Forbidden Desire

We couldn’t even get up to take a shower and just fell asleep almost immediately. We ended up not having dinner, so when we woke up hours later, we took a shower together and went downstairs to have breakfast, feeling more united than ever. She promised me that she wouldn’t let Jinhee come between us, and everything seemed fine. When we arrived in the dining room, hugging each other like two teenagers, Jinhee, sitting and reading a newspaper, showed clear dissatisfaction.

“Good morning, lovebirds…”

“Good morning, Jinhee…”

Jane had promised to be patient, and I was happy to see that she was keeping her word. I was almost sure that Jinhee’s pregnancy was fake, so today I would take her to Dr. Kim, and we would resolve it.

“Very good morning… Are you ready to go to the hospital?”

“Yes! I woke up early and got ready… Well, saying I woke up early would mean I slept, and that was a bit difficult yesterday…”

She said with a sarcastic tone, and Jane and I looked at each other like two teenagers.

“Oh, how embarrassing…”

“Why? We were making up…”

“From what I heard, you did much more than make up all night… But anyway, I’m not here to interrupt you… Believe me, I wouldn’t want to be here either…”

As much as she seemed to be telling the truth, once bitten, twice shy, so I just ignored her. We had breakfast almost in silence until Mrs. Amelia, with a stern expression, entered the room.

– “Excuse me, Mr. and Mrs. Park… Jane, Mr. Venom has arrived; may he come in?”

“W-what? Venom is here? Venom, the biggest singer in the country? Venom, the K-pop king? Venom, the richest man in Korea?”

She seemed scared and suddenly excited at the same time. She began running her hand through her hair and straightening her clothes while Jane gave her a disapproving look.

“Yes, Auntie, you can bring him straight to the studio…”

“Why? Why is he here?”

“We’re working together.”

“Why don’t you invite him to have breakfast with us?”

She stared at her for a second and then looked at me.

“Because I hate this guy… But you know what… Fine… Mrs. Amelia, bring him to the dining room.”

Jinhee seemed a little too excited, and I had forgotten that it was because she had always been a big fan of K-pop; she used to dance before our marriage, but then she stopped. When Mrs. Amelia returned with him, it was impossible for me not to wrinkle my nose at the way he looked at Jane as if no one else were in the room.

“Ji… Good morning… Would you like to sit down and have breakfast with us?”

She got up and went to him, pulling him to the table, but he hesitated.

“No, thank you, I’ve already eaten…”

Jinhee stuttered a few times before managing to speak.

“Oh my God, I can’t believe Venom is here…”

She extended her hand to him, who stared at her hand extended in the air.

“Hi, I’m Jinhee, and I’m a big fan of yours! It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

She gave him a childlike smile, looking thrilled to be face to face with her idol, but he didn’t even bother to shake her hand.

“I know who you are, and I can say for sure that I can’t say the same!”

She was shocked as she stared at the man with an extremely cold demeanor.

“W-what?”

“Look, I’m only here because of Jane, and I know how much harm you’ve caused her, so know that I don’t want to know you at all.”

He stared at Jane, who seemed surprised by his attitude, and the way they looked at each other bothered me too much.

“I’ll wait for you in the studio…”

He turned to leave, but Jane quickly grabbed his hand.

“I’ll go with you, Ji…”

They left the room, and my blood seemed to boil. I would never understand their intimacy… The way they held hands, hugged, and looked at each other as if they were having a conversation. I was so immersed in my own anger that I didn’t even notice that Jinhee seemed to be analyzing me, although she still seemed shocked. After a few seconds, she sat back down and took a sip of the tea in front of her, looking disappointed.

“Wow, what an unfriendly guy…”

“I have to agree with you…”

She seemed to think for a moment and looked at the door.

“Don’t you find it strange that they’re so close? She even calls him Ji… How did that happen?”

“No… I don’t find it strange… They’re friends, and you won’t poison me against Jane…”

I lied… That bothered me too much, but I won’t argue with Jinhee about it. Right now, I just wanted to finish eating quickly to take her to the hospital. She went back to reading the newspaper as she used to do in the morning, and when she focused on something on the page, she smiled satisfactorily.

“Maybe I can’t, but what about Dispatch?”

“W-what?”

She turned the front page of the newspaper to me, and my heart almost stopped beating.

“Meet the new girlfriend of K-pop king Venom… She’s the newest artist from Seoul College and is one of the finalists in the ‘Emotions’ contest…”

With each word of the article she read, my heart hurt more. There were photos of them hugging from all angles, and the last photo seemed to be a picture of two shadows kissing inside a car with tinted windows, but it was impossible to see their faces.

“After serving as a model for the artist in a contest where she described him as ‘My Sun,’ the two spared no affection and hugs while the contest judges decided who would be the finalist. After winning the contest, they celebrated and left the event together, holding hands. Our reporters followed the lovebirds, and we got some photos of them kissing.”Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

“Enough, Jinhee! You can’t even see who’s in that photo!”

“But there’s a photo of them getting into the car together, and here you can clearly see that they’re kissing.”

I grabbed the newspaper from her hand and analyzed it more closely. I didn’t want to believe it… This couldn’t be true…

“I’m sorry you’re going through this… She with that innocent face…”

“Shut up, Jinhee!”

I couldn’t stand this doubt anymore and stood up with the newspaper in my hand, feeling a rage consuming me, so I went to Jane’s studio, followed by Jinhee, who seemed to want to watch everything from the front row. When I entered the studio, they were too close, and he was holding her face.

“You don’t have to put up with this…”

“She doesn’t have to put up with what?”

When I realized it, I was already pushing him away to keep him away from her.

“Jason… What’s this?”

“I’m asking you, Jane… What the hell is this?”

I lifted the newspaper I had in my hands, and I saw her face turn completely white, confirming all my doubts.

“Jason… I…”

“You what, Jane?”