Eun Ha's POV:

Nock. Aim. And shoot.

Dae Ho's words were an arrow straight through her heart.

"I… don't know…" Eun Ha felt the hike of an emotion she had long given up on. Her heart sang with joy, throbbing, and dancing. A surge of heat immediately came over her cheeks. "I've… never thought about it."

She averted her gaze.

And then Dae Ho reached a hand out. His fingers strummed the sides of her cheek. "Let's think together." He said, leaning a little closer. "Whatever it is, I promise I'll help you in any way I can."

His voice was a soft rush of air and vibration that tingled her ears.

"..."

Eun Ha's eyes were a hazy swirl of emotions. 'He's so close…' She felt herself tensing up, hands balling into fists. It was not as if they had never been this close before, but the meaning behind it, this time, made her stomach do somersaults.

"Is it money?"

She shook her head.

"Love?"

"..."

"True love?" He added.

Something lurched in her heart.

"..."

Eun Ha gulped. Still, Dae Ho continued, eyes trailing every inch of her flushed face.

"Freedom?"

"..."

"Both?"

By this point, his voice was a warm whisper. God, Eun Ha had never been this flustered before. For some reason, Dae Ho's presence was highly captivating.

And while that particular thought was sowed in her subconscious mind, her sense of morality was waging war against her heart.

With each second, it was losing ground.

"Dae Ho…" She looked at him, squeezing a reassuring smile into her face. "I'm fine… don't worry about it."

He tilted his head, eyes narrowing.

She knew that her poor excuse of a lie didn't succeed.

"Are you scared?"

Her eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"Are you scared of being yourself?"

"..."

Her lungs constricted.

"It's easy to let things stay like this. It feels… almost normal. You feel protected in this lie you're living, because the truth is hard to bear, hard to accept. It's a foreign concept. You never had to deal with it after you got married. You're chained into someone else's world. You're scared to break free, like a bird that has been living its whole life in a cage. It doesn't know what's outside, so it's content to stay there, in its own… little… ca—"

"Dae Ho, stop!"

Eun Ha plunged her head forward, burying her face into his bare chest, hands clawing desperately at his arms. She panted, her breathing a painful weight in her chest.

Dae Ho's arms slowly wrestled out of her grasp and wrapped around her head. "I'm sorry."

"..."

He nuzzled his chin into the crown of her head, nose sinking into her hair and breathing in the faint tang of her shampoo. Eun Ha's breathing calmed down as she inhaled his own scent, savoring and memorizing it.

It was so comfortable to be in his arms.

So safe.

'Can I really be myself?'

Why was it so damn good when his arms tightened around her?

When was the last time she was held like that?

Eun Ha tentatively looked up, chin resting against his velvety, warm skin.

Sensing her gaze, he looked down, meeting her wet, orchid-tinted eyes.

"I didn't mean to make you cry…" Dae Ho whispered guiltily.

She smiled. Just a little. "I'm not crying."

"Hmm…"

And then he started swaying her, like a slow dance, or a baby being lulled to sleep. A soft coo left his lips. "Hush little baby, don't say a word. Papa's gonna buy you a mocking bird. And if that mocking bird don't sing, papa's gonna buy a diamond ring…"

"Dae Ho…" Her smile widened, eyes crinkling in mirth. "I'm not a baby either."

"Perhaps." His fingers combed lazily through her hair. She sighed pleasantly. "But there's no shame in behaving like one from time to time. So, if you ever feel like you need someone to just hold you, to coddle you, to protect and love you, I'll always be there for you, Auntie."

"Thank you…" A shiver kissed her spine. From top to bottom. Goosebumps reared up all over her skin. "Dae Ho…"

Eun Ha pushed herself further into him, her generous bosom squishing against the lower side of his stomach.

He stiffened a little, but she ignored it… until a hard, growing bump started poking her from below, demanding her attention. She blinked, eyes trailing down.

A massive tent stretched the fabric of his pants. And it was pointed at her.

Naturally, Dae Ho was also aware of the not-so-little problem down there.

"Sorry." He immediately tried to pull back, but Eun Ha's held onto him, her breasts pressing further into the rigid appendage. "Auntie…?"

Her breathing was so hot that it was as if bursts of steam were coming out of her mouth. "Dae Ho…" Eun Ha gulped, one hand descending down his chest, ever so southward. Her fingers clamped around the waistband of his pants. "You must not have been taking care of yourself properly… right?"

"..."

His expression denoted that what she just said didn't make sense, but in her emotional haze, she translated everything as the complete opposite.

"I'll… I'll take care of it for you."

Just like last time. And the time before that.

'A healthy young man like him has to do it every day… or… or…' Eun Ha started to tug his pants down, but a hand grabbed her wrist. She looked up, flustered. "Dae Ho?"

"It wouldn't be fair to do such a thing when you're like that." He guided her hand away.

"But—"

He cupped her chin, tilting it up. His eyes bore into hers. "I don't want to take advantage of you, Auntie."

Eun Ha bit her bottom lip, shaking her head. "You're not…" Some of her brown curls fell off their crown and wound over her eyes. "This is… just me helping you out, as any other proper mother should. B-But if you don't want, then—"

──⇌ ⋆★⋆ ⇋──

"Silly."

This woman was so complicated that it'd take half of my lifespan to unravel her emotions. She didn't take her eyes off of me, and something in my heart twisted and tightened.

I've never been an idiot for anyone before.

But how could someone look so… innocently sexy? That polarity alone could truly shake a man's heart, move, tease, and manipulate it with a bat of those doe eyes.

For God's sake, she was not even doing it on purpose!

"Dae Ho?"

She called me out. And when I resurfaced back to reality, I realized my right hand was still gently wrapped around her chin, my thumb sweeping left and right, just an inch below those kissable lips of hers.

"Do you really mean it, Auntie?" I asked, giving her a chance to realize that 'things' were snowballing down a warzone of debauchery. I wanted her to do the right and call it quits, before our relationship was embroidered by a messy tapestry of feelings that had to be kept away, for the sake of this family's well-being.

Eun Ha hesitated a little.

I was a bit relieved to see that she had the common sense to think it over, at least.

I was already playing a dangerous game with Mia. If Eun Ha joined in as well, I didn't know what kind of chain reaction would ensue. I had to tread carefully.

'If she says no, I'm not going to force it…'

"I do."

But she didn't.

"..."

Eun Ha extended her hand again.

"Wait…" I grabbed it again.

She blinked, a sad gleam flashing past her eyes. "Dae Ho, you—"

"Let me apologize for earlier."

"..."

Her face scrunched up in confusion.

"I'd never turn down a blowjob, not from you anyway." I sat down next to her, my hand releasing hers and slanting down on her thigh. It rested there, content to feel the soft, pliable flesh underneath her flowery dress. "Be a bit more selfish, alright? Today you won't give. You will receive."

Eun Ha's eyes went comically wide as she gasped. "No… Dae Ho…"

Seriously. I couldn't resist.

With my other hand, I cradled her cheek.

"Dae Ho, wait…"

My lips lunged for that creamy, white neck. My tongue snaked out, slithering across the clammy, soft flesh, tasting the salt of her sweat. She cried out, the sudden pleasure striking her like a bolt from the blue.

Her instinctive reaction — despite her half-hearted mumblings of refusal — was to wrap her arms around my neck. She trembled as I caught her skin between my teeth, tweaking, sucking, and biting it, testing how far I could go before she felt pain.

"Dae… Ho…" Eun Ha breathed out, fingers burrowing into the back of my head. "Ahnnng!"

I eased her down on my bed, my tongue sweeping across her carotid artery before it dipped into the hollow of her throat. After I gave her neck enough affection, I pulled away, looming over Eun Ha.

Her cheeks were flushed, eyes wet with tears. She breathed in and out, in small but greedy bursts.

"Hey… Auntie…"

Eun Ha stared at me, dazed.

"When was the last time someone tasted you?"