The Appearance of a New Woman
Seraphin's desire was of an entirely different nature from Liria's.
When Liria looked at Siwoo, her eyes held excitement and affection, along with the quiet anxiety that this relationship might one day break apart.
Seraphin's gaze, by contrast, carried almost none of that emotional shadow. When she looked at him, the first things that rose in her mind were possession and confirmation—how this man's hands would handle her body, how he would move inside her, what expression he would wear when he finally came undone.
Seraphin wanted to verify every one of those things for herself. As a dark elf, she had never been taught to hide her desires. She believed that revealing them was the more honest path. So whenever she stood before Siwoo she was blatant—catching his collar, brushing his belt, freely wrapping her hand around the part of him that had already begun to respond.
"I'm not curious about your heart," Seraphin told him. "I'm curious about how your body takes me. How you break me. How I tighten around you."
When she shoved him back against the wall, her touch held hunger rather than affection. Whether she was swallowing him with her mouth or rolling her hips to take him deep, her purpose remained clear: to drive her own pleasure as high as it would go, and to watch the exact moment Siwoo lost control because of her.
As climax drew near she deliberately fixed her eyes on his face. When his brows knotted, when his breath turned ragged, when his hips began to tremble, she smiled with pure satisfaction.
"Yes… that expression."
To Seraphin, Siwoo was not a man she wanted to love. He was a man she wanted to play with, a man who could fill her desires, a man she sometimes wished would handle her roughly. She made no attempt to monopolize his heart the way Liria did. Instead she wanted a clear claim on a portion of his time and a portion of his body.
"You can give your feelings to Liria," she would say before she left. "But the moment your body wants me… don't run."
Her desire was not warm. It was hot, sharp, and honest—and that honesty kept pulling Siwoo back to her.
Meanwhile Siwoo spent several careful days converting the goods Liria had refined for him. The purified crystals became specialty minerals; the worked scales became small lots of rare metal scrap. He never moved large sums at once, spreading the exchanges across multiple channels, and the cash under his bed steadily climbed past three hundred million won.
It was still nowhere near enough for the 5.8-billion-won building, but it had reached the point where he could at least start thinking about a down payment. With the weekend meeting with the owner already set, Siwoo decided to give himself a little more breathing room.
One night, as he was preparing to close, he sensed someone outside the glass door. He opened it to find a woman he had never seen before. She looked to be in her late twenties or early thirties, wearing a short black dress under a cardigan. Her makeup was on the heavy side, yet her face was clean and her eyes were sharp and open.
She looked him up and down once and smiled.
"You're the manager, right? Of this convenience store."
When Siwoo nodded she stepped up to the counter and rested her elbows on it.
"I work in this alley. For now, just call me Yuna."
She bought a pack of cigarettes and kept talking as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Word around the alley is that the new convenience-store manager is surprisingly decent. Looks good, and somehow… he seems like he has room to spare."
Siwoo rang her up and answered briefly.
"I'm just a guy running a shop."
Yuna handed over her card and the corner of her mouth lifted.
"A guy running a shop alone at midnight—doesn't it get boring sometimes? When my place closes… I might drop by here now and then."
Siwoo simply gave her the receipt. Yuna smiled as if mildly disappointed, then toyed with the cigarette pack and added,
"I'm not in a hurry. But if the manager's interested… I'll show my face again."
She pushed the glass door open and glanced back once. The hem of her short dress fluttered in the night wind. Siwoo watched until she disappeared completely.
A woman who worked the Gangnam nightlife district. Sera had carried a similar scent, yet Yuna felt different—more seasoned, more calculating behind the eyes.
Siwoo sat behind the counter and let out a long breath. In the otherworld he had Liria and Seraphin; in reality, after Sera, another woman was already approaching. And both his bank balance and the cash under the bed were growing, slowly but surely.
He pulled out his phone and double-checked the weekend appointment with the building owner. 5.8 billion. Still distant, yet the number no longer felt entirely fantastical. Beyond the glass, the Gangnam night glittered deep and bright.
Weekend arrived. Siwoo closed the store early in the afternoon and headed to the café where he had agreed to meet the owner. It was a quiet coffee shop in the heart of Gangnam. The owner, a man in his mid-fifties, was already seated with a cup in front of him.
Siwoo greeted him and sat down. The owner went straight to business.
"Price is still 5.8 billion, same as last time. Ten percent down, middle payments split, balance with a loan—we can structure it that way."
Siwoo asked, "How much of a loan do you think is realistic?"
The owner shrugged. "Depends on your credit and income, but if the convenience-store sales look solid the bank might cover more than half. The rest is on you."
Siwoo nodded. He currently had a little over three hundred million in cash. The down payment alone was five hundred eighty million. Still short, yet if he kept converting gold coins and refined otherworld goods it was no longer an impossible figure.
They talked through rough timelines and conditions, then parted. At the door the owner added,
"Once you've made up your mind, call me quick. Other people are starting to show interest."
Siwoo left the café and walked slowly back toward the store. 5.8 billion kept circling inside his head.
That evening Yuna appeared again. This time she wore only the dress, no cardigan. The short hemline showed the clean line of her thighs with every step. She came up to the counter smiling.
"Manager, you're open on the weekend too? Hard worker."
Siwoo rang up her cigarettes. Yuna handed over her card and lowered her voice.
"Our place finished early today. After you close… want to go somewhere for a drink?"
Siwoo studied her face for a moment. Her eyes were similar to Sera's and yet different—more direct, more practiced. He answered shortly.
"I'm pretty tired tonight."
Yuna looked disappointed but did not retreat at once.
"All right. Then I'll keep dropping by until the manager changes his mind."
She took the cigarettes, turned, and glanced back once more. Siwoo watched her silhouette through the glass and sighed. In reality there was Sera and now Yuna; in the otherworld, Liria and Seraphin. Four women were pulling at him in their own ways, and above them all sat the heavy goal of buying the building.
He sat at the counter and recalculated the cash he had gathered. Three hundred twenty million. Still a long way from the down payment, but as long as the door kept working the money would keep growing. He looked out the window and murmured,
"Slowly… but surely."
The weekend night of the Gangnam pleasure district deepened under the neon.
All weekend Siwoo kept turning the building purchase over in his mind. Down payment: five hundred eighty million. What he had now was not enough, yet if he steadily converted gold coins and refined otherworld goods he felt he could reach it within a few months.
Monday evening. He was preparing to close when the familiar click of high heels sounded outside the glass. He looked up and saw Sera. It had been quite a while. She wore a short black dress under a leather jacket, and her hair looked freshly done.
She pushed the door open with a smile.
"Manager, it's been forever, right? I almost forgot your face."
Siwoo gave a small smile. "You looked busy lately."
Sera leaned her elbows on the counter and brought her upper body forward. A light trace of perfume drifted over.
"Busy as hell. But I still made time on purpose. Not seeing the manager for so long… I started missing you a little."
She tapped the back of his hand with a fingertip and dropped her voice.
"After you close tonight… want to go somewhere with me? The shop's fine, your place is fine. Or we can just drive around."
Siwoo looked at her face. It felt different from when Yuna had made a similar offer recently. Sera had already shared his bed once; she had even come up to his apartment. He let out a short breath and answered,
"…Let's talk after I lock up."
Sera's eyes brightened. She bought a cigarette with a satisfied smile.
"I'll wait. I'll be watching you lock the door."
She sat on the plastic chair outside and smoked while Siwoo finished restocking, mopped the floor, and checked the warehouse door one last time. The door hidden behind the shelves remained locked and silent. He bolted the glass entrance and stepped out. Sera crushed her cigarette and stood.
"Finally. It's been ages since we walked out into the night together."
They left the alley side by side. Sera casually linked her arm through his.
"Your face looks a little freer these days, Manager. Something good happen?"
Siwoo shrugged. "Business picked up a bit, that's all."
She hugged his arm tighter and laughed. "Then tonight's on me. I should get some credit while the manager still has room to spare."
Siwoo felt the warmth of her pressed against his side and walked on in silence. Liria, Seraphin, Yuna, and now Sera again—threads of connection from both reality and the otherworld kept circling him. And beneath them all sat the solid weight of 5.8 billion.
Sera led the way, still holding his arm.
"I won't rush tonight. I just want to talk with you slowly… and stay."
Their shadows stretched long under the neon of the Gangnam night district.
They entered a quiet wine bar Sera knew—right in the middle of Gangnam, yet tucked deep enough into an alley that voices did not carry. The lighting was low, the tables generously spaced. Sera slipped off her jacket and hung it on the chair. The line of her shoulders and the soft curve below her collarbone came into view.
When the wine arrived she lifted her glass toward him.
"Sitting down properly with the manager like this—it's really been a long time."
The glasses touched. Sera took a sip and looked at him. The gaze was calmer, more honest than the blatant invitation she usually wore in the store.
"You know… it's been a while since we slept together, but for some reason I keep thinking about you."
Siwoo drank and asked, "All of a sudden?"
She tilted her head slightly. "Not all of a sudden. At first I just liked your face and the way our bodies fit, so I came on to you. Lately, though… when I'm with you my mind settles. With other guys, once the sex is over I want to wrap things up fast. With you it's the opposite."
She turned the glass slowly. "That's why I made time today on purpose. I didn't want to drag you straight to a hotel."
Siwoo studied her face—the long hair that leaned toward violet, the faintly tipsy eyes, the voice that carried real feeling. Sera did not order more wine. Instead she slowly covered his hand on the table.
"Can we go to your place? Tonight I really want to take it slow."
Siwoo looked down at her hand for a moment, then nodded.
"Let's go."
They left the bar and headed to his one-room apartment. Up the narrow stairs, through the door. Sera moved as if she already knew the place, peeling off her cardigan and laying it on the chair. Siwoo poured water; she drank, then stepped straight up to him. The distance closed. She caught his collar and drew him in slowly.
"Manager… tonight I really wanted to be with you. Body and heart both."
She pressed her lips to his—soft at first, then deep. Tongues tangled; breath quickened. Her hands slid to his waist; his hands found the small of her back. As the kiss lengthened she eased him toward the bed. When they sat on the edge she whispered against his ear,
"Different from the store… take me slow tonight."
She lifted his T-shirt and pulled it off, then reached back and lowered the zipper of her own dress. The fabric slipped from her shoulders, revealing black lingerie. She took his hand and set it on her waist.
"Put your hands on me."
When Siwoo's palms closed around her she drew in a thin breath. They toppled onto the mattress. Sera pressed her mouth to his throat and kissed him slowly. He unhooked her bra; her breasts spilled free. He cupped them, thumbs brushing the nipples, and her hips gave a small shiver.
"Haa… your hands are warm…"
He took a nipple into his mouth and worked it with his tongue; her fingers tangled in his hair. She pushed the dress and panties the rest of the way off, baring a pale, firm body. Then she freed him from his pants and wrapped her hand around the already hard length, stroking him slowly while bringing her lips to his ear.
"Yours feels even better tonight. I want to take it inside you—right here in your arms."
Sera climbed on top of him. She rubbed the head against her entrance and lowered herself inch by inch. Both of them breathed deeper. When she had taken him completely she braced her hands on his chest and gave a thin cry.
"Haaa… it's all the way in…"
She began to move—up and down, then in soft circles. Siwoo gripped her waist and met her rhythm; her breasts swayed. She caught his hands, pressed them to her chest, and locked eyes with him.
"Manager… I like you. Your body, and you as a person…"
He sat up and claimed her mouth again, kissing her deeply while thrusting up from below. Her inner walls clenched; a moan slipped between their lips. They held each other and quickened. The bed rocked; the wet sound of skin meeting skin filled the small room. Sera's nails lightly scored his back as her body began to tremble.
"Manager… I'm going to come…"
He locked her hips and drove in deep. Her whole body convulsed around the climax; the fierce contractions pulled him over with her. They clung to each other, breathing hard. Sera buried her face against his neck and gave a small laugh.
"Haa… doing it at your place… somehow it feels even better."
Siwoo stroked her back. She rested her ear against his chest, listening to his heartbeat, and whispered,
"I want to be with you like this. Not just at the store—times like this too."
Instead of answering he pressed a kiss into her hair. In the one-room apartment where neon light filtered through the curtains, the two of them stayed wrapped around each other for a long while.