Chapter 4. A Dream Within a Dream (2)
“Oppa. My feet hurt.”
The woman whines in a cute voice.
“It’s because we walked so much today. When we get back… I’ll give you a foot bath and massage them.”
The man’s voice promising a massage sounds somehow lecherous.
“Are you okay, oppa?”
“Hiking is my hobby. This much is nothing.”
“Lucky you. I’m dying from exhaustion.”
“My baby. What should I do when you’re suffering like this?”
“What do you mean what should you do? You have to carry me around.”
“Should I carry you?”
“Yeah.”
I didn’t want to realize in this way that Jeju Island is a famous honeymoon destination, and that you shouldn’t share an elevator with a honeymooning couple.
The newlyweds who must have just come back from climbing Hallasan Mountain were probably whispering quietly by their own standards, but in the narrow elevator where even rustling sounds could be heard, their voices were crystal clear. Moreover, it was burdensome to watch from behind as they clung tightly together with their arms wrapped around each other’s waists.
The newlyweds engaged in their cringe-worthy behavior got off on the third floor. After confirming the door had closed, I let out a long, silent sigh.
“Were they lovers?”
Rashanin, who had been standing silently beside me, seemed curious too.
“A married couple. This is a famous honeymoon destination.”
“Ooh. So that’s why…”
Rashanin trailed off his words, which was rare for him.
“…What is it?”
“Nothing. It’s nothing.”
“When you say it like that, it makes me more curious.”
“I have nothing to hide, but you won’t like it if you hear it.”
He wasn’t a man who lied. I was very curious about what it was, but I didn’t ask again. In the meantime, the elevator arrived at the first floor where we were getting off.
The door opened and I was about to get off without thinking when I suddenly felt something was strange. After walking a few steps across the first floor, I realized what it was. Originally, when the elevator opened, Rashanin should have gotten off first. That’s how it had been all last week. But today, or rather since yesterday, he had been standing a step back.
I walked slowly, conscious of Rashanin following behind me. I came out the back door on the first floor, crossed the garden, stood in front of the villa, and opened the room door with the key card. Again this time, he held the door and waited for me to enter first. It was such a natural action that I would have missed it if I hadn’t been paying attention. A small consideration he would only show to a woman he was escorting.
A sports car, flowers and candles, and even this kind of consideration. Something hot surged up from inside and reached my head. I walked a few steps into the room and then turned around. My eyes met directly with Rashanin, who was right next to me. I had something to say, but I couldn’t figure out what I should say. As we looked at each other without saying anything for quite a while, the man whose eye level was much higher than my 180cm clicked his tongue.
“What am I supposed to do when you look at me with those eyes?”
“…?”
“I’m telling you not to provoke me.”
I realized a beat late what Rashanin was saying. It was the perfect angle for a kiss. This time I was definitely flustered.
Because I hadn’t inserted the key card, only the night light was on in the room. In the dimness, Rashanin laughed silently.
“You acted so calm that I wondered if I was that unattractive, but that wasn’t it.”
Rashanin’s face slowly approached. I didn’t think to avoid it and squeezed my eyes shut. My heart was beating like crazy.
To be this conscious of him. Along with a murmur full of pleasure, soft lips touched my cheek. My breath caught and my back trembled.
I waited for Rashanin to slowly pull back before opening my eyes, and he was smiling.
“I’m very tempted by this moment right now, but I keep my word. Two days left. Unhyuk.”
Having said that, Rashanin stroked once with his fingertip the cheek his lips had just touched. I couldn’t even sigh.
If this wasn’t seduction, then what was it?
“Why… are you doing this?”
“…?”
“Why are you seducing me like this?”
“Because I like you.”
Rashanin answered immediately. I had heard his answer before. But that wasn’t the answer I wanted.
“I mean, why do you like me?”
I asked with great tension, but Rashanin smiled, creasing his eyes.
“Persistent personality.”
“Don’t change the subject.”
“Because your eyes and voice ask why.”
“…?”
“It’s been a really long time since I’ve met a human who questions the reason.”
“Rashanin-ssi?”
“Most people can’t even have the question of why. They don’t question me like you do, nor do they reject me.”
Rashanin was utterly serious. The words Rashanin had said when we first sat face to face to eat dinner—that he needed a living conversation partner—flashed through my mind. Mixed in with that was the conversation I’d had with Elisabeth.
I couldn’t know how important it was to Rashanin to have a human who could ask ‘why.’ And I didn’t have the courage to confirm it either.
“I really enjoy being with you, so I want to get closer. If we kiss and our skin touches, it will be different again.”
My gaze became entangled with the smiling Rashanin. His beautiful violet eyes were looking only at me. Even though I hadn’t drunk much alcohol, heat rose as if I were drunk and my head became foggy. I knew I should just turn around, but the words came out on their own.
“Would one night be enough?”
“…?”
“There’s no need to wait three days, is there?”
Rashanin raised his eyebrows as if wondering what absurd thing I was saying. I opened my mouth, pretending to be calm.
“I’m not very fond of waiting.”
“So right now, tonight?”
“Yes.”
“And just one night?”
Instead of answering, I nodded. One night would be enough. But Rashanin frowned ambiguously.
“Somehow it feels like you’re only after my body.”
“You can think of it that way if you want.”
His words weren’t completely wrong either. If it was true that I was attracted to him, there was no need to drag it out, right? It was a very irresponsible thought, but I had already committed to it.
“What an unattractive seduction.”
Rashanin’s face twisted slightly as if he was dissatisfied about something. Even I thought it was unattractive to be talking about one night in front of the room door. But what could I do? That’s just my personality.
“If you don’t like it, you can refuse.”
I returned the words Rashanin had once said to me exactly as they were. Then Rashanin smiled, raising the corners of his mouth. The moment I thought it was a fierce smile, Rashanin grabbed my chin and kissed me. Even though I had steeled myself, I was surprised, which was separate from feeling that his tongue was soft. I flinched and tried to pull my body back. But I couldn’t move because of Rashanin’s hands holding my chin and the back of my head.
His hot tongue blatantly dug into my lips. Goosebumps rose up my back to the top of my head. Still, instead of biting the tongue that entered my mouth, I responded to the kiss.
The densely entangled tongues stimulated my erogenous zones. Of all the kisses I’d had with him until now, this was the first one I was doing with a clear mind. As our tongues tangled together, wet sounds were made. The realistic sounds made me feel like my soul would fly away. I didn’t even think about where to put my hands that were hovering in the air.
As the greedy kiss continued, I was pushed back by the force and eventually my back touched the wall. Only after the inside of my mouth became numb did Rashanin pull away his lips. But that was all—our bodies remained pressed close together. It felt like I was trapped between walls front and back.
He was so close I couldn’t see Rashanin’s face. Instead I could see his broad shoulders.
“Say that you want me.”
Rashanin whispered from above my head. Thump, thump, thump—the sound of my heartbeat rang so loudly in my ears that I could barely hear what he was saying.
Rashanin’s hand, which had been holding my shoulder, traveled down my back and grabbed my waist. My shoulders flinched.
“Crave me.”
Rashanin’s voice resonated low in the dark living room with only the night light on. For some reason, the choice had been passed back to me.
“I…”
My voice didn’t sound like my own. Rashanin slightly pulled his upper body back and our eyes met. His eyes shining in the darkness—no, everything about him—was craving. I was afraid, but that didn’t mean I intended to back down.
“It seems like you’re the one hesitating, Rashanin-ssi.”
