Affectionate Obsession - Chapter 22

Junhyeok got out of the car with hasty movements after parking.

From the building corridor connected to the parking lot to getting into the elevator.

He seemed rushed, as if being chased by someone.

His gaze, fixed on the changing numbers on the display, was the same.

Junhyeok was uncomfortable throughout.

Finally, the elevator stopped and the doors opened. As if he had been waiting, he stepped out and quickly brought his fingers to the door lock.

The door, tightly shut as if it wouldn’t open, parted, and bright light poured out.

Catching a familiar scent that wafted strongly to his nose, Junhyeok entered the house without hesitation.

“Yeonhee, I’m home.”

He announced his return from work, but no voice greeted him.

Still, Junhyeok wasn’t uneasy.

The warmth, filled with Yeonhee’s scent, enveloped his entire body in an instant. Moreover, a fragrant smell pierced his nostrils.

That alone gave him the conviction that Yeonhee was somewhere in this house.

It had been a week already.

An inexplicable anxiety had plagued him every morning as he left for work.

He barely endured the day filled with impatience and returned home, only to embrace Yeonhee as if she had been waiting.

Then, his stiff, aching heart would regain its peace.

This was the routine that had been maintained for a week, up to today.

Junhyeok stopped at the entrance to the kitchen.

“……”

Junhyeok’s eyes, staring blankly at one spot, were fixed on a silhouette far too familiar.

It was Yeonhee’s back.

Unaware of his presence, Yeonhee moved busily, engrossed in whatever she was making so diligently.

Junhyeok strode towards her. Standing at a spot where he could reach her with just an outstretched hand, he firmly pulled her waist and embraced her.

“Ah…!”

Startled by the unexpected physical contact, Yeonhee let out a short scream.

To reassure her, Junhyeok buried his face in her neck and kissed every spot his lips touched.

“It tickles, you idiot.”

Yeonhee, her tension seemingly eased, grumbled with a pleased laugh.

“What were you doing?”

Junhyeok whispered into her ear with an unusually tender voice.

He already knew what she had been doing, without needing to hear it.

Doenjang jjigae was bubbling on the stove, and a cutting board with rolled omelet lay before her.

Everywhere his gaze swept, everything he saw indicated she was preparing dinner for him.

Yet, he asked what she was doing, because he wanted to hear it directly from her voice.

About who she was doing it for and what she was doing.

“I was making dinner. You were almost home.”

The answer he had fully expected came back.

But it wasn’t anticlimactic at all.

Instead, his heart pounded wildly.

He wished he could stop time right then and there.

“It smells delicious.”

“It’s ready. Go wash up.”

“Okay.”

Junhyeok replied briefly. Yet, he didn’t loosen his grip on Yeonhee’s waist.

“I told you to go wash up, idiot.”

“Okay, I will.”

Yeonhee urged him, but Junhyeok didn’t budge. He didn’t want to let go. He felt he couldn’t.

This moment with Yeonhee felt like a dream. He felt that if he let go, she would vanish like a bubble.

Even though he held her so tightly, even though her scent, which he inhaled repeatedly, was so vivid.

Still, he felt anxious.

He wished he knew how to quell this anxiety, but there was no one anywhere who could give him the answer.

“Junhyeok.”

After clinging to her like a child for a long time.

Yeonhee finally managed to turn around and meet his eyes. Junhyeok couldn’t bear even that brief moment and kissed her reddish lips.

The sound of their lips meeting and parting echoed clearly in the space.

Yeonhee’s face, slowly closing and opening her eyes, was reflected in Junhyeok’s persistent gaze.

Even that sight was unbearably stimulating.

The desire he was barely holding back began to heat up intensely. The voice in his mind urging him to hold her tighter rang in his ears.

However, Junhyeok took a step back.

He had given in to his instincts and tormented her relentlessly until yesterday.

He felt he shouldn’t today.

If only for Yeonhee’s sake, who had prepared dinner for him with such care.

“I’ll go wash up.”

Junhyeok said, his lips curving upwards. Then he quickly turned and walked away.

Yeonhee’s gaze towards him was so wistful.

So much so that he couldn’t grasp what she was thinking.

Perhaps it was Yeonhee’s wistful gaze that had pushed him into the anxiety he couldn’t resolve for the past week.

The more he thought about it, the faster he had to walk.

If he didn’t distance himself from her quickly, he felt he would torment her to the point of collapse again today, demanding to know what she was thinking.

He didn’t want to use his time with Yeonhee like that.

It seemed like a cold shower would be best today.

“Did you meet with your mother?”

Junhyeok, who had just taken a spoonful of doenjang jjigae, asked Yeonhee casually.

Yeonhee, who had been lost in thought, perhaps expecting Junhyeok’s reaction, stiffened for a moment.

It was a fleeting moment.

Quickly composing her expression, Yeonhee smiled brightly as if nothing had happened and nodded.

“Yes, I did.”

“Is she not feeling well or anything?”

Yeonhee nodded, her face somehow awkward.

She felt uncomfortable. She couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable.

Since meeting Sera, she hadn’t visited Yeonjeong even once. But she lied to Junhyeok every day, using Yeonjeong as an excuse.

It was the only way to avoid his calls that came at all hours.

She simply didn’t have the confidence to answer Junhyeok’s calls. Spending evenings with him after he returned from work was already a considerable ordeal.

Her time with him was so sweet, yet her heart was never at ease for a single moment.

Sera’s words from that day kept echoing in her ears.

Moreover, Sera had been contacting her every day since that day.

It would be best to move Ms. Shin Yeonhee’s belongings while Mr. Jung Junhyeok is at work. I will move in after you clear it out in the morning.

-2 days ago –

It wasn’t an act done without compensation, but regardless, since she lost her job because of me, I’m thinking of looking for a place for Ms. Shin Yeonhee to live.

-Yesterday –

It would be good for Ms. Shin Yeonhee’s mother to move to the countryside and continue her treatment. So, I’m looking into hospitals. In two to three days, I should be able to arrange both the hospital and the place Ms. Shin Yeonhee will stay.

As if determined to suffocate her, Sera’s messages arrived precisely once a day, at a set time.

She didn’t reply. Yet, the next morning, a new message would arrive under Sera’s name.

It was just a message, but that trivial matter completely ruined Yeonhee’s day.

Sera was arranging for Yeonjeong’s hospital and even securing a place for her to live, yet Yeonhee felt more uncomfortable than she ever had in her life.

How could she fully enjoy her time with Junhyeok then?

She needed time to think. Although it wasn’t a matter where she was given a choice from the beginning, she felt she at least needed time to steel her resolve.

This time, once she left Junhyeok, she must never appear before him again. Giving him the same wound twice, how could she have the nerve to face him?

She resolved to avoid him, even by chance. She planned to be more ruthless and cautious than when she left him the first time.

Having done it once, doing it a second time shouldn’t be difficult.

However, Yeonhee lacked the confidence to even leave Junhyeok.

To be honest, she didn’t want to leave.

She already knew from experience. How terrible and difficult the time spent without him was.

She cried hidden under her blankets every day, and lived in a daze for over a year.

Even while working hard to earn money, she moved like a ghost, her face devoid of expression.

Living like that, she thought she couldn’t go through it a second time. Yet, she had to do it again.

Sigh…

A sigh rose to her throat.

Yeonhee put down the chopsticks in her hand and hid her hands under the table.

She curled her fingers into a fist. The force of her grip made her nails dig into her flesh, but she didn’t care.

She felt she could endure it only by doing so.

Just then, Junhyeok’s voice suddenly pierced her ears.

“What’s wrong? Is your mother not feeling well?”

Yeonhee looked at Junhyeok with a startled expression. She had been lost in thought and had forgotten she was eating with Junhyeok.

Yeonhee forced a smile and shook her head.

“No. No, it’s nothing like that. She’s fine. She’s just become a bit more prone to complaining. When one is sick, it’s hard, isn’t it? The mind weakens along with the body. She wasn’t like this until recently, but she seems to be like that lately.”

As if it had become a habit over the past week, the lies flowed out smoothly.

Afraid she would reveal her inner thoughts if she continued to meet his gaze, she quickly picked up her spoon again.

She swallowed the steaming doenjang jjigae without even waiting for it to cool.

Her tongue stung from the heat, but she smiled widely, pulling the corners of her mouth up.

“How does it taste? It seems a bit salty.”

She couldn’t taste anything. So, she hoped Junhyeok would tell her.

That it seemed a bit salty, too.

She wished he would just focus on his meal again. She desperately hoped he wouldn’t notice that her inner state was more complex than ever.

But her wishes were never easily granted.

Junhyeok, who had remained silent, put down his spoon.

“Yeonhee.”

Then, he called her name in a gentle voice.

Support Affectionate Obsession