Park I-rae Bunny
Shin Ye-hwa gazed at the girl sitting before her—a woman who still faintly retained the aura of a young maiden. A beauty whose healthy glow from natural sun exposure stood out. Contrary to her lively, vibrant image brimming with life force, she sat demurely in silence. She looked like she'd suit pants and sportswear perfectly, but today she wore a white, airy dress. She must have put some real effort into dressing up, in her own way.
"Hmmm..."
Shin Ye-hwa let out a low hum as she crossed her legs. The other girl flinched at even the slightest sound. She was on high alert, like a puppy that had wandered into unfamiliar territory. It gave off a somehow round, endearing vibe.
Honestly, when Seong Ye-han had first told Shin Ye-hwa about her, she'd imagined a tough, muscular type with a fierce aura. That made sense from Shin Ye-hwa's perspective. No matter how long Park I-rae had nurtured her love alone, she was the kind of woman who would unhesitatingly throw herself at a man who already had a lover and try to steal him away.
Moreover, she had the tenacity to go over a year without even seeing the face of the person she loved, all to achieve her goal. No matter how you looked at it, she wasn't your average person.
But the Park I-rae sitting in front of her now didn't give off that impression at all. Her black eyes, gazing at Shin Ye-hwa with a glimpse of firm resolve, were clear and pure. Her straight back and impeccable posture seemed to reflect her true character. Even when Shin Ye-hwa had prodded her first by calling her a "thieving cat," there was no reaction... Maybe it was because this was the one thing she couldn't yield on. She'd gone a bit overboard since it felt like Park I-rae was willingly letting herself get her nose slit wide open.
If I were in her shoes... if someone who stole my precious person first said that to me, I'd have lunged at her without a second thought and strangled her.
She doesn't seem like the typical homewrecker...
Her wariness toward Shin Ye-hwa didn't feel like jealousy from a concubine envious of the main wife, trying to usurp her position. It was more like concern over a potential hazard near the man she loved.
And that worry from Park I-rae was, in a way, perfectly understandable. Shin Ye-hwa knew all too well from her incident with Yeo Seon-hui how she came across to others. She had no intention of picking at Park I-rae's uncomfortable gaze.
"First off... I want to thank you."
As Shin Ye-hwa scrutinized Park I-rae, the silence was broken when Park I-rae spoke up first. Surprised by the sudden words, Shin Ye-hwa still opened her mouth.
"Thank me for what? Oh, and. You can use casual speech with me, right? I'm older, and I'm the first in my relationship with oppa."
"Um... sure. Fine... I'll call you unnie then. Ye-hwa unnie. That's okay, right?"
Shin Ye-hwa prodded her once more, but Park I-rae didn't even twitch an eyebrow. Instead, she boldly called her by name right away—quite the gutsy move.
"Even if it's thanks to senior's ability, it's not easy allowing the person you love to keep relations with other women. Thanks to you, I could achieve love in this somewhat strange form."
Strictly speaking, her relationship with Park I-rae had nothing to do with Shin Ye-hwa's own will, but Park I-rae smoothly framed it as something Shin Ye-hwa had "permitted." She'd arbitrarily turned it into an acknowledgment, but by using the word "permit," she subtly implied recognition of Shin Ye-hwa's superior position—a carrot extended with nuance.
"Though I'm not yet included in senior's 'ability'... that ends today, I suppose. Now we'll be in the 'same' position... so, nice to meet you properly, unnie."
"Hmmm..."
On top of that, she naturally nailed down that she'd be spending the night with oppa, implying that hierarchy or whatever didn't matter—they were all just women of Seong Ye-han.
Interesting...
Shin Ye-hwa smiled inwardly as she watched Park I-rae. Did she even realize that her attitude already presupposed a kind of defeat?
Shin Ye-hwa always wanted to be Seong Ye-han's first and acted accordingly. Seong Ye-han tolerated and loved that side of her, but strictly speaking, the initiative in their relationship lay entirely with him. If Seong Ye-han truly desired it, no matter how much Shin Ye-hwa objected, she couldn't stop him from taking another woman or bind him.
In fact, considering his ability, if she tried to block him from taking others, she'd be the one discarded. That's why Shin Ye-hwa chose to adapt to the inevitable and adopt an embracing attitude to foster as much attachment from him as possible, rather than fight it.
It was merely securing the image of the main wife who sacrifices for her beloved by stepping forward first... In truth, the women who threw themselves at Seong Ye-han—especially those selected as "sub heroines"—could never be equals from the start. First or not, they were all just females competing for the male's favor.
And now she was saying they'd be "the same." Didn't that mean from the outset, Park I-rae had placed herself below and viewed Shin Ye-hwa as superior?
Park I-rae seemed to carry a sense of debt toward her. Even if she said they were in the "same" position, that ingrained mindset wouldn't change easily. And the kinder Shin Ye-hwa treated her, the stronger that chain would become.
Perfect.
Why would Shin Ye-hwa say more when Park I-rae was sorting out the hierarchy herself? She hadn't planned to fight from the beginning anyway—this was more than welcome.
Knowing Seong Ye-han was subtly worried about this, Shin Ye-hwa acted swiftly. She flashed a dazzling smile that startled Park I-rae and said,
"Hehe. Welcome, little sis. Tonight, don't worry about anything else—do whatever you want. Your first raw sex with oppa. Once you taste it, you'll never want to use those contraceptive patches again, so brace yourself?"
"Y-Yes?!"
"Oh. And sorry about earlier... I had some misunderstandings about you. Didn't mean to poke at you."
A smile so bright it could dazzle another woman, a clean apology... and then outright lewd vulgarity that didn't match. As Park I-rae floundered in confusion, Shin Ye-hwa smoothly slid over to her side.
Just like Seong Ye-han did with her, she draped an arm around her shoulder and whispered.
"When you take it raw from oppa... it's like you feel every ridge and bump? Or maybe it scratches every ticklish spot inside without missing a thing... Any woman would fall for it."
"U-Um, unnie...?!"
"Ah. Want me to tell you about some plays oppa likes? I was prepping something to use myself. Think you'd suit it?"
Park I-rae couldn't collect her thoughts amid Shin Ye-hwa's sudden closeness and touch. This exceeded her best-case scenario by far. Why was Shin Ye-hwa acting like this? Yeon-ah unnie too—did she have some catnip-like charm that won over S-rank women?
Is this really that Shin Ye-hwa???
Her eyes spun in bewilderment at the utterly off-script situation. Shin Ye-hwa's eyes sparkled with delight as she watched.
Finally receiving the message that Shin Ye-hwa's talk was over, Seong Ye-han headed to the living room with bated breath.
"..."
"..."
The voices faintly drifting from the second floor weren't heated or rough—they sounded downright harmonious. Seong Ye-han felt a slight relief and relaxed his steps.
Thud-thud-
With light footsteps, he descended the stairs, walked the hallway, and arrived at the living room.
"So, what position does our little sis like best?"
"Uh... well... on top..."
"Aha! You like taking the lead?"
"N-Not exactly... I just want senior to relax and enjoy..."
"Oh ho. Not squeezing it out, but service play, huh?"
"It's not... ugh... um, unnie. This kind of talk..."
"Ahaha! That embarrassed look. So cute."
There they were, stuck together like glue. What on earth had happened in that short time? Their conversation had long surpassed normal levels.
Was it because they were both women? No, even so—they weren't lifelong besties who'd known each other for years; they'd only met hours ago... Maybe the stories he'd shared about each other had built up some explosive inner intimacy?
As Seong Ye-han puzzled over the sudden situation, Shin Ye-hwa noticed him somehow and called out.
"Oppa, you're here? I like I-rae."
"R-Really?"
Seong Ye-han checked Shin Ye-hwa's beaming, unclouded face. No trace of falsehood. What the hell?
He sidelong glanced at I-rae, who still looked flustered beside her.
What the heck did I-rae do?
I... I don't know either, senior. She just suddenly...
Their intentions conveyed through eye contact alone. Clearly, even I-rae had no idea why Shin Ye-hwa was in such a good mood.
Is I-rae some kind of human catnip or something?
Yeon-ah adored her so much that he'd thought maybe her tastes were just unique, but with Ye-hwa acting this way too, Seong Ye-han wondered if there really was something special about I-rae.
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The following are rough sketches of Yeo Seon-hui currently in production.
Outfit-wise... prioritizing eye candy over tactical gear or realism... Of course, there's no "exposure = defense" rule in this novel, so it'll differ quite a bit from the characters' actual combat attire... Anyway! Please understand!
A version with even higher exposure, cape removed.
Seong Ye-han exclusive version.
The end.