CH 111

Soon after the trip to the mall, the meeting with the operatives from Istanbul was set up, and the day Muyeol’s team would leave for Istanbul was decided on. Muyeol and Mr. Hong would attend the meeting along with the business team leader, Mr. Kang, and section chief, Mr. Ko.

At last, the sun rose for the day of travel. Muyeol opened his eyes first. He cuddled Yiyoung, who was sleeping with her back pressed against his chest. Her skin was so soft, and the feel of it against his skin excited him. He was aroused now, which unintentionally woke Yiyoung up.

“Do we need to get up now?” Yiyoung mumbles sleepily.

“We have time.”

“Yeah? Then, kiss me.”

Muyeol listened to her request right away; he dipped his head and kissed her. He laid his body on top of hers, and Yiyoung opened her mouth to welcome his tongue. She instinctively caressed his body.

“Will you be okay?” asked Muyeol, his black eyes shining.

Yiyoung wrapped her legs around his waist. “I can sleep on the plane.”

Muyeol passionately held her in his arms.

* * *

Yiyoung looked out the window of the car as they drove to Incheon Airport. There was a lot of traffic, forcing Muyeol to drive at a snail’s pace. She wondered where all the cars were even coming from.

“What’ll happen if we’re late?” Yiyoung touched the necklace Muyeol had bought her during their trip to the mall. She looked almost depressed, worried that they would be too late to catch the flight.

Muyeol looked straight ahead. “We won’t be late. We left way earlier than we needed to.”

“Oh? That’s a good thing,” Yiyoung commented, “Anyway, the world sure is filled with busy people. I thought I was the only one who was busy everyday.”

“Your job involved dealing with life and death everyday, so you couldn’t help but think that way. It’s not your fault.”

Yiyoung stared at him mutely.

“What?” Muyeol asked.

“Um… How should I put this… Your tone sounds better each day. In the beginning, you were so blunt and brusque that it seemed like my head was getting pounded with a hammer.”

“A hammer?”

“Yeah. But now… I can feel that you really care about me.”

“You’re a patient.”

“Still… I don’t think I could take care of you as well as you if you were the patient.”

“I won’t rely on you,” Muyeol stated.

Yiyoung looked at him speechlessly again, repeating his words in her head. ‘I won’t rely on you.’

It sunk into Yiyoung then, that there was no one else whom Muyeol could rely on. Perhaps it was because of the way his parents had raised him, but he didn’t seem to give chances to anyone around him. Muyeol had no one beside him; he was also alone. She wondered if he said all those harsh things to her because he knew the reality of being alone. And perhaps that was how he knew so much about Yiyoung.

She remembered what he had told her before. “I’m different from you. I’m desensitized already, so I don’t get all emotional like you.”

Yiyoung pondered over the meaning behind his words. She frowned unconsciously as she looked at his profile, the line connecting his forehead to his nose. For the first time, she felt she could see him properly. And then she felt sad for him.

It seemed Muyeol’s stony expression and icy glare matched his perspective of life. But… when he looked at her, he showed different expressions.

What a fool… Yiyoung was convinced she was a fool. She’d wanted to know why Muyeol treated her so well, but she had never been curious about the kind of man he was. But now, she wanted to know him, to date him properly. As Cha Muyeol and Yoon Yiyoung, as a man and a woman, she wanted to have a passionate relationship with him.

“Cha Muyeol,” she said out loud as she thought about all this.

“Yeah?”

Yiyoung smiled. “I think I made a good decision marrying you.”

Muyeol looked at her for a moment. It was only a short moment, but it was enough. His eyes still looked gloomy, but his view had been fixed on her. And that was enough.