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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: I'll Devour You
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“Mom, are you leaving for work now?”
The next morning. As Yeon-joo was putting on her jacket, the door opened and Han-byeol walked in. Yeon-joo smiled when Han-byeol, who had woken up earlier than usual, came to see her.
“I didn't wake you because there was still time. You're up?”
“I went to bed super early yesterday. My eyes just opened on their own.”
Yeon-joo smiled and stroked her son's hair. She was in too much of a hurry to get to work to ask him how the first day of filming went, so she decided to talk to him about it in the evening.
“Mom's got to go, Han-byeol. Have a good day at school.”
“Okay, Mom. But about yesterday…”
Han-byeol followed her to the entryway, his words trailing off. As Yeon-joo opened the shoe cabinet, she turned her head and saw him fidgeting with his fingers, something he rarely did.
She closed the shoe cabinet again.
“Why? What is it?”
“Oh, it's nothing big, but… yesterday, that Mr. Im Eun-seong put me to sleep, right?”
“Yesterday? Yes, he did. Next time you see Baeunim, make sure to thank him. You were lying on his lap for a long time. It must have been hard for him.”
“I was lying on his lap for a long time?”
“Yes. You were lying there for a long, long time. Even while we were in the car, for a long, long time.”
Han-byeol slowly nodded as if to say, *Is that so?*, and continued to fidget with his fingers. Yeon-joo stared at him for a moment, then bent her knees to meet his eyes.
“What's wrong? Did you not like it?”
“No, it's not that.”
“…”
“It was nice.”
Yeon-joo raised her eyebrows, looking at her son. As if he'd said something terribly embarrassing, Han-byeol quickly waved his hands.
“No, I mean, it was just… a little… his legs were long, so it was comfortable. That's what I meant.”
“Ah… I see.”
“Hurry up and go, Mom. I'll be sure to thank him next time I see him.”
*It was nice.*
It was hard to ask what was so nice about it.
Like black ink spreading slowly and heavily through a full glass of water, his words spread through her heart. Feeling as if his words would linger for a long time, Yeon-joo smiled softly.
“Well, Mom's leaving now.”
“Okay. But it's a secret that I liked it, Mom. Don't tell him, okay?”
“Okay. I won't say anything. I'll see you when I get back.”
“Okay. Bye, Mom.”
*Anyone would be captivated by you. Just because he's my son doesn't mean he's immune to your charm.*
*Because you're that kind of person.*
*
*Even I think I'm stunning…*
“Okay, no one's here.”
*My backside…*
The next day, Eun-seong arrived on set early and stood in front of a mirror, checking himself out from every angle. From the front, the side, the back—there wasn't a single flaw. His self-esteem had no reason to drop.
“Perfect. Magnificent.”
Lost in admiration for his own body, Eun-seong then examined his face. If his body was this good, his face was, of course, beyond question.
He rubbed his eyebrows as if to see if someone had secretly drawn them on in his sleep, then chuckled. Perfect brows that looked like they were crafted by a master artisan, a high-bridged nose that had sparked countless plastic surgery rumors.
And to top it off, alluring lips that had long held the number one spot for "Most Kissable Lips."
“You're the best. So don't be intimidated in front of Go Yeon-joo.”
Last night, he'd returned home a shrunken man, his self-esteem at rock bottom after the car ride. He took a long, hot half-bath, then started working out at dawn to rebuild the self-esteem he'd thrown to the ground.
His mind was all over the place during the workout.
Lifting dumbbells: *Go Yeon-joo doesn't like me.* Doing lunges: *No, how could she possibly not like me?*
*She likes Dr. Joo more.* No, how dare I compare myself to someone like Dr. Joo?
His self-esteem fluctuated wildly for a long time until he finally achieved a mental victory and finished his workout.
Not stopping his workout until his self-esteem was restored was one of Eun-seong's old habits. Whenever he wanted to clear his mind of worldly desires, he would push his body to the limit, working out for days on end.
There weren't many mental pains that could overcome physical agony. When pushed to their limits, humans tend to abandon most of their delusions. After pushing himself to the brink, his mind finally felt clear, and the image of Dr. Joo and Go Yeon-joo together, which had tormented his heart, finally blurred.
Right now, Eun-seong's self-esteem was at its peak, and combined with his lack of sleep, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a half-crazed madman.
*Phew, my blood sugar's dropping after that intense morning workout.* Eun-seong rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a chocolate.
“What's so special about this thing anyway.”
*Hmph. I'll eat it all without a second thought.*
He unwrapped a couple of the chocolates he'd been saving in his pocket, the ones he'd found too precious to eat himself and had only given one to Han-byeol, and chomped on them. He watched himself in the mirror as he chewed, not wanting to miss even the sight of himself eating.
*Look at that jaw. A man can look this cool just by chewing. You're the best. Perfect.*
“So don't be intimidated. Don't you dare be intimidated by Go Yeon-joo.”
Unusually fired up this morning, Eun-seong finished the rest of the chocolates. He tossed the wrappers he was holding into the air like confetti and walked away from the mirror.
He sat on the sofa, filled with baseless confidence.
*Right, this is Im Eun-seong. This is me. Is there anything that the great Im Eun-seong can't overcome?*
“Good morning, Baeunim.”
Just then, the door opened and Yeon-joo walked in. With his chin held higher than usual, Eun-seong gave a slight wave of his finger toward her.
“Yeah. Hello. It's a proper morning for the first time in a while.”
“Um, here.”
Yeon-joo offered him his jacket as soon as she entered. Having no intention of taking it, Eun-seong remained seated in an arrogant posture, looking up at her.
“Thank you for lending it to me yesterday. Thanks to you, Han-byeol went to school without catching a cold.”
“…*Cough*.”
Eun-seong's sudden, small cough made Yeon-joo's eyes widen.
“Did… did you catch a cold?”
“Worry about me. It's nothing.”
“What?”
Thinking he might have caught a cold after lending her the jacket, Yeon-joo held her breath and studied him. The cough had slipped out unintentionally, but seeing Yeon-joo's worried expression made him suddenly want to have a cold.
*I am Im Eun-seong. If I put my mind to it, I can catch a cold. Because I'm a perfect actor.*
“*Cough*.”
“What's wrong? Did you really catch a cold?”
“I told you to worry, didn't I? It's nothing serious.”
“Are you telling me to worry or not to worry?”
“Do whatever you want.”
*What… what is he talking about?* Yeon-joo stared at him with a sullen expression. Eun-seong let out a few more small coughs, *cough, cough*, and glanced at her.
“What's with that face already? Does your concern only last for about three seconds?”
“You don't have a cold, do you? You're just putting on a show, right?”
*Oops.* Flustered, Eun-seong let out a more violent series of coughs, but it was too late. Yeon-joo looked him up and down as if he were pathetic and placed the jacket on the table.
“Who left all this trash here?”
Yeon-joo crouched down and began picking up the chocolate wrappers Eun-seong had scattered like confetti.
“Leave it. I didn't throw it there for you to clean up.”
“If you eat something, you should throw the wrapper in the trash.”
“I said leave it. It's a public execution. I'll clean it up myself when the time comes, so don't disturb the exhibition and get up.”
*What on earth is he talking about this morning?*
Yeon-joo stared at Eun-seong, who was spouting nothing but nonsense, then stood up. If he said he'd clean up his own mess, what else was there to say?
“Are you perhaps still drunk from the wine last night?”
“If I were still drunk, would I be here? I'd be with you. All night.”
At the end of Eun-seong's sentence, Yeon-joo looked around. It was instinct.
“Don't look around. No one else comes in as early as you.”
“Someone else who comes in as early as me is right here, Baeunim.”
“I only came early to be alone with you. Since you haven't been doing my fittings lately, I don't get to see you.”
Yeon-joo tilted her head, watching him. His expression seemed tragic in a way, but also not.
“What's that smell?”
Yeon-joo's eyes widened at his question.
“Oh. I got a lunch box on my way here to eat breakfast. They were giving out gimbap.”
“That damned gimbap.”
“Aren't you having any?”
“Forget it. From now on, I only eat tuna gimbap if you're the one who made it.”
*Ugh, is his biorhythm a stock market chart? Why is it fluctuating so much?*
Yeon-joo grumbled to herself as she split a pair of wooden chopsticks. Then, holding them in her mouth, she opened the foil-wrapped gimbap.
“You skip breakfast?”
“Ouch!”
As she was about to answer Eun-seong's question, Yeon-joo clutched her lip. She had pursed her lips out of habit while pulling out the chopsticks and ended up cutting herself.
“What is it? What's wrong?”
“Ah, I cut myself.”
“What? Let me see.”
It wasn't excruciating, but it stung quite a bit. Yeon-joo scrunched up her face, pouted her lips to show him, and the corners of Eun-seong's mouth turned down.
“Is it bleeding?”
“You think it wouldn't?”
“Ow, I don't know how many times this has happened. Ow, it stings.”
Eun-seong took the wooden chopsticks from Yeon-joo's hand, snapped them in two, and threw them to the ground. They joined the chocolate wrappers that were on display for their execution.
“A person should learn and improve. Getting hurt in the same place again and again… what do you use your head for?”
“Why are you always picking a fight? It's my lip, not yours, Baeunim.”
“What are you meowing about like you did something right? Look. It's bleeding buckets. See? Buckets.”
“Don't lie. What do you mean, buckets?”
Yeon-joo gently pressed her lip, and a bit of red blood dotted her fingertip. Eun-seong's mouth turned down even further in a look of disgust, and an embarrassed Yeon-joo turned away.
“I can just wipe it with a tissue! It's not a big deal, why are you nagging me so early in the mor…”
The moment she turned, a force pulled her wrist, and Yeon-joo's body tilted toward the sofa. Matching the direction and angle of her fall, Eun-seong's lips went straight for hers.
He devoured her lower lip as if biting it, and Yeon-joo's eyes widened as if they would pop out.
With no warning, no, without any pretext, at around seven-fifteen in the morning, before the day had even truly begun.
In the middle of trying to eat gimbap.
She ended up kissing him, the man who had been spouting strange nonsense all morning.
The warmth spreading through her captured lip was too hot to be called merely warm, and the soft, yielding sensation was so thrilling and dizzying it sent shivers from the tips of her toes, making her feel like she might just faint.
To endure it felt dangerous; to pull away first was, in fact, a desperate urge.
*Should I close my eyes? Is it okay to keep them open?* As strange thoughts began to spread through her mind, their eyes met. As if signaling it was time to let go, he pulled back, and only then did Yeon-joo gasp for breath.
“Wh-what, what, what a-what are you doing?”
Yeon-joo asked, looking as if she were about to foam at the mouth, while Eun-seong just stared intently at her lips.
“It stopped. This is faster than a tissue.”
“Wh-what, what are, what are you doing right now? What did you just do?”
Her face flushed as if it would explode, Yeon-joo covered her mouth with the back of her hand and asked again. Eun-seong replied in a nonchalant voice.
“What do you mean, what? The official reason is disinfection. The ulterior motive is selfish desire.”
“Wha-y-you, this, wha-ugh, I…”
Stunned speechless, she could barely form a word. Eun-seong extended a finger and pointed at her accusingly.
Startled, Yeon-joo's eyes flew open. Eun-seong lifted his chin, giving her an arrogant look.
“I'm not going to listen to a single thing you say. Because my self-esteem is sky-high right now.”
“Y-you must be crazy…”
“Me? And let me declare one more thing. I'm not going to be intimidated by you anymore. I won't be fooled by those sad, story-filled eyes of yours again. Do you have any idea how much I've been digging my own grave, huh? Deceived by that expression?”
“What on earth are you talking about?”
“I learned my lesson yesterday. If Dr. Joo can do it, so can I. If I can't, then neither can Dr. Joo. Got it?”
Eun-seong leaned in, his face suddenly close to hers.
“So if you've got the guts, bring it on. Try pretending to run away again, pretending to be pitiful.”
“…”
“Because I'll devour you whole.”
“Aah…”
It was a very clear autumn morning.
