Were you not asleep? Kang Mo, you weren’t sleeping? So every night when I held you in my arms, you were awake?

Seo Hee’s parted lips let out a breathless gasp in surprise.

Oh no. Kang Mo wasn’t asleep. Oh my gosh.

Seo Hee’s trembling eyes met Kang Mo’s intense gaze. Looking again, the image of Kang Mo that she had thought was docile for a moment had completely vanished.

Seo Hee was at a loss under his scorching gaze that pierced through her like a burning flame.

Kang Mo’s solid chest pressed down on her own. The large hand that had been gripping her wrist was now intertwined with her fingers, and his burning breath crashed against her lips like angry waves. His husky voice whispered lowly in her ear.

“Remember what I said?”

“……”

“I can’t hold back anymore. No, I won’t hold back. You were the one who provoked me first when I was enduring with all my might. You woke me up from my slumber.”

“Kang Mo, I, I…”

She couldn’t utter another word. The moment Kang Mo’s hot lips roughly kissed her neck, Seo Hee bit her lip at the involuntary moan that escaped.

Kang Mo’s lips lingered on her neck before moving up to her small chin, cheeks, earlobes, the dampened corners of her eyes, and the tip of her nose in a frenzy before finally hovering close to her lips.

His hand that had been tightly grasping hers slipped away. As he gently caressed Seo Hee’s face, his lips parted just a breath away, and Kang Mo’s true feelings poured out.

“I love you. Seo Hee.”

After his unadorned, plain confession, Kang Mo gently bit Seo Hee’s lips. At the tender and careful touch of his lips, Seo Hee’s eyes naturally closed.

“Ah.”

The moment she exhaled a shaky breath, Kang Mo’s lips crashed against hers, stealing her soul.

After ravaging Seo Hee’s lips in a daze, Kang Mo briefly pulled away. Unable to even catch his ragged breaths, he spoke in a hoarse voice.

“Baek Seo Hee, look at me.”

Kang Mo grew impatient seeing Seo Hee keep her eyes closed.

“Seo Hee, look at me.”

Her eyelashes fluttered before her heavy eyelids slowly lifted.

Kang Mo watched as her gaze gradually rose, barely restraining his raging emotions. Finally, he was reflected in her sparkling eyes. Just by her gaze solely focused on him, Kang Mo was seized by a maddening urge.

He wanted her right now. He wanted to unleash his unruly desires and fulfill the dreams he had envisioned hundreds and thousands of times.

But he didn’t want to startle Seo Hee. He had spouted nonsense about grabbing her the moment she touched him first, using the flimsy excuse of it being their signal, but he never wanted to force himself on her under any circumstances. That was only under the premise that she also wanted him.

Kang Mo desperately hoped that Seo Hee’s feelings matched his own as he quietly asked.

“Remember what I said before?”

“……”

He gently caressed Seo Hee’s face as she struggled to answer. Thanks to the soft moonlight, he could clearly see the worry etched on her face.

“Are you afraid?”

“I… I don’t know.”

“I don’t want to stop here. I don’t think I can hold back anymore. I want to hold you.”

Seo Hee’s eyes trembled slightly.

Kang Mo’s resolve was firm, while Seo Hee was not yet ready. Her shaky voice revealed her conflicted heart.

“If we go further… Kang Mo, we… we can’t go back to how we were before.”

“I don’t want to go back.”

“I’m… scared. I don’t want to lose you too, Kang Mo.”

Crystal-like tears silently streamed down Seo Hee’s face. Kang Mo gently wiped away her tears as he gazed into her eyes, his voice thick with emotion.

“You won’t lose me. So hold onto me. Don’t think about anything else, just hold me.”

“You know what I mean. If we break up after this… we’ll never see each other again. Are you really okay with that?”

Kang Mo, who had been caressing Seo Hee’s face, chuckled.

“We won’t break up. I won’t let you go.”

“Are you… confident you won’t regret it?”

“I won’t do any of that crap.”

What I regret the most right now is not expressing and conveying my feelings properly that day long ago.

“……”

Kang Mo couldn’t bear the curiosity about Seo Hee’s feelings as she silently gazed at him with moist eyes.

Baek Seo Hee, just how much do you feel for me? Do you really like me? Just being by your side makes me want to touch you and hold you so badly, but you still hesitate. You still put up invisible walls and maintain a sense of distance. Do you really like me as a man?

Now that doubts were creeping into the feelings he had strongly believed in, Kang Mo couldn’t help but confirm.

“Let me ask you one thing. Do you… regret meeting me again?”

After a few seconds of silence, Seo Hee shook her head. Kang Mo’s heart pounded in those brief moments as he waited for the words he would hear from her. With that small movement, the tightly coiled tension dissipated at once, and a deep sense of relief washed over him as his heavy head fell onto Seo Hee’s shoulder.

“You really know how to make people anxious, don’t you?”

Through their connected bodies, Kang Mo could feel Seo Hee’s trembling. He could sense her tension, but he didn’t want to back down today.

Every time our bodies touch like this, your reactions are no different from mine. The heat transmitted through our skin, the intense pounding of our hearts, the swelling of our chests, the darkening of our gazes – they are all the same as mine. Your body’s obvious reactions are clearly love, so how long do I have to hold back?

Kang Mo was silently struggling between his desire not to pressure Seo Hee and his overwhelming yearning that had grown beyond his control.

Baek Seo Hee, stop hiding your feelings. Don’t run away. Show me. Show me that you are the same as me. That you also like me, even if it’s not as much as I do, but that you also love me in your heart. Just show me a little. So that I won’t be insecure anymore, just a little.

It was right at that moment when Kang Mo was inwardly pleading with his head resting on Seo Hee’s shoulder. As if his prayer had reached her heart, Seo Hee’s hand that had been resting on his waist hesitantly moved upward. The moment her careful, small hand touched his face, her voice flowed into his ear like honey.

“I don’t… regret meeting you again.”

Even just expressing her feelings like this would have been enough to be grateful for, but Seo Hee didn’t stop there. The trembling of her fingertips against his skin was palpable as her low, gentle voice continued.

“I was just always cautious because I didn’t want to lose you. I’m sorry for hesitating, backing away, and wavering each time. I won’t do that anymore. I’m done avoiding, running away, faltering, and hesitating. Kang Mo… Lee Kang Mo… I love you.”

Kang Mo was dumbfounded by her words that were hard to believe even after hearing them.

“Say it again.”

Seo Hee, who seemed embarrassed, bit her lip as she tightly closed her eyes before speaking again.

“I said I love you.”

“Again.”

“Kang Mo…”

“Open your eyes. Look straight into my eyes and say it again.”

Seo Hee’s closed eyes fluttered open. The moment her gaze met Kang Mo’s.

“Lee Kang Mo, I love you, I love…”

Kang Mo cut off Seo Hee’s words with his heated breath. The confession he heard for the first time, the feelings that were finally reciprocated, it all felt unreal.

Is this a dream?

Kang Mo pulled away and asked again and again, and Seo Hee, though bashful, soothed Kang Mo’s doubting heart with the same unwavering answer each time.

Kang Mo engraved every detail of Seo Hee’s expression in his heart like an imprint, unable to contain the overwhelming joy and emotions of this moment.

The ignited, impatient desire desperately wanted to delve into her core right away. His entire body ached with the desire to pour out his overflowing love, but he couldn’t rush.

Kang Mo wanted her to remember this once-in-a-lifetime moment forever. He wished for it to remain an unforgettable memory, so that he too would be etched in her heart as someone she could never forget. Suppressing his parched desire, he slowly began to imprint his love on her body.

He trailed kisses on her dewy eyes, flushed face, the delicate neck where her pulse throbbed, and the twitching shoulders. Suddenly, a breathy moan escaped her moist lips, filling the air with a sensual sound that dragged Kang Mo’s patience to the bottom.

Kang Mo felt the dam of patience he had built up over a long time crumble silently. He wanted more.

He was eager to leave his mark on every inch of her from head to toe, but he didn’t want to pressure her by imposing only his own desires.