The Weight of a Hidden Love
"Yuna, I'm back."
"Ah, Cheon-seong. Welcome home."
"Sorry. I got caught up with Imir and lost track of time."
The hour that had dragged longer than I'd expected while talking to Imir finally brought me back to the dormitory. Before I could finish my sentence, my eyes locked onto Yuna waiting for me at the entrance.
"What...?"
She smiled shyly. "Hehe, it's a little embarrassing. How is it? I heard from someone that girlfriends love it when their boyfriend puts something on them."
I had seen Yuna in a bunny girl outfit before, but this version was different. The white shirt I wore had become her dress. The marks I had left on her skin the night before showed faintly beneath the fabric, and the black underwear she had worn yesterday peeked through.
My frame was tall, so the shirt barely covered her lower body. The seams dug into her skin, and her hands were hidden by the collar. The marks I had carved into her, the shirt I wore, and Yuna's love directed straight at me.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
My heart pounded wildly. It had nothing to do with the pleasant, scheming thoughts I had been turning over in my head about how to handle Cheon Yu-seong. This was pure, unfiltered joy for Yuna—every single thing about her.
"H-how is it, Cheon-seong? Do you like it?"
Her face flushed bright red as she asked, voice soft and hesitant. I stepped forward immediately and pulled her small, delicate body into my arms, sealing our lips together.
Chup.
Because of the guilt that had plagued me since last night, the voice of "this shouldn't be happening" had vanished from my mind. My body moved on instinct, without hesitation.
Kkuk.
Churp, chup. Zhop.
Yuna clung to me, moving eagerly, her tongue swirling with mine, igniting a fire in our bodies.
The resolve that "this shouldn't be happening" shattered. I scooped Yuna up and laid her on the bed. She felt my rough yet tender hands as I worshipped every inch of the man she loved.
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Co...cooo...
The fire between Yuna and me finally died. I stroked her sleeping face as she dozed beside me, utterly exhausted.
Her eyes were swollen from too many tears. My fingers brushed lightly across the puffiness, and the swelling slowly eased.
My hand slid downward, following the path toward her fair neck. The kiss mark I had left on her skin was right in front of my eyes. I hesitated for a moment, then decided not to erase it. Instead, I stroked her gently so she would sleep undisturbed.
The marks I had just made, the ones from last night. Marks that should have been easily healed. Yet Yuna had never erased them.
It felt like she wanted to keep even a trace of my carvings. That thought reached me.
'Am I even worthy of this happiness...?'
I was now a man who could disappear from Yuna's side without causing any suspicion.
Still, I couldn't tell if I deserved her love.
Sruruk.
The soft, silky scent of her brown hair and the warm, comforting smell of her skin.
This moment was too precious and too painful to hold.
'No, I shouldn't... I shouldn't let myself enjoy this for even a second.'
I wanted to feel every last second of this time.
Only then could I protect it and never give up.
***
Tada dada da tak, tak.
The sound of typing filled the room.
"Tsk, the son of a Korean guild ranked second isn't even that pathetic. Why does this bother me so much."
Cheon Yu-seong had once stared at his roommate with a lustful gaze. At first, he had planned to kill Lee Cheon-seong and clean up the mess, but the information he had been given made the cleanup far more annoying.
The info he had received was simple—government main computer hacked and broadcast app traces. But doing what that bastard had said required far more effort than that.
Government hackers and analysts existed, but the top talents were scouted by guilds. Unlike governments, guilds offered higher pay and prestige. Most people chose to join a guild.
So hacking a guild meant breaking through skilled people. Right now, exactly like this.
[Error Error]
External system access in progress.
Imir looked up from his screen and quickly changed his posture, irritated.
"Ha! Really? This is too easy. These bastards sent viruses now too? Let's see what this does."
He grumbled and began typing furiously.
Uwung!
New monitors and keyboards dropped from the ceiling.
Imir took three deep breaths, then switched rapidly between the three keyboards.
He created a new defense program to delay the hack, planted a virus in a small gap, and sent it back.
"Damn, you're not some newbie."
But the virus was intercepted mid-route. Imir stopped and input a special code.
Thak!
"Sara! Make one new hacking program and help me!"
Chiiing!
[Command executed.]
A door opened in the lab. A woman with deep purple hair, silver flecks like stars in gold, and milky white skin in flowing white robes stepped out and approached Imir, beginning to follow his orders.
"Loki! Create one annoying virus and infect those hackers' computers!"
[Kya kya kya! What's with the sudden help request? What's the payoff?]
After a slow walk, a man with long jet-black hair, small waves, purple eyes, and Nordic clothing in green and gold joined them, laughing.
"Damn! Hurry up before I hack you and turn you into scrap!"
[Ke ke ke, you still can't take a joke!]
Even while speaking, he walked beside Imir and joined Sara in executing the orders.
With extra helpers, Imir had more free time. He accelerated his typing to finish everything quickly.
After several minutes of chaos, Imir stretched and slumped against his chair.
The screen showed a download in progress. Imir had won.
"Ugh!! Both of you worked hard. It's been a while, so my body felt stiff, but I guess my skills didn't rust."
[As you say.]
[Kk k, if you knew that, ask for something more. If I rust, you can upgrade me again.]
Imir said it was annoying and had other things to do, then collapsed into his chair.
[Understood.]
[Kek. Then, food. I'm hungry.]
"You're not even human and always complaining about food. Just go replace the battery. I have other idiots to deal with too."
Imir's words made Loki shout that the food was gross and why did he need to digest anything.
From what I saw of Imir and Loki, Loki wasn't alive. He was a humanoid robot.
Sara, sitting quietly beside him, was also a female humanoid. Both were robots Imir had built to handle his tasks.
They had been told to "move," but in truth they had only been active for a while. They learned new things, researched, and steadily followed Imir's knowledge.
"Haa, annoying as always... wait. Y-you, not battery, just food?"
[Yes! After a long time, I want something other than oil.]
Imir laughed and called someone over.
"You called, Master Mir?"
"Yeah, Nabi. This is Loki. He said he wants food. Can you make it?"
[What? First time seeing this face? Hello, miss. I'm Loki. Why are you here?]
"No, just like he said. Sometimes you really should eat food."
Loki looked at Mir with curiosity. Nepira moved to start cooking as instructed.
Loki followed her excitedly. Mir watched him leave and grinned wickedly.
"Find that bastard."
Imir never half-assed anything. When he created Loki, he made the robot's senses perfect—every bit as real as a human's.
"Kyaaak! Master Loki!"
Sara added new information to her memory from the distant scream. Imir's family, Nabi, must never eat her food. It was a dangerous substance.
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A day passed in the blink of an eye, and deep night had fallen. Cheon-seong packed his clothes, created a doll identical to himself beside sleeping Yuna, and inverted the illusion magic to fake his own presence.
He filled his body with mana and circulated demonic energy throughout. A thin demonic barrier coated his exterior.
He was using the fact that mana rejected demonic energy to pass through the academy's high-level defense magic.
Teleportation-level spells were impossible, but he had already discovered the academy's barrier was superior-class magic when Beatrice had passed through. It would be difficult, but possible.
'Of course, I'll have to push myself, but now I have to prepare.'
Imir couldn't do everything alone. I had to make other preparations.
Uuuwung.
Demonic energy surged violently through my body.
I could feel the academy's magic right in front of me.
'Huu... make the demonic energy thicker, thicker.'
I began thickening the demonic energy around me.
Making demonic energy thinner yet denser and more concentrated was difficult. Demonic energy was like mana but different. Raising density and concentration while keeping the original thinness was a high-level technique.
Often called aura, that was an example.
But demonic energy was different.
Demonic energy was pure—pure in a different sense, focused only on power and domination.
Because it was so strong, even condensing it required immense mental energy. I had to maintain it all over my body now.
Shuuuung.
Demonic energy slowly spread from me, then I pulled it back into the outer barrier.
"Huu... done. Time to go."
After concentrating for five minutes, my demonic energy was twice as dense as before. My face showed how much mental energy I had consumed.
My skin had always been unnaturally pale for a man, but now it was deathly pale, like a corpse. Sweat poured down like rain, as if I had pushed myself to the absolute limit without rest.
Twisting my body, I left the academy and walked toward the dark, gloomy alleys of the city center.
The distance between the academy and the city center was enough for my spent mental energy to recover. I could walk normally without draining myself this time.
'Quite a crowd.'
As soon as I entered the alley, I felt the killing intent and oppressive aura.
Even though the academy and city center were far apart, the academy was the academy. Top heroes taught there, and students of talent were mid-lower rank. The city had good security, but nothing was perfect.
There were always gaps. Even if gaps were filled, weeds grew through them over time.
"Coming out this late at night without your parents knowing? Bad kid."
"Is that even big enough to be Ira?"
"It is what it is. It's just a brat. Parents didn't raise you right!"
The man who had spoken suddenly cut off. His body collapsed with a heavy thud.
Even in the dark, I knew exactly what had caused that sound.
"This trash dares insult my grandma?"
I had never thought of anyone as my parent except the grandma who had raised me. When the man spoke that way, I saw it as an insult to the only person who had ever loved me unconditionally. I attacked him.
"This damn bastard—!"
Another man flew after the first and fell.
Trash was trash. I had no reason to hold back with people who harbored such impure thoughts.
No, maybe not mercy. I could have killed them instantly, but leaving them like this would let them die in an hour anyway. Mercy was the kindest thing I could do.
Duduk, ddugduk.
As I released my demonic energy, the heavy air of the alley grew even more oppressive.
Behind me, a small light appeared, but the darkness of the alley grew thicker.
I took one step. In an instant, the large man who had been my target collapsed to the ground, belly swollen, terrified and paralyzed.
I stepped closer. Black demonic energy coiled around his body like a snake, squeezing him.
Sururuk.
His eyes and crotch were soaked.
I passed him without a second glance. His head shook violently as he stared at my retreating back.
For a moment, the thought that he had lived flickered in his mind. Then his eyes turned red.
No, his eyes bled.
Gasping for air, he clutched his throat, unable to scream despite the agony, and collapsed.
Thud.
I kept walking forward without pause. Each step felt heavier, and I smiled faintly.