Chapter 102 - Ice Cream

*WARNING: The first part of the chapter deals with a sensitive aspect of sexual assault. It has been included only to portray how sinister the villain is. If you are uncomfortable with such scenes, please skip to the dotted lines. Thank you!*

Ziko leaned back as he enjoyed the stripper's lap dance. She had an exquisite figure, as she moved her hips provocatively on his groin. He felt his rod stiffening as she grind herself against him. 

He was at his usual strip club. It was under the basement of a high profile multinational firm, away from the prying eyes of the public. Ziko was a regular guest there and very much feared. The bar owner supplied him with girls in exchange for Ziko's silence on the illegal club. On this particular night, the owner sent a new stripper to attend Ziko privately. 

What he failed to mention, however, was that no stripper returned unscathed after their sessions with the grey haired man.

"Unzip my pants," he ordered her in a calm tone

The stripper was startled. "I was told only a lap dance," she pointed out.

"Unzip it," he ordered again.

"No!"

The stripper got to her feet, turning away indignantly when he suddenly stood up, grabbed her hair from the back and forcibly bent her over a table.

The girl screamed for help as he tore off her thong and began to force his phallus inside her. He punched her face with every thrust.

"Please let me go!" she begged but the grey haired man kept on moving inside her. "Help someone!"

She kept on crying but to no avail. The man hurt her, forcibly taking her against her will. Her ordeal carried on for three hours as he beat her mercilessly while tearing into her walls. Finally, he pulled out.

The girl was unconscious from the brutal attack. Ziko zipped his pants and exited the room. Two of his cronies stood there. They heard what was going inside the room.

"Do whatever you want with her," he told them. "Then get rid of her. Understand?"

The guards grinned in an evil way.

"Yes sir," one of them said. They entered the room. As Ziko walked away, the girls screams echoed through the empty hallway once again.

Ziko quietly exited the bar and headed towards his car. The girl's resistance had soured his mood. He liked obedient women and punished rebellious ones. 

Driving off towards his hideout, he called Teppei.

"Meet me at our usual place," he demanded. "Give me updates on our target."

"Understood, boss," Teppei replied from the other end.

….

Half an hour later, Teppei arrived at Ziko's hideout. Ziko was already there, sitting on a chair, sipping tea.

"What news do you have?" he asked.

"Kwon Jiwon got a job at the Imperial Hotel," Teppei informed him. "As a bar singer. He had been working there for the past three months."

"And his wife?" Ziko queried, taking another sip.

"Mostly stays at home," Teppei replied. "She is a freelancing IT Consultant and mostly works from home due to her pregnancy."

"He leaves her unguarded?"

"Well...not really. The girl probably does not know this, but her late father's men keep an eye on her at all times. After all, she is the heir to his fortune. Even if Jung Taewon is dead, his men are loyal to him and now to his daughter. Kwon Jiwon seems to be aware of this since I saw him talking to one of the guards."

Ziko took in every bit of information. It seems it would be difficult to get to the girl…

"If we can't get the girl," he said, calmly drinking his tea. "Then we'll make her come to us."

….

"Jiwon…" Mirae poked his cheek. "Jiwon, wake up."

Jiwon stirred in his sleep. His arms were wrapped around her and he was in a deep sleep. 

"Jiwon…" she poked him again.

"Mmm?" he mumbled.

"I feel like having coconut ice cream," she said. 

"Tomorrow morning…" he mumbled, hugging her tightly.

"But...I need it now…" she pleaded. She had woken up in the middle of the night, with a sudden craving for coconut ice cream. She tried to suppress it but it was getting worse.

"Just let go of me," she said, still caged in his embrace. "I'll quickly go to the convenience store and grab some."

Jiwon sighed and opened his eyes. She was looking at him with her big, dopey eyes.

"I'll go and get some," he groaned, kicking off the blanket. 

"No no!" Mirae protested. "I'll go. It's just a few blocks away."

"You wanna go alone this late at night?" he asked. "That too in this condition? Mirae, you're three months pregnant!"

"I can manage it," she insisted.

"No," Jiwon refused. "I'm going."

"But I don't want to stay alone at night!" Mirae whined. "It's...scary."

She was scared of staying home alone at night. After her parents died, she developed this phobia. Before she married Jiwon, it was very difficult for her to live in those empty hotel rooms her grandpa placed her in.

"Fine," he gave in. "Put on a jacket and some warm clothes. It's cold out there."

"Okay!" she said cheerfully, hopping off the bed. She nearly lost her footing but Jiwon grabbed her.

"Careful!" he scolded her.

"Sorry," she said sheepishly. After ten minutes, they stepped out, heading towards the convenient store.

They entered the store. Mirae happily hopped towards the ice cream section, looking at the flavors.

"Here it is!" she exclaimed, holding up a coconut ice cream stick.

"Let's go and pay for it," Jiwon said. They went to the counter, where a surly teenager was on duty. They paid for the ice cream and went outside to sit on a bench.

Mirae excitedly took out the ice cream. Unwrapping it, she began to devour it.

"Slow down," Jiwon winced as she took big bites out of it. "You'll choke."

"It's so good," she said, smacking her lips, feeling peaceful. Jiwon smiled at her antics. She had a habit of licking her lips whenever she tasted something good. 

"You have ice cream stuck there," he pointed out.

"Where?" she asked, touching her lips.

"Let me wipe it," he said. Mirae leaned in, expecting him to wipe it off. To her surprise, he placed his lips on hers. His tongue touched the tip of her lips, giving it a little lick.

"It's gone now," he said in a casual tone, pulling back. Mirae blinked several times in surprise. She touched her lips, still feeling his warmth on them. Did he just steal a kiss from her?

Jiwon was never into PDA. He was always reserved and cold when it came to showing affection or any sort of feeling. It was the first time, he kissed her in public. 

She glared at him. "Kwon Jiwon," she said sternly. "What's your deal?"

Jiwon was taken aback by the change in her attitude. He was just teasing her.

"You never do any PDA!" she exclaimed. "And when you do it, that's all you do? A little peck?"

"Huh?" he was baffled by her words. Do pregnant women talk nonsense as well? He wondered.

"If you wanna kiss me in public, then do it properly," she said haughtily, taking another bite off her ice cream. "What's with the little lip touches? A kiss should be-"

Her words were interrupted by another kiss from him, this time lingering for a few seconds before he pulled away. Once again, Mirae was dumbfounded.

"You had ice cream on your lips," he teased in an indifferent tone.

"Hey, Kwon Jiwon!" she protested. "I wasn't done-"

But her words were muffled by another peck. 

"There was still ice cream left," he said. Mirae felt her face getting redder. She stood up, walking away quickly from him. Jiwon easily matched her pace.

"You still have ice cream on your lips," he said. "Let me wipe it out-"

"Get your own ice cream!" she scolded him, hiding her lips with her hands. 

"What were you saying about PDA again, honey?" Jiwon smirked at her.

"Oi, don't call me honey!" Mirae complained. "It's so cheesy!"

"Okay," Jiwon said in a serious tone. "Honey."

"Kwon Jiwon-"

But her lips were captured by him again. He held her face as they continued to make out in the middle of the road. For the first time in the past two years, Mirae felt her husband was finally opening up to her.

It seemed like they had gone on for an eternity when Jiwon pulled back. Mirae's lips were slightly swollen, her remaining ice cream melted on her fingers.

"Let's go home," Jiwon smiled at her. He was about to lead the way when Mirae grabbed his sleeve from behind.

"Jiwon...once we go back home...can we…?" she blushed and looked down, smiling.

"No," Jiwon refused.

Mirae gaped at him. "I-it's my hormones talking!" she said. "I really need-"

"No," Jiwon repeated. "You need rest."

"Just a quickie?" she pleaded.

"No."

"Oh come on!"

"Let's go home," he said strictly. "And you're going straight to sleep."

"Oh come one, hubby," she said sweetly but Jiwon flat out refused. She kept on trying to persuade him and even after they reached home, she tried to seduce him. But he rejected all her advances. 

"Fine!" she grumbled, turning away from him as they lay in bed. "Just so you know, next time you feel like doing it, I'm going to say no!"

"Alright," he yawned. To her mild surprise, her turned her around to face him. He wrapped his hands around her, engulfing her into a hug.

"Hey!" she protested. "That's not fair!"

"I can't sleep without my arm pillow," he shrugged sleepily.

"Why am I the arm pillow?"

"Coz you are soft."

Mirae's face heated up upon hearing his words. When did he start to become so shameless? "Kwon Jiwon, you're mean!" she whined but he was already asleep. 

She peeked at his handsome face. It looked so peaceful and calm at that moment. Watching him being carefree warmed her heart. She stroked his cheeks gently. Her hand went to her tummy.

"I hope we can remain happy forever," she whispered as she snuggled into her husband's arms.