Chapter 40
The intense heat that had enveloped Dokyun’s body had subsided.
The hot heat that had filled the room had subsided, and the sound of breathing was slowly filling the empty space.
Dokyun could feel the warmth emanating from the small body he held close, gently warming his chest.
“Haa…”
Dokyun looked at Eun-ah as she snuggled up to him.
With closed eyes, she wriggled cutely, tickling his insides.
When Dokyun brushed her cheek lightly, she raised her head and looked at him. Her clear, shining eyes sparkled like jewels as they gazed at him.
As they continued their silent exchange for a brief moment, her lips, which had been fixed on him, gradually parted.
“D-Did you… like it?”
At her words, a chuckle escaped from Dokyun’s lips.
It seemed rather amusing how she always sought approval whenever she did something, or to be exact, how she asked for praise.
“Why? Did you not like it, Eun-ah?”
“Ah, no…!”
When Dokyun, who had a sense of mischief, said that with a gloomy expression, her head, which had been fixed towards him, drooped sharply and expressed denial.
Right after that, with an expression that seemed somewhat embarrassed, she moved her lips slightly and continued to speak.
“I-I liked it…!”
After she finished speaking, her face turned bright red and she buried her head in his arms again.
“…Hmm”
A muffled sound escaped from Dokyun’s chest.
The sultry heat that had risen intensely conveyed a sense of embarrassment from her.
It was so trivial and cute that Dokyun couldn’t stop laughing.
Dokyun observed her all over again, feeling his heart filled with a sensation.
“Has she gained some weight?”
Compared to when he first saw her, she seemed more plump.
Dokyun couldn’t really feel it because they were together every day, but compared to the first time they met, it seemed that her eerieness and gloominess had gone.
Her pale, lifeless skin seemed to regain its color and vitality at the moment it stuck with him.
Her peculiar physique wasn’t overly emaciated, but it yielded softness as he gently pressed into it, like a fluffy cushion.
The softness of her cheeks was like sticky rice cakes, or the belly fat that squeezed in when poked. That was how it felt.
The feeling was so pleasant that when Dokyun playfully poked those areas with his hand, her cute, reproachful gaze followed.
Those eyes instigate Dokyun’s sadism again, and as if he continued to poke her, tears would well up, and her face would turn tearful, making him stop.
‘Is this why they say a woman’s tears are a weapon?’
Seeing her cry so helplessly, Dokyun’s heart tightened, and he offer words of apology while patting her back.
When Dokyun handed over his apology, the way she stopped sniffing and hugged him again seemed devilishly delightful.
Continuing his train of thoughts, Dokyun realized why he felt that she had gained weight.
‘It’s just a figment of my imagination…’
It was amazing how, even though it was simply due to spending more time together, his emotions toward her have transformed into such a different form.
Looking at her without the lens of fear or disgust that covered his retina, she appeared so lively and plump.
Dokyun could only say that the way she clung to him all day and showed off her happy expression was that of a girl deeply in love.
Because she was so trivial and adorable, Dokyun couldn’t possibly overlap her smile with the person who decorated this house and kidnapped him.
While stroking her while thinking about that, Dokyun felt a hand covering his cheek.
A slightly scarred, bumpy fingertip tickled his cheek.
When he shifted his gaze to look at her, he saw her smiling face directed toward him.
“Hehe…”
The sound of her laughter tickled his ears. The faint, slightly cool body temperature seemed to ripple like an illusion as it caressed his cheek.
The combination of her smile, the touch on his cheek, and the laughter tickling his ears seeped deeply into his heart.
Dokyun faced her and opened his mouth with a smile.
“Should we go to sleep now?”
“Hmm?”
“We played too hard.”
Played… When Dokyun said that with a mischievous expression, he saw her blushing and nodding again.
Then, her head, which had been facing him, slowly dropped, and her hesitant lips spoke softly.
“Well, goodnight…”
“Yes, Eun-ah, sleep well too.”
It was satisfying to have her nod and cuddle up to him.
It only took a week for fear to turn into disgust, disgust to turn into curiosity, and curiosity to turn into ripples.
It was a very short time, but that short time made Dokyun addicted to this body temperature.
It made Dokyun open his heart to willingly accept this warmth.
It made them hold hands, press their skin together, and laugh.
Perhaps it made him think that their relationship could go in a different direction.
Suddenly, her wrist came into Dokyun’s field of vision.
The scars running in a straight line, with the top one still displaying a slightly reddish hue as if the wound hadn’t fully healed yet.
‘Self-harm.’
That word came to his mind. Her sporadic words and actions, as well as the marks scattered across her body, made it possible to speculate that her life hadn’t been particularly happy.
He wanted to ask her about the scars, but he didn’t have the confidence to ask her an obvious trigger question, so he just kept his mouth shut.
Since she herself didn’t pay any attention to her own scars, he acted as if there was nothing there, as if they didn’t exist.
It was an unwritten rule that emerged from a certain moment.
His hand moved and once again caressed her cheek.
Only later did curiosity arise about her. How had she lived, what had caused her pain, why did she hurt herself like this?
One by one, the growing curiosity pierced Dokyun’s heart, gradually transforming into empathy for her.
‘Should have seen it all.’
He remembered the diary in the study.
It reminded him of the traces of times when she was probably happy, but also had traces that showed her discomfort too.
Although the text continued without context, it was only natural for him to think of it as there was no other clue about her past.
When Dokyun thought about the diary he had not read to the end, regret flooded him.
‘Ugh…’
Feeling tormented inside, Dokyun managed to calm himself down and collect his thoughts.
As long as he stayed here, there would be another opportunity.
While his thoughts continued, he felt goosebumps attacking his body. In the last few days, she seemed to be exhausted from vigorous exercise.
‘Let’s sleep for now.’
Since he seemed to have been awake later than usual, it would be better to rest.
Dokyun slowly closed his eyes, feeling his thoughts go down.
***
Dokyun opened his eyes.
His body felt heavy, like a sponge soaked in water, and a metallic taste lingered in his mouth.
“Ugh…”
Dokyun, trying to regain his sluggish mind, shifted his gaze and chuckled upon seeing what was on his stomach.
“She…”
Eun-ah was sleeping on top of him.
‘So, that’s the reason for the heaviness.’
Seeing her sprawled out on top of him, lightly stirring in her sleep, was incredibly adorable.
Dokyun moved his hand and gently stroked her back and smiled.
Whether it was from stretching during sleep or not, her bangs, covering her nose, stuck up like horns, and her slightly parted eyes resembled those of a sloth.
In an instant, a drop of saliva trickled down from her slightly opened mouth.
Dokyun stretched out his hand to wipe away the dripping saliva, and observed her while caressing her cheek.
Her sleeping figure was incredibly defenseless.
‘Come to think of it…’
It seemed to be the first time he had woken up before her. This woman always woke up before him, prepared meals, and woke him up.
Dokyun, who had been gazing at Eun-ah’s face as she briefly slept, raised his hand and lightly tapped her nose, causing her eyebrows to narrow in response.
There was a sense of playfulness.
Dokyun formed his hand into a pincer shape, with a faint smile on his lips, and covered her nose.
Her face gradually turned redder. As if struggling to breathe, faint whimpering sounds escaped from her mouth.
“Mmm…!”
Her expression began to tremble, and as her squirming became more noticeable, he released his hand, and only then did he see her gasping for breath, taking in a deep breath with a relieved expression on her face.
“Puff…”
A long breath escaped from the relaxed face.
“Puff!”
Seeing her still asleep, breathing heavily, Dokyun couldn’t help but let out another laugh.
Dokyun wondered if she was very tired, he was a little worried because it was the first time she had fallen asleep without knowing he was awake.
‘Um…was it a bit harsh?’
Dokyun, who recalled what happened last night, was feeling weak remorse, wondering if he was too excited and bothered her too much.
– Growl…
He felt his stomach growling.
It was mealtime. Following the regular meals they had been having lately, his body had gotten used to having meals at this time.
As Dokyun heard the growl, a thought suddenly passed through his head.
‘But this…’
He recollected their daily routine in this place.
When he opened his eyes, the food would be prepared. Slowly going out to eat, she would clean up afterward. After washing up, he would spend time sitting on the sofa with her in his arms, and they would have dinner and sleep.
‘Uh…’
A sense of deja vu came over him.
it was a pattern that seemed vaguely familiar. It was a pattern he knew very well.
‘Porong?’
Dokyun realized that his current lifestyle closely resembled that of the lazy cat he raised at his home.
– Flash!
His mind snapped awake, and a cold sweat trickled down his back.
He felt that his human dignity was becoming blurred from within.
Dokyun stared at Eun-ah, who was lying on top of him, with a faint suspicion in his eyes.
‘No way…’
Could this all be planned? A meticulously crafted scheme to erase doubts and make him dependent on her, doing everything for him, one by one?
As Dokyun’s thoughts continued, the girl on top of him stirred slightly.
A smile appeared on her lips.
“Hehe…”
He could hear her cheesy laughter, and as her head turned slightly, she kissed his collarbone and started sucking on it.
“Um…”
Dokyun wondered what pleasant dream she was having as she squirmed and moved her body. It looked truly delightful.
Dokyun’s doubts were erased, and he felt a sense of strength in my body.
‘What’s the plan…’
She was the type of woman who couldn’t hide anything. If she was trying to deceive him, it would be written all over her face.
She probably just did what she wanted, and the situation turned out like this.
Feeling a burst of laughter welling up inside him, Dokyun gently lifted her and laid her beside me, covering her with a blanket. Then he got up.
“Okay…”
Perhaps he moved too vigorously last night; his back was sore.
Dokyun, who had been massaging his waist for a while, quickly got dressed and came out of the room, and headed for the kitchen.
It seemed like he had to prepare breakfast today.
‘Yes, I should do something.’
He was not much different from a machine that only produces waste if he continue like this.
Stepping into the kitchen, Dokyun stretched his body, fully awakening himself.
‘First…’
He had to check what was in the refrigerator.
‘How many years have I lived alone?’
Curious about how difficult it would be to prepare breakfast, Dokyun opened the refrigerator, and his eyes were greeted with a wide variety of ingredients filling it up.
Judging from the number of dishes served in the meantime, it was expected that there would be many types of ingredients, but there were far more types of ingredients than Dokyun expected.
There were so many ingredients that it made his head dizzy, and among them were some ingredients that he couldn’t quite figure out what dish they would be used for.
“Hmm…”
Dokyun, who had been looking at it with worried eyes, closed the door of the refrigerator soon after.
-Thunk!
He moved his steps toward the shelves above the kitchen counter.
‘Is there any ramen?’
Those elaborate ingredients were beyond his ability to handle.
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