Sweat trickled down Ji-woo’s back as she heard the soft beeps of the keypad on the door.
“He even knows the password?” Seo Tae-joon scoffed.
Every time the doctor had visited before, Seo Tae-joon had been unconscious, or Ji-woo had opened the door herself. The man now fumbling with the lock outside had no reason to expect it to be anything but open.
Inside, despite the urgency of the situation, Seo Tae-joon deliberately pressed his lips to the sensitive skin of her neck.
The color drained from her face. “Stop, stop! Do you hear me?”
“No.”
Ji-woo froze, stunned by his audacity.
Just then, a shrill buzz from the door indicated an incorrect password. Undeterred, the doctor began pressing the numbers again.
A wave of panic washed over Ji-woo. “I told you to stop!”
Her pleas fell on deaf ears, so this time she punctuated her warning by lightly smacking his head.
He lifted an eyebrow, a strange expression on his face. “If I stop…?”
“What?”
“What will you do for me if I stop now?”
“Are you serious?” she asked, her own brows rising in disbelief.
A series of careful knocks sounded from outside, but to Ji-woo, they were more insistent than the crack of a whip. She frantically tried to think of a way out of this, crying out in surprise when Seo Tae-joon’s hand strayed lower again.
“Okay!” she gasped, struggling to control her ragged breathing. “I’ll do whatever you want, anything but this!”
“Anything?” Seo Tae-joon smirked.
She nodded furiously, her eyes darting toward the door. The corner of his mouth lifted, and he completely removed his hands from her body. The moment he stood up, the front door swung open to reveal the doctor.
Ji-woo froze, with no time to even cover herself. But Seo Tae-joon moved fast, wrapping a blanket around her before sweeping her up into his arms.
The doctor couldn’t believe his eyes, stammering, “Uhhh…”
By then, Seo Tae-joon had bundled her so completely in the blanket that not a single strand of her hair was visible. He shot an aggressive glare at the intruder.
“Didn’t they teach you any manners in elementary school?” he barked, deliberately starting a fight as he carried her downstairs. The doctor stood there, utterly lost, his mind replaying the image of Ji-woo’s discarded pants and lace panties lying on the bed.
“You have to put me down!” Ji-woo insisted. They had returned to the room a few minutes ago, but Seo Tae-joon still held her.
It was hot and stuffy inside the cocoon of the blanket. When he finally lowered the fabric from her face, her eyes met his.
Seo Tae-joon didn't break their gaze, his brow furrowed.
“I still don’t know the password to this house,” he confessed, his expression darkening. “But that bastard pressed it like he lives here.” He was gritting his teeth. “I don’t know the number to the back door, either.”
The back door was intended for medical staff only, and the entire second floor had been renovated by Seo Tae-joon’s brother.
“What’s the password?”
Her body went rigid, and her gaze fell. She had no answer for him.
He added, “I swear I won’t let it go if it’s our wedding anniversary, your birthday, or your phone number. The way that bastard pressed it so naturally…”
“Who?” Ji-woo asked, immediately feeling stupid.
He ignored her, pressing on. “Well? Which is it? Our anniversary? Your birthday? Your phone number?”
Ji-woo remained silent.
“Why don’t I know anything?” He hugged her tightly, burying his face in her shoulder. He rubbed his head against her so hard that it ached, even through the blanket’s padding. “I’m your husband, but I know less about you than other people do. It drives me crazy every time something like this happens.” His left cheek brushed against her ear, his warmth spreading against her skin.
“Even though I probably knew before,” he continued.
No, you didn’t, Ji-woo thought, struggling to keep her expression blank. She gently eased herself from his grip. “It’s okay. You’re hurt.”
“But I still can’t forgive myself,” he mumbled, a dark determination creeping into his voice. “Let’s start with the back door password. I need to know everything about you, about your life. I can’t stand this feeling of being helpless.”
“Uh,” she stammered, tongue-tied. “I can’t.”
His curiosity was becoming a problem. It would have been better if Seo Tae-joon had simply ignored household matters, but as he grew accustomed to his memory loss, his interest was inevitably shifting. To Ji-woo, and everything surrounding her. He didn’t ask about his past, his family, or his hobbies, but he was displaying this strange obsession with her.
Her head ached as she searched for a way to escape. “Seo… Seo Tae-joon,” she began.
Then, an idea that would surely divert his attention struck her. “By the way,” she said, her tone changing. “I’ve never made a sound like that before in my life.”
Sex. That was the answer. She knew she’d hit the jackpot when the tension in his eyes eased, his face suddenly going blank.
“Do you want to keep doing that with me?” Ji-woo wriggled a hand free and traced his lips with her finger.
He turned his head away, but the red tips of his ears gave him away.
“You need to get better quickly,” she exclaimed. “I’ve only ever touched trees before, so I’m not even surprised by something that’s just… normally hard.”
Silence.
“So, put your bandage on and recover quickly.”
“Are you doing this on purpose?” he growled, grabbing her chin, though he still wouldn't meet her eyes. The man’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “When are you going to stop making a fool of me? You’re comparing me to a tree—” He cut himself off, clicking his tongue in frustration.
“So I can get my hopes up.”
“Pardon?” Ji-woo gave him a strange look.
“Your palms,” he clarified. “The ones that have only touched trees.”
A brief silence hung between them.
“I’ll get better quicker,” he said, pressing his lips together. Then, the corner of his mouth twitched, as if he were trying to suppress a laugh.
Ji-woo’s mind went blank. She buried her face in her knees, a shadow falling over her heart. She really, really didn’t like this part of herself.