Chapter 90
Chapter 90
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: The Karaoke Booth Embrace
After leaving the bar, we walked down the quiet night street.
'A quiet place...'
I was running through all sorts of scenarios in my head.
Where could we be headed? No way a motel?
No, given Yerin's personality, she wouldn't even bring that up.
Then my place?
No. Absolutely not my house.
If I went home now, Yupia and Lilith would come out wagging their tails to greet me. It was obvious.
If it got out that I was living with succubi dressed in naked aprons and naked t-shirts, I'd get nothing but contemptuous stares and reported to the police on the spot.
'Then her place?'
Does she live with her parents? Or does she live alone?
Either way, it felt equally burdensome.
"Hey, Yerin. Where are we going?"
When I asked cautiously, Lee Yerin stopped walking and replied.
"We're already here?"
"Already here...?"
"Yeah, here."
Lee Yerin pointed ahead with her finger.
The place she pointed to was a 24-hour coin karaoke lounge.
"...Coin karaoke?"
"Yeah. It's well soundproofed here, and it'll just be the two of us."
While Lee Yerin smiled shyly, I blankly stared up at the sign.
Not a motel. Not home. A coin karaoke lounge.
'I've really gone rotten.'
I felt pathetic for getting my hopes up and entertaining slightly arousing fantasies just because she mentioned a quiet place.
She had really come here purely to practice her ability, trusting my words, while I'd been chugging bowls of kimchi soup all by myself.
"Why? Don't you like it?"
"No. Not sure if it's quiet, but it is a place where we can be alone."
I cleared my throat awkwardly and took the lead.
It seemed my normal thought processes had gone numb from being steeped in overly stimulating environments for too long.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Inside the narrow karaoke booth.
We sat side by side.
The stuffy yet cozy air unique to an enclosed space.
And the scent of Yerin's perfume wafting right from in front of me.
"Since it's charged by time, should we just throw on some random backing track?"
"……."
Lee Yerin nodded with her lips pressed tightly together, her face tense.
Then she looked at me and opened her mouth.
"I'll start."
Her white shoulders, exposed beneath her off-the-shoulder blouse, trembled faintly.
With her legs from under her skirt demurely gathered together, her posture stirred my protective instincts.
"Start what? Oh, that practice?"
"Yeah...."
She took a deep breath and extended her hand toward me.
"Can I hold your hand first...?"
"Sure."
When I held out my hand, she took it cautiously.
Lee Yerin's hand was small and soft, yet slightly damp with sweat.
Her tension was palpable.
"Sorry... my hands are a bit sweaty...."
"It's fine. Don't worry about it."
"...You said to hug with sincerity, right?"
"Yeah. I did."
"Then... I'll hug you...."
Lee Yerin scooted closer, pressing right up against my side.
Our thighs touched, her body heat seeping through the thin stockings.
Soon, she slowly spread her arms and wrapped them around my waist.
"……."
It was warm.
Different from the greedy embraces of other women. A pure, cautious, trembling hug.
Thump. Thump.
Her heartbeat transmitted through her chest.
"I'll focus...."
Yerin murmured with her eyes closed.
She was trying to infuse her healing mana into me.
As if to convey her own 'sincerity'.
'But since I'm not injured or anything, I'm not sure if I can feel it.'
As that thought crossed my mind.
Vrrr-
"Haa...."
A small moan escaped Lee Yerin's lips.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Lee Yerin didn't feel like she was exerting her power. Instead, something seemed to be flowing toward her from me.
A warm, cozy, overwhelmingly pure energy.
It coursed through her veins, melting away the tension that had stiffened her body.
'What is this?'
Lee Yerin naturally closed her eyes as she pondered.
It felt like her stuffy chest had suddenly burst open.
The stray thoughts and anxieties swirling in her mind washed away, replaced by a fluffy sense of happiness.
A floating sensation, as if drifting on clouds.
Unknowingly, she burrowed deeper into Kim Seonghwa's embrace.
"Haa... so warm...."
Unknowingly, Lee Yerin breathed hot breath onto Kim Seonghwa's nape.
Her arms around him tightened as well.
It was just a simple hug, yet the atmosphere—no, the sensations—were flowing in a strangely sensual direction.
Kim Seonghwa felt the soft give of Lee Yerin's breasts squishing against his chest muscles.
At the same time, the wriggling of her knee slipping between his thighs.
"Seonghwa...."
Lee Yerin lifted her head.
Her face was flushed beet red.
Her moist eyes gazed up at Kim Seonghwa.
"This feeling... you're the one giving it to me, right...?"
Half right, half wrong.
Kim Seonghwa hadn't done anything.
It was just his Passive Ability activating automatically.
But the look in her eyes right now interpreted it not as a mere 'ability', but as something more.
'Sincerity.'
That word Kim Seonghwa had tossed out as a tip.
'You said it only works if you put sincerity into it. Then this warmth enveloping me now... it's Seonghwa's sincerity, isn't it...?'
Lee Yerin's heart pounded wildly.
She was nestled in the arms of the man she'd unknowingly started crushing on.
'Why did I start liking Seonghwa? Because he quietly stuck to his own tasks back in college? Or because he grew into an even cooler guy? Or because he's an ability user helping the No.1 Hero of the Republic of Korea up close? I don't know.'
It was hard to pinpoint exactly, but Kim Seonghwa undeniably made her heart flutter.
And now, an indescribably tender, cozy energy was flowing from that very man, filling her entire body.
This was his heart.
Clear proof that he thought of her, cared for her.
That's what Lee Yerin believed.
"Is this your sincerity? I didn't expect it to feel this intense... Can you feel my sincerity too?"
Lee Yerin asked in a trembling voice.
Her hand gently caressed Kim Seonghwa's cheek.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ I panicked and stammered.
"Uh? Uh... what...."
I couldn't bring myself to say no.
If I blurted out here, 'No, the whole sincerity thing was bullshit—this is my Passive Ability. It works just from touching,' the mood would crash and burn.
'Above all, I couldn't bear to turn away from this pure, affectionate gaze fixed on me.'
She took my fumbling as confirmation.
"...I'm glad."
Lee Yerin beamed.
She hugged me again. This time more boldly, more assertively.
Her arms wrapped around my neck.
Her bare skin peeking above the off-the-shoulder blouse brushed against my jaw and neck.
The trembling hot texture of her skin, plus the scent of shampoo and her body.
'This is just a hug, but it's pretty... stimulating...'
Apparently, I wasn't the only one feeling it.
"Haa... Seonghwa, your ability... it's this good... feels so nice...."
Lee Yerin whispered in my ear, sending even my peach fuzz on end.
No wonder—we were intimately sharing body heat, scents, and heartbeats.
I cautiously placed my hand on her back.
The line of her spine and her slim waist felt through the thin blouse.
"Hah...."
Whether from my touch, Lee Yerin flinched.
Her moan was muffled by the karaoke backing track, but rang crystal clear to me.
'Surprisingly sensitive even over her clothes.'
As my hand stroked down her back, she twisted her waist and pressed even closer.
The heavy, soft sensation pressing against my lower abdomen.
Her pelvis subtly grinding against my groin.
'This is dangerous.'
If things kept going like this, an accident was bound to happen.
It was supposed to be a wholesome place for a wholesome purpose.
Yet the atmosphere was spiraling into something uncontrollably steamy.
Lee Yerin lifted her head and met my eyes.
Her moist red lips parted slightly, her gaze lingering on my mouth.
'I want to kiss...'
It felt like I could hear her thoughts.
Unthinkingly, I tilted my head.
At that instant, Lee Yerin's eyes fluttered shut.
The distance between our lips narrowed, our breaths mingling so close.
[Karaoke session time has ended. Thank you for using our karaoke lounge!] The cheerful announcement blared from the karaoke machine.
Startled by the sound, we sprang apart.
"Ah...!"
Lee Yerin clutched her face.
Her face, flushed to the bursting point, seemed mortified as she realized what she'd almost done.
"S-, Sorry! Time's up...!"
She hurriedly snatched up her handbag.
"I-, I'll head out now...!"
"……?"
"See you next time! I'll text!"
Without waiting for my reply, she fled the booth.
Through the closing door, I caught a glimpse of her hurriedly running away.
Her side profile at that moment, as she thought she was hiding her face from me.
Her ears were red to the tips, but an irrepressible smile spread across her lips.
A smile brimming with excitement and happiness—the smile of a woman in love.
"...What the heck with her."
Left all alone, I stared blankly at the closed door.
Then it hit me.
'As a man, shouldn't I chase after her and grab her?'
I bolted after her in a rush.
But I was a step too late—Lee Yerin had already vanished from sight.
I scratched the back of my head.
'More than that, it feels like she thoroughly misunderstood something.'
From vaguely covering for my ability, it had unintentionally turned into a confession of my feelings.
But I didn't feel bad about it.
No, honestly, my heart was racing pretty hard.
'Feels like I succeeded at confessing without even confessing.'
On top of that, Lee Yerin's pure reaction and the soft sensations that had clung to my entire body kept replaying in my mind.
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