The Price of Impulse (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 16

The sweet scent tickling the tip of my nose, the occasional giddy voice echoing like an illusion, the face that appeared hazily in my dreams—just enough to be seen, just enough to excite me.

When I finally confirmed the identity of the person who’d been making me act like a madman for weeks out of vague unease, all I could do was let out a hollow laugh.

No wonder it felt so strange that morning at the hotel when Se Kyung handed me a bottle of hanyak tea.

It was because she’d seen me completely wasted.

She’d given it to me so I’d eat something and snap out of it.

But still—what the hell am I supposed to do with these infuriating people?

Tae Jo tried to figure out how things had gotten so complicated.

If only Moon Seok Joo had just come clean from the start—that he’d gone into the room with Se Kyung that day.

If only Se Kyung had honestly answered “yes” when I’d asked her that morning whether she’d seen me at the hotel.

Then maybe I wouldn’t have ended up digging through the hotel’s CCTV footage myself.

“…….”

Tae Jo’s hand tightened into a fist.

Anyway, it was all because of that damn Gom and that meek little lamb… No, that sly cat wearing a lamb’s disguise—they’d conspired together to deceive me.

They were the ones who’d turned me into this obsessive madman.

“Are you seriously mixing your jajangmyeon and then treating it like a funeral offering? Your noodles are getting soggy. Just eat already.”

Woo Hyun crunched on some pickled radish and picked up the remote.

Earlier that morning, he’d whined incessantly about craving jajangmyeon for lunch, so they’d ordered takeout to the office.

Tae Jo, belatedly picking up his chopsticks, untangled a clump of noodles and shoved them into his mouth.

Just then, his ears caught the story playing on the TV.

[Honestly, I felt like it might’ve just been a mistake fueled by alcohol. I’d had a lot to drink, but so had she—enough that she could barely stand.

But I didn’t dislike her. In fact, I even felt a bit fond of her, so I couldn’t bring myself to push away her arm looping around mine.

That night, we spent a passionate evening together.

But the real problem came afterward. When I woke up the next morning, she was gone—and yet, I ended up seeing her again the very next day.

Only this time, she acted as if nothing had happened the night before. She claimed she was too drunk to remember anything…]

Who went and dramatized my story?

Tae Jo frowned, glaring at the screen.

It was a dating advice show—panelists read letters submitted by viewers and shared their opinions.

He glanced sideways. Woo Hyun, holding his jajangmyeon bowl, was intently watching the TV while picking out noodles.

“What do you think about that case?”

“Which part?”

Tae Jo jerked his chin toward the TV. Woo Hyun, munching on an onion dipped in black bean sauce, replied indifferently,

“Guess her technique must’ve been pretty bad.”

“…….”

Should I just shove the rest of that onion down his throat?

It wasn’t even my story, yet something about it made my chest tighten unexpectedly. Tae Jo picked up his chopsticks again and cast his eyes back to the screen.

The panelists were sharing their thoughts.

[ Saying she doesn’t remember is obviously a lie. The encounter might’ve been a mistake—so she’s pretending it never happened. If she’d truly liked the guy, wouldn’t she have stayed beside him until he woke up?

– Maybe she really blacked out. But even if she did, she would’ve figured out what happened when she woke up… So perhaps she’s pretending not to remember because she wants to erase it completely?

– So what do you think is her real reason for pretending not to remember?

– Who knows? Maybe she was interested at first, but after trying it, realized it wasn’t that great. Or maybe she really was just too drunk. Or… perhaps she actually has a boyfriend and wanted to cover it up?

– Whoa, that last one’s the worst…]

“See? Even that guy said it—she tried it and it was underwhelming.”

Woo Hyun shrugged smugly, as if his theory had just been proven right. Tae Jo, however, sank deep into thought, his expression serious.

Then… why did Yoon Se Kyung act like that?

★ ★ ★

Se Kyung slowly blinked awake. The car was quiet, bathed in a comfortable, gentle darkness—

as if deliberately trying not to disturb someone’s sleep.

“…….”

How long had she been asleep?

They’d clearly been driving a while, yet the car was motionless now. She turned her head toward the window and saw rows of parked cars lining the roadside.

“You’re awake, noona?”

Je Hoon, who had been leaning against the steering wheel watching a video, turned around at the sound of her stirring. Se Kyung stretched her stiff body a bit and nodded.

“Yeah. When did we get here? You should’ve woken me if we’d arrived.”

“I actually thought about it, but you seemed unwell since earlier, so I decided to let you sleep another ten minutes before waking you.”

“You must be exhausted from driving so long. Now you’re getting home late because of me.”

“No, it’s fine. We only arrived less than thirty minutes ago.”

“Did you cover me with this too?”

Se Kyung held up the blanket that had been draped over her.

“Yes, back at the rest stop. You were really out cold—you didn’t even wake up when I opened the door.”

“I guess my stamina’s dropping. I get tired so easily these days.”

Se Kyung gave a weak smile, prompting Je Hoon to add with concern,

“Don’t you need some herbal nourishment or something? Actually, how’s your stomach feeling? You barely touched the soup I bought you earlier—you must be starving. If you’re heading upstairs, I can grab some juk from somewhere nearby.”

“I’m okay. I’m not really hungry right now.”

Se Kyung folded the blanket and set it on the passenger seat, then picked up her bag. She didn’t want to burden him further—he’d already driven back and forth between Busan and Seoul since dawn.

Besides, she didn’t really feel like eating—she just wanted to shower and fall into bed.

“Go on home now. You worked hard today.”

“Yes, noona. You did too. You don’t have any schedule tomorrow, so get plenty of rest.”

Se Kyung stepped out of the car after accepting Je Hoon’s farewell. Once the van pulled away, she went upstairs to her room and collapsed onto the bed.

“So tired.”

She muttered like a sigh as she removed her earrings. It wasn’t just an excuse—despite sleeping the whole ride, her body still felt heavy, as if her energy really had drained away.

“I wish someone would just bathe me.”

Even removing her makeup or walking into the bathroom felt like too much effort. All she wanted was to lie there as she was and fall back asleep.

“…….”

Se Kyung lay still on the bed, staring up at the ceiling for a moment. Then slowly, she gathered her clothes and headed into the bathroom.

After washing her face and showering, she stood before the mirror and touched her cheek.

“Have I lost some weight?”

Now that she thought about it, her appetite really hadn’t been great lately.

She hadn’t eaten much at lunch today either, and she hadn’t even finished half the soup Je Hoon had bought thinking of her.

It had been the same the last time she went out for dinner with Yoo Na and PD Lim.

Yoo Na, wanting her to regain strength, had grilled plump eel for her—but Se Kyung couldn’t even manage three bites.

For some reason, the fishy smell had especially pricked her nose that day.

‘Really? It doesn’t smell that strong to me—certainly less than other places.’

That’s what Yoo Na had said when Se Kyung hesitated to eat the eel.

If anything, Yoo Na was usually more sensitive than her. Even Won Ho had said it was fine—maybe her sense of smell had broken down.

Or maybe it was because she’d been feeling bloated like this for the past few days.

“Why do I feel so uncomfortably full…?”

As Se Kyung murmured about her condition, she suddenly froze. Something had clicked in her mind—her deep brown eyes darted restlessly.

“Could it be…?”

Back in her room, Se Kyung grabbed her phone and checked the dates she’d marked on her calendar.

She anxiously bit her nails. Her cycle had never been perfectly regular, but still—

“It’s late.”

Her period, which should’ve started by now, was delayed.

★ ★ ★

Tae Jo stepped out onto the terrace and put a cigarette between his lips. He exhaled a hazy plume of smoke into the night sky and sank into thought.

He’d been so caught up searching for that elusive presence—half ghost, half illusion—that he hadn’t given this matter proper consideration…

But the truly important thing was something else entirely.

“It really does seem like I spent the night with Yoon Se Kyung.”

Scattered memories surfaced, blending together: Se Kyung’s fingers brushing my lips, my hands grazing her skin, our mouths meeting as she wrapped her arms around my neck…

The sweet scent of her perfume and the soft, yielding sensation as she drew me in had felt surprisingly good.

That’s why—when our lips briefly parted and met again—I pulled her closer and explored her more deeply.

Tae Jo ground his cigarette between his teeth, his expression troubled.

Then why had Yoon Se Kyung suddenly slept with me that night?

Actually, the most critical point was this: unlike me, who’d been completely drunk, Se Kyung hadn’t been intoxicated at all that night.

And why hadn’t she told me—not just about us sleeping together, but even that she’d been in the room at all?

‘Guess her technique must’ve been pretty bad.’

Woo Hyun’s voice from earlier that day echoed in his head—the reply he’d given after hearing the story on TV.

Damn it. Who the hell was “bad”?

Tae Jo stubbed out his cigarette and headed back inside.

I thought she was a gentle lamb—turns out there’s no slyer cat. She wasn’t even hiding in the kitchen stove; she climbed right on top of me, then pretended nothing happened and wiped her mouth clean.

Ding dong!

Ding-ding-ding-dong!

At the obnoxiously loud and insistent doorbell, Tae Jo checked the intercom and opened the door. Seok Joo stomped in with heavy footsteps.

“Hey, what’s so urgent that you make me come straight to your place the moment I land in Korea?”

Seok Joo grumbled as he opened the inner door. Tae Jo jerked his chin toward the living room, signaling him to go ahead.

“Just sit down first. What’ll you drink? Beer? Whiskey?”

“No, why are you offering drinks the second I walk in? What do you want to talk about?”

Seok Joo sat on the sofa and watched Tae Jo warily.

Something felt off. It was like walking right into the center of a trap laid out on all sides.

“Just get straight to the point. The point only. I came straight from the airport. I want to rest quickly.”

“Really? Then I’ll cut to the chase too.”

Tae Jo, who’d been heading to the kitchen, sat down opposite Seok Joo.

“Why did you lie to me?”

“Huh? What lie?”

Blinking in genuine confusion, Seok Joo looked utterly baffled.

“You went into the hotel room with Miss Se Kyung that day.”

“Oh, that…”

Seok Joo’s eyes darted around as if plotting an escape before he spoke.

“Did Se Kyung tell you?”

“…….”

“Well… At first, I was so overwhelmed handling my mom’s hospital admission that it just slipped my mind. And then Se Kyung asked me not to tell you—she said since you didn’t even remember, there was no point making you worry over nothing.”

“Is that all?”

“What else would there be? Oh—she did mention you spilled a bit while I was helping you drink water because you asked for some. Are you seriously mad about that tiny thing?”

“That didn’t even show.”

“Then why are you bringing it up all of a sudden?”

Tae Jo stared blankly at Seok Joo. Could this dumb bear really not sense how strange it all was?

“Didn’t it seem odd to you—Miss Se Kyung trying so hard to hide what happened that day?”

“Well, at first I thought so too…”

Seok Joo trailed off and glanced sideways at Tae Jo.

“That’s why I figured you’d caused some trouble—and that Se Kyung was covering for you, so she asked me to keep it secret from you.”

“Why would I cause trouble?”

“Was Se Kyung going to cause trouble instead?”

Ah… this was seriously unfair.

“When you sleep, you take your clothes off, right? Maybe you showed her some ugly sight.”

“I didn’t take them off.”

Yoon Se Kyung undressed me.

“Anyway, did you really call me all the way here just to confirm that? I’m dead tired—I just came back from an overseas shoot.”

The nerve of this guy, who’d deceived me first, now acting so shamelessly as if everything had already been exposed.

“I’m sleeping over here tonight. Feed me and pour me a drink—but no beer. I’ve had enough of that in Germany.”

Seok Joo headed into the bathroom, saying he’d freshen up. Tae Jo glared after him but reluctantly ordered some food for delivery.

A short while later, Seok Joo emerged from the bathroom wearing Tae Jo’s clothes and tilted his head curiously.

“What’s that thing?”

“What thing?”

“The thing in the bathroom. Why’s there a diffuser in there? It doesn’t suit you at all.”

He was talking about the diffuser Se Kyung had given him—the one he’d moved from his room to the shared bathroom.

Well, I guess that scent really doesn’t suit me.

“But that smell… I feel like I’ve smelled it somewhere before.”

“That’s something Miss Se Kyung gave me.”

“Really? Then why did Se Kyung give that to you?”

This thick-headed bear. Tae Jo sighed and dragged a hand down his face. Seriously, there was no peeling this bear’s hide.

“Anyway, don’t say a word to Miss Se Kyung.”

“About what?”

“That I know she came into the hotel room with me that night.”

“……Huh? Didn’t Se Kyung tell you that first?”

“No. You just spilled everything a moment ago.”

“Oh…”

A sigh escaped Seok Joo’s lips as if he’d just realized he’d been tricked.

Tae Jo went into the kitchen, took a bottle of liquor from the cabinet, and poured Seok Joo a drink before asking,

“Just to be sure—does Miss Se Kyung like me?”

“You’re crazy. You’re already drunk before even taking a sip.”

Seok Joo grumbled petulantly and downed his drink.

‘Damn that bear.’

Tae Jo gripped his glass tightly, a menacing smile on his lips.