Stranger

“What?”

Yeon Woojeong put his face on my shoulder and laughed until his body shook. Then he suddenly raised his head. I quickly held my breath because his face was too close.

“Disgusting? You make me sad.”

I looked at him without blinking my eyes. The playful face soon calmed down slowly. He scanned my face, then reached out his hand to touch my wet hair. The warm breath grazed my cheek.

“It’s done.”

His head gradually moved away. The lips breathing out warm breath also moved away. The hand on my shoulder grabbed me stronger again. We walked again. I leaned the umbrella toward Yeon Woojeong.

.

.

.

The sashimi I had for dinner was really delicious. Even though there were many things I tried for the first time, from maesaengi porridge, seasoned abalone, to grilled fish that came out in the second half, everything suited my taste.

It was at a high building with a sea view outside the window. It was after the snow had stopped when we ate dinner, but the white snowy landscape seemed to encourage something strangely. I had no idea what it was.

I was full because I also ate all of Yeon Woojeong’s remaining portions. It was warm in the car, so my body relaxed comfortably. It was snowing again on our way back.

Today was… a day whose every moment I wanted to keep in my head.

“This won’t do.”

I opened my closed eyes at the faint voice. The snow had piled up very thick in a short moment. This must be called heavy snow.

The sound of the blinkers rang quietly. Yeon Woojeong looked up at the sky and turned the car at the signal.

“Let’s just go back tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Yeah. There’s going to be traffic jams even if we go now, and it’s dangerous.”

The road we were on was also blocked. While the car stopped for a moment, Yeon Woojeong took out his phone.

It was a road that didn’t seem like it would take a lot of time, but because of the traffic jam, we spent quite a bit of time. The place we arrived at after driving slowly was a hotel.

Hotel. I glanced at Yeon Woojeong in front of the huge, lit building. He looked so calm.

We parked in the basement and went up to the first floor. The wide space was luxurious. Yeon Woojeong took the lead, but he suddenly stopped. His gaze was directed to the cafe on the first floor.

“How about warming up a bit?”

There was nothing to warm up because it was warm inside the car, but I nodded because I wanted to drink something. Yeon Woojeong asked me what I would like to drink in front of the counter. I then pointed to one after scanning the menu. Yeon Woojeong ordered americano.

We sat at the window side. Even though I didn’t move around much, I felt more rested than when I was in the car when I sat on a soft chair with warm lighting.

The employee soon brought over our beverages. Yeon Woojeong, holding a white cup, appeared to be elegant. No one would ever imagine that man throwing a plastic cup in his home. Also, how the wound, which had gotten faint, hidden behind his knit tee was made, and who made it.

Yeon Woojeong turned his head and looked outside the window. I looked elsewhere to shake off the slowly sinking thoughts. I saw a man and woman sitting not far from us. The smiling two people looked awkward at a first glance.

“Have you ever done something like that, Mr. Yeon?”

“Huh?”

He turned his head to look where I was looking and then laughed briefly.

“No.”

Well. It was hard to imagine Yeon Woojeong in that kind of situation. Wait, it didn’t mean it wouldn’t suit him. He would rather lead that kind of situation without being awkward.

The woman there was wearing a red sweater. Red. Bright red. There was something that came into mind. It was sweet in my mouth. I didn’t get angry much when I remembered it now. Can I ask about it? Something unknown that would happen when I asked Yeon Woojeong made me hesitate. However, I was curious. It kept bothering me even though I tried to not think about it. As soon as I remembered it, it felt like an uncontrollable impulse was urging me.

“That woman.”

“Hmm?”

“That woman from last time.”

I didn’t talk much, but Yeon Woojeong quietly stared at me as if he understood. I scratched my fingertips and stopped.

“Did you meet with that woman again?”

I endured the intense stare. Eyes that seemed to dig their way into me. I didn’t let my guard down. Yeon Woojeong, who stared at me for quite a while in silence, slowly parted his lips.

“No.”

“Who was that person?”

“She was just… someone I met occasionally by chance.”

Someone he met occasionally by chance. Is Yeon Woojeong a man who can bring a woman he met occasionally by chance into his bedroom?

I am not someone he met occasionally by chance. Yeon Woojeong chose me.

“What about you?”

“What?”

“You really didn’t have a girlfriend?”

“Yeah.”

“Boyfriend too?”

There was playfulness in the last question. I crumpled my face deliberately.

“It is unbelievable, you see.”

“What?”

“No matter how young you are.”

Yeon Woojeong rubbed the edge of the white cup with the tip of his index finger. That movement was strangely ticklish. I drank my chocolate latte. It was very, very sweet in my mouth.

While I emptied half of my glass, he only drank a sip. Even that difference made me thirsty. Why is it? I have been feeling strange since earlier.

“Mr. Yeon, do you initially eat a little?”

“I don’t initially eat a little… I’ve eaten until I vomited before.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously. Literally, until I vomited. After eating like that… it was futile. Nothing remained.”

“Even so, how come you are able to eat that little?”

“It’s just… It has no meaning now. Since obsession comes from an empty stomach, there is no reason to hold on to it when you are full.”

I wanted to eat more even though I’m full. Though it was a pity that I couldn’t eat more. It was the same even though I knew I could eat again the next day. Even though I haven’t been hungry since I came to Yeon Woojeong’s house.

It would be good if Yeon Woojeong is hungry. If his insides weren’t full.

Yeon Woojeong was still as carefree as ever. It seemed like he from that day, who distorted his face with pain under me and groaned low with pleasure, had disappeared. I looked up. I wondered if it was because the lighting was the same as the yellow lighting next to the bed of that day—so it made me feel weird.

Even though I found out that the hotel isn’t that kind of place once we got here, my heart raced. I fiddled with the watch as I felt the pulse on my right wrist was particularly pounding. I guess I found out what instigated me. It seemed like I have been wanting it ever since that day.

No more drinks left. After leisurely taking a sip, Yeon Woojeong played with the cup. I was thirsty for the gaze that was fixed again out the window.

“Shall we go up?”

I didn’t know how much time had passed. After a long wait, Yeon Woojeong asked and his gaze turned a beat later. I nodded my head without being too impatient.

We left our seats. Yeon Woojeong went to the front desk, and I waited for him. Soon, he walked to me with a key in his hand. We got on the elevator.

21st floor. The elevator moved up quickly. We said nothing. There was a weird stillness around us. My fingertips curled and my stomach felt twisted.

There was a small sound announcing the arrival. When I walked through the opened doors, there was a quiet hallway.

Yeon Woojeong took the lead, and I followed behind him. The floor was carpeted, so there were hardly any footsteps. My eyes chased after the head that looked soft and calm, which was probably because it got snow on it earlier. His steps soon stopped. He opened the door.

The room was wide and neat. There was a bed, and it was completely quiet inside. Yeon Woojeong walked slowly and stopped near the window. He opened the blind and then looked at the view outside. I stood at the entrance and didn’t take a step forward at all. I looked at him taking off his coat slowly and then opened my mouth.

“Mr. Yeon.”

“Yeah.”

“Why did you sleep with me?”

The question that came out without thinking was probably something I left abandoned without knowing all this time. I was curious. However, I was afraid to hear the answer. I have no value to him, but then why did he accept me that day?

Despite my question, Yeon Woojeong didn’t look back at me. He completely took off the coat, then put it on the chair next to him. He looked down at the coat for a moment. A long silence separated him from me.

Eventually, Yeon Woojeong opened his mouth.

“Don’t you have this kind of thought sometimes?”

“…”

“What is bound to happen will happen…”

He turned to me. The black eyes, which I couldn’t read, looked at me.

“I have that kind of thought when you look at me.”