Provisional Protagonist
It was a kiss that carried an entirely different meaning than before.
Not a simple meeting of lips, but a deep, passionate kiss where our tongues tangled and twisted together.
At first, Noona had only licked my lips, but soon her tongue tapped against my teeth. The moment I parted them, she invaded my mouth like a starving beast that hadn’t eaten in days.
“Mmm… ah, smack……”
I couldn’t resist in the slightest.
It was a strange sensation.
As Noona’s warm tongue rampaged wildly inside my mouth, my mind went completely blank. All I could register was how impossibly sweet her breath tasted.
“…Ahh. Mmm, haa.”
Our thick tongues collided, producing wet, sticky sounds. Like people who had been holding their breath too long, Noona and I desperately devoured each other.
The fierce kiss continued without end.
“…Haa.”
“……”
I don’t know if it lasted seconds or dozens of seconds. Our kiss, which had felt eternal, finally ended when Noona pulled her lips away. A thin, glistening strand of saliva stretched between our tongues.
Our mixed saliva had formed a delicate thread.
I stared at her in a daze.
What the hell was that?
So this is what they mean by your brain melting.
It had only been a kiss, yet I was breathless, my head faintly spinning. My heart hammered as if it would explode.
My first kiss, and the stimulation had been overwhelmingly intense.
- Whisper whisper
While I caught my breath and gazed at her, I suddenly heard quiet murmuring from around us.
Confused, I looked around.
Ah……
Only then did I remember.
Right. We were in the middle of a movie.
Damn it.
The theater wasn’t packed, but we certainly weren’t alone. People sat a few seats away, and there were viewers in the rows directly in front and behind us, all whispering.
When I turned toward them, several quickly snapped their heads forward after watching our kiss.
“What was that? What was that?”
“No idea. Guess it’s over now.”
“Holy crap……”
A few female students blushed furiously, covering their mouths as they whispered to one another.
I can hear every word……
When I glanced behind us, I even spotted an older woman clicking her tongue in disapproval.
…This is humiliating.
It was incredibly embarrassing. I used to scoff at couples who flaunted their affection on the subway, thinking how pathetic they looked. Now I was doing exactly that—only worse, since it was in the middle of a movie.
- Tap tap
Then I felt a hand on my shoulder.
“Jinhyun……”
When I looked over, Noona was still breathing heavily, eyes fixed on me.
She clearly wasn’t satisfied yet. The effect of the Desire Water was stronger than I’d imagined. Then again, I had used twice the amount I originally planned, so a weak reaction would have been strange.
“Let’s do more……”
“…Noona.”
Her voice was dangerously sweet. That single phrase sounded utterly lethal.
I’d love to.
More than welcome.
If it were up to me, I would have grabbed her face and kissed her right then.
But not here. It was already embarrassing enough, and continuing during the movie would only disturb everyone else.
“Just a second.”
I whispered into her ear, then pulled out my phone and shielded the screen so the light wouldn’t spill out.
Let’s see……
The movie was nearly over, but some runtime remained. I decided to check the time.
Sunday, 2:07 PM
Hmm.
Sixty-seven minutes had passed since the film started.
It was a relatively short movie—just over ninety minutes—but roughly twenty minutes still remained.
I turned to Noona.
“Let’s leave for now.”
“Okay……”
At this point the movie was the last thing on my mind. I took her hand and stood up.
“Whoa. Why are those two leaving already?”
“Can’t you tell? It’s that kind of thing……”
We walked past the nearby female students who were still whispering and made it safely out of the theater.
“I need to use the bathroom……”
“Oh, sure. I’ll wait here……”
I was about to say I’d wait when Noona grabbed my hand and pulled me straight into the accessible restroom.
- Click
She locked the door behind us.
“…Noona?”
“Here… we won’t be bothering anyone, right?”
With those words, she pressed close and kissed me again.
“Mmm, smack. Haa.”
After that, Noona kissed me until my lips felt raw.
Only after dozens of kisses—when my mouth was completely spent—did she finally seem to regain some composure and release me.
“Jinhyun… do you want to date me?”
“Huh?”
For a second I thought I had misheard.
“Are you really… going to pretend you didn’t hear that?”
Noona’s expression turned slightly pouty. I had no idea how to respond.
“W-why all of a sudden?”
“Why? Because I like you, that’s why……”
She spoke with surprising confidence. I, however, couldn’t match it.
If it’s dating, of course I’d be happy……
Noona was beautiful and had a wonderful personality—nothing like an ordinary guy like me.
Had this been a genuine confession, I might have accepted on the spot.
But I couldn’t.
“Still… we don’t really know each other that well yet……”
“Why not? We can learn from now on.”
The affection she felt for me right now was nothing more than a fleeting illusion.
It was an effect created by the mysterious items from the Heroine App. In just three hours, that affection would vanish.
Even if I accepted now, once the effect wore off her feelings would return to normal. Without genuine affection, she would inevitably break up with me.
I barely managed to speak.
“I’m sorry. But still……”
“…Huu. Rejected, huh.”
Noona gave a bitter smile.
“Sorry for kissing you without asking. Especially when you don’t even like me that much.”
“That’s not true. It’s not that I dislike you—actually the kiss was really good……”
“Pervert……”
I fumbled over my words.
After the conversation with Noona, I let out a long internal sigh.
Why am I so bad at talking?
“Noona… why did you suddenly do that?”
“I don’t know either. My body just suddenly felt too……”
“Too?”
“Ah, never mind.”
I pretended to know nothing and asked anyway. Noona squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head vigorously. She still looked like she was desperately holding herself back.
“I’m sorry. You couldn’t even finish the movie because of me.”
“It’s fine.”
“Today… can you just go home first?”
I looked at her. She was thoroughly disheveled, face still burning red.
She might stay here and take care of her arousal herself. The moment I imagined it, blood rushed downward.
I nodded.
“Yeah. I’ll head out first.”
“Okay……”
And just like that, my first date ended in the most awkward way possible.
“Huu.”
I took the bus home.
My original plan had been to keep the nice atmosphere going through the movie and share a kiss before parting. Instead, Noona had ambushed me with a surprise kiss.
This might actually be better.
It hadn’t gone exactly as planned, but I had still achieved my goal. Since she had been the one to initiate the kiss, she would have a harder time complaining later.
…Should I have said yes to dating her?
I walked from the bus stop to my apartment, lost in thought.
It might have been the chance of a lifetime. When would someone like me ever receive a confession from a woman like Yoon Yujeong?
If I had accepted back there, maybe we could have taken things even further on the spot—especially with her affection boosted by three candies and her body already burning with desire.
Did I just miss my shot?
I sighed again.
“Haa……”
“Why are you sighing so heavily?”
While climbing the stairs with a complicated heart, a voice suddenly came from beside me.
“Ah, you startled me……”
“What? You didn’t even notice me right behind you?”
I turned to see a woman ascending the stairs just behind me. The moment I saw her face, my eyes widened. I knew her.
“Ah! Hello. You’re… Jang Yehwa, right?”
“Yes. Hehe. I’m glad you remember.”
Hearing my greeting, the woman named Yehwa smiled brightly and returned the gesture. For a split second, it felt like flowers had bloomed around her.
Damn. She’s insanely beautiful.
I couldn’t possibly forget her. She was that stunning. Honestly, she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in real life.
She possessed the kind of captivating face and figure that would make anyone call her a beauty. Her long black hair cascaded all the way to her waist. Her curvaceous body and long, elegant legs formed perfect lines. Beneath her alluring eyes, light brown irises sparkled with depth, and her delicate, refined features were flawless.
With skin like white jade and impressive height, she looked like a model.
Honestly, even Yoon Yujeong—who I had just finished a date with—couldn’t compare.
“Did you come to see Kang Sujeong again today?”
“That’s right. Hehe. I haven’t been able to visit for a few weeks, so I’m planning to have some real fun today~.”
When I asked, she smiled and showed me her bag.
What’s this about?
I didn’t understand why she was showing me her bag, but I convinced myself it meant she was planning to sleep over.
“I see.”
“Why the sigh? Ah~ Is Sujeong still being noisy?”
“It’s gotten better lately. I work night shifts on weekdays so I don’t hear much, and our days off line up.”
“That’s good to hear.”
Yehwa smiled with her eyes. Just that expression made my heart race. Heart, calm down.
The woman before me, Jang Yehwa, was Kang Sujeong’s friend. She visited often, so we ran into each other frequently.
Kang Sujeong lived in the apartment directly above mine. She made a lot of noise at night. She said she streamed, but loud sounds erupted several times an hour. Sometimes she even pounded on her desk.
I had gone up to complain many times. At first she seemed to improve, but later she started ignoring me, and our relationship soured.
That’s why I switched to the night shift……
My first part-time job had been at a gas station. Then I moved to the convenience store night shift. The gas station work had been physically demanding too.
“Well, have fun.”
“I will~ Take care, Jinhyun.”
I gave a casual farewell, went inside, and washed up quickly. I turned on the air conditioner and fan, then lay on my bed staring blankly at the ceiling.
Did I handle today well……?
After spacing out like that for several minutes, a KakaoTalk notification arrived.
……
When I checked the clock, it was past three.
The candy’s effect must have worn off.
I smiled bitterly. Rejecting her confession seemed to have been the right choice after all.
I couldn’t feed her candy every time we met, and I didn’t have many left anyway.
Even though suddenly kissing me and then asking me to forget it was a lot to ask, now that I knew it was because of the candy and Desire Water, I replied that I understood.
I closed the chat with Noona.
Even though we had kissed and gone on a date, things would probably return to normal once we saw each other at work tomorrow.
A kiss and a date, huh……
“Ah.”
As I muttered to myself, one thought suddenly occurred to me.
Come to think of it, there was a quest.
I picked up my phone and launched the heart-shaped Heroine App.
From the very beginning, turning Noona into that state had also been aimed at clearing the app’s quest.
What the hell do I even get when I rank up……
The moment I opened the Heroine App, several messages greeted me.