Chapter 91
Chapter 91
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: A Man I Know (6)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A woman's skin is so soft.
Even though it's made of the exact same molecular structure as a man's, why is it so addictively intoxicating?
Soft and squishy, chewy and springy...
'I want to keep touching her!'
It felt completely different from summoning her into the Taming Room and groping her there.
The key point was that Choi Da-eun was leaning against me halfway.
The front of her panties was getting soaking wet.
Holding this woman, who was so much more delicate than me, in my arms stirred up a ticklish emotion that puffed up like fluffy clouds somewhere inside.
Not only had my dick grown bigger and harder than usual, but Choi Da-eun, stifling her sobs, felt utterly lovable.
I unwittingly asked in a husky voice.
"Done crying?"
"...Shut up."
"Cry all you want. We're dating now, after all."
"...I said shut up, you idiot?"
When I subtly tried to pull her closer, Choi Da-eun shoved me away hard.
She pushed my arm off while sniffling.
Her crying stopped abruptly.
She seemed to have pulled herself together emotionally.
Too bad.
Crying Choi Da-eun had been ridiculously cute, and I'd loved it.
Aside from her puffy eyes, she glared at me with an expression no different from usual.
'...It's not exactly the same as usual.'
Hidden in that glaring look was an emotion I'd never sensed from her before.
It wasn't fondness or love.
Our relationship was still miles away from words like that.
'But it's not pointing in the completely wrong direction either.'
Hard to pin it down exactly.
Human emotions are fickle as reeds, so even if today's good vibes flipped tomorrow, it wouldn't be all that strange.
I couldn't definitively say, this is what Choi Da-eun's feeling.
But for today, at least, I could afford some confidence.
"Everything I said yesterday was a mistake. A drunken slip-up, got it?"
Choi Da-eun pulled the blanket over to cover herself.
Her snappy retort came out even sharper.
Not satisfied with that, she scooted backward on all fours until her back hit the wall.
Anyone walking by might think I was about to devour her.
Strong denial is sometimes a sign of the opposite, right?
Thanks to her reaction, I could ease my worries a bit.
After seeing her in even worse states—puking, pissing herself, masturbating her nipples—she's covering up now?
I could only laugh.
"Don't laugh!"
Choi Da-eun seemed to realize her own contradiction, her face flushing red.
"I won't laugh. But just answer this one thing. From now on, will you rely on me? Or suffer alone?"
"......"
"I'll do whatever you want, sis. If you really want me to back off... it'll be tough, but I'll try to wipe today's events from my mind. Next time we meet, I'll pretend I don't know anything."
"...And if I say I'll rely on you?"
"We'll figure out a way together. Find that bastard and kill him."
I said it in a pretty serious tone.
I couldn't stop her from being toyed with by Mask Trash—actually Park Sun-woo—but I conveyed my sincere intent to stand by her side.
Choi Da-eun's face twisted sharply.
She looked at me with clear conflict etched on her features.
Her eyes trembled, and her lips twitched faintly.
'...Is it so hard for her to ask for help?'
Her gaze was desperate.
But spite leaked from her pursed lips.
She rolled her eyes as if unsure what to do.
'Gotta spoon-feed her?'
I moved toward Choi Da-eun by about one butt-cheek's width.
Unlike before, she didn't flee.
"I'm not sure if I can actually help. A mere D-rank hunter against someone even you couldn't beat? But... just standing by and watching feels even worse."
"......"
"You know it too, right? That I'm a total psycho."
"...Ahem, yeah. A psycho for sure."
By setting up the begging dynamic first, the corners of Choi Da-eun's mouth curved sweetly.
I'd scratched the itch she couldn't voice herself.
"Let me help you, sis."
"...What if I don't?"
"I'd beat myself up thinking, 'I got her help when I needed it, but now that she's suffering, I can't do shit.' Or maybe just comfort her from the sidelines."
"...Doesn't seem like your style to self-flagellate."
"I suffered in silence back in Training Team 4 too."
"Bullshit."
Choi Da-eun's expression brightened subtly.
I grabbed her small hand tight and said,
"Choi Da-eun, I'll help you."
"Don't use banmal, you fucker."
Choi Da-eun clenched her fist and slammed my chest hard.
As a current D-rank hunter, her chest muscles rivaled any gym bro's.
"......"
Choi Da-eun's face turned red.
Even her earlobes flushed crimson.
I repeated firmly once more.
"Choi Da-eun, you fucking bitch. Trust your oppa."
"...Ah, seriously."
She whipped her head away in annoyance.
But she couldn't hide her expression.
Dimples dug clearly into her cheeks.
"You into getting cussed out? You fucking slut!"
"......"
Without a word, she turned her head back.
She glared right into my eyes, unflinching.
"Cut it out, you retard."
"Yes."
At least she hadn't shaken off my hand—that was a relief.
"Now that we've formed an alliance, let's brainstorm some countermeasures. Head out and smash some hot beef soup first..."
I tried to get up from the bed.
Choi Da-eun gripped my hand tight, not letting go.
I had no choice but to sit back down.
Choi Da-eun hesitated, like she had something to say.
I waited patiently for her to speak.
Was this a staring contest?
We locked eyes for about a minute.
My heart pounded wildly.
"Park Sun-woo, do you like me?"
"......"
I'd just woken up.
Less than ten minutes ago, by the clock.
And I'd even squeezed out every last drop.
No wonder my throat went dry.
Choi Da-eun asked seriously in a low, steady voice.
"Do I need to say it?"
"...Don't mess around."
I tried guiding her hand to my dick.
Nothing more convincing than my rock-hard erection.
'Second heart, second brain, after all.'
But she took it as a joke.
Choi Da-eun waited for my answer with a more serious expression than expected.
I nodded slowly.
"Yeah... I think I do."
"You think?"
"That's why I stuck it out in Training Team 4 without quitting, even after getting beat by you, right?"
"......"
"I don't know exactly either. Gotta experience it to say. Can you put your feelings into words clearly?"
Choi Da-eun shook her head too.
"You shouldn't like me."
"Why not? Why can't I?"
"...Until we catch that guy, I'll keep getting forced into bad shit. Every time he summons me..."
"......"
Choi Da-eun gave a bitter smile.
"You held back because you wanted to do it properly with the girl you love, right? I looked it up online— that's supposed to be fucking hard. You psycho."
"It's no big deal. Just common sense."
"Not for you. Other guys don't."
Choi Da-eun grimaced, recalling bad memories.
"Anyway, that guy... he forces it all out of me."
"......"
"You like me, but think you can handle that? If I were you, I'd lose my mind—that's why I'm asking."
Exaggerating it: you'd have to watch the girl you love get taken by another man.
How many could silently accept that?
'Unless you're some netorase masochist...'
Impossible.
Your insides would boil with rage.
Choi Da-eun was zeroing in on exactly that.
"...Can you swear your feelings won't change right now?"
She gazed at me with pleading eyes.
I could feel she wanted a specific answer.
"Yeah, I said it already. Sex without feelings isn't sex. It's rape."
"Sex is sex."
"No, rape isn't sex. It's violence."
Mask Trash is me.
That's why I can say this.
'Otherwise, I couldn't handle it.'
Choi Da-eun's pupils shook violently.
"...You really are a psycho?"
"Yeah, your psycho."
"Ah, fuck. Don't say sappy shit."
Her rough-spoken "fuck" didn't match her not-so-bad reaction.
"Satisfied? Now let's go eat beef soup. I'm hungry."
"...Ha, fine."
The knot in her heart seemed untied; Choi Da-eun laughed relievedly.
"Sis'll buy the beef soup and such."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
After forming this alliance-that's-not-quite-an-alliance with Park Sun-woo at the motel, Choi Da-eun regained her mental and physical stability.
She steadied her wavering resolve and prepared to face her trials.
She hadn't known that just having someone acknowledge her pain could be such a huge comfort.
Sharing the burden with another and leaning on them even a little could make things so much easier.
That's why people share their sorrows and pat each other's backs.
That's why they get boyfriends and whine like little kids.
'...Not that we're actually dating, of course.'
She used to think verbal comforts were pointless, viewing such bonds cynically.
Thanks to Park Sun-woo, Choi Da-eun learned she could draw strength from relationships too.
"Fuck."
Thinking of Park Sun-woo's face made her chest tickle for no reason.
This shitty feeling!
Shitty!
Shitty, but kinda nice—not bad.
From her early twenties to now, countless guys had hit on Choi Da-eun.
Easily over a hundred if you counted.
All those lustful, sleazy bastards—they'd uniformly creeped her out.
'Park Sun-woo doesn't give off that vibe.'
Choi Da-eun rolled around on her bed, staring blankly at her smartphone messages.
If she messaged first and got summoned by Mask Trash mid-convo, the replies would cut off.
That'd worry Park Sun-woo, so she held back her urge and tensed through from 9 PM to 3 AM.
Fortunately, Mask Trash didn't summon her.
Looked like she'd make it through unscathed today.
Finally holding out, around dawn she sent a tick.
They weren't dating or anything!
But she'd wanted to try this once.
[Choi Da-eun] ─ What're you up to? 03:42AM
No reply.
One hour, two, three—sunrise outside.
Choi Da-eun pulled an all-nighter with a sulky face.
Staring daggers at the unread "1" with wide eyes.
At 11 AM, the "1" vanished.
Park Sun-woo, squeezed dry by Han So-ra, had passed out dead to the world and woken up.
Choi Da-eun, oblivious to that,
felt inexplicably pissed.
She didn't realize sending a message at 3 AM was the issue.
[Park Sun-woo] ─ Sorry. Was tired, crashed early.
Choi Da-eun decided to read and ignore.
She cleared the "1" on purpose but didn't reply.
Unaware that Park Sun-woo saw through her petty game and was chuckling, Choi Da-eun smugly glared at her screen.
[Park Sun-woo] ─ Da-eun-ie?
[Choi Da-eun] ─ Phew, good thing lol I sent it and dozed off too lol
"Hmph."
Tap tap, poke-.
She'd resolved to read-snipe, but replied in a whopping four minutes.
Even oblivious Park Sun-woo would get the hint.
She rationalized it that way while tapping the keys.
The corners of Choi Da-eun's mouth twitched upward bit by bit.