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Chapter 50
After leaving the office and putting some distance between us, we whispered to each other.
“I really don’t want to see her again. That old lady is scary. I’ll never see her again.”
It was an unexpectedly natural response that hadn’t appeared before.
“I didn’t know you were scared of something.”
“I’m usually not very popular with women.”
For some reason, it didn’t feel like the director disliked me.
She lightly brushed her chin and glanced back toward the office we had left behind.
“Did she call just because she was curious about my face?”
“Probably.”
“What’s the point of seeing my face?”
Weakness.
Yoonjae didn’t bother to voice the thought that immediately came to mind.
There was no way that sharp, cunning old woman hadn’t noticed his changes.
Of course, he seemed completely unaware.
“Did we bid too much on the auction items? Should we have been more moderate?”
He pointed at us, cautiously guessing.
“That’s funny.”
Not exactly a wrong answer either.
“I shouldn’t have bid on the last one…” she murmured, narrowing her eyes.
“My face?”
“I think you admitted it yourself.”
“When did I say that…?”
“I make Yoonjae laugh.”
Her words resurfaced in our minds as if waiting to be remembered.
She was clarifying Yoonjae’s misunderstanding.
“No, it’s not about making him laugh with my face.”
“Then how are you going to make him laugh?”
“Well…”
I wanted to say it wasn’t my face, but nothing came to mind.
Even the act of thinking with a puzzled expression was a bit funny in itself, yet he encouraged us, taking our contemplation seriously.
“Go ahead. Try it.”
When told bluntly to make someone laugh, her temper swelled.
“What do I get if I do it?”
“Anything you want.”
The anticipation from the unexpectedly generous reward deflated a little.
Yoonjae, who never spoke without reason, said “anything.” How could she miss this opportunity?
“Wait and see. I’ll definitely make you laugh.”
Like someone who had once been a comedian, we wracked our brains, struggling to come up with something.
But when trying outright to make someone laugh, nothing came to mind.
Even if we said sarcasm is laughter, it probably wouldn’t work on his expressionless face.
We groaned.
She, overthinking seriously, squinted and asked,
“Any method is fine, right?”
“What are you going to do?”
“Answer first.”
Yoonjae nodded obediently.
Finally, we opened our eyes slightly and raised our hands.
“Close your eyes.”
She said something risky so casually.
Not knowing what she was planning, he quietly agreed to her conditions once more.
As Yoonjae closed his eyes, we tiptoed toward him. Then, turning to his back, we reached for his vulnerable armpits.
Tickle, tickle.
“…”
Laughter is instinctive.
“This isn’t fair.”
She began to tickle his armpits relentlessly.
Despite her thin fingers’ best efforts, reaching across his sides and back, Yoonjae didn’t move.
Frustrated, we hurriedly turned to check his face.
We wanted to see if he was desperately holding back laughter.
“…”
Yet, Yoonjae, eyes still closed, was expressionless.
No, he even looked a little sad.
‘What am I doing right now?’
At this age, to be tickling—or worse, groping—a man outside… what is this situation?
Who would know how to describe this scene?
I shouldn’t have.
Just as our faces, full of regret, were flushing red, his closed eyes opened.
A brief silence followed.
The garden outside the office felt piercingly cold.
“Is that all?”
It was a defeat.
Confronted with the most embarrassing moment of her life, a sense of resistance arose.
“Why aren’t you ticklish?”
“I am ticklish.”
“Then show some reaction.”
“How?”
“Why are you asking me? If it tickles, show it! Just honestly show how it feels right now…!”
As she lifted her head, embarrassed and indignant, Yoonjae’s arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her tightly.
Her body pressed so close that she could barely lift a hand, resting it against his chest.
In our wide-eyed astonishment, Yoonjae answered a question she hadn’t even asked.
“You said to be honest with my reaction.”
“This isn’t honesty, it’s teasing.”
Despite wanting to smack him for his playful behavior, her hands, locked around his waist, were immovable.
We bit our lips and pushed against his chest.
Yet Yoonjae’s low, whispering voice tickled her ear.
“It tickled.”
“…”
“From head to toe, everywhere you touched.”
Only then did a corner of his mouth lift.
“You win.”
It was a clearly amused voice. His sincere whisper quickly captivated us.
“Say what you want.”
As if keeping a promise, he spoke, and she blinked.
What I want?
‘There’s a lot. So much. Endless.’
But nothing came to mind.
Other than fidgeting with her hands on Yoonjae’s chest, nothing else occurred.
She also questioned the situation itself.
Why were we doing this?
How did we end up facing each other like this?
Not due to the flow of events, but questioning the reason for staying in this moment.
‘Why.’
Once you ask, you have to find a reason.
Which means, if you don’t ask, no reason is needed.
In the sparse light of street lamps, standing at the boundary of darkness and light, we looked at each other, without asking why.
We let the moment exist.
“…”
Hands around our waists.
A provocative gaze.
Feeling every finger’s touch along her ticklish spine, our eyelids grew heavy.
“What I want.”
His heartbeat could be felt on our palms.
A heartbeat that made every moment feel special. Perhaps her own heartbeat, not so different, made her unconsciously rise onto her toes.
Yoonjae’s fingertips subtly assisted, supporting her slight movement toward him.
With his gentle pressure on her waist, our heads slowly moved toward his lips.
Bang!
Fireworks exploded, instantly breaking the flow.
The boundary between light and dark shattered, spilling vivid colors onto their faces.
As if the surroundings were interfering on purpose, the consecutive bursts made us laugh bitterly.
We retracted our courage, lowered our lifted heels.
Bang!
We were about to put them down.
Yet again, fireworks erupted, and it wasn’t our eyes that opened wide.
We touched.
The lips that had missed countless chances finally met.
Our bodies, no longer hindered by lifted heels, felt fully surrendered to Yoonjae.
We awkwardly wrapped our hands around his firm neck, eyes closing once more.
Two tilted heads interlocked, lips parting as if exchanging breaths, savoring softness.
Many times we had touched before, but never like this—perfectly.
Hugging tightly, hoping not to be released, we kissed passionately.
The thunderous sounds above were lost to our intoxication with each other.
“Ha Yoonjae.”
The heat rising from deep within wanted more.
Wishing the moment wouldn’t end, we craved each other endlessly.
Finally, as the fireworks ceased and even the wind stilled, our shallow breaths continued.
Our lips parted slowly, leaving a thin line that disappeared.
“…”
Still, the gentle brush of noses conveyed her trembling.
Wrapped around each other, we remained still for a while.
We didn’t ask each other why.
We didn’t fabricate meaning or impose reasons.
We simply wanted it.
I, we, wanted each other.
“…Ah.”
We exhaled first, releasing held breaths.
Slowly lowering her arms around Yoonjae’s neck, she said,
“My feet hurt.”
Her voice couldn’t hide a tremor.
Rrrrr. Rrrrr.
Arriving at the car, Yoonjae’s phone rang.
After briefly answering, he said to us, now seated in the passenger seat,
“Wait here. I’ll go check the auctioned items.”
“Oh, I’ll go.”
“No. Stay. I know what it is.”
He closed the door she had left open and walked away.
“…”
Watching his retreating figure through the window, we steadied our breathing, gripping our hearts that could have burst at any moment.
In that moment, overwhelmed by undeniable emotion, she asked herself:
To us, who started without affection,
‘Really?’
No long reflection was needed—her feelings were certain.
I… Ha Yoonjae…
Whether it had started long ago or not, the dizzying emotions finally surfaced, fluttering across her chest and hands.
‘Really.’
It was the unmistakable one correct answer.
We grasped our hands, staring blankly.
Knock. Knock.
Someone knocked, as if to wake her from thoughts scattering Yoonjae across the world.
Looking quickly toward the sound, we saw a familiar face outside.
“Dr. Jang?”
We hurriedly opened the door.
Surprised by the unexpected guest, she greeted Juho with a pleased expression.
“You were here?”
“Yes. I came briefly with the others… I didn’t get a chance to properly greet you.”
“I was too distracted to do so. Ah, Ha Yoonjae is at the event right now…”
“I didn’t come for Executive Ha, but because there’s something I really want to say to Aejung.”
“…Me?”
“I know it might be intrusive, but I felt I had to say it.”
Could it be a confession?
The timing was just right, making her a little nervous.
Even Dr. Jang might have been captivated by her unknowable charm.
Cutting through our absurd speculation, Juho continued,
“Don’t give up.”
“…What?”
“I know you’ve thought a lot about it. I know your last wish is to be with Yoonjae. And I know it’s not for me to judge. But now it’s different. Things are changing.”
Taken aback by the sudden encouragement, she wore a sheepish expression.
“What… suddenly, what is that…”
“The time Aejung liked Yoonjae…”
What?
“It was never wasted.”
