Girlfriend's Forgiveness

It was a late morning on the weekend.

Yeonwoo pushed himself up from the sofa. Having curled up to sleep on the small couch, his neck and shoulders ached with a dull, stubborn stiffness. He rolled his shoulders, trying to work the tension out of the muscles.

His gaze drifted naturally toward the bed.

Hye-na had not moved. Her hair lay scattered across the white pillowcase, and through the folds of her knit dress her pale legs were exposed in a pitiful sprawl.

The numbers the Status Window displayed told him she was already awake.

Yeonwoo fixed two mugs of instant coffee, then carried them toward the bed. He sat carefully beside the still figure and set one cup soundlessly on the nightstand.

"Hye-na? Are you awake?"

Her eyelashes fluttered. Very slowly her eyelids lifted. The rims were swollen—silent traces of the tears she had shed through everything that happened the night before.

Without a word she pushed herself upright.

She accepted the coffee cup and took a sip.

"Is your stomach... okay? Why did you drink so much?"

"..."

"About the bulletin board... I heard from Seonyeong."

Hye-na only nodded. After a long silence she forced the words out.

"I can handle it myself. Don't worry."

"Yeah... but if you need help, tell me anytime. I'm... your boyfriend, after all."

At the word boyfriend she looked up at his face.

My boyfriend? After doing that with my best friend yesterday?

A flash of contempt crossed her eyes.

The Emotion Value shown on the Status Window read 32. This was the same girl who had never dropped below fifty whenever they were together.

"I had a bad dream," she whispered, lowering her head again. She kept her face down as she continued. "With oppa... and Seonyeong..."

She could not finish the sentence. Simply putting it into words was too hard.

Yeonwoo already understood that she knew everything about last night. He understood exactly what she meant. The words would not come easily. Her fingers tightened hard around the mug handle.

"Was it... really a dream? It felt so vivid."

She knew it had not been a dream. But hearing the confirmation from her own boyfriend was something else entirely.

Yeonwoo spoke in a low voice.

"It wasn't... a dream."

Hye-na felt her heart drop. She had wanted him to deny it—to tell her it had only been a dream, that she had been drunk and seeing things. If he had insisted, she would have tried to believe him. Believing the person you love can sometimes be easier than accepting the truth. She would have doubted what she had seen, blamed her own drunken memory and imagination.

But Yeonwoo gave her no such chance.

Time seemed to stop. The color drained from her face in an instant.

"You bastard..."

She could not look at him as she spoke.

"Why, oppa? Now? When I'm... when I'm already going through this..."

"I'm sorry."

His apology hung hollow, circling inside the narrow room and going nowhere.

"Sorry?"

Hye-na stood. The blanket slid to the floor. Her whole body was trembling.

"I was... right here. Right next to you... and with Seonyeong..."

"It just... happened in the moment. Really."

"What does that matter!"

She screamed the words. Tears streamed down her face; she made no move to wipe them away. Rage and betrayal twisted together. She could not go on speaking. Her breath locked in her throat.

When Yeonwoo reached for her, she flinched back to the edge of the bed.

"Don't touch me."

The words were sharp as a blade.

"Don't lay a hand on my body."

She looked around, snatched her black slim jeans from the floor and pulled them on, then dragged her bag out from under the bed.

"Hye-na, let's talk."

"What more is there to talk about?"

She turned and faced him. Her eyes had gone completely cold, ice without a single trace of warmth left in them.

If she walked out of his place now, that would be the end of them. Up to this point everything had unfolded exactly as Yeonwoo expected. But he had no intention of stopping here.

Inwardly he began a conversation with his special ability.

Can I... can my power... turn this situation around?

Emotion Value manual mode. Target value 85. Immediate 50. Then rise three points per minute.

The reply came at once. And in that instant the change began.

Her value, which had plummeted as low as 22, shot up to 50.

"Uh…?"

The sudden emotional shift left Hye-na dizzy; her body swayed. Yeonwoo did not miss the opening. He caught her by the shoulders and sat her firmly back on the edge of the bed.

"Let go!!!!"

She shouted, but her body refused to obey.

Yeonwoo settled on the floor in front of her, almost kneeling, and looked up into her face.

"Do you want to end it with me like this?"

His voice was low and serious.

"Oppa..."

Hye-na's voice trembled. She tried to look away and could not.

"Oppa yesterday... right next to me, did that with my closest friend, Seonyeong. How am I supposed to... with an oppa like that..."

"Even so..."

Yeonwoo pressed on without letting go.

"Are you really going to end it with me?"

"If not...? Can we... keep dating like this?"

"We can."

His answer came so immediately there was no hesitation, no doubt in it. The sheer certainty left Hye-na speechless.

"How..."

"I... while we were dating... knew you were still meeting Professor Yeon, but we kept going out, didn't we?"

In that moment her eyes went wide.

"Oppa... how did you... know that..."

She had done everything she could to hide the secret. She had acted perfectly, never letting anything slip that he might notice. She had been certain this naive man would never find out.

"I know you have something you need to settle... that it's your relationship with Professor Yeon. That's why... I waited."

"Oppa..."

The strength drained from her voice.

It's really over now.

She was certain she could no longer continue with a man who knew every shameful part of her.

And yet... strangely, a heat began to rise in her chest.

"Even knowing that... we were good together, weren't we? We dated well."

Yeonwoo kept speaking. His voice carried quiet persuasion. Logic was unnecessary; all he needed was to awaken the feelings already living inside her.

"It's the same this time. We can get past this too."

He reached out and carefully covered the hand resting on her knee. This time she did not pull away.

Hye-na closed her eyes. Two quiet tears slid down her cheeks. She felt the warmth of his hand.

"Oppa... even knowing I was like that... you still liked me?"

"You said you'd settle it. I... believed you."

"Oppa must have suffered a lot because of me..."

"It's okay."

He spoke in a near-whisper.

"We're not perfect for each other. But... we need each other, don't we?"

Hye-na wavered. As the number climbed, the love she had once felt for him surged back to the surface.

"Oppa, are you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠really okay? Even knowing completely that I'm... that kind of woman?"

"Yeah. Because I love you."

"Oppa..."

She shook her head and began to sob. Her body folded forward; Yeonwoo gently drew her into his arms. This time she offered no resistance.

"I'm sorry... oppa, I'm really sorry..."

Her voice came muffled against his chest.

"I... hurt you a lot too..."

"It'll all pass."

He rested a hand on her back and whispered.

Hye-na trembled inside his embrace.

"Can I... really stay by oppa's side? When I'm... this dirty..."

She buried her tear-soaked face deeper against him. Yeonwoo held her tightly.

"Oppa... I'm sorry... and... I love you too, oppa."

A satisfied smile curved his lips—the expression of a victor. Her reaction. Inwardly he thought:

I controlled this crisis perfectly. With my ability, with persuasion, by regulating her emotions.

And more importantly, the process had deepened his understanding of Emotion Values. The factors that raised the number, the ones that lowered it... more complex than he had expected, yet controllable depending on the situation.

Hye-na's value now sat at 85. That number meant many things. It could simply express her arousal, but her present state was far more intricate—a composite of guilt, self-loathing, dependency, and depression as negative elements, balanced against love for Yeonwoo, excitement, and emotional overwhelm.

Now... if his touch were added...

She would...

Yeonwoo slowly laid the girl in his arms down onto the bed. He climbed over her and pressed his mouth to hers. Their lips parted; two tongues tangled. Her hands slid up his back and held him close.

"Mmm..."

A soft moan escaped her mouth. The deep kiss lasted several minutes before Yeonwoo finally drew back. A thin thread of saliva still connected their lips. Looking down at her face, he began to undress with deliberate slowness.

"Oppa... will we really be okay?"

Hye-na whispered. Her eyes followed the clothes leaving his body, already full of longing. No remnant of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠earlier anger or hurt remained.

"Yeah... we can overcome it."

"Honestly, I'm not confident."

She turned her head away. None of this made sense to her. All night she had watched her boyfriend and her best friend joining their bodies right beside her. She had cursed them and sworn she would never see this man again. Yet in an instant her heart had flipped. The desire for him.

Watching her, Yeonwoo whispered,

"But... you want me, right?"

Hye-na nodded. She too pulled off her knit dress and pushed her bra ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠up.

The curves of her body stood out clearly—the contour of her breasts, the slender waist, the firm abdomen. Everything lay bare under his gaze.

Yeonwoo unhooked her bra. As she slid the straps from her shoulders, her beautiful breasts came free. Soft, elastic skin; nipples already stiff and catching the light.

She removed her panties herself and spread her legs. Between her thighs her pussy was revealed—the slightly parted slit showing pink inner flesh that pulsed as if breathing. The outer lips, wet and glistening, shone under the light.

Yeonwoo paused, taking in the sight. Only moments ago this was the woman who had tried to leave him, eyes full of contempt. And now she lay naked on his bed, pussy exposed, legs open, waiting for him to enter her. The complete reversal sent a surge of pleasure through him.

He reached out and cupped her breast, palm covering the whole soft shape with pressure that was neither too rough nor too gentle.

"Oppa..."

Hye-na called him again.

"I'm sorry..."

she whispered.

"For what?"

he asked. Tears spilled down her cheeks.

"That I... while I was with oppa... met another man... ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and... and that I didn't love you enough... that I made you look for another woman..."