11. Two Different Warmths in Two Different Places

Her fingers mindlessly pressed buttons until a drama started playing.

She simply followed the storyline, and got carried away. The actress on screen was in the middle of an angry outburst, trying to calm herself down with food—ordering a super spicy jjamppong.

The actress devoured the spicy steaming noodle soup. Her face looks melting with satisfaction.

She said spicy flavors helped relieve emotions. It triggered certain nerves, making the brain feel more relaxed and happy. The effect, supposedly, was as powerful as drinking or eating something sweet.

‘At this hour, something soupy seemed much more appealing instead of ice cream,’ Ashley thought.

Her eyes suddenly glanced at the clock on the wall. It showed past 2 AM.

"It's almost morning," she muttered. Her stomach was also hungry because she hadn't eaten dinner yet. Her last meal was a light snack at her wedding party this afternoon. She even had to swallow with difficulty due to being under a chaotic feeling.

"Hh... I really want that. But there's no way any restaurants are open this late. Or... maybe there is?"

Not expecting much, she grabbed her phone. Started opening and searching through the food delivery app.

To her surprise, several places were still open and available for serving twenty-four hour delivery.

Driven by hunger, she quickly placed an order, plus adding many other super spicy snacks.

Nearly an hour later, the food arrived, and she wasted no time digging in.

"Mmm, so good," she murmured. Her hands expertly twirling the noodles with her chopsticks and slurping them up like a true Korean. "Haa, spicy... Hmm. I should've ordered two servings."

She enjoyed her meal wholeheartedly. The actress in the drama was right. The kind of comfort food also helped her body feel warm.

Several times, Josh’s words from earlier flickered in her mind—the ones she had overheard while eavesdropping. About him mentioning dinner.

But every time the thought surfaced, she pushed it away.

It was totally better to know nothing than to know a lot of things and end up overthinking.

If Josh was out there enjoying himself with his girlfriend, then she could have her own kind of fun too.

×××

Josh was smiling as wide as he could when Sharon opened the door. She responded with a wry face and rolling eyes. Then turned around and threw herself roughly onto the sofa with a dramatic flop.

“Are you mad again?” Josh asked softly. “I already bought your favorite spiced chicken.”

The plastic bag containing Sharon’s order—two boxes of fried chicken and a couple of bottles of beer—was placed on the kitchen table as he walked past. Then, he followed the girl to the couch and sat next to her.

“If you keep pouting like that, your food will get sad.”

He reached out to caress her hair, but she quickly moved away and turned her face in the opposite direction.

Josh let out a small sigh.

“You don’t like me here?” His voice came out still in a smooth tone.

He waited, but got no answer. Sharon kept her back to him, without moving or making a sound. Only her shoulders rising and falling in a steady rhythm.

“Want me to leave again? Hm? You still don’t want to see me?”

Suddenly, the girl quickly turned her head and showed her twisted face and angry pout. Her lips were pursed, and her eyebrows knitted so tightly they almost touched.

Josh, seeing her expression, struggled to hold back his laughter, settling for a faint smile instead.

“Wow... What’s that? Why is my girlfriend making that face?” He teased her.

Josh knew well about Sharon's mannerisms when she was angry and whining like this—her tantrums and dramatic sulking. Like a child fishing for more attention. That was why he never left right away. Instead, he stayed, patiently persuading her, trying anything and everything until she eventually softened on her own.

“How annoying!” Sharon huffed. “What's wrong with my face? Now you think my face is ugly? Because you already have a wife, and you think she’s prettier than me, is that it?”

The moment the words left her mouth, regret flashed across his face. It seemed that he had not been careful enough in speaking just now. He really had no idea how to fix it.

Josh sighed inwardly.

“But… I never said you were ugly,” he replied, deliberately putting on a wounded expression, making sure she could see the sadness in his eyes.

“Hmph!” Sharon looked away and turned her back on him again, crossing her arms.

“Babe…” Josh shifted closer to the girl and rested his forehead against her shoulder. “Please stop being mad at me. I had such a rough day. Everyone was yelling at me. I rushed here because I missed you. I didn’t even have time to take a shower.”

“No wonder you stink.”

Sharon turned toward him without pulling herself away or pushing him off. She wrinkled her nose, as if she smelled something bad.

Josh lifted his head, “Really?” His eyes widened in fake surprise before he sniffed himself, checking to confirm.

“Yeah,” Sharon said, narrowing her eyes. “But I don’t know if it is just the smell of your sweat… or—” Sharon's eyes sharpened and her tone darkened again, “I should be even angrier if there’s another girl’s scent on you.”

Josh swallowed hard. He remembered an earlier incident. About how he had deliberately hugged Ashley and pinned her to the bed. He secretly prayed her perfume hadn’t lingered on him. From this distance, Sharon didn’t seem to catch anything suspicious, but still…

“Of course not,” his eyes trembling. “I didn’t even touch her hand.”

He tried to remain calm so that his lie wouldn't show.

Sharon’s gaze dropped to his left hand. Her eyes fell on the silver wedding band. “You’re wearing that ring,” she pointed out. “How can you wear it without touching her hand?”

Josh exhaled sharply and massaged his forehead. “Afterwards. I mean, after that, I didn’t touch her at all.”

Every word he said only seemed to dig a deeper hole. He was slipping.

But then, to his surprise, Sharon suddenly let out a crisp laugh.

“Okay,” she said, grinning. “I believe you.”

Relief washed over him, and he smiled back. His hand reached up to stroke her cheek.

“I’ll clean up first then,” he murmured.

Sharon suddenly leaned towards Josh, and tilted her head. Her expression shifted in an instant. Her lips curled into a playful smirk. Her tone also changed completely with voice turning softer, sweeter, dripping with seductiveness.

“Want me to help you clean up?”

Her eyes sparkled lustfully.