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Chapter 15
Soon, Yeongwon’s towel-draped shoulder pressed beneath Yuna’s chest. He had intended to sling her over one shoulder, but as his balance shifted slightly, Yuna, startled, instinctively clutched his neck.
From Yeongwon’s perspective, it worked out perfectly—their weight aligned just right. He held Yuna at the waist and lifted her. Their bodies pressed together, and her slippers slipped off her feet.
Yuna’s body tensed instinctively as she ended up embracing the nearly nude Yeongwon.
With just a cotton T-shirt and a thin apron on her upper body, his warmth radiated directly through their contact.
Realizing what she had just done, Yuna’s voice trembled.
“Uh… um… please, just put me down here, Yeongwon…”
“…There might be shards of glass mixed in with the apple syrup on your feet.”
With that, Yeongwon supported her under the thighs with his forearms. With someone dangling from his neck, he couldn’t move freely.
Heat surged through Yuna’s entire body. She felt sweat forming on her warm back.
Yeongwon walked her to the bathroom and seated her on the edge of the tub.
“Don’t put your feet on the floor.”
“…Yes…”
He detached the showerhead, adjusted the water temperature, and handed it to her. As he left the bathroom and the door clicked shut, Yuna finally lifted her head.
The sound of flowing water filled the room. Yuna pressed her palm to her flushed cheek, but it was useless—her skin was still warm.
“…Crazy… why did I drop that…”
Her body wasn’t the only thing heated—her heart was racing as well.
Could someone who had once been fully intimate with her husband during marriage have her heart pounding this much from embracing a man wearing just shorts? Perhaps memories from that day made her even more sensitive.
Now, Yeongwon’s scent wafted from every inch of her body.
In a bathroom with body wash, this was only natural.
Before washing the sheets, she thought his scent was pleasant. Unlike her husband, who insisted on strong cologne, Yeongwon smelled clean and refreshing. Curious about the product he used, Yuna glanced at the shelf, but quickly looked away and grabbed her hair.
“Get a grip on yourself!”
Trying to learn such private details after so long, and with her body touching a man—she must be out of her mind.
Her marriage had been largely devoid of intimacy for years, making it hard to recall the last hug she had.
In fact, she had never particularly enjoyed intimacy with her husband, often relieved when he came home late and passed out.
To regain composure, Yuna focused the shower water on her feet, washing off the sticky apple syrup.
“….”
Yet, watching herself there, her thoughts kept returning to the sensations under her, the form she felt beneath her thighs, and her heart thumped violently.
‘Yeongwon must remember, right? That I’m someone so sensitive to a man’s body… how could it get that…’
“Why am I thinking about that?! Am I insane!”
Yuna let out a small cry, overwhelmed. She had no idea how to apologize properly for this accidental intimacy. Imagining a polite apology to Yeongwon, her racing heartbeat made her head pound.
“I must be out of my mind…”
She pressed her left hand against her chest, hoping to calm her heart.
But it was useless. The memory of Yeongwon’s warmth against her body remained vivid.
A sudden thought struck her.
“…How is this so… vivid?”
Yuna touched her chest where he had pressed against her. The realization hit immediately—her bra was gone.
“Hnnngh…”
Her head fell forward.
* * *
“Unbelievable…”
Yeongwon rummaged through the wardrobe, frowning fiercely. The shoulder that had pressed against Yuna’s chest was so hot it felt like it might melt.
Yet, no matter how he searched, he couldn’t decide what she should wear. How could he hide the lower half now? The spandex of her boxer shorts and the stiff fabric of her shorts blocked some of the exposure, but he knew any change of clothes wouldn’t erase all evidence—jeans hadn’t worked before.
He did know a quick way to suppress it—but if Yuna saw, he might as well die on the spot.
“Stop thinking about it…”
He tried singing the national anthem in his head, recalling his harsh military days, but the vivid sensations wouldn’t leave him alone. Not only that, he had already seen Yuna’s chest—he knew exactly what he was dealing with.
The combination of memory and touch left him unsettled enough to feel like he could be arrested and have no excuse.
Her skin had a soft, ample feel—anyone could notice it without a bra.
…And it was substantial.
Immediately, Yeongwon banged his head against the wardrobe. What a pervert.
“Damn… are all women the same?”
He had known since his sister didn’t wear bras at home that there were plenty like this. He had assumed it was unique to her.
“Haah…”
Why had his mind gone berserk? His body had reacted before his rational thoughts caught up, imagining Yuna’s delicate flesh with glass under her. Anyone would have done the same. Probably.
If she had dressed properly, it would have been far less problematic. But after swimming, she hadn’t felt any awkwardness.
The contact of their bodies had forced him to support her under the thighs with his forearms. Small and light, she could be moved that way without difficulty. The coffee scent lingered in her hair from her day at the café.
“…Are you insane?”
Yeongwon ran a hand through his hair with a serious expression. Another accident was about to happen.
He grabbed a T-shirt, closed his eyes, and recited some classical Korean poetry to calm his mind. Prayers hadn’t worked before.
“The mountains may be high, yet below the sky they lie.”
Yuna, after all, was no different from his sister. Though they seemed as different as heaven and earth, their bodies were the same.
“Ugh…”
Comparing her chest to his sister’s made his stomach churn—a good sign. But the next lines of the poem sent him down a weird mental path.
“Climb and climb… there is no peak unreachable…”
Climb where? His mind wandered in an odd direction. Perhaps it was his dark thoughts; either way, the technique failed.
Then, the water stopped suddenly. Yeongwon’s face turned pale.
Frozen mid-search, he snapped to attention, slipped into a T-shirt, pulled on training pants over his shorts, rushed to the doorway, and crouched, waiting for Yuna. That was all he could do.
The sound of slippers being pulled off came from the bathroom. Yuna was coming out.
As he picked up shards of glass outside the door, the tension made his Adam’s apple bob.
