Chapter 178 – 27. Bridge Building (1)
27. Bridge building (1)
Kieran, who went out to a convenience store to learn the geography of the neighborhood and ate at a restaurant he had never seen before, felt that the atmosphere of the house when he returned was unusual. Of course, William, who always comes in late, couldn’t help feeling empty because he wasn’t home, but Jessica usually turns on all the lights in the house to get rid of that feeling and busily walks around the house, but today it wasn’t there. The lights were off in the living room, kitchen, and her own room, as well as Jessica’s room, which must have been at home.
However, as he understands, Jessica should be at home during this time. Jessica’s daily routine is to make a video call with her boyfriend in the United States, her hometown far away from home at exactly this time. It wasn’t like that every day, but it wouldn’t be strange to say every day. She tried to see her boyfriend’s face for this time.
It didn’t take anyone to know that her long-distance relationship wasn’t easy, but Jessica was still in love with her boyfriend over the Internet. But it cannot be denied that it is hard work. Because the face you see on the screen and the face you see holding hands are vastly different. Sometimes she wants to quit all of this and go back to America, and sometimes she is tempted to make love with another man who can put her skin to flesh here. And it culminates when the lonely, stressed-out two finally stop caring for each other.
“Jessica?”
Kieran calls out to her at the cold energy that lingers in the empty living room, but she doesn’t answer. Instead, the closer she gets to Jessica’s room, the more she feels the presence of her feeble person. There is a rustling sound, trying to suppress something, but not being able to suppress it easily, making breathing difficult.
Her door was open. The lights were off and only the flickering light of the cellphone on the bed occasionally illuminated the owner of her room. In her pitch-dark space, the glimpse of Jessica was squatting on top of the duvet on her bed, her arms wrapped around her raised knees and her head buried between hers. Judging from her posture, she couldn’t see her face, but Kieran noticed her right away. She was crying
“Jessica? Are you okay?”
Perhaps worried that she might reject her, Kieran crossed the threshold of her room and approached her before stopping. But Jessica, who buried her head, doesn’t respond. Jessica lifted her head and showed her face to Kieran, who took a few steps forward, slowly, naturally, but deliberately, like a zookeeper walking into a cage at the zoo.
She was dark and hard to see, but there were clearly tear marks on her face. Maybe it’s because it’s hard to live abroad, away from her family. No, judging by what she’s doing at this time of hers, there’s probably something wrong with her boyfriend on the love front. Although they were like her distant relatives, her Kieran genuinely liked and cared about her, so she asked in a worried voice.
“Have you had problems with your boyfriend?”
“…”
Jessica kept her mouth shut and didn’t answer. But by this point, she knew what had happened to her.
“Have you ever met another woman?”
Jessica shook her head. She was sorry to be asking, but she asked Kieran again because there was nothing as meaningless as comforting her without knowing anything.
“Then did you fight? Something else?”
“…”
Jessica pondered for a moment, then nodded her head. Her face, reflected in the flashing light of her cell phone in the dark, was heartbreaking, pitiful, and beautiful. Kieran was speechless at her beauty for a moment, swallowed her saliva, and asked again.
“Why did you fight?”
“…It was just, nothing. Talking about the Halloween party, he must have hated something.”
It is not polite to dig further than this. If Jessica herself wants to talk more, she might not know, but here is the limit to the depth that Kieran, a stranger who has just been reunited, can enter. Instead, he kept her quiet and wondered what he could do to comfort her.
They aren’t close enough to hug each other and comfort each other, but they’re not so far apart that you can ignore them by saying, “I heard you well.” And even if he, a man, tries to comfort her clumsily, it may backfire on her, so words should be sparing.
After thinking for a moment, Kieran got out of bed. After begging her pardon without looking back at her, he returned to his room and rummaged through his unfinished belongings.
Kieran returned a few minutes later and asked Jessica if he could turn on the light. No matter how sad and difficult he was, she knew that she couldn’t stay like this forever, so Jessica nodded her head. Kieran, seeing the shadows swaying up and down in the dark, turned on the lights, and Jessica frowned at the burning fluorescent lights. However, as her eyes adjusted to the changed brightness, she saw a small snack Kieran held out in front of her.
“What is this?”
“I brought you some sweets. I want to eat But I thought it might help Jessica too.”
Kieran opened her package, pulled out her cookies from inside, and handed them to her. It was something that Jessica was also very familiar with – not very tasty or her favorite snack – but it was one of those snacks she often ate when she was little.
For humans, food has a taste that remains in the memory for a long time, like a familiar song, smell, and touch. The moment you taste the taste again, the situation and scenery when you tasted the taste in the past come to mind. The taste that we accept while reminiscing about the past gives people more than the happiness it can create.
Jessica wiped her tears and put another snack in her mouth. What should I say? Not much to say. A great taste and a great impression? No, that’s not it. But a little, a little more comfortable than before. It’s still lonely, it’s still sad, it’s still hard, but it’s a little better than before.
“Thank you.”
“Huh.”
Jessica sat on the bed with her back against the wall, and Kieran sat on the edge of the bed and shared snacks. The cookies, which were quite large, also disappeared one by one, and as she licked the crumbs off her fingers, Kieran said to Jessica.
“There are other snacks, shall we bring them?”
“…Huh. Okay.”
“Oh, but thinking about it, I can’t.”
“Why?”
Kieran turned her head to look at her and gave her a mischievous smile.
“It’s expensive, so no.”
“Ahaha. What. Would you like some money?”
He shook a small, woman-sized hand befitting his small stature.
“It’s a joke. Instead, let me and my sister take a tour of the school.”
“Is that so? Tomorrow… No, there is a break the day after tomorrow.”
Kieran nodded her head and said as he left the room.
“If possible, introduce me to your sister’s friends as well.”
After the party, So-dam, worried about how to see Jun-hee, was relieved to know that Jun-hee did not care. Yes, she has known Junhee for several years. It’s been a long time since we’ve cared for and loved each other like our other halves, but there’s no way the relationship will collapse because of that much jealousy.
However, such relief was short-lived, and after being called by her brother-in-law, she headed for his office, fearing what kind of humiliation she would face this time. Many thoughts swirled in her head. She didn’t want to give herself up to Hyung-min, but she decided that she would do it for Jun-hee. However, Hyung-min was ignoring his body and treated her as a baby. She can’t decide how to accept Jun-hee and Hyung-min, who seem to have become more intimate while still maintaining a relationship, in the midst of a conflict between his abnormal desire to be recognized as an adult and adult woman and the normal reason to avoid sexual entertainment. There was no
Trying to calm her small heart, she opened the door to Hyung-min’s office. However, what Sodam saw in it was much more unexpected than expected. Another man she had never seen before stood next to Hyungmin who was sitting in her seat.
“Oh, is it a rumor? Say hello He is the president.”
The man whom her brother-in-law introduced as her president stared at her as she sighed as she received her sodam’s greeting.
“Is he that…?”
“Yes. This is a friend of a boy named Junhee whom you saw the other day. He boldly came looking for him to replace him.”
So-dam was taken aback by the professor’s confidently revealing a secret between her and her brother-in-law. However, seeing the president’s indifferent reaction, she noticed right away. That they are a team. Of course, the truth, unlike her thoughts, was closer to being hostile to each other than a team, but from Sodam’s point of view, there must have been no difference.
“But he seems so… How to say… Young? Is it a ploy to get a middle school student and tie me up?”
“I beg your pardon!?”
Sodam shouted in anger at the words of the president, who spat out doubts. She soon realized she had made a mistake and put her hand over her mouth, but the attention of her two sixties was already on her.
“So, are you not underage?”
At the words of the president, who seemed to be laughing at her, or rather, laughing at her, Sodam could not stand it again and jumped at him.
“I am a college student! Are your eyes bad because you’re old!?”
The university president, Gi-joong, was immediately angry at her rude words, but soon the anger turned into an interest in playing with this cheeky girl.
“No matter how you look at it, he’s a middle school student… So is this chest.”
Then, the moment her outstretched arm touched her chest, Sodam swung her arm and she cut off the hand of the president of the school she attended. Gi Joong-do, Hyung-min, and So-dam himself were also surprised by the unexpected blow, but at least Hyung-min was relieved to see the president smiling as if he was having fun again. This little college girl, who came to replace her sweetheart, succeeded in getting the attention of her rival.
“Are you sure you’re a grown woman?”
“That’s right. I’m not really kidding…”
“Then do you have a boyfriend?”
Sodam hesitated for a moment, then she answered.
“Because there was. Not now but.”
“So did she suck his dick too?”
“Muh, what!”
This time she was more hesitant than before, and her brother nodded her head at her unable to answer. Sodam, who wrapped her arms around her upper body, closed her mouth for a moment before she responded more ferociously.
“I sucked everything except yours!”
“…”
“…?”
Hyeong-min and Ki-joong stood in a daze at the declaration, not knowing their intention or reason, then looked at each other and laughed. Sodam wasn’t a genius, but she had no reason to be underestimated, but she seemed to these two to be a stupid kid who was easy to manipulate.
“Okay. Don’t be so angry, come here.”
Sodam, thinking about what to do with her, just closed her eyes and approached him. Her chancellor slipped her arm around the slender waist of her small talk, pulled her by his side, and whispered to her:
“What about sex?”
“That, that’s… That’s why…”
“Hmm. Okay. Professor Bae?”
“Yes, President.”
As her hand shook her body and shook her hand that slowly came down her waist and approached her small buttock, her arms looked down at her and smiled at her brother-in-law. Said.
“Don’t do that. First of all, I have a schedule today, so please meet again later and talk to me so that I can understand.”
“Yes, President. Please go in.”
After tapping Sodam on the butt, Ki-joong leaves the office. Sodam looked at him until his back disappeared, and as soon as the door closed, he saw Hyungmin and argued.
“What happen! You never said anything like this!”
However, the professor trembles as if he couldn’t help it.
“They told me to give you or Junhee, what should I do? I had no way either. I heard you were with Junhee. Or was it just words that you would do instead of Junhee?”
Sodam bit his lip.
“But to another man…”
“Or is there any reason why you should hold me? It’s the same as hugging someone you don’t want anyway. Would this be better than having sex with me who is having sex with Junhee?”
“Still…”
What should I refute, Sodam couldn’t think of the next words. I tried to say her words, but I thought this wasn’t right, so I held back, and I tried to say something again, but she also thought her logic was strange, so I stopped repeatedly.
“I will contact you later for details, so you can leave today. Next time you meet the president, listen carefully. If you do things like today, you, Junhee, and I will see bad things.”
So-dam felt despair at Hyung-min’s words, which were nothing short of threats. I didn’t mean to do this. She was going to sacrifice herself to save Junhee from his clutches and to be recognized as a full-fledged woman and a saint, but why did this happen?
