Chapter 177: Ecstasy
Chapter 177: Ecstasy
“Do you… dislike me?”
“…”
A short question, but one filled with countless meanings. I couldn’t bring myself to answer, feeling that the slightest misstep would derail everything. I had already made a mistake. The water was spilled—no, it was still spilling.
My head, my reason, was telling me to stop. And to hurry up and hold her. But a strange, unfamiliar emotion blooming in a corner of my heart held me back.
Perhaps seeing my hesitation, a bitter look flashed across Ko Yeonju’s face. And before I could say anything, she was the one who took a step back, her voice filled with hurt.
“I’m sorry.”
“User Ko Yeonju…”
“I wanted to be held by you—the User, no, the man. Watching you with her last night solidified that thought. I was just… envious.”
“…”
“But I think I was being too selfish. I must have been mistaken all this time. Yes. You must dislike me. A woman who seems as easy as me… you wouldn’t like someone like that. Yes. I understand.”
After she finished speaking, Ko Yeonju held up the Glory of the Sun with both hands. It seemed she intended to give it back to me. And in the moment she tried to hand it back, I felt that this was the end. The last chance to salvage my relationship with Ko Yeonju. So, I shouted reflexively.
“That’s not it.”
At that single, squeezed-out phrase, I saw Ko Yeonju’s hand, which had been moving toward me, freeze in place. Seeing that, I was barely able to let out a sigh of relief. The sound of my breath escaped as if a dam had burst, and Ko Yeonju stared at me with quiet eyes. She waited for my breathing to calm before finally speaking in a low voice.
“Then…?”
The relationship that had been hurtling toward an end came to a temporary halt. I had managed to catch the tipping bottle, saving at least a little of the water inside. Ko Yeonju’s words still held a sliver of hope. I wet my dry lips with my tongue and thought. The conclusion I reached was to simply be honest about my current feelings. I decided to set aside the Year 10 User Kim Soohyun for a moment and speak to her from the perspective of the Kim Soohyun who had just entered his second playthrough. I decided to face head-on this unfamiliar emotion that had been churning inside my chest, the one I had been pretending not to notice.
And only then did I feel a simple stream of courage welling up from within. I didn’t want to have regrets. Even if I ended up regretting it, I wanted to say everything I needed to say. It felt like the only way to avoid being tormented by the suffocating feeling that filled my chest. As I felt my breathing return to normal, I was able to speak in a calm voice.
“I have feelings for you, too. What I said before, about almost falling for you, wasn’t a lie. To me, Ko Yeonju, you are that charming of a User, a person, a woman.”
“Lies. Then why did you reject me?”
“It’s not a lie. It’s just…”
“Just?”
I paused, closing my mouth for a moment. Ko Yeonju’s eyes were quiet as before, but now they held an unreadable, desperate gaze. For her, who was waiting for an answer, I opened my mouth again to continue. From the perspective of the Year 0 User Kim Soohyun.
“The moment I was about to hold you, I thought of Hayeon.”
“User Jung Hayeon…?”
“Yes.”
“Are you in love with her?”
“I don’t know.”
Ko Yeonju asked quickly, and I answered just as quickly. Watching her expression become tinged with a subtle complexity, I raised my right hand and placed it over my heart. Feeling the fierce pounding of my heart against my palm, I continued.
“I don’t really know what this feeling is. It’s just that sometimes when I think of her, my heart pounds and a corner of my chest feels warm. I don’t know what love is, so I can’t be sure if this is it. But the moment I tried to hold you, this feeling grabbed me by the scruff of my neck. I still want to hold you now. But I’m afraid. Afraid that if I get swept up in a moment of desire, I’ll end up deeply hurting both of you…”
Seeing Ko Yeonju’s eyes widen, I felt my face flush. I was speaking from the perspective of a Year 0 User, but the experiences of a Year 10 User still remained. Because of that, I could understand and sympathize with how meaningless my words must have sounded to her. But my heart felt lighter.
In that moment.
“Heh.”
I heard Ko Yeonju let out a small laugh. I had expected it, but the embarrassment washed over me even more intensely. She was trying her best to stifle her laughter, but I could still hear it leaking out intermittently. But I wasn’t worried anymore. Because I could see Ko Yeonju, who had dropped the Glory of the Sun on the floor and was covering her mouth as she laughed.
“So that wasn’t what I was mistaken about, it was this. Goodness. I really misread the situation.”
After she finished laughing, she let out a deep sigh and approached me with unhesitating steps. The hurt on her face was fading, replaced by an unreadable sense of relief. Seeing her face, no longer with a bitter smile but a languid, gentle one, I felt myself calm down a little. Finally, she reached out with both hands and cupped my face. The soft, warm touch of her hands made my eyes instinctively half-close.
And Ko Yeonju, caressing my face as if cradling it, continued to speak.
“Come to think of it, you’re a Year 0 User, aren’t you? Not even six months in.”
When I gave a slight nod of affirmation, her touch seemed to grow even more intimate. It was as if she were handling something precious, careful not to let it break.
“Your actions so far haven’t been like a Year 0 User’s, so I was mistaken without realizing it. Hoho. Well, since you’re a 0-year, it makes sense you’d think that way. No, that’s normal. Now Kim Soohyun finally seems human. You even have a cute, younger side to you. My, my. To think that’s what was on your mind.”
“…”
“You said you have feelings for me too, right?”
“Yes.”
It was an undeniable fact. Ever since I saw her in the first playthrough, I never had any bad feelings toward her. And after coming to the second playthrough and spending time with her, it seemed those feelings had developed into affection. As if confirming the sincerity of my answer, Ko Yeonju smiled shyly and continued.
“Me too. When I look at you, I feel forgotten emotions stirring back to life. My heart wavers, and I find myself wanting to lean on you. Call it intuition if you want. There’s something definite, something unknowable about you.”
The moment I heard her words, I realized my mistake. Until now, I had thought of her as the same kind of User as me: a Year 5 User who held the Secret Class Shadow Queen. I had never imagined that someone others always leaned on might want someone to lean on herself.
“I think I have a rough idea of why you’re hesitating, Kim Soohyun. But we have feelings for each other, don’t we? We want each other. In the Hall Plain, it’s not a huge fault to act as those feelings guide you. Didn’t she ever tell you that?”
“It’s not that Hayeon said it, but… we have talked about something related to that.”
I suddenly felt pathetic. Back then, I’d asked her to trust me with a confident voice, as if I were someone great, but here I was, hesitating.
“If she’s a Year 2 User, she should know that much. Of course, she might be hurt, but she’ll have no choice but to understand. This is the Hall Plain, not the modern world, and you’re a capable man. Don’t look away. Look at me.”
At her words, I had no choice but to fix my gaze, which I had been trying to avert. Ko Yeonju used the hands cupping my face to gently lift my chin, continuing in a soft voice.
“You don’t need to feel guilty. The one who falls first is always at a disadvantage, you know. Hoho. Anyway, out of respect for your feelings, I want to leave the choice to you. But I hope you’ll understand this one thing.”
“Yes.”
“That just as much as her, I, too, want to be in User Kim Soohyun’s arms.”
With that, Ko Yeonju let go of my face, walked over to the bed, and sat on the edge. Then, with a light pat, she tapped the spot next to her.
And the moment I saw that gesture, I decided not to hesitate any longer.
As I followed her gesture and sat down beside her, she gave me a gentle-looking smile. Ko Yeonju had led me this far; now it was my turn to respond. I didn’t want to show any more of that ambiguous hesitation. So, this time, I took the lead. At my touch, Ko Yeonju obediently moved to the edge of the bed.
I also moved in front of her and placed my hands on her shoulders. From there, I slid my hands deeper, over her shoulders, and wrapped them around her back, pulling her toward me. Before, Ko Yeonju had tried to embrace me, and I had rejected her. I explained myself later, but she must have been very hurt in that moment. Now, I wanted to be the one to embrace her first, to soothe her wounded heart.
The moment I finally held Ko Yeonju in my arms, I realized her body was more slender than I’d thought. Of course, that was natural for a woman, but I was reminded once again that just because she was the Shadow Queen, it didn’t mean she had to be a pillar of support for everyone. Savoring the warmth radiating from her body, I lowered my head slightly. My target was the spot just below her ear.
“Hoo.”
I blew a sudden breath of air there, and Ko Yeonju’s body trembled faintly. She looked up at me with a startled expression, but soon she shot me a playful glare and pulled away from my embrace. Then, as if getting her revenge, she pulled me into her own embrace. There was considerable strength in her pull, and as the distance between us closed, I fell right onto the bed.
Creak.
The bed bounced once. And just like that, with her upper body leaning over me, my face was buried in her chest.
In that moment, I felt incredibly comfortable. There was no particular reason for it. It was just that the infinite softness pressing against my face made me want to close my eyes and drift off to sleep. But falling asleep right now would be the height of rudeness. To wake myself up, I gently rubbed my face against her. Through the thin layer of her clothes, a melting softness brushed against my cheek. I’d had a few experiences before, and Ko Yeonju’s breasts were definitely on the fuller side.
At my action, which was like a child asking to be coddled, I heard a soft laugh from above. And then, she began to gently stroke my head. For a while, I was intoxicated by her touch.
She was slender, but not rail-thin. Ko Yeonju had a soft body with just the right amount of flesh, making her pleasing to the eye. After a moment, she withdrew her hand and slightly loosened the front of her top, revealing a glimpse of her flushed breasts, free of any underwear. When I buried my face there again, the resilient texture directly against my skin made a hot breath escape my lips.
“My, my. You like my chest so much. It makes you seem just like a child.”
“Just a moment…”
“Hoho. What am I to do? You’re so cute.”
Hearing Ko Yeonju’s languid laughter, I felt a pleasant drowsiness wash over me. Had she sprayed something nice? A sweet scent stimulated my sense of smell. The female scent, openly tempting a man, heightened my arousal.
The two of us sat up again. Because if we stayed like that, I felt I really would fall asleep. But the moment we separated, the empty air that rushed in to fill the space made us immediately pull each other into a tight embrace. Feeling her pressed firmly against me, I lowered my head slightly and saw her breasts, revealed by her loosened top, swell up as they were crushed against my chest. The breathtaking pressure from them made me aware of the angry signal coming from the man below.
Hayeon’s face flashed through my mind again, but this time, it vanished in an instant. It was because she, as if not allowing me to think of anything else, had lifted her outer garment to reveal a glimpse of her thigh. Seeing her full breasts, slender waist, and healthy, moderately fleshy thighs made my already soaring lust begin to boil over. Her body possessed a fatal magic, enough to bewitch a man’s mind and ignite his desire.
But I forced those desires down. I wanted to rip her clothes off right now, pounce on her, and see her come undone in a beautiful mess. But rather than panting like an animal, I wanted to take the time to connect with her and confirm our feelings for each other, at least as I had with Hayeon.
So, I gently stroked her long hair from top to bottom. The strands of her hair rustled softly in my hand, gathering into a single bunch before settling neatly in place. Seeing a strange light flash in her eyes, I turned my gaze elsewhere.
Above her pert breasts, her protruding collarbones, and above them, her alluring nape, stole my attention. As if possessed, I brought my lips to her neck. And the moment my lips touched her skin, I rolled my tongue and simultaneously inhaled, sucking gently. My lips, which had been tracing her neck, soon moved down to her collarbones and reached the deep valley of her cleavage below.
I reached out and took hold of her top, and she raised her arms to make it easier for me to remove. The moment I had completely removed her top, her naked upper body finally came into view. I could see two beautifully raised, reddish mounds that looked like they would be more than a handful. And in the center of each, a prominent point stood erect, asserting its presence.
As I carefully reached out my hands, she leaned toward me slightly, responding in a way that made her easier to touch. And soon, her soft, yielding breasts filled both my hands. At the same time, feeling the protruding points of her breasts press into my palms, I trembled with a light ecstasy.
“Hehe.”
As I continued to caress her for a while, I heard her laugh. I lifted my head and looked up at her face. A slender face, thin eyebrows, sensual eyes, and small, pretty lips. She wore a faint smile. As if telling me to do as I pleased, Ko Yeonju enveloped me with an endlessly affectionate gaze and touch.
Gaining confidence from her gaze, I slowly brought my lips toward one of the luscious peaks. The moment my mouth was full of her breast, I rolled my tongue over the hardened tip and took a deep breath. A lewd, sucking sound followed, and at the same time, I felt her embrace tighten, pulling my head closer.