TKFT 26

Chapter – 26

‘Ah, no…! Don’t be greedy! It’s enough just to be by his side! But why am I wanting something like this…!’

Jian clenched her eyes shut. Her body began trembling.

She was terrified that if she confessed, she might lose even the chance to stay beside him like this.

Feeling her shaking behind him, Yugeon was startled.

‘What…? Is she cold?’

Since he had a lot of body heat, he had told her to adjust the bedroom temperature herself so she wouldn’t feel cold.

And today, it wasn’t like he had stolen her blanket either.

Or maybe she was tired from going around visiting relatives for the holiday. What if she caught a cold…?

Worried that Jian might get sick again, Yugeon grew anxious.

After thinking for a moment, he gently lifted the blanket and slipped inside, carefully pulling her into his arms.

If she was shaking because she was cold, he wanted to share his excess body heat.

‘So I’m doing what I couldn’t do last time.’

He was referring to the plan that had failed before because Jian had already fallen asleep under separate blankets.

‘It’s still a pity that Eun Jian is asleep like last time…’

Yugeon could only feel bitter.

Not realizing that Jian’s eyes were about to pop out from shock.

‘W-what is this suddenly…? Did he hug me in his sleep? It’s already autumn— is it okay for him to sleep half-naked like that? But maybe he was cold after all…?’

Amid the pounding of her heart, Jian made a guess.

‘Why is Eun Jian’s waist still so thin? I thought she had gained some weight, but maybe not. This won’t do. I should feed her more.’

Feeling the slender waist wrapped in his arms, Yugeon frowned slightly.

In his embrace, Jian felt so confused that her head spun, while the tips of her toes curled from excitement.

‘Oh no… My heart feels like it’s going to burst…’

Unable to control her racing heartbeat, Jian’s body trembled even more.

‘What? Is she really that cold? It doesn’t seem that bad… And she’s so small to begin with— if she catches a cold, what will I do?’

Worried, Yugeon tightened the arm around Jian’s waist and stomach, pressing his chest closer against her back.

“Kyah.”

Jian almost screamed.

Feeling his firm body against her back, and the soft breath tickling her nape, she didn’t know what to do.

‘Ahhh! Stay calm, Eun Jian…! Instead of this…’

Hoo… Hoo…

Jian carefully practiced deep breathing.

She tried to make the most of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Meanwhile, a certain movie scene floated in Yugeon’s mind.

It was a holiday special movie he had watched as a child at his grandmother’s countryside house. It was called Ghost.

‘There was a scene like this too… a back hug…’

He wondered if Jian was like the female protagonist who made pottery because that thought suddenly came to him.

The scene he remembered was where the male protagonist hugged the female protagonist from behind while they placed their hands together to make pottery.

Back then, he had clicked his tongue at it.

‘Aunt, are they trying to make pottery or not? If they’re going to make it, they should just make it properly. What are they even doing?’

‘Oh, why? Isn’t it nice to watch?’

‘It’s not nice. It’s just inefficient.’

‘You’re still a kid, Yugeon. That’s what romance is like. You end up wanting to do useless things.’

Back then, when he was in high school, he had thought it was ridiculous.

But now… why did he want to try it too? Making pottery with Eun Jian in a back hug.

It felt like his brain was going crazy.

“Mm… cold. Ah, it’s cold…”

Jian mumbled in her sleep and turned her body toward Yugeon’s chest.

Ah…!

The moment her face, with eyes closed, came in front of him, Yugeon felt like his heart would jump out of his chest.

The memory of the accidental kiss before also resurfaced.

It had also been in this bed, at this distance.

‘Ugh… This is too stimulating…’

Feeling the heat gathering in his lower abdomen, Yugeon quietly shifted his lower body backward.

He couldn’t completely move away from her since she was cold.

But the lower part… was impossible.

While Yugeon was awkwardly struggling, Jian, pretending to be cold and asleep, moved closer into his chest.

‘Mm… Yugeon’s scent… So nice… Is it soap…?’

The clean, refreshing scent was so good she wanted to keep inhaling it.

She liked the heavy, mature perfume he used when wearing a suit — the scent that suited a capable adult man.

But right now, his natural body scent felt even more fitting for Yugeon.

She wanted to bury her nose in his chest and sniff freely, but since she couldn’t, Jian kept pretending to sleep and coldly clung to him, carefully sniffing.

Unaware that her breathing was fanning the spark of Yugeon’s desire.

‘Why is her breath on my chest… It’s ticklish but also kind of… this is a bit…’

The heat that had gathered in his lower abdomen now spread throughout his body.

Yugeon shifted his lower body even farther back. It was a desperate movement.

Though he couldn’t completely suppress the warmth spreading through his body.

Still, maintaining a reasonable distance downstairs brought him some relief.

‘Eun Jian doesn’t even know how much I’m suffering trying to keep her warm… If she were awake, she wouldn’t be able to help but fall for me.’

After finally calming down, he felt regret again.

He didn’t know what Jian was thinking in his arms.

‘The feeling of Yugeon’s chest touching my cheek… What is this, a rock? The chest is amazing, the chest is amazing, the chest is amazing… Ah! Keep your hands still. Tsk, you can’t touch…!’

‘Everyone is desperate for me, but only you don’t know, Eun Jian… I only need your attention.’

‘My husband is so handsome… I want to be the only one who knows… No, I want the whole world to know… No, I want to keep it to myself…’

‘Seriously, the guy who says he loves me — who the hell is that…?’

Feeling jealous, Yugeon hugged Jian even tighter.

Jian felt as if her own heart was being held. Her heart pounded even harder.

‘If Eun Jian woke up and looked at me…’

‘If Yugeon didn’t wake up…’

‘Well, this isn’t bad either. If Jian wakes up, she’ll run away…’

‘If Yugeon wakes up, I won’t be able to stay like this… I want to stay like this with him…’

Even though Jian had someone she liked.

Even though Yugeon only saw her as a contractual partner.

Just for this moment, as they were touching like this—

With both of them smiling slightly while keeping their eyes closed,

A night of shared yet different dreams passed by.

* * *

As dawn rose that day, Yugeon had a dream.

It was a dream he had once wanted to see — Jian sitting in front of a pottery wheel, making pottery.

Wearing a working apron, Jian focused seriously on the smoothly spinning clay in her hands.

Her professional concentration was strangely alluring.

Her long hair was tied up to avoid interfering with her work, exposing the pale, delicate nape of her neck that made him want to bite into it.

Following her delicate movements, the clay transformed more beautifully, almost resembling its creator.

Suddenly, a blurry-faced man approached from behind Jian and sat down, pulling her into a hug.

“Oh…! Ah, you’re here?”

Jian seemed startled at first but soon smiled gently, her eyes softly curving, and continued working.

The man behind her also placed his hands over hers, making pottery together with her.

It was exactly the scene from Ghost.

“…I feel so happy being like this with you.”

Jian smiled beautifully.

……Me too, Eun Jian. Being like this with you…

Muttered the dream version of Yugeon.