such varied and beautiful ways. That said it all. He was truly someone who knew how to use even the wound on his face to his advantage.
Anyway, Kwon Dojin had left to buy medicine, leaving me alone in his spacious house. At first, I wanted to go, but every time I tried to move, my eyes would moisten as if I were experiencing the most pitiful thing in the world, so I gave up.
So I sat on the sofa, endlessly waiting for him. Honestly, in the past, I would’ve already been slouching comfortably, wiggling my legs and enjoying the comfort.
It’s just that I couldn’t do that now because our relationship had become ambiguous, and I didn’t know when Kwon Dojin would return.
“What’s going to happen now?”
Thinking about our relationship naturally led me to wonder what kind of relationship Kwon Dojin and I would have from now on. Judging from Kwon Dojin’s reactions, it didn’t seem like he’d grown to dislike me, nor had his feelings cooled down.
Thanks to that, or perhaps because of it, the situation had become awkward, apart from the fact that I had rushed over without thinking when I heard he was injured.
Maybe it’s just me who feels this way. Things have become really complicated.
I hugged my legs and buried my face in my knees. I tried to think lightly on purpose, but it didn’t work. Swallowing a heavy sigh, I blinked my eyelids.
Sitting still in the living room where only the ticking of the clock could be heard made me feel even more uneasy. Then, as I was waiting for Kwon Dojin to arrive, a digital sound went “tick-tick.”
Thinking he had arrived, I got up and headed toward the entrance. I greeted Kwon Dojin who was coming inside from the middle of the hallway. Looking at the bag hanging from his wrist, it seemed quite three-dimensional, as if he had bought a lot of things.
“Shall we go in?”
“Huh? Oh. Yes. Let’s go in.”
I stepped aside and moved first, and he followed behind me. When I sat on the sofa, Kwon Dojin sat close to me and placed the items on the table.
“I’ll—I’ll do it for you.”
Kwon Dojin, who had been taking out the ointment, stopped and looked at me. When I didn’t avoid his gaze that was staring at me, he smiled and lowered his arm.
With this silent acceptance, I rummaged through the pharmacy bag to see what was there and got up to find cotton swabs. With Kwon Dojin’s help, I gathered the rest of the necessary items and returned to him.
“Bear with it even if it stings.”
After generously squeezing ointment onto a cotton swab, I carefully held Kwon Dojin’s chin. Our seated heights were just different enough to make applying the ointment convenient.
I moved my hand as carefully as possible to avoid causing pain. Despite it surely stinging, Kwon Dojin didn’t let out even a shallow moan. Thanks to his downcast gaze, his long eyelashes stood out.
Tap, tap. While moving my hand, it suddenly occurred to me that I could count his eyelashes. And that thought made me realize how close the distance was between him and me.
“Ah—”
Once I became aware of it, I tensed up and put pressure on my hand. Because of that, Kwon Dojin let out a very small groan and looked at me straight.
“S-sorry.”
At his gaze, I hurriedly removed my hand and was about to back away when he extended his arm and wrapped it around my waist. With my retreat suddenly blocked, I naturally met Kwon Dojin’s eyes.
“Habin.”
The question contained in his gaze, which was more subdued than usual, came to me clearly. Biting my lip while contemplating, as the proposal was too appealing to ignore, I eventually closed my eyes.
With my sight gone, my senses became more sensitive. With the sound of rustling fabric, I sensed him approaching and reached out my arms to grab onto Kwon Dojin’s clothes.
The second kiss tasted of bitter ointment.
* * *
“I’m really an easy man.”
I lay with my head on Kwon Dojin’s thigh, wiggling my legs. Kwon Dojin, who had been running his fingers through my hair, burst into laughter at my sudden remark.
“You, Habin?”
“It’s only been four days since I said we should keep our distance, and I’ve already changed my words. It’s almost embarrassing.”
“Really? I just like it that you’re paying attention to me.”
Kwon Dojin bent down low and planted kisses on my cheeks, forehead, and lips. I laughed at the ticklish sensation and turned my head this way and that. As he followed wherever I dodged, I eventually covered his lips with my palm.
“Mmm, enough. If Baek Han asks later, pretend you don’t know.”
“Baek Han? About what?”
“I told him before. That after traveling with you, I’d keep my distance for a while.”
I mentioned it in advance because I thought Baek Han would tease me endlessly if he found out I’d retracted my words after just three days, but Kwon Dojin’s expression was not good at all.
Kwon Dojin, showing clear signs of displeasure and slightly puffing his cheeks, straightened his bent waist. I blinked my eyelids at the suddenly changed atmosphere.
What exactly is the problem?
“You told Baek Han but didn’t tell me—”
“You were the one involved.”
Kwon Dojin, clearly sulking, pretended not to notice and turned his head away sharply. Since it didn’t seem like he would be easily appeased, I sat up from my lying position.
“Kwon Dojin, are you sulking?”
“To think that Baek Han knew something I didn’t.”
“No, I couldn’t exactly consult with you about yourself.”
Kwon Dojin made no attempt to hide his hurt feelings. Feeling at a loss about what to do, I was perplexed when he subtly tapped his thigh.
I racked my brain trying to interpret what that meant. Was he asking me to lie down again? Or to sit on his lap? Thinking ‘Could that be it?’ and with a hint of hope, I got up and moved to sit between his legs.
Seeing how he immediately wrapped his arms around my waist, it seems I’d interpreted correctly. Still, the fact that he didn’t rest his shoulders against me suggested that he was still sulking, so I spoke up.
“What do I need to do to make it up to you?”
“Just grant me one request.”
“What kind of request?”
Ah, so he pretended to be upset for this. The moment he cast the bait, I was certain. Certain that he pretended to be upset because he wanted something. Still, I pretended not to notice and took the bait. I trusted he wouldn’t ask for anything difficult.
“How long are you going to call me ‘Kwon Dojin’?”
“Huh?”
“We’re dating, but it sounds so formal and distant.”
Kwon Dojin whined and nuzzled his face against my nape. Though the sensation of his hair brushing against my skin raised slight goosebumps, I ignored it since it wasn’t unpleasant.
Placing my hands on the firm arm wrapped around my waist, I tilted my head back and rested it on his shoulder.
“Is that so? Doesn’t it not really matter? Is the way of address important?”
“It is to me.”
“Oh, I see.”
I nodded glumly, overwhelmed by Kwon Dojin’s assertiveness. However, I was still confused about what he wanted. If not by his name, how should I call him?
“Don’t overthink it.”
“Then?”
Kwon Dojin gently rubbed my wrinkled forehead and finished by pressing his lips against it. As he lingered longer than expected, I extended my arm and pushed his forehead away.
It was because my neck was getting stiff from maintaining the tilted position. After straightening my head, I kneaded the aching muscles, and Kwon Dojin massaged them for me.
“Simply call me by my name.”
“I’ve been calling you by your name.”
Is he asking me to call him by his name just like before? Then there’d be no reason to point it out, right? Still unable to grasp the situation, I tilted my head, and Kwon Dojin let out an awkward laugh. Then he rested his chin on my shoulder.
“You really don’t know?”
“If I knew, I wouldn’t have asked.”
“Hmm. I see.”
This time it’s a sigh. He seemed frustrated, but so was I. Just say it clearly instead of beating around the bush. I poked his slightly puffed cheek with my index finger.
“Call me without my surname. Affectionately.”
“That’s all?”
“Yes. Just that. Habin, you’ve always called me with my full name.”
Had I? I’m not the type to pay attention to what I call people, so I didn’t realize. Kwon Dojin’s words must be right then. In these matters, the one who pays more attention usually has the clearer memory.
Still, it wasn’t a difficult request, so I nodded readily. He wasn’t asking me to call him something cringeworthy like “honey” or anything. If he had made such a request, I would have firmly refused, but that wasn’t the case.
“Call me that now.”
Nodding boldly at Kwon Dojin’s action of rubbing his cheek affectionately, I opened my mouth to respond to his expectant gaze.
“Do—”
The problem was, now that the stage was set, it had become unexpectedly difficult to say.
Only the first syllable of his name barely escaped my throat. Taken aback by the unexpected situation, I just fidgeted with my lips.
“Habin~?”
Kwon Dojin dragged out my name. Despite his questioning and urging call, my lips still wouldn’t part.
“Just—just a moment.”
He does it so well, why can’t I? As I groaned, Kwon Dojin moved the arm around my waist and gently patted me.
“No need to be nervous. It’s just calling a name.”
“That’s true, but I can’t help feeling strangely nervous.”
I sighed complainingly at the reality of how difficult it was to call him by his name, and he laughed. Then he guided me to turn my upper body to the side with the arm around my waist.
Wondering what he was doing, I moved as he wanted and turned to the side, and he suddenly bent down and kissed me.
“What are you—”
Before I could finish speaking, our lips met again, leaving me dumbfounded. Why is he suddenly doing this?
“Kwon—”
Another peck.
“Hey—”
This time, two pecks in succession.
I chuckled at the sensation of his lips coming down lightly but firmly, like a bird pecking. By this point, I couldn’t help but notice. It seemed Kwon Dojin intended to block my mouth until I called him by his name.
Looking up at him with this absurd coercion, Kwon Dojin smiled broadly and pretended not to know, tilting his head. Since calling him by his name seemed to be the quickest solution, I composed myself.
I placed my hand on my chest and exhaled deeply. Kwon Dojin hugged me tightly with both arms as if to encourage me, then let go.
“Do—jin.”
Though broken, it was a complete call. Relieved at my success, I looked up at Kwon Dojin and was slightly surprised. Just for being called by his name, he smiled as brightly as if he’d gained the world.
CUTE