The Truth Behind the Rumors (2)
Sometimes he thought a woman's tears made her look pretty, but this was a situation he wanted no part of. He patted her back soothingly, and Park Do-hee's sobs gradually subsided. Sniffling, she looked up at Seo Joo-hwan and said,
"You're really not gonna tell anyone?"
"I told you, yeah."
"Th-then... show me proof. Something to make me believe you."
"Proof? Like what?"
"Well, um..."
Park Do-hee glanced around cautiously before whispering in a tiny voice,
"K-kiss me."
"...What?"
"Q-quickly! Or I won't believe you!"
What is this? Some kind of face plausibility thing?
But for something like that, her favorability was only E+. That was a number closer to negative than positive—not outright disgust, but damn near.
Ah, lust maybe?
Park Do-hee's libido was currently at a very high B+. If he hadn't been in the room, she might've started touching herself right then. It didn't fully make sense for her to react this way to someone with low favorability, but considering the subtle arousing effect of his Pheromones, it wasn't entirely impossible.
Seo Joo-hwan looked at her with a troubled expression before speaking up.
"Do-hee, sorry, but I'm not looking to date right now. It's only been a little while since the breakup."
In truth, if he went with the flow, he might easily snag an S-rank decision stone. But something felt off about just diving in, so he decided to set boundaries upfront. No sense getting his nose pierced over it.
At his roundabout refusal, Park Do-hee whined in a teary voice,
"D-do you have to say that right now? I just can't believe you otherwise."
"...I said my piece?"
"Fiiiine..."
Seo Joo-hwan sighed inwardly and bowed his head. There was no reason to refuse further when she'd insisted it was okay even after all that. He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.
"Ah."
A soft breath escaped Park Do-hee's mouth. He held the kiss for a moment before pulling back. But her lips parted slightly, and her tongue slipped out. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pushed her tongue into his mouth.
Smack. Slurp.
Startled for a second, Seo Joo-hwan opened his eyes before extending his own tongue to meet hers. The soft flesh intertwined. There was no real reason to refuse. She wasn't his type, sure, but Park Do-hee was pretty enough.
She's surprisingly good at this.
Against expectations, Park Do-hee was an excellent kisser. The way she smeared her lips against his, the teasing tangle of tongues—it was all spot on. With no intention of stopping at a kiss, she started groping his body. Her hands roamed over his chest through his shirt, stroked his abs, then slid downward.
Seo Joo-hwan checked in.
"Do-hee, you trying to go all the way?"
"...Yeah. Stay over at my place tonight."
"Like I said earlier..."
He'd asked cautiously, but it seemed to annoy her. She shot back in a sulky tone,
"I said it's fine! I just want to, okay? Oppa, why are you being so old-fashioned?"
"Sheesh. Alright."
Seo Joo-hwan nodded, thinking to himself,
Guess I'll do it and ask then. Maybe give her a few orgasms first—that might get better answers.
To get serious, he activated Holy Touch. There was plenty to gain from Park Do-hee: clearing up the rumors and that S-rank decision stone. He didn't mind sex out of necessity. It wouldn't matter much with someone like Jeong Ha-yeon or Yoo Ji-kyeong, but Park Do-hee wasn't a key relationship anyway.
As long as they both enjoyed it, right?
She brought it up first anyway.
Convinced he wasn't some saintly guy, Seo Joo-hwan slipped his hand under her clothes and circled her breast. Not huge, but it had a nice heft.
"Ah... Ngh. Nooo..."
"No my ass."
He chuckled and stripped off her top. What kind of "no" was that when she kept groping him over his pants? She flinched reflexively, but her hands only grew bolder. In seconds, he'd peeled off her clothes and shed his own shirt. He kissed her again, trailing his fingers down her neckline, slowly teasing her skin.
The activated touch gradually heightened her sensitivity and stoked her lust.
"Ahh. N-nngh, n-nooo... Oppa, scary... Eek!"
"Like it here?"
"Hic! N-nooo."
"How about here?"
Seo Joo-hwan swiftly targeted her erogenous zones as shown by Sexual Point. He pinched her nipple lightly and tickled her navel. She had a sensitive constitution—tons of hotspots lit up. Her breaths grew ragged.
"This spot feels good, right?"
"Aghh. N-nooo."
"No?"
He slid his hand lower, flipped up her skirt, and rubbed the center of her pink panties. A moan burst from her lips. Just as he'd thought—super responsive. After a couple strokes over her mound, sticky fluids seeped through. He pressed his index and thumb together, stretching out a long string of it for her to see.
"Then what's this?"
"Eek! Th-that's just... physiological!"
"Sure. Pfft. You're stubborn as hell."
Seo Joo-hwan shoved his hand inside her panties. He grazed her swollen clit, and a scream-like moan erupted from her.
"Aaah! Hnng!"
That was when it happened.
With a moan like a shriek, Park Do-hee shoved his chest hard.
"S-stop!"
"Huh?"
"If you go further, I'll report you! You rapist!"
"...What?"
Seo Joo-hwan tilted his head at the unexpected outburst. Some kind of roleplay fetish? The thought crossed his mind, but Park Do-hee grabbed her clothes, stood, and backed away. A few steps distant, she smirked triumphantly.
"Ha. Pervert bastard. Felt good playing along, huh?"
"...Hey, I was the one playing along. What bullshit is this?"
"Shut up! I recorded everything you just did—got it on video too! One report to the cops, and you're done."
Cold sweat trickled down Seo Joo-hwan's back. His mind couldn't keep up with the sudden twist.
This bitch... recorded audio and video?
As he stared in disbelief, Park Do-hee whipped out her smartphone—god knows when she'd grabbed it. She tapped the screen, and a voice played.
The recording continued. Listening closely, Park Do-hee kept saying "no" or letting out muffled moans, while he teased her, asking where felt good. The earlier conversation had been neatly cut off. To anyone hearing this without context, it sounded like he'd forced himself on her.
Seo Joo-hwan let out an incredulous laugh.
Shit like this actually happens in real life.
He'd only heard stories—never imagined it'd happen to him. Standing up, he fixed her with a cold glare. He'd been too flustered earlier to think straight, but not now. There was no reason for him to be scared.
Park Do-hee flinched, trembling as she backed up and tripped onto the bed.
"D-don't come closer! I already sent it to my home computer! Touch me and you're dead!"
She meant her family home, not this place. Move rashly, and he could end up branded a molester or rapist.
But Seo Joo-hwan just sneered and stepped forward.
"Audio and video. Real prepared, huh? You a gold digger or something?"
"G-gold digger?"
"That's exactly what this looks like. What, gonna demand money now?"
"N-not that!"
"Then what? Why pull this crap?"
Maybe sensing something off from his confident attitude, fear crept into Park Do-hee's face. But trusting her recordings, she pressed on.
"I don't need money."
"Then?"
"St-stay away from Ha-yeon unnie."
"...What?"
"D-don't touch unnie. You broke up—why hang around? You must have some dirt on her."
"What the... Dirt? Fuck off with that nonsense. And it's none of your business anyway."
Seo Joo-hwan scowled. Broke up or not, who the hell was she to meddle in someone else's love life?
Then a realization hit, and he stared her down.
"You like Jeong Ha-yeon?"
"Wh-what...? E-everyone in the department likes unnie."
Park Do-hee panicked visibly. That confirmed it for Seo Joo-hwan. Her fetish—same-sex attraction—flashed in his mind.
"Not like that. You like her. Sexually."
Park Do-hee's face hardened at his words. No need for a reply; her reaction said it all.
Seo Joo-hwan clicked his tongue in disbelief.
So the backstabbing was because of Ha-yeon? This whole stunt too? But then why badmouth Ha-yeon?
Questions piled up. Especially why trash-talk Jeong Ha-yeon behind her back. He had a guess, though. Park Do-hee's fetish was same-sex love, and she was into Jeong Ha-yeon that way. One of her talents was Delusion.
She'd probably spun some wild, baseless fantasy. Just look at her "you've got dirt" comment earlier.
Does this girl need a shrink? Delusions bordering on disorder.
What kind of fantasy would make her frame someone as a rapist?
Thud.
As Seo Joo-hwan advanced with a scary glare, Park Do-hee shuddered but glared back and yelled,
"I said stay back! The video and audio are already sent! Snatch my phone, won't help!"
"So?"
"St-stay away from Ha-yeon unnie. Quit school if you can."
"Ha. Quit? And if I don't?"
"...I'll make you drop out. I'll sue you to the cops."
Seo Joo-hwan chuckled. He pulled out his smartphone and sent the time stored in Memory Storage as a video file. Then he opened the freshly transmitted file.
"What about this?"
He held out his phone like a trophy. The room's events played back from start to finish, unedited.
Park Do-hee's face drained of color.
"N-no way."
"Why not, you little shit."
Dazed, the smartphone slipped from Park Do-hee's hand.