14. The Burst Bud Becomes a Flower, and the Flower Leaves a New Fragrance.

Even after hearing the sound of Baek-seol closing the door and going inside, So-jeong waited in the bathroom for a long time, holding her breath to see if any presence could be felt.

Only after finally confirming that everyone in the house except herself had fallen asleep did So-jeong wash her hands, which were covered in her own semen, and then quietly crawled out of the bathroom. She collapsed onto the living room floor as if fainting.

There was the fatigue that came with the release of tension, but the feeling of exhaustion from the ejaculation just moments ago was even more intense.

"......"

Lying in the silence with her eyes closed, the actions she had taken just minutes ago began to vividly replay in her mind.

The masturbation just now... was insanely pleasurable.

She had been so engrossed in masturbating that she lost her reason. Only now, with the excitement subsided, could she truly grasp how sensitively she had felt it—she had been completely intoxicated by it.

It felt as if all the desires that had been accumulating in the deepest part of her dick over the past few weeks were released all at once.

And there was only one reason why the masturbation just now felt so much better than before.

"......Hss."

So-jeong gently pulled the collar of the pajamas she was wearing and brought it to her nose.

Although it had become a bit faint due to the sweat she shed while masturbating, she could still vaguely detect the sweet fabric softener scent that Baek-seol often used.

As she smelled that fragrance, her chest tightened with a poignant, aching feeling.

The pajamas So-jeong was wearing now were something Baek-seol had bought specifically for her, as So-jeong often came over to her house. The scent coming from those pajamas was the scent of kindness.

Baek-seol always carried that kind vanilla scent. She was like a ray of sunshine, always warmly shining on her.

Closing her eyes and letting her whole body absorb that smell, So-jeong suddenly recalled the first time she had smelled this scent.

High school, that hellish period when she was at her darkest.

The hands that tormented her and the mocking words. The cold, indifferent looks from those around her.

And herself, so weak and pathetic, who had only helplessly accepted it all.

Baek-seol had pulled So-jeong out of that abyss.

Even when So-jeong herself had given up on everything, Baek-seol reached out her hand and helped her stand up again.

When she grasped that hand, So-jeong felt Baek-seol's vanilla scent for the first time. She could never forget that scent of kindness.

Baek-seol, who always helped her. The friend who was always by her side.

Because it was that Baek-seol, So-jeong hadn't wanted to see her as an object of sexual desire. She hadn't wanted to get excited while smelling that scent of kindness.

It felt like a sinful act—like throwing a pristine lily into a mud puddle, or recklessly trampling on a snowfield untouched by any footprints.

But she could no longer ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠simply ignore this impulse.

Through her experiences over the past few weeks, and through the explosion of emotion and pleasure just moments ago, So-jeong had come to realize painfully that this was not a feeling that would disappear just by ignoring it or dutifully dealing with it.

In the end, So-jeong had no choice but to reluctantly acknowledge the fact.

'I want to do dirty things with Baek-seol.'

As she confessed it to herself in her mind, her chest clenched tightly again.

So-jeong clenched both hands in front of her chest and whispered with a more earnest voice this time.

'I want to touch Baek-seol, smell Baek-seol's scent, and feel good with my dick because of Baek-seol.'

There ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was a subtle but significant difference between realizing what the emotion nestled in her heart was and actually accepting it.

And it was akin to accepting the fact that she had been denying until now—that this changed self was also herself.

Finally accepting her lust for Baek-seol inwardly, So-jeong felt a complex yet somewhat relieved emotion.

She was looking at Baek-seol, her closest friend and a fellow woman, with sexual eyes. Acknowledging that sent guilt and a sense of immorality swirling through her.

But at the same time, finally accepting the feelings she had been forcibly turning away from for weeks made her heart feel lighter, as if she had put down a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠heavy burden.

So-jeong subtly touched between her legs over her pajamas. Her dick, which had been so angrily erect until just moments ago, was now sleeping meekly as if nothing had happened.

When her dick first appeared, she had tried to deny its very existence, to deny reality itself.

After admitting that this absurd situation was reality and not a dream, she had tried to reject and ignore the lust it provoked.

Until now, for So-jeong, her dick and the impulses it caused were problems that needed to be dealt with, errors that needed to be corrected.

But once she accepted it, all of it felt a bit more natural.

Sleep began to pile up like snow over her peaceful heart.

"......"

That day, for the first time in weeks, So-jeong was able to fall into a deep, untroubled sleep.

***

"Thanks for having us over for the day, Unnie!"

By the time So-jeong, Baek-seol, and Ha-na, who had woken up after sunrise, finished wrapping up their group project, it was already early lunchtime.

Since So-jeong was there too, Baek-seol first asked if they wanted to have lunch before leaving, but both So-jeong and Ha-na shook their heads.

"Baek-seol, you must be tired too, so get some rest."

"Heehee, actually, I'm meeting up with some friends later. And I don't want to be more of a bother to you, Unnie."

"......Wasn't the whole point of pulling an all-nighter to secure study time?"

As Baek-seol spoke with a slightly incredulous tone, Ha-na flusteredly made excuses.

"Ah, no! This is a study group meeting too!"

"Alright, just go already."

Brushing off Ha-na's excuse lightly, Baek-seol now turned her head toward So-jeong.

"She's one thing, but are you sure you don't want lunch?"

"Yeah. I guess I'm tired, but I don't really have an appetite."

"Really? Well then...... see you at school later."

"Yeah. Have a good weekend, Baek-seol-ah."

Baek-seol silently saw Ha-na and So-jeong off as they stepped out the front door.

With a *click*, the door closed again, and silence instantly descended upon the house.

"Hoo."

Baek-seol let out a short sigh, briefly dispersing the silence, and looked around the room.

So-jeong and Ha-na had offered to clean up the room before leaving, but Baek-seol had stopped them, telling them to just leave it.

It wasn't that she doubted their cleaning skills, but given her neat personality, she knew she would inevitably have to tidy it up herself again to be satisfied.

As she meticulously sorted the snacks and energy drink cans from the all-nighter for recycling, Baek-seol once again recalled So-jeong from this morning.

The expression on So-jeong's face as she smiled and said goodbye before leaving the house looked a bit tired, but still peaceful.

That appearance was quite different from the restless and stifled demeanor she had been showing recently.

What had made her unstable, and why had she become okay again overnight?

Baek-seol was curious about the circumstances inside So-jeong's heart, but she decided not to dwell on it too deeply.

'Maybe she had some problem she wanted to worry about and solve on her own.'

As she had said to Ha-na before, Baek-seol wasn't So-jeong's parent. No, even if she were a parent, an attitude of trying to solve everything for her wouldn't be good for So-jeong.

Still, she couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed, wishing So-jeong would rely on her just a little more.

Holding that slightly complicated feeling inside, Baek-seol finished the sorting and cleaning.

Standing blankly for a moment, wondering what to do next, Baek-seol soon moved her steps toward the bathroom.

Since So-jeong and Ha-na were here yesterday and she was focused on the group project, she had only managed a simple face wash. She decided to first relieve her fatigue with warm water and then study a bit more.

Taking off her clothes and leaving them in front of the bathroom, Baek-seol opened the bathroom door and paused for a moment.

'......What is this smell?'

Amid the familiar scents of tile and bathroom fixtures, a faint but peculiar smell was mixed in.

A distinctive, richly flavored scent that seemed to directly stimulate the olfactory cells deep in her nose. A strangely addictive scent that made her frown yet made her want to keep smelling it.

Baek-seol had a memory of smelling this familiar yet strange scent somewhere before.

"Night-blooming flower scent?"

Why was the flower scent that occasionally wafted along the streets in late spring suddenly coming from her bathroom?

'It's not a good enough scent to use as perfume.'

Various questions arose, but Baek-seol soon shook her head and entered the bathroom, closing the door.

Maybe the smell came from another house through the ventilation duct, or maybe she was just imagining it.

Thinking it was nothing significant, Baek-seol pushed that unique scent into a corner of her mind.

*Swooosh-*

......But why did she keep thinking of So-jeong while smelling this scent?

Of course, Baek-seol spent most of her day thinking about So-jeong, but this scent seemed to make her conscious of So-jeong even more than usual.

Perhaps because of that, as she showered with her eyes closed, images of So-jeong, who had been in this house until just moments ago, kept flashing through her mind.

Amidst this, Baek-seol suddenly thought of the pajamas So-jeong had taken off and left behind.

The pajamas So-jeong had worn through the night would be saturated with her scent.

"......Euk."

Baek-seol felt a different kind of liquid, separate from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the water from the showerhead, trickling down between her legs.

'Getting turned on just thinking about clothes my friend wore and left behind.'

Scolding herself for being a hopeless pervert, Baek-seol's hands began to move faster and faster as she showered.

It seemed like it would take a little while after finishing her shower before she could finally start studying.