Would You Like to See a Little More?
Caught completely off guard by the unexpected turn of events, Are found herself seized by a deep, burning embarrassment.
Her naked body, unintentionally exposed to Jinhyun's eyes…
She had only meant to crack the door open just enough to stick out her hand and ask for a towel—but the timing could not have been worse.
I should have said something first before opening the door… Why didn't I think of that?
The moment she heard that Kwon Soon had left the room, Are realized she was now completely alone with Jinhyun—naked—in the same guest room. At the same time, she grew so tense that coherent thought became nearly impossible for a brief moment. In that panic, she chose what she believed was the best option available to her…
And the result was this: the absolute worst outcome, her bare body fully exposed to that man.
What do I do… My face is burning up… This is the first time I've ever shown my naked body to a man…
After receiving the towel from Jinhyun, she had done everything in her power to calm her emotions. But the moment she finished changing and stepped out to face him again, her face flared up with an uncontrollable heat, and she found herself unable to even look at him.
I… should apologize first, right? After all, I was the one who opened the door… Y-yes. Jinhyun didn't do anything wrong. He was just trying to bring me a towel. The one at fault is me for opening that door… I have to apologize somehow…
With those thoughts, Are slowly rose from her seat. Her heart was still pounding, but she knew she couldn't back down here. She had finally managed to grow closer to the person she had long held in her heart. She couldn't let a single mistake of hers destroy everything they had built up until now.
So she carefully stepped out of the room and approached Jinhyun, who sat on the sofa with his head in his hands.
"…Um… Jinhyun-ssi."
"…Y-yes… yes?"
Jinhyun jerked his head up the moment he heard her voice. Seeing how flustered he was, Are felt her face heat up all over again—but she steeled herself and bowed her head toward the man before her.
"I-I'm sorry. Because of my mistake… I ended up putting you in an awkward position without meaning to."
"Ah… no… If anything, the mistake was mine… I should have said something before approaching, but I didn't, and so…"
"No… In any case, I was the one who opened the door first… Because of me, you had to see something unpleasant…"
"Unpleasant? On the contrary, from my perspective I was gratef— ahem ahem…"
The more they talked, the redder both of their faces grew. Feeling her legs tremble from sheer nervousness, Are carefully sat down beside him—leaving a bit of distance, of course, given how mortified she felt.
As Are apologized and I answered her, I found myself growing even more tense.
I was grateful she hadn't misunderstood the situation, but no matter how I looked at it, I was the one who had made the mistake—and yet she was the one apologizing. The whole thing left me feeling thoroughly unsettled, and in the process I had nearly committed a fatal slip of the tongue.
A heavy silence settled between us.
Looking at Are sitting right beside me without saying a word, I felt I had to break this awkward atmosphere somehow.
I… I can't leave things like this… I need to say something… anything…
But when it came down to it, I had no idea what to say in a moment like this. What's more, every time I so much as glanced at Are beside me, the image of her naked body automatically flashed through my mind, making it nearly impossible to even turn my head in her direction.
Then…
"Um… Jinhyun-ssi."
"Yes?"
To my immense relief, Are was the one who broke the silence first. Still feeling awkward, I somehow managed to look at her—and she, carefully gauging my reaction, began to speak with cautious care.
"There's something… I've been curious about… Would it be all right if I asked you a question?"
"W-what is it? Ask me anything."
If it would break this awkward atmosphere, I was ready to answer any question she threw at me. That was the mindset I held as I looked at her and spoke.
And then…
"Well… I mean… how… was it? My body…"
"…"
I began regretting the decision I had just made within three seconds flat.
W-wait, isn't the correct move here usually to change the subject? Is she angry? N-no, but it doesn't quite feel like that either…
Are had just lobbed a completely unexpected fastball straight at me. Faced with what might well have been the greatest dilemma of my entire life, I scrambled to find an answer.
C-calm down… Judging by the situation, Are doesn't seem to be angry right now… Which means I need to figure out what this question is really getting at. Considering how close we've gotten—like I talked about with Jogs—we're clearly on fairly good terms now, right? That means… there's a high chance she's simply asking for my honest impression, pure and simple.
If it had been one of those bastard S-class hunters, they would have asked something like this just to mess with me under the pretense of sexual harassment. But with Are, there was a real possibility she was asking out of genuine curiosity.
Keeping that in mind, I swallowed hard and carefully answered her question.
"W-well… it was… beautiful… Truly…"
"!…"
At my words, Are's face flushed red once more—then she lowered her head slightly, a shy smile forming at the corners of her lips.
Seeing that not-unfavorable reaction, I let out a deep sigh of relief inwardly.
Thank goodness… I think I handled that reasonably well… right?
I couldn't be entirely certain, and her body seemed to be trembling lightly even now—but at the very least, I could vaguely sense that she wasn't upset.
Then…
"…Um… then, Jinhyun-ssi?"
"…Yes?"
The next moment, Are looked at me with a tone that suggested she had made some kind of resolution. A strange feeling washed over me—and in a slightly trembling voice, she asked:
"If you'd like… would you… like to see a little more?"
"! Th-that's…"
An offensive even more unexpected than the blow from moments ago. I was so thoroughly flustered that I couldn't say a word for a moment.
And as I sat there speechless, Are rose from her seat, turned her back to me, and slowly began unbuttoning her top.
"W-wait, no, no… h-hold on… E-even so, this is a bit…"
"…"
I tried to stop her in a panicked voice, but she said nothing and continued undressing right in front of me with quiet determination.
And then…
Once again, Are's body was revealed before my eyes. Unlike before, she had only removed her top, and she was facing away from me—but even so, I found myself unable to tear my gaze away from her form.
But then…
"!…."
"…"
The next moment, the scene before my eyes caused the flustered panic that had gripped me just seconds earlier to suddenly settle.
Are's back, clearly visible right in front of me.
There… were countless deep scars I had never expected to see.
Unlike her relatively unblemished front, her back was marked with clear claw marks and burn scars. Looking at them, a solemn feeling settled over me…
And then Are slowly turned her head, gazing at me with a complicated expression.