Dopamine Addiction - Chapter 20

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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20.
Liam tilted his head to the left, studying her face with a gaze that was both languid and penetrating.
Hee-ju met those eyes directly, her voice measured and calm.
“Because.”
“Because?”
“Because I’ll give you what you want most.”
“What I want most.”
Liam raised one eyebrow as if to ask what that might be. Hee-ju answered with confident conviction.
“Me.”
For a moment, he was caught off guard. His eyes widened, then he covered them with one hand.
“Hahaha.”
His hearty laughter carried far across the breeze. Hee-ju watched, her posture straight and unwavering.
Liam straightened from his slight bow, his gaze now tinged with amusement.
“Quite confident, aren’t you?”
“You don’t like that?”
“Not a chance. I’m not fool enough to let an opportunity slip through my fingers. When it comes, you seize it.”
“But didn’t you say you don’t exploit weak points?”
“That and this are entirely different things.”
“How so?”
Hee-ju pressed the question with genuine curiosity. Liam gave a light shrug.
“That would be a one-sided invasion where only I’m enjoying myself. This is a fair exchange—a contract. You’re perfectly rational right now, and something like this won’t diminish your regard for me. Wouldn’t you say?”
“Ah, of course. Sherlock Holmes.”
Hee-ju’s lips quirked as she added, “Or maybe Freud or Jung would suit you better?”
“Call me Liam.”
……
“When you say that name, it sounds like something more.”
Suddenly, Hee-ju’s expression went blank. Yet the voice that spoke those words was strangely spare—as though utterly sincere.
She couldn’t laugh it off.
……
The sea breeze swept strongly between them. A gull passed overhead, cautious and low.
Hee-ju couldn’t look away from him. He was the truly remarkable one—a man where danger and tranquility coexisted.
The moment she thought she saw Liam’s eyes darken, his pale blue gaze drew slowly closer. The sound of waves and gull cries that had filled the air became distant, dreamlike.
Without thinking, Hee-ju closed her eyes. A large hand curved gently around the nape of her neck—so tender it seemed impossible those fingers had ever taken a life.
Liam moved with the caution of someone approaching a wary cat.
His thumb grazed her cheek softly. The air grew tighter. Something drew inexorably close.
Then their lips met. If the first kiss had been rough, as though it might devour her, the second was so tender her whole body grew heavy with drowsiness.
The contradiction was, strangely, what made it perfect.
!
No—that was Hee-ju’s mistake. His tongue, which had gently teased her lips, suddenly pushed deep. He moved without restraint, as though drawing surrender from her.
Hee-ju’s hands rose without thought. Like someone drowning, she flailed until she grasped at what felt like straw.
A soft laugh. It was his arm she’d grabbed.
But she didn’t let go. There was no room left for reason.
Liam pressed her gently down. Caught between bench and man, Hee-ju breathed quickly. His weight brought a strange sense of relief.
Then Liam slowly pulled away. Her eyes opened reflexively, only to squint against the orange sunlight pouring behind him.
……
Liam’s fingers traced gently along her eyes.
When Hee-ju’s eyes widened, he kissed her again—this time barely a touch.
The hand that had held the nape of her neck released. At the same moment, the world’s noise flooded back in.
The sound of waves, gull cries, footsteps, voices of passersby.
Insane.
Hee-ju shook her head in horror. She’d forgotten they were outside.
Perhaps it wasn’t even Korea that had numbed her sense of reality—or perhaps her reason had genuinely short-circuited.
Hee-ju felt a deep wave of self-recrimination and bit her own lip.
Then their eyes met. Looking into those pale blue eyes, she found herself thinking: it didn’t matter anymore.
Liam rose and extended his hand to her.
“Let’s go.”
There was no need to ask where. Wherever it was, an expert was taking her there.
Without hesitation, Hee-ju took his hand. Liam’s eyes softened as he tightened his grip.
They walked forward as one, their shadows stretching long behind them.
***
Paul McCartney.
Hee-ju frowned as she watched Liam sign the guest register. While the motel owner went to fetch the key, she leaned in, speaking low and fast.
“Paul McCartney after Freddie Mercury? Will it be Elvis Presley tomorrow?”
“American singers aren’t my style. Noel Gallagher would be better, wouldn’t he?”
“Ha.”
Hee-ju sighed in disbelief. Just then the owner returned with the key.
“Room 201. Second floor, turn right.”
The heavyset middle-aged woman didn’t spare them a glance, turning her attention instead to the television.
But today, her coldness was a blessing. Liam took the key, and Hee-ju moved first.
She surveyed the railing thick with dust and shook her head.
They both knew they couldn’t stay at a respectable hotel. Aliases like “Paul McCartney” didn’t work in such places.
But it was unexpected. She’d thought Liam was fastidious, yet he registered no complaint whatsoever.
“May I choose tomorrow’s lodging?”
At her words, Liam’s eyes crinkled slightly. Watching his expression, Hee-ju asked with mild suspicion.
“Do you smile that much normally?”
“Me?”
As though hearing this for the first time, Liam touched his chin with his hand—like someone who hadn’t even realized he’d been smiling.
“Let’s say I’m smiling because I like you.”
At her glib reply, Liam laughed again, this time without meaning to. Then his expression shifted to something caught between surprise and embarrassment.
“You really do like me, don’t you?”
The banter ended there. The moment the door swung open, the air tightened as though a lie had been exposed.
The door closing behind them, the lock engaging, Liam’s approaching footsteps—all of it unnaturally sharp and clear.
Thump-thump. Her heart pounded loudly. Her lips went dry, and tension seized her shoulders.
Only now did the terms of the contract begin to take shape. Things like what might happen on this night.
Thump-thump. Her pulse quickened. No—that wasn’t the real problem. The real problem was that her own heartbeat seemed loud enough to drown out the world.
Hee-ju didn’t want him to know she was nervous. Didn’t want him to know she was inexperienced.
So she turned back with a smile of studied ease.
“I’ll shower first.”
……
Liam watched her silently.
Did she not realize what expression she wore? That the corners of her awkward smile had stiffened with tension?
Before he could say anything, Hee-ju took slow steps away. She made straight for the bathroom.
Slowly, one foot before the other, so as not to seem like she was fleeing.
The bathroom door closed behind her with a bang. Only then did Hee-ju exhale the breath she’d been holding. She glanced toward the mirror hanging on the wall.
!
Her eyes went wide. Her gaze held a mortified light. The face reflected in the mirror was pathetic—like a frightened deer.
“This way, I might as well confess I’ve never done this before.”
She sighed deeply and moved to the sink, turning on the water. After splashing her face with cold water several times, clarity gradually returned.
“I’ve messed this up.”
Hee-ju twisted the faucet to hot, gripped her own hair, and made a face at herself.
***
Whoosh.
Under the cascade of water, Liam’s brow furrowed faintly. The sharp cold bit to his bones, yet he moved without complaint, brushing away the droplets collecting at his chin.
Then his frown deepened. Hee-ju’s clumsy smile wouldn’t leave his mind.
“There’s no way it’s her first time.”
Liam paused mid-murmur.
“Her first time?”
Speaking the words aloud made the situation clearer. His hand rose to his mouth.
“What is this?”
He swallowed the rest and turned off the shower. The rush of water ceased, replaced by sudden silence.
……
His gaze on the bathroom wall was conflicted. Then he remembered Hee-ju waiting.
Liam dried himself with a towel, pulled on only his underwear, and left the bathroom. He found himself wondering what expression she’d have.
Would she wear her usual composure, or would her tension show as it had before?
But then—
……
Liam stopped dead. His eyes fixed on the bed, and his brow slowly twisted in confusion.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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