Tweet, tweet— The bright sound slowly woke the consciousness that had momentarily darkened. As soon as I opened my eyelids, light broke through between my disheveled hair.
“Ugh...!”
But as soon as I opened my eyes, a scream immediately escaped. To be precise, an indescribable pain ran from my waist down. My legs couldn’t move, like a patient who had just finished surgery, and my eyes were so swollen it was difficult to open them. As I tried to move my sore lips, my voice was hoarse as if dragged forcibly by claws. In short, my body was a complete mess. It would have been better to repeat hell training and run 7 km than this… The breath going in and out of my nose felt hot, as if my body still had a fever. Last night, Lee Wooshin had persistently clung to me, even though his bodily fluids were as thin as water. He rubbed and chafed between my breasts, my navel, and in the open gap down there. As soon as he hardened again, he tried to insert it into my hole. From then on, it seemed ejaculation was no longer the goal. Whether he considered my body a sword sheath or what, he wanted to stay connected endlessly. As the memories of last night surfaced one by one, Seoryeong buried her side face into the pillow. Even replaying it, it was indeed a very long day. Tuk, tuk— Huh? Tuk, tuk— Just then, another light sound drew back her weary consciousness. A reddish-brown back with a clear spinal line and scars here and there.
Seoryeong was momentarily speechless. Lee Wooshin, who was shirtless, was sitting at the end of the bed with a blanket wrapped around him, clipping his toenails.
“――!”
As soon as she woke up in surprise and lifted her upper body, her waist ached. The seemingly peaceful morning scene suddenly made her stomach churn. Seoryeong’s face twisted as if she had swallowed something bitter.
“What...―”
His hoarse voice made the man turn his head. He smiled casually.
“Did you sleep well?”
“…….”
His nonchalance made Seoryeong so annoyed her mouth clamped shut. Disheveled hair covered the bridge of his nose, and for some reason, the crevice of his buttocks was occasionally visible from between the blanket because he hadn’t even put on underwear. For some reason, she wanted to sigh. But as the sunlight illuminated the man, everything felt clear, like when her eyes reopened after a long blindness. The burning frustration and betrayal of last night felt like a distant past. It was a strange feeling. Although her body ached as if she was about to fall ill, her mood was much better. Her gaze lingered on Lee Wooshin, who was bent over clipping his nails.
“What are you doing, Instructor?”
Seoryeong asked, slowly pulling her ankle. But Wooshin pulled it back.
“Clipping unnecessary parts.”
“…….”
“Hungry?”
Yes, thanks to whom? But more than hungry, my whole body ached. The muscles in my groin felt torn, the nipples that had been constantly bitten last night still throbbed, and the opening down there stung with every breath. At this point, I’d rather go through torture training. Even with a wry smile, his toenails were still being clipped neatly. Wooshin pressed the already short-clipped nail and then clipped the sharp part again. He carefully tidied up even the small protruding fragments. Having treated me like a toy all night, now he’s being this gentle— Seoryeong rubbed her face like she was washing it.
“Instructor….”
Last night, the thought that Kim Hyeon might be a foreigner had crossed my mind. But how could a foreigner be an NIS agent? Judging solely by the size of his vital organ, it seemed unlikely he was local, but still…. It didn’t make sense.
“What country are you really from?”
Back when the rumors about the Chief of the Special Security Team were spreading, there was talk that he came from overseas. When Seoryeong asked, a small laugh came from the direction of the bed.
“Finally starting to get interested in me?”
“……!”
“After sleeping together, you’re curious what kind of mixed blood this face has?”
“It’s not that kind of strange interest―”
“After spending the night, now you want to exchange names?”
“…….”
“Why so cynical?”
The way he dragged the conversation in his own direction was truly infuriating. Just as Seoryeong was about to retort, he preempted her.
“My grandfather was Russian.”
Wooshin lowered his head, his eyes fixed on his toes. His voice was flat, almost expressionless. Russian…? Not from an English-speaking country, huh? That was truly unexpected. His glossy black hair and perfect facial features suddenly felt different. Unconsciously, Seoryeong spoke casually.
“That’s strange, I’ve almost been to Russia.”
“…….”
Wooshin paused for a moment. Seoryeong blinked and continued, a little nervously.
“Back in school, I did gymnastics. Talented kids were usually sent to Russia for training. Do you speak Russian? I even memorized the Cyrillic alphabet, you know.”
“So, you went there?”
“...No. I quit gymnastics and dropped out of school before I got to go.”
“Does your husband know?”
“Know what?”
“That you have a past you’re willing to talk about like this.”
“……!”
Did I… look like that? She shook her head slightly. Although she was quite good when she was young, it wasn’t something she was proud of.
“Why didn’t you tell your husband?”
It’s good though… Wooshin murmured, slowly stroking her small instep. That seemingly trivial gesture somehow warmed Seoryeong’s heart. She pulled the blanket higher up to her neck. Although it was the first time she had revealed her feelings like this, her words flowed so smoothly.
“I’m afraid of saying the wrong thing.”
“…….”
“I only wanted to show my good side, so my thoughts kept piling up. If I started letting them out one by one, he would definitely know everything— the reason I quit gymnastics, didn’t have friends in school, my bad temper. I think... I was afraid of showing my true self.”
“…….”
“That’s why I couldn’t say it easily. Because I was too…”
She stared into the air, then fell silent for a moment.
“...too desperate, I guess.”
His voice sounded much calmer now. Lee Wooshin stared at her without blinking, but he didn’t seem to realize that his expression was slowly starting to crumble. For some reason, he looked a little unsteady.
“You probably don’t know about things like this, do you, Instructor?”
Seoryeong asked, as if throwing the words out casually. Lee Wooshin probably wouldn’t understand the feelings of having to swallow things down for fear of making others disgusted. He always thought I was stupid.
The embarrassment of speaking too honestly only hit her afterwards. She scratched her forehead and then pulled her legs back under the blanket. In the slightly awkward silence, Seoryeong finally spoke after much thought.
“But, you must also have one... one of the worst moments in your life, right?”
“……!”
“For me, it was yesterday. And you know everything.”
The time I truly thought Kim Hyeon was dead and my whole world collapsed—I showed everything to Lee Wooshin without being able to hold back. For some reason, that kept bothering me. Maybe it was because he had seen my worst side. It felt uncomfortable that I was the one showing more weakness. It was a matter of pride. A serious gaze silently pierced her. Seoryeong pulled the blanket up to cover the red marks on her chest, hips, and thighs.
“I don’t like only I look this weak. So forget about those nails. I want you to tell me something equivalent too.”
Seoryeong believed that only then could this relationship continue fairly and equally. Lee Wooshin turned his body fully towards Seoryeong, then laughed softly as if amused.
“Ah—so you mean, because you woke up after sleeping with the instructor, it doesn’t feel right. Plus, yesterday’s incident was embarrassing, so you think if you can dig up a little about me, you’ll feel better—is that it?”
He explained in a mocking but sharp tone. Seoryeong flinched slightly, but felt that arguing back strongly would only make her look worse, so she replied while averting her gaze, “Yes.”
Hearing that, Lee Wooshin laughed, then pulled Seoryeong’s legs and started playfully biting them.
“Hey, what are you doing…!”
“This annoying side of you, why does it look cute, huh.”
“……!”
“Don’t you want to see that crooked thing again?”
“Don’t bring your lips closer…!”
As soon as his lips touched the sole of her foot, Seoryeong panicked. At first he had bitten, but now it was like he was playing with a baby’s foot. Seoryeong could feel a pulse-like beat from the sole of her foot. Why could he laugh like that? His gentle but calm gaze made her chest feel hot. When he was silent, he seemed cold, but that gentle smile when he was joking like that… was annoying.
“But this... I’m starting to feel guilty, how should I put it.”
Lee Wooshin leaned his body on one hand on the mattress.
“Almost every moment of my life has been the worst.”
He began to fold his fingers one by one while speaking casually.
“When I was eight, my parents died. At fourteen, I was completely alone. As soon as I became an adult, the people I trusted stabbed me in the back and died. Out of all that, which one do you want to hear? Feel free to choose, Han Seoryeong.”
“…….”
“It’s all fucked up, so any one would be interesting to hear.”
With a flat face, he massaged the back of his neck. Like rummaging through childhood art show stories, his attitude was so light.
“But since you only asked for one….”
Suddenly, Lee Wooshin lowered his gaze.
“The worst... turned out to be my best day too.”
For someone like him... that good thing...?
“...What is it?”
Seoryeong immediately regretted asking. The words had slipped out without thinking. She quickly blinked, nervous, while Wooshin looked puzzled and began to rub his chin. Although he could talk about people’s deaths smoothly, this time he didn’t seem like he would say it. For some reason, Seoryeong could just sense it. However, that gaze finally met hers—deep and dark.
“I was married once.”
Suddenly, Lee Wooshin’s phone rang loudly. As if waking them from everything.