A Sanctuary Just for Us
Such an experience comes to everyone at least once. You know, that feeling when things are going too smoothly and it only makes you more anxious. Because you know better than anyone the minimum effort and failures that should have been required for an ideal outcome, you start worrying that maybe you've overlooked something in this suspiciously smooth process. I think I was a little lacking in that regard. The team leader had been warning me all along, but I was still immature and satisfied with the counseling that appeared to be progressing smoothly on the surface. I had let my guard down. Just thinking about the salary I was receiving should have told me this job couldn't possibly be this easy. I didn't realize how risky it was to impose a sense of self and educate an unknown existence that had never been explored before. That's why I think this happened. Of course, there were unavoidable circumstances and I could at least make excuses about being caught up in an unexpected butterfly effect.
"Ung-ssi, don't do anything you'll regret."
I reflexively covered my ears at the unpleasant voice digging into my dazed mind, then realized the sound hadn't diminished at all and quickly threw away my earpiece as well.
"..Counselor, you trust me, right? Just like I trust you."
...Nod.
The moment I saw the lavender-colored hair fluttering right beside my field of vision, I obediently nodded at her question. A thick black restraint that never suited her was always fastened around her nape... but for some reason it was nowhere to be seen now, revealing her slender, straight, snow-white neck. I thought she was definitely better. Crack..!Crunch... Her smooth legs, exposed beneath the white dress, stretched out and crushed the earpiece that had fallen to the floor. For a moment I thought she shouldn't do that and called her name, but she only smiled brightly and leaned her pretty smiling face closer to me.
"..Lav."
"Mm, I'm sorry. But it felt like our time alone was being interrupted."
"..."
Seeing that innocent smile made my uneasy heart settle. I could no longer remember what had been broken. "So.. where were we in our conversation?"
"This place is... a precious space where only you and I can exist.."
"That's right, because this is our nest. Isn't it?"
Drip.. The moment I nodded at her words, my vision suddenly spun and something hot began flowing from my nose. It streamed down like water and even splattered onto the floor. Before I could check its color, she approached me and carefully wiped my face with her bare hands.
"I'm sorry for pushing you.. If it were like before, you would have wanted to leave, but now I have something I want separately."
"Yeah.. I'm glad."
"I'm truly grateful to Counselor for making me realize what emotions are. At first it was awkward and confusing, but not anymore."
She supported my staggering body and led me to the bed. Sitting down first, she pulled me to sit beside her, then guided my head onto her thighs. Poof.. My head had been hurting anyway.. The soft sensation of her lap pillow, carrying a pleasant scent, quickly eased the dizziness.
"Counselor always wanted to know more about me, wanted to become closer to me.."
Her voice whispering while stroking my head brought me a sense of comfort that seemed to come from the very depths of my heart. It was a pleasant rest accompanied by a faint fear that if I fell asleep like this, I might never wake up again.
"That feeling was conveyed well enough. So.. I also started wanting to know more about Counselor, to become closer to you."
"...Yeah."
"But.. I thought the time we spend together was too short. It felt even more regrettable than when I lost at the game."
"I see.."
Her hand that had been stroking my head stopped abruptly.
"It's like being able to breathe... Without Counselor's mysterious ability that lets me feel these constantly changing, colorful emotions every moment, I couldn't accept or create new feelings. Whenever Counselor wasn't around, I was always.. like a corpse."
"Lav..."
"..So I thought about it. While waiting alone after Counselor left.. I kept thinking."
Her hand began moving again, sliding down from my head along my neck to tickle my shoulder before firmly grasping my hand. Her effort to clutch my palm with frail strength was endearing, so I squeezed back in response.
"..Why can't Counselor stay by my side forever? We want each other so much, so what exactly is keeping us apart..?"
"...?"
"..And then, for the first time, I was seized by an emotion. After a chain of questions and answers, my heart finally created a new feeling."
Her fingers wriggled and intertwined between mine. Warmth rose from our tightly clasped hands.
"..At first, it was anger toward myself."
"Uh-huh.."
"Because I instinctively tried to seduce you by taking on different appearances, there was no single true form that matched this newly born feeling."
"..But Lav, no matter what form you take, the color of your hair and eyes is always truly mysterious and beautiful. I've always thought that.. and I still do."
Leaving our joined hands as they were, I awkwardly reached out with my other hand and gently stroked her lavender hair as she looked down at me kindly.
"Aah.. Ung-ssi..."
She closed her eyes, enjoying my touch, then soon opened them again and adjusted my uncomfortable posture as if to say it was fine now. With only the thin fabric of the white dress between us, I smiled faintly as my head rested once more on her soft thighs.
"Thank you. But those appearances.. are just borrowing the ideal female images that left strong impressions in your memories."
"Ah, that's.."
"So the second one was sadness. What I desire.. and what I've wished for my whole life.. is only interest and love directed at me."
Her hand holding mine was now trembling. To me it only felt like a slightly tight grip, but she was using all her strength to hold on and not let go.
"Do you know what the third one is?"
"..."
"..Jealousy. I got annoyed too. I hated you, Ung-ssi. I even thought it would be nice if everyone else just disappeared."
At her increasingly rapid and intense voice, I turned my head to meet her jewel-like eyes staring straight at me without blinking. Her mouth was clearly smiling softly, but her eyes.. were gleaming as if possessed by something. Only then did I belatedly realize something was wrong, but the black restraint was no longer around her neck, and the spot where the door I had entered through should have been was now replaced by a wall. I still had the physical advantage, so if I wanted I could have subdued her quickly.. but I was one step too late.
"So.. I decided to do this. From now on, the two of us will.. live here together forever, happily.. just like this."
"..."
"No matter what Ung-ssi wants, I'll follow along. If it's something I can do.. your happiness is my happiness, after all."
"...Ah.."
Swish...Stroke..
"..You were especially lustful toward me today, weren't you?"
"Ah.. Ugh, that's..."
Releasing our intertwined hands, she reached for the front of my pants. Before I even noticed, the front of my pants had noticeably swelled. "..This must be an emotion you couldn't fully resolve outside either. I'm jealous, and envious too. Whoever made Ung-ssi feel this way.. I want to find them... and make them disappear from this world."
"That... No.. Lav, this isn't.."
"No, that's not it."
"...?"
Zzzzip... Along with the sound of the zipper descending, she lowered her head and brought those eerily beautiful eyes right in front of my face again.
"From now on, Ung-ssi.. you can't say no."
At that whisper, my reason grew hazy as if fog had filled my mind, and my consciousness began to blur. At the return of that familiar sense of rest, I nodded weakly and answered.
"...Yeah, I will."
*
"Team Leader..! The entrance has disappeared!"
"All wireless and wired video feeds are cut off..!"
The suppression team that had been about to rush inside was thrown into confusion when the only door in this black box vanished, while the research team monitoring the internal footage was also in disarray after losing the signal. However, despite their reactions, the mysterious figure wearing the clown mask showed no sign of panic and spoke playfully.
"This is quite a big problem, isn't it? This is a special containment space created by Founder-nim, so the management team's equipment can't break it right away."
"..I'll make an emergency call to Founder-nim's personal workshop, laboratory, and research lab."
"Yes yes, and please contact the hot spring facility as well."
The management team felt even more uneasy at the responsible person's relaxed attitude, but she had a reason for not being too worried about the situation yet.
"It might be a bit excessive, but the containment subject's feelings toward Ung-ssi were quite friendly. Wanting to exclude other members of the opposite sex as competitors is probably due to the remaining instinct to monopolize her prey."
"But.. the restraint device has been broken. The counseling seemed to be going well, but I never expected the containment subject to suddenly change like that.."
It happened when less than ten minutes remained in the counseling session. The two of them had been playing their usual truth game as always. Just before the incident, the question Counselor had asked her was clearly whether she was hungry—a very simple yet important question. Since the atmosphere had been set by the truth game and perhaps because he had scared her a little last time, he seemed to be in a hurry to find out her meal conditions.. but for some reason, the subject had reacted strongly to that question. Or perhaps she had reacted to the emotions Ung-ssi felt when asking it.
"Research team, please evacuate for now. Suppression team, stand by at the location where the door disappeared. For now, we have no choice but to hope for Founder-nim's cooperation. If we tell her there's a problem with something she made, she'll come right away."
That is, if she wasn't in the middle of enjoying a hot spring bath at a time like this.