As he stepped out of the car, the salty breeze characteristic of the beach brushed through his hair.
Dohyun sent a message to his cousin to meet him in the parking lot and headed toward the smoking area. Following the signs, he found the smoking area near the beach inside the guesthouse.
"...What the?"
Sitting on one side of a bench was a young woman wearing horn-rimmed glasses, hugging her knees to her chest. She stared blankly at the sea as if she had come out to meditate. Dressed in a club T-shirt from Chunchoo University, it seemed like she was attending the club MT with his cousin.
Wondering if she had a story behind her stillness, he felt a twinge of concern but decided there was no reason to pry, so he sat down on the opposite end of the bench to smoke a cigarette.
Just as he took a cigarette from his pack and was about to light it, a voice interrupted him.
"Excuse me."
It was a voice tinged with the influence of alcohol. He turned his gaze to the seat next to him, and before he knew it, the woman who had been looking at the sea was now looking at him.
"This… is a no-smoking area."
The woman pointed to a large ceramic ashtray placed in front of the smoking area. An icon of a cigarette with smoke curling up was clearly visible on it.
"That indicates it's a smoking area."
"No, it doesn't."
She picked up a stone from the ground and walked over to the ashtray. Then, she drew a diagonal line across the cigarette icon with the stone.
"All done."
The woman pointed to the ashtray again, a look of satisfaction on her face. Dohyun, seeing this, was left dumbfounded, the corner of his mouth twitching into a smirk at her absurdity.
“See? It’s a no-smoking area.”
“It still doesn't count.”
He reached for his lighter once more, determined to light his cigarette.
Ting.
The lid of the Zippo lighter opened with a clear sound.
Then, suddenly, a woman's hand appeared in his line of sight. Her hand grabbed the cigarette he had been holding and snatched it away.
When he looked straight ahead, the cigarette was in the woman's mouth. And it was upside down.
"What on earth makes this delicious?"
“Hey, give that back.”
"It has touched my lips, you know?"
“Right, so just throw it away.”
"You want me to throw away a cigarette you haven't even smoked? Why waste resources like that? Don't you know how severe global warming is these days? Ahjussi, [1] you clearly don't understand the seriousness of environmental issues.”
“Ahjussi?’”
That was the first time he’d been called an ‘Ahjussi.’
However, it felt awkward to argue with a drunk person, especially since he was dressed in a suit and it was nighttime, making it understandable if she mistook him for someone older. When he tried to ignore it, she seemed to interpret his silence as a prompt to correct her address, hesitating before speaking again.
“...Not Ahjussi, but Oppa?”
“Forget it. Just stick with Ahjussi.”
He picked up the cigarette pack again. Seo Dohyun wasn’t the type to let a cigarette he wanted to smoke be taken away by a random woman. Oddly enough, he felt an even stronger craving for nicotine than usual.
Again, the woman's hand touched his as he tried to take out a cigarette.
“Environmental activists shouldn’t be touching cigarettes. Move your hand.”
“But you’re really good-looking,”
The answer he received was completely unrelated, probably because he suspected she was intoxicated.
“Hey.”
“What?”
“Can I kiss you?”
Silence hung in the air.
When he looked up, he saw the woman staring at him with wide eyes, her gaze framed by her horn-rimmed glasses.
“Out of the blue?”
“They say beautiful people die young, but I can't let such a handsome man like you die so quickly.”
“What does that have to do with kissing?”
“Kissing instead of smoking is good for your health. They say smoking shortens your lifespan, and kissing increases it.”
It was a bizarre argument with a strangely persuasive logic.
Then, sincerity burst forth from her lips.
“And I just hate the smell of cigarettes.”
“Then why were you here?”
“Because the sea seen from here is beautiful.”
Swoosh.
The sound of the waves filled the air.
The woman's face inched closer. The scent of alcohol emanating from her was so strong that it made him feel tipsy as well. Everything felt bizarre. Not only had his cigarette been snatched away by a drunk stranger in a place he’d never been before, but now he was on the verge of being kissed. To make matters more confusing, he felt a tightness rising from below.
‘Haa, did I get an erection just from looking at this woman?’
He almost laughed at the absurdity.
"My first kiss is free. You won’t find an opportunity like this often."
“Why would you share your first kiss with me? That’s something you should do with your significant other.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever meet a man as handsome as you again. If I let this chance slip by, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life and won’t even be able to close my eyes in peace on my deathbed.”
“I can live just fine without it.”
"I can’t go on living. I’m so sad that I might just jump in there right now."
The woman said this, pointing to the dark ocean.
At this point, it was practically a threat, borderline extortion. Yet strangely, he didn’t feel particularly upset. What was even more puzzling was that, despite her behaviour, he found himself thinking that a kiss might not be such a bad idea. Until now, whenever other women tried to kiss him, he’d always felt annoyed and turned away. But with this woman, for some reason, he was curious about what it would be like.
"If you're that determined, go ahead and try."
“Awesome.”
The woman smiled playfully, climbed onto the bench, and leaned her upper body towards him.
Smack.
She pressed her lips gently against his for a moment before pulling back to meet his gaze again.
“Like this?”
"Not quite. Come back."
As the woman tilted her head towards him, Dohyun licked her lips and sucked gently on her lower lip.
"Isn't this how a kiss starts?"
“I think you’re right.”
Gaeul followed Dohyun's lead, licking his lips. At that moment, his arousal, confined within his clothes, grew more pronounced.
“Ha.”
He let out a heated laugh, cupping her face with one hand. He pulled her closer, pressing his face deeper against hers.
"Ah..."
A breathy sigh mixed with surprise escaped her lips, and he didn't hesitate to slip his tongue into the space between them.
Their tongues softly intertwined.
Chuu, smooch.
The sound of their lips pressing together mingled with the distant crashing of waves. Gradually, their movements became more urgent. Their lips soon glistened with each other's saliva, and the scent of alcohol lingered with each breath. The woman's body leaned closer to him until she finally climbed onto the bench, settling on his thighs. His penis, confined within his suit pants, brushed against her thigh.
Their lips parted for a moment.
Breathing heavily, their eyes met, filled with desire. The woman wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his again. Dohyun supported the back of her head with one hand while his other hand slowly caressed her thigh, which was resting on his.
A strong impulse surged within him to immediately pull down her thin, easily removable pants along with her underwear and stick his penis into her pussy. He had never considered such an act outdoors before, but perhaps the alcohol on her breath had transferred some of her intoxication to him, or maybe it was simply his own burning desire.
The fingertips that had been caressing her thigh suddenly brushed against her bare skin. Moving his hand further, his middle finger slipped through a hole in her pants. Though only a single finger touched her bare skin, every fibre of his attention was drawn to it.
As his fingertips continued to explore her thigh, they grazed her underwear. When he reached further inside, her pyjama pants rolled up halfway. With only his middle finger inside her underwear, his hand touched her buttocks. He wanted to go deeper, but the pants prevented further entry.
“Uhmm...”
As a moan escaped her lips, Dohyun's movements became rougher. He pressed on as if everything until now had been mere practice, not giving her a chance to catch her breath. When she began to feel suffocated, the woman struck his chest.
Dohyun let out a groan that sounded almost like a sigh. Getting hit only made him more aroused, driving him wild. The sensation of something squirming in his arms was distinct, and he found himself actually enjoying it.
"Mm, mmm!"
As she struggled in protest, he finally released her lips.
"Huff, haa, ha, hu..."
"Ha... What's your name?"
"Huu... It's Lee Gaeul."
After saying her name, she lightly punched his chest with a fist full of resentment. He chuckled softly. Her name was pretty too.
It seemed that he quite liked her.
"Should I give you my number?"
"I don't need it. We kissed, so I'm going now."
"Are you upset?"
"You were the one who made it so I couldn't even breathe."
"I won't do that again. Just one more time before you go."
"...Is that okay?"
"Yeah. It’s fine."
She smiled. Their lips met again. This time, the kiss was more relaxed than before. For a while, they exchanged saliva, bit, and sucked each other's lips. Perhaps because her skin was delicate, by the time the kiss ended, her lips were swollen.
"Lee Gaeul!"
A voice calling her name could be heard from a distance.
"Looks like your friend came to get you."
"I have to go now."
She got off him, put on her slippers, and pulled down her rolled-up pants. Seeing her ready to leave made him feel strangely empty.
"Are you leaving?"
"I have to."
Even after saying that, Gaeul lingered in front of Dohyun. The fact that she couldn't take her eyes off his face suggested that she liked him too.
"You’re really not taking my number?"
"No, I won’t. My older brother told me not to meet with men whose identity is unknown."
"I'm a person with a clear identity."
"And you smoke. I don't like that."
"Ah, that's understandable."
"Goodbye."
Gaeul bowed her head in farewell and, seemingly having made up her mind, walked away from the smoking area with a determined expression. As he watched her leave, he saw a student who looked about her age spot her from a distance and walk over to take her away.
Dohyun sighed, leaned back on the bench, and took out his cigarette pack. His hand paused midway as he was about to pull out a cigarette.
"I guess I should just save my life today."
He chuckled and headed towards the parking lot.
・・・・・
His cousin was pacing in front of his car.
"Oppa, why are you so late? But do I really have to go?"
He opened the car door.
"Do whatever you want if you're okay with losing the investment."
"That won't work. Ha, what can I do? Small business owners have to do whatever big capital tells them to do. Oh, here. I'll give this to you as a thank-you gift for picking me up."
"What is it? Perfume?"
"It's our brand's new release, 'Autumn Welcome.' While it's suitable for all seasons, it's particularly nice to use when the days are still warm and the nights are cool.
The corners of his mouth curled up as he looked at the perfume.
“That’s amusing.”
First, there was Gaeul, and now even a perfume named 'Autumn Welcome.'
It was a strange coincidence, occurring just as autumn was right around the corner.
[My Brother’s Boss Crossed The Line - The End]
Translator's Corner:
Hello~ I finished translating these chapters early so I decided to post them before Friday~ Hope you all enjoy it! Please stay tuned for Volume 2 which has 3 side stories!~ Have a lovely day!! 💕
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[1] Ahjussi in Korean is a respectful way to address an older man or a man of a similar age who is not a close friend or family member. It is often used to address men who are perceived to be older or in a position of authority; similar to Mister.
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