Swallow One’s Breath -R19 - Chapter 7

**This chapter contains smut.**

 

“Alright, tell me.”

The next day, during lunchtime, Se-eun was called in again, but this time it was Charles. She wasn’t taken aback because she was already expecting it. However, she couldn’t help but feel burdened by the curiosity sparkling in Charles’ eyes.

“Tell you what?”

“About your night with Kang Do-won.”

“Charles, we’re at work!” she whispered in protest, but Charles wouldn’t budge.

“This is my office. Why are you so surprised when there’s no one else but the two of us here?”

“Still…”

“Don’t give me excuses and just tell me. Was it good? Was it as hot as he looks?”

At that moment, she started to laugh.

‘As hot as he looks? Does Do-won look like he’s good at sex? Or did his handsome face make it seem like he was?’

Either way, she tried to divert the subject of the conversation while hiding her smile.

“I’m going to inform the boss that you’ve turned your interest to another man.”

Of course, it was an attempt that failed to work on Charles.

“I never did, though? I was just asking because I was curious.”

“……”

“You don’t want to tell me? Why? Unless you want to hear about how much fun I had last night with Jaehee…”

“No, you don’t have to!”

Se-eun stopped Charles by raising her hands.

“It was fantastic!”

“Right? It was probably even better since you haven’t done it in a long while, wasn’t it? That’s why I wanted you two to meet again. Sex is so good, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t enjoy it with a hot guy.”

Eventually, a silly laugh escaped her lips. Charles couldn’t help it.

Seeing her laugh, Charles asked with a smile, “How about President Kang? Does he treat you better than before?”

Se-eun’s expression changed in response to his question and Charles asked, questioningly,

“Why? He doesn’t?”

“It’s not that.”

“So, he does?”

“I guess…”

“If he’s nice to you then he’s nice to you; if not, then he isn’t. What do you mean by ‘I guess’?” Charles retorted furiously to her indecisive response in irritation.

“Well, it’s not at all what I expected.”

“What isn’t?”

Se-eun, who had been hesitating for a while, told her about how Dowon came without contacting her first.

“He wasn’t always that kind of person.”

“…If it was that shocking, President Kang seems to be a pretty bad guy.”

“Honestly, that’s why  I wanted to meet him out of spite in the first place. This time, I’m going to meet him whenever and then leave him whenever I feel like.”

At her words, Charles smirked and nodded.

“Good job.”

“Am I really doing a good job?”

“Of course. That’s how you treat a man who doesn’t listen. Have as much fun as you want, but if he starts to hurt you, make sure to leave immediately. You have to manage that in order to keep your head clear.”

When Se-eun laughed at the words, Charles proudly continued, “Don’t accept him until he begs for forgiveness.”

“Hahaha, I guess so.”

She couldn’t imagine Kang Do-won begging for her forgiveness. However, after speaking with Charles, she felt a little better.

She decided to follow Charles’ advice as she made her way back to her seat. She would not relent until that man begged forgiveness for his wrongs.  She wasn’t sure if that day would come, but in the meantime, she was going to treat Do-won with that mindset.

Then, maybe she wouldn’t end up as hurt as she was before.

 

 

Friday night.

Se-eun rang the doorbell nervously. The security guard in front of the door urged her to take the elevator as soon as the front door opened.

She was glancing in the mirror and straightening her clothes after hitting the 17th-floor button when the door burst open. Do-won looked to be dressed in a comfy outfit. She felt a little odd seeing him wearing a sweatsuit because she had only seen him in suits lately. He didn’t look as cold and rational as usual, but rather like a kind and friendly man.

“What?”

She’d been staring at him blankly for far too long. With a suspicious expression on his face, Do-won asked, “Is there something wrong?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

With an awkward smile, Se-eun entered the house. She caught a whiff of a lovely smell coming from somewhere as she removed her shoes and approached the living room.

“Let’s eat first,” he said as he went to the kitchen area.

She placed her bag on the living room sofa and followed him to the table, where the meal was nicely served.

“Did you make this all on your own?”

Do-won made a face as if she had said something ridiculous.

“Of course not.”

For some reason, hearing the answer made her feel a sense of relief. She sat at the table, feeling embarrassed, and began to eat.

Do-won sat across from her and asked, “How do you know Charles Jung?”

“…I had a part-time job at the head office for three days when I was in school. I ran into Charles later, and he remembered me.”

“Did you join JnC after that?”

“Yes.”

“Were you in a relationship?”

“Not really.”

“What about Kim Jaehee?”

“We. Are. Not! In that kind of relationship!”

When Se-eun enunciated each word in her reply, he felt a bit embarrassed. Of course, that didn’t stop him from saying what he wanted to say.

“I asked since you seem to be so close to the two of them.”

“They helped me a lot.”

“……”

“But they have nothing to do with our relationship, right?”

Do-won looked dissatisfied, but he didn’t ask anything more. There was only a heavy silence at the table until the meal was over.

She could only hear the occasional sound of spoons and bowls colliding, pushing her rice around into clumps. Do-won’s cell phone began to ring when she had lost her appetite, holding unused chopsticks. Se-eun exhaled deeply as Do-won rose from his seat and went to the living room, sighing.

The call seemed to be a long one. Se-eun stood up and proceeded to clear the table after he hadn’t come out of the study in a long time. It didn’t take too much work since Do-won’s rice bowl was already empty.

She only heard Do-won’s voice when she was washing the dishes after clearing up the leftovers.

“I didn’t think you came here for that.”

“I simply cleaned up since I didn’t want to see the mess later,” Se-eun answered without looking back.

She heard his voice again after a while.

“I have to take care of things, so I’ll be in my study.”

“Sure.”

The dishes were done quickly. Se-eun went back to the living room and lingered in an unpleasant mood since she had nothing to do.

In the small room next to the living room, there was a TV large enough to fill one wall, but she was hesitant to watch it alone. She was also reluctant to go in and out of the study because Do-won would be working. Finally, she stood beside the window, staring outside with a blank expression.

It was awkward because it didn’t feel like a place she was supposed to be in. A place that doesn’t fit her, and her clothes made her feel out of place. Would she ever get used to this house?

Spending time alone in his living room for a short period of time would not have been uncomfortable if she was only friends with Do-won.

‘You did something really stupid, Jeong Se-eun.’

She sighed bitterly as she stood at the window.

 

 

In the afternoon, there was a meeting with the marketing department. Do-won rushed home a little earlier than usual because he wasn’t required to attend. JnC was about a half-hour drive away from his home. He went home early because he had no idea when Se-eun would arrive.

She did, however, arrive a little later than anticipated. And by that time, he had been waiting for what seemed like forever. The words “why are you arriving so late” were at the tip of his tongue when he noticed her expression as she exited the elevator.

Se-eun’s face was flushed with uneasiness.

Besides, the curtness she had in her voice last Monday was still there today. He thought she was too close to her boss, that’s why he asked her how she met Charles Jung. He had no idea her answer would be so harsh.

Was it so wrong to ask his woman about the men around her? Do-won snapped his mouth shut in frustration. As soon as he finished his meal, he received a call from the company.

The sales director was quite impatient. He probably contacted him as soon as the meeting, which lasted longer than anticipated, had ended. It was concerning something simple that could have waited ‘til Monday morning. It was all part of a plan that he was aware of, and the call went as expected.

Nevertheless, seeing as he was giving a detailed account of everything that happened without letting go of the phone, it was clear that he wanted to be complimented. Do-won hung up the phone after throwing out a few words that Director Cho wanted to hear. Like last week, he desperately wanted to hang up the call, but he persevered in consideration of Secretary Jeong’s sanity.

Se-eun was washing the dishes after eating when he returned to the kitchen after ending the call.

However, the moment he saw the scene, he was stunned.

Se-eun had definitely been here a couple of times, but she had never even left his bed, let alone go into the kitchen, in the previous week. But why did it feel so normal seeing her in the kitchen, as if it occurred every day?

By the age of twenty, he had become independent and had never been in a relationship. In fact, during his childhood, he didn’t get along with anyone he called “family”. Therefore, it was uncommon for his family to visit.

Thus he called Se-eun here since she wanted to keep their relationship a secret. There would be many people wondering about the identity of Kang Do-won’s lover if he spent every weekend in a hotel.

That was all he knew, but he had no idea why he was feeling this way.

So, when he purposely claimed she was doing something pointless, she, of course, responded with a stern tone, saying she just didn’t like seeing things messy.

His strange feeling vanished as soon as he heard Se-eun’s curt response, and he wasn’t sure if it was fortunate or not. Rather than wondering why she was so upset today, Do-won decided to check on Director Cho’s level of enthusiasm instead.

He returned to his study and spoke with Secretary Jung for a while, hearing that last week, Director Cho had dinner with Do-won’s grandfather.

‘For the time being, he must be excited thinking that he’ll finally get the chance to be promoted to the headquarters.’

When he opened his office door, he was surprised to find Se-eun standing in the living room by the window, thinking that she went to bed already.

The thought popped into his mind again. It looked so natural to see Jeong Se-eun standing there.

When Do-won came up behind her, he shook off his thoughts. Such strange thoughts would definitely disappear if he embraced Se-eun’s soft body and filled his desire.

“What are you looking at?”

“The night view.”

The bluntness from earlier had disappeared from her voice.

“Do you like it? “

“Yes, it’s really pretty.”

“Do you want me to buy you the house next door?”

Se-eun turned her head and looked at him with an absurd expression, then suddenly burst into laughter.

He had asked impulsively, but he wasn’t joking, so he didn’t know why she was laughing like that. With a lonely expression on her face, she continued to grin.

“If I look at it every day, it won’t look this pretty anymore.”

“But wouldn’t it be better to enjoy the view as often as you like?”

“You’re right, but you don’t have to buy the house next door.”

“Don’t you want it?”

“Just because I want it, doesn’t mean I can have it.”

“I just told you how you can get it, though.”

Then Se-eun laughed once again. But there was no sign of joy on her face.

“You don’t have to.”

Then she turned around and faced him.

“You’re the only thing I have now and that’s enough for me.”

Se-eun reached out her arms to embrace him by the neck and initiated a kiss with him for the first time. Do-won dropped his head and sucked on her lips without refusing. When he felt the shy touch of her tongue, her large chest, and soft belly, he naturally wrapped his arms around her body.

It had only been a week or exactly five days since he held Se-eun in his arms, yet it felt like it had been a long time. His addiction was satisfied by aggressively sucking on her lips. His biggest fear was that at the rate things were going, if he broke up with Jung Se-eun he’d die of thirst.

During the kiss, his hand that instinctively clutched her chest began to fumble with her clothes. He couldn’t find any buttons or zippers, no matter how hard he tried.

Finally, he pulled away from Se-eun’s lips and asked, “What kind of clothes are you wearing?”

“You can’t rip it off today,” she replied and chuckled.

“Okay, just tell me where the zipper is.”

Se-eun took his hand and placed it at the nape of her neck.

“There’s a button here.”

Then his hand slid down to her left side.

“Just relax.”

Her dress came loose and slipped down. With curious eyes, Do-won watched Se-eun take her dress off.

“Aren’t you wearing a lot of clothing underneath?”

“It’s just what I usually wear.”

A smirk formed on his lips the next second.

“Then it’d be lovely if you wore the dress alone.”

“What?”

Instead of responding, Do-won slid his knee between her thighs. Se-eun seemed annoyed with the way he pressed against the damp region between her legs. When he began leaning her back against the window, Se-eun showed signs of resentment and rage.

“Wait, are we going to do it here?”

“Why? You don’t like it?”

“If anyone sees us from the outside…”

“No one can see anything from the outside. I can open the window if you would like someone to see.”

“Are you crazy?”

Se-eun’s hand slapped him on the arm.

“I’ll- I’ll never do it here!”

“Really?”

“Yes!”

Then, she suddenly pushed him away and went into the bedroom as if she was running away, and Do-won slowed down to follow and stared at her back.

He noticed Se-eun laying on the bed with a blanket covering up to her neck when he opened the door. With one gesture he removed his shirt, then his pants and underwear. She turned her gaze away from his throbbing erection in embarrassment

With a triumphant smile on his lips, Do-won removed the blanket and wore a deep pout when he saw that she was still wearing her bra and underwear.

“Are you going to keep that on?”

“Take it off yourself if you don’t like it.”

He smirked and narrowed his eyes when he heard Se-eun respond in a sulky tone.

“You don’t mind?”

This time, she looked up with a confused expression. Then suddenly, her eyes widened when he positioned his length right under her nose.

“Suck it.”

She raised her hand and gripped his shaft gingerly. The moment his breath began to quicken in anticipation, she grabbed him with both hands and slowly parted her lips. When Se-eun’s lips pressed against his tip, Do-won felt the thrill rushing through his body.

Every bit of his shaft was slowly sucked by her pink lips. He grew larger every time her tongue swirled around his head. As Se-eun’s small fingers tightened around him, he pulled himself from her mouth because couldn’t wait any longer.

“Ah!”

Do-won spread her legs wide and buried his entire length inside her. She tightened around him as if to welcome his invasion. His mind blurred as his logic disappeared, and instinct took over his actions.

“Ah- Do- Do-won- Oh- Augh… Ah!”

His rough movements shook Se-eun uncontrollably. Do-won’s movements became more intense as her moans turned into whimpers. Like an insatiable person, he repeatedly embraced Se-eun’s body. Until night passed and dawn came, they kept going.

 

 

The following weekend was the same way. When Do-won returned home on Friday evening, he was looking forward to the evening. He refrained from scheduling anything after Friday afternoon in order to avoid interfering with Se-eun’s time with him.

However…

On Friday, which he had been waiting for, she delivered ridiculous news.

“I can’t come?”

-No.

“Why are you telling me this now…!”

-I’m sorry. It was decided this morning.

He definitely understood that Se-eun’s work was important. Something had happened at the company and it was completely out of her control. Although he knew this, he was still irritated by the fact that their time together had been interrupted.

“…What time does it end?”

-I don’t know exactly.

“So you can’t come today at all?”

-No.

“How about tomorrow?”

-I don’t think it’ll be done until tomorrow afternoon.

“…Alright. I’ll call you back.”

After the call disconnected, Se-eun sighed as she looked at her phone. She had apologized for not being able to tell him ahead of time, but she had no idea Do-won would be so angry.

In actuality, she didn’t have to stay behind today to clean up the warehouse. There were several employees available to do the work.

The inventory cleanup was just an excuse.

Her period started yesterday. Typically, she didn’t worry much because her cycle wasn’t constant, but it started yesterday. As a result, her mood was worst than it had been all week. Nevertheless, she lied about participating in inventory cleanup because she did not want to meet Do-won.

It was better to create excuses than to explain why her lower belly was freezing, her entire body ached, and she had to go in and out of the restroom more frequently. She felt sorry for Do-won, but she couldn’t help it.

Se-eun forced her unwanted lunch into her mouth with a push. After lunch, she changed into comfortable clothes and walked down to the warehouse after consuming two pills.

After that, time flew by.

In the warehouse, she divided clothes by type, checked the item number, counted the quality, and packaged them with the workers. Packed boxes began to fill up one side of the warehouse after repeating the process more than a dozen times. When she saw the boxes she felt fatigued, yet proud in some way. By the time she finished cleaning up, Se-eun arrived home late at night and fell asleep on her bed.

The next morning, she opened her eyes to the sound of the alarm, still half asleep. She hated the fact that she had to get out of bed, but she forced herself to get up, washed her face, and headed to work.

It was past 5 p.m. when all the remaining clothes were sorted. Se-eun returned home, in a bid to flee, leaving behind the employees, who hadn’t even drunk alcohol but were suggesting that they go have hangover soup. And, like a dead body, she collapsed on the bed.

She heard a rumbling noise from somewhere.

“Who…”

In her sleep she mumbled, frowning. She had never heard of construction beginning on Sunday morning. Her peace was restored after some time when the rumbling stopped. However, after a while, she heard the doorbell ring.

“Why are they doing this so early in the morning…”

It wasn’t until she opened her eyes with a scowl on her face that she noticed the sound was coming from the front door. She opened the door, expecting a reply from a solicitor, but she saw an unexpected face.

“Why are you here?”

Do-won raised one eyebrow at Se-eun’s absentminded question.

“Why weren’t you answering your phone?”

“When did you call…”

She paused at the thought that immediately came to mind at her unthinking retort.

Was the sound she heard earlier in her sleep the vibration of her phone?

“Are you going to keep me standing here?”

“Oh, well, come in.”

Do-won entered the room as soon as Se-eun had vacated the doorway. Do-won took a quick look around her room before sitting down on the bed. She couldn’t tell him not to sit there because there was nowhere else to sit.

“What brings you here so early in the morning? ” Although it was a little rude, she still asked in a sulking voice.

When she said that, Do-won’s eyebrows rose up once again.

“It’s almost 1 o’clock.”

She glanced sideways at the clock and saw the hands were pointing at 12:40 pm.

‘I really slept like a log.’

At that moment, Se-eun realized that she hadn’t even washed her face yet.

‘My hair must look messy too…’

“Hey, would you like a cup of tea?”

“Sure.”

She hurriedly boiled the water in the coffee pot and took out the green tea bag in the sink drawer.

“Drink it.”

She placed the green tea bag into the biggest mug she owned and Do-won accepted it without saying a word.

Se-eun went into the bathroom, brushed her teeth, washed up, and combed her hair as quickly as possible. Her entire appearance still looked quite pitiful because it was impossible to wipe away her wet eyes and dark circles.

“Why did you come here at a time like this…”

She patted her face several times with her palms to make her complexion look better and opened the door of the bathroom. He was sitting still in the same spot as earlier, drinking green tea. Do-won finally spoke as she stood in front of the dressing table in an awkward mood and applied moisturizer to her face.

“It must be convenient to be able to do everything in one place.”

The dressing table mirror reflected an unknown smile on his face.

“It’s a studio apartment, so there’s nothing I can do about it being small.”

“I didn’t mean it in a bad way.”

“But why are you here all of a sudden?” Se-eun turned around and asked, and he shrugged slightly.

“I wasn’t able to reach you and the weekend is the only time you’re free for a few hours.”

“…I’m sorry. I didn’t know because I was sleeping.”

“You must have been very tired.”

“It’s been a long time since I worked so hard.”

“You should have skipped it.”

“How can I do that? It’s something that all the employees should all do together,” Se-eun replied with a nagging tone.

“I heard that women are sensitive and suffer difficulties at times like this, right?”

“What?”

She blinked and gazed at the spot where Do-won’s eyes had stopped, not knowing what he was talking about.

Sitting on her dresser was a box of sanitary pads with the word “Overnight” written across it. It was exactly where she had left it when she returned home yesterday. With a disappointed expression on her face, she picked up her sanitary pads and headed into the bathroom.

He should’ve pretended not to see it.

She didn’t want to tell him about this, so she avoided it, but she ended up getting caught.

‘It’s so embarrassing…’

“Let’s go eat,” Do-won said and stood up as Se-eun exited the bathroom.

“Now?”

“Aren’t you hungry?”

‘Come to think of it, I do feel hungry.’

Se-eun put on an uneasy expression.

“I’ll change my clothes first, then we can go out.”

“Okay.”

He nodded but stood there staring at Se-eun.

“Get out first.”

“Why?”

“So I can change my clothes?”

“Why would that matter? I’ve seen everything already.”

Do-won was acting as if he didn’t know what she was talking about.

‘Today, he’s being a complete jerk.’

“I like to be alone when I change my clothes, so please go out and wait.” She raised her voice and pushed him towards the door..

After Do-won left the room with a puzzled look, she quickly changed her clothes and put on makeup. She didn’t think it’d be busy and hectic in the morning, no, afternoon.

Fortunately, Do-won didn’t go far. After filling her stomach at a nearby Ox Bone Soup restaurant, he dropped her off in front of her house and left with an icy demeanor. As she watched his car drive off, Se-eun went inside, feeling sorry for no reason.

And it was not until the front door was closed that she muttered, “But why did he come here? Did he just meet up to eat?”

 

 

Do-won felt disappointed. He waited for Se-eun to answer her phone all Saturday, yet she didn’t answer. On Sunday morning, he waited until 10 o’clock and called her, but she didn’t answer even after calling her a few times.

To be honest, at the time, he was a little angry. ‘Do you want to stop now?’ was one of the most prevalent thoughts in his head. So, he couldn’t stand it any longer.

He dashed down to the parking lot and got in his vehicle. Only after pressing the doorbell multiple times did Se-eun open the door. With her in front of him, Do-won’s anger, which had been boiling only a moment before, quickly dissipated.

She looked utterly exhausted.

Pale face, watery eyes, dark circles, and messy hair. Just looking at her made him feel apologetic.

He also noticed a box of sanitary napkins on her dresser while she was in the bathroom washing her face. Seeing women’s products out in the open for the first time made him feel uneasy, but he could see why Se-eun was trying to avoid meeting him.

That’s why Do-won made the decision to be considerate. As soon as they finished their meal, he drove her to her house. As soon as he saw Se-eun’s face in the rearview mirror, he felt embarrassed. For a moment, the look on her face made him smile. However, when he returned home and saw the quiet living room, he felt strangely empty.

It was such a ridiculous thought. Why did it look so empty? It had already been five years since he moved into this house. There was no reason for him to have thoughts like that.

From the time he took to shower, dried his hair, looked at the documents in the study, and ate alone in the kitchen, the feeling did not disappear.

Rather than disappearing, the feeling grew worse.

He didn’t want to be alone.

When he recalled watching Se-eun sit in front of the mirror as she applied moisturizer to her face, Do-won had no choice but to admit what he wanted.

To be with Jeong Se-eun was a dream of his.  When he was sitting at her house that morning, he found the atmosphere very comforting.

This uneasy feeling, which made him feel like he was lacking something, was disturbing his sense of well-being.

He applied pressure to his temples to help collect the strands of intrusive thoughts that were strangely increasing.

It made no difference whether there were one or two people living together. Because he had always been alone, he was perfectly okay being alone.

So this was just a temporary illusion.

The sex between the two is just so good that he craved the feeling of her in his arms as he slept in bed.

To the point that he needs Se-eun.

Such a dependent lifestyle, having his life filled by the presence of another, was completely unnecessary for a man like him.

“I should keep my distance,” he mumbled as he looked out of the living room window.

He didn’t even realize that it was the place where Se-eun had always stood.

Honestly, there was no other woman he felt comfortable with or suited his tastes in bed as much as she did. However, he couldn’t allow his emotions to be swayed. This was all because they had met after such a long time and had amazing sex.

He didn’t need this exhausting emotion at all.