Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Territory Marking (2)
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She felt relieved.
Choi Ye-won’s heart soared like she’d been granted salvation upon hearing Kim Jinwoo say he had no feelings for Jeong Soyul.
Of course.
There’s no way Jinwoo would like a beauty like Jeong Soyul.
They say you shouldn’t even glance at a tree you can’t climb, right?
Honestly, her hanging around with Jeong Soyul feels like such an odd pairing.
Jeong Soyul’s this huge celebrity idol, and you’re just your average(?) college student.
Not that you’re ugly or anything.
Jinwoo, those massive muscles of yours are like the epitome of masculinity.
Your rugged face might be a bit intimidating, but it’s not bad at all.
In this day and age, that kind of uniqueness is attractive, right?
You just seem ordinary because she’s on another level entirely.
Yeah.
She probably doesn’t even like you.
You’re so pushy.
Suddenly harassing her sexually.
The way you tease her out of nowhere sometimes.
And that clueless skinship that comes out of nowhere—she’s gotta hate it. Someone as picky as Jeong Soyul definitely would.
Of course, the way you throw yourself into protecting your people is cool.
That broad back you show when you’re shielding someone is reliable.
But someone like Jeong Soyul wouldn’t like that.
I mean.
She handles everything on her own without your help anyway, right?
She’s the type who can protect herself just fine without you watching over her.
But me?
I’m the one who can’t even manage grad student stress without you.
Right?
So don’t show that side of you to anyone else.
Just...
Show it to me alone.
We’re friends.
Close friends, even.
It’s okay to ask for that much, isn’t it?
Choi Ye-won thought this as she watched Kim Jinwoo smiling at her.
That smile of yours looks so good.
That mischievous grin when you’re teasing.
The playful expression when you’re telling a white lie—it’s always nice to see.
But.
Today was different.
She couldn’t just laugh it off like usual when he tried to dodge the truth about Jeong Soyul with his usual playful lies.
She was anxious.
She really felt like he might just up and leave.
Suddenly getting close to a superstar like Jeong Soyul, he might lose all interest in a shabby grad student like her.
So she’d brought up some nonexistent handsome cousin to stir his jealousy.
It hadn’t quite worked.
But at least it cleared up the misunderstanding.
Hearing that he and Jeong Soyul were nothing, that he’d just helped her out in passing—it sounded so good.
And on top of that.
“The scent of someone working hard suits you.”
He’d leaned in even closer to her self-deprecating body, claiming it only smelled like coffee, and deliberately sniffed her.
It felt good.
Seeing him care enough to comfort her like that.
Her heart eased at his gentle demeanor.
Jinwoo’s still the same.
He’s the Jinwoo I know.
In that moment, his scent hit her full force, making her breath catch.
It was a smell she often caught, but today it felt especially vivid.
A stronger aroma than usual.
The masculine scent of sweat mixed with body wash.
It made her dizzy.
So she casually asked him to rub her shoulders and turned her back to him.
Any more of this smell, and she’d lose it.
But that only made it worse.
“I’ve been so stressed.”
Jinwoo wordlessly started massaging her shoulders.
It felt amazing.
All the built-up fatigue melting away.
He’s really good at this.
Was he a masseuse in a past life or something?
Those big hands.
Strong grip.
And the skill to adjust the pressure just right, hitting exactly the sore spots.
An uncle-like sigh of relief escaped her lips, something she shouldn’t have let out.
How embarrassing.
To cover it up, she changed the subject.
“So, you enjoy hanging out with her?”
“It was uncomfortable. Couldn’t even eat in peace.”
“Hmph, that’s the life of a top star. Different from hanging out with me.”
Choi Ye-won swatted my hand away and turned to face me again.
“Hey, Kim Jinwoo. Don’t get too full of yourself.”
This was a warning.
A warning not to look at anyone but her.
A plea to look at her before someone like Jeong Soyul.
And.
A reaffirmation that she was still closer to Kim Jinwoo than she was.
Even if Jeong Soyul was amazing, she was the one closer to Jinwoo.
And with that excuse, she buried her face in Kim Jinwoo’s body.
Spouting the ridiculous lie that he smelled like another woman, she pressed her face into his chest.
Something she’d never do normally.
Something too embarrassing.
Burying her face in a man’s chest.
She’d never even thought of it.
And when she did.
I’m going crazy.
Her head buzzed from the male pheromones.
It felt so good.
She claimed it was to leave her scent on him, rubbing her face against him, but deep down, it was different.
Your scent is so good.
She couldn’t pull her face away from his body, wanting more of Kim Jinwoo’s scent.
Just a little longer.
Just a bit more.
I want to stay like this a little longer.
This is too obvious, isn’t it?
Sigh.
“Haaah.”
A deep sigh slipped out unbidden.
She startled and looked up.
Her eyes met Kim Jinwoo’s.
He smiled softly at her and said,
“What’s with all the sniffing? Does my scent smell that good?”
She swallowed hard.
Thump thump.
Her heart raced, feeling like her creepy desire to keep smelling him had been exposed.
Her head heated up.
His voice, just a simple phrase, pierced deep into her chest.
It’s the scent.
This intense scent.
“Y-you should wash up before going around.”
To hide her thawing feelings, she blurted it out in a panic.
“What?”
“You smell weird because you haven’t washed.”
“……”
“You’ve got this musky scent.”
No.
Don’t wash.
I want to smell it more.
I want to smell this on other days too.
You don’t have to wash.
But those words wouldn’t come out.
The moment she said them, she felt it would be irreversible.
“Then why are you sniffing so much?”
“Th-that’s……”
Right.
If I didn’t like it, I could just pull away.
Burying my face like this is weird.
But.
I don’t want to pull away.
“I-I told you. To erase the scent. G-gotta wipe out that top star smell. Th-then you won’t get any weird ideas, right? Y-your friend’s sacrificing herself here, so be grateful!”
Even she thought it was a brilliant excuse.
Yeah.
I’m the one making the sacrifice.
So thank me.
“Feels like I’m already covered in your scent.”
“Huh?”
“Your scent’s all over me.”
“Eut……”
Those eyes.
That voice.
It’s cheating.
A yellow card.
“D-don’t do that.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t lower your voice tone like that. It’s cringy.”
“You hate it?”
“Y-yeah, I hate it.”
“Then just pull away.”
“Eut!”
That was when Kim Jinwoo’s face drew closer to hers.
“You don’t hate it, do you?”
His whisper right by her ear.
Zing.
Her body shrank involuntarily at the tickling voice in her ear.
It wasn’t just her ear that tingled.
The voice and breath slid up her neck, scrambling her brain.
“Th-that’s... I h-hate it……”
Her body shuddered and trembled.
Her head burned.
It felt weird.
Not that she hated it.
Just... weird.
Her heart pounded wildly from the ticklish sensation.
“I told you, if you hate it, just pull away a little.”
Another whisper in her ear made her body quiver.
A touch of excitement.
Trembling.
Just hearing it heated her lower belly.
Her body, already aroused and stimulated by his scent, reacted so quickly.
“Th-that too... I d-don’t want……”
So she unwittingly revealed a fragment of her true feelings, something she’d never say normally.
I don’t want to pull away.
I want to stay like this just a little longer.
“Why?”
His voice rang in her head like a bell.
She looked at Kim Jinwoo.
A man smiling at her from so close their breaths mingled.
His rugged smile.
The face others called scary and avoided.
How could it sparkle like that?
She wanted to look longer.
Just a bit more of his scent and face.
To savor it.
She’d said she hated it, but she wanted to hear that buzzing voice a little longer too.
So she didn’t want to pull away.
“Y-your scent....... still lingers.”
But what came out was not her true feelings, but a jealous whine.
“Jeong Soyul’s scent still there?”
“Yeah, so……”
I want to stay longer.
Then I’ll pull away.
She couldn’t continue.
“Huh?”
Because Kim Jinwoo had wrapped his thick arm around her.
Choi Ye-won’s body slotted perfectly into his embrace, pressing even closer to him.
“How about this? Will that wipe out her scent?”
His voice above her head echoed in her ears.
But she couldn’t hear a thing.
Thump thump thump thump thump.
Unlike when she’d just buried her face, his scent now felt dense and overwhelming, dizzying her.
The sudden skinship left her mind blank.
Her face burning red, she could only go limp in Kim Jinwoo’s arms.
He’s hugging me.
He’s hugging me.
She felt him with her whole body.
His thick arms wrapping around her back.
His firm muscles pressing against her chest.
The male pheromones filling her face buried in his body.
His voice from above.
Everything around her was Kim Jinwoo.
Her head spun.
She couldn’t do anything.
The thought that she should do something flickered in her mind, but her body ignored it, accepting the moment as is.
I like it.
Love the scent.
Love the muscles.
Love the voice.
Just want to stay like this a little longer.
A voice reached her.
“If you’re marking territory, do it right.”
Kim Jinwoo’s voice, fully male now.
In the lecture hall where anyone could walk in at any moment, he grinned at her flustered self and said,
“If you wanted to leave your scent on me for sure, you’ve gotta do it properly. Right?”
She couldn’t say a word.
Just stared at him.
It was always like this.
Unable to handle Jinwoo’s sudden advances.
Always losing control, frozen.
Yeah.
I always end up like this.
So she went along with what he wanted.
Like at the gym last time.
Or the board game cafe.
But.
I don’t always want to be on the receiving end.
Me too.
I want to see Kim Jinwoo flustered.
That surprised, panicked look on his face.
I want to see it.
It’d be cute.
Definitely.
So.
I want him flustered.
What would do it?
She stared at him for a moment.
“...You said if I’m marking territory, do it right?”
She echoed his words.
And then.
“Then I’ll do it properly.”
She pressed her lips to his collarbone.
Lips met skin.
The feel of his firm muscle and bone, carrying his scent, touched her lips.
And she sucked hard.
“Eut!”
Kim Jinwoo let out a faint groan.
“Haa, haa.”
She pulled back, breathing raggedly.
A vivid red mark remained on his skin.
A red kiss mark.
Undeniably hers.
“How’s that? Properly marked now?”
Choi Ye-won looked up at Kim Jinwoo and said, having left a clear kiss mark.
How’s that?
This counts as proper, right?
Looking up at his slightly flustered expression was so fun.
She wanted to see more.
More of him looking thrown off.
So.
She took it one step further.
“I-I can do even more.”
She slipped her hand inside the shirt of the Kim Jinwoo holding her.