Da Jung came out of the shower first.

The old but well-maintained pension was small and modest. The owner gave a 10,000 won discount, saying they couldn’t heat the room in advance due to no reservations. The room was still chilly as Da Jung sat on the bed.

She changed into a home-wear style dress from the spare clothes she brought just in case, but her feet were cold without socks. After hesitating briefly, she put her legs on the bed and covered them with the blanket.

Unable to stop Jae Ho from booking one room as if it were natural, she ended up sitting in a room with only one bed. Da Jung wondered if he would sleep on the sofa or bring an extra blanket.

If not, then perhaps…

‘No way! Surely not.’

Before falling into strange thoughts, she picked up the remote and turned on the TV. While mindlessly flipping channels, Oh Chae Won’s drama caught her eye. Da Jung stopped on that channel.

Every time she saw her, she thought her thick wavy perm was so pretty. How could one get curls like that? Her hair also looked quite voluminous. She had been criticized a lot for bad acting before, but in this work, her acting wasn’t so bothersome.

Pretty, popular, and even a chaebol. Something like an heiress to a company.

…Would nothing have happened between her and Lee Jae Ho? After doing a work with so many kiss scenes together.

Da Jung clenched her fists. Jealousy was not a good emotion. Whatever feelings Lee Jae Ho shared with Oh Chae Won or whatever relationship they had, she had no right to be jealous. Because she had set an end with him.

Da Jung’s happy ending for a relationship was ultimately marriage. Of course, there were couples who only dated without marrying, but Da Jung wasn’t like that. She wanted to have a stable family. Having lived in a broken family, her childhood was too difficult, so she longed for the shelter of a family.

But she didn’t wish for that from Lee Jae Ho, nor could she. How dare she even think such a thing?

The reason Da Jung hadn’t dated until now was actually not because she wasn’t interested, but because of her circumstances. Marriage should be between people who are as similar as possible.

She looked back at her situation. Caring for her mother with enormous hospital bills. Her father’s debt she was still paying off. A meager savings account.

So she gave up on the dream of marriage altogether.

She concluded that her meeting with Lee Jae Ho was just a deviation, so jealousy was a luxury.

Right. Oh Chae Won is pretty. Even if they were dating, there’s nothing to question.

At that moment, Jae Ho came out of the shower, ruffling his hair with a towel. Pants and a white T-shirt. Even though he came out fully dressed, it was strangely alluring, drawing her gaze involuntarily.

He languidly let the towel he had been shaking hang down and searched for Da Jung with his eyes, pausing briefly when he saw her on the bed. His Adam’s apple moved slowly. Da Jung slightly averted her gaze at the strange tension.

“The floor is still cold. I don’t have socks.”

His eyes touched every corner of her body like a caress.

“…I see. You did well.”

Jae Ho responded about 3 seconds late, not taking his eyes off Da Jung’s hair still wet with water.

“I was watching the drama.”

Da Jung pointed at the screen, even gesturing with her finger to divert his gaze. Jae Ho’s eyes turned indifferently towards the TV.

“Ah. Chae Won’s drama.”

That was it. Jae Ho turned and approached his luggage in the carrier. He said he brought everything from lotion to underwear, which seemed a bit much for going stargazing. It was a kind of habit he developed while camping.

Da Jung’s chest strangely ached.

‘Ah. Chae Won’s drama.’

Though it wasn’t much of a remark, each syllable of his voice felt like a knife stabbing her heart. She didn’t know that a voice calling a woman without her surname could be this hurtful. It wasn’t even a particularly affectionate tone.

The disparity between ‘Oh Chae Won’ and ‘Chae Won’ was so great that it sounded like a completely different person.

She wanted to ask how close he was with his ‘Chae Won’. If they still contacted each other occasionally after the drama ended. If he was thinking of doing season 2 as there were rumors about it.

Her mind kept becoming twisted. If the mind had a face, it would look quite terrible right now.

“She’s so pretty. Oh Chae Won. Even for a woman to see. For a man too, right? I think she’s really pretty.”

Strange words, completely different from her true feelings, came out of her mouth. It was a mess.

Jae Ho answered while organizing his bag.

“Yes.”

Her heart tore once more. At that moment, Oh Chae Won in the TV smiled brightly. That smile seemed to mock her jagged heart, suddenly making her feel miserable.

Jae Ho approached Da Jung.

She wanted to avoid him, but there was nowhere to hide. She couldn’t even bow her head pretending to have received a message because she didn’t have her phone. Da Jung tried hard to smile as she unclenched her fist. But perhaps her ugly feelings were still evident, as he asked an unexpected question.

“Why do you look like that?”

She thought she was clearly smiling.

“You look like you’re about to cry.”

As he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, Da Jung pulled away slightly. After quietly observing her gaze that absolutely refused to meet his for a while, Jae Ho spoke in a low voice.

“…I’m going to sleep in the bed.”

“Th-that…!”

“With Da Jung.”

Jae Ho took the remote from Da Jung’s hand and turned off the TV. Then he deliberately turned his body to face Da Jung, who had turned her head diagonally, and met her eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

Right. Why am I like this?

It’s not like Lee Jae Ho gave a standing ovation praising Oh Chae Won’s beauty. He just answered without much meaning since she asked first. Come to think of it, she started it.

Just a very strange feeling came over her.

Jae Ho grabbed Da Jung’s wrist.

“Ms. Yoon Da Jung.”

“…”

“Are you uncomfortable thinking I might do something?”

“…It’s not like that.”

“That’s good.”

His hand gripping her wrist tightened.

“Because I really am going to do something. Tonight.”

“…!”

“Look at me.”

Jae Ho finally reached out and grabbed Da Jung’s chin, pulling it in front of his gaze. His eyes deepened as he looked at her trembling pupils.

“Why do you keep making a face like you’re about to cry?”

“…”

**

It was a very long shower.

Even though he deliberately doused himself with cold water to calm his body full of heat, it wouldn’t easily subside. The moment he heard the sound of Da Jung showering first, strange imaginings dominated his mind and his blood boiled as if his heart would burst.

He knows how much she blushes even with just one kiss.

He knows that if he gently bites her earlobe, a moan bursts out like juice spurting.

“Hah…”

Jae Ho surrendered his body to a long sigh and the shower stream. And he prayed for his blood to cool down.

If he pounces on her like a madman here, wouldn’t he be nothing more than a pervert who deliberately punctured the car tire? To seduce her to go stargazing and spend the first night in a deserted place. It shouldn’t be done. On a better day. In a prettier place. At a more prepared time is when he should desire. Didn’t he resolve to walk slowly at Da Jung’s pace?

“Erase those thoughts… You crazy bastard.”

He wanted to have her. All of her.

He wanted to know all of Yoon Da Jung from her deepest, hottest place. But he had to endure. He came out with that firm resolution, but Da Jung was sitting on the bed.

She looked up at him with moist eyes while pressing her still damp hair with a towel. The last strand of reason snapped.

Da Jung pointed at the TV and said something, but he couldn’t hear anything. Her slightly parted lips, flushed cheeks, shy eyes – everything else seemed utterly useless.

When he came to his senses, he was already holding Da Jung’s wrist.

Jae Ho threw the remote on the floor. That’s when Da Jung opened her mouth softly.

“…It’s Oh Chae Won’s drama…”

“So what.”

“You said she’s pretty…”

“Why do you keep talking about other things? Let’s talk about us.”

Urging words spilled from Jae Ho’s mouth. He felt resentful towards Da Jung who acted indifferently as if his urgency didn’t matter at all. With eyes that looked about to turn red, and an expression that made him want to lay her down right away, she kept averting her gaze, which was killing him.

“I’ve been talking about Oh Chae Won since earlier.”

Da Jung shook off his hand from her wrist.

“…Oh Chae Won? Why?”

Jae Ho asked a bit stupidly.

“She’s pretty, isn’t she?”

What is Yoon Da Jung saying?

With you here, pretty like a fully bloomed cherry blossom, who else needs to be prettier? Jae Ho was going crazy with his uncontrollably boiling body and the sight of Yoon Da Jung’s white neckline as she kept averting her gaze.

He was using all his strength not to act like a beast out of nowhere, but even that was already at its limit.

“Ms. Yoon Da Jung.”

“…”

“Are you going to keep talking about Oh Chae Won? Why? Are you doing it on purpose?”

Da Jung shot him a defiant look.

“You said Oh Chae Won is pretty. While acting familiar.”

Looking deeply into Da Jung’s pouty eyes, Jae Ho searched his memory.

“…When did I.”

“Earlier while watching TV, you called her familiarly, and said she’s pretty.”

“What are you talking about?”

Jae Ho slightly furrowed his brow.

“Dermatology. Procedures. Makeup. Anyone can create that level of looks if they spend that much money. Why. Do you want to do that? Is that why?”

“N-no…”

“I’m sorry. I’m not in my right mind right now… No, if you want to, I’ll let you do it. But Yoon Da Jung is prettiest without doing anything. Ah, I don’t mean I don’t want to let you do it, I’ll do it if you want, so what I mean is.”

Da Jung looked up at Jae Ho with bewildered eyes. They were deep like a lake. A strange sadistic desire to make her cry once rose up. What expression would you make crying with your eyes but shouting that it feels good with your mouth?

Jae Ho wrapped his arm around Da Jung’s waist and fully got on the bed.

“So, what I mean is.”

“…”

“The moment I saw you sitting on the bed with your eyes dripping with moisture.”

“!”

“I already, I was no longer myself.”

“J-Jae Ho.”

“Don’t waste time with useless talk about Oh Chae Won. Don’t change the subject either.”

“…”

“I. I want to sleep with you, Ms. Yoon Da Jung.”

“Th-that…”

“I mean I want to do it.”

Jae Ho laid Da Jung down on the bed and pressed his lips against hers. Her soft, crushed lips parted helplessly as their heated breaths intermingled. Da Jung let out a small moan at the hot breath transmitted.

“Give me permission.”

“Ah.”

“I want to know more. Even your embarrassing places, Ms. Yoon Da Jung.”

“S-such words…!”

“Your expressions, your sounds, everything.”

Jae Ho said as he left several bird kisses on her collarbone.

“I want to reach your deepest place.”

Da Jung’s finely trembling eyes filled with embarrassment. Her face, which alternated between worry, bewilderment, and shyness, finally blushed. Da Jung lightly grabbed Jae Ho’s forearm and said as if complaining:

“…You said you’d show me the stars, liar.”