Mia's gaze lingered on me. For far too long, in fact. To say she was simply staring at me would undermine the intensity of it. It reminded me of those momentary lapses Eun Ha would have ─ whenever she was too 'excited' and more in tune with her unhinged side. Mia just sat there, chin propped on one hand, eyes fixed on me. There was a small curl to her lips. Not exactly a smirk, but I'd sure as hell call that a smile all the same.

If I had to be frank, I found it somewhat exhilarating. A bit disconcerting, if you take into account the fact that she hadn't moved for five minutes straight. Sure. But that sharp, keen look in her eyes… I could definitely get used to that.

Everyone else had already cleared out of the table. Breakfast had ended around ten minutes ago. Yeong Gu was at work; another business trip that wouldn't see him back home for a couple of days. Su Ah didn't even bother to join us. Eun Ha, instead, was all smiles as she carried her mug of coffee in the kitchen, humming a cheerful tune.

I wondered if she was relieving yesterday in her head. The subtle glance she offered me before she walked off was enough of a hint.

"Hmm. Looking at anything nice?" I emulated Mia's position ─ leaning forward with my chin perched on a hand ─ and stared at her. She received my eyes with no change in her expression.

Then, Mia’s head tilted to the side, eyes never leaving me. “Did you have a good time?” Now, the subtle wrinkle of her nose was noticeable. Was it bitterness? Jealousy? In this three-way relationship, I was aware that its burden wasn’t evenly split among the three of us.

Sharing a heart meant giving half of it to someone else. When too many pieces are taken, Mia wouldn’t mean as much to me as she would otherwise have, had I not taken in another lover. But that kind of speculation wasn’t standing on a true, solid understanding of ‘love’ in general — or even our relationship.

We could be different.

“It would have been much better if you were there with us. I certainly missed your dry sarcasm and aggressive lip-biting.”

“Well, nothing's stopping me from sinking my teeth into you right now.”

“Now, now. Don’t start a war with Auntie. She’s gotten oddly interested in biting as well.” I remarked playfully. Eun Ha's curiosity in that regard was partly my fault.

Mia was uncharacteristically silent. In most cases, she'd be quick to rebut with some witty comment on my expense.

How many minutes didn’t she blink for? I was starting to get concerned.

She hummed, blinking once. A slow bat of her eyes ─ slow enough that it exuded a certain, oddly foreboding confidence. “As I said, we have to mark our territory. Can’t have other hussies leaving their marks on you.”

“It’s a good thing that I’m strong then. I can handle a few bites.” A lot more than some bites. I chuckled, flexing my shoulders. And it was not some overly inflated lie either. I was honestly surprised that Dae Ho was not some olympic level athlete by now. Time to fix that. "Rough. Playful. Even your more carnivorous ones. Aren't I the perfect chew-toy?"

Mia leaned forward, though by that point we were already close enough that the movement had nearly caused our foreheads to butt together, and her stare deepened. "I suppose..." She trailed off, the shape of her lips twitching upward.

It really was an interesting, devious smile. Exactly the kind I wanted to keep seeing.

I slowly lifted my thumb, tucking her hair behind an ear before my finger rested just below her jaw, swiping slightly at her neck. The smile on Mia’s face crept higher. Bit by bit. Until her white teeth were exposed between soft lips. 

She grabbed my hand and guided it towards her mouth. She stayed loyal to what she claimed earlier, and ran her teeth across the skin of my thumb.

“...” 

Mia began to envelop the flesh of my thumb with her mouth. Slowly at first, then with more intensity. Her tongue pressed down, smoothing itself over the tip, sliding down the length of my digit and back up again.

A tingle ran through me, from the base of my finger and all the way up to my wrist.

It was more than a tingle. I was overwhelmed with arousal. My blood grew hot as I watched Mia go to town on my thumb.

I controlled my instincts — losing my head over a thumb-blowjob wasn’t exactly something to be proud of. 

So instead, I turned the tables on her, curling my finger inside her mouth.

Mia didn’t expect that. She let out a startled whimper, then continued nibbling on my digit. Her teeth grazed against my skin, gentle at first, teasingly testing my response. The anticipation built. With each escalating bite, her eyes sought mine, searching for the telltale signs of my reaction, wanting to witness the effect she had on me.

Damn. That woman knew how to mix pain and pleasure.

But that didn’t stop me from admiring her eyes. They had a dark, glimmering look, as if they were concealing a secret.

After a short while, I slid my thumb out of her mouth. A flimsy web of saliva desperately clung onto it. 

"How did you like that?" She flashed me her canines, eyes narrowed. 

"Well... I guess I just realized that there's an instrisic element of pleasure in pain. Maybe I like it?" The pain she made me feel was dull and faint ─ barely perceivable and fading much quicker than it appeared. 

At times, a degree of danger only heightened the euphoria ─ or the experience itself. But for me, such masochist tendencies were unthinkable. I’ve never been into that, but with Mia’s odd behavior, that sort of ‘playing with fire’ feeling kept me pumped with adrenaline.

I low-key liked it. 

"Hmm... does she make you feel the same, Dae Ho?"

I loosened out a breath. It didn't take a genius to know who she was referring to. 

"She does. You're both perfect. There's no need to compete."

"..."

The strange aura around her faded. Clarity was restored. Her eyes, considerably brighter now, sat above a more less darker smile. “You’re… right.” She sighed. “What am I even thinking?” The last part was mumbled more for herself than for my ears to catch on. She held a hand to one side of her face, obscuring her eyes from view. 

I tugged at the collar of my shirt. The sensations Mia had left on my thumb still lingered, and the memory of it was enough to trigger my blood in a southward pilgrim to awaken the coiled python in my pants. 

“Anyway, I’m going for another run. Need to keep my stamina up to standards if I’m to satisfy you and Auntie. Wanna tag along?”

“...”

I took her silence as a ‘no’. However, at least she had dropped her hand and turned to stare at me. 

“You’re not going to do another video without me… are you?”

I chuckled. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Good.” She nodded, twice, arms crossed. “Very good.”

She worried over the silliest of things. 

“I’ll be back in a while.”

“Be quick. I want to teach you some killer yoga moves that’s going to take your flexibility to the next level.”

“That kind of flexibility is more fit for you… Mia Noona.” I said, with a smug smile. “I can definitely vouch that no one can pull the mating press as good as you.”

“...!”

A bit of red crept to her cheeks. “J-Just go do your running!

──⇌ ⋆★⋆ ⇋──

After donning a tracksuit and lacing my shoes, I stepped outside, ready to conquer the world one stride at a time. Music blared in my ears. My favorite bands didn’t exist in this reality, but the alternatives were equally good. 

I briefly wondered if I could make money selling some of the lyrics I still remembered. I was not sure if they’d be a big hit in Korea, but worldwide, they’d catch a lot of attention. 

‘Something to think about later…’

The rhythmic motion of my body propelled me forward. The world around me seemed to blur, as if the only thing that mattered in that moment was the simple act of putting one foot in front of the other.

I always strived to push my limits, even if it was by one single step. 

The music helped me tune out the world. I focused on working my muscles, feeling them flex and burn and—

“D-Dae Ho?”

I stopped mid-jog and turned to the sidewalk on the other side of the street. Dark hair swayed in the morning breeze. Sunlight caught the contours of her body. I couldn’t quite see her face from the distance, and with the sun shining at her back. But from her delicate outline ─ one that my body could vividly recognize, I was certain of the owner of that soft, silky voice. Yu Hee. She waved at me before she broke into a small jog to catch up to me.

"Fate seems to intertwine our paths quite a lot... or is it you who's secretly planning these encounters?" I slumped into a more relaxed stance.

Yu Hee flushed, cheeks puffing up a bit. “I… I was just—” Humiliated by her stuttering, she took a deep breath, glared at me, and said. “I was just about to come over… I wondered if… if you wanted to hang out…”

“Yu Hee.” I clicked my tongue. “I’m a happily married man. You can’t barge into my life like that.”

“I won’t fall for your lies anymore.” Yu Hee stood taller, her words tinged in self-righteousness.

“I’ve never lied to you.”

“Uh-huh.” As I resumed my jogging, which was more of a fast walk considering Yu Hee was following me, she tilted her head and stared at me, pointedly. “What was it that you said about cheese wire and a fishing rod?”

“That they’re great openers to reel in gullible moonpies like you?”

“G-Gullible?”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way. Don’t ever change.” I turned to smile at her.

“...”

She averted her gaze.

“Anyway…” Her tone became a little accusatory. “I texted you yesterday night… you didn’t even see it…”

“Yesterday?”

“Yes.” 

“Night?”

“Hm-hm.”

“Anywhere from 1 am until 3.30 am?” I pondered. 

“Yeah…?” Yu Hee arched one eyebrow up.

I smiled, waving her off. “Sorry about that. There was a temporary power outage in our neighborhood. Some animals — birds I guess — decided to play around with the power lines.”

“Ohhh…”

She nodded in understanding. 

Just as the words left my lips, I couldn't help the smug smile that found its way to my lips.

"I wonder which birds got so active and aggressive in the middle of the night."

“Hmhm… yeah…”

“You reckon they were doing something naughty?”

Yu Hee leveled a flat stare at me, though the blush on her pale cheeks gave her away. “I-I don’t know…” She twirled the ends of her hair, either to distract herself or to get my attention. “I don’t really have any experience.”

“Is that so?” 

“...”

Silence took over for a bit. Only the sound of our feet pounding the asphalt rang out. 

“Umh…” Yu Hee didn’t look at me. She continued to stare ahead. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“D-Dae Ho…” She seemed a little frustrated. “Do you have any experience?”

I glanced at her from the corner of my eyes. She tried to be indifferent, but her fleeting glimpses revealed her inner turmoil. 

“Yes.” I answered. “I’ve had my fair share of experiences.”

Yu Hee gulped. “With who…?”

“I wonder… I was drugged, I don’t quite remember. All I recall is waking up handcuffed to a bed and missing a kidney.” I shrugged. “Life goes on.”

It actually really happened in my previous life, minus the stolen kidney. I never found out who that woman was — and I desperately hoped it was a woman. 

One of my teammates who was privy to that story jokingly said that all she wanted was my sperm, which alluded that I might have had a rugrat or two running around with a ball and aspiring to be next Jair Campinho. 

A sobering thought. 

Not that it mattered anymore. 

Though there was a little bit of hope, that, at least, I had left a legacy behind. In a world where I was dead, maybe, some day, they’d achieve what I couldn’t?

It was stupid, really. They wouldn't even know who their father is. They wouldn't mourn the missed opportunity. 

Who would bother to check anyway?

The glory of Campinho wouldn't be passed on. 

Buried. Alongside me and my name. 

'They might not even exist...'

But still...

“Dae Ho?” 

“Hmm?”

“Why are you smiling?”

I sprinted a little faster, leaving Yu Hee slightly behind. “Nothing.”

... it offered me a bit of hope. Something to dream about.