Deal Breaker - Chapter 109
Because it was a place people rarely visited, she left behind traces of their date while hoping no one would see them. Or rather, she honestly hoped that was exactly why they would remain there for a long time. Then they crossed the sea and headed to Positano.
They went to a café perched on a cliff and sat on a balcony draped in pale lavender wisteria blossoms, looking down at the sun-ripened Mediterranean. They sipped refreshing limoncello spritzes.
A spritz is a cocktail based on prosecco, Italy’s champagne, and sparkling water, and depending on which aperitif is mixed in, the flavor and even the name change.
As they traveled the Mediterranean coast by cruise, she noticed that locals everywhere sat at open air cafés, all drinking orange colored cocktails from wine glasses.
Aperol spritz. Hyeji memorized the name and, every day, sat at seaside cafés in small Italian towns, drinking a glass and soaking in the local mood.
But she hadn’t realized until now that she actually liked limoncello spritz more. What a waste.
Aperol had a vague, refreshing sweetness that didn’t quite stick to her tongue, while limoncello had a clear lemon flavor, probably why.
“Noh Hyeji is Korean after all, used to lemon soju.”
“Ah, is that why?”
It would be perfect to mix at home. While she was at it, she bought a bottle of limoncello. Then, like other Korean honeymooners, she swept several bags of lemon candy into her basket, a must buy souvenir in Positano.
* * *
That was how they spent their days fully enjoying the scenery and culture of southern Europe outside, and their nights returning to the ship to pack in massages, golf, parties, and all sorts of onboard programs.
Noh Hyeji, who always wore an indifferent expression and spoke little, didn’t express her emotions or thoughts well through words or facial expressions. Because of that, Kanghyeon had long since become adept at reading her mood through her actions alone, without even needing mind reading.
“Did you check tomorrow’s program? There’s a musical performance.”
Every night, after playing until she was completely exhausted and sinking her tired body into the jacuzzi, Hyeji would think about what they would do the next day. Didn’t that mean each day was just that fun?
Seeing Hyeji eagerly fill each day to the brim, Kanghyeon couldn’t help but feel rewarded for having planned this trip.
Come to think of it, Noh Hyeji had always been a woman who made people feel rewarded. If he bought her a meal, she ate every grain without leaving anything and enjoyed it thoroughly. If he bought her clothes or a bag, she wore and carried them well, right in front of him.
Of course, she couldn’t wear that dress with the boldly open back every day, no matter how much he wanted her to. But Kanghyeon was lucky enough to see Hyeji wearing that champagne colored silk dress again at the cruise’s gala dinner.
Hyeji was still as beautiful as a model. Thank goodness this was a suite only cruise where singles couldn’t come.
[ This is my wife. We’re on our honeymoon. ]
Hyeji, who had no idea what he was thinking, fell for him all over again when he introduced her as his wife to people they met for the first time at the party.
Unlike Hyeji, who always kept a certain wall up around people, Kanghyeon, true to his E personality, mingled easily even with foreign strangers. He freely switched between English, German, and French, and his confident manners made it impossible not to be impressed.
Saebyeok-ie, I hope you grow up to be more like your dad.
While talking with people he had just met about Italian wine, Kanghyeon suddenly leaned toward Hyeji and whispered.
“Say things like that out loud.”
Was it because her thoughts pleased him? Or was it the dress’s fault?
That night, the moment they returned to the suite, Kanghyeon changed completely. Like in Dubai, he pounced on her right from the entrance, complaining that the bedroom was too far, and carried her there with himself still buried inside her.
He wasn’t on the verge of losing control. Well, not in that sense. He was losing control in another way.
He thrusted his hips as if releasing everything he had been forced to hold back in Dubai, stripping the dress completely off her until she was naked. That part she could understand. What she couldn’t understand was what he did next.
Why are you draping you jacket over me though?
“Haah, because it’s sexy.”
Covering her chest with a men’s jacket while boldly spreading her lower body was so e****c that he said he almost crossed the line that night.
“Back then, I started wanting s*x with you, not guiding.”
Ah, so that’s why.
Whenever her T-shirt got dirty because of Saebyeok and she borrowed one of his shirts, he would get strangely clingy. Seeing her in his clothes seemed to turn him on, to put it bluntly.
The man and woman on the bed looked similar to that night, but this time there were no lines, no restraint. They indulged freely however they wanted, then finished s*x with the kiss they had held back that day, and fell asleep just like that.
It was seven days packed full of enjoyment, day and night, both on and off the ship.
