Chapter 1 – Tangled Heat
(Eun-ji's POV)
Her lips were fire.
That was the only thought I could form as Shin Soo-min kissed me again, harder this time, and the world I thought I knew melted away. The room, the bed, the air in my lungs—everything shrank to her heat pressing into me and the taste of her mouth moving against mine.
My body didn't know whether to flee or cling, so it trembled, caught in between. My hands reached for the sheets, twisting them into fists, but she caught one wrist easily and pressed it into the pillow above my head.
"Still shy?" she whispered, her breath warm against my cheek.
Her voice sent a shiver straight down my spine. My throat tightened, but no words came. If I admitted my nerves, she'd laugh. If I lied, she'd see right through me. So I did the only thing I could—I turned my face toward her again, kissing her back desperately, letting my silence answer.
She chuckled, low and throaty, the sound vibrating against my skin. "That's what I thought."
Her lips trailed lower, brushing along the edge of my jaw, then down the column of my throat. My breath stuttered out, shaky and loud in the quiet of the room. The faint glow from the streetlamp outside spilled through the curtains, painting her hair with silver highlights.
I bit my lip as her hand slid beneath my shirt. My whole body jolted at the contact—her palm was hot, bold, pressing flat against my bare stomach. A thousand nerves lit at once, and I twisted under her touch.
"Soo-min…" My voice broke, more plea than protest.
Her answer was a soft graze of her teeth against my collarbone, followed by a soothing kiss. "Eun-ji," she murmured. "You sound so good."
I turned my face into the pillow, half-ashamed at the helpless sound she dragged out of me. But she wouldn't let me hide. Her hand caught my chin, tilting my face back until our eyes met.
Her gaze burned. Mischief still flickered there, but underneath it, something deeper, rawer. "Don't hide from me."
I froze, every muscle tense. My instinct had always been to cover up, to retreat into silence, to mask every flicker of vulnerability. That was how I'd been raised. That was how I survived. But the way she looked at me now made all my walls feel useless.
"You're beautiful," she said simply.
Heat spread across my cheeks so quickly it almost hurt. The words should have embarrassed me more, but instead they unlocked something, like a door swinging wide. My resistance collapsed, and I let my arms fall limp against the sheets.
Her eyes softened, her lips curving. Then she kissed me again, slow this time, coaxing rather than devouring. I melted into it, my chest pressing into hers, my fingers digging into her shirt, desperate to hold her closer.
Her touch wandered, her fingers drawing patterns along my waist before slipping lower. Each stroke sent a jolt through me. I couldn't keep quiet anymore—small, helpless sounds escaped my lips, every one of them betraying me.
"Eun-ji," she whispered, right against my ear. My name from her lips was no longer a tease; it was reverent, hungry, a vow and a sin all at once.
I gasped when her hand pressed more boldly. My back arched sharply, my head tipping back. "Ah—Soo-min—"
Her mouth curved into a wicked smile against my throat. "Say it again."
And I did. Again and again, her name tumbling from my lips until it dissolved into broken gasps. The tension inside me coiled tight, too much, too sharp, until it snapped. My body shook violently, my voice crying out in a pitch I didn't recognize as my own.
She kissed me through it, holding me as though she alone could keep me from shattering. Her hands stroked down my sides, her lips brushed my temple, her voice murmured soft nothings I couldn't catch.
When it passed, I collapsed against her chest, my body weak, trembling, damp with sweat. Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes, spilling hot down my temples.
She noticed immediately. Her thumb brushed them away. "Don't cry," she whispered. "You don't know what you do to me."
Her words tore at my chest. I wanted to tell her that she had no idea what she was doing to me either, but my voice was gone, strangled by the storm still echoing inside.
So I showed her instead. My arms slid around her neck, dragging her down to me again. My lips sought hers with urgency, clumsy but fierce.
This time, I wasn't passive. This time, I kissed her back with everything I'd ever held in, all the want and fear and longing I'd hidden for years.
Surprise flickered in her eyes, then something darker—delight. "That's better," she whispered before capturing my mouth again.
Her weight pressed me deeper into the mattress, her body molding against mine. I felt every curve, every line of her, and I wanted more. My hands roamed, timid at first, then bolder, exploring the heat of her back, the dip of her waist.
The sound she made when I touched her bare skin ignited something reckless in me. She shivered, a sharp breath leaving her lips, and for the first time I felt powerful. My shy heart swelled at the thought that I could undo her the way she undid me.
We tangled, over and over, until time blurred. The sheets were a twisted mess around us. The air thickened with our gasps, the soft creak of the bed, the rhythm of skin against skin.
Every time she pushed me to the edge, she coaxed me through it, then soothed me after, her kisses gentling, her voice murmuring my name like a lullaby. Every wave left me weaker, but hungrier, until I didn't know if I could ever stop.
By the time exhaustion claimed me, my body was trembling with both relief and ache. I slumped against her, my cheek pressed to her chest. Her heartbeat thudded beneath my ear, strong and steady, as if she hadn't just burned me alive.
Her arm draped over my waist, heavy and protective. Even half asleep, she held me close, refusing to let go.
I stared at the ceiling, my mind dazed, my body still humming with echoes of her touch. My throat was raw, my lips swollen, my skin marked with her kisses.
And in the fragile silence of that moment, one thought consumed me, circling again and again:
Where did all this begin?
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End of Chapter 1