Obsession (2)
Obsession (2)
Once, while Liana was browsing a department store on a whim—a few months before she retired and entered Siyoram—she had witnessed a scene like this.
- Buy me that! Buy me that, Mom!
- Hmm... When was my son's birthday again? There are at least three months left...?
A child with sparkling eyes, mesmerized by a toy in a dazzling box.
Parents recoiling in horror when they spotted the price tag underneath.
- Wahhh... buy it for me...!
- Oh dear...
The first round of negotiations had collapsed; the child had pulled out the tantrum card and was whining, while the parents were trying to talk him out of it somehow.
She couldn't quite understand the child's heart. In her own childhood, instead of wanting toys, Liana had played with the spirits who gathered around her.
Playing with spirits had been far more enjoyable than plastic lumps or even high-end toys infused with a little magic.
She couldn't empathize with the adults either. She had never given birth to or raised a child, and she had never even looked after a younger sibling.
The anxiety of parents fretting over a toy's price? By then, Liana had already been active on the Demon Realm Frontline and earned an exorbitant amount of money. She couldn't relate to the feeling of being strapped for cash over a toy or two.
[Don't wanna... be mine...!]
"Uh, u-umm..."
Only now could Liana partially understand the parents who had been at their wits' end over a tantrum-throwing child.
But there were differences.
The whining child was adorable, but not her own offspring, and the thing they clung to wasn't her leg, but her very embrace.
And what they wanted wasn't a mere toy—it was Liana herself.
- Squeeze...
Two arms tightened around her waist. A short, heated breath warmed her chest. Lee Ha-yul, his face buried firmly against her, shook his head from side to side.
[Miiine...]
"M, mine, you say...?"
Trouble clouded Liana's face at the sight of Lee Ha-yul acting spoiled in her arms.
In truth, it wasn't the first or second time Lee Ha-yul had acted spoiled with her. Even when he wasn't pushed to his mental limits like in Sipnaha or China, Lee Ha-yul often acted spoiled.
Especially in bed.
It was already a well-known fact among those around him that Lee Ha-yul was vulnerable to sleep. There was a reason behind-the-scenes negotiations took place over who got to share a bed with him.
Of course, the main victors were usually Hong Yeon-hwa or Lee Seo-yul, but Liana had also often fallen asleep with Lee Ha-yul in her arms.
Each time, she would receive healing while soothing Lee Ha-yul, who would be drowsy with sleep and whining adorably.
But revealing such sticky and clingy possessiveness today...
- [I'll take responsibility...]
Suddenly, a memory from that disgraceful drinking party flashed through Liana's mind.
- [Stay with me.]
- [I like you, Professor...]
- [Let's continue, being together... from now on.]
Sweet and resolute emotions, quite similar in tenor to now.
Come to think of it, Lee Ha-yul had revealed possessiveness toward her back then too. It wasn't as blatant as now, but instead, he'd handled her breasts as if they were his own.
'...Uh, he won't do it like back then, right...?'
The situation was quite similar to back then: Lee Ha-yul, held in Liana's embrace, moving by instinct instead of reason.
Just in case, she glanced at Lee Ha-yul's arms around her waist. Right now, they were just quietly wrapped around her waist, but it wouldn't be strange if those hands suddenly surged upward and grabbed her breasts immediately...
'I, I can't break free of the restraints...'
Both arms were around her waist, and the artifact was coiled around her whole body. Could she shake him off? She shook her head inwardly at the question. Leaving aside whether she even wanted to shake him off, it was difficult in the first place.
Recently, Lee Ha-yul's physical abilities had begun to surpass Liana's. This was Lee Ha-yul, who had been clashing quite seriously with Atra lately. It was only natural for Liana, a Spirit Caster, to be physically outmatched by Lee Ha-yul.
Technique was also lacking in the first place. Liana lacked a technique-type Unique Ability designed for close combat. Even with similar physical abilities, she would be overwhelmingly outmatched in technique and crushed beneath Lee Ha-yul...
[Don't leave...!]
"Ugh..."
As if sensing Liana's inner dark thoughts, the restraint momentarily tightened. It wasn't enough to harm her, but the pressure vividly conveyed suffocation and possessiveness.
Thanks to that, it was quite suffocating. Liana racked her brain while stealing glances at Lee Ha-yul's hands.
How should she resolve this?
Perhaps because she was suffocating, nothing came to mind no matter how hard she racked her brain. The soft, warm body filling her embrace perfectly, along with the sweet honey-like scent wafting up, only muddled her thoughts further.
As she rolled her eyes, Liana met the gaze of Aurora, floating nearby. Aurora, still controlling Water Energy to heal Lee Ha-yul, subtly averted her eyes. Liana's eyes trembled slightly at the disregard from the spirit she had been with since childhood.
"That's right, I am Ha-yul's."
Another voice reached the ears of Liana, who was seething with betrayal.
It wasn't just Liana who had been captured. Ellia, similarly constricted by the artifact, savored that pressure and the sticky possessiveness directed at her for only a moment before smiling brightly and patting Lee Ha-yul's back.
[Ellia is mine...?]
"Yes, yes, I already belong to Ha-yul."
[Okay, you're mine...]
"That's right, even without something like this, I won't go anywhere. So, could you loosen it just a bit?"
Ellia, her eyes slightly crinkled, whispered softly as if soothing a child. The gentle touch patting his back held the glow of Recovery Melody, and her voice, coaxing a child, was endlessly warm and comforting.
At that, the strength slowly drained from the artifact coiled around Ellia's body.
"That's right, our baby's being good? Thank you?"
[Mmnn...]
"Ah..."
Liana let out a gasp of admiration at that sight.
That was it. Right now, Lee Ha-yul was in a state close to mental and physical exhaustion. Rather than trying to have a normal conversation, it was right to first soothe, coddle, and calm him down. She'd done that before, but she'd panicked and forgotten it in the moment.
"I, I'm also yours, baby... so, could you loosen it a little for me too?"
[Mmnn...]
Liana, belatedly patting Lee Ha-yul, also acknowledged his ownership first. The words transferring ownership of the object known as 'herself' gave her a strange sensation, but the pressure actually applied to her body gradually eased.
'......'
Having become able to breathe easier, her complexion relaxed—but only for a moment before Liana unconsciously felt a pang of regret. The pressure that had tightly wound around her whole body, the strong possessiveness conveyed through the arms around her waist, the perilous hand that might surge up at any moment and squeeze her flesh fully...
"Hmm! First, let's move."
"Yes, let's."
Liana, having erased her strange thoughts with a dry cough, rose from her seat.
- Good heavens...
But the thoughts Liana had erased were partially transmitted to Aurora, the spirit who had been with her since childhood. Being coiled around, grabbed, kneaded roughly, squeezed firmly, held in the mouth and suckled...
- H, huff...
Aurora let out a horrified sound at the gloomy and disgraceful imagery transmitted to her.
The streets around evening time.
"Huff... seriously...!"
Dodging the occasional passerby here and there, Hong Yeon-hwa urgently kicked off the ground. It was because of the text message about Lee Ha-yul she had just received.
They said another problem had arisen with Lee Ha-yul. The moment she received that message, dizziness struck her, but thanks to years of having her spirit crushed repeatedly, she could still move without fainting.
Though she'd been quite far away, she could reach the mansion soon thanks to full-speed sprinting with her physical abilities.
- Bang!
"...What the?"
The front door she had flung open with force. Hong Yeon-hwa, about to dash inside without a second thought, stopped short at the sight of the foyer filled with puppies of every shape and color.
'Spirits... are they?' Though she was momentarily distracted by their outward appearance as puppies, she soon realized that these colorful things were spirits. Hong Yeon-hwa had absolutely no Spirit Affinity, but she could still feel their presences.
Hadn't they said Lee Ha-yul went out today for spirit ascension? It seemed he'd succeeded for now. ...But why were there so many puppies? Weren't intermediate-rank spirits supposed to each have a unique appearance?
Or did that mean some problem had occurred during the process? Hong Yeon-hwa, biting her lip, moved her steps carefully, just in case she might step on the puppies.
Thus, she entered the mansion. The moment she stepped inside, she saw Liana and Ellia sitting on the lobby sofa. And also Lee Ha-yul, held fast in Liana's embrace.
"Huff...!"
At that sight, Hong Yeon-hwa let out a sigh of relief for now. She had guessed as much from the location being the mansion, not the healing room, but seeing that it wasn't a direct trip to the healing room meant he hadn't become half a corpse. Also, he looked quite fine outwardly. Part of the anxiety that had been eating away at her heart subsided.
But the worry still remained. With complicated feelings, Hong Yeon-hwa strode forward.
[Yeon-hwa...]
"Wh-what's wrong? Are you hurting a lot somewhere?"
Though some worry had subsided, her heart sank back down at the moisture and unease audible in Lee Ha-yul's voice.
As Hong Yeon-hwa approached in a rush, Lee Ha-yul, turning his body, whined and stretched out both arms. Reflexively, she picked him up and held him. Dozens of strands of the winged garment stretched out and coiled around her body, but she paid no mind.
[Heeing...]
Lee Ha-yul, held in her arms, sat hugging Hong Yeon-hwa's waist and buried his face firmly in her voluptuous chest. The warm and soft embrace, the sweet body scent flooding his nose. Within it, rubbing his face, he pressed his ear firmly against the soft flesh.
- Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump!
The sound of a heartbeat thumping within the flesh. He had heard it from afar, but he wanted to confirm it up close. It rang regularly, without any issue. Even when he used Observation, when he used Mana Detection, there was no problem.
Only then, feeling relieved, Lee Ha-yul went limp. Hong Yeon-hwa, unaware of the circumstances, stroked Lee Ha-yul's back with an anxious expression.
"Baby, are you hurting? Hm?"
The touch transmitted on his back. As he rested his chin on her chest with unfocused eyes, he caught sight of Hong Yeon-hwa, worry dripping from her gaze.
"Smooch..."
Wanting to reassure him, she pecked his lips. Hong Yeon-hwa, her eyes widening momentarily, also let out a deep sigh as if somewhat relieved, and gently patted his bottom.
"What was it this time? Hm?"
A moment later, Hong Yeon-hwa, having settled her worry, asked as she sat down on the sofa.
[Mmnn... it's nothing much...]
Lee Ha-yul subtly rolled his eyes before puckering his lips again. It had been nothing special. His soul had just momentarily tried to tear out of his physical body. That was all.
[Player Correction System: Affection]
Lee Ha-yul → Liana Bellus
●●●●●●●●○○ (79 ▷ 80/100)
｢Affection｣ ｢Milk Cow?｣ ｢Gratitude｣ ｢Gentle Adult｣ ｢Soft｣ ｢Voluptuous｣
...
Lee Ha-yul → Ellia Srade
●●●●●●●●○○ (85 ▷ 86/100)
｢Affection｣ ｢Gratitude｣ ｢Dairy Cow?｣ ｢Chick｣ ｢Gentle｣
...
Lee Ha-yul → Hong Yeon-hwa
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♡ (92 ▷ 93/100)
｢Love｣ ｢Milk｣ ｢Gratitude｣ ｢Warmth｣ ｢Stability｣ ｢Soft｣ ｢Relief｣