9:24 AM

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“Hey~! Hey!!”

You’re used to mornings.

To rolling onto your stomach and crushing your own windpipe by accident. To the motion of the ocean as your mind drifts between consciousness and subconsciousness at the edge of sleep. To that first bluster of wind on a humid day that rustles against your window and gives you just the right amount of fright to consider waking up.

What you aren’t used to is seeing your girlfriend naked and caressing your head on her lap at nine-twenty-four in the morning.

What you aren’t used to is waking up next to Kim Gaeul.

“Oh, take it easy. Don’t force yourself up if you aren’t feeling it yet, baby,” she hushes you, bending forward to caress down the sides of your face. Her hair swoops down like a veil as she smiles down at you, feeling her breath against your nose. “Ready for the day?”

Her last words send a ringing through your skull, and suddenly, it all comes crashing down at once.

The early morning chill that creeps up your spine as you wait for her at the nearest station. The tension in the lobby of the love hotel as you book one of the only available rooms in the city. The soreness in your muscles as you crank gears and flip switches all day long. The smell of different spices never leaving your clothes. The lightness of Gaeul’s touch as she combs through your frizzy hair.

When your mind finally settles onto her again, Gaeul’s squinting, whiskers blooming across both cheeks as she maintains her smile, prodding your nose gently as if to just enjoy the way the plush of it bounces from her touch. You almost forget the fact that every last bit of make-up is wiped clean from her face, a light musk emanates from her body, and that she is still quite naked behind you when she says, “So, that happened~.”

You don’t want to, but you have to ask. “Did we …?”

“Don’t tell me it felt that good that you forgot?” she teases, kissing your forehead before helping you up into a sit. You don’t bother to swath yourself in the sheets because she’s laying it bare for you as well anyway. “But yeah … I sort of passed out after our last round. Who knew you had all of that in you.”

You rub your nape and chuckle. “You just happen to bring out something deep inside me every time,” you reply, but not without pecking her on the cheek as well.

Your eyes burn holes into the windowless walls of this room as you realize what this meant.

You had sex with your girlfriend, Kim Gaeul.

You think back. Back to where it all began. From before last night. From before any of this.

You and Gaeul have been dating for months now. You met on a blind date set up by both of your co-workers from your own jobs who happened to be dating as well. You clicked, one thing lead to another, and you found yourselves romantically intertwined. Until you had to move for work. Until you were promoted against your will. And before you knew it, you’re caught in managing this long-distance hullaballoo with this hefty hurricane that is Kim Gaeul.

And now you’re here. In a love hotel bed with her. Not having remembered much of your time together.

Neither of you have said a word for a while now. But how can you? The moment you so much as even reach for your girlfriend you’re immediately met with the pale flush of her visage elating when you look into her eyes. The tender caress of her hands against your skin soothing you after long hours at work. The gentle humming escaping her lips as she serenades you like a siren, drawing you closer and closer to her person with her spell.

“Baby, I’m sorry. It’s just … work’s been—,” you explain before you’re cut off by Gaeul, who lifts your chin up and shakes her head. “It’s fine, sweetheart. I’m just glad we’re here now. Together.”

Right. She came all this way.

You try to remain relaxed, but something picks at the back of your mind.

Gaeul’s from Incheon. The library she works at is also within the area. You’ve been relocated to Gwangju, which is about three hundred kilometers away. It’s a two hour train ride at best, but more often than not, it would be a four hour ride through buses. And god knows how little energy you both have left during the weekends—let alone on a workday.

“Hey, what do you want to do?” you ask her, sliding to the edge of the bed, readying yourself to get dressed. “I could show you around. I’ve gotten used to commuting here and there so I know some spots. We could maybe grab some lunch? I know a good curry place a few blocks from here. Oh, maybe we could—.”

The moment you rotate your left shoulder, pain takes over your mind.

Gaeul crosses over the bed and rushes over to your side. “Baby, what happened? Are you ok?”

You nod. “It’s … ngh … just a pinched nerve.”

“Ya, have you been doing the exercises I sent you last month? The girl on Tiktok said it should help relieve tension. Her husband works doing some manual labor just like you.”

She’s adorable. You can’t tell her that you’ve been doing that five times a day just because she sent it to you. That would boost her ego a little too much. “Maybe. I don’t know. It’s been flaring up since last week’s incident—.”

“Last week’s incident?”

You hold your breath. “I … It’s nothing. Go take a shower. I’ll follow. I just need to make sure first that our client for next week’s already tried the sample we gave them.”

“You still have work on the weekend?”

It crushes your soul to hear Gaeul this disappointed, but there’s not much you can do other than sigh. “Yeah … It’s not much though. Honestly I should have done this yesterday before picking you up, but … I got excited, you know …?”

Her frown turns around a little bit as she drapes her arms around your neck. “Baby …”

“Yes baby?”

“You’ve been overworking yourself, haven’t you?”

“I can’t really relax now, can I?” is all you manage to tell her. You’re not going to tell her how much overtime you’ve taken upon yourself. How you’ve been skipping lunches just to make sure that you clear your workload for the week to buy you more time on the weekend to spend with her. How you’ve been staying up late at night teaching English as a second language to foreigners so you can have a bit more in your wallet for your dates—for your future.

Instead, you simply nod. “It’s fine, baby. At the end of the day, it’s—.”

You wince once more. It’s your right arm this time. It spasms and thrums.

“Baby!” Gaeul cries, massaging your limb to try and offer some semblance of relief. “Your other arm’s hurting too?”

“Y-Yeah, but that’s on me,” you confess, looking away as you reveal the truth to her. “I may have strained those muscles after I tried going to the gym the other week …”

“You go to the gym now? Since when? For what?”

“Well … for …” And you say nothing else. You instead place your hands on her waist and slide them up and down. “You know …?”

She bites her lip and pinches your cheek. “Ya, you always put others before yourself. What will I do with a boyfriend like you~?”

“You could always make out with him, you know? Embrace him a little too maybe. Praise him for all his hardwork.”

And Gaeul does just that.

She kisses you gently on the nose, rubbing her own against it before embracing you tightly. “I know how hard you work, sweetheart. And that’s why we’re not leaving this hotel at all.”