Temptation Under the Blanket
Haaah... My body felt hot. My head was burning so fiercely it seemed ready to burst. When I first suggested the room cafe, I had only planned to create a slightly cozy atmosphere for the two of us. I never expected things to escalate like this right away... All I did was time it perfectly and rest my hand on top when the actors were being affectionate. Jack, as if he had been waiting for exactly that, naturally turned his hand and fully interlocked our fingers. Now our hands were tightly entwined, not a single gap between them. This means Jack likes me too, right? Maybe he was simply waiting for me to confess while caught up in the mood. He seemed too timid to say the words out loud, so he pretended to dislike it while slowly revealing his feelings through actions like this. Seeing his face flushed red as I thought that, I wanted to confess to him on the spot. Still, maybe just a little later... But I already had one failed confession on my record. Jack also seemed to be deliberately building a wall between us, so there was a chance a confession right now might backfire. To succeed for sure, I needed to tear down more of the walls around his heart. Hehe, but at this rate, it's going well. Of course, even reaching this point meant I had already broken through a lot of the barriers he'd built. The fact that I had made Jack—who never initiated any skinship—voluntarily interlock fingers with me was nothing short of a giant leap forward. Truly a massive development, hmm hmm. I let out a short laugh, then used my free left hand to pull the blanket from my bag and spread it over both my legs and Jack's. Why a blanket all of a sudden while watching a movie? I didn't have any truly wicked intentions. It really was a little chilly in here, and if the chance arose later, I might secretly knead Jack's thighs a bit. It's information I read in a famous novel, so it can't be wrong! Borrowing a line from that book, it said sight accounts for more than eighty percent of human sensory input. Therefore, restricting what could be seen would heighten the sensitivity of the other senses in that area. Of course, the novel had used that principle to cover the lower body with a blanket and touch somewhere other than the thighs. Ah... we're not at that kind of relationship yet... That would be too embarrassing, so I decided to settle for the thighs instead. As I thought this and glanced at Jack, he seemed to like how fluffy the blanket felt; he was happily pressing the corner of it with his right hand. ...Cute. He was so adorable I wanted to bite him. I wasn't sure if it was the love filter talking, but watching him poke at the blanket, then happily knead it because the texture felt nice, reminded me of the cute stray cat that used to linger in front of our mansion when I was little. It loved being petted. If I returned to the main house later, I should find it again and stroke its fur... "Ah..." Lost in thought, I realized my left hand had unconsciously stretched out and was now stroking Jack's head. The soft, fluffy sensation felt surprisingly pleasant, but I quickly pulled my hand away. What if he was uncomfortable? I'd heard many people disliked having their heads touched. He might suddenly hate it and try to run away. ...Huh? I cautiously studied Jack's face. He showed no sign of displeasure and simply looked back at me with his usual expression. Well, the corner of his mouth did seem slightly raised, but his default face was so stoic that it was hard to tell. Still, the fact that he didn't hate it was a relief... "Hup!" At that moment, Jack suddenly turned his whole body toward me. He grabbed the same left hand that had touched his head and firmly placed it against his own cheek. The result was that I was now naturally cupping his face. ...Should I pounce? Jack rubbing my hand against his cheek was incredibly dangerous. Maybe this was him wagging his tail, sending clear signals to come devour him. Of course, since he had promised to be mine for the entire day, he might simply be committing to the role. But normally, people didn't do things like this to someone they didn't like, right? Okay. Let's pounce. The moment I reached that conclusion and prepared to leap into his arms—
Was that a close call just now?
Lucia had gone to the counter to pick up the pancakes. Left alone in the room, I let out a sigh of relief and wiped away the cold sweat that had broken out.
I thought she was fixing my messy hair, so I let her touch my cheek at least once as thanks... The instant her hand touched my cheek, her eyes changed completely. Remembering how she had slowly crept toward me like a predator stalking prey... Ugh... It wasn't pleasant at all to watch someone who usually seemed like a gentle rabbit transform into a tiger in the blink of an eye.
Why did I do something like that... I'd said I'd be hers for a day without thinking it through, so I acted the way a lover might. I never expected her to actually try to jump on me.
After all, whether she truly likes me or not... From Lucia's perspective, there was definitely a chance she was trying to get back at Heidi by pinning me beneath her. I needed to be more careful with this kind of skinship—for the sake of my chastity, if nothing else. She couldn't just interpret signals however she wanted and pounce when I didn't even know who I was to her.
"I'm back..." Lucia returned, looking strangely dejected as she carried the pancakes through the door. If she had rabbit ears on her head right now, they would surely be drooping. She trudged over, set the pancakes down, and restarted the paused movie. The sight didn't match the fierce way she had approached me earlier at all. ...My heart is weakening again for no reason. Even though I knew I should keep my distance, seeing her like this made me reluctant to push her away too harshly. Now she sat completely downcast, picking up a pancake and munching on it.
"Mmm..." Even so, the pancake must have been delicious; the corners of her mouth kept twitching. A little. Just a tiny bit cute. It felt like watching a simple character from a cartoon, and that made it genuinely a little endearing.
...Have I lost my mind? What kind of crazy Geumtaeyang gets charmed just by watching someone eat pancakes? I quickly shook my head to clear the strange thoughts, picked up a pancake from the plate, and took a bite. It does taste good... The baking was perfect, and whatever syrup and sugar they'd used was genuinely delicious. It tasted slightly different from the maple syrup I used to pour on pancakes back in my original world, but the gentle sweetness that filled my mouth had its own charm. It even seemed to carry a faint lemon note, which made it even better... Huh? Why was I naturally thinking the lemon scent was nice? Since when had I started liking lemons this much?
... Instead of answering my own question, I glanced at Lucia, who was once again sitting hunched over beneath the blanket. It had to be because this Geumtaeyang had trained my palate to crave lemons. These days, whenever my mouth felt even slightly empty, the first thing I reached for was a lemon candy. I really needed to break that habit.
"Hup?!" While making that resolution, a shrill cry suddenly burst from my mouth as I quietly ate my pancake. Startled, I looked over to find Lucia's hand resting on my thigh. Who touched me and made me jump like that... Since I'd declared that today I would be Lucia's, this much should be tolerable. I calmed my racing heart, tried to ignore the hand on my thigh, and focused on the movie again. But strangely, what was playing at that exact moment was a rather suggestive scene. It wasn't an adult film, so there were appropriate limits, yet the actors were sharing skinship on a bed. It'll be nothing... I had a strangely ominous feeling, but I soon brushed it aside. The movie itself was rated for ages fifteen and up, so that kind of skinship would probably end quickly. ...But why isn't it ending? I kept my body rigidly stiff, waiting for the actors' suggestive scene to finish. I even held my breath so Lucia wouldn't turn her attention toward me, praying the skinship would end soon.
"Ugh... Hng..." For some reason, the skinship on screen was growing more intense. It wasn't quite crossing the censorship line, but the kisses had become noticeably forceful. Their hands wandered everywhere... Was this basically a movie for young adults? Worried that Lucia might touch me, I carefully glanced at her from the corner of my eye—and our gazes locked.
Shit. I quickly looked away, but I could feel the hand she had placed on my thigh slowly increasing its pressure. I prayed with everything I had that Lucia wouldn't do anything, but—
-Rustle!
"...Hng." Along with the soft sound of fabric, Lucia's hand began to move slowly across my thigh. She stroked downward, caressing it. I cursed inwardly, desperately hoping she wouldn't suddenly burn hotter and take things even further.