Under the Influence
"Huh? It's all gone already?"
"...Yeah. We really went and finished the whole bottle of Blue Label."
How long had it been since we started drinking like water in this rare, comfortable atmosphere? Before I knew it, we'd emptied an entire bottle of Blue Label.
"Heyy~. Boss maaan~."
"No! Absolutely not! Let's stop drinking!"
"Why~! Don't you like drinking with me?"
"It's all for your sake. We have academy tomorrow, so one of us has to be able to wake up properly, right?"
"That's true... Boss~. Let's settle the bill~."
My pronunciation was slurred and my words kept dragging out, completely unlike my usual self. Even the dog next door and Cheon Ma-ru could tell I was drunk, but I had no idea. Still, we somehow finished paying and were on our way home.
"Maruu~. Let's get some ice cream before we go hooome~."
"Alright... Let's have some and sober up a bit."
I acted cute in a way that didn't suit me at all as I bought two milk-flavored ice creams. We sat down in an empty lot to eat them. It was the park where we'd briefly taken shelter while working on our group project.
"Hey, remember? When we were running the simulation over there, a little kid came up and asked what we were doing."
"I remember. That's when Heo Yeon-hwa froze solid and Kim Chae-eun fell right on top of her."
"The way that kid looked at us like we were total weirdos was seriously hilarious."
My pronunciation was starting to return to normal, but my sense of reason still hadn't caught up.
"The way that kid called me 'big sis' was really cute, though."
"Do you like kids?"
"Yeah! They're adorable. The quirky parts are fun too."
Even in my previous life, I'd liked children. Their untainted purity and overflowing potential always moved me.
"I don't think about marriage, but I do want to raise a child."
"Through adoption, you mean?"
"Maybe?"
People want to leave proof that they existed. That's the same feeling behind scribbling 'So-and-so was here' at tourist spots. I felt it too. Of course, even if I died now, at least in Korea they'd remember me as the legendary hunter Baek Wol.
"I wish there was someone who would love me, and whom I could love in return."
That someone would see Baek Wol, not Baek A-rang. I wanted a person who would look at the real me with pure eyes.
"..."
Cheon Ma-ru gazed at me with eyes full of complicated emotions. I didn't notice, and in that moment...
"......"
"Asleep?"
I had slipped into a half-conscious daze. Cheon Ma-ru practically dragged me all the way to the door like that. The problem was...
"Hey. You're home."
"......"
"Hey? Baek A-rang?"
The fact that I couldn't pull myself together. My door lock used a password, so neither fingerprints nor keys would work. After nearly ten minutes of struggling in front of the door...
"Sigh... Forget it."
Cheon Ma-ru simply tossed me onto the bed in his own house. After he washed up, changed into comfortable clothes, and came back out—
"Hey?!!"
There I was, having already stripped everything off and waiting in front of the bathroom in nothing but my underwear. I'd taken off my glasses too, so my wolf features were completely exposed.
"You! What the hell is this!!"
"Where should I sleep?"
"Obviously on the sofa... No, more importantly, if you've sobered up then go to your own—"
"Why should the owner of the house sleep there? Come here."
"?!?!"
I still don't know exactly why I did it, but at that moment it felt completely natural to sleep in this house. Maybe I'd grown too used to it after all the group projects and study sessions. And above all, I didn't want to let go of this comfort and sense of security I hadn't felt in so long.
"Come on, let's sleep already..."
"No. No. No."
His body had gone rigid with bewilderment and he couldn't resist as I dragged him straight to the bed. As I lifted the blanket to lie down, a familiar box caught my eye. The one with the shield design. In other words...
"A condom box?"
"?!??!!?!?!??!!?!!?!?!"
I couldn't actually hear it, but his silent scream of despair rang in my ears. Normally I would have panicked too, but the me right now was overflowing with confidence and boldness.
"What? Were you hoping for this?"
"No! No no!!"
Ma-ru denied it fiercely. Finding his reaction amusing, my playful side flared up again. I tore open the condom box, took one out, and put it between my lips.
"Do you want to?"
Ma-ru's expression suddenly hardened. A serious look settled over his face.
"You shouldn't say things like that so carelessly."
It was a completely different, unamused expression from his earlier flustered one. At that reaction, I lowered the condom from my mouth. But strangely...
"It's not like I said it without thinking."
That look didn't strike me as cute or funny. It made me think he was cool.
"Since I messed up with you before, I can at least do this much."
"So right now you're saying...!"
"You've never done this with anyone else, right? Don't you want it?"
My first time.
Those words seemed to flip a switch. Ma-ru's expression changed again—from serious to raw, honest desire. Looking more like a beast than I did, he pushed me down onto the bed.
"Are you confident you won't regret it?"
Was that his last shred of reason? And the final chance given to me.
"I won't. At least if it's with you."
Why was this happening? At first I'd clearly been wary and hostile. Yet with you, my tension keeps melting away and I feel safe. In front of you, it seems okay to be a little weak. I surrendered my body to this emotion I still couldn't fully understand.
"Ah, but kissing is still off-limits."
I set up the bare minimum line of defense. I still felt repulsion toward kissing. It was ridiculous that I was seducing him for sex while drawing that line, but here we were.
"Haa..."
"Take it slow. I'm right here."
He slowly removed my bra. It was a simple gray sports bra. Maybe I should have worn something prettier.
"Gently... Hngh!"
His relatively cool hand touched my body, which had grown hot from the alcohol. My breast was enveloped and squeezed in his palm. The fact that I was allowing someone's touch on my body for the first time sent a thrill of excitement through me.
"Haa... Haa... Are my eyes scary?"
A woman's body might be sensitive, but suddenly being rough doesn't feel good. It might be different if it hurt, but Ma-ru seemed to know that much. He continued touching my breasts softly yet persistently.
"Huuu..."
As excitement built, a strange sensation rose alongside it. I could feel the tips of my breasts gradually hardening.
"Haah?!"
At that exact moment, Ma-ru suddenly pinched my nipple. Unlike before, he applied real force. A sharp, electric jolt swept through my entire body.
"Are you okay?"
"Haa... I'm okay..."
Ma-ru's underwear was tented so obviously it was impossible to miss. He was still fully dressed.
"Just a second."
I pulled his top off first. His skin was paler than I'd expected, and his sharply defined abs stood out. Seeing those firm muscles that even I—who moved around constantly—didn't have made me feel strange.
"Wow, they're really hard."
"I exercise regularly."
Touching them confirmed they were solid. I had a faint six-pack on my own stomach, but nothing this firm. Plus, the unique texture of living flesh made touching them genuinely fun.
Still, I couldn't just keep playing with his abs forever. When I pulled down his underwear and his cock sprang free...
"Huh?"
My thoughts stopped completely. Something way outside my expectations had appeared.
"Why... why is it so big..."
I thought it was some kind of weapon. The length and thickness were beyond anything I'd imagined. It was big enough to use as a blunt instrument. On top of that, the scent was intense. I couldn't call it a good smell, yet it was a strange aroma that made me want to keep inhaling it. The moment my body froze at the unexpected sight—
"Hot?! W-wait a second..."
Ma-ru's hand slipped inside my underwear, reaching my most secret place. After a little exploration, his fingers found my clit and began focusing intently on the area around it.
"Hik!"
I might as well admit it now—I had never masturbated before. When I was younger the thought never occurred to me, and after I grew up I was too busy training and working as a hunter to have any interest in such things.
So I hadn't known how sensitive my body truly was. Every time his fingers brushed my clit, it felt like electricity shot through me and my body jolted upward. Pathetic sounds spilled from my lips.
"Hii! Heuk! W-wait...!"
I didn't want to just keep receiving, so I reached out and grasped his cock.
Wow...
I'd only just learned how impossibly hard it was. It felt like touching iron that had been heated under the summer sun. I stroked it slowly, carefully, making sure not to hurt him.
"Haa... Haa..."
Little by little, Ma-ru's groans reached my ears. The low, rumbling sound circled around my head. The satisfaction it brought turned back into fresh excitement.
"Heuk...! Huh? W-wait...!"
Then suddenly my body felt strange. Every muscle tensed, strength flooding in. An instinct screamed that if I relaxed now, something would go wrong, and it paralyzed me. Yet he didn't stop. Instead, he pinched my clit even harder.
"Haaang!!"
I couldn't hold back my voice at the sensation I'd never felt before in my life. The pleasure of a woman, experienced for the first time. It felt like my entire body was being pierced by lightning.
The aftershock sobered me up completely. But I didn't tell him to stop. It would be too selfish to end things after only I'd been satisfied. And...
"Now... put it in."
I wanted to feel that warmth more. The warmth that melted me, that made me feel like someone could protect me too. I wanted to feel it deeper.
I removed my own underwear, pointed to my entrance, and spoke as if urging him. I spread my completely hairless folds with my own hands. For some reason, I didn't grow any hair there. Ma-ru grabbed his cock and tried to push inside, but he seemed nervous too and kept missing the mark.
"Not there... Here..."
When I guided him, he finally aimed correctly. The tip rested just at my entrance as he asked gently.
"If it hurts, you have to tell me right away, okay?"
"I know, so hurry..."
The fatigue from my earlier climax made my words drag. The moment I asked one more time—
Squelch.
"Heuk?!"
His cock pushed inside me.