Side Story 5

Side Story 5

“Director, Director So Lee-yeon. Are you listening to me?”

“Huh, yes, sorry?”

The voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and she met several pairs of eyes at once. Heat rushed into her face. What was I just thinking about. Lee-yeon forced an awkward smile.

“Wow. I’m fifty and I’ve never seen a tree like this before.”

“You’ve heard of it, right? The grandmother tree… It’s, it’s a nursing tree.”

Lee-yeon stretched out an arm and explained.

That was how Fir Tree Hospital opened its doors again. For the first few months, she only handled morning consultations, then she got pulled, almost by accident, into the Green Project Team, thanks to Kwon Chae-woo’s enthusiastic recommendation.

The KBT Project.

Short for Korea Big Tree Discovery and Conservation.

It was a project to find “big trees,” old growth trees that served as living witnesses of the forest.

As part of the specialist survey team, Lee-yeon left Hwaido and traveled down to the provinces. She was looking for trees with a circumference of at least 157 centimeters measured at 130 centimeters above the ground.

“Ah, this is the one… I’ve never seen it in person before.”

People burst into excited exclamations. Lee-yeon looked up at the mountain cherry tree with a tender expression. Two baby maple trees had taken root on its body.

It was the so called nursing tree.

A grandmother tree that lent its own body to help young trees grow. People called it that because it gave without holding back.

“There are similar trees on Ulleungdo. There’s an island hackberry that grows hydrangea vines right on its trunk. And on Jeju, there’s a torreya that’s growing orchids on its body.”

As Lee-yeon continued, her face lit up with life.

Hah. I miss my son.

Feeling the mountain wind brush her skin, Lee-yeon breathed slowly, steadily.

It had been a week since she left Hwaido. Kwon Chae-woo had held their little boy with practiced ease, waved her off with a breezy hand, and sent her on her way like this was the only thing that mattered for So Lee-yeon. He had only smiled at her, gentle, like he always did.

But… really? Chae-woo, is that really true?

Whoosh.

Only the leaves shook in the wind. No answer came back. It was time to return home, to the family waiting for her.

***

In the pre dawn hours, when everyone slept,

Creeeak. The moment Lee-yeon opened the door and slipped inside, the soft, milky scent of a baby washed over her.

She had come home a day early on purpose, without telling Kwon Chae-woo. How shocked would he be. Lee-yeon’s face loosened into a goofy grin as she lifted her heels and tiptoed forward.

The house that used to be filled with plants now had baby supplies scattered everywhere. Something went beep under her foot. She had stepped on a yellow chick plush.

“Eek…!”

Lee-yeon glanced around, then carefully picked up the toy from the floor.

She went to the nursery first. So Nam-woo slept with his arms thrown up, his round cheeks puffed out. She reached out to touch him, then noticed her own dirty hands and flinched, stepping back.

She could not bring herself to wake him. She just stared at his clear, innocent face.

“Nam-woo… Mom’s home….”

As if talking in his sleep, the baby smacked his lips a few times. Even that tiny movement looked cute and miraculous. She could not look away.

Where did you even come from. He looked like he had been loved all day, his belly full and his cheeks plump. Her nose stung with how much she adored him.

“Sleep well, my son. I’ll see you in the morning….”

Following the soft lights, Lee-yeon climbed the stairs. The house felt unusually quiet. Maybe that was why every creak under her feet sounded so loud.

“Kwon Chae-woo.”

She whispered his name like a secret, like a prayer. The thought of seeing her husband again made her heart pound hard.

After Nam-woo was born, Kwon Chae-woo’s sleep disorder had improved like it had been a lie. Lee-yeon had gotten excited and said, “So it really is the power of becoming a dad.” Kwon Chae-woo’s expression had turned oddly complicated.

He had lived with Kleine Levin syndrome. He said he could not tell whether Nam-woo was the reason he could wake peacefully now, or if it was because something else had shifted.

Because Lee-yeon had become the one rooted in place instead.

He still stayed guarded about his condition.

Seriously. He still has that sharp edge in him.

When she entered the master bedroom, the bed sheets were a mess, as if Kwon Chae-woo had been lying down and getting up again and again.

Where did he go at this hour?

Right then, a steady rush of water poured from the bathroom.

Is he showering?

Lee-yeon set down the large backpack she had been carrying. She turned the bathroom doorknob, and through the crack, she caught a glimpse of Kwon Chae-woo.

The smile that had been rising on her face froze solid.

“Chae…!”

Her legs went stiff, like they wanted to lock up all over again.

Steam filled the square glass booth. Over the slick, echoing sounds of water, a low, strained sound slipped from him, rough enough to feel like a curse.

Lee-yeon could not call his name. She also could not bring herself to close the door. She stood there, frozen.

Then, bang, Kwon Chae-woo slammed a hand against the glass wall.

Lee-yeon’s shoulders jolted. A clear handprint bloomed through the fogged steam.

“Damn… Hoo. Lee-yeon.”

Heat rushed up her neck.

She thought she should leave quietly. But she could not make her feet move.

It was strange. Her heart battered her ribs, and her mouth went dry.

While she hesitated, Kwon Chae-woo’s eyes had already captured hers. Yet, he seemed intent on stroking his member. Lee-yeon gasped.

“Huh. F*ck.”

He gripped the crimson flesh. The way he shook the pillar with his hand seemed impatient. At first glance, it was thick and heavy.

It was the first time Lee-yeon had seen Kwon Chae-woo’s member in a while. They hadn’t had s*x even while pregnant…

We were serious. Yes, we were a seriously s*xless couple. But I left Chae-woo alone…

Lee-yeon’s breathing quickened slightly. The sight of him satisfying his desires alone felt utterly obscene. He was glistening with wetness, and her  lips, watching, grew dry.

“Haah. Lee-yeon.”

His well-defined abs rippled with excitement. He kneaded the veiny pillar and squeezed the glans. He was pulling so hard on the flesh that his knuckles bristled.

But no matter how hard he squeezed, his member wouldn’t subside, only continuing to swell. Eventually, even holding it in one hand felt tight, making it almost suffocating to watch.

“Whew. Whoa.”

His movements intensified. His dampened hand relentlessly pulled the shaft from the base to the glans. The glossy, upturned glans repeatedly appeared and disappeared beyond his grasp. The movements were so rough that every last bit of skin was being scraped away. A squeaking sound filled the bathroom.

“Lee-yeon, have you ever seen a summer rose?”

“…!”

Another bang, and the booth shook. Their eyes met. A red tongue swiped across Kwon Chae-woo’s lower lip. His mind seemed to go blank.

Is this a dream? Isn’t this a dream? It’s been a week since I came home… Kwon Chae-woo was so calm and strange. No, the one dreaming hazily seemed like none other than Kwon Chae-woo.

“Summer roses, phew, they go so far as to caress themselves. That’s why they’re so red, there’s a saying.”

“…”

“Isn’t that funny?”

He swallowed a groan for a long time, then stiffened his spine. He muttered a vulgar curse, but still held his heavy scrotum. Thick tendons bulged on his forearms from swiping everything he could get his hands on.

Soon, his thigh muscles split open and his abs bulged.

The s*men surged out, mixing with the water and dripping down. For a moment, his pupils dilated.

“You’ve worked hard, Lee-yeon. Welcome home.”

Suddenly, Kwon Chae-woo stepped out of the booth and reached out. The mere sensation of the wave sent a tingling sensation through my already hypersensitive body.

At this rate… she felt like she was going to be dragged into the shower… It was a sense of crisis, like an alarm bell. Lee-yeon froze.

“But since you came without telling me, you’re seeing this kind of crap…”

Lee-yeon stumbled, clutching the doorknob.

Boom! The bathroom door slammed shut. Lee-yeon, dumbfounded, stared blankly at the closed door. What just happened?

“He pushed me out?”

The hot moisture still clung to her body, leaving her dazed. The bedroom was dark. Lee-yeon stood there, blinking blankly.

It was finally time to return home.