Taming Cha Eunju (1)
A soft weight pressed against my right hand.
It was the first time since crossing over into this world that I'd touched a woman's breast.
The sensation I'd only ever imagined in my head, ever since the day I first found Cha Eunju, now transmitted itself vividly through my fingertips.
"This far?"
"...Yeah. This, far."
We'd known each other barely two days. Who would have thought we'd make it this far already?
Truth be told, the original plan had been to add a peck on the cheek today and whittle her down bit by bit, saving any kind of conditioning through something sexual for later, at a more gradual pace.
...Though the way I'd grabbed her ass while I had her in my arms earlier, disguising it as a mistake, did have a bit of personal greed mixed into it.
"Whew, hah, whew...."
Cha Eunju kept letting out embarrassed, ragged breaths, and with each one, my hand resting on her chest bobbed up and down along with her.
Every time her body moved, I could feel my fingers sinking a little deeper into the soft flesh beneath the fabric.
Even a thick hoodie and layers of underwear couldn't hide it — that unmistakable sensation wrapped around my hand like a giant lump of jelly.
-Squish.
"Nngh?!"
I had only clenched my palm the tiniest, tiniest bit. Just that, and Cha Eunju jolted in place, her whole body bouncing with a startled little hop.
Watching her reaction, it wasn't hard to figure out that 'right here' was her absolute limit.
If I pushed even one step further right now, she would probably accept it because she had no choice — but from tomorrow on, she wouldn't be able to hide the awkwardness and would start treating me stiffly and unnaturally.
I should be satisfied with going this far today.
Since I wanted to conquer Cha Eunju all the way down to the depths of her heart, I didn't want to advance any further than this.
If only to reward the courage of a girl who had honestly told me where her own limit lay.
"Haa, hoo, haa, hoo...."
"......."
So instead, I simply left my right hand where it was, resting gently on her chest, content to feel that soft contact shift a little each time she breathed.
Through the thick swell of her breasts, the heavy pounding of Cha Eunju's heart traveled straight into my palm.
I've lost my mind.
I've lost it lost it lost it.
Cha Eunju, you are INSANE!! Are you even in your right mind?!
"Haa, haa, haaaaah...!!"
Why did I do that?
Why on earth did I do that?
Sure, Seonho looked angry. Sure, I decided I had to somehow make it up to him.
But grabbing his arm in that moment and pulling it onto my chest — what was I even thinking when I did that?
What do I do, now he's going to think I'm a total pervert...
How was I supposed to know I'd actually go and pull his hand onto my own chest?
Thank goodness Seonho was enough of a gentleman to stop there. If he'd gone further and started squeezing and kneading me right then—
No, what if he hadn't stopped at all — what if he'd kept the hypnosis going and just dragged me off to some hotel like that?
If that had happened... my first experience might have ended in the most absurd way imaginable.
Thank god Seonho's a good person. Truly.
Because now that I'd done the insane thing of pulling his hand to my chest myself, even if he had done something worse, I could never have confessed that I was only pretending to be hypnotized.
Apologizing for groping on purpose — I mean, for 'accidentally' feeling someone up and then confessing it — was not something a sane person could actually do.
It was the kind of thing only possible if you were genuinely hypnotized, or at the very least, in a situation where you believed the other person was hypnotized.
And now that she was alone, Cha Eunju could only regret it, thinking, as expected — that really had been crazy.
"Uuuugh, aah... why, why did I have to say that to Seonho of all people..."
Why did I blurt out that I'd do anything he asked?
Now things felt even more awkward between us for no reason. Sure, after the 'hypnosis' ended, we'd talked as casually as we could manage before parting ways, but...
Strangely enough, my memory of afterward was hazier than my memory of being 'hypnotized.' Because desperately acting like nothing had happened was dozens of times harder than pretending to be under hypnosis.
Showing up late first thing in the morning, walking out with my hair a mess again, and on top of that creating a moment of humiliation I'd never forget for the rest of my life — what a catastrophic day.
"Haah... how am I supposed to look Seonho in the face tomorrow...?"
The one silver lining was that Seonho still believed I'd been genuinely 'hypnotized.'
After all, my performance as someone under his hypnosis had been flawless. As long as I acted normal, I might never get caught. Ever.
And besides, even after everything that happened, he hadn't done anything strange.
Seonho squeezing my butt once had just been a mistake that happened in the process of hugging.
His hand touching my chest was because I was the one who pulled his arm there first.
And even then, he hadn't suddenly clamped down hard or shoved his palm against me and rubbed it in blatantly. If anything, he'd frozen up, flustered that his hand had ended up on my chest at all.
...Maybe Seonho hadn't been thinking anything of the sort, and I was the one who got weird ideas in my head and did something weird.
"Uuuuuugh...!!"
Thinking that way only made my face burn hotter.
So in the end, I was the only one having dirty thoughts, wasn't I?
It was the same back when Seonho first said he'd 'hypnotize' me, and the same again today.
But what was I supposed to do when the word 'hypnosis' kept making me picture dirty comics? Honestly, the fault lay with Seonho for naming his Mental-type buff something like that in the first place.
"What do I do if he says he wants to do it again tomorrow...?"
...He wouldn't put his hand on my chest again, would he? If he asked for something like that, I'd have to refuse him properly.
But he'd already touched me once — wouldn't refusing out of nowhere be a little weird too...?
And anyway, Seonho thinks I'm hypnotized, so refusing would mean confessing that I've been 'faking the hypnosis' this whole time...
Which would amount to confessing that the 'insane thing' I did to him today was done completely sober, while I was in my right mind...
I don't know. My head hurts...
...One thing was certain, though: even so, she hadn't exactly hated what happened today.
Seonho calling her name and wrapping her up in a tight embrace. His hand drifting down without thinking and squeezing her butt. The way he'd laid his right hand over her racing heart and just quietly gazed at her.
None of it had been unpleasant.
...If anything, it had felt... kind of nice.
Seonho's a good person, so he won't do anything stranger than that... probably.
Resting a quiet hand on her chest — right up to that point... exactly that far was fine.
And with that thought, Cha Eunju caught herself, against her own will, looking forward to tomorrow.
"This is a text message being sent to prospective students who passed the first written examination for Cheonmu Hunter Academy. Please verify the date of the second practical examination and the location of your assigned testing site to avoid any confusion on the day of the exam..."
...Just as I expected.
The written exam had been a little tricky, so I'd had my doubts, but checking the message that had arrived overnight, it seemed I'd cleared the first stage without any trouble.
From this point on, I'd have a proper excuse to cuddle up with Cha Eunju out in the open at the Training Grounds. Until now, neither of us could be sure we'd actually make it in as incoming freshmen.
Not that I'd been worried — I knew Cha Eunju passed the written exam in the original story. But knowing her, she might have been quietly agonizing over the possibility that I might not pass.
Night owl that she was, Cha Eunju had apparently checked her messages while I slept and sent them over Cocoatalk.
Probably because it wasn't a face-to-face conversation, she was surprisingly lively on Cocoatalk — even using cute animal stickers that looked just like her.
I'd left her messages on read through no real intention of my own, but I sent my replies as soon as I checked them.
After sending a message that made clear I never doubted she'd passed, I got ready to head out.
Practical exam prep might be in full swing, but I couldn't skip the morning runs I'd kept up every single day — or my ongoing conquest of Choi Marie.
Besides, I was a little curious how Choi Marie would react to hearing I'd passed the first written exam.
The moment I stepped onto the running track, Choi Marie spotted me and came over with a smile playing at her lips.
"Hey, junior, you're looking awfully pleased with yourself this morning. Did the written exam results come out?"
"...How did you know?"
"How did I know? Your face is wearing 'I'm in a great mood' written all over it. You'd have to be an idiot not to notice."
Choi Marie looked at me with a triumphant grin, as if she'd seen straight through me.
I'd been deliberately letting my good mood show, hoping she'd ask about it, and thanks to that I got to start my morning looking at Choi Marie's smile — a pretty decent trade, all things considered.
"So? Results? Well, I could probably guess even without asking."
"I passed. Though I'm sure you'd already figured that out without me saying it."
"Hmm, figured as much. Would've been strange for a diligent kid like you to bomb a written exam."
Less diligent than driven by lust, but sure.
In Choi Marie's eyes, apparently, my showing up for morning and evening workouts for over a month painted me as a hardworking junior. We'd been on speaking terms for over two weeks now, and her attitude had grown noticeably friendlier.
Considering the pace at which the original protagonist had gotten close to Choi Marie, I was on the slow side — but given the difference in ability between him and me, that much was unavoidable.
"Well then, guess we'll have to ramp up the training starting today, huh? You've got a practical exam to prepare for."
"Already on it. I made a friend at the written exam, and it turns out we work surprisingly well together."
"Really? Genuinely diligent, aren't you, junior. Is your partner from the Support Department too?"
"How would two Support Department students take a practical exam together, senior? My friend's in the Magic Department."
"Ah, right, that makes more sense. Practical exams are always monster subjugation."
After all, being a hunter ultimately meant conquering dungeons and hunting monsters. By now it was common knowledge that a hunter's practical exam would involve a monster subjugation task.
Which meant that for the Combat Auxiliary Department, the real start of the practical exam was pairing up with capable students from other departments. The word 'auxiliary' was right there in the department's name — their combat capability lagged behind every other track.
As for me, I had Cha Eunju, so there was nothing to worry about. A girl already half-addicted to my buffs wasn't about to start teaming up with some other student at this point.
"Good luck on the practical. Once you get into the Academy, I'll buy you a meal."
"Can I mooch something expensive off you?"
"You're getting a cafeteria tray, so wake up from that dream."
Honestly, whether it was the cafeteria or anything else, I couldn't have cared less.
Because what I wanted to squeeze out of Choi Marie was never just a single meal in the first place.