Heart and Body
After Liria agreed to process the magic crystals and scales, Siwoo managed the door with careful restraint for several days.
He opened it only briefly during quiet afternoons and locked it the moment customers began to increase.
Then, one afternoon, the door rattled.
He locked the glass entrance, stepped into the storage room, and opened the portal. Seraphin stood waiting on the other side.
Today she wore the characteristically revealing attire of otherworld dark elves—black leather and fabric that barely covered her body. Her shoulders, waist, and the lines of her thighs were bare, a dagger strapped at her hip.
Seraphin slowly looked Siwoo up and down, the corner of her mouth curling.
"You kept turning me down because of that silver-haired elf… Feeling better today?"
When Siwoo gave no answer, she took a step closer. The cool, distinctive scent of a dark elf drifted over him.
"I don't come at you loaded with feelings the way Liria does. I'm just… curious about you. What your hands feel like. Your body. What I'd feel like inside you."
Her fingers found his belt and traced it slowly. Feeling the reaction already stirring beneath, she laughed low in her throat.
"Going to refuse me? Again?"
Siwoo studied her face for a moment. Guilt toward Liria flickered through him, but this time he did not push the feeling away. He did not seize Seraphin's wrist. Instead he answered quietly.
"…I won't refuse you today."
Satisfaction narrowed her eyes. She caught his collar and pushed him lightly back against the wall.
"Smart choice."
Seraphin lowered his zipper, slipped her hand inside, and closed her fingers around him. Her touch was cool yet soft as she stroked him with deliberate care.
"I thought you only gave special treatment to the silver-haired elf… Looks like I qualify too."
She sank to her knees and took him between her lips. A dark elf's tongue proved more skilled and bold than he had expected—swallowing him deep, drawing back, focusing sharp stimulation on the head. When Siwoo's fingers tangled in her black hair, Seraphin looked up and smiled, saliva glistening at the corner of her mouth.
After a while she rose, peeling down her leather pants and underwear herself. Firm white thighs and already-slick flesh came into view. Turning her back to him, she settled over his length and slowly lowered her hips, taking him in.
"Haa… Just as I thought… It's big."
Unlike Liria, Seraphin moved with rough, instinctive hunger. She rocked her hips hard and fast, occasionally dropping deep enough to swallow him to the root. When Siwoo gripped her waist and thrust up from below, a thin moan slipped from her throat.
"Harder… Do it harder. I hate it weak."
He drove into her with greater force; her moans grew louder. The wet slap of skin and her low sounds filled the storage room. Seraphin glanced back over her shoulder, face lightly beaded with sweat and thick with lust.
"You don't do it like this… with the silver-haired elf, do you?"
Instead of answering, Siwoo tightened his hold on her waist and quickened the pace. She matched him, body trembling.
"Haaa…! Yes… Just like that…!"
As climax neared, Seraphin seized his hand and forced it onto her breast. When he twisted her nipple hard, her inner walls clenched violently around him. A low, broken moan tore from her as she came; the fierce squeeze dragged Siwoo over the edge with her, and he poured himself deep inside.
They stayed locked together for a moment, catching their breath. Seraphin slowly lifted herself free. Mixed fluids slid down her thighs. She straightened her clothes roughly and looked back at him.
"Not bad. Next time… I'll ride on top more."
She tossed a few gold coins onto a crate and headed for the door. Just before stepping through, she glanced over her shoulder, lips curling.
"Keep today a secret from Liria. I'm not looking for an emotional fight."
She vanished beyond the portal. Siwoo locked the door and leaned back against the wall. Guilt toward Liria washed over him again, yet the heat of moments before refused to fade. He exhaled a low sigh and muttered,
"It's getting… more complicated."
Outside the window, the afternoon of Gangnam's nightlife district drifted past.
The day after he and Seraphin had been together, Siwoo left the storage door open during a quiet afternoon. When it rattled, he locked the glass entrance and stepped inside. Opening the portal, he found Seraphin waiting once more.
Today her clothes were a little more restrained, yet the sharp air peculiar to dark elves remained unchanged. She looked at him and smiled with one corner of her mouth.
"I don't regret yesterday. You?"
Siwoo only shrugged. Seraphin walked in, perched on a stock crate, and regarded him.
"I didn't come to buy anything today. There's something I want to ask you."
"What?"
She pointed to her black hair and pointed ears.
"Do you know how regular elves like Liria differ from dark elves like me?"
Siwoo shook his head honestly.
"Not really. Ear shape, skin tone… that sort of thing?"
Seraphin gave a short laugh.
"That's how it looks on the surface. The roots are different."
She crossed her legs and continued.
"Regular elves are a race close to forests, light, and nature. Their magic leans toward recovery, protection, growth. Temperaments are generally gentle; they place great weight on emotion. Liria is the textbook case—values family and tradition, and once she gives her heart she falls deep."
Her hand rose to her own chest.
"Dark elves, on the other hand… are a race close to darkness and survival. We split from the regular elves long ago. Living underground and in shadow sharpened our natures; we treat being ruled by emotion as a weakness. Our magic developed toward attack, stealth, and curses. We don't hide desire. If we want something, we take it. We're more honest about possession and pleasure than about the feeling called love."
Siwoo asked,
"So that's why you treat me differently from the way Liria does."
Seraphin nodded.
"Exactly. Liria is pouring her feelings into you. I'm more curious about what your body is like—how you handle me. I have no interest in emotional warfare. Still…"
Her gaze traveled slowly over him, lips curling again.
"You accepted me yesterday. That much is fact. Don't hide it."
Siwoo was silent for a moment. Seraphin slid down from the crate and came close. From that short distance she spoke low.
"I don't want to make an enemy of Liria. I know the girl is gone on you. But I'll want you in my own way. If you hate that, refuse me now."
Siwoo met her eyes. Under the fluorescent light the dark elf's golden irises gleamed. He answered briefly.
"…I won't refuse you right now."
Satisfaction lit her smile. She drew his collar slowly toward her and whispered,
"Then next time do it properly. Yesterday we only mixed bodies. Next time… show me how you can play with me."
She did not press further. Leaving a few gold coins on the crate, she turned toward the door. Just before vanishing she looked back.
"Regular elves give their hearts. Dark elves give their desires. You've ended up receiving both. Think you can handle it?"
She disappeared beyond the portal. Siwoo locked the door, sat at the counter, and let out a long breath.
Regular elves and dark elves—two races as different as light and shadow—were both approaching him through the same door. He gazed out the window and murmured,
"It's going… deeper and deeper."
Could it end with just those two?
For several days Siwoo turned Seraphin's parting words over in his mind.
Regular elves give their hearts; dark elves give their desires. The knowledge that both were aimed at him grew steadily heavier.
A few days later, on another quiet afternoon, the storage door rattled. He locked the glass entrance and opened the portal. Liria stood there, a small leather bag in her hands. She held it out with a bright smile.
"Siwoo, I brought what I promised."
He opened the bag and examined the contents. The magic crystals had been purified to transparency and sealed in small glass vials; the dragon scales had been worked into thin, hard pieces that resembled metal alloy. The herbs had been reduced to a concentrate and poured into little brown bottles.
Liria explained,
"In this world the crystals will look like high-purity specialty minerals. The scales are treated to pass as rare metal alloy, and the herbal concentrate is bottled like ordinary medicine. This way no one should casually question their origin."
Siwoo closed the bag carefully.
"You went to a lot of trouble. Thank you—really."
She inclined her head slightly.
"I only hope it helps you. But…"
She hesitated, then lifted her eyes to his.
"Lately… I can smell dark elf on you, Siwoo."
His expression tightened a fraction. Liria showed no anger. Her face was only bitter and calm as she continued.
"It's Seraphin, isn't it? I know her nature. Dark elves are honest about desire. If she wants you, she won't hide it."
When Siwoo opened his mouth to answer, Liria raised a hand and stopped him.
"It's all right. I didn't come here to own you. Still… it does hurt a little."
Her fingers slowly caught his collar; her voice dropped to a near-whisper.
"Even so, you told me I was special. That word… is still true, isn't it?"
Siwoo looked into her eyes—the pointed ears half-hidden by silver hair, the faintly moist gaze. He answered low.
"It is."
Liria smiled, small and quiet. Relief and pain lived together in that smile. For a moment she buried her face against his chest.
"Then… I'll go for today. I hope you put that bag to good use."
She drew back and turned toward the door. Just before stepping through she looked over her shoulder.
"Siwoo. Dark elves give desire; I give my heart. You may receive both. Only… please don't treat my heart carelessly."
Liria vanished beyond the portal. Siwoo locked the door and looked down at the leather bag. The purified crystals, the worked scales, and her final words all remained heavy in the air. He sat at the counter and exhaled a long breath.
He now held rare otherworld materials in forms the modern world could use. Yet in equal measure the feelings between the two women had grown deeper and more tangled.
Afternoon sunlight from Gangnam's entertainment district slanted through the glass and lay across the bag.