Morning Afterglow and the Senior Rumor
Hello, sunbae!
Seo Joo-hwan gazed at the soundly sleeping Yoo Ji-kyeong. Her breaths came soft and steady—huff, huff—as she nestled in his arms, using his arm as a pillow. She must have been exhausted; she slept like the dead, without so much as a twitch. Probably because he'd teased her in the bathroom for one more round after their bath.
Even after washing up, traces of his semen were still leaking from her lower parts bit by bit.
"Tsk. Did I go too hard?"
His overflowing stamina was the problem. Every time, he left his partner utterly drained. Especially today—with all his skills and blessings active, plus the pent-up urges finally bursting free, he'd gone overboard. And for Yoo Ji-kyeong, this was her first time.
The issue was that she'd kept asking for more despite it being her first. Who would believe this woman had been a virgin just hours ago? At least, a typical virgin wouldn't have begged for a sex partner right off the bat.
Sex friends, huh...
After their bath, Seo Joo-hwan and Yoo Ji-kyeong lay down in the same bed to sleep. After doing everything they'd wanted, sleeping in separate rooms now would just be awkward.
Before drifting off, they chatted idly. That's when Yoo Ji-kyeong floated the idea of being sex partners.
She didn't outright say 'let's be sex friends,' but...
She hadn't used the exact term, but the meaning was clear enough. She asked if she could come over to his place like this sometimes. She phrased it indirectly, but 'like this' was easy to interpret.
Seo Joo-hwan was a bit taken aback at first, but he readily agreed. It wasn't a bad deal for him, after all.
"So typical of Yoo Ji-kyeong."
Thinking back, even in his previous life, she'd never dated guys from their department. There was something she'd said at a drinking party back then:
'Me? I'll fuck department guys, but no CC.'
Honestly, he had no idea what the difference was. She just had her own standards, apparently.
Seo Joo-hwan stroked the sleeping Yoo Ji-kyeong's hair once, then stared up at the ceiling. Floating before his eyes was the fourth Lust Quest.
Sweet Love - Dating
Seo Joo-hwan stared at the quest window and let out a sigh.
"...This is tough."
Dating was a tricky proposition for Seo Joo-hwan, who'd spent his whole life as a total loner. He'd only started hanging out with people about three months ago, and now dating? He'd confessed before and even had confessions returned, but it was still daunting. It even made his impulsive confession to Jeong So-ra seem laughable in hindsight.
My situation isn't exactly normal.
The Lust System. With this at play, was actual dating even possible? To snag those tempting talents, he'd have to hook up with multiple women. Settling down with one seemed unlikely.
All the new connections he'd forged since regressing were precious to him. They might be shallow, mere months old, but to a man who'd lived in isolation his entire life, even those fragile bonds felt profound.
That's why the word "dating" stirred up so many thoughts. He couldn't picture a happy ending.
He worried about hurting the relationships he'd carefully built.
Seo Joo-hwan glanced at the sleeping Yoo Ji-kyeong.
Sex isn't the same as dating.
When he'd first hooked up with Jeong So-ra, he'd equated sex with romance. Sexual intimacy was something lovers did, right? That's why he'd confessed right away.
Of course, he didn't think that anymore. He'd come to see that while dating might involve sex, sex didn't require dating. Lovers naturally shared a bed, but you could share one without being lovers.
"...Guess I should just sleep."
He didn't have to clear the Lust Quest. He'd just miss out on the points and EXP, which wasn't a huge loss. A new quest would pop up in April anyway, so no big deal. If it was meant to be, it'd happen somehow.
Seo Joo-hwan shook off his tangled thoughts and closed his eyes.
*
Seo Joo-hwan and Yoo Ji-kyeong had fallen asleep at dawn and woke early in the morning. Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she said,
"Just in case someone sees us leaving your place together."
"Jeez. Didn't you say you don't live alone?"
"Pfft. You believed that? Obviously a lie."
Her nonchalant response drew a hollow laugh from Seo Joo-hwan. Now he understood why she was called a fox. Still, she came off as more of a cub than a full vixen.
"Don't stumble. You'll fall."
"Tch. Whose fault is that?"
"Who else? You, for waking someone who was sleeping soundly at dawn."
"Ugh. You weren't sleeping then, oppa!"
"Huh? How'd you know?"
"You woke up the second you put it in and started pounding away. How could I not notice?"
"Hey, 'pounding away'? Watch your word choice..."
"What? Why? Should I play innocent now? Oppa~ Do you have a girlfriend~?"
"Urk. Okay, cut it out."
"Sheesh. Kinda lame reaction, sunbae?"
The two bantered as they strolled through the pre-dawn streets. No one was around yet, with the sun still below the horizon. Yoo Ji-kyeong glanced around, then veered into an alley.
"Oppa, gimme a smoke?"
"Sure."
"...Not surprised? You knew I smoke?"
"Saw you fiddling with your vape earlier."
How could he not know? In his previous life, he'd smoked so much that she'd bummed real cigs off him plenty of times. She preferred vapes because of the smell, so she rarely carried packs—but she smoked them anyway, mooching off him like this.
She lit up and took a deep drag. Seo Joo-hwan chuckled and scolded her.
"Tastes better stealing from your sunbae, huh?"
"Yeah. Super tasty. Can I hit you up for more later?"
"Buy your own, you brat."
"Ow! Why'd you hit me?!"
"You gotta ask?"
He smacked her lightly out of annoyance. Had she dropped all pretense now? She averted her eyes, looking a bit guilty. Seo Joo-hwan chuckled and lit one for himself.
Meanwhile, Yoo Ji-kyeong stole a subtle glance at him.
What do I do? I think I'm actually falling for this oppa.
It'd only been a day, but he seemed like a decent guy. Not cranky or antisocial. He took even her snarky comments in stride, so his personality seemed solid. Tall, pretty handsome too.
And above all...
He was amazing in bed. Lots of experience? She couldn't even remember how many times she'd climaxed last night. Her legs were still shaky.
Experience doesn't matter...
With her open-minded nature, she was lenient about others' pasts. As long as he didn't cheat, who cared about exes? She wanted to confess right then and there.
But... something tells me now's not the time.
She was quick on the uptake. Last night, before sleep, she'd tested the waters for a confession. And she'd realized immediately: Nope, not now. It'll just get awkward.
So she'd backed off and pivoted.
Well... staying close might create an opening?
She decided to play it casual. It was just one day; feelings weren't that deep yet, and there'd be plenty of chances ahead.
He said,
"Once you're done, let's hit the convenience store."
"Huh? Need something?"
"Grab some milk."
"Chocolate?"
"Get something else if you don't like it."
"Works for me. Hehe. You're buying, right, oppa?"
"Ugh. Just this once, just today."
After stopping at the store, Seo Joo-hwan walked her all the way home. Before going in, she waved.
"Oppa, see you... afternoon!"
"Yeah. Act like you know me if you see me."
"Pfft. Got it."
Classes started in the afternoon today.
*
Seo Joo-hwan went home, caught a quick nap, and woke feeling refreshed despite barely sleeping—thanks to his excess energy. Passing through the back gate of school, he headed up the steep hill to the department on the top floor. The incline still greeted him mercilessly.
Just as he reached the building, a female student in the hallway bowed her head in greeting.
"Ah, sunbae! Hello! Min-hee, say hi too."
"Huh? Isn't he a freshman? Pretty sure same class..."
"He's class of '13."
"Really? Oh, hello..."
Caught off guard, Seo Joo-hwan stared at the two girls. He waved his hands frantically, trying to tell them not to bother, but then a guy from Class B showed up and piled on.
"Hello, sunbae. Uh, you are a sunbae, right? Class of '13...?"
The rumors had spread to Class B already. The group chat had been quiet—had close friends started a separate one?
"Look, you don't have to greet me. I'm a freshman."
"Not class of '13?"
"I am, but..."
"Ah, figured. Jeong-gi sunbae said to greet you if we saw you."
And there was the reason.
That Baek Jeong-gi prick.
Cursing him inwardly, Seo Joo-hwan tried to clear the misunderstanding. But these fresh-faced newbies seemed to blindly trust their second-year class president. He managed to sort it out eventually.
"Got it? No need to greet me from now on."
"Still..."
"Please. Just treat me like a regular first-year."
"Okaay..."
The freshmen walked off with puzzled looks. But the real chaos hit when he opened the classroom door.
Four or five freshmen huddled by the back entrance chorused in unison,
"Hello!"
Did he have to explain again? He sighed wearily.
Then his savior appeared.
"Yo, Joo-hwan! Why so late? Lecture starts in five."
Lee Seok-chan, who'd stepped out for a smoke. He approached and clapped Seo Joo-hwan's shoulder familiarly, easing the tension.
Then Jang Deok-hoon spotted him and came over.
"Hyung-nim Joo-hwan, good day. Sorry about yesterday."
Jang Deok-hoon bowed at a perfect ninety degrees.
You, just back off...
The mood, softened by Lee Seok-chan, stiffened right back up. With a hulking brute like Jang Deok-hoon doing a gangster-style bow, things got weird fast.
But opportunity struck again.
"Pfft-haha. Oppa, hi."
Yoo Ji-kyeong, slipping in through the back door. She clocked the situation instantly, barely stifling her laughter as she greeted him.
"Joo-hwan oppa, thanks for last night. Got home safe thanks to you?"
Seo Joo-hwan welcomed her with the most relieved expression ever.
"Y-yeah. Glad to hear it. Stomach okay now?"
"Yep. All good thanks to youuu~."
A same-year freshman girl acting all cute? The atmosphere warmed right up. He could feel the room's eyes shift without saying a word.
But today seemed far from safe.
"Hey, Yoo Ji-kyeong!"
Baek Jeong-gi's voice.