I Want to Kiss
The loud music thumped hard against her heart.
She was originally a calm person who liked quiet places, but today she did not refuse Seunghee’s suggestion to go to a club.
After living every day in a hospital surrounded by white walls, she must have wanted to feel free for at least one day.
Starting tomorrow, her hellish resident life would begin.
That meant no freedom for the next four years.
So at least for today, she wanted to run away from the hospital and enjoy her last bit of freedom. She thought that only then would she have the strength to endure the next four years.
“You’ve already rejected three guys in one hour. You’re setting a record today.”
Seunghee shook her head as she watched another man walk away after being rejected.
Nayeong didn’t care and continued drinking.
Today, she just wanted to drink and feel good.
She had no intention of meeting a man.
Once she started her residency tomorrow, she wouldn’t even have time to sleep, let alone date. What was the point of starting something new here?
She wasn’t the kind of person who could comfortably talk to strangers anyway.
“We’re already twenty-seven. By the time residency ends, we’ll be over thirty. This might be your last chance to properly meet a man in your twenties. You’re really not interested?”
“Are you sure a club is the right place to meet a proper man?”
“In my eyes, all the handsome guys, fun guys, and rich guys are gathered here. If I were as pretty as you, I’d walk right up to the guy I like and ask him to dance.”
Since reading romance novels was Seunghee’s only hobby, she clearly came to the club dreaming of a romantic encounter. Nayeong just smiled and listened.
While looking around at the men nearby, Seunghee suddenly found someone and quickly tapped Nayeong’s shoulder.
“Oh my, oh my!”
Her slap stung, so Nayeong frowned slightly.
“What?”
“I know that man. It’s film director Cha Hyun! Oh my goodness. The women next to him are so pretty. Are they actresses?”
Nayeong had heard the name Director Cha Hyun through the media before.
He was a young director praised as a genius after just two films.
She looked in the direction Seunghee was pointing.
There was a glass-walled room up the stairs. The people inside looked stylish and fashionable.
But the person who caught her eye wasn’t Director Cha Hyun.
It was the man beside him.
She could only see his back from where she sat, but that alone pulled out a memory she had long forgotten.
The back of a boy sweating after taking off a tiger mask.
The frustration of trying to call him but not being able to make a sound.
It had been seventeen years.
It was the first time a stranger’s back had brought back that memory. She couldn’t take her eyes off him.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Her heart, already beating to the music, began to tremble differently.
The moment the man turned his head, she suddenly stood up and turned away.
“I’ll go to the restroom.”
“Want me to come?”
“No.”
She quickly left her seat, while Seunghee was busy posting on social media that she had seen Director Cha Hyun.
Taehyuk turned his head and looked down.
He had returned to Korea after three years.
His jet lag still made night feel like day and day feel like night.
If his childhood friend Cha Hyun hadn’t called him out to celebrate his return, he would have been sleeping at home.
His head already throbbed, and yet he was dragged to such a noisy club.
As he grumbled inwardly, he noticed a woman walking through the crowd.
She wore a simple white blouse and jeans. Instead of blending in, she stood out even more among the flashy lights.
Her long, slender neck looked elegant like a ballerina’s. Her delicate but curved figure remained graceful even in the loud music.
Her face…
Seeing how the men around her couldn’t take their eyes off her, she was probably pretty.
He kept watching, hoping she might turn her head.
He didn’t expect much, but he couldn’t look away easily.
“What are you staring at?”
Cha Hyun nudged his arm.
This place had been specially prepared for Taehyuk. The hottest club, and beautiful celebrities invited for him.
Yet the main guest looked bored. Cha Hyun was not pleased.
“Your friend seems quiet.”
Since Taehyuk wasn’t talking, the women asked about him through Cha Hyun.
That already ruined the mood for Cha Hyun.
“I’m going to the restroom.”
As Taehyuk stood up, Cha Hyun warned him.
“Be back in ten minutes.”
Taehyuk left without answering.
When her mother suddenly called, Nayeong panicked.
At home, she was the model eldest daughter. Her parents would never imagine she was at a club.
Especially if her father found out.
She boldly pressed the reject button. Not answering felt like the better choice right now.
As she lifted her head with a short sigh, she froze.
“Seeing you again.”
It was the first man she had rejected earlier.
It didn’t feel like coincidence. It felt like he had followed her.
“You keep rejecting everyone and you’re not even dancing. Then what’s the fun of coming to a club?”
She tried to walk past him without answering, but he grabbed her arm.
“Let go.”
Her face turned cold, but he didn’t release her.
“If you keep acting like this, I’ll get angry too. I just want to talk. Why are you so sensitive?”
She tried to shake him off, but he clung to her.
“Just because you’re pretty, don’t look down on people. Girls like you only listen when force is used.”
His crude words made her stomach churn.
Following Seunghee here was the worst mistake.
“Guys like you only listen when force is used.”
Another man’s voice cut in.
A strong hand grabbed the man’s wrist. The grip on her arm loosened.
“Let go!”
But the grip tightened further.
“Ah! I’m sorry! Please let go!”
Nayeong stared at the man who had suddenly appeared.
The dark blue suit he wore was the same one worn by the man beside Director Cha Hyun.
His face was even more striking than his back.
Long sharp eyes under smooth brows, dark brown eyes shining like jewels.
A perfectly shaped nose and sharp jawline.
He was undeniably handsome.
But unlike when she saw his back, her heart did not shake.
His face was unfamiliar.
The man ran away after being released.
They looked at each other in silence.
“……”
“……”
Taehyuk slightly lifted the corner of his lips.
She was beautiful.
Her pale skin shone like porcelain. Her large black eyes were clear and refreshing.
He felt something strange.
Familiarity.
As if he had seen her before.
“The man might come back with friends.”
“I have friends too.”
“But if a celebrity gets into a fight here…”
She stopped, realizing she had exposed that she recognized him.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“I should go check on my friend.”
She hurried away, but he followed.
“Go ahead.”
“No. I’m following you.”
“What? Why?”
“Since I interfered, I should take responsibility until the end.”
Take responsibility?
They had known each other for less than five minutes.
Back at the table, Seunghee was dancing on the main stage.
When Nayeong turned back, she flinched.
He was sitting in Seunghee’s seat as if it had always been his.
“Cha Hyun isn’t coming.”
She didn’t understand why he said that.
“You look disappointed.”
Without answering, she filled his glass with beer.
“I’ll repay you with this.”
“That’s not enough.”
“I haven’t received my salary yet. I don’t have much money.”
“Don’t worry. I have a rich friend.”
He called the waiter and ordered expensive liquor.
The amber drink filled the glass.
“Try it.”
She hesitated, so he drank first.
“I didn’t put anything in it.”
She didn’t know who he was, but she didn’t feel threatened.
Maybe because his back reminded her of that boy from seventeen years ago.
She felt strangely at ease.
She lifted the glass and met his eyes.
His soft smile made her heart tickle.
The strong liquor burned down her throat and heated her body.
Finally, she felt true freedom.
She had twelve hours left before her freedom ended.
Being drunk wasn’t unpleasant.
The tension in her body and heart disappeared.
The man in front of her no longer felt like a stranger.
It was strange but not uncomfortable that she talked more with him than with colleagues she had known for years.
She didn’t know his name.
She didn’t ask, because she would never see him again after today.
Ten hours of freedom remained.
“If the world ended in ten hours, what would you do?”
He smiled cynically.
“Is my question childish?”
“No. It’s cute.”
She looked away, thinking he was teasing.
She didn’t want to expect too much from someone she would part with today.
Let’s stop here.
She raised her glass.
“I want to kiss.”
She froze.
She slowly shifted her eyes toward him.
He was resting his chin on his hand, staring at her.
“With a woman whose name I don’t even know.”
Curiosity.
Protectiveness.
Familiarity.
And instinctive desire.
The emotions she stirred in him shook his numb heart.
She was like a spark thrown carelessly into it.
