Chapter 4: 0%'s Resolve
The door swung open, and the chilly air unique to the stairwell brushed against his face. Only half the fluorescent lights were on, casting the space descending into the stairs in semidarkness. And there, within it, was a silhouette that had just slipped her panties off her legs. The deep black leather jacket gleamed faintly with a subtle sheen.
Leather... a leather jacket.
...And nothing underneath. No, bare skin with nothing on it, save for black stockings running from her thighs down to her toes. Under the stairwell lights, the stockings stood out with unusual clarity.
In that brief moment, so many thoughts raced through his mind that the golden hair veiling her face gently parted, revealing her eyes meeting his. Exactly one second. No, half a second. Even that felt too long. Junyoung's gaze instinctively dropped downward before snapping back up like lightning. Sera's eyes skimmed his face and fled elsewhere in a hurry.
Both inhaled sharply at the same time, yet the air felt thin. Despite the cold stairwell air filling their lungs, their bodies burned strangely hot. Bare skin beneath the leather jacket. The boundary of her thighs exposed above the stockings. And above all... She's beautiful.
The moment Junyoung realized that, he shifted his gaze to the wall. Don't look. Can't look too much. But his brain had already registered it fully, making his lower body painfully honest. His mind went blank white, but his body grasped the situation far too quickly. Beneath the taut, tense shirt, the front of his pants stood unmistakably erect.
Sera's lips trembled subtly, her awkward hands covering her face with nowhere else to go. And then, very softly—
"...J-Junyoung-ssi?"
She called his name. Here, in this space, from her lips. Junyoung's heart leaped straight up.
"Y-Yes?!"
His voice came out too loud again. The echo reverberated through the stairs, making both Junyoung and Sera flinch hard.
Sera hurriedly huddled her body and bowed her head. "Ah, no... I was just confirming if it was you..."
Her hair fell back, half-covering her face again. Should've worn a mask... Her hands, with nowhere to go, clutched the front of her jacket tighter, causing her ample breasts to squish and reshape softly, threatening to spill out.
Junyoung nodded faintly, not wanting her to see. She, too, unsure where to look, glanced briefly at the stairwell wall before her eyes flicked toward the man's erection.
Both at 0%. With zero experience, their bodies and minds were completely out of sync right now. They weren't uninterested in each other—this stranger they'd just met—but neither was overcome with lust to pounce. It was just that the silence made things awkwardly hot and embarrassing.
The one who resolved first was Yoon Sera. She took a step forward. She knew. From filming all that birth-encouragement content that was all the rage, she had plenty of theory at least—which angles aroused men more, when to drop her gaze. She'd watched similar videos thousands of times. And acted them out hundreds of times on live streams.
"U-Um, it's okay..." Her high-pitched voice deliberately lowered, hiding the tremble. "I'm... nervous too."
Junyoung remained rigid. His hand covering his crotch and his expression were both overly honest.
She's the same... a fellow 0% human. That thought oddly reassured her. Sera pressed her lips together, then nodded as if resolved.
"Then... I'll..."
One more step. Now close enough that reaching out would touch him, her heart pounded wildly.
Now's the time.
She slowly lowered her body. The jacket parted slightly, and her stocking-clad legs folded carefully onto the stair. Seeing Sera kneel demurely like that, Junyoung's eyes widened.
"Wha— wh—"
Sera looked up at his puzzled sound, her sparkling eyes gazing at him. It wasn't for nothing that she seemed effortlessly pretty.
If theory's right, now's the time to gently take control, reassure him, seize the initiative.
Her lips felt parched, but Sera mustered her courage anyway.
"...Sh-Suck...?"
She couldn't say it in one go—a mistake. "...it for you?"
Momentary silence, and Junyoung's brain fully froze.
"Yes?!"
His voice jumped an octave, making noise again. Sera squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her index finger to her lips, shushing desperately.
Why's he reacting so loudly! Shouldn't the guy swallow hard here and let the erotic mood build? But this man—
"N-No, no, that's—!"
Junyoung nearly stumbled back. Gripping his hand tighter over himself, his face beet red.
"I-I'm fine...!"
His forcibly lowered voice burst out. He didn't even know what he meant by "fine."
Sera froze, looking up at him. "...Huh?"
Junyoung nodded frantically. "Ah, no, I mean—not fine—but—not not fine—"
Worse. Sera clamped her mouth shut, then a small laugh escaped. Before she could even feel embarrassed, as the man babbled incoherently, she slowly rose.
"Was I... too fast?"
"N-No... I-I mean..."
As he floundered, a faint door-opening sound came from higher up the stairs. Click. The upper door creaked open, the echo traveling down.
Both their eyes widened.
"......!"
Sera's face turned to panic, and Junyoung reflexively ducked his head low. Footsteps. Slow, ascending heels. Tap. Tap. The stairwell amplified them.
"Wh-What do we—"
Sera whispered breathlessly. Junyoung's mind blanked too. Her scattered clothes. No CCTV, but—a person. If caught, it's over.
"This way—!"
Instinctively, Junyoung grabbed her wrist. The surprisingly soft, cool touch made Sera swallow softly. He practically shoved her into the shadowed nook by the wall.
Their bodies pressed to the wall. Before she could think too close, Sera was trapped between the wall and Junyoung. The footsteps grew nearer: tap, tap, tap.
Junyoung braced one hand on the wall, the other still gripping her wrist. His breath washed over her, that close. The warmth of bare skin under the leather jacket seeped through his shirt. Right in front of Sera was Junyoung's jawline. Below, she could almost hear his heartbeat drumming against her eardrums.
"......"
The footsteps paused at the mid-landing. Door creak—then receding steps, fading away.
Still unmoving in tension, they bowed their heads, then looked at each other with releasing relief.
"......Ah."
Only then did Junyoung realize he'd pinned Sera to the wall.
"S-Sorry...!"
He tried to pull back hastily but fumbled, prioritizing releasing her wrist. In the chill, her perky pink nipple—pressed erect—dragged long across his shirt.
"Haaah..."
That fragile breath escaped so close. Before reason could catch up, his body reacted first.
Throb.
Y-You clueless idiot!! Getting turned on here— self-loathing exploded inwardly. His inexperienced body betraying him, he couldn't move recklessly lest it brush her again, inching back oh-so-slowly to keep his crotch from touching.
Unaware that this clumsiness captivated the woman before him. This man, hiding her as best he could from prying eyes, couldn't hide his arousal but didn't push against her either.
So honest he's oblivious... so awkward. Something inside her chest softened strangely.
Sera reached out, grabbing the hem of his shirt as he tried to flee. The white shirt wrinkled between his shoulder and chest.
"......Huh?"
Instead of words, she rose on tiptoe. Black stockings scraped the stair floor, golden hair cascading over her shoulders. And then her lips pressed to his neckline. A short, light touch, then away.
Her lips were warm; the stairwell air, cold. It really felt like time slowed—everything visible as Sera lowered her head, then slowly raised it. In his arms, bare-faced, she was dazzlingly glamorous. Golden hair glossy even under fluorescents, sharp features, vivid skin peeking from the leather jacket. A beauty he'd never dare approach normally. Her eyes faintly red-rimmed... lips quivering slightly, breath uneven—all of it impossibly endearing.
Feeling his gaze, Sera slowly closed her eyes. And tentatively parted her lips just a little.
Oh my god.
Her long lashes descending over a defenseless face—utterly unreal. Kiss... when was the last time? But damn it, this wasn't pride—it was proof. That even without experience... he was a man.
Above all, a vow not to betray the trust before him. Screw it.
He tilted his head forward. No technique. Angle imperfect, speed clumsy. He couldn't close his eyes. Worried he'd bump wrong, or she'd push him away startled.
So it was all the clearer. The moment his lips settled on her plump, moist ones.
Warm. And... so soft. Far softer than he'd imagined.