My Man, Your Man (3) - Chapter 168
Seong Hyun-jin, who had come out to find Serena, was honestly more than a little shocked. He'd only set out about an hour late to look for her, but her condition was far worse than he'd imagined. Her eyes were clouded with anxiety, all vitality drained away, and her thumbnail wasn't just bitten down to the quick—it was bleeding from how viciously she'd gnawed at it. The sight made worry surge through him in an instant, nearly forgetting Ciela's advice and showing his soft side first. But as Ciela had said, for this relationship to hold steady in the long run, the one holding the reins had to be Hyun-jin, not Serena. Her jealousy was already intensifying, and from what he could see right now... letting her keep acting like this wouldn't be good for anything.
Hyun-jin steeled his resolve and approached her, putting Ciela's words into practice.
"You were out here the whole time? You're so damn stubborn."
"……."
"Why didn't you just head in if I didn't come looking?"
He kept up a cold, cutting attitude, not letting any concern show for her haggard state—as if it was almost comical. Serena would surely be hurt a little, but thinking of their future life together, he decided to toughen up.
And in that moment—
Whoosh!
Suddenly, Hyun-jin's body grew heavy. Precisely because Serena had flung herself at him from the front, her weight pressing in.
Caught off guard by the abrupt move, he glanced down at her in slight confusion.
"…Serena? H-hey, we're outside…."
Forgetting all about playing it cool, he revealed his fluster plainly. Serena spoke in a quivering, tearful voice.
"…I thought you weren't coming."
That voice melted away his hardened heart like ice under the sun. Her trembling tone made it impossible to even think about seizing control.
"I thought you weren't coming… I was so scared…."
"……."
Hyun-jin realized he simply couldn't bring himself to treat Serena harshly. No words would come out.
'To someone who gets this hurt just from me being gone a little while... what the hell...'
He could probably take the upper hand by being tough, but even imagining how much more it might wound her filled him with dread.
Abandoning Ciela's suggestion, he gently hugged Serena back and asked softly.
"Why would you think that?"
"I thought you didn't need me anymore…."
"What? What kind of talk is that?"
"Now that you have Ciela Teraport… I wondered if you didn't need me specifically anymore…."
Hyun-jin blinked in surprise at her words, then sighed and stroked her hair.
"I've never once thought the people I care about are disposable. Especially you, Serena—you're way more precious than that."
"…Then why'd you take so long to come?"
"I figured you needed a little time to think things over. Me too. And…."
Hyun-jin paused for a beat before whispering quietly.
"Honestly, Serena, you were kinda trying to manipulate me too, right? You bolted out knowing I'd chase after you right away."
"……!"
Serena's eyes went wide in shock as she stared up at him. That reaction confirmed it—Ciela's assessment wasn't entirely off-base.
'Serena Eldark pulling a sly fox move on me...'
Depending on how you looked at it, it was cute. Depending on how you looked at it, it was infuriating.
"Th-that's…."
Watching her fumble for words with a lost expression, Hyun-jin smirked. Then he scooped her up lightly in his arms.
"Eek…!?"
"Hold on a sec."
He plopped down on the bench where she'd been sitting and settled her on his lap. Her face flushed beet red at the blatantly affectionate display that would draw stares from anyone passing by. But Hyun-jin seemed unconcerned as he spoke.
"Serena, no matter what happens, my feelings for you aren't going anywhere."
"…Really?"
"Yeah. So you don't have to worry like that. Lately, watching you… you seem so fragile because of me. Sometimes I wonder if me being around is the problem."
Serena shook her head vigorously at his words.
"I can't live without you anymore."
"…Same here. That's why I think, to keep this going, we can't lean on each other too much."
Nothing was more dangerous than becoming wholly dependent on someone else—whether lovers or family, it was the same. Some reliance was fine, but if it went too far, the relationship couldn't stay healthy and would inevitably crash.
"This whole thing caught me off guard too, and you must've been just as shocked… I'm sorry about that. But putting that aside, I've noticed how much you've been depending on me lately. I feel like we need to change that a bit."
Hyun-jin asked her.
"Don't you think you've been obsessing over me too much these days? Getting mad over nothing, too."
"……."
Serena had no comeback. It was true—she'd been on edge lately. Especially with all the women swarming around Hyun-jin; she'd been keeping her nerves razor-sharp.
"But how am I supposed to not care when I love you…."
"Love doesn't give you a free pass to meddle in everything."
Hyun-jin said.
"Let's just look out for each other."
It was spot on. In a relationship, nonstop interference would only lead to disaster; they needed to respect each other's space.
But Serena found a retort anyway.
"…And I have to hear about consideration from the guy who left me behind to sleep with another woman?"
"…Fair point, but honestly, I feel a bit hard done by. Like I was the one who got played."
With lust raging like that, and Ciela tempting him so boldly—how was he supposed to hold back?
He apologized, but insisted it was unavoidable.
"I really couldn't help it."
"So you didn't enjoy it?"
"…Not like that."
"Ha."
Serena let out an exasperated laugh, and Hyun-jin apologized once more.
"I'm really sorry about this one."
"……."
Serena let out a small sigh.
'Yeah… I kinda knew something like this would happen eventually.'
For a guy handsome enough to make her fall head over heels, it'd be weirder if no other women came sniffing around. Ciela taking a liking to him was probably inevitable.
With that in mind, she forgave him inwardly and made her plea.
"Like I said earlier, love me more."
"…But that'd be unfair to Ciela. I'll love you both properly."
"No way. I'm your first."
Serena declared.
"One kiss for her means two for me."
"…So if more show up later, does it just keep stacking?"
"…You're saying that now, of all times."
Serena pinched his cheek like she was mad, and he played up the pain with a grin to show he was joking. Seeing that pure, boyish smile made her crack a small smile too.
Her usual relaxed expression told Hyun-jin she'd cheered up, so he smiled easily in return.
"Feeling better now, though?"
"Huh?"
"Being this… close to me."
Only then did Hyun-jin register just how intimate their position was. He'd been too focused on her sadness and smoothing things over to notice, but with her on his lap, it was dangerous in all sorts of ways. Her side boob pressed against his chest, her soft butt and thighs weighed on his legs. Strands of platinum hair spilled over, tickling his arms and body, and up close, her sweet scent lingered at his nose.
"……."
"…You're not getting turned on right now, are you?"
"…Wanna take one more day off?"
"No."
Serena flicked his forehead with a thwack and stood up. He watched her wistfully, but she was resolute.
"If you slip up again, makeup classes won't be a week—they'll be two. And they have to be in weekly blocks."
"…Yeah, can't argue with that."
Hyun-jin nodded, getting the picture. But Serena stared at him for a moment, then bit her lip like she had something to say.
"Serena, wanna talk about something?"
She hesitated, then came closer. Blushing shyly, she spoke softly.
"…I'll do it after classes end and we get back. Just hold out a few hours."
"……!"
"Got it?"
With that, Serena turned and hurried off. It was obvious she wasn't hoping he'd chase this time—her ears and horns were flushed pink.
The combat department students who first saw Seong Hyun-jin after his sudden growth spurt from the trip to the Elf Forest—Igrasil Forest—erupted into total chaos.
"This is cheating!!"
"Hyun-jin, you…! What the hell did you do?!!"
"…Life ain't fair."
The guys, already resenting how he hogged all the girls' attention, grumbled bitterly.
"…He got insanely hot."
"He was always good-looking, though…?"
"But back then it was cute-hot, and now…."
"I'm already falling— what do I do?"
The girls stole glances at him, swooning over his looks, some even letting sweet feelings properly take root.
But Hyun-jin ignored their chatter completely. All his focus was on one thing: finals. With only about three weeks left after the Elf Forest trip, and him aiming for top spot this time, he needed strong written scores too. Last midterm had proved class rank wasn't just practicals.
So while others goofed off, Hyun-jin reviewed the latest lecture, drilling it into his head.
"Seong Hyun-jin."
Someone called out to him then. Not Serena's voice. Curious, he looked up—it was one of the female classmates he knew by face from passing encounters.
"You missed last week's class. Here, my notes."
"Huh?"
She slid naturally into the seat beside him and handed over her notebook.
"Take your time looking."
"Uh… thanks."
A bit thrown, but grateful all the same, Hyun-jin flipped it open. It was packed cover-to-cover with everything he'd missed.
But there was something odd.
"……?"
A small note was slipped between the notebook pages.