* * *
“And as for returning early… You said you didn’t like it, remember? You looked uncomfortable. I had so much I wanted to do with you, but there you were, watching me anxiously. I had it all planned out. We were supposed to go to a lobster festival, and visit that house from Anne of Green Gables… I even built a small pavilion on the beach in front of the villa. I stayed in contact with the Canadian tourism office for permits for that. Why are their regulations so picky? You need federal, provincial, and building permits…”
The words poured out easily, as if he’d rehearsed it all. Doha kept fiddling with my hand, like someone unsure of himself.
“But… then you didn’t even relax. I felt like I wouldn’t be able to hold myself back if I stayed any longer.”
Hold back?
Was he talking about… his desperate, wild touch from before?
Well, I… I did end up enjoying it so much that I even cried afterward.
The memory of the previous night washed over me like an afterimage.
‘You like it?’
‘Mmm… ah, yes…’
‘Yul-ah, what are you looking at?’
My mind had been hazy, his low, lingering voice still vivid as if it had just happened.
Even though it wasn’t a heat cycle, I’d been lost from midway through, clutching and clinging to him like a madman.
Later, I think I’d even started moving on my own.
My face heated instantly, making me want to hide somewhere.
But Doha pulled me back to reality, kissing my cheek and murmuring.
“When I got back, the rut hit suddenly, so I had to stay here. It wasn’t even supposed to be my rut period…”
His voice, sounding a bit defeated, made him seem like a guilty puppy.
Instinctively, I patted his shoulder.
“Still, even so…”
“If I asked you to spend a wild week with me in Singapore, would you do it?”
Damn, not even thirty seconds before he turns this into a confession session.
I gave him a sidelong glare and firmly shook my head.
“No.”
“See?”
“Aren’t the conditions you’re proposing a little odd? ‘Wild week,’ really? Sir, umph…”
He slowly slid his hand to my waist, pressing his lips against my neck and murmured.
“Then just say my name. My actual name.”
“…Doha.”
“Mm.”
He responded with a soft, almost childlike laugh.
I felt my emotions fluctuate from anxious to relieved, without a moment’s rest.
Maybe I was going crazy as I watched Doha rub his cheek and lips against me, like a pet asking to be spoiled.
His easygoing smile seemed… endearing, as I took in his carefree face and finally murmured, lips barely moving.
Well, his exterior’s not bad at all… and, well… he is kind of cute…
“You’re tickling me. Stop it, hey, stop!”
Peck, peck.
Each tender kiss he pressed on me, accompanied by an affectionate gaze, was so warm it brought tears to my eyes.
He tightened his arm around me, pressing his face close.
Hmm… Looking at him like this, he is kind of cute.
I’d never known I had such a soft spot for someone’s face, and I gave him a gentle smile.
His eyes, rimmed red and slightly teary, glistened. His long lashes fluttered each time he blinked slowly.
“Hyung…”
What now, this crazy guy?
He only calls me ‘hyung’ when he’s at a disadvantage, though I can’t deny it feels good to hear it.
At least he’s acknowledging me as the elder here; otherwise, there’d be no sense of seniority between us.
Doha continued placing gentle kisses on my cheeks, the bridge of my nose, and around my eyes. It felt strange.
For the first time, I started seeing this man as a big kid.
Not as a joke, but truly, like a kid who can’t contain his joy over something.
Now that I think about it, even back when we were just physical, he was like this…
“Ah.”
Maybe he only acts this way with people he’s been intimate with.
Understanding that, it made a bit more sense.
Watching him act so clingy and affectionate, I nodded.
Smooch. Smooch, smooch.
Doha’s gentle kisses, like warm gazes watching something adorable, were soft yet tender.
His lips brushed my nape again, gradually tracing upwards along my skin.
He bit my earlobe as if savoring a sweet fruit, and each time his tongue touched and left my ear, his breath mixed with the damp sounds of saliva.
After a while, he finally released my ear, placing a light kiss on its rim.
“I like this. Really, so much…”
He murmured dreamily, sounding dazed, as though completely lost in the moment, and buried his face against my neck as he inhaled deeply, like he wanted to take in my scent entirely.
“I just want to stay like this.”
“You have to go to work. There’s work to do… and the clothing business…”
I patted his shoulder as if to soothe him, but a troubling thought suddenly crossed my mind.
One pressing issue still remained.
How would he handle the model situation?
Then, nuzzling his cheek against my neck, Doha mumbled softly.
“That… I signed with another model. How could I keep working with them when I have you? Right?”
“…”
“Or should I just do as I please?”
If I really told him to do as he pleased, he’d undoubtedly run wild.
After a moment’s deliberation, I slowly shook my head.
Doha, seemingly pleased, kissed my cheek and pulled me into a tight hug, pressing his warm skin against mine.
“Even if it’s not jealousy, if it just bothers you, then I’ll do as you want.”
Fixated on the word “jealousy,” Doha kept bringing it up, clasping my hand in his.
As the warmth of our entwined hands began to make me a little shy, I wriggled my fingers, and he responded by kissing the back of my hand gently, then smiling radiantly.
“You really weren’t jealous?”
Seeing that angelic face, I couldn’t help but twist my lips in irritation.
This brat, he really pushes it to the end.
It was late into the night by the time we managed to leave the hotel.
Doha suggested we stay curled up until his work hours began, but I stubbornly insisted on going home.
Yet, when we arrived…
Was I dreaming?
No, the reality felt all too vivid for that.
What do you even do in a situation like this?
Standing there in a daze, staring at the remains of concrete rubble, I pinched my cheek hard.
After the exhausting journey to get here, I was finally home, only to be greeted by… no home at all, and no Cha Chiyeon either.
“It’s not a dream…”
The place where my house used to be was just… gone.
There used to be a small two-story house here.
A reclusive tenant lived on the first floor, while Cha Chiyeon and I occupied the second.
But now, all that lay before me was a broken concrete shell.
What do I do?
Go to the police?
Ask them to help me find my house?
Or maybe a real estate office?
What do I even say?
My house disappeared?
Should I go to the local government office for something like this?
Maybe check the property registry…
Damn, do demolished buildings even have registry records?
My mind, normally filled with useless trivia like a human encyclopedia, came to a complete halt as if someone had slammed on the brakes.
Just then, I heard a car door open behind me.
Doha looked back and forth between me and the rubble, his tone grave.
“Did you move?”
“No.”
“So… the house is gone?”
“Yes.”
“Yul-ah, you don’t have a home anymore?”
Please, shut up. Please.
Desperately trying to ward off a throbbing headache, I pulled out my phone and opened the messenger app.
At work, I used a company-only messenger or regular text messages, and I hadn’t had a chance to check my messages properly since returning.
Plus, I’d turned off all notifications to mess with Cha Chiyeon, so unless I looked directly, I wouldn’t know if anyone had messaged me.
And given that only Cha Chiyeon would message me, I wasn’t exactly motivated to check either.
Maybe because of my last message…
[Real Life Lord] – Hey, what’s the second one? What the hell is it that you’re being so secretive about? 02:04
[Real Life Lord] – What is it???
[Real Life Lord] – What is it! Do you want to be killed gently? 02:05
After that was a picture of a cute duck holding a knife. “Gently killed,” huh?
More like a serial killer born to donate organs.
Ignoring all the useless messages, I skimmed to the most recent ones.
[Real Life Lord] – Did you come back today? Why aren’t you answering? ( •᷄⌓•᷅ ) 12:23
[Real Life Lord] – Is it true you’re back? 12:25
[Real Life Lord] – Hey
[Real Life Lord] – Hey
[Real Life Lord] – Hey!!!! 13:43
[Real Life Lord] – I was going to tell you as soon as you returned, but you weren’t answering, so I’m leaving a message anyway. My parents sold our house;;; They didn’t tell me until you left for your trip, so I couldn’t let you know earlier to keep you relaxed on vacation. Don’t come home, just stay in a nearby hotel or motel for now. I’ll try to find a place for you to stay. But don’t get your hopes up ㅠㅠ. I’m as shocked as you are, but I couldn’t tell you right away ㅠㅠ. Anyway, don’t come home ㅠㅠ. I took all your stuff, so don’t worry. I didn’t miss a thing! Just contact me once you’re back. 15:35
Below the wall of text, there was a note urging me to reach out once I arrived.
Staring intently at my phone, I mulled over the message.
“The house was sold while you were away on vacation” would have made for a more realistic novel title.
Yet here I was, living it.
* * *
Good
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Haha 😂