Come Back

“Can you hold me like Choi Hongseo?”

Despite his calm demeanor and tone, his face and eyes were twisted with emotion. Even though his posture remained intact, he looked as if he were begging.

Choi Hongseo wetted her lips with her tongue and asked with trembling lips,
“What do you… mean?”

“Meaning… Honestly, it wouldn’t mean anything to you, Yoon Hyean.”

He chewed on the word “meaning” in his mouth before speaking plainly,
“What I want is something like a substitute for Choi Hongseo.”

It wasn’t a harsh tone meant to inflict more pain on purpose. His dry and barren voice showed no emotion.

In the distance, thunder rumbled, as if it were about to pour rain again. The clouds, low and heavy over Seoul, seemed as though they might touch his head. Lee Hyesung shoved one hand into his pants pocket and ran the other through his hair, scattering it. His gaze dropped again to Choi Hongseo’s feet.

“I know that asking you to sleep with me while pretending to be someone else might be an uncomfortable request for you, Yoon Hyean. I understand. If you refuse, there won’t be any consequences…”

“I’ll cancel it.”

She interrupted him, clenching her fists tightly inside the coat he had draped over her shoulders and fastened. She spoke firmly.

Lee Hyesung, whose voice had sounded heavy with fatigue, lifted only his eyes to look at Choi Hongseo.

“What I said about not expecting anything from the vice president… I’ll cancel that too.”

“…”

“Actually, I wanted to sleep with you, vice president.”

“…”

“I don’t really care about who it is, or whether we’re pretending to be someone else. If we’re not lovers, it doesn’t matter who we pretend to be. We’re still not sleeping together because we love each other.”

“Are you serious?”

Lee Hyesung looked directly at Choi Hongseo, and this time, her gaze dropped to the side. As she quietly stared at his right hand, she slowly nodded.

She knew she couldn’t refuse to touch that hand again.

“I’ve always been that kind of person… maybe that’s why.”

She emphasized again, keeping her gaze fixed on his large hand, veins visibly bulging under the skin, yet neat in form.

“I’ve always wanted to sleep with you, vice president.”

She didn’t want him to feel any unnecessary guilt. While you might feel guilty thinking I, Yoon Hyean, am the one suggesting this, I’m also accepting it as an opportunity.

Whether he believed her words or not, she wasn’t sure. His serious face seemed ready to demand the truth, as if it might threaten her with fear.

But he didn’t do that. Standing up from the railing, he gestured toward Choi Hongseo’s back.

“Then let’s go.”

Turning around, Choi Hongseo saw the traffic light had turned green.

Had he sent the attendant away? He made her sit in the passenger seat, took the wheel himself, and after searching for his phone and pressing a few buttons, soon started driving.

After driving straight for a while, the SUV made a U-turn and headed back against the original direction. It entered the H Hotel near the entrance of Sowol-ro and descended into the underground parking garage. Choi Hongseo recalled the first time she had walked along Sowol-ro, preparing herself to entertain at that very hotel.

Though it was unlikely for Yoon Hyean, she felt relieved that it wasn’t his home. Revisiting a space with memories of Choi Hongseo stirred up a fever and strange symptoms in her body.

At the parking lot, someone who had been waiting directed his car. Parking in the empty space, Lee Hyesung casually spoke,

“It’ll be uncomfortable, but turn your face the other way for a moment. I need to get the key without checking in.”

He pressed the parking brake and grabbed the coat Choi Hongseo had been holding in her lap, draping it around her like a shawl.

“It’s not like they’ll cause trouble since they’re trustworthy, but it’s probably more convenient for both of us if you don’t show your face.”

She awkwardly turned her head, and the sound of the driver’s side window rolling down followed. After a brief exchange, the window rolled back up. Moments later, Lee Hyesung’s hand reached out and removed the coat.

“It’s done now. You can get out.”

His actions were kind, but they were completely different from the kindness Choi Hongseo had experienced in the past. The touch, the tone of voice, the look in his eyes, and the smile—none of it had the sweet fragrance it once had.

And yet, it still felt the same.

Every time his hand touched her, her heart contracted with fear and expanded violently like an explosion.

She quickly followed him, and they took the staff elevator to avoid meeting anyone. They arrived at the room without encountering anyone.

Once inside, he passed through the living room and headed straight for the bedroom. Without looking back, he adjusted the curtains, lighting, and temperature in the room while speaking to Choi Hongseo, who had followed behind.

“There’s probably something you need to prepare, so take your time and wash up. I’ll use the bathroom over there.”

After dimming the lights, he turned back to look at Choi Hongseo, who was awkwardly standing in the middle of the room. Her gaze dropped as she realized she had carried the coat with her all the way here.

Without saying anything, he closed the door and left the bedroom.

After hanging the coat carefully in the dressing room and slowly finishing her shower, Choi Hongseo couldn’t bring herself to leave the bathroom for a while. She closed her eyes, counting from one to five, then from one to ten. No matter how many times she repeated the process, the tension, anxiety, and strange fear didn’t subside. It had always worked before going on stage…

In front of the mirror, strangely enough, Yoon Hyean now looked at his face, which had become somewhat familiar, checking it here and there. His face, still damp, seemed to resemble Choi Hongseo’s, as some people had said. Both of them had big, distinct eyes, but Yoon Hyean’s were slightly larger. His long, thick eyelashes gave his eyes an even more dazzling appearance. His lips, however, were not as red as Choi Hongseo’s. Still, the overall features were similar. Perhaps because Choi Hongseo’s expressions had been imposed on him, he looked more like the Yoon Hyean that Choi Hongseo had known in the past, rather than the person he had been before.

How could he make his eyes appear smaller? Choi Hongseo gently rubbed the fold of his eyelid and sighed, dropping his hand.

The actions he had shown on the way down from the shaman’s house in Gangwon-do… for a moment, it had filled him with some hope. At that moment, Lee Hae-seong had treated Yoon Hyean completely like Choi Hongseo. It wasn’t an act of testing him, nor was it a role play where he pretended to be Choi Hongseo due to longing, even though he thought logically it was impossible.

When Lee Hae-seong had held him in his arms, comforting him, it felt as if he was about to call him “baby.”

The soul of Choi Hongseo waking up in Yoon Hyean’s body… who could have imagined such a thing? It was a truth no one would believe.

“The giraffe wearing a serpent’s skin doesn’t fit, and it’s bound to be suffocating.”

Choi Hongseo shook his head as he mulled over the shaman’s words, trying to brush off the thoughts. Now was not the time to dwell on such things. Once again, he wiped the steam from the mirror with his palm.

Hoping he could look a bit more like Choi Hongseo, he bit his lower lip hard to make them appear redder.

He made up his mind and left the bathroom, but his figure was nowhere to be found in the bedroom. Instead, a neatly folded set of pajamas was placed at the foot of the bed.

“……”

It was the first night he had stayed at his house. The pajamas he had given him.

He stood still in front of them, staring down for a while. On top of the pajamas, which were folded as neatly as something displayed in a store, a bottle of perfume was placed.

It was the same perfume he had gifted to Choi Hongseo.

He must have given some instructions to his attendants after getting in the car, judging by the way he had fiddled with his phone.

He was probably telling him to wear this and spray that. If he didn’t, it would be impossible for him to embrace him thinking he was Choi Hongseo…

He removed his robe and placed it on the bench at the foot of the bed, then sprayed the perfume on his bare skin, just like he had been taught.

The scent, which he hadn’t smelled in a while, made him instinctively close his eyes and take a deep breath. Even without the perfume, he always smelled good, but this fragrance was the one most strongly associated with the memory of Choi Hongseo. It was as if he were wrapping himself in it, and his whole body trembled with a thrilling sensation.

He put on the pajamas over his bare skin that had been sprayed with perfume. Yoon Hyean’s body was thinner than Choi Hongseo’s, but since their height and basic body shapes weren’t too different, he thought he might look somewhat similar wearing his pajamas. He was relieved.

It wasn’t until he started buttoning the top that he realized his hands were shaking. After several failed attempts, he finally managed to fasten the buttons.

When he finally secured the top button, the bedroom door, which was meant to open both ways, creaked open cautiously.

Wearing a robe, Lee Hae-seong entered holding two glasses of whiskey on the rocks.

Instinctively, Choi Hongseo turned his body away from him and hastily continued buttoning his pajamas. He heard Lee Hae-seong’s rustling laugh from behind.

It was as if to say, “Does it really matter if you show your bare chest now? We’re going to strip everything off soon and roll around anyway.”

“Would you like a drink if you’re finding it difficult to stay sober?”

Perhaps because he had been drinking while waiting for him to finish preparing, the scent of whiskey wafted from his breath as he drew closer. The strong alcohol had mostly evaporated, leaving the rich, heavy aroma of whiskey. This too was one of the smells he remembered from Lee Hae-seong.

He wanted to remember every moment of this with a clear mind, but it seemed he needed to suppress the trembling and tension first.

He accepted the glass from him, closed his eyes, and gulped it down. It felt like his throat was burning.

When he took a third large sip, Lee Hae-seong forcefully pulled the glass from his hand.

“What are you doing? Do you want to collapse?”

“……”

Choi Hongseo wiped the alcohol from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand and stepped back a couple of steps. His gaze quickly scanned Yoon Hyean’s figure, dressed in loose pajamas, and stopped at the trembling fingers.

“Do you think you won’t be able to do it unless you drink? If that’s the case, we should stop right now. Even though you asked me to act like Choi Hongseo, I have no interest in forcing myself onto someone who doesn’t want it.”

His voice was as cold as his stiff expression. Turning around, he walked toward the table by the window and placed the glass down.

Choi Hongseo hurriedly chased after him and grabbed his arm. Shaking his head, he looked directly into his face, denying firmly.

“No! I’m not scared, really! It’s just… I’m nervous.”

He was afraid that Lee Hae-seong might send him away. He needed something to hold onto, something to say to keep him there, something like Choi Hongseo would say.

Still looking down at him with a stiff expression, Lee Hae-seong’s shoulders tensed as Choi Hongseo pressed his forehead against them, gripping the sleeve of his robe tightly.

“I… might not feel much when we do it.”

“……”

“Even if that’s the case, it’s not because I don’t want to do it with you…”

Before he could finish speaking, Lee Hae-seong grabbed Choi Hongseo’s upper arm and dragged him toward the bed.