The Forbidden Taste

"That bastard… stay away from him…. Kill him…."

"Ugh… what a moron…."

Han Bom looked down at Han Yeo-rum sprawled across the bed with a thoroughly disgusted expression. Watching him pull stupid stunts day after day had long since worn thin.

She was certain Han Yeo-rum was a regressor. But his current behavior ranked closer to "extra number one idiot" than anything worthy of the title.

"Haa…. If I just leave him here, he'll fall asleep on his own."

"Bom… no…. You can't… do it with that guy…."

"What the hell is he even talking about…."

Han Bom stared hard at the mumbling Han Yeo-rum, sinking into thought.

…Did he actually see it? That scene? But how does the regression even work?

The mechanisms of regression varied widely. Han Bom understood the concept well enough, and she tried to pin down how Han Yeo-rum's version functioned. She arrived at a single conclusion.

…Death. If it's real regression, that's the classic trigger.

Most regression systems were abilities that rewound a person to the past upon death.

I'll assume the regression works that way for now… but how did he see me and Ajeossi about to do it?

That part, even Han Bom couldn't figure out.

I should go to Ajeossi first.

More than worrying about Han Yeo-rum, she started fretting that Sung Suho might get so annoyed by him that he'd get up and leave.

…Unnie and Ajeossi are close, at least. Haa… what do I do… I don't even have anything to say to Unnie like this….

Even if she wasn't his official girlfriend, Han Bom just wanted to be with him. She didn't even need sexual intimacy. Simply staying by his side as a companion would have been enough to satisfy her.

But the moment that thought passed, another doubt crept in.

…Would I really be satisfied with that?

She was carefully descending the stairs when Han Bom's eyes found Sung Suho and Min Ha-yeon. The moment she approached the table—

"…? What? Why is Unnie's head down like that… uh… uh…?"

A scene she could barely believe was unfolding before her.

Min Ha-yeon had Sung Suho's cock in her mouth, working it with wet, squirming motions. Sung Suho had his eyes closed, absorbing the pleasure….

"Th-the two of them… no way…."

Han Bom recalled the drinking session from a previous loop. The sudden moan from Sung Suho, Min Ha-yeon's clumsy movements… and then—

Min Ha-yeon suddenly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ducking under the table.

"U-Unnie… don't tell me back then…."

Remembering that moment, Han Bom headed straight for the table. A sudden urge to interrupt whatever Min Ha-yeon and Sung Suho were doing boiled up inside her.

"Unnie!"

"Pwah!"

Han Bom didn't sneak up from behind them. She called out ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from across the table instead. Min Ha-yeon jerked her head up with a wet, sputtering sound, something clearly being spat out.

"Cough… B-Bom… you're back?"

"…Yeah. What were you doing?"

"I, I dropped something…."

"Ah… excuse me, I need the restroom for a moment…."

Sung Suho adjusted his awkward posture a few times, then shuffled out of the inn in a half-crouch. Once Han Bom confirmed he was gone, she fixed Min Ha-yeon with a half-lidded stare.

"Unnie… there's something on your lips."

"Huh?"

Min Ha-yeon hurriedly pulled out a tissue and started wiping her mouth. Watching her flustered expression, a wave of self-loathing surged up inside Han Bom.

Huu… why am I like this.

The moment she'd seen Min Ha-yeon and Sung Suho together, jealousy had flared and she'd wanted nothing more than to interrupt them. The version of herself who'd sworn, just minutes earlier, that simply watching from the sidelines would be enough—that version had vanished without a trace.

I can't do this…. He's the person Unnie likes.

More than anything, Han Bom knew Min Ha-yeon's nature well. She was a woman who'd suffered so badly from men cheating that the mere idea of it triggered extreme neurosis.

Haa… I should go get some air.

With that thought, Han Bom stood up and spoke to Min Ha-yeon, who was still scrubbing furiously at her face.

"Unnie, I'm gonna step out for some air."

"Huh!? Okay."

Once outside the inn, Han Bom patted both cheeks with her palms and muttered to herself.

"Haa… get a grip…. He's the person Unnie likes…. Don't think weird things."

Even if she shared a secret relationship with Sung Suho, that had been unavoidable. With the lactation, at least, there was an excuse—there simply hadn't been any other way to deal with what forced its way out of her.

But she'd only done that with him twice, and already the memory of his tongue was burned into the pleasure centers of her brain.

"One month… he said it'd stop after a month. I'll just stay close until then."

She wandered around muttering to herself, and just as she was about to head back into the inn, something caught her eye—Sung Suho, lurking in hiding.

…? What's he doing?

The atmosphere around him practically screamed that silence was required, so Han Bom approached carefully. Focusing, she tapped his shoulder and whispered.

"…What are you doing?"

"!"

"Mmph!"

Sung Suho spun around in shock, yanked her into his arms, and clamped a hand over her mouth.

Wh-what the hell!

Just as Han Bom was about to thrash in panic, Suho whispered urgently into her ear.

"Just stay quiet for a second…."

"…."

The hush of his whisper settled over her, and she went still. For the first time in her life, held in a man's arms, Han Bom buried her face against his chest and fell silent.

He smells… so good….

A rich, fragrant scent she'd never encountered in her life was melting through her brain like heat. Before long, Sung Suho let out a long breath and took his hand from her mouth.

"Sorry. It sounded like they were talking about something important, so I was listening…."

"…."

His apology didn't reach her ears at all. She was drunk on nothing but the fact of being held against him and the scent rising from his body. Then Han Bom snapped back to herself and hurriedly pulled away.

"Wh-what do you think you're doing…."

"I'm sorry. There were circumstances…."

Standing apart from him, her eyes drifted down to his pants. The memory of what he'd done with Min Ha-yeon surfaced, and she immediately recognized the fluids staining the fabric. Because of how suddenly he'd pulled her in, she could feel that same liquid now clinging to her own hand.

"I-I'm going back inside."

"Ah…."

Without waiting for his reply, Han Bom ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bolted into the inn. Once inside, she quietly stared at the liquid coating her fingers. The sticky fluid was translucent, slowly trailing down her skin.

"Haa… haa… this is… that, right?"

She could roughly guess what it was. In the past, disgust would have flared and she would have scrubbed it off while cursing—but now her mind was filling with something far stranger.

A guilty thought was taking root: that treating the semen of the man who'd drunk her breast milk so callously felt… unfair.

As she stared fixedly at it, the scent rising from the semen began to seep into her nostrils. There was no revulsion at all. Instead, her fingers drifted closer and closer to her nose.

"Th-that's weird… it smells like flowers?"

The last faint traces of resistance evaporated under that fragrant smell. Staring at the semen on her fingers, Han Bom recalled what had happened before.

Remembering Min Ha-yeon's actions, Han Bom found herself closing the distance between her finger and her lips without thinking.

J-just once… it should be fine, right? A-Ajeossi drank mine too….

She erased the guilt that way and slipped the finger coated in Sung Suho's semen between her lips.

It was bitter.

But she kept savoring it as if already addicted to that bitterness.

What a strange taste… and yet… haa… haa….

It was barely a few drops of semen, but pleasure was exploding through Han Bom's body like fireworks. She sucked every last trace clean from her finger, then thought—

Haa… a little more….

On unsteady legs, Han Bom made her way toward the table where Min Ha-yeon had been.

I watched Han Bom disappear into the inn and let out a breath of relief.

Jesus… she scared the hell out of me, popping up like that.

I'd been eavesdropping on Yang Jihyeon's group's plans just in case. My actions had already altered the board—there was always a chance their strategy had shifted with it.

Fortunately, it hadn't.

Yang Jihyeon ordered her subordinates to make contact with Han Yeo-rum and laid out the same plan as before: lure him into the dungeon tomorrow.

But just because Yang Jihyeon was running the same plan didn't mean I had any reason to play along the same way.

Time to go after Yang Jihyeon.

I'd been distracted by Han Bom long enough that Yang Jihyeon had already vanished into the brush—but following the direction she'd gone, I found her soon enough.

Yang Jihyeon stood before five of her organization members, issuing orders.

"Form teams of three whenever possible…. Above all, the target is strong. If the blindness and curses don't take hold, just monitor the situation until I regroup with you."

"If it comes to it, all of us could…."

"No. He's no ordinary opponent. Do not engage carelessly until we know his true strength."

"Understood."

But the real core of the conversation was Han Bom. Rather than killing me, recruiting her came first—that was how the discussion was going.

"Relay this to the rest waiting on standby as well."

"Got i—"

"What is it? W-wait—!"

Thud.

Starting with the one answering at the front, I put every last one of them to sleep. The entire Red Crescent contingent collapsed where they stood.

Yang Jihyeon stared at her suddenly fallen subordinates in open panic, then immediately drew her weapon and scanned the surroundings. Still stealthed, I slipped up behind her, nocked an arrow aimed at her head, and spoke.

"If you want your subordinates to live, you'd better put that weapon down."

"Who… are you…."

I smirked and answered.

"Your former leader."

…

…

I bluffed Yang Jihyeon, and she took the bait just as cleanly as before. The moment I saw through the fact that she was wearing a Human-Skin Mask, she seemed to trust me on the spot.

I looked over the Red Crescent members sprawled asleep in the undergrowth and spoke with open contempt.

"Holding a meeting out here is basically begging me to come grab you, isn't it?"

"I-I'm sorry…."

Honestly, in a town this size, there was no real need to bother meeting outside. Most of the people here were either beginners or refugees who'd fled down from higher floors. The sight of Red Summoners would send them running for cover.

"Proceed with the plan you outlined."

"B-but…."

"Drop it. I'm not going to walk into it anyway. Consider them good practice targets."

"Please. My subordinates' lives…."

I'd only overheard fragments in her dream, but Takeichi Souta really did seem like a dangerous bastard. Yang Jihyeon had never even met him in person, and yet the way she fretted and begged like this made one thing clear—he'd never had a shred of affection for his subordinates.

Well. I didn't particularly need to kill them. But I also had no reason to grant free favors.

"I have no intention of killing you. But those guys? No reason to spare them either. Dead weight is just a liability."

"B-but… they are people who have given everything in loyalty to the organization. Please, show them mercy…."

"…Fine."

"Ah!"

Yang Jihyeon's face lit with relief as she pressed a hand to her chest. And the moment she did, I reached out and seized that chest in a full, greedy grip.

"Hnnk! Wh-what are you—"

I kneaded Yang Jihyeon's breasts while she panicked, smiling with a filthy edge.

"If you take care of my lust, the urge to kill should settle down on its own, don't you think?"