Holy Mother (2) - Minor
Holy Mother (2) - Minor
As I thought, the bigger the breasts, the more milk they seemed to produce.
A factoid I'd stumbled on entirely by chance in my previous world said breast size had nothing to do with milk volume, but firsthand experience begged to differ.
Maybe superhumans just worked differently from ordinary people.
"Mmph, mmph..."
Even after suckling for a long while, the bottle she held showed no sign of running dry. While I toyed with Ha-sol's chest, kneading and fidgeting, I'd already emptied several bottles.
- Ssssshk...!
I hadn't sucked for long before my mouth filled with warm milk again.
I gulped it down before it could spill. The sweet, savory milk slid smoothly down my throat.
A pleasant fullness spread through my belly, and I felt a hand gently stroking my hair.
Lifting my head just a little, I sensed Ha-sol's fascinated gaze on me as she petted me.
"Is it that good?"
- Nod, nod.
[Yesyesyes]
[It's good]
[Goodgoodgood]
Too busy nursing to use my mouth, I bobbed my head instead. When the necklace poured out such ardent praise, Ha-sol chuckled.
"Back then, it was a struggle just to get one more spoonful into you..."
"Mmph, mmph... mmm..."
"Seeing you eat so well now is really nice..."
Ha-sol's eyes crinkled with a smile as she stroked my head.
Her light-green eyes practically dripped with an even thicker, denser dose of maternal affection.
And I could sense a glint of regret in them, too.
Deliberately suppressing the feeling, Ha-sol gently detached the bottle from my mouth, then—before I could so much as fuss—pressed a fresh one to my lips.
- Mwah.
A light kiss landed on the top of my head.
"Eat as much as you want. It's all Ha-yul's, so take your time..."
[Like it, like it...]
I blinked as I swallowed the milk.
The reason for that regret was easy to guess.
It was the same sympathy everyone had shown when my curses were laid bare, when it came out that my senses of smell and taste were useless, too.
'I'm fine, though.'
Truthfully, I hadn't been fine at first.
It had stressed me out immensely.
Having something I'd once possessed taken from me was deeply unpleasant. That sense of isolation, of drifting alone apart from the world, always left my chest tight.
That must have been the effect of the 'Curse of Solitude,' which I'd known as the Sense Seal.
Sensory sealing was only a secondary effect.
The real effect was a vicious purpose: to psychologically crush the target and ultimately drive them to end their own life.
Combined with the Curse of Silence that blocked self-expression, the sheer filthy malice behind it was unmistakable.
It's only this manageable because our side's Tower Masters offset the curses.
Otherwise, the Curse of Solitude would have intensified, and I'd have been unable to communicate even through holograms or text, like Kkonnim had been.
"Gulp..."
Anyway, I was fine now.
I swallowed the mouthful of milk and my stomach felt quite full.
When I released the bottle, a droplet of milk slipped from the nipple I'd been holding in my mouth.
When Ha-sol tried to put it back in my mouth out of pointless pity, my body was suddenly lifted and cradled against her shoulder, my chin resting there.
"Did baby eat well until full?"
"...Yeah..."
[Full]
[Satisfied]
[Unsatisfied]
My stomach was full but I could eat more. I was satisfied but I wanted more...
"If you get hungry, I'll give you more, okay?"
"Mm... mm..."
When I bobbed my head with an ambiguous expression, Ha-sol giggled and patted my back.
The rhythmic pats against my back unsettled my insides.
"There now... let's not hold it in, okay? Let's have a nice, satisfying burp..."
"Urp..."
In the end, a milky burp escaped my slightly parted lips.
"That's it, good job... let's do one more, really satisfying this time? That's it..."
"Mm..."
Ha-sol beamed and planted a kiss on my cheek, praising me warmly.
My stomach felt better and the praise made me smile reflexively, but at the same time, my expression turned ambiguous.
"Ha-sol... I'm not a baby, so why are you burping me...?"
"...Just because? It felt like I should."
What kind of reasoning was that.
Ha-sol tilted her head with an equally vague expression, and my head instinctively tilted right along with hers.
And it wasn't just Ha-sol who did this.
Yeon-hwa, my teacher, Professor Liana, Ellia, A-rin...
After feeding me milk, every single one of them would pat my back and coax a burp out of me.
Wasn't that exactly what you did to help an actual baby digest?
Of course, afterwards my stomach really did feel better, and the sensation of being coddled and cared for in someone's arms was genuinely nice, but...
[Nice...]
[Refreshing]
[Happy]
...I'm happy, so what's the problem?
I'd come way too far to resist being treated like a baby at this point.
I shook my head back and forth and buried my face firmly into her deep cleavage.
Rubbing my nose against the soft flesh, the rich scent of her skin filled my nasal passages, and all my stray thoughts melted softly away.
Saying it tickled, Ha-sol smiled gently and lay down on the bed. She toyed with my hair, fiddling with the strands.
"Our baby? Now that you've finished your yum-yums, are you sleepy?"
[Yes]
[No]
I could fall asleep right this moment, but I wouldn't.
I buried my face in her chest, nuzzling and fussing. As if soothing and coaxing me, Ha-sol's hand gently stroked my head and neck.
When I peeked up, I sensed those softly curved, light-green eyes resting on me.
"Our good baby? You've had a nice full tummy of yummies, so shall we go night-night early?"
"Mmm... mrrr, mmph."
Ha-sol hugged my head tightly to her. Snuggled deep into her tender chest, a sense of comfort spread through me, and my eyelids gradually lowered.
Unable to resist the wave of drowsiness, my consciousness eventually grew heavy, like waterlogged cotton.
"From now on, let's live really, truly happily."
"Mm."
[Okay...]
Feeling the affectionate hand stroking my hair, I burrowed deeper into her embrace and bobbed my head.
I'm already so, so happy now.
I'm probably the happiest person in the world. Smiling softly, I focused on the thumping sound of Ha-sol's heartbeat.
* * *
"Hoo..."
Lee Ha-sol was the type to accumulate fatigue easily.
Part of it was the difficulty an orphan without parents faced in being psychologically stable, but it was also because Lee Ha-sol was always worrying about and planning for the future.
The bright, cloudless sky felt callous and indifferent enough to draw a sigh from her.
As a result of this negative mindset, there had been many times she'd had to swallow her emotions alone, out of sight.
But now she'd found a solution.
Lee Ha-sol sprinted ahead and threw open the door to the orphanage.
She kicked off her shoes and dashed on.
She tossed her outer coat and bag into her room, went into the shower and scrubbed herself meticulously, then changed into fresh, dry clothes.
Her preparations complete, Lee Ha-sol beamed and opened a certain door.
"Ha-yul!"
[Yes]
The Director's office, with no Director in sight. Sitting on the sofa, Lee Ha-yul turned his head. An impassive expression on his face, his wiggling hands raised a sketchbook that read, "Yes."
"Were you waiting patiently?"
[Yes]
[No problems—]
Lee Ha-sol smiled softly and pulled Lee Ha-yul tightly into her arms.
She slipped the sketchbook caught between them up onto the desk, sat down on the sofa, settled Lee Ha-yul into her lap, and rubbed her cheek against his head.
"Ahh, the fatigue is melting away..."
"......"
The exhaustion weighing on her head dissolved.
Lee Ha-yul was, quite simply, a warm hot pack personified.
Perfectly petite for holding in her arms, and though she hadn't noticed before, he somehow smelled nice too...
"Do you like Ha-yul that much?"
"Yes."
The Director, who had come in midway to brew coffee, sent an ambiguous look their way, but Lee Ha-sol merely gave a light greeting and wrapped her arms around Lee Ha-yul again.
"I'm going to take care of him for the rest of my life... and if possible, marry him too."
"...I'll be rooting for you."
The Director calmly sipped her coffee at such a bold declaration.
She knew full well how outstanding Lee Ha-sol's talents were.
She'd assessed long ago that Ha-sol would be more than capable of comfortably supporting two people once out in society.
Her character was upright and good, so far from seeing any problem, she felt like cheering her on.
Separately, she wondered if the child's love wasn't a bit intense, but if they both liked it, what was there to say?
...Surely they liked each other.