Once Is Enough

No way.

What kind of man wouldn't get hard in a situation like this?

In a situation ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like this, a man would get hard even if the woman weren't particularly attractive. Assuming he was an ordinary heterosexual man, if he wasn't getting it up, the problem was almost always on his end. It was rarely, if ever, the woman's fault.

The man was the one who wasn't getting hard. How was that supposed to be her fault?

And yet Joo Ha-yeon seemed convinced this was happening because she wasn't attractive enough. Her face had gone white, her pupils trembling wildly. She covered her chest as if she were truly ashamed.

"I-I'm... I'm sorry... I-is it because my chest is small? Is that it?"

She blurted out something completely off the mark.

"Of course not. No—i-it's because of that. The skill side effect. I mentioned it before..."

I said it in a rush.

"Ah..."

Joo Ha-yeon let out a small sound of recognition, as if it had only just come back to her. The trembling in her pupils slowly settled.

"Th-then, tonight..."

"No. It's fine. I can do it once."

I'd be stuck in sage mode for a month afterward. That was fine. Getting this moment right mattered more. I couldn't afford to let it go wrong.

"R-right. Hah... haah..."

She looked faintly relieved.

"...Ha-yeon. You're more than attractive enough. Don't say things like that."

"...B-but..."

There was something uneasy in the way she moved, as if she had her reasons—but this wasn't the time for words. Showing her would be better.

I gave her a light push, and she toppled back onto the bed.

"Ah..."

I climbed over her as if pinning her down. I didn't put my weight on her, but she was completely caged beneath my body all the same. Then I buried my face in her chest. Softness pressed against my cheek, followed by the faint, warm scent of her skin.

Only for a moment. I lifted my head and glanced at her eyes. She was looking at my face. I turned my head, letting my gaze slide away, and settled it on the small peak standing out at the top of her breast. Then I took it into my mouth.

"...Nnh."

I worked at it for a long while, focused and unhurried. I licked it softly, circled it with my tongue, and kept at the areola around it without pause. When my tongue wasn't enough, I caught it gently between my teeth, then nipped at it in careful little bites—just enough to tease, never enough to hurt. I pressed my lips hard against her breast as if kissing it, then rubbed the soft flesh with my mouth. At the same time my hand stroked and squeezed the other side, playing with her as if I had all the time in the world.

I stayed there for a long time, attending to her chest alone, as if to refute every word she'd said.

"Hah... haah... nnh..."

Soft moans followed. I let go of the breast I'd been tormenting and looked down at her face, taking her in.

"...Thank you."

I hadn't expected a thank-you for working over her chest. I swallowed the laugh that almost slipped out and shifted a little lower, then stroked her thigh.

"Ah..."

She'd trained her body, but the skin under my palm was still soft. Unlike before, she went stiff. The tension in her was sharp. Given how practiced and eager her kissing had been, I'd assumed she had some experience with this too. Apparently not. I didn't do anything as tactless as asking.

I lingered on the outside of her thigh, traced her hip, followed the line of her ass down, then came back along the side and top of her thigh and eased my hand inward.

"Ah... aah..."

Joo Ha-yeon kept her hands clasped together and could only moan at what I was doing. Even so, her thighs stayed clamped shut, the tension refusing to leave her. Instead of forcing them apart, I stroked around them more gently, brought my hand back up to her waist and chest, and started kissing my way down from her breasts, unhurried. Slowly—very slowly—I felt the tightness in her body begin to ease.

I eased her slightly loosened thighs apart. She flinched, but she didn't resist. Her sex and the spread of her thighs filled my vision. When I looked for a long moment, Joo Ha-yeon covered her face and murmured.

"...I-it's embarrassing..."

"It's beautiful."

"Ugh... nngh..."

An adorable reaction. She was two years older than me, she'd held down a job, and she kissed well enough that I'd assumed she was used to this kind of thing. She had less experience than I'd thought.

I pressed my lips lightly to her sex.

"Sh-Shin-hoo! Th-that's..."

She clearly hadn't expected me to do that. Surprise flashed across her face as she reached out to push my head away. I paid her hands no mind, kissed her there, and slid my tongue inside to work at her.

"Hh... hnnngh..."

Shame seemed to outweigh the pleasure; she covered her eyes with her forearm and let out thin little moans. Before long the strength had gone out of her whole body, leaving her loose and languid. The mood was right, and I'd given her enough.

I pushed my pants down and took myself out. I felt her glance flick to my lower body—then she covered her eyes again, looking embarrassed.

Watching her, I rested myself lightly against her entrance. And in the end, I had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to ask the thing I'd been trying not to.

"...This isn't your first time, is it?"

Joo Ha-yeon was silent for a long time. Then, at last, she gave a small nod.

That meant I had to be more careful. A first time was rarely pleasant. If I went in like this, there was a good chance it would hurt her badly. For most women, a first time being good was genuinely difficult.

But it wasn't as if there was nothing I could do.

This was the Tower. Every trainee developed mana circuits in their body and could wield that mysterious power. And though it wouldn't become widely known until later, those circuits could be used to give pleasure. It took a great deal of research—but I had already lived through one cycle. Humanity's interest in sex being what it was, an enormous number of techniques had poured out in less than ten years.

The techniques could be a little dangerous. Used on someone who didn't understand them, they could deliver a sensation so unforgettable it became addictive. They had to be handled carefully, and you had to know how to resist them. In principle you could even use them on yourself the way you'd masturbate, so if your skill was high enough it wasn't a serious problem. On top of that, the mana circuits had erogenous zones of their own, the same as the body. Used well, they could become the foundation for an extremely satisfying relationship between lovers.

With me resting against her, Joo Ha-yeon looked up at me, her face deeply uneasy.

"D-do you not want it to be my first...?"

"...There aren't many men who would mind."

Of course, it depended on the person. If it was just for fun, some men might not prefer an inexperienced woman. But in a serious relationship, there weren't many men who would dislike being someone's first. Modern Korea had been growing more open about sex anyway; more and more people simply didn't care.

Even after my answer she still looked anxious, so I went on.

"I actually like it. Being remembered as your first."

"...Th-that's a relief."

Even so, she looked down at me with thoroughly uneasy eyes. The unknown pain waiting for her seemed to worry her more than any of that.

I slid a hand under her back.

"Eh...?"

Then I let a thin thread of mana seep into her.

"Ah...?"

The surprise at the unfamiliar sensation lasted only a moment. I pushed the mana in quickly and started working her circuits. Finding the erogenous points right away would be difficult, so it was better to cover with technique. I wanted to make her first time feel good. I also, a little greedily, wanted to make it something she couldn't forget.

"Ah, ahh... Sh-Shin-hoo, what is this..."

"Just a moment. Can you wait a little? Just a little."

I looked at her face, my eyes focused. At this point in time, I was probably the only person using this technique. The circuits were sensitive; do this without any knowledge and you could wreck them and ruin someone for life. For me, though, it wasn't a difficult skill.

Soon the heated moans that tension had driven out of Joo Ha-yeon began to come back, little by little.

"Hah, haaah... s-something feels strange, Sh-Shin-hoo?"

I stimulated her mana circuits and started working her body at the same time—her collarbone, the nape of her neck, the places that had responded well when I was touching her, then the insides of her thighs. I wanted to be inside her already, but I kept my focus and held back, for the sake of a better experience.

"Nngh, huaaah..."

Joo Ha-yeon's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠moans grew louder. Her face crumpled toward a tearful expression. The pleasure was coming on slowly. I spun the mana harder.

"Hh, hah! Huaaang!"

The moans turned fierce. She twisted lightly, as if a small climax were about to take her. I timed it, drove the mana hard, pulled her into my arms, and kissed her—and thrust into her in one firm stroke.

"Nnh, mmph! Mmmph!"

I kissed her with my eyes open, watching her face. Her brow was tightly knit. She clung to me through the kiss, wearing an expression that didn't know what to do with the strange mix of sensation. There was a flicker of disappointment that the sudden thrust had stolen the small climax rising through her—and at the same time, a realization that the pain of entry hadn't been as bad as she'd feared.

I broke the kiss and looked at her face.

"How is it? Did it hurt?"

"...It hurt. But... it's... okay."

Relieved, I looked down at Joo Ha-yeon and rolled my hips, just a little.

"N-nnh..."

"Does it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hurt?"

"I-it's okay. It hurts a little, but... that..."

She turned her head aside, her face flushing, as if she couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence. The pleasure seemed to be winning. That made sense—I was still using mana to stimulate her circuits, and through the place where we were joined. Joo Ha-yeon seemed to feel it too.

"W-when did you even make a technique like this..."

I didn't answer.

"What a waste of talent."

She muttered it under her breath.

I began to move my hips in easy strokes.

"Nn, nngh..."

A pleased moan slipped out of her. The strange mix of a little pain and a lot of pleasure seemed unfamiliar; every time I stroked, her body twisted a little. Each twist set her breasts swaying, and the sight was more than satisfying.

Still moving, I caught her arm and opened her hand, then laced our fingers together and licked her cheek.

"Haah, haang, hnnngh..."

Joo Ha-yeon only moaned softly at what I was doing. She didn't stop any of it, as if telling me to do as I liked. The strange sounds she'd first made at the unfamiliar sensation were giving way to moans that were unmistakably pleasure.

"Haah, haang, aaaah..."

I listened to those moans, pleasant in my ear, kept one hand laced with hers, and started playing with her swaying breast with the other.

"Ah, haah, nngh!"

She touched the back of the hand stroking her breast, her eyes wet with pleasure as they met mine. A first time she'd been tense for. An experience she'd expected to hurt, now painted over with a pleasure she hadn't known existed. This had to be better than pain. Her half-lidded eyes curved down at the corners, carrying a strange, sweet pleasure—and something unmistakably lewd.

Hah. Hah. The concentration it took was starting to let rough breaths slip from my mouth. At the same time, the pleasure coming up from where I was buried in her stroked pleasantly through my brain.

A soft heat wrapped around me. A little blood on my cock said she hadn't been lying about it being her first, and the way she clenched down as hard as she could delivered a stronger pleasure than I'd expected. She clearly wasn't used to this; at first it had been nothing but a tight grip, but the continued motion had eased some of the strength out of her, leaving a perfect tightness and a sensation that was almost dizzying.

"Haang, hngh!"

She unlaced our fingers, wound both arms around my neck, lifted her legs and spread them, and rested her calves on my thighs, letting out moans that were soaked in pleasure and a little filthy. Sweat beaded across her skin; the softness of it now carried a slickness as well.

"Sh-nnh, Shin-hoo, Shin-hoo, I-I can't..."

The sensation must have been building. Joo Ha-yeon's face had gone a little tearful; she looked up at me as if she couldn't hold on any longer. I looked down at her.

"You can go whenever you want. It's all right."

"T-together, hngh! I want to go together..."

She wanted to come together. A genuinely difficult request. But it wasn't impossible.

"As much as you want."

I started to pick up the pace of those smooth strokes.

"Nngh, ang, haang! Aaang!"

Every time I drove in hard to match the new rhythm, her moans grew fiercer. And then—

"Nnh, hah! Ang! Shin-hoo, Shin-hoo! I-I'm—!"

I moved hard, as if this were the last of it, and a moment later I felt Joo Ha-yeon clutch me tight.

"Huaang, uaaaang!"

A short cry. Then she locked her arms around my neck, wrapped her legs hard around my waist, and pulled me in. Her body twisted; she held me tight enough that it almost hurt. Inside, she clenched down hard, telling me she was at the peak of it.

I sank deep into her arms and, buried to the hilt, listening to the last moan at my ear, came deep inside her.