Flowers Are Bait

“Ahh, so I picked you up.”

Lee-yeon didn’t respond.

“I whispered sweet nothings into your ear and brought you to bed, right? I was a shameless bastard.” He smiled. He was enjoying listening to the memories of his past.

She felt like she was losing composure. If she couldn’t come up with something quick, she would be the one stuck. Suddenly, Lee-yeon felt so distressed that she wanted to run far way from there. He had made her lie down on the same bed with him as though they were a married couple (which he assumed they were). Lee-yeon was scared that if she didn’t come up with something to stop this, he might force himself on her next time.

Cold sweat trickled down her back. I have to stop this. “You are actually not shameless. We weren’t sexually compatible.”

The smile slowly disappeared from his face. “It wasn’t good?”

“S*x?”

“Yes.”

“Who?” He asked.

“What?” She replied.

“Who wasn’t good at it?”

It took all of her effort not to avert her gaze from his, but Lee-yeon held onto his persistent gaze which was urging her to respond.

“Both of us?” He asked before she could respond. He then let out a dry laugh. He then frowned and became serious once again. “This is even more shocking than my memory loss.”

Kwon Chae-woo’s eyes seemed to be strange. He usually looked amicable when he didn’t know what he was doing. But his eyes at that moment looked like they knew something. He facepalmed and let out another laugh.

“So, you’re saying we didn’t indulge in s*x after that?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“What exactly was the problem?” His soft voice sounded determined yet subdued at the same time.

“Ah…” Lee-yeon felt that she was going to run out of answers soon. His questions were getting very personal and intimate, and she was finding it hard to lie out of her teeth. But she was an adult. She wouldn’t let him intimidate her.

“I… I don’t think we were compatible with each other. I didn’t feel anything the first time we did it. I still don’t know what orgasm is…”

Kwon Chae-woo didn’t respond. “You also told me once that you didn’t have a very high libido and that you didn’t really like doing it so much. That was actually what I liked about you. I fell in love with you because you didn’t really care about being sexually compatible. What mattered to you was only love. You were like a monk.”

“A monk? Me?” he said in disbelief. Perhaps he was blaming himself or the Kwon Chae-woo that Lee-yeon had created. He furrowed his eyebrows.

“So, we were mostly in a platonic relationship. It worked out for us both at the time,” she said. Lee-yeon struck the final blow.

Kwon Chae-woo was speechless. He looked up at the ceiling for a while in silence. He was so quiet for such a long time that Lee-yeon was sure he had finally fallen asleep. Just when she was wondering whether she should get up and leave, Kwon Chae-woo said, “So, you nursed and took care of me even though we aren’t sexually compatible.” Lee-yeon didn’t say anything to that. It wasn’t as though people took care of other people only to do the deed. What kind of twisted thinking was that?

“You really do love me a lot, So Lee-yeon,” he said finally.

He let out a short sigh. Lee-yeon lamented that she had caused yet another misunderstanding. She felt very uncomfortable, but she didn’t say it out loud. She decided that the more he believed it, the safer she would be. It was the only way to keep Kwon Chae-woo away from her.

“Go to sleep now,” said Lee-yeon, putting an end to the conversation. The more she talked with him, the scarier it was that she might let slip something and would be caught in her own trap.

“Okay. Good night, Lee-yeon” He closed his eyes and turned away as though he no longer wanted to hear about his past.

Lee-yeon prayed to the god of trees. Please make this man fall into a deep sleep! A coma would be very preferable. I hope he doesn’t wake up for weeks. The doctor did say he was suffering from some syndrome. Please, please make him fall asleep! She prayed desperately.

Just when she thought he was asleep for good, he whispered, “But why wasn’t I good? Was it the deed itself or my caresses that left you dissatisfied? Or… was I a virgin and hence not experienced?”

Lee-yeon was lost for words. “I… I don’t know for sure. I think you didn’t like doing it and also that you finished very quickly…” Ugh… Lee-yeon cursed herself.

He fell very silent at that and muttered to himself with a short sigh. Eventually, Lee-yeon heard his breath even out and she was sure he was asleep. She tried to pry her hands away from his so that she could leave but in vain. Eventually, the day’s events had made her so tired, that she drifted off to sleep right there. She had wanted to ask him just one question. Why did you kill the chicken cruelly?

The next morning, Lee-yeon woke up feeling well-rested… and screamed. Kwon Chae-woo looked down at her, his hand propping his head up. “Good morning,” he greeted her in surprise.

What the…! The doctor said he had Sleeping Beauty Syndrome! What is he doing up? She had expected Kwon Chae-woo to sleep for a few days straight because of his condition but here he was, up earlier than her and saying, ‘good morning’. His flax-colored iris appeared reddish than usual in the morning sun.