Pygmalion

Sukyung blinked a few times before shaking her head. She replied, 

“No, it’s not that. It’s just…”

She didn’t know what to say because she herself didn’t know why she cried. All she knew was that something deep inside of her burst and she couldn’t stop her tears from spilling out. Now that she was all cried out, Sukyung felt drained and empty. She murmured,

“I don’t really know. I just…”

Sungwoo studied her face a little before nodding. He ordered,

“Just go wash your face.”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin your makeup.”

“Just go wash up. You have to practice anyway. You gotta try at least once before you leave, don’t you think?”

Sukyung nodded in understanding. Still feeling embarrassed, she covered her face as she left. Sukyung didn’t know why, but she felt worse and better at the same time. 

When she returned, Sungwoo ordered her to do her makeup again. As usual, Sungwoo was not kind about his assessment.

“Do you really think what you did just now looks like what I did a moment ago?”

“Can’t you remember what I told you less than 10 minutes ago?”

“Does your face look okay to you?”

“You aren’t getting any better at all! Did you even study the color scheme I gave you?!”

For some reason, Sungwoo’s scolding sounded softer today. Sukyung now felt comfortable with his harsh words. In fact, if he acted differently after she cried, she would’ve felt awkward. Thankfully, he was acting just as he did before, which must’ve meant he didn’t really mind her crying. If it was Jaewon, he would’ve tiptoed around her for a week. 

Sukyung was once again reminded of the fact that this man kissed her a moment ago. Whenever she saw his lips, she felt strange. All she could focus on when Sungwoo spoke was his mouth. They felt… soft, strong, and smooth. 

And then… she remembered his tongue roaming inside of her mouth. His tongue tasted a little salty, bitter, and… something indescribable. From just one kiss, Sukyung felt like she could differentiate the taste of him from that of everyone else. 

“Pay attention.”

When Sungwoo said to her sharply, Sukyung jolted. Her face red, she looked up at him. Ever since she met Sungwoo, she hasn’t been able to stop herself from thinking strange thoughts. 

Sungwoo was a bad influence on her. She was feeling weird all because this man kept doing strange things to her. But it was true that kissing and touching left no marks. Like Sungwoo said, no one was going to find out that they had kissed. Well, as long as Sungwoo didn’t tell anyone. 

“Umm, do men talk about what they did with women among themselves?”

Sukyung asked as she handed him back a jar of foundation. Accepting it and handing her a stick of concealer, Sungwoo raised his eyebrow. He asked,

“Do women do that? They talk about what they did with men?”

“Well…”

Actually, women did. Sukying didn’t have many friends, and half of them were married. But whenever she talked with them, the conversation always led to the topic of boyfriends and husbands. And yes, women did talk very openly about what they did with men. 

Sukyung remembered her friends saying how some men were too small that they didn’t feel anything while they were having sex. She also remembered them talking about how it felt to kiss. Because Sukyung didn’t know much about these things, she used to just laugh and nod along when she thought it was appropriate. 

Sukyung asked again,

“So do men tell everything to each other?”

“Men and women are pretty much the same. They all want to talk about their experiences.”

Really? But Sukyung didn’t want to tell other people about their kiss. It wasn’t that she wanted to treasure it or anything, but it was just… She thought it was a big enough deal that other people shouldn’t know about it. 

“That’s enough. Let’s finish up for the day.”

Sungwoo began to organize the make up bottles and brushes neatly into a box. Sukyung looked at herself in the mirror. The makeup wasn’t as great as what Sungwoo did for her earlier, but it was certainly better than her usual work. She believed that with more practice, she could get much better.

But for some reason, she didn’t feel very pleased today. Even the thought of surprising Jaewon with her new look didn’t excite her. All Sukyung felt was still confusion.

Sungwoo announced, 

“Come over here. I’ll take care of your hair.”

She jolted in shock. Her eyes widened, she asked Sungwoo,

“My hair? Now?”

“I’m just going to style it. I’m not gonna cut it, so don’t worry. We’re going out to dinner, so I can’t have you looking like that. My reputation is at stake. We’ll be going to a restaurant where people will recognize me.”

Ah, that made sense. Sukyung sighed in relief when suddenly, she became confused. She asked,

“Wait, dinner? You’re going to have dinner with me?”