Those Who Replay Their Dreams (3)
She walks slowly along the promenade, deliberately matching her pace. She could walk much faster, but she takes her time through the night like a tortoise in a race.
Just holding hands and walking... is it okay to feel this happy?
Her oppa adjusts his steps to her rhythm. There's no special conversation. They just stroll along the path. That's enough to lift her spirits. She feels like jumping in place.
How much time passes like that? Clearly more than fifteen minutes have flown by when they stop in front of the apartment's shared entrance. Only then does it hit her.
"Ah, right. Unnie. You were going to tell me about your trip, remember?"
She'd lured him into a night walk with the promise of details on his one-night, two-day trip with her sister. But even as the walk ends and it's time to part naturally, she hasn't mentioned her sister once.
Ah... I got too excited, just me, all by myself...
Her heart grows heavy. While she was thrilled, he must have been thinking something else. Walking the same path, seeing the same scenery, but feeling something completely different. Her head drops naturally.
Should she say something now?
There's really nothing much to say, though... What do I do?
He must have been expecting it all along. Waiting. But if she says now, "I'm planning to go next weekend. That's it. I don't know anything else," then...
"It's fine."
"Huh?"
"Walking quietly like this wasn't bad. It was a nice change of pace."
"......"
She places a hand on her chest. Her heart is pounding loudly.
"Go on in, then. See you tomorrow. Don't study too late."
"W-wait...!"
Gathering her courage, she lifts her head. Her face must be flushed red, and the entrance light will make it all too visible, but she doesn't want to let him go like this.
"The photo. What did you think of my photo?"
"Ah..."
"No reply... not even a word..."
The photo she'd sent instead of her sister's. She brings it up on impulse.
"If you don't like it... I won't send any more. It might be a bother..."
"It's not that I don't like it..."
"Th-then it's fine! You mean it's okay if I keep sending them."
She cuts him off before he can add anything.
I don't want to hear something like, "I don't mind, but could you send Ari's photos like before?"
"......"
"......"
Awkward silence returns. To break it, she speaks again. She doesn't want to turn back home just yet. She wants even one more minute with him.
"C-could you... h-hug me, maybe...?"
"Huh? R-right... now? Here?"
He stammers, glancing around. She nods cautiously. Deep down, she wants to be bolder. A cheek kiss... a lip kiss... to finish what they couldn't in the dream properly... But that's too much. Things she can't have right now.
A hug should be easy enough.
Of course, isn't it a bit selfish? The thought crosses her mind. He likes her sister. She knows that. Yet here she is, asking him to accept her. Begging him to do something her sister would oppose, something that could never end well if her sister found out.
She likes him. He knows that. So he can guess how much courage it took to make this request. He knows how she'd feel if rejected. He can't refuse easily.
"Deulle. Even so... outdoors is a bit..."
"Huh?"
"Hygiene issues, and all sorts of other preparations..."
The conversation feels off. She recalls what she just said.
—"C-could you... h-hug me, maybe...?"
And realizes where the misunderstanding came from.
"Wh-wh-what are you talking about! Not that— a hug! I asked if you could give me a hug!"
"Ah! Then yeah, of course I can. I should."
He steps toward her in a fluster, closing the distance and pulling her into a tight embrace.
"Ah.........♥"
"S-sorry. Too tight?"
"No."
She pulls him closer as he loosens his grip.
"You can hold me tighter."
She presses her cheek to his shoulder, squeezing until her breasts flatten against him. It's just like in the dream. No—maybe even better. Bare skin barely touches. No overwhelming ecstasy to make her faint. But wrapped in his heartbeat and warmth, she feels like she could die happy.
Wait... what did oppa say earlier?
His words from the misunderstanding echo in her mind.
—"Huh? R-right... now? Here?"
—"Deulle. Even so... outdoors is a bit..."
—"Hygiene issues, and all sorts of other preparations..."
If not here? If not outdoors? If hygiene's solved and everything's prepared? Doesn't that mean he'd hug her in... another way?
The words slipped out without thinking, so they're probably sincere.
If I tempt him with my body... could it really work?
Then something brushes her thigh. Something twitching. Not her thigh flesh. Something protruding noticeably over his pants.
No way, is this... that? It's really this b-big in real life too?
Suddenly, the memory surges: in the dream, his thing prying into her body. Maybe she could feel that sensation in reality. Thrashing mindlessly until she blacks out. Just imagining it makes her tremble. Her body shudders violently.
"There, that enough?"
He pries her off forcibly, grabs her shoulders, and pushes her toward the glass entrance door. Like he's hiding something. Like he doesn't want to show the growing bulge. Like he doesn't want her knowing he's aroused because of her, not her sister.
She gazes up at him silently. This time, he avoids her eyes.
......
"Go in."
The automatic entrance door closes. Through the transparent glass, he waves at Min Deulle. She bows her head and naturally glances at his lower body. For a brief moment, but he clearly sees her eyes sweep over his erection.
He could have hidden it. Covered with his hand, turned away—plenty of ways.
But I can't show something pathetic like that. Better to stand tall and proud. Nothing to be ashamed of anyway.
Of course, sending her off casually would have been best. But getting hard in that situation is impossible to avoid. What man wouldn't? If he could, he wouldn't be a man. He'd be impotent.
"Hoo..."
He turns after sending her off. They walk the same promenade where she'd strolled naked in his dream. Every time the playground comes into view, Deulle had glanced that way wistfully. She'd chattered because she didn't want to part, and at the end, cutely begged for a hug.
And he'd mistaken it for a plea to fuck outdoors, letting his imagination run wild. Was she really asking for that? Does she believe what he did in the dream and want him to finish it? Is it his responsibility? Should he accept? He wants to—definitely feels good. But outdoor sex in reality crosses the line. So take her to a motel or his place? Then what about Min Ari?
And he hugged her. Feeling her texture and scent for real, not in a dream. Just a few thin layers of clothes between them. Remove those, and he could connect deeply with Deulle right then. She wants it too—her face and body language screamed it.
"How could I not get turned on in that situation."
He glances at the playground briefly, then pulls out his phone. He checks the Dream Manipulation App.
"Nothing yet, huh..."
Deulle hasn't dreamed since the naked walk. No dreams available to buy. Min Ari needs 30 Drim Coins to register.
"Guess jerking off to Ari and Deulle's photos is all I've got..."
He starts walking faster. Deulle's sensation lingers. The feel of her pressing closer even as his thing touched her thigh—vivid. He wants to release properly before it fades.
......
"Deulle... Uju-mong... what the hell are you two?"
Uju-mong vanishes into the darkness. Only then does she end her tailing and step into the entrance light.
"Are you two dating already?"
The vibe was exactly that. Walking hand-in-hand silently through the apartment complex. Lingering in conversation until the end, hugging desperately.
"Th-then what was that at the end? Why was my name on his lips?"
He'd glanced at his phone, sighed deeply, and muttered it. Clearly about masturbating to her photo and her little sister's.