Chapter 154: The Things I Can Do For You [R-18]

Morning, under a gray sky still heavy with winter light.

Only the quiet echo of a few footsteps sounded in the hallway leading to the lobby.

Rio, wearing only a thin jacket over a loose-fitting knit sweater, played the part of her chauffeur. He twirled the car key in his hand as they stood together before the elevator.

While they waited, he leaned his forehead against Seojin’s shoulder as if drawn there, taking a deep breath. The sigh that escaped him was feigned indifference, yet endlessly tender.

“…Can’t we just go to the airport like this?”

The airport? When she was on her way to work at a restaurant? She could have been dismissive, but his words weren’t a joke. They were entirely sincere.

Seojin smiled faintly and turned her head.

“What about the plane tickets?”

“We can book them right now.”

“I don’t have a passport.”

“Then get one made. First thing next week.”

Rio’s voice was still husky and slow from sleep, but it had a strange, clinging quality.

The coat Seojin wore, which came down below her knees, was his. The sweatshirt layered underneath was his. Even the scent that brushed against her fingertips from the sleeves was his.

Beneath it all, she was dressed in the same worn-out jeans and plain cotton t-shirt as yesterday—an ordinary outfit, but the single, sparkling earring in her ear overshadowed everything else.

It was the thing she treasured most. The one he had given her.

Rio’s gaze lingered on her ear for a moment. Then, without lifting his head from her shoulder, he leaned in and bit down on her earlobe, earring and all.

“Whoa…!”

Seojin started to say something but stopped, ducking her head.

She had been treating the earring so preciously, afraid of even scratching it, that she’d barely worn it. And here he was, marking it with the traces of daily life himself.

But now, the thought no longer worried or bothered her.

“The door… the door’s open.”

As the elevator doors slid apart, he stepped in first, shielding her, and pushed her gently inside. As the doors closed, he reached out, pressed a button, and spoke quietly.

“Hmph. Trying so hard to get away.”

Pinning her with uncharacteristically jealous words, he refused to separate from her, cherishing the way their bodies had tangled as one the night before.

If she hadn’t replied to his pleas with, “As soon as they find someone to cover my shifts…,” Seojin wouldn’t have been able to leave that morning at all.

This was Rio’s best attempt at treating Seojin with love, playing the part of a magnanimous lover, even as he planned to be with her on her way to work and on her way back.

“I don’t mind waiting at your place.”

“It’s not the kind of place you’re imagining, really… You’d have to wear your coat indoors.”

Fearing he might be picturing some sort of drama set for a rich person pretending to be poor, Seojin shot back from the passenger seat.

Though she was trying her best to protect it now, she was by no means proud of the place she had lived her entire life.

Her dream of becoming a career soldier had been born from her constant efforts and desire to escape it.

“……”

Hearing her words, Rio turned his head slightly.

He looked at Seojin, who sat primly in the passenger seat, her gaze fixed ahead as if trying to flee.

Then, a stifled laugh escaped his lips.

“Do you like the sea, or the mountains?”

It was an unexpected question. Seojin turned her head to look at him.

“Huh?”

“Pick one. I don’t care where we go, as long as I can spend the whole day with you. But I figured you might as well enjoy some leisure activities somewhere quiet.”

He said it casually, but it wasn’t a joke.

He was completely serious. A diamond ring wasn’t the only thing he could give her; she had a definite place in the future he was planning.

“That’s… This isn’t really why I wanted to see you again.”

But the more sincere he was, the harder it was for Seojin to speak freely.

It felt as if she had surrendered herself too easily, leaned on him too quickly.

She had sought him out because she loved him, but she felt ashamed, as if choosing his embrace when she was tired and struggling wasn’t born from pure intentions alone.

Rio glanced at her. The car had stopped at a red light, and he gripped the steering wheel with one hand, propping his chin on it.

“Are you hoping I’ll never get to visit my in-laws?”

Seojin’s eyes widened.

“…In-laws?”

“Your family’s home.”

At Rio’s words, Seojin’s face flushed all the way to her ears, and she turned away. She opened her mouth as if in disbelief but ultimately couldn’t say a word, forced to stare out the window.

“Even if you wanted me to visit later, it’s obvious you’d say it’s ‘too old’ or ‘not nice’ and refuse to let me in.”

It was a truth she couldn’t hide, even with her eyes closed.

Poverty was shameful, and the more familiar it became, the more she wanted to hide it.

“So I’m saying I’ll get you one.”

The words Rio added after were spoken calmly, as if telling her not to worry about it.

If he wanted to be flippant, he could just say that settling his affairs with the lovers that existed before Seojin would leave more than enough for her.

This wasn’t the ostentation of a rich man, but the will to create a place for the heart of the person he loved to settle.

The one on the receiving end was left even more speechless.

The air in the passenger seat was quiet. Without waiting for Seojin’s response, Rio turned the wheel and spoke leisurely.

“If you’re not going to choose, then I’ll pick the sea. I like the sea. My childhood was spent in a place like that.”

“…Okay.”

Seojin finally managed to answer, her lips barely moving.

In that moment, his sincerity had pierced her so completely that she couldn’t even lift her face.

They talked more, about when her parents might be able to come up to Seoul, and how it would be nice if they could become a good family, provided their relationship wasn’t a complete disaster like his own.

Rio didn’t say anything more, but a weight was growing heavier somewhere in Seojin’s heart.

As they neared the place where she had to get out, her unease deepened.

The old street felt somehow alien to this sleek sports car. Glancing at the navigation system, which announced they had arrived, he tossed out a question.

“Can’t we just circle a few more times?”

He knew that even a man who had so much couldn’t easily have her, just for today.

Seojin sat quietly in the passenger seat, her hands folded, staring out the window.

Possessions had nothing to do with it. Love was just love. And that made Rio even more sullen.

Seojin was quiet and still, but not intentionally. She was deep in thought.

Is there anything I can do for him?

The question kept nagging at her, and Rio, knowing her so well, glanced over and spoke.

“Hey, Kang Seojin. If you think I’m pretty, don’t just keep it to yourself—”

Rio paused, looking at her for a moment before adding.

“Kiss me. You can touch me, too.”

His shamelessness was a perfect match for her overthinking.

Seojin looked at him, startled. But she knew all too well that his words were half-joke, half-serious, and her face grew hot for no reason.

Inside the passenger seat of the parked car, a strange tension and intensity swirled.

She wanted to accept his sincerity. She didn’t want to refuse. Seojin quietly lowered her gaze, then mustered her courage and leaned forward.

“……Alright.”

And she kissed Rio’s cheek, then his forehead. Finally, she gently pressed her lips to his.

“Later… I’ll do more for you than I did today.”

At her words, Rio couldn’t help but smile.

He took her fingers, pulled her hand to his mouth, and kissed it. Then he guided it to his lap.

“You could just touch me right here, you know.”

What Seojin’s hand grasped wasn’t soft, but something long and hard. Beneath his loose clothing was a wealth of desire for her.

“Ah—?!”

As Seojin’s hand froze, Rio raised his eyebrows playfully.

“What? Don’t tell me you’re surprised by this?”

She glared at his teasing face.

The sensation in her hand was clearly more than the joke he claimed it was, but what was more embarrassing was the fact that he was grinning from ear to ear.

“…Not at all!”

As a blushing Seojin tried to pull her hand away, Rio pressed down lightly on the back of it with his thumb.

“Haha, cute.”

“Wha— Thank you for the ride. It’s really time for me to get out now…”

He smiled and raised a hand to smooth her hair. The earring in her neatly arranged hair sparkled.

“Are you really going to wait?”

“Always.”

With those words, he held onto her seatbelt and watched her until the very last moment she got out.

Just before the door closed, Seojin ducked her head one last time and called to him softly through the window.

“Rio.”

“Yeah?”

He tilted his head, meeting her eyes.

“The things you said… they made me really happy. Later, I’ll really do a lot more for you.”

The car door closed, and she disappeared down the alley as if fleeing. Rio leaned back deeply in his seat.

Then he picked up his jacket, which he had folded neatly on the passenger seat to keep it from absorbing the smell of food, and inhaled her lingering scent.

Even though she had left like that, this was the scent of a Seojin who hadn’t truly left him—

“Happy, huh.”

Though it was just a small mumble, the corners of his mouth lifted on their own.

Beyond love, it was Kang Seojin’s sense of responsibility—the kind that wouldn’t let her quit a simple restaurant job without a second thought—that gave him the faith that even after leaving like this, she would eventually return.

‘Later, I’ll really do a lot more for you.’

Her last words echoed in his ears.

What was contained in that ‘a lot more’? Perhaps her heart, or perhaps her body. No, both.

But that was her choice to make. All Rio had to do was give Kang Seojin everything he could, and have her be there to receive it.

Rio quietly started the engine and glanced one more time toward the end of the alley where she had disappeared.

He already missed her, but for someone who had always made Seojin wait, this feeling wasn’t so bad at all.

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Translated By: Meher (RaidenTL)

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