Night of Endurance
Night of Endurance
The brightening moonlight slipped through the curtains, subtly illuminating the room.
In the center lay a massive bed, where two people were wrapped in each other's arms.
"...An Origin Egg? So... a fairy came out of that egg from the Tower of Growth, the one you planned to cook sunny-side up..."
Hong Yeon-hwa shook off her dizziness and sorted through what she had just heard.
[Yes]
Lee Ha-yul confirmed, and she continued summarizing.
"And that fairy recognized you as... as its father... and you gave it the name Seo-yul... 'Lee Seo-yul'...?"
[Yes]
"Lee Seo-yul... N-not Shin Seo-yul?"
[Huh?]
[Why would Shin Seo-yul suddenly...]
Listening to the explanation, Hong Yeon-hwa's jaw dropped.
A feeling of vertigo spread through her whole body.
It felt as if the ground had split wide open, dropping her into a fathomless abyss.
A feeling like the world was sneering at her, telling her she'd made the wrong decision...
Just moments ago... the name 'Seo-yul' had fallen from Lee Ha-yul's lips while he was in her arms.
From the lips of Ha-yul, a boy drunk and emotionally heightened by manifesting the Calamity Flame.
And he had called her just 'Seo-yul' so casually, without any honorific like he usually did with others.
From what Hong Yeon-hwa knew, the only 'Seo-yul' Lee Ha-yul was likely to meet was Shin Seo-yul.
That was the moment her reason snapped. Her head felt like it would explode from the heat. So, she had let a little of her long-suppressed desires slip out.
And now she was bitterly regretting it. She wanted to go back and beat her past self to death right now.
'No way...'
It was unbelievable.
I mean, who would think of anyone other than Shin Seo-yul in that context?
No one could have guessed a fairy would be born from an egg he'd considered frying sunny-side up, a fairy that followed Lee Ha-yul like a parent and was named Seo-yul after his close friend.
She even felt wronged.
Hong Yeon-hwa clutched her throbbing head.
She grasped a fistful of hair.
It had grown a bit long; maybe it was time for a trim. A sudden impulse to just rip it all out surged up.
A wave of guilt also rose up. Her chest felt tight and suffocated.
Ha-yul hadn't done anything wrong, yet she had jumped to conclusions and done something overbearing on her own whim.
"Ha-yul, I... I'm so sorry. I got the wrong idea and did something so awful--"
"*Sniff sniff...*"
"--aaah...!"
A sound vibrated against her chest, transmitted from within her embrace. Hong Yeon-hwa's body trembled. As the breath brushed against her cleavage, she squeezed her eyes shut.
Those base desires crept back into her head.
Perhaps because she'd let a little loose earlier, their intensity was thankfully much lower now.
Suppressing the desire in an instant, Hong Yeon-hwa let out a long sigh and peered down at the figure in her arms.
Lee Ha-yul was snuggled tightly against her.
Hong Yeon-hwa was lying on her side, holding him in her embrace. With a complicated expression, she patted his back.
Then Lee Ha-yul tilted his head back. His face, which had been buried in her chest, peeked out.
"......"
Lee Ha-yul usually walked around with his eyes closed.
This wasn't a fact only Hong Yeon-hwa knew anymore; practically everyone who heard the name Lee Ha-yul knew it.
The sight of him walking confidently here and there with his eyes demurely shut, and beyond that, picking up weapons and fighting battles, was more than enough to draw everyone's attention.
When she had cautiously asked him about it one day, he'd said he didn't need to keep them open since he couldn't see, and that having them open just made his eyes sting and ache, so he preferred to keep them closed.
"......"
Hong Yeon-hwa blinked.
Eyelids opened and closed. A natural bodily function. Most creatures with eyes do it.
Lee Ha-yul blinked.
The eyelids that had been firmly shut opened. From within, the eyeballs that had always been hidden were revealed.
Their gazes met.
Gray eyes stared at Hong Yeon-hwa.
Hong Yeon-hwa swallowed her breath.
Gray eyes...
It wasn't a particularly rare color. If you looked around, you could often see people with gray eyes.
The difference was that Lee Ha-yul's eyes were devoid of life.
The color was already dull, and without any light, they looked like the eyes of a long-dead corpse.
But they were beautiful. Dull and without any vitality whatsoever, his eyes were paradoxically, overwhelmingly pretty and beautiful.
And unlike a corpse, Lee Ha-yul was breathing and alive.
His unfocused pupils trembled slightly. Even as his gaze slowly swept around the room, it couldn't properly focus.
His eyes shifted to Hong Yeon-hwa.
His focus locked on.
She had the fleeting illusion that his eyes held only her in his world.
Just then.
As if something wasn't working the way he wanted, Lee Ha-yul furrowed his brow tightly.
- Thump!
Hong Yeon-hwa's heart pounded fiercely.
Just a moment ago, his look had been somewhat alien, but now it had instantly transformed into an adorable expression.
'So cute... No, before that.'
Hong Yeon-hwa, whose lips were trembling, reached out her hand.
As her hand approached, Lee Ha-yul squeezed his eyes shut again. Her slender fingers carefully stroked his eyelids.
"If it hurts, don't force yourself to open them. Keep them closed."
Why had his eyes opened?
Congenital disabilities were notoriously difficult to resolve, even after awakening as a superhuman or with the help of other superhumans.
In some cases, they couldn't be cured even after administering all sorts of elixirs and having top-grade healing heroes working on the person.
Lee Ha-yul was one such case, yet now, his eyes were open.
When she asked why, Lee Ha-yul hesitated and couldn't answer easily.
"You don't have to answer. Tell me later if you feel like you can, and if it's something you feel you can never talk about, you don't ever have to."
[Okaay...]
She didn't push the matter further. Lee Ha-yul must have his reasons, and seeing him hesitate, it was likely a story too difficult to tell.
She was also still reeling from the guilt of what she'd done moments ago.
A woman who'd been about to grab his rear and pin him down had no right to let her conscience prick her...
Having allowed the touch without resistance, Lee Ha-yul quietly let himself be stroked for a while before suddenly sticking his head forward.
The distance between their faces narrowed. Her field of view filled with his face.
With his eyes slightly open, Lee Ha-yul took in the sight of Hong Yeon-hwa's face and moved his lips as if chewing.
He looked awkward doing all of it.
Opening his eyes looked awkward, and moving his lips like that looked awkward too.
For a while, he moved his lips around as if trying to get a feel for it, then slowly parted them.
And then.
"A kiss..."
"*Gasp...*"
Hong Yeon-hwa choked on her breath.
A lovely voice unlike any she'd ever heard in her life gently knocked against her eardrums.
She had no great talent for performance or song, but she had heard many sounds. Among all of them, nothing could compare to this.
"K-kiss... me... please..."
Her body quaked as if an earthquake had struck. A wave of pleasure starting from her ears swept through her entire being.
His voice had come back, too.
This boy, who had lived as a mute his whole life... why, at this very moment... had he regained both his sight and his voice together?
She couldn't focus on the question.
Deep inside her, the Calamity Flame raised its head. Violent, insidious impulses boiled over in an instant.
'Ugh...'
She suppressed the impulse with life-or-death desperation.
A sinner like Hong Yeon-hwa, who had just committed such a crime based on her own misunderstanding, couldn't bring herself to indulge these impulses.
Hong Yeon-hwa slowly lowered her face, and Lee Ha-yul demurely closed his eyes.
*Smooch.* The soft, moist sensation that sparked from their lips made Hong Yeon-hwa squeeze her eyes shut tight. The dizzying sensation blurred her reason; her desires squirmed, and her breath grew rough.
As if he found it insufficient, Lee Ha-yul bumped his lips against hers several times.
It was quite clumsy. Or maybe cute was the better word. It was a light peck, like a baby bird bumping its beak against something.
"*Smooch... Smack...*"
Their lips rubbed together, and their breaths mingled. His unique, honey-like sweet body scent tickled her nose. The corners of Hong Yeon-hwa's eyes quivered.
"*Smack... Haaah...*"
"Ah..."
The lips that had been rubbing and pressing together finally parted.
The warm, soft, moist sensation drew away. A regretful sigh escaped her, but only for a moment.
Letting out a small, feverish breath, Lee Ha-yul buried his face back into Hong Yeon-hwa's chest.
"*Sniff sniff...*"
'Ack...'
He didn't just bury his face.
Just like before, he was pressing his face into her chest, but this time, he pulled aside her collar and dug deep into the exposed valley, brazenly sniffing.
It was one thing to breathe, but his intention was blatantly to take in her scent rather than just inhale.
"Ooh... it must smell..."
His honest words made her embarrassed.
Having someone smell your body scent was more mortifying than she had imagined.
And for that spot to be the deep part of her cleavage... wasn't that an area with a particularly strong scent?
She felt like her head was heating up to the point of explosion.
It was a kind of embarrassment she hadn't felt when she herself had buried her nose in Lee Ha-yul's hair to smell it.
The location was different, but... was this what they called mirror therapy?
Unable to push him away, Hong Yeon-hwa meekly offered her chest.
"*Sniff sniff...*"
"...You like it?"
[I like it]
[It's a good smell]
[I'm happy]
His blunt honesty didn't make her feel bad. In fact, it made her feel good, if anything.
It was like watching a puppy snuggle into its owner, acting cute. He was an absolutely adorable child. She just had to endure the impulses somehow.
"You don't... smell bad?"
Hong Yeon-hwa asked, her lips trembling. She was self-conscious that she hadn't washed up after getting so excited and just collapsed into bed. She'd sweated a bit earlier, too...
[Smells like milk]
[Really strong]
[Sweet]
"Uh..."
An answer far more embarrassing than she had imagined came back. He said her chest smelled like milk. How was she supposed to take that? She supposed she should take it as better than sweat...
Her face, already like a ripe persimmon, turned an even deeper shade of red.
"O-oh... S-sorry. The milk isn't coming out yet... I'll definitely let you have some later..."
With an awkward gesture, Hong Yeon-hwa stroked Lee Ha-yul's head as he nuzzled her chest.
[Good]
[Happy]
[Milk?]
"Good..."
'So cute...'
She curled in on herself.
Lee Ha-yul burrowed even deeper into her embrace.
Her clothes parted further, and he buried his face into the now openly exposed cleavage.
His hair brushed against her skin. From deep within her cleavage, she could explicitly feel his feverish breath and the air from his nose.
And occasionally, his firmly closed lips would part to express an innocent affection.
Also, the Confession Necklace around her neck clattered incessantly, constantly producing these embarrassing statements.
"......"
Reason was being beaten down from all sides. It felt like her rationality was about to shatter into a million pieces and her body would be swept away by impulse, pouncing on Lee Ha-yul and pinning him down.
But the sinner Hong Yeon-hwa must not do that.
If she gave in to her desires and pounced on Lee Ha-yul again this time, she could never hold her head up around herself again.
Gritting her teeth silently, Hong Yeon-hwa squeezed her eyes shut.
In the process, she pushed her chest forward to make him more comfortable.
She absolutely had to endure it.
This was her own karma.
It was merely a punishment born from her own mistakes.
Repeating this to herself, she endured her impulses until the morning sun rose, meekly letting Lee Ha-yul stay in her arms the whole time.
'...Now that I think about it, it's not just my own karma. That bitch had a hand in this, too.'
Shin Seo-yul.
Why did her name have to be the same as the fairy's?
Hong Yeon-hwa mentally cursed Shin Seo-yul.
Whether it logically added up was not the important issue. Hong Yeon-hwa just needed someone to shove some of the blame onto and berate.
As a Calamity Flame Manifestor, developing the skill to pass the blame onto others was practically a necessity for maintaining a healthy mind.
* * *
- Ding!
[Contact: Calamity Flame Hong]
▶Calamity Flame Hong: You goddamn bitch.
"What the hell is wrong with her?"
Shin Seo-yul, who had been diligently clocking in at the dungeon even during her break without a proper rest, frowned.
On her way to the dungeon, a short, profane message had suddenly popped up from her friend.
As she looked at it, she suddenly flinched and rubbed her arms.
Goosebumps prickled all over.
From deep within her instincts, a creeping premonition warned her that punishment was about to fall on her, despite her innocence.
'...Should I take today off?'
Something felt off. Today didn't seem like her day.
At this rate, she might meet some terrible accident, and at just twenty years old, a dungeon could become her grave.
Shin Seo-yul hurriedly turned around.