As the sweet aroma of sweet potato soju wafted past her pursed lips, Hae-som dropped her chopsticks.
Clang! While the chopsticks clattered loudly, Jae-geon’s kiss was as gentle as could be.
He wrapped his tongue around hers, sucked gently, then—just as she tried to pull away—snapped her back with a swift movement, swirled her tongue once, and sucked again.
It was a slow, lingering kiss, as if they were conducting a tasting. “It hurts—go slower,” Hae-som had no idea that this kiss was a direct response to her feedback from last time.
However, she could definitely feel that the sensation—which sent tingling shocks through every corner of her body before leaving her limp and sobbing—was a form of orgasm.
“Perfect? What part of this is perfect? There’s plenty that still needs work.”
Even as Jae-geon spoke against her lips, critiquing in a calm, matter-of-fact tone, sleep came rushing back over Hae-som. Without realizing it, her arms around his waist began to loosen.
If this went just a little further, she felt like she might finally fall asleep… That faint, ticklish sensation—so close she could almost grasp it—left her restless with impatience.
Holding her limp, weak body close, he lifted Hae-som onto the chef’s table that Jae-geon was working on. His gaze was fixed on her through her bloodshot, cracked eyes.
“Looks like no one’s ever offered to put you to sleep.”
Hae-som pressed her lips together and shook her head slowly.
“It’s not like that. It’s just… you were the first, Chef.”
He buried his lips beneath her lowered head and exhaled a hot breath. She didn’t mind the feeling of warmth spreading through her chest.
“You must’ve had a reason—or some resolve—if you came all this way on your own.”
“……”
“And the way you’re just letting this happen… doesn’t look like I’m mistaken.”
She wasn’t drunk. Even if he let go of her right now, she was clear-headed enough to walk home without stumbling.
But sleep—treacherous as it was—worked its strange magic in the end.
“I want to sleep with the chef.”
Since it was going to be mindless sex anyway, she had the crazy idea of trading it for sleep.
As if to scold her for such a depraved thought, Jae-geon sank his teeth into her pale nape. The warm sensation against her sensitive skin caused a sensual moan to escape her lips before she even realized it.
“Let’s go home… home…”
Jae-geon’s house stood between Seochon and Bukchon—a detached hanok tucked behind Not.
The moment the familiar place came into view, Hae-som’s small heart began to pound like a petty thief about to commit a crime.
Trailing close behind, Jae-geon pressed a hand to her chest, cutting off any attempt at escape.
“That’s the right way. Where are you trying to go?”
Caught like a criminal whose plan had been exposed, she felt her chest tighten again.
“I was going to stop by a convenience store first.”
“A convenience store?”
“I need to pick up some hygiene stuff. And a few other things.”
“If it’s a toothbrush, you can use the one from last time.”
“My parents always said you shouldn’t visit someone empty-handed.”
“Who said that?”
“My mom and dad.”
Maybe it was her choice of childish wording, but Jae-geon openly frowned.
Ignoring him, Hae-som stepped into the convenience store and first grabbed a pack of tissue as a gift. Then a set of peach-colored underwear, a pair of white socks, and a travel-size hygiene kit.
The last time she’d borrowed his body wash, her mother had sniffed around suspiciously for quite a while.
Even today, when she said she’d be staying over to practice cooking, her mom paused for a few seconds before telling her she was an adult now and could decide for herself.
An adult—so it was on her to take responsibility.
In the same vein, as she rushed to put the condom she’d picked up back into the basket, a hollow laugh erupted from across the aisle.
Ignoring the look that seemed to ask if she didn’t trust him, Hae-som went straight to the counter. She set the basket down, but Jae-geon paid.
He didn’t even wait for her to pull out her wallet, his breathing edged with impatience.
Stepping into the courtyard of the house, Hae-som nearly dropped the bag hanging from her wrist more than once.
His hot breath warmed the nape of her neck, and his teeth bit into it repeatedly. He smiled slightly at her obvious reaction, which revealed her erogenous zones.
Wherever his touch sent a shiver down her spine, he would sweep over it with his tongue; wherever his saliva left her damp and tingling, his warm lips would press against her.
She finally dropped the bag she’d been clutching with trembling hands right in front of the gate. That was because Jae-geon’s hand, slipping beneath her T-shirt, had gripped her already sensitive breasts.
“I dropped it.”
She tried to sound calm, but her voice trembled like a lost child.
“We need it right now, don’t we?”
“It won’t fit anyway.”
Ah… so there’s that kind of issue.
A small sigh slipped from her as her body was turned sharply, leaving her face-to-face with the firmly locked gate.
“Don’t worry—I’ll make sure to use protection. If you’re still not sure, run away now.”
“……”
“If you’re sure, we go in together.”
“What’s the password?”
Jae-geon guided her small, hovering hand onto the security pad, his teeth grazing the soft cartilage of her ear.
“0690.”
Her trembling fingers kept slipping across the pad. Her vision blurred, and something like a low whimper rose in her throat. She was a mess.
“We haven’t even started and you’re already like this?”
He released her hand, caught her index finger, and keyed in the numbers himself. The lock clicked open, and at that same moment, her shaking body was lifted and pulled into his arms.
The gate slammed shut behind them. Almost immediately, another series of beeps unlocked the front door.
Another door opened. Another heavy thud echoed—and before she knew it, Hae-som was perched on the edge of the kitchen island.
Even in the rush of the moment, Jae-geon moved with composure. He washed his hands carefully at the sink before turning back. Then he caught her as she sagged, quick and precise.
“Ah—!”
His hands slid right under her T-shirt without hesitation. It took less than a second for him to unhook her bra and reach around to cup her bare breasts.
Jae-geon’s lips rubbed relentlessly against the exposed skin where her T-shirt had been pulled up. He licked his way up her flat, lean stomach and took a big bite out of her pale breast.
His lips traced the pale blue veins on her rounded skin, circling the faint areola. As the faint outline sharpened into a coral hue, his lips pressed against it as if sucked in.
Her body, unfamiliar with such touch, trembled in sharp pulses. Jae-geon remained steady.
“If something tastes bad, I won’t touch it—even if my life depends on it. Occupational hazard.”
As if that were surprising. This didn’t exactly seem like something to apply professional standards to. Still, his expression stayed perfectly composed.
Like a true chef, his ‘tasting’ was slow, deliberate, and careful. He missed nothing, taking his time as if savoring every detail—and for some reason, it left a dull ache low in her stomach.
At the same time, sleep came crashing down on her.
It was the very exhaustion she had been desperate to reclaim. The insomnia that usually clung to her faltered strangely in front of Jae-geon—and the relief almost brought her to tears.
Jae-geon’s hand, which had been gently wiping the moisture from the corners of her eyes, traced Hae-som’s graceful curves as it moved downward.
The skirt, which fell to her ankles, was suddenly swept aside by Jae-geon’s touch. He smiled with satisfaction at the long mark running along the vertical slit in her gray underwear, visible between her parted legs.
“My principle is simple. I only look at pretty things, touch pretty things, and taste pretty things.”
His index finger, running across her damp underwear, curved like a hook and pulled the underwear to one side.
From the center of her smooth, hairless skin—from her swollen clitoris—an exquisite, elusive scent wafted forth.
“If it’s good and it’s pretty, I don’t like to share.”
Hae-som had no idea what he meant. Jae-geon added, almost kindly,
“It means I don’t want to split it with anyone else.”
As if he had someone specific in mind, he ground his teeth with a grind, then lowered his upper lip to bite into her chest once more.
Her stiff, erect nipple was sucked into the soft, cozy mucous membrane with a slurp, a gulp. Sparks flew from Hae-som’s eyes.
Amid her ragged breathing, she heard the sound of a belt buckle coming undone.
“A, a condom….”
A bright red tongue darted across her lips, cutting off Hae-som’s words. At the same moment, a raw, intense heat pressed firmly against her bare skin.