How about Cosmic Horror? Chapter 11

Rubbing her hand’s back with his thumb, pressing each finger as if tracing her bones, interlocking and releasing, grazing her palm with his index finger, kneading, stroking… He wouldn’t leave her hand alone for a single moment. Sure, they were married, so it was probably habitual, thoughtless affection, but with her memories gone, it felt different.

Not that it was something to be ashamed of, but she’d never had this kind of contact with a man before. It wasn’t that she’d avoided romance on purpose; she just hadn’t had the time or energy to date. Surviving each day was hard enough. Enduring that jerk without losing her mind—

“Huh?”

Irae clutched her head.

What was that? Who’s “that jerk”?

The strange thought threw her into confusion. Her life had been uneventful, peaceful. When she woke up in the hospital and heard about her amnesia, she thought, My life’s been so bland, an event like this balances things out.

Was this another side effect of the accident? Her husband appearing as a monster, her remembered self clashing with reality, and now her brain auto-generating fiction? She realized how terrifying it was to suffer brain damage. Then again, it wasn’t like she fell off a chair. It was an accident serious enough to be described as a “fall.” She didn’t know where she fell from, though.

The doctor hadn’t elaborated on the accident, and she hadn’t asked. She figured it would only cause her more pain to know. Ignorance is bliss, after all. Even a mild concussion could scramble memories, so a crash could easily make her brain glitch.

12 times 12 is 144, 13 times 15 is 195, 17 times 17 is 289, and 25 times 24 is 600. She checked her math skills just in case and was relieved to find them intact. The hospital test results had also confirmed it. There could be undetected issues, but her basic cognition seemed fine.

Calm down. Overworrying is poison. Stay relaxed, and it’ll get better. If it doesn’t, I’ll deal with it then. Trying to steady her mind, she flinched as he tickled her palm.

“Eek, stop it.”

“What’s got you so serious?”

“It’s nothing serious.”

“You look like the world’s about to end.”

“Come on, me worrying won’t end the world.”

“Why not? The world could end because of you.”

He retorted playfully. Imagining it, she recoiled. No way the world would end because of her, but if it did, the guilt would be unbearable.

“Then I’d rather die.”

“That’s not an option. Don’t make me spend my days in loneliness, honey.”

Teasing back, he flopped onto the bed, still holding her hand.

“Wanna lie down too?”

He asked, looking up at her as he lay on his side. She hesitated for a moment and then leaned back, collapsing onto the spot beside him. As she sank into the soft mattress, drowsiness washed over her.

“Should we just sleep like this?”

She jolted awake at his words.

“Together?”

“Yes. Just holding hands like this.”

His calm voice reassured her. If it were just holding hands, that should be okay. He wasn’t lewd. She could trust him.

Already half-asleep and too tired to care, she agreed lazily.

“Alright then.”

“I’ll turn off the lights.”

The lights went out as soon as he finished speaking. Voice recognition? Or motion sensor? Whichever it was, it was unfamiliar to her, who was used to manually flipping the switch. He tucked a pillow behind her head and said, 

“Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Yohan.”

But once settled, she couldn’t fall asleep for some reason. Maybe he was too close. She started inching toward the edge of the bed to create distance, but his arm wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her into his chest. Her back was pressed firmly against his solid torso.

“Careful, babe. You’ll fall off.”

His whisper in the dark tickled strangely. Not seeing his face made it worse—like a devil murmuring in her ear. A chill crawled down her spine.

The only sound in the silence was her pounding heart. She felt dizzy from the tension. But as if to mock her frozen state, he didn’t make any further moves. He didn’t let go of her shoulder, but he didn’t touch her anywhere else either.

Her racing heart eventually calmed, and as her muscles relaxed, sleep crept back in. She drifted off with her back to him.

Some time later, a strange sensation at her nape jolted her awake.

At first, she thought it was a bug crawling on her, but it wasn’t. It felt like his lips.

What the… Did he accidentally touch her in his sleep? If so, she’d just shift away. 

She was about to move her head when she saw his hand draped across her torso, pressing lightly into the mattress. It was visibly tensed.

He wasn’t asleep.

Her mind went blank as she realized this.

What should I do? Keep pretending to sleep? Or stir like I’m waking up?

As she debated, his lips traced her neck to her shoulder in a kiss far too deliberate to be innocent. It wasn’t the playful peck he’d done during the movie earlier—it was as if he were savoring her skin with his lips, teasing and tasting it with his tongue.

When his lips finally reached her earlobe and nipped it, she flinched and let out an involuntary moan.

“Hhn.”

She froze, startled by her own voice.

Did he hear that?

It hadn’t been loud, but in the silent bedroom—or maybe her imagination—it rang out like a megaphone.

“Babe.”

His breath grazed her ear.

“Are you awake?”

Her mind raced to interpret his question. Was he asking because he knew she was awake? Or just checking?

If the former, pretending was pointless. But if the latter, admitting it would be turning herself in. 

People make sounds in their sleep. Her moan could pass as unconscious. He wasn’t an all-knowing god; he couldn’t be 100% sure that she was awake. So, she had to keep up the act. She didn’t have the courage to face him in this situation.

Eyes squeezed shut, she chanted inwardly: I’m asleep. I’m unconscious…

Then she heard his soft chuckle.

“Mmm, you’re asleep.”

She’d fooled him. Inwardly praising herself for her acting skills, his next words…

“Good. It’d be a shame to stop here.”

What?!

In that instant, his hand lifted her shirt and subtly slipped inside. It was just his fingertips, but sensing danger, she hurriedly let out a sleepy groan, “Uuugh…” and tossed and turned. Then, she opened her eyes.

“Huh? Yohan, you weren’t sleeping?”

She tried to sound as sleepy as possible, and he trembled, making the bed shake. She could tell at a glance that he was holding back laughter.

She knew it looked obvious, but there was no turning back. She put on a brave face and continued acting.

“I need to use the bathroom.”

“Mhm. Over there. Go ahead.”

Following his gesture, she entered the bathroom, closed the door behind her, and then collapsed onto the toilet seat as her legs gave out.

What just happened?

She traced her neck and shoulders where his lips had lingered. The sensations came rushing back. She stood before the mirror, face bright red like a burning sweet potato.

She traced her fingers along the back of her neck and shoulder. The tingling sensation revived as she followed the path his lips had taken. She stood before the mirror, face bright red like a burning sweet potato.

Clutching her head in a silent scream, she pondered what to do next.

Say she’d sleep in another room? There was no way she could sleep in the same bed with him now. He was scarier than any Dagon.

Right. Let’s escape this room.

Gripping the sink, she took a deep breath and left the bathroom. He was lounging on the bed, his bouquet head propped casually.

“I’m going to sleep in another room.”

“Why?”

His clueless response made her neck tense. Did he sell his conscience to outer space?

Glaring with a face like she’d bitten a bug, he laughed and patted the spot beside him.

“Come here. I won’t do anything.”

“How can I trust that?”

“What’s not to trust?”

His brazen retort pushed her over the edge.

“You said we’d just hold hands!”

“Yes. So we held hands until you fell asleep.”

Her head spun at his nonchalant response. So he meant he’d do whatever after she was asleep? Speechless, she stormed to the bed, grabbed the pillow she’d used, and swung it at him—not hard, just enough to make a point.

“Can’t trust anyone these days.”

“I’m not a person, I’m a flower. So wouldn’t it be okay to trust me?”

Whatever. She was a fool for believing his sweet talk at this age.

Sighing, she dropped the pillow and turned her back on him.

“Are you really leaving?”

“You think I’m stupid? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”

“Even if I promise to hold only your hand until you wake up?”

She wavered for a moment but steeled herself.

“Goodnight.”

“Yes. You too.”

He didn’t try to stop her when she expressed her intention to leave. 

Back in her original room, she turned on the light and lay down.

What he had just done haunted her thoughts. The fear of her hallucination had vanished, replaced by the vivid memory of his touch. She rubbed her neck and shoulders for a while before finally falling asleep.