Pygmalion

Annoyance and anger filled Sungwoo’s face as he ordered Jungim,

“Get out!”

“Of course, I’m so sorry!”

The door slammed close behind Jungim as she disappeared. Sukyung’s face began to turn red, finally realizing what had happened.

OMG! OMG! OMG! What was she going to do? She was caught kissing the owner of this place! How was she going to come here from now on? Everyone here was going to think she was sleeping with their boss. So what should she do? And what if the rumors spread elsewhere? The beauty industry couldn’t be that big, so what if it reaches Jaewon’s shop…

“W…what are we going to do…?!”

Sukyung crouched on the floor and covered her mouth. It felt like her face was burning. What worried her as well was what might have happened if Jungim didn’t interrupt them. How far would they have gone…?

Sungwoo pushed back his hair and muttered,

“Dammit. This is why I don’t like anyone here at this hour. Oh well.”

It seemed that Sungwoo was only mildly annoyed. Unable to look him in the eyes, Sukyung remained seated on the floor. Her head was spinning, wondering how this could’ve happened. 

Looking down at her, Sungwoo ordered,

“Get up. We still have some time, so we should finish this off.”

Sukyung turned to glare at him, but when their eyes met, she blushed even more and looked down. All she could focus on was his lips. She suddenly remembered their last kiss as well. How could she have eaten dinner with him so comfortably after kissing him like that? She must’ve lost her mind.

Sukyung protested,

“B…but that girl… She’s going to tell… everyone…”

“Who? Chief Song? She won’t tell anyone about this. If I thought she would, I wouldn’t have brought her here tonight in the first place.”

For some reason, Sukyung began to feel angry. From deep inside, forgotten fury boiled over. Clenching her fists, she managed to look up. She still couldn’t look him in the eyes, but she stared at his chest and argued, 

“T…that’s not the problem! Why… Why would you k…kiss me twice…”

“So you only want to kiss that man, is that it?”

Sukyung’s face turned red again. Glancing at him briefly, she covered her burning cheeks and tried to say something. But her voice refused to work as if something was stuck in her throat. Sungwoo walked up to her and bent toward her. In a sarcastic voice, he whispered, 

“I’ve already told you before. Men may say they like ‘pure’ women, but they certainly don’t like women who have no skills. And I’m telling you that your skill level is 30% at best. You can spend tens of thousands of dollars to improve your looks, but if you kiss the way you do, you won’t be able to seduce a man. You think your new appearance will be enough? Dream on.”

Sukyung blinked. It felt like a giant block of ice was dropped on her chest. Was this what she really wanted? Did she want Jaewon in this way? To kiss him and sleep with him? To have his child and live happily ever after with him as husband and wife?

Well, she certainly wanted to be close to Jaewon. She could see greeting him home after a long day at work. She would give him a shoulder massage and listen to his story. She would console him if he had a bad day and help him in any way possible. Sukyung wanted to see Jaewon smile. She wanted to fix any problems he might have. She wanted to make Jaewon’s life easier. 

But to kiss him? To have sex with him? That seemed so impossible. For now, all she wanted was for Jaewon not to be embarrassed by him. To not treat her like she didn’t matter to him. 

Sukying stammered,

“T…that’s not what I want! I… I just want to look better so he won’t be embarrassed by me! I already told you before! I… I don’t expect to look sexy and seductive. So why are you doing this to me? This… this is sexual harrassment!”

Sungwoo suddenly knelt in front of him. Sukyung gasped and tried to back away, but before she could, he grabbed her chin and made her look into his eyes. Her face became even redder and she began to pant. Watching his narrowed eyes, high cheekbones, long shiny hair, and pink lips, Sukyung’s head began to spin again. She could still taste him in her mouth. Sukyung remembered again how his tongue explored her mouth until Jungim interrupted them. 

Sungwoo asked,

“Then why didn’t you move away when I leaned forward to kiss you earlier?”

OMG! OMG! Something felt so wrong. Her heart pounded so fast and she couldn’t breathe. Sukyung felt like she was drowning. Sungwoo’s face was right in front of her, but she couldn’t see anything except for his jet black eyes. 

And of course, his lips. 

Oh no! Why did she keep looking at his lips? Why? Sukyung has never felt this way, so she couldn’t understand what was happening to her.