Initially, he was invisible during the day—in the research lab, the hospital ward, and at home. He would return late at night, slip into my bed for passionate moments, and then fall asleep holding me. Later, he would be gone for several consecutive days, sometimes claiming he was going to Kyoto for publication, Tokyo for a conference, or Kyushu for investigation. Other PhDs were in the lab, but he seemed the busiest, even more so than Professor Tanaka.
A week ago, he went to Nagoya. I called several times, but his phone was off. After two days of silence, I decided to turn off my phone and lie in bed with my laptop, initiating our first-ever cold war.
Around eleven at night, feeling hungry, I got up to boil water for coffee. Just as I prepared to drink, the lights suddenly went out. The room plunged into darkness, and before I could adjust, I felt a cold air current and someone hugged me from behind. “Ah!” I hadn’t even had time to cry for help before my mouth was covered.
Never having encountered such a situation, I was terrified; my body went limp, my brain blank, and all senses lost. I could only struggle instinctively in the pitch black. The person’s immense strength lifted me and threw me onto the bed. Before I could recover, he pressed down on me, tearing open my nightgown. A chilling cold spread from my exposed skin, leaving me so frightened that I couldn’t scream.
His cold palms covered my skin, and wild lips pressed against mine. The familiar taste and breath jolted me back to reality.
This annoying man had scared me like this after not answering his phone.
I angrily punched his chest twice, then hugged him tightly, kissing him back until we were almost out of breath. “You actually came back? I thought you were enjoying yourself in another woman’s arms!”
“You haven’t paid off the tutoring fees you owe me. How could I forget?”
His lips slid downward, kissing my chest, and a hot current swept through me. I almost lost control.
“Miss me?” he asked hoarsely.
“Yes, but…” I caught his hand that was tearing at my clothes in the darkness. “Not today… my period came.”
“Period? What period?”
