“The buttons. I meant you should continue buttoning.”
Ah… I thought you meant to continue stuttering.
Oh my! What is this about? Surely, Ha Joon didn’t ask me to continue stuttering? This is crazy. Absolutely crazy.
There was no way Ha Joon could hear Su Ah’s inner thoughts, but it seemed like he knew. Her expressions were telling him everything.
She was really transparent. Cutely so.
He tried hard to suppress the corners of his mouth from rising.
He could envision Su Ah getting angry again for his teasing. But that would also be cute, he supposed.
Su Ah began to button his shirt with her trembling hands.
She started buttoning from the neck down, her gaze dropping, but the muscles that were revealed between the gaps of his shirt were undeniable.
Ah. Is this why they say seethrough clothes are more provocative? It makes you imagine what you can’t see.
While Su Ah was warding off the temptation of her imagination and buttoning his shirt, Ha Joon’s gaze was fixed on her face.
Her cheeks still flushed. Her slightly downcast eyes. And the lips that always protruded when she focused on something since she was a child.
Just when his gaze was fixed on her lips.
As if enchanted by something, Ha Joon leaned his upper body towards Su Ah.
“I’m done now…!”
The moment the last button was done up, and she lifted her head.
Smack.
His lips met hers.
Gasp!
Surprised by the sudden event, Su Ah bit her lips and quickly exited the dressing room.
After leaving the dressing room, she didn’t remember how she had managed to get home.
Ha Joon had certainly escorted her to the front of her house, but given that she couldn’t remember saying goodbye to him, she must have been extremely flustered.
As soon as she arrived home, Su Ah threw herself onto the bed and started kicking her feet, repeating the same words.
“I did it. I did it. I did it.”
“What exactly did you do?”
Da Eun, who had been watching quietly, asked with a puzzled look.
Su Ah quickly raised her head.
“A peck.”
“A peck?”
“Yeah. A peck with Ha Joon.”
The tips of Su Ah’s ears turned red as if the scene from back then surfaced again.
“Not even a kiss. Just a peck?”
Da Eun snorted as if she couldn’t believe it and continued speaking.
“Are you 7 years old? You’re 27 for goodness’ sake. And you’re so happy over a peck, not even a kiss?”
Da Eun clicked her tongue and shook her head.
Yes. Indeed, what Da Eun said wasn’t wrong.
She wasn’t of a young age nor was she a lifetime single, she had experienced pecks and kisses before.
“That’s true. But what’s really amazing is that I felt a jolt of electricity throughout my body in that brief moment.”
“Do you like him?”
“Huh? Well, it’s not that I like him per se…”
Su Ah couldn’t easily answer Da Eun’s straightforward question.
“What? You don’t even know for sure if you like him or not?”
“Yeah. I don’t know. Well, I think I do…”
Da Eun opened her mouth as she noticed Su Ah’s previously excited expression quickly fading.
“Are you afraid to conclude that you like him?”
“…….”
“You haven’t said you liked anyone since you broke up with Min Chul.”
“…….”
Seong Min Chul.
The first person with whom she had dreamt of a future together.
The first person who made her experience the pain of betrayal.
She thought that all the methods of loving someone had sunk along with the memories when she let him go.
But after meeting Ha Joon, it felt like everything that had sunk was resurfacing.
“Yeah. I’m scared.”
Su Ah muttered, almost like talking to herself.
“The moment I define this feeling as liking, I might start to expect what comes next.”
“…….”
“Expecting what’s next. Expecting the future. And that expectation crumbling in an instant. I’m scared of that.”
Knowing Su Ah’s pain better than anyone, Da Eun had refrained from giving advice or counsel all this time.
She thought that as time passed, a scab would form over the wound and new skin would grow, it would naturally be forgotten.
But this time, she decided she had to speak. She hoped that Su Ah would not miss the coming connection anymore.
“Su Ah. Not everyone is like Min Chul. Speculating that something that might not happen will happen and giving up prematurely. Missing out on a good person because of that. I wish you wouldn’t do that.”
“But still……”
“How can you live without getting hurt even once? What’s important is not avoiding getting hurt, but meeting the person who will heal that wound. It’s time for you to do that now.”
The person who will heal the wound.
“I’m not saying that you should decide right now whether you like him or not. Just don’t step back when he takes a step towards you.”
“……Yeah. I’ll try it that way. Thanks, Da Eun.”
Only then did Su Ah’s expression become significantly relaxed.
Yes. She shouldn’t let a good person slip away, tied up in the past. She shouldn’t step back.
If he approaches. If he does so.
“Vice President?”
Secretary Park had a puzzled look at Ha Joon, who seemed to be lost in thought while she was briefing him about the morning schedule.
“Yes? Yes. Go ahead.”
“The schedule briefing is over.”
“Ah. I see. Got it. You can leave.”
“Yes. Then.”
After Secretary Park left, Ha Joon, who had been blankly staring at the window for a while, fiddled with the buttons on his shirt.
“I asked you to button up.”
Even after thinking about it again, he muttered, marvelling at the words he had blurted out.
Could it be that he didn’t have the strength to button up?
He had only made up the button excuse because he wanted to see her up close. From the beginning, he hadn’t planned to kiss her and hold onto her.
It was just that, but the moment her breath touched his chest, his lips were already touching hers without him realizing it.
Ha Joon’s thumb slowly brushed his own lips.
“Did I go too fast?”
As Su Ah’s face, biting her lips in confusion, came to mind, he began to feel worried.
Could it be that only my heart is running ahead?
I met Su Ah in my memories, and you met Min Ha Joon for the first time, which seemed natural, but suddenly, a sense of regret remained.
“No. I’ve decided to wait until you remember. Don’t rush and let’s take it slow. Slowly.”
Ha Joon tried to calm his floating feelings, composed himself, and called Secretary Park.
“Yes, Vice President. Did you call for me?”
“Let’s have the competitionrelated meeting in 30 minutes.”
“Yes, I will convey that.”
The Villainous Demon Lord Laid an Egg for Her (Female-Dominated)
Several months after transmigrating into a book, Yu Wu found herself facing the demon lord Li You, who could no longer conceal his dragon horns. With one hand on her aching waist and the other gripping a sharp sword, she stared at him.
The demon lord’s eyes were red with fury:
“This is all your doing! Today, I won’t rest until I kill you!”
Yu Wu rubbed her temples. Putting aside the taboo against bloodshed during pregnancy, wasn’t it this very man who willingly walked into her trap that day?!
Warnings:
- Male pregnancy.
- Height ratios are set to mirror typical male-female height proportions.
- Characters include a foot-loving demon lord and an eldest daughter from an immortal family’s concubine lineage.
