CHAPTER 49

He sat on an armchair by the end of their bed. Resting his face on his palm, he gazed on his sleeping wife with a clear pained expression on his face. He closed his eyes as he let out a sigh, he buried his face on his hands for a while before one of his hands came to run his fingers through his hair. 




“How’s everything?” Yunho asked in a gentle tone, speaking the way he had spoken to his younger brother before… yet instead of feeling warm and happy about it the way Jiyong had felt listening to it before, his stomach turned as if sickened by the sound of it. 





Jiyong’s brow arched up, his hands curled into a fist on his knees as he kept his gaze away from his brother. 





“Everything was doing fine until you came back.” He replied with a hard cold tone. 





Yunho sighed and momentarily closed his eyes before he gazed on his younger brother. A grim blank line formed on his lips and his eyes fluttered in sadness upon seeing a stranger in his brother. Jiyong had grown distant, impassive and it was all because of him. His heart pricked in so much pain as he continuously looked at his younger brother, and with that, his gaze fell on the cemented ground. 






“And here I thought leaving was the most stupid thing I’ve done to you…” Yunho mumbled sarcastically. He knew he shouldn’t be acting like that, but he wanted to see some emotions from Jiyong… that it was better to receive a punch or a good beating from him than his excruciating silence. 






Jiyong’s head snapped towards him as his eyes held a stunned expression and gaze was piercing through him. 






“Why did you come back?” Jiyong asked in a sharp tone. 






Yunho’s jaw clenched… creases slowly formed on his forehead as he watched how anger completely filled his brother… his loving, warm and dependent brother had gone completely cold. And never had he wanted to cry not until he saw Jiyong’s state. 





“I’m sorry…” Yunho whispered in a wounded tone. 





Jiyong flinched from his brother’s words… that even though he had expected those words from Yunho, he couldn’t help but to feel the painful tug in his guts… scalding, tempting his self-control, and wanted to answer his brother’s apology with a hard punch on his face. But he won’t… he was not worth the effort. 






Jiyong’s lips curved out a bitter smile… mocking his brother’s apology, showing Yunho as if his words were off a joke even though deep inside it was tearing him inside. His apology was so hurtful, as if it was more like a slap on his face rather than to soothe him. The words that were supposed to mend the broken ties between them were offending. It wasn’t enough. Can’t Yunho see that…? Not a simple apology could take away everything… could change everything that happened… 






Yet… 






Jiyong’s eyes blinked as he watched the remorseful expression on his brother’s face. 






Where was all this hate coming from..? Jiyong couldn’t help but be confused. Did he really want for everything not to go the way it went..? That included meeting Dara… If his brother hadn’t left… if Yunho stayed and complied with every responsibility his parents had wanted him to do… 






Jiyong flinched from the thought… his heart ached upon thinking Dara being his brother’s wife. The thought was suffocating… never he had felt the urge of wanting someone as bad as this… and now seeing his brother back, he knew why the hate in him was worse than he should feel. 






It wasn’t only because Yunho left him all of his responsibilities… had taken his freedom away from him… ruined his trust... for seeing him again had brought Jiyong fear… triggering the hate in him beyond reason. 






Jiyong realized that by hating his brother because of his abandonment alone was petty… but because deep inside he was scared of his brother’s appearance… and the fact that Dara seemed like she already met Yunho by some incident had made that fear in him grew even more. 






What did they talk about? How long did they know each other? 






And many more questions filled his mind that it was becoming nerve-wrecking. 






Why… just now that everything was supposed to be on its proper place should his brother show up? 





When Dara had became his world should his brother come back and shake it…






He couldn’t feel anything but fear and hate… 






He glared at Yunho… jaw was clenched and chest was heavy from all the tension inside him. 






“If you’re truly sorry… you shouldn’t have come back. You left with a purpose and that was to run away from everything. And now, don’t expect everything to be on its place the way it was before because it wasn’t anymore and it’ll never be the same anymore.” Jiyong told him in a cold unwavering tone. 






Yunho gasped, watched his brother in surprise before his gaze softened. 






“But I just can’t let you change… not this way Jiyong. You hate me but you’re punishing yourself and the people around you.”






Upon hearing it, Jiyong felt his insides quivered. His brother’s words had once again brought back the memories of the things he had done to himself and to others, especially to Dara. And he wondered how his brother knew everything when he was not there to witness it… 






And just then, he suddenly thought of Dara… the look on her face when she saw Yunho… and the surprise in her voice and expression as she gazed his brother. She probably told him everything…






Jiyong suddenly felt shivers running through his spine upon remembering her talking about some guy she met at the beach… was it really Yunho? He felt his heart being squeezed imagining his wife running to his older brother for help… crying out to Yunho every pain that he had inflicted in her. 






Yunho had become her confidant… not knowing that he was supposed to be her husband, that if she was with him… undoubtedly she won’t be in pain. The expression on Jiyong’s face became unreadable. The fear was escalating through his veins… slowly suffocating him, slowly tearing him apart. 






“You don’t know anything…” He mumbled… mind was in clutter.






And it was Yunho’s turn to be mad. Despite the fact that he didn’t have the rights to be angry at his younger brother - remembering what Dara had went through… how he wanted to take the pain in her… how he wanted to shower her nothing but happiness and how he wanted to hate the person who was the reason of her agony, not knowing it was his brother - he was mad… hated Jiyong and especially himself for putting Dara through every pain that she didn’t deserve.






“I’ve seen her cry… I’ve seen her break and even though I’ve known her only for a short while it is enough for me to put a stop on this, after all it’s my entire fault. Jiyong… -“






Yunho’s expression softened as if he was in pain… which, the way he was feeling right now was beyond being hurt... never he was mad at Jiyong… and it was hard. 






“- she doesn’t deserve all of this… she’s a great person… she doesn’t deserve to be hurt like this… like the way you are doing to her right now…” 






Jiyong gasped… felt the hollowness of his mind and suddenly felt the urge of wanting to be buried deeply into the ground as he once again remembered every detail of what he had done to Dara. 






‘I know…’






‘That was before…’






‘That was before I woke up from all the lies I fed to myself…’






‘Before I fell in-love with her.’






He wanted to scream the words yet his voice was trapped inside him… his throat felt dry to the point that it was choking him. 







Yunho ignored Jiyong’s mortified reaction… and as if Yunho’s previous words were not enough to completely break him apart… his next words were worse than a blade, slicing through him… and had completely ripped him apart. 






“I came back not because I want money or anything Ji… I came back because I need to save Dara… she’s been hurt because of your selfishness. She’s not supposed to have this kind of life you’re giving her. She’s supposed to be mine in the first place… and so, I came back to get her… and give her the life she deserves and which you failed to give…”




Jiyong cringed from the memory of his encounter with his brother… 







Selfish? He talked about Jiyong being selfish... but what about him? What about the selfishness he had done when he left his younger brother to face all the responsibilities that he was supposed to shoulder? Jiyong couldn’t help but for his body to tremble from so much hate he was feeling right now. 






Was it selfishness that made him faced everything that his brother failed to do? Selfish, that it drove him to hurt everyone and lose trust even towards himself? And was he that selfish enough for him to feel the loathe towards himself whenever he would remember every pain he had inflicted to Dara and that until now… even she herself had told him she loved him… he just couldn’t erase to himself that he didn’t deserve that love? Were all of those things a product of what his brother had termed for… selfishness? 







Probably… especially that now… now that he had every reason to be selfish. Never had he wanted anything more than freedom when he felt love in Dara, because in her he could feel that freedom he had wanted before… in her warmth he found the satisfaction that any man could crave for and being in-loved with her was the greatest feeling he had ever felt. And how he wanted to tell his brother earlier that he can’t take Dara away… not now… not forever yet he stayed petrified, swallowed by his fear… gaping at his brother as Yunho told him those words… 






‘Does he love Dara…?’ Jiyong groaned from the thought. 







Just when everything was going the way they should be… 







“Oh God, is this my punishment?” he mumbled… tears were slowly filling the rim of his eyes. 






‘Can’t I really be happy? Can’t I really have what I had wanted?’ 







The thought of losing Dara was enough for the tears to run down the sides of his eyes. He immediately wiped it off and let out a long sigh. His gaze drifted up to his sleeping wife and for a moment he felt peace. 







The tremor inside his cluttered mind slowly faded; replaced with stillness as he continuously watched Dara’s sleeping form. 







The things she did to him… just even with the sight of her… uneasiness would vanish, replacing with the calmest feeling he could impossibly feel. And a small smile kissed his pale lips as he realized how impossible things became possible when it came to her. He even doubted she won’t calm a storm just with that sweet smile of her… 







As long as she was there… all reasons were right… he won’t think of the consequences… won’t think of what will happen tomorrow for he couldn’t and wouldn’t attempt to imagine a lifetime without her, unable to spend nights like this… couldn’t touch her or even watch her in her sleep. 







Just then, Dara stirred in her sleep. She reached beside her and when she found the space empty… her eyes slowly fluttered open. 







“Jiyong…” Her sleepy, alarmed voice echoed across the room. Soft, sweet voice that caressed his ears… oh how beautiful his name sounded when it came from her lips. He closed his eyes for a moment, savoring the sound of her voice… taking in little pleasures such as this deep in his bones. 







As he opened them, he watched his wife in amusement… the restlessness was gone in his system as rested his arm on the armrest and cupped the side of his face with his hand. The smile on his lips was inerasable as he took in the image of his newly awake beautiful wife. Seated on their bed, rubbing her eyes like a child as her hair messily tumbled on her small shoulders… 







She looked so adorable… beautiful and breath-taking and he wouldn’t get tired from watching her. And the longer he did, the more he had craved to touch her. 







He stood up from his seat and finally, their eyes locked under the dim light of their room. 







Worry tainted her beautiful face and he couldn’t help but to flinch from the sight of it. He wanted to kiss her worries away… wanted her to just feel the warmth of his love and nothing more. 







He sat beside her on the bed; he saw her sighed, probably relieved to know that he was still there… and how he wanted to tell her that he didn’t want to be anywhere but in her arms. But he stayed silent… wearing a warm smile on his lips and a calm expression on his face; he watched the forming creases between his wife’s brow. And with that, he reached for Dara… cupped the side of her face and watched how her eyes fluttered close upon feeling his warm hand. One of her hands came up and placed it on top of his. 







“I thought you left again… you suddenly made me worried.” Dara whispered.







Jiyong’s smile grew wider. His other hand came up to cup the other side of her face. Dara’s eyes slowly opened and gazed up to see Jiyong looking at her with those warm brown eyes. 







Without another word, Jiyong leaned down as he pulled Dara’s face. Their lips touched briefly before he spoke. 







“I terribly want you right now…” He spoke against her lips… the huskiness of his voice brought tingles against her skin, making her feel hot. 







He gazed down on her lips… his forehead against hers as he waited for her words. 






Dara blushed upon hearing him. She thought he left again. She thought she would go through to worrying about him again. And when she found him watching her, she couldn’t explain how relieved she was and now, hearing him spoke of those words were just too overwhelming. And who was she to deny him for she herself had wanted to feel him as well… be enveloped in his arms all day if it was possible. 






“Make love to me Jiyong…” her soft voice were enough for him to squeeze her face between his hands, to latch his lips with her in much fervor and for the urge to be deep inside her quickly grew.







He kissed her as if he hadn’t kissed her just a while ago. Dara closed her eyes as she titled her head to the side and kissed him back. Her hands were on both sides of his neck, holding on to him as he slowly pushed her back down their bed. His kiss felt so desperate as he sucked her lips… nibbled it, eagerly wanting to taste more. He parted her lips with his tongue… easily slipped in the soft flesh and found hers. She trembled as she felt his tongue inside her mouth… tasting every corner of her mouth… mating with her tongue, sucking the life out of her. 







She moaned inside his mouth as one of his hands traveled down her sides, caressing her curves… her back arched off the bed as he pulled the end of her nightgown up her thighs and caressed her bare hips. 







He settled between her legs… grinding himself against her warm, damped core, letting her feel the stiff, hard lust, nestling between his legs. 







He wanted her now… all the tension inside his body from the moment Yunho appeared until those confusing thoughts invaded his mind had been building up inside him… and he wanted to let it all out… like this… with her… He knew, only in her arms he would feel comfort and he will have comfort now. 







With that, he pulled out from their kiss… Dara threw back her head with a loud moan as Jiyong kissed her down her neck… sucking her pale flesh… marking her as his. 







Her fingers tangled in his hair as he kissed the hollow of her throat… down her collar bone and settled his lips on her bare shoulder... he groaned out her name as the need to be inside her slowly became unbearable. 







One of his hand came up to pull down the strap of her nightgown… exposing her… releasing one of her breast. 







Her nipples hardened from both the coldness of the night and hotness of her own arousal and it wasn’t long enough for Jiyong’s mouth to soothe it… his teeth grazed on the sensitive bud which made Dara’s body to tremble and arched off the bed to feel his mouth more. 







Her fingers tightened its hold on his hair as he squeezed her other breast with his other hand over the thin silk of her nightgown. 







Her breathing slowly became fast and heavy… the warmth inside her abdomen scorched and the dampness between her legs trickled… oh how much she wanted to tell him to take her now… yet her words were swallowed by her moans… she could only wait… torturing herself from his sinful touch. 







“Jiyong…. hmmm… please…”







Her voice trembled… tears filled her eyes from too much pleasure… she could feel herself slowly reaching her edge. His tongue circled her nipple one last time before he pulled out with a pop and gazed up at the lust-filled expression on her face. 







“Oh… God, Dara…” He groaned as he reached for his boxers and pulled it down to release his aching member… 







He took a short intake of breath as his sensitive dick brushed against her thigh. 







He lifted her hips and reached inside her nightgown to pull down her now drenched under wear, only managed to release one of her legs from it and let it dangle on the other. 






He leaned down to kiss her again… in haste… desperate… the end of her nightgown pooled on her waist as he spread her legs wider and pulled her towards him. 







Dara watched him in half-lidded eyes… her back arched off the bed once again and her mouth formed into ‘o’ as Jiyong eased himself inside her in a one swift move. 







They both groan from the intrusion. She was wet… tight and so warm that he feared for a moment that his self-control would fail him and he would explode inside her immediately. 







Dara reached for him and draped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for another kiss. He settled on top of her for a while, not moving… letting her adjust from him. With one of his arms wrapped around her waist as the other hooked her leg on it… he began to move.







Dara shut her eyes close and bit her lip, containing her moans… Jiyong’s head settled on her shoulder… beads of sweat began to form on his forehead as he kept his slow rhythm… savoring the feeling of her wet tight core. 






And as he couldn’t control his moans… he latched his lips on her bare shoulders… molesting her soft skin as he sucked and bit on it. 






Dara gripped on his back… fisting on his sweat-drenched shirt as her body writhed from the pleasure. She grinded her hips… lifted it to meet his slow deep thrust and when she felt she wanted more, her other leg wrapped around his waist… pushing his hips. 






“More… uhhh… please… Ji… uhh…” 







And upon hearing it… he released her leg from his other arm… let it wrapped around his waist, joining the other. Both of his arms circled along her waist and he began pummeling harder and faster inside her… 







Both their moans became louder… joining the sounds of their meeting flesh… their clothes became drenched from their joined sweats… as their bodies writhed against each other. 






His thrust became faster and more demanding… while her breathing became heavier and faster. They were both near the edge of their desire yet still wanted more. 






“Dara… Dara… I love you…” 






He mumbled over and over again as he gazed on her face. She kept her eyes closed her lips were parted as she was too drowned as the overwhelming pleasure flooded through her… unable to hear him say the words.







“Oh God Jiyong…!” She gasped out the words as her body trembled and arched from her release.






With that, he leaned down and took her lips… felt her squeezed him… felt her walls quivering around him as her warm juices coated his hardness. And it didn’t take a while for his face to contort… his body stiffened and strings of hot sperm shot through her womb. He thrust in her for a while, emptying himself before he completely collapsed on top of her. 







They were both panting… spent and satisfied… He stayed on top of her for a while… not wanting to break their connection but when she moaned from his heavy weight… he sighed and pulled out from her and rolled over to her side. 







After a while a smile crept on his lips as he gazed on his wife… she still looked so beautiful even exhausted… the afterglow of their love making outlined her beauty even more.






Despite his tired body, he sat up and righted both of their clothes before he laid down beside her. She was on her side… gazing up at him with her beautiful rounded eyes. 







He scooped her in his arm and pulled her closer to him and kissed her on her forehead. And just then he felt her drawing circles on his chest… he gazed down and looked at her in wonder. 






Dara smiled at him before she reached up and pecked on his lips. 






“I love you too Jiyong…” 






He was startled for a moment before his smile grew wider. Hearing those words from her were enough to make the uneasiness completely gone in him. He knew he shouldn’t fear whatever may happen. They both loved each other… and that was what it all mattered. 






--






Their breakfast was in complete silence… only the sounds of their utensils clinging against each other could be heard. Just this morning, as they woke up in each others arms… Jiyong and Dara both had inerasable smiles on their lips not until Jiyong found his parents in the dining table. He almost forgot about them… almost forgot everything that happened yesterday aside from making love to his wife. 






Dara stayed at his side… holding his hand… squeezing it in comfort and whenever he would stop from eating and gazed angrily at his parents. He looked like some kid or a wild beast that needed to be held by his trainer. Yet his was grateful for Dara’s presence… he wanted to be civil as long as possible and he didn’t want to make her worry even more. 






“Jiyong… you need to talk with your brother.” And there went his father, finally breaking the deafening silence. 






Jiyong completely stopped from eating this time. Settling his plate aside, he gazed at his father. He could see Dara at the corner of his eyes; looking at him in worry again… he reached for her hand and held it tight on his thigh. 





“I already did… last night…” he said in a cold, hard tone…





He glanced at Dara for a moment… answering her question as to where he went last night, before he gazed back to his father. He saw the confused expression on his parents’ face but he stayed impassive, wanting for this conversation to end sooner. 






“What… how did it went? Jiyong, Yunho was very sorry for leaving us… you…” 






His mother uttered sadly… and he flinched upon hearing how Yunho was sorry. No, he was not… he wanted to tell them. He was not sorry because apparently, he was back to ruin everything again… 






“And how’d I wish he didn’t come back…” He watched the horror in his mother’s face. He didn’t want to hurt her feelings but it was inevitable… for once, he wanted them to know that they couldn’t control him all his life. 






“Jiyong… stop acting like a child. You didn’t want running the business… and now that you’re brother’s back… you are now free to do what you want… isn’t that what you want?”





Mr. Kwon was exhausted from reaching out for his youngest son... he didn’t want for those words to sound cruel as they had… yet how could he do this when he didn’t even know what Jiyong wanted.






Jiyong’s brows slowly met, the hold on Dara’s hand became tighter that made his wife gasp from pain… anger filled him upon hearing what his father said. 






‘Free to do what you want…’





The words chanted in his mind over and over again. 






He felt sick… after everything he went through? They will just dispose of him as if he was just some kind of substitute. Now that his brother was back… they will easily set him aside and give everything back to his brother? He never felt so used before… just what was he in this family?






“Jiyong…” 






And just then, Dara’s voice broke him out from his trance. He blinked, gazed down on their hands and immediately released her hand from his tight grasp. Yet Dara didn’t let go as she held his hand again and smiled at him despite the worry that was clear in her eyes. 






Oh how he wanted to run from all of this and just be with her… Freedom was at arm’s length yet it was his pride that prevailed this time. With that he gazed up to his parents… his eyes filled with anger. 






“No.” He told them, and his parents looked at him in wonder. Mr. Kwon stiffened on his seat as Jiyong looked at him with such coldness in his eyes. 






“I worked hard to get to this point… you will not dispose of me after all the things I’ve went through… you will not do this to me again. You will not tell me what to do just what you’ve done to me before. I will finish what I’ve started and not because your other son’s is back it doesn’t mean something will change. I forgave you for what you’ve done to me before… but if you keep on running my life for me… God help me, I may forget you are my parents.” 






The stunned expressions on his parents’ face were enough for Jiyong to know that he made his point clear. He didn’t know if his decision was right yet feeling superior for once… being the one to make decisions for himself for a change felt completely different and good. 






He stood up from his seat… holding on to Dara’s hand, he slightly tugged on her. Dara on the other hand, gazed on Jiyong’s parents… her heart was breaking from what was happening… and she was confused as to why was Jiyong doing this…






She gaze up… met her husband’s cold eyes before he smiled down to her. 






“Come… I’ll drive us.” 






She hesitated… wanted for everything to be settled first yet she didn’t even know if it was possible now to repair this broken ties between Jiyong and his parents. With a heavy sigh she glanced to Jiyong’s parents who nodded at her, their eyes looked at her apologetically as they smiled at her. And even before Jiyong’s mom could bid them goodbye, Jiyong pulled her and dragged her out of the house. 







He guided her inside his car and quickly went to the driver’s seat. Without another word, he sped off… driving fast… just to get away from their house as quickly as possible. He was driving really fast and Dara felt scared for a moment that she held on to her seat. And when she noticed him drown in his thoughts… she held on to his arm and called on to him. 







Jiyong finally slowed down his car. Sighed and swerved to the side and parked his car. 







He unbuckled both their seatbelts and without another word, he pulled her into his embrace. Squeezing her body in his arms, he inhaled her scent and closed her eyes, seeking for refuge in her warmth. 







Dara was stunned for a moment before she wrapped her arms around him as well and gently stroked his back. 







“I don’t know what to do anymore…” She heard Jiyong mumbled.She settled her head on his shoulder and kissed it as she continuously stroked his back, calming him. She wanted to tell him that everything will be fine… everything will pass and worries will end yet she didn’t. Not when she herself was not sure about it. After a while, he let out a long sigh. 







“I don’t want to go to school…” 








This time, Dara finally managed to smile from his words…for a moment, he sounded like a child. She bit her lower lip before speaking. 







“We can skip if you want.” 






And with that, Jiyong pulled out from their hug and looked at her with raised brow. 






“What a bad influence you are…” He teased and it was enough to make Dara blush and look down. 






“I just thought… you wanted… well… it was just a suggestion-“







Jiyong chuckled and lifted her chin up to meet his gaze. He smiled at her flushed expression before he leaned down and pecked on her lips. 







“Let’s go somewhere, shall we…” He looked at her with warm eyes… far from those piercing cold eyes from earlier. Oh how she wished he would be like this at all times… yet life was too cruel on him… driving him to become a man she had feared in him before… 







She nodded and buckled herself on her seat again… she gazed outside the window. The blue sky gazed over them, the sun shined brightly indicating a bright new day… and she knew that being with Jiyong would always have a beautiful new day she would always look forward to… despite the heart aches and the pains during its darkest hours.