35. My Buff is a Drug
35. My Buff is a Drug
May 23, 7:40 PM
Choi Hye-yong's Room
It was almost time to go work out.
Exercise was all about building the daily habit.
He didn't want to skip even that, so he let Geum Na-rin know ahead of time.
"Senior, I'm going to go exercise. Just hang out here for a bit. I'll be back in an hour."
"Exercise? You work out regularly?"
"Only started recently. I'm too scrawny, so I'm trying to raise my stamina stat and build some muscle."
"If that's what you want, I can train you! I'm actually pretty high-ranked among martial fighters."
Geum Na-rin was a martial fighter?
He'd assumed she was a psychic-type. That was a surprise.
'So she could just swing those adorable little fists and a mountain-sized raid monster goes GUH-HUH! and topples over?'
Curiosity got the better of him and he asked.
"You're a martial fighter, senior? You fight with your fists?"
Whoosh!
A flare of mana, almost like flame, ignited around Na-rin's right fist.
'Wow... I heard that's a hard technique to pull off.'
She was a second-year, after all.
She even knew how to manifest mana physically.
It was a technique Hye-yong had tried before and gotten absolutely nowhere with.
"I wear force knuckles, but I've got no problem fighting barehanded."
Force knuckles. Sounded pretty damn cool.
Made sense that martial fighters needed weapons like that instead of literally punching everything with bare fists.
"That's amazing. For someone so small..."
"Are you making fun of my height right now?"
Right.
This was the world of the Awakened.
Couldn't judge by appearances.
Hye-yong had only meant it as a compliment — amazing that someone so small was that strong — but to Geum Na-rin it might have just sounded like he was calling her short.
Having lived in a different world before made it hard for Hye-yong to fully adjust.
"I wasn't making fun. How could I ever make fun of you, senior?"
"I want to get taller too, but I just don't grow. I'm pretty sure the synchronization procedure had side effects that closed my growth plates. If I still look like this after graduation, it's going to be embarrassing calling myself an adult."
"Your body's still growing. And you're an Awakened, so you'll definitely get as tall as you want."
Even if you refined and supplemented your genes, was a naturally short stature just hard to overcome?
Well, Geum Na-rin probably had a few more years of growth left, so maybe that didn't apply yet.
"......."
Na-rin looked utterly deflated.
"Senior...? Is this because I said you were short? You're really not that small compared to your classmates."
She shook her head.
"That's not it. I was just thinking... I used to run raids every day and train hard too, before that... thing got me."
That was it.
It was no exaggeration to say her daily life had come to a complete stop because of the virus.
She kept running away, asking for time to prepare herself because she was scared, but Na-rin was bitterly aware of it too.
"As soon as we beat that aberration, you can get your old life back anytime! You want to go back, don't you, senior? To a life where you can stretch your legs out and sleep through the night."
"Yeah... I want to go back."
"I'm just waiting for you to get ready, senior."
"Alright... I was going to go with you, but... I'll stay here and think."
Na-rin forced a smile.
"Good thinking. I'll go work out, then."
"Okay. If you don't come back, I'll wait here until I starve to death, and then right when I can't possibly stay awake anymore, I'll just kill myself. So think carefully."
She said that with a smile on her face.
Had she always been like this?
'Probably not.'
The virus had partially destroyed Geum Na-rin's psyche and warped her personality.
"I can't just leave you to die, senior. I'll be back by 9:15."
With that, Hye-yong left the dorm room.
He returned at 9:11.
"I'm back."
"Y-yeah."
He opened the door and walked in casually to find Geum Na-rin with her hands behind her back.
Her expression looked like she was hiding something.
He doubted she'd answer if he asked, so he decided to just pretend he hadn't noticed.
'Has Geum Na-rin gotten ready?'
Hye-yong came out after showering, laid out his bedding, and watched Na-rin's expression carefully.
Since she didn't say anything on her own, it didn't seem like her mindset had changed dramatically.
'She asked for three days, so I'll give her three days.'
For now he decided to treat it like having a temporary roommate in his cramped room.
That night too, Na-rin held Hye-yong's hand tightly as she fell asleep.
May 26, 10:50 PM
Choi Hye-yong's Room
"...Senior."
Three days had passed.
Counting from when Na-rin had first made her request, it had already been four days.
In another hour and ten minutes, it would be five.
Lying beside Na-rin on the bed, Hye-yong carefully spoke while facing away.
"Hm?"
"Don't you think it's time to face the aberration? ...Too much time has gone by. The third semester's almost here."
"......."
Geum Na-rin silently pressed herself against his back.
Over these four days together, this level of physical contact had become routine.
The turning point had been two nights ago, when she'd asked him to hold her while she slept.
Separate from the virus, she'd had nightmares — she'd woken up in the middle of the night trembling and crying, and while he was soothing her, the request had slipped out.
He couldn't exactly get embarrassed in that situation, so he'd wrapped her in his arms, stroked her back until she fell asleep, and then drifted off himself.
Ever since then, whenever they slept, she'd press her body as close to his as possible, maximizing the contact area.
Every night, Hye-yong half-thought this was a real problem and half-felt his heart racing as he turned his back to her.
Just like right now.
"Hey..."
"Yeah."
"You have to get rid of the aberration, right? Because that's the secret society's job."
"You could see it that way."
Geum Na-rin was beating around the bush, unsure how to say what she wanted.
Her face was pressed against his back, and her arm reached around from behind to hug his stomach.
"Couldn't I just... live like this?"
"What."
His true feelings slipped right out of his mouth.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm fine like this. I like this life... if I could keep doing it."
She'd said she needed time to prepare herself, but her heart had apparently given in after all.
What should he say here?
"I'm... scared. I'm scared that if I meet that man again, everything will disappear all over again."
She clutched Hye-yong's collar tightly.
Like a one-year-old baby clinging to its mother.
"I'm already saved. You made it so I could run away from that man. I never want to go through that again. When I imagine failing and getting caught again, it feels like a giant hole opens up in my chest and all the blood pours out of my body."
Squeeze!
She hugged him even tighter.
Like she would never let go.
There was no longer even a paper-thin gap between Hye-yong's back and Na-rin's upper body.
"Hey... that thing you said about not being able to suppress it forever... that was a lie, right? You only said that because you have to destroy the aberration somehow? Let me stay like this... let me stay by your side... if I'm next to you, I don't have to go through that."
Unable to just listen anymore, Hye-yong spoke.
"Are you saying you want to live like that for the rest of your life?"
"I can't?"
"...You're not even going to ask what I think?"
Geum Na-rin went quiet. After a few deep breaths, she opened her mouth, her voice on the verge of tears.
"I'll do anything. Whatever you tell me to do."
He had to push her away.
"If you need money, I'll give it to you. I can feed you and support you for life without you ever having to do anything."
He knew that...
"If you don't like how I look, I'll change everything to suit your taste."
Her tearful voice was so desperate—
"I'll dye my hair, get surgery... whatever you say, I'll change it. I'll work every day to make sure I'm always exactly what you want. Okay?"
...He couldn't bring himself to be cold.
"And... this kind of thing too."
Rustle.
Geum Na-rin's left hand slid down below his stomach.
The moment he felt her hand reach that low, Hye-yong jolted.
Na-rin's chest wasn't that large, but when she pressed herself against him this blatantly, he was obviously going to notice.
Because of that, Geum Na-rin had caught him already half-hard.
"S-senior?"
"You are hard."
Then she slipped her hand right into his pants and began cautiously stroking him over his underwear.
Before he could even raise his hands to stop her.
"Senior, what are you suddenly—"
"I saw you... two days ago. In the shower. Touching yourself there. That was masturbation, right? This is what feels good, right?"
She'd even been watching him shower?!
Now that he thought back, the bathroom door had been slightly open.
At the time, he hadn't thought anything of it.
The idea that Na-rin would have any reason to peep on him showering hadn't even crossed his mind, so he'd just figured he hadn't closed the door properly.
Realizing that Geum Na-rin had watched the entire scene of him masturbating, his face went bright red with embarrassment.
"Ah... it's getting bigger. Completely hard now."
As she said that, Na-rin's hand moved to pull down his underwear.
But maybe she was still seeking consent, because she didn't pull them all the way off and instead whispered in his ear.
"Hey. Back then. When I was crying and asked you to hold me. You were hard then too, weren't you? It kept touching me, so I knew."
His body refused to stay still — he tried to pull away, but Na-rin's right arm, still wrapped around his stomach, wouldn't let him go.
Na-rin's physical strength far exceeded Hye-yong's, so if she used force to hold him down, he had no way to resist.
If he created a buff and cast it on himself, maybe he could shake her off, but right now his mind was in no state to think of that.
'Wha, what the...'
It wasn't his first time being touched by someone else.
But being held from behind like this, pinned by sheer force while being touched — even over his underwear — was so unfamiliar and intense.
It definitely felt good, but it also sent chills down his spine, a creepy, oppressive sensation.
Yet even that creepy, oppressive feeling seemed to twist itself into part of the pleasure and stimulate him further.
"It's because of me, right? You got hard because of me? Because of me... because I kept clinging to you and you couldn't do anything about it. So I'll take responsibility and take care of it for you..."
Rustle.
When he still didn't answer, she apparently decided anything was fair game now, and her hand pulled Hye-yong's underwear down.
'Shit, I can't let this happen!'
Seizing the moment, Hye-yong cast a strength buff on himself, barely managed to spring free, flipped their positions, grabbed Na-rin by both shoulders, and pinned her flat on her back.
"...!"
She clearly hadn't expected that — Na-rin looked up at Hye-yong straddling her, eyes wide with surprise.
Then, like a heroine who'd been caught by the villain and resigned herself to everything, she turned her face slightly to the side and spoke.
"You can do whatever you want..."
Looking at her, he found himself grinding his teeth.
Honestly? He was turned on as hell.
He wanted to press his lips against those charming little lips right now, wrap his arms tight around that slim waist, and unleash every last bit of his burning lust.
But he knew he couldn't do that.
This was a kind of deal Na-rin was offering.
If he went all the way here, he'd be silently agreeing to her proposal — running away and living like this forever.
He couldn't do that.
For his own sake, and for hers.
Hye-yong reached out, took Na-rin's chin, turned her face back toward him, and met her eyes.
Then, in a calm voice, he spoke clearly and deliberately.
"Senior. Do you think I pulled you out of there to get rid of the aberration?"
"...No?"
"It's the other way around. I'm trying to get rid of the aberration to save you!"
"I'm already saved. Even like this..."
"You're not saved!"
His emotions had flared up from suppressing his lust, and he'd accidentally dropped the formal speech.
Since the water was already spilled, he decided to pour another cup.
"That thing I said about not being able to suppress it forever — that wasn't a lie. It's not just that I have to eliminate it because it's an aberration. I have to destroy it because it's tormenting you!"
Na-rin's eyes went wide.
"Because I don't want you to get devoured by that thing."
She stared at Hye-yong's face for a long moment, her lips slightly parted in surprise.
Then she blushed and turned her head aside.
"Y-yeah..."
Hye-yong spoke to Na-rin again, his voice steady, even as she avoided his gaze.
"...Senior. Nothing changes if all you do is run away."
"You're right. You're right..."
Her body trembled with fear.
She even squeezed her eyes shut, like holding on was too hard.
"Fine!"
But when she opened her eyes again with that short cry—
Her face was set with firm resolve.
"I'm not running anymore. I'm going to fight that bastard head-on!"
"That's the right call, senior!"
"I've made up my mind, so let's go right now. If we don't, I feel like I never will!"
"Ah, let me change clothes first. They got damp because of you, and it's bothering me."
"......."
Hye-yong hadn't wanted to break the mood either, but some things had to be said.