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Chapter 8
A tight pressure gripped the inside of her chest.
Sui couldn’t say a single word. She simply stared blankly at Beomjin.
Meanwhile, he looked completely calm, as though he had no idea what kind of bomb he had just dropped.
“Are you drunk?”
“Do I look drunk?”
“Otherwise, there’s no way you’d say something like that.”
At her words, Beomjin let out a quiet laugh.
“You don’t know anything about me, Ahn Sui.”
“H-Ha, that’s ridiculous. Who knows you better than I do?”
“No.”
He cut her off immediately.
“You don’t know. Not what I’ve imagined ever since the moment I met you.”
A crimson passion flickered within his dark eyes.
“Or what I’m thinking about right now.”
The beam of a passing car’s headlights swept over them.
Neither of them moved.
They simply locked onto each other’s gaze, unwilling to let go.
An inexplicable tension ran down Sui’s spine.
She could feel the strength in the arms holding her, the tension in Beomjin’s entire body.
“…Put me down. I want to go home.”
In the end, Sui was the first to look away.
If she kept staring into his eyes, she was certain her entire body would burn up.
“Alright.”
But instead of setting her down, Beomjin simply started walking.
“I said put me down.”
“Here it comes.”
Turning her head, she saw a taxi approaching.
“Answer me after I put you down.”
“W-What?”
“Whether you’ll kiss me or not.”
“Hah, seriously…”
“Actually, no. Let me change the question.”
Watching the taxi slowly pull over to the curb, Beomjin spoke quietly.
“Did you like it after we kissed, or not?”
Before Sui could answer, Beomjin strode over to the taxi and carefully placed her in the back seat.
Then he climbed in beside her.
“To Dongandong, right? We’ll get going.”
The taxi driver cheerfully turned the wheel.
Just as the car merged onto the road and began picking up speed—
“…!”
Sui’s eyes widened.
She turned toward Beomjin, who looked back at her calmly.
“What?”
“Y-You… let go already!”
Glancing nervously at the driver, Sui whispered under her breath.
Instead, Beomjin tightened his grip on her hand.
As if that wasn’t enough, he spread apart her fingers and intertwined them deeply with his own.
“Dokgo Beomjin!”
“If you say it that loudly, he’ll hear.”
A gentle smile curved his lips as he leaned close and whispered into her ear.
“Or do you actually want us to get caught?”
“You really…!”
Realizing she’d raised her voice again, Sui quickly covered her mouth with her free hand and glanced toward the driver.
The driver acted as though he hadn’t heard a thing and remained focused on driving.
But somehow, she could tell every bit of his attention was directed toward them.
Embarrassment made her cheeks burn even redder.
What’s gotten into him today? Is he seriously that drunk?
She kept trying to pull her hand away, but failed miserably every time.
Maybe she shouldn’t have mentioned being tired.
Today, Dokgo Beomjin’s version of “comfort” felt far too intense.
Haah… I don’t know anymore.
Leaning back against the seat, Sui closed her eyes.
The car rocked rhythmically.
The sound of distant horns and music filtering through the closed windows became soothing white noise.
The drowsiness and lingering intoxication that had briefly retreated because of Beomjin slowly returned.
Ah. I shouldn’t fall asleep.
But she couldn’t resist the wave of sleepiness.
Eventually, still holding hands with Beomjin, Sui drifted off.
“We’ve arriv— Y-Yes, Director! Thank you… S-Sorry…”
How much time had passed?
Hearing a faint voice, Sui slowly opened her eyes.
“You’re awake?”
At the voice above her, she sat up and found Beomjin looking down at her.
Apparently, she’d fallen asleep with her head resting on his shoulder.
“We’re here, miss.”
The driver’s voice sounded strangely subdued compared to when they’d first gotten in.
Sui lowered her head.
“Thank you.”
As soon as she spoke, the driver hurriedly bowed back.
Then he got out of the car and opened the door on Beomjin’s side.
Wow… his service is amazing.
But didn’t he just call him ‘Director’? Maybe I heard wrong…
As Sui blinked sluggishly, Beomjin had already gotten out and walked around to her side.
Opening the door, he held out a hand.
“Here.”
She stared at the large hand offered to her.
After a moment’s hesitation, she took it.
His long fingers completely enveloped her small hand before gently pulling her up.
“Then I’ll be on my way. Please get inside safely!”
The driver bowed nearly ninety degrees before scrambling back into the taxi and speeding off.
Watching the taxi disappear as though fleeing for its life, Sui turned her head when something warm settled around her shoulders.
“Let’s go inside.”
Their homes stood side by side at the very end of a residential neighborhood about fifteen minutes from downtown.
Sui’s house was a modest white home.
Beside it stood Beomjin’s house—a sleek, dark-gray residence, the largest and most stylish in the neighborhood.
The place Beomjin guided her toward was his house.
“Come to my place.”
Sometimes Sui stayed in the guest room at Beomjin’s house.
For some reason, only her house frequently suffered water or power outages.
And after her mother passed away, she often ate meals with Beomjin’s family.
Whenever heavy rain fell, Beomjin’s father would insist she stay over rather than spend the night alone.
“The guest room is on the second floor. Beomjin won’t come upstairs without your permission, not even one step, so don’t worry. Though if you’re still concerned, I can give you a baseball bat and some rope…”
“N-No, it’s okay! I trust you, sir. Thank you for being so considerate.”
“Think nothing of it. Neighbors are practically family. We’re basically family already, so if you’re ever in trouble—or even if you’re not—feel free to rely on us anytime.”
Dokgo Jinseok, Beomjin’s father, resembled his son in being somewhat reserved, but he had a warm heart.
He took care of Sui as though she were his own daughter.
Even after being transferred to an overseas branch when they turned twenty, he still checked in on her several times a year.
As though they truly were family.
Sui was happy.
She didn’t want this relationship to break.
If possible, she wanted things to stay like this forever.
Even after Dokgo Jinseok moved overseas, Sui continued coming and going from Beomjin’s house just as before.
They ate together, watched movies, and played games.
After becoming working adults, her visits usually involved recovering from hangovers.
Whenever she woke up after a night of drinking, she’d inevitably find herself in Beomjin’s guest room.
And Beomjin would spend the entire day taking care of her.
But…
Now that words like kiss and sex—words she had never imagined would come up between them—had been spoken aloud, there was no way she could act exactly as before.
Even if Dokgo Beomjin forgot everything by the next day…
I remember. That’s the problem.
Sui desperately tried to escape the awkward atmosphere.
“I’m going home.”
“You’ve been drinking.”
“I’ll just rest at my own place tonight.”
She turned unsteadily toward her house.
But the strong arm around her shoulders refused to let her go.
“Come this way.”
“Dokgo Beomjin.”
“This place is going to become our home soon anyway.”
The unexpected words froze her in place.
Beomjin cupped her cheek and lowered his head.
Tap.
Their foreheads touched.
“You remember what I asked earlier.”
“…”
“Whether you liked it after we kissed.”
As he shifted slightly, the tips of their noses brushed.
“Ahn Sui.”
“…How could you and I ever be like that?”
“Why not?”
“We’re… we’re basically family.”
“Not actually family.”
Ah.
Sui’s eyes trembled.
It felt as though a tiny crack had formed across her heart.
That was true, but…
Even so, how could he say something like that?
And how could Dokgo Beomjin be saying it to her?
Her large eyes slowly filled with tears.
“You jerk.”
You know exactly how much I care about you and your father.
You know better than anyone how badly I’ve always wanted a family.
How could you say this?
“Even if you’re drunk, I’m not letting this slide. Just wait until you try contacting me tomorrow.”
At last, clear tears rolled down her flushed cheeks.
The moment a droplet fell from her chin to the ground—
“Then we’ll become a real family.”
