Chapter 130 : Side Story 1: First Time #1

“Hyung, sleep well?”

A soft kiss landed on my forehead with a little mwah. I cracked my eyes open and was instantly flooded with Doyoon’s blinding morning smile, inches away. Sunlight slipped through the curtains, turning his chestnut hair and pale cheeks into warm gold. He looked like an actual angel.

An angel who was currently sneaking a hand toward my ass.

I swatted his arm—smack!—and croaked in the sternest just-woke-up voice I could manage.

“Hands. Off.”

Instead, he peppered my forehead and nose with kisses and pulled me tighter. Through the thin summer pajamas I could feel every line of his chest. I squirmed, rolled over, back to him.

Big mistake.

The second I turned, the wandering hand slid straight to my chest.

A low laugh rumbled behind me. “Hehe.”

“It’s hot.”

“It’s not even hot. Want me to turn the AC lower?”

This guy used to back off the moment I grumbled. Now? Shameless. Utterly shameless.

Before I could twist back around, his lips brushed the shell of my ear—slow, ticklish, deliberate. Electricity shot straight to my toes.

Then his big hand spread wide, thumb and middle finger lazily teasing both nipples at once.

I froze mid-breath.

I’m not saying I hate it, but at this rate we’ll never leave the bed. And sure enough, something hard was already pressing insistently against my thigh.

I tried to sound firm. “You—”

He whispered right into my ear, “I took the day off.”

“WHAT?!”

I went rigid like someone dumped ice water on me.

He took that as permission. His hands got bolder—chest, belly, slipping under the waistband of my pajama pants—

I shot out of bed like a jack-in-the-box and yelled, “WHY?!”

The entire sexy atmosphere shattered into a million pieces.

Doyoon blinked up at me, looking exactly like a puppy whose food bowl just got yanked away.

“…Huh?”

Only then did I realize I’d overreacted.

He sat up slowly, scratching the back of his neck, suddenly awkward. “…I used a vacation day.”

My face went white.

Vacation day? Today? First I’m hearing this!

He crawled across the bed, worried. “Hyung, is something wrong?”

Yes, something is VERY wrong. I muttered without thinking, “…It’s supposed to arrive today.”

“What is?”

“N-nothing.”

Your birthday present is getting delivered today, you idiot!

I forced myself calm. “Why the sudden day off? You said you were swamped.”

My voice came out colder than intended. The very obvious tent in his pants wilted. He looked genuinely hurt.

“Because… it’s my birthday…”

“It’s tomorrow! June 17th!”

I practically jumped. Don’t play the sad puppy card!

He lit up like I’d just handed him the moon. “You remembered?”

Of course I remembered! Stop making that moved face!

Doyoon has ridiculously low expectations of me. Anything I do makes him happy—it’s sweet, but sometimes it makes my chest ache.

(For reference: on my birthday this year he gave me an actual private island in the South Pacific. Flowers, trees, turquoise water, zero people. I nearly passed out when the plane landed on a random runway in the middle of the ocean.)

He rubbed his neck, shy. “There might be a group dinner tomorrow night—Seunghee noona told everyone to keep the evening free. So I figured… I’d take today instead. To spend the whole day with you.”

His cheeks went pink. I, meanwhile, was having a silent meltdown.

“You’re staying home… all day?”

His brows drooped. “Hyung… am I bothering you?”

“No! It’s not—”

When he pulls that face I’m done for. Every single time.

I blurted the first decent excuse I could think of. “I’m… kind of busy with the script.”

“Oh.” His whole posture relaxed. I quietly exhaled in relief.

I’m currently entering a one-act drama screenplay contest held by a cable network. In my last life, the only thing that kept me sane after my dad vanished was dramas. Later I realized I didn’t want to direct—I just love good stories. That’s why marketing at Haewon E&M felt so right. Doyoon’s casual “You’d be great at it” lit a fire under me, so I’m taking it seriously.

He beamed. “Whatever you write is going to be the best thing ever.”

“Haha…”

(Of course, if I lose, my boyfriend—who happens to be an executive director at Haewon E&M—will probably strong-arm the judges. I can already hear the determination in his voice.)

He scooted closer, draped the blanket around his waist, wrapped his arms around me, and nuzzled my stomach through the shirt. “I still have some work calls, but I’ll be quiet. Promise I won’t disturb your writing.”

His warm breath tickled through the fabric.

“…Okay.”

I automatically stroked his hair.

Internally, though? Pure regret. I should’ve ordered it last week… It’s an embarrassing gift—I kept putting it off until yesterday, and of course today is the one day he decides to stay home.

He stopped blowing raspberries on my belly and looked up with a weird expression.

“I almost misunderstood again… Thought maybe you had some secret plan I didn’t know about. Another guy… or girl…”

Those narrowed eyes were pure mischief.

I flicked his forehead—thunk.

“Stop talking nonsense.”

He rubbed the spot, stood, leaned down for a quick kiss, then bounced off the bed.

“Wait right here. Breakfast in five.”

“Got it.”

The second he left, I collapsed back onto the mattress and let out the longest sigh known to man.

A minute later:

“Hyung! Breakfast’s ready!”

I walked out—and stopped dead.

The table looked like a royal hanjeongsik spread. Every dish in gleaming brass bowls, perfectly arranged.

“When did you—”

“There are ways.” He grinned, apron over his comfy clothes, tail practically wagging. “Wanted to surprise you. The housekeeper has the day off, too.”

My eyes shook. He’s really not leaving the house today.

I forced an awkward smile, picked up a piece of braised short rib. Insanely good, but I barely tasted it.

I tried to sound enthusiastic. “Wow… really delicious.”

“Better than the stuff from the main house, right?”

He looked like a golden retriever waiting for praise. When he’s like this, you have to pet him or he sulks.

“Obviously. Feels like it’s my birthday.”

He deboned a croaker for me and sighed dramatically. “Wish I could’ve taken tomorrow off instead. Work’s crazy.”

“Yeah…”

I sneaked a glance at him. “…I haven’t bought your birthday present yet.”

He smiled, soft and warm. “You don’t have to get me anything. Just being with you is already the best gift in the world.”