LNMBU 11

Chapter 11

Nayeon opened the door very slowly and quietly so that it wouldn’t make a sound, then slipped outside.

She immediately caught a taxi and headed straight home.

Dawn was already breaking.

As she left the hotel as if she were running away and made her way home, her heart pounded anxiously in her chest.

Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep—

After entering the password for the door lock, she carefully stepped inside the house.

Sookjin’s shoes were nowhere to be seen, and only Narin’s heels were lying carelessly in the entrance.

“So Narin is home.”

Nayeon put the heels she had worn outside back in their original place.

Fortunately, Narin’s bedroom door was closed.

Nayeon quickly ran into her own room and shut the door.

“Phew…”

Only then did she finally let out a sigh of relief.

She had successfully committed the perfect crime without Sookjin finding out.

“Ha… This is really unbelievable. Did I actually succeed in having my little rebellion?”

Her entire body ached as though she had been beaten all night.

It was because Jaehyuk had such incredible stamina and had held onto her without letting her go.

“I can’t believe I spent the night with Jaehyuk oppa…”

When she thought about their passionate night together, she suddenly felt heat rising between her legs.

Just remembering how Jaehyuk had held her hips on the bed and lifted her legs onto his shoulders made something deep inside her body feel restless and heated.

“Am I going crazy?”

Feeling as though her body was getting hotter, she quickly took off the dress she was wearing.

“Later, I should sneak into Narin’s room and secretly put back the handbag I borrowed.”

Narin had so many bags anyway that she probably wouldn’t notice if this one was returned a little late.

For a moment, Nayeon almost got lost in thoughts of Jaehyuk again, but she quickly pulled herself together and tried to regain control.

She was back to her ordinary life now.

It was time to return to being the original Im Nayeon again.

‘The fortune teller told you to keep yourself covered as much as possible, even at home, so listen to him, daughter.’

Remembering Sookjin’s firm voice, Nayeon put on the loose, baggy clothes she had taken off.

She wore a tight cap that completely covered her scalp and tucked her long straight hair inside it. Then she put on a short-haired wig over it.

She didn’t know when she would have another chance to enjoy such freedom again.

“One night was enough. I got to enjoy happiness and freedom as much as I wanted.”

So she was quite satisfied.

She felt as though she had fulfilled at least a small part of her long-held desire.

She went into the bathroom and removed her dark, glamorous makeup.

After washing her face clean and putting on her thick, round-framed glasses with heavy lenses, she returned to the appearance that felt even more familiar than her true face.

“Ahh, I’m so tired.”

Her body was exhausted from not getting proper sleep, and strange tingling sensations from the previous night still remained.

Nayeon lay down on the bed and immediately fell into such a deep sleep that she wouldn’t have noticed even if someone had carried her away.

Almost as if she had fainted.

How long had she been asleep?

She slowly opened her eyes when she heard noisy voices coming from outside.

She could hear Sookjin and Narin talking beyond her bedroom door.

“Mom must be back.”

Even her voice sounded weak and hoarse as she spoke to herself.

When she turned her body to lie on her side, she let out a groan.

Her entire body felt sore.

It felt as though every muscle in her body was aching.

Was everyone’s body supposed to end up like this after their first experience?

“No. It’s because Jaehyuk oppa did it so many times.”

At this rate, she was going to get sick.

Nayeon slowly reached toward the bedside table and picked up the phone she had left charging before falling asleep.

She checked the time through half-open eyes.

It was 6:23 p.m.

At first, she thought she had read it wrong.

She rubbed her eyes and checked again.

The time was correct.

“What?! It’s evening already? Did I sleep until now?”

The entire day had disappeared.

She had been so exhausted from spending the night with Jaehyuk that she had slept deeply all day long.

Then she noticed that there were two messages on her phone.

“Huh?”

One was from Hyeseon.

And the other was, surprisingly, from Ki Jaehyuk.

“Whoa… I got a message from Jaehyuk oppa?!”

The moment she saw that he had contacted her in the morning, her heart began pounding wildly.

With trembling fingers, she pressed the screen and checked the message.

[You left like that in the morning without saying anything? 11:52 a.m.]

Nayeon’s eyes trembled slightly.

He was questioning her for running home without saying a word.

“But we only had a one-night stand yesterday anyway…”

[I guess that’s what happened.]

She sent a short reply that carried the meaning that things had simply turned out that way.

She waited for a while, but perhaps he was busy because he didn’t read her message.

This time, she opened the message from Hyeseon.

[Im Nayeon! You said you’d contact me, so why haven’t you called yet? Did the guy from upstairs take you home safely?]

Since Nayeon had left with Jaehyuk and hadn’t contacted her until evening, Hyeseon had messaged her first.

There was also a missed call, which showed just how worried she had been.

[I’m sorry. I got home safely, but I was so tired that I slept until now. You must have been really worried, right? A lot happened to me yesterday. Let’s meet tomorrow. I have to tell you about this in person. I’ll tell you everything that happened.]

Tomorrow, she would meet Hyeseon and honestly tell her everything.

She would ask her for advice.

The fact that she had done that with the guy living upstairs!

“My body feels like it’s about to collapse. I’m so sore.”

Nayeon stretched her body.

Then she forced herself up and turned the handle of her bedroom door.

She needed to greet Sookjin, who had returned home.

She also wanted to see the bags of food Sookjin had brought back from Grandma’s house in the countryside.

She wanted to hear how her grandmother was doing and what had been happening there.

And then…

She would act as though her little rebellion from the previous night had never happened.

As though she had spent the entire time at home, just as usual—quiet, well-behaved, and proper.

To avoid arousing suspicion, she stepped outside her room in her messy, plain appearance.

“Should we go out for dinner tonight?”

Perhaps because she felt sorry for leaving her daughters alone at home for a day, Sookjin suggested eating out for the first time in a while.

“Yes! That sounds great!”

Narin jumped excitedly, and Nayeon agreed as well.

Nayeon immediately ran into her room to check her short-haired wig and tightly flattened her full chest with a compression bra.

Then she noticed several reddish marks scattered across the pale skin visible above the bra.

They were marks left by Jaehyuk the previous night.

The moment Nayeon saw the traces he had left on her body, her cheeks quickly turned red.

“……”

She was thinking about Jaehyuk again.

Remembering how he had buried his face against her chest and playfully touched her with his lips made her body feel hot.

“I must be crazy. Stop thinking about it…”

Nayeon shook her head.

Perhaps the effects of her first experience were making her thoughts increasingly inappropriate.

After all, she could still feel a faint ache and a strange warmth deep between her thighs.

Ignoring those sensations as best as she could, she opened her closet and put on the kind of clothes she always wore.

Although the weather was becoming warm as early summer approached, there had never been a place in her life for short or revealing clothes.

She had enjoyed herself enough yesterday.

Now she had to return to living a life where she completely hid herself.

After taking one deep breath, Nayeon quickly got ready and went outside.

For dinner, they went to a gamjatang restaurant near their home.

The three women sat around a table and began eating.

Sookjin loved her daughters dearly, so instead of eating much herself, she was busy removing meat from the pork bones for them.

“Mom, you should eat too.”

“I will. Let me feed you girls first.”

Sookjin placed another piece of meat onto Nayeon’s plate.

“By the way, why did you sleep so late today? Your face is still all puffy. You’re not even someone who usually takes naps.”

Even though it was Sunday, Sookjin was worried that her eldest daughter had slept until evening.

Nayeon flinched and began stammering.

“Uh… I think it’s because I didn’t sleep well last night. I only meant to close my eyes for a little while during the day, but I ended up sleeping really deeply.”

“You couldn’t sleep well last night? Oh my, it must have been because I wasn’t home. Nayeon, I’m sorry. Your grandmother kept insisting that I come down to the countryside. From now on, I’ll make sure to visit and return on the same day without staying overnight. You get anxious when Mom isn’t home, don’t you?”

“Huh?”

Nayeon was startled because the conversation had suddenly gone in a completely unexpected direction.

“Right, Narin? Your sister probably had trouble sleeping because I wasn’t there.”

Nayeon’s eyes shook.

Mom, no. You can stay overnight again if you want. It wasn’t because you weren’t home that I couldn’t sleep. It was because I was completely exhausted after such an intense night…

Ah…

Nayeon had to desperately hold back the reason she could never say aloud.

At that moment, Narin, who had been quietly listening to Sookjin, suddenly frowned deeply.

She pulled the pork bone she had been biting away from her mouth, let out a sigh, and said,

“Honestly, Mom. Is my sister a child? How long are you going to keep treating her like that?”