<66>
Il-hyeon frowned at the humid weather. Crossing the yard, he noticed the light still on in Lee Ja-gyeong's room. Not sleeping, is she. After two days of exchanging only simple greetings, he was going out of his mind. He was desperate to see that face of hers that detested his jokes.
The impulse to spread those bouncy buttocks and thrust his cock inside surged several times a day. He had to endure it. Chewing on the end of his cigarette, he desperately suppressed his desire. He sat there smoking several cigarettes, but today his lust wouldn't fade—instead, it blazed even more fiercely.
Fuck. This won't do. If he went inside like this, he'd head straight to the second floor and pounce on Lee Ja-gyeong. To cool off, he removed his shoes and jacket, loosened his tie, and walked into the swimming pool. Soaking in the water should clear his head. A guard patrolling outside with a dog looked his way, so he gestured that he was fine, then relaxed his body and lay back in the pool.
His body floated up, his ears submerged, and he heard nothing. Peaceful. Lying on his back, he watched raindrops begin to fall one by one from the sky. It felt like returning to his dead mother's womb. Long before he was born—his mother had learned of her second pregnancy and fallen into despair.
Back then, her condition had deteriorated terribly. She called the child in her womb a devil, punched her belly, rolled down stairs, and later secretly took medicine without his father knowing. But life is stubborn—he ultimately came into the world.
Chairman Kang was pleased to have a son, but throughout Il-hyeon's growth, his mother's eyes were always filled with hatred. As a child, craving such a mother's love, he did many strange things. Perhaps that only made her more sick of him. He had blamed himself, thinking he was a person who shouldn't have been born.
But not anymore. Since he was born, he wanted to possess everything. He wanted to climb to the top, to place the world beneath his feet and look down on it. For that, he needed even greater power than he had now.
Closing his eyes, the world fell silent. Raindrops fell on his face. He had been lying there for a while when someone jumped into the water. Il-hyeon opened his eyes and straightened up. And he couldn't help but be surprised at the person before him.
Lee Ja-gyeong, who should have been inside the house, was standing in the middle of the swimming pool, holding his arm. In her large eyes, a trace of fear flickered past.
"Why do you have that expression?"
"What do you mean?"
Though her tone was gruff, Il-hyeon instinctively realized that Lee Ja-gyeong had jumped in out of worry for him. On a whim, he blocked the rain with his hand and carefully wiped her face. Usually she'd recoil at the slightest touch and swat his hand away fiercely, but today she was docile.
Ah, now I'm getting it. What kind of person you are.
"Let's get out before we get soaked by the rain. You'll catch a cold."
He grabbed Lee Ja-gyeong's arm and pulled her out of the pool. They were both completely soaked, and the rain poured down heavily. The two went inside the house. After roughly drying off with towels from the hallway cabinet, Ja-gyeong headed to the second floor. Il-hyeon likewise walked to his room on the first floor without saying anything.
After showering and changing clothes, Ja-gyeong towel-dried her wet hair. The rain that had been pouring just moments ago had stopped as if it never happened. Looking out the window, the swimming pool sat empty as if nothing had occurred. It felt like being bewitched by a ghost.
Why did I go down there? Regretting her actions, she sat on the bed when a knock sounded. The door opened and Kang Il-hyeon appeared. In one hand he held a mug.
"May I come in?"
When she nodded, he entered. After placing the teacup on the side table, he sat in a chair for a moment. He seemed to have just showered, wearing a dark-colored gown, and with damp hair covering his forehead, he looked much younger and gentler than usual.
"Thanks for earlier."
"For what?"
"Actually, I wasn't feeling well.... You may have heard... today is my mother's death anniversary...."
"...."
"I thought if I lay there, I might see my mother's face for a moment, but then you appeared."
Seeing Kang Il-hyeon's face as he pulled one corner of his mouth in a bitter smile, Ja-gyeong momentarily lost her words. Was he really that sad? She had thought he was a heartless wretch, trash that even a dog wouldn't bite. She couldn't readily believe it and studied his expression. Hadn't he also talked about his dead mother before, demanding to be comforted?
Kang Il-hyeon bit his lower lip hard, averted his gaze, and rubbed his face with his hand. Seeing his eyes slightly reddened when he looked back, Ja-gyeong was bewildered. What the hell. Why is he being scary like this? But Kang Il-hyeon was truly different from usual.
While she couldn't make up her mind and hesitated, Kang Il-hyeon looked at her with distant eyes.
"Lee Ja-gyeong. I have a favor."
"Say it..."
"Could I sleep here today? Just for today?"
"...."
"No other intentions. I'm scared to sleep alone. Actually, I'm only telling you this, but around this time every year, I'm always plagued by nightmares. Of course, you probably won't believe me."
She didn't believe him. If anything, there were many people suffering nightmares because of him, if anything. Kang Il-hyeon neither rushed nor pressured her for an answer. He just looked down at his hands resting on his thighs, blinking his long eyelashes.
"That's... I don't want that."
At Ja-gyeong's unexpectedly firm attitude, Il-hyeon's eyes, which had been looking down, rose upward. His eyes were even redder than before. Ja-gyeong was flustered and lost for words. Il-hyeon contorted his face and smiled painfully.
"Sorry. I asked for too much."
He stood up obediently, said goodnight, and turned away. Ja-gyeong bit her lower lip. No matter how she thought about it, she didn't need to comfort him. Then she remembered her childhood. After going to China, Ja-gyeong suffered nightmares for quite a long time. Her parents would crawl out of drums every night, rushing at her like vengeful spirits, urging her to die with them.
On such days, Wang-han would stay and pat her back until she fell asleep. Even now, she occasionally had that dream. Knowing it was a dream, she'd always run away in terror, and when she woke, her whole body would be drenched in cold sweat.
"Beside me..."
As Ja-gyeong spoke, Il-hyeon stopped at the door.
"Sleep apart from me instead. Don't try anything."
When Il-hyeon turned back, the corner of his mouth seemed to rise slightly. Ja-gyeong suspected it, but his face looked so sorrowful that she couldn't accuse him of acting. Surely he wouldn't be such a trash human being to exploit even his dead mother?
Kang Il-hyeon climbed onto the bed. They lay side by side looking at the ceiling, but the atmosphere was awkward. Ja-gyeong turned away with her back to Kang Il-hyeon, facing the opposite side. This is a bit better. She tried to force herself to sleep, but warmth touched her back.
She knew this human would be like this. She whirled around to glare at him, but Kang Il-hyeon had buried his face against her back, forehead pressed to her shoulder. Curled up like an abandoned young beast. That sight felt strangely familiar.
"Just for today, let me borrow your back."
His voice made even the listener feel depressed. His jaw tensed repeatedly as if he were holding back tears. Ja-gyeong let out a small sigh and ultimately resigned herself. Kang Il-hyeon's left arm came around her chest and pulled her close.
But that was the end of it. He did nothing else. In the breathing from behind, occasional sighs were mixed in. Then something hard pressed against her buttocks, and when she realized what it was, her body stiffened.
She frowned and tried to get up, but he held her so tightly from behind that it wasn't easy to move. She pushed her buttocks forward, but it persistently followed and prodded her. Unable to bear it, she peeled off his arm and turned around. Their faces were inches apart, breaths mingling.
"Excuse me, Managing Director."
"Chairman."
"Right, Chairman... Why do you have a boner when you're sad?"
"You don't go to the bathroom when you're sad? You don't eat either?"
"...."
"It's physiological... it has nothing to do with my sadness, so don't worry about it."
With such a sorrowful face, saying such plausible things, she couldn't bring herself to tell him to stop his bullshit. Today of all days, why did his bangs fall down making him look gentler than usual, damn it. While she cursed inwardly, Il-hyeon buried his face in Ja-gyeong's chest.
Caught off guard by the sudden action, she had no presence of mind to push him away. Though she wore a t-shirt, it was thin enough that the bridge of his nose pressed against her and his breath seeped through. She pushed at his shoulder, but he didn't budge. Moreover, his cheek kept brushing against her nipple.
"Wait a moment. Wait."
"Don't push me away... I want to be comforted."
"...."
When she left him alone, he held her and closed his eyes. Instead of the usual scent of skincare products, a sweet smell like peaches emanated from his body. He seemed so different that she doubted this was really Kang Il-hyeon.
"Sleep well."
His voice still mournful.
But she was so distracted by that fact that she completely failed to notice the corner of Kang Il-hyeon's mouth gradually rising higher and higher.