Kiss
Kiss
A hazy mind is no different from being exposed to danger.
Dulled reason cannot make swift, sound judgments.
If a dangerous situation arises, you cannot act properly.
A crisis you might have escaped under normal circumstances could trap you simply because your mind was fogged over.
That's why I always tried to hold on to my senses.
No matter how comfortable things got, I kept a minimum level of wariness.
I kept myself ready to respond to any possible emergency.
Being human, there were times I couldn't overcome emotion or desire, but I generally kept that attitude.
Just now, I didn't.
My mind, foggy as if shrouded in thick mist, found it hard to make swift and precise decisions.
My body, limp and sluggish, was unfit to react to sudden changes.
Even my emotions were soft and mushy like rice cake, far from composed.
- Squeeze...!
'Hngh...!'
That fogged-over mind shattered in an instant.
A tingling current shot up my spine and pierced through my head.
The dizzying sensation didn't stop there—it spread evenly through my whole body as if rushing along every capillary.
My back straightened on its own.
My body thrashed like a fish thrown onto land.
'......!'
I reflexively stifled the breath trying to burst out. It was a sort of habit born from the long torment of the Curse of Silence.
Thanks to that habit, I didn't suffer the pain of having my throat torn open, but I couldn't stop my body from trembling.
"Hey."
A familiar voice suddenly rang out from above.
It was Hong Yeon-hwa's voice—the culprit who had made me lower my guard.
...Familiar, yet somehow different.
The voice itself hadn't changed.
But it felt as though something inside it had. Not just the voice—her whole bearing had shifted.
The warmth, the gentle heat that had crackled like dying embers... now seemed to seethe like magma just before eruption.
I had no idea why.
On top of that, my mind had just barely regained consciousness. I couldn't properly grasp what was happening.
My last memory was of summoning Calamity Flame to infuse into the Beacon Fire Sword.
'Ah.'
That's when I realized why things had turned out this way.
The recoil of the Calamity Flame was an upsurge of emotion.
On top of that, alcohol had been everywhere, and the ever-dependable Hong Yeon-hwa was right beside me.
And I'd poured an immense amount of Calamity Flame into dyeing the Beacon Fire Sword.
That must have been what made me black out.
I remembered up to that point.
But I couldn't recall how we had ended up in this position.
Unable to follow the situation, I blinked blankly.
And then—
"Who is Seo-yul?"
The name that came from Hong Yeon-hwa's lips made my heart plummet.
My body jolted hard. My mouth opened and then pressed shut again.
I ran through my memory for a moment, but I hadn't misheard.
'How...?'
Lee Seo-yul.
Why had that name come out of Hong Yeon-hwa's mouth?
I still hadn't revealed Seo-yul's existence to the outside world.
We had made a legal identity for her, but it wasn't linked to me.
Until now, the only people I'd told were Professor Liana and Ellia.
That was for safety.
From what I could deduce with my inadequate reasoning, there was zero benefit to exposing my connection to Seo-yul.
In the 7th Iteration, when I left the Cradle, I'd drawn a bit of attention just as a special admission cadet and gotten a taste of the threats that came with it.
And on top of that, she wasn't even human—she was a fairy. A rare species whose appearances before the world could be counted on one hand. It was best to conceal her identity as much as possible.
So I hid her.
It was definitely safer than revealing her.
I didn't handle her identity sloppily either. I entrusted it to Maxwell, someone reliable even in the original story. I didn't tell even him her exact nature.
I hadn't planned to hide it from Hong Yeon-hwa forever either.
We had grown close, and I didn't want to keep this kind of secret from her. I also knew Hong Yeon-hwa wasn't the type to harm Seo-yul.
But back then, I'd had no leeway and my mind had been all over the place, so I hadn't been able to tell her.
And yet.
Before I could even tell Hong Yeon-hwa, Seo-yul's name had come out of her mouth first.
The shock made my head ring. Where had the information leaked? Why was she asking me about Seo-yul's identity? Did she know we were connected?
My heart pounded. My mind, still not running smoothly, spun at full speed.
"...Fine. You're not going to talk, are you?"
[Huh?]
Then it happened.
Just as I was trying to sort through the mess in my head, Hong Yeon-hwa suddenly clenched her teeth and stood up.
Still cradled in her arms, I was naturally swept up with her.
Startled by the sudden motion, I pulled my arms tighter around Hong Yeon-hwa.
She glanced down at me with an odd look in her eyes, then started walking while still holding me.
The banquet hall, still bustling and hectic with people, receded in an instant as she walked with extremely quick steps.
The night breeze blowing in was fairly strong.
Thanks to the outer robe draped over me and the radiating warmth of Hong Yeon-hwa, I wasn't cold.
Before I knew it, we had reached the family estate's residence.
The guards standing watch on either side of the main gate recognized Hong Yeon-hwa and bowed their heads in greeting—then flinched when they saw me cradled in her arms.
Hong Yeon-hwa merely nodded without a word.
Apparently that was enough for them to understand. They bowed deeply and opened the gate.
Once inside, Hong Yeon-hwa skipped the elevator and swiftly climbed the stairs to the upper floor.
A question mark floated above my head. The floor we arrived at had the room I'd grown accustomed to over the past few days—the room assigned to me.
'Why here...'
As I tilted my head, she walked right past it.
It wasn't my room. Next door... according to Eriel, it was Hong Yeon-hwa's room.
- Clack
Hong Yeon-hwa opened the door and stepped inside without any hesitation.
She slammed the door shut behind her, strode noisily toward the bed, and plopped down on the edge.
"Haaaah..."
She cracked her neck this way and that, then let out a sigh. A breath thick with frustration and tangled thoughts.
"Ha-yul."
[Yes...]
Sensing the ominous mood, I answered while shrinking back.
"I'm going to ask again."
Slowly... Hong Yeon-hwa slipped off the outer robe that had been draped over her shoulders.
The brilliant red robe slid down along her shoulder line. She snatched it up and tossed it carelessly onto a nearby coat rack.
"Answer me... properly."
As if that hadn't relieved her frustration, Hong Yeon-hwa loosened the front of her dress and flapped it, trying to cool herself.
Pale skin and its contours were plainly exposed.
There must have been so much heat trapped inside that beads of sweat had formed on her skin, and thin wisps of steam seemed about to rise.
It was an incredibly flustering sight, but the tense mood kept me silent.
"Who is Seo-yul?"
Hong Yeon-hwa's red eyes looked down at me.
The eyes I normally thought of as beautiful rubies or warm flames.
Right now, I felt differently. Chill rather than beauty. Some unknown sticky heat rather than warmth.
The question she spat while looking down at me with those eyes was the same as before.
Who was Seo-yul.
I didn't answer rashly.
Even though I'd been thinking about it during the short time it took to get here, I hadn't managed to organize my thoughts.
Seo-yul's current state was just too complicated.
Where should I even start explaining? I'd have to begin with the egg I got from the Tower of Growth hatching and Seo-yul being born from it...
No, before that, I should start by apologizing for not telling her earlier.
Even if there were some circumstances, Hong Yeon-hwa might be hurt to learn about it only now.
I briefly organized those thoughts, so that my words wouldn't get tangled or come across wrong.
A short time.
By any normal standard, it was a brief pause she would have been willing to wait through.
But for some reason, Hong Yeon-hwa's patience had long since run out.
"Why?"
- Smack...!
'......!'
A firecracker went off right before my eyes. Even in my dim vision, I saw a flash flicker.
It was similar to before. A dizzying sensation prickled up my spine, and my body shuddered like a vibrator.
- Pfft...
Air I hadn't managed to swallow burst from my lips.
[Firecracker]
[Flash]
[Burning heat]
[Embarrassment]
[Butt]
[Wait]
[W-wait just]
"Huh? Why can't you talk?"
A hand settled on my burning rear. Hong Yeon-hwa's hand. She placed it there and rubbed it as if soothing an injury.
The sensation was hard to describe.
It stung, but something about it was strange.
It didn't hurt. It burned, but it wasn't purely painful.
As I just trembled foolishly without managing any kind of response, Hong Yeon-hwa raised her hand again.
"Got a reason you can't talk? Yeah?"
[Wait—]
- Smack...!
[—just...! Aaaah, no...]
"What? I'm waiting right now. Hurry up and talk."
The impact resonated. The vibration started at my rear and rattled through every part of my body. The sensation it transmitted was too intense.
'Mmngh...'
My body thrashed reflexively. It was an instinctive reaction I hadn't intended.
"Do you know how long I held back? Someone swishing their tail around, and I kept holding myself back, telling myself it was a matter of morality...!"
'......!'
But apparently that didn't please Hong Yeon-hwa, and she moved her hand again.
Before I could even fully process the sensation, another impact landed.
The lingering remnants of the last sensation tangled with the new one.
Colors bloomed before my eyes. They weren't real. My head was jumbled into chaos.
'Hngh...'
Normally I would have shaken it off quickly, but my current state was far from normal.
A faint intoxication, my wariness melted away by Hong Yeon-hwa's heat, the emotional upsurge from the Calamity Flame...
Multiple factors piled on top of each other, and the senses I had deliberately shut down flared back to sharpness.
Hong Yeon-hwa was probably in a similar state.
Throughout the banquet she'd breathed in the smell of alcohol, and she had poured just as much of the Calamity Flame into the Beacon Fire Sword as I had.
It was hard to endure.
My eyes quivered involuntarily.
My face felt like it might melt. To hide it, I buried my face in the chest right in front of me.
The texture was different from what I usually felt.
Not the feel of fabric, but smooth skin and damp, warm body heat.
"Trying to run away on your own again?"
I didn't get to feel it for long. A hand dug in, grabbed a handful of my cheek, and pulled my face out from her chest.
Hong Yeon-hwa let out a breath. The sound was rough, like a beast before its prey.
And indeed, Hong Yeon-hwa's eyes were bloodshot enough to feel genuinely chilling.
"I'll do whatever I want."
The Hong Yeon-hwa I sensed through Observation was on fire. A viscous flame was devouring her other emotions, rapidly swelling in mass.
Muttering almost as if convincing herself, Hong Yeon-hwa moved her hands.
One hand wrapped tight around my waist, while the other grabbed the back of my head and tilted it back.
Hong Yeon-hwa's eyes suddenly trembled. Her gaze seemed to fix on my lips for a moment, then she squeezed her eyes shut and slowly lowered her head.
'Ah.'
You could call it instinct... or intuition.
I realized what she was about to do.
In that instant, a desperation beyond words surged up.
I thrashed, trying to evade.
Squeeze... The arm around my waist bound my body. The hand gripping the back of my head stopped it from twisting away.
Blocked. Simple movement wasn't enough. I'd have to use force.
Draw power into my whole body, pour mana into it—
'...If I do that...'
...If I did that, Hong Yeon-hwa would get hurt.
It might not be a major injury, but she could still get wounded.
Every other method was the same. I had no way to shake her off without hurting her. Even using the Authority of Space to escape was the same.
The moment that thought reached me, the strength left my body on its own. My body went limp. Her face drew closer.
[Wait]
[Please, don't...]
[Just a moment...]
I couldn't push her away physically. As a last resort, the Confession Necklace clicked and let out a pitiful resistance.
Hong Yeon-hwa—consumed by the emotional upsurge of the Calamity Flame—stopped.
"...Do you hate me?"
She had stopped barely a hair's breadth away, and she asked.
Her eyes trembled pitifully with anxiety.
"Did you start hating me? Am I scary now...?"
- Screech—!
Along with a harsh metallic sound, the Confession Necklace rattled.
[I like you]
It happened before any filtering could take place.
The sound was so rough I feared it might not be heard.
But as if she understood, Hong Yeon-hwa smiled with relief.
My head tilted back, and Hong Yeon-hwa's face... her lips descended.
- Kiss
They met.
A soft, yielding sensation pressed against my lips.
Emotion flowed through.
'Ah.'
Surely there are many kinds of affection.
There is love between a man and a woman, there is love between friends, and there is the love a parent gives to a child.
The ways of expressing it are also immensely diverse—people reveal their affection to others through all kinds of actions and words.
Perhaps because I hadn't received much love since childhood, I found it hard to grasp such things.
I would wonder if they were being considerate of me... then question whether I was right, whether they really cared for me, whether I was just willfully imagining things, whether I'd gotten it backwards, and so on.
Indirect and vague expressions were hard for me to understand.
That was why direct and primal methods were easier for me to receive.
Stroking me, patting me, holding me...
Offering your most defenseless embrace, sharing each other's heartbeat, pressing skin to skin and sharing body heat.
These expressions left no room for doubt. At the very least, I could grasp the emotion conveyed through touch.
For someone like me, there was one expression of affection that was exceedingly clear and direct.
A kiss.
An expression of love.
"...Huh?"
A dazed sound escaped Hong Yeon-hwa's lips, her face red as an apple.
- Ding!
A system alert I hadn't heard much of lately rang in my ears.
A soft sensation pressed over my whole body.
A sweet scent brushed the tip of my nose.
A warm, sweet liquid seeped into my mouth.
In the center of my hazy vision, I saw wide-open red eyes.
.
.
.
[Player Correction System: Affection]
Lee Ha-yul→Hong Yeon-hwa
●●●●●●●●○○(86/100)
｢?｣ ｢Indebtedness｣ ｢Gratitude｣ ｢Warmth｣ ｢Stability｣
▼Dramatic Change▼
Lee Ha-yul→Hong Yeon-hwa
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♡(86▷90/100)
｢Affection｣ ｢Indebtedness｣ ｢Gratitude｣ ｢Warmth｣ ｢Stability｣
...
[Player Correction System: Pioneering Progress]
[Quest ｢Affection｣ Complete]
[Quest ｢Hong Yeon-hwa｣ Complete]
[A large amount of Points has been accumulated]
...
[Partially satisfies the conditions for lifting ｢Curse of Silence｣]
[｢Curse of Silence｣ has been conditionally (Hong Yeon-hwa) weakened]
...
[Partially satisfies the conditions for lifting ｢Curse of Solitude｣]
[｢Curse of Solitude｣ has been conditionally (Hong Yeon-hwa) weakened]