Sleep Correction (1)
After reaching the door on the 16th floor via the emergency stairs, I reached for the handle to open it, but Min Serin grabbed my wrist.
“Sunghyun-ssi.”
“Ah, yes.”
Min Serin shook her head with a serious expression, quite different from the one she’d had moments ago. It was a warning not to open the door carelessly, as there might be a trap installed.
‘A professional really is different…’
Inside the room, the sounds of screaming and the clashing of blades echoed out. Min Serin tested the doorknob, pulled a device from her waist to scan the door, and then nodded as if to say it was safe to proceed.
“Then…”
I steeled my nerves for a brief second before pushing the door open.
Click.
Perhaps the loud noise from earlier had been an explosion; the lobby was filled with soot and smoke, with debris scattered everywhere. As the smoke cleared, a gruesome sight unfolded before my eyes.
“Ugh…”
A man was gasping for air, blood spraying from his mouth, his left arm severed. Judging by the combat gear he wore rather than a suit, he was undoubtedly a terrorist. Aside from him, four other men lay sprawled across the lobby.
Whether it was luck or misfortune, the Association Hunters were currently treating the man with the severed arm. The other four men showed no signs of movement; it seemed their lives had already been extinguished.
At the far end of the lobby, Lee Sunghyun was in a standoff with a man. The other Hunters were merely watching the confrontation unfold.
“Was it never here to begin with…?”
The man facing Lee Sunghyun—the apparent leader of the terrorist group—spoke through ragged breaths. The tactical suit he wore was shredded with knife marks, and blood was gushing out from between the tears. Given the cold sweat and the increasingly labored breathing, it seemed his life was nearing its end.
“Surrender peacefully.”
Lee Sunghyun said with a relaxed air, spinning the dagger in his hand.
Lee Sunghyun was drenched in blood, his entire body covered in gore, but the clothes he wore were pristine. The blood was not his own.
“It’s over, then…”
“Yes.”
By the time we arrived, the situation was already drawing to a close.
Lee Sunghyun sheathed his blade and spoke softly to the man.
“If you surrender, your life will…”
Just then, the terrorist cut Lee Sunghyun off, shouting at the top of his lungs.
“I’m asking you, was it never here to begin with! You son of a bitch!”
Lee Sunghyun laughed as if the question were absurd.
“Are you guys actually idiots…? You think we’d openly rent out a hotel and hide the target? That’s just advertising that it’s a trap.”
‘Is that how it was…?’
Things had felt off from the moment we arrived; it seemed the Chungnam Headquarters Chief was never in this hotel at all, and the whole thing was a trap to lure the terrorists in.
‘I was fooled too…’
Thud.
The terrorist let the sword in his hand fall limply to the floor.
“Right, good choice. If you cooperate, I’ll take responsibility for your life and—”
“Is that so… I was just a throwaway piece, then…”
The terrorist muttered, staring at the floor with a hollow expression, before looking up at Lee Sunghyun with a chilling smile.
Grind—
“What are you doing…!”
Lee Sunghyun lunged at the man, but it was already too late. The man began to foam at the mouth, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed, unconscious.
Lee Sunghyun checked the man’s condition, then stood up with a heavy sigh.
“They hid poison in their molars so they could commit suicide at any moment…”
The Hunters who had been providing first aid to the other terrorist frantically pried his mouth open to search, but no hidden poison was found. This meant that the crucial information died with the man who had just committed suicide, and interrogating the one with the severed arm would likely yield nothing.
I turned to look at Min Serin and saw her shivering, cold sweat dripping down her face. Perhaps the events of that day, a nightmare for her, were resurfacing; her hands trembled, she bit her lower lip hard, and her pupils began to shake.
“It’s okay… Let’s go down and report the situation.”
I gently took Min Serin’s arm and spoke.
“Yes…”
A shadow hung over Min Serin’s face.
‘This… her condition is going to deteriorate again.’
Though there had been a terrorist attack, the mission ended without me having to swing my blade even once.
‘Should I call this fortunate…?’
On the final day, I spent my time helping the Hunters clean up the mess on the 16th floor. After the cleanup, I had a meal with Lee Sunghyun, heard a bit about the mission, and returned to my room to rest. Min Serin stayed locked in her room and didn't come out.
“Yes, Hunter Yoon Sunghyun, your mission is complete.”
After finishing the final administrative procedures, I left the hotel.
“Wow…”
Having been trapped in a building for a week, the outside air felt incredibly refreshing.
‘I want to run straight home… but there’s something I have to do first.’
I needed to head to the Central Headquarters and have a deep, meaningful conversation with the officer who had screwed me over.
Just as I was about to text Yuna to tell her I’d be late, someone poked me in the back.
“Serin-ssi?”
Min Serin was looking at me with a dark expression.
“Um… Sunghyun-ssi…”
“Yes.”
“W-would you like to have a drink?”
“At this hour?”
It was broad daylight, with the sun high in the sky, and Min Serin was asking me to drink. Under normal circumstances, I would have refused, but seeing her dark expression, I worried she might make a poor decision.
Of course, it had nothing to do with me…
Whether I had grown fond of her or my heart was just soft, I couldn't bring myself to say no.
“Haa… fine, just one drink then…”
I accepted her offer, thinking I’d comfort her at a decent place and then head to headquarters.
Why am I here?
“S-Sunghyun-ssi, please, just sit there!”
I was sitting on a chair in a motel in the middle of the day. Min Serin was bustling about, setting up the table.
‘Wasn’t this supposed to be at a bar?’
When I accepted her offer in front of the hotel, Min Serin had said there was a place she had to stop by first and led me to a secluded alley. She told me to wait a moment and disappeared into the basement of a commercial building.
‘I had a bad feeling from that moment on…’
About five minutes later, she returned with plastic bags full of something in both hands. The sound of glass clinking inside told me exactly what was in the bags without even looking.
‘Is she an alcoholic…?’
Then, Min Serin hurriedly explained that since she couldn't bring Drops into a bar, she had no choice but to get a room. Expecting that today wouldn't be easy, I called Yuna and told her that my schedule was delayed and I’d likely be home tomorrow.
‘I can’t show up at headquarters drunk on Drops…’
“T-then, shall we have a drink?!”
Min Serin finished setting up and said, opening the cap of the Drops.
“Yes… but don’t drink until you black out like that day…”
“…”
Min Serin and I filled our glasses and clinked them together.
“Sooo… Sunghyun-ssii… are you listening to me?”
“Yes, I’m listening.”
Min Serin drank even faster than that day and was already drunk by herself. At some point, I had started just pretending to drink after clinking glasses, but she was too intoxicated to notice.
‘This might end sooner than I thought…’
Min Serin muttered with her head bowed, then looked up and spoke.
“Sunghyun-ssi, actually…”
“Yes?”
“I remember everything from that day…”
“Yes?”
As soon as I heard her words, cold sweat began to trickle down my back. Min Serin remembered that day. My mind went blank.
Hoping I was just jumping to conclusions, I feigned ignorance.
“What… exactly do you remember…?”
“That day… I remember everything we did…”
“Haa…”
Why do ominous premonitions always come true? And why did she have to bring that up?
‘We agreed to cover it up as a one-night mistake. And above all…’
“Serin-ssi, that… this might sound strange, but we didn’t actually do it that day.”
“Yes?”
“I mean, we did something, but how should I put it… we did something, but we didn’t go all the way?”
I tried to be as tactful as possible, but Min Serin’s response shattered my efforts.
“I knowoo… we just rubbed against each other that day…”
“Huh…”
They say that when people are pushed to the limit, they start to laugh. The memory of that day, which I had tried so hard to forget, began to resurface. I gave up on trying to understand the situation and just bowed my head, letting out a hollow laugh.
‘I should have just refused…’
Min Serin took a sip of her drink and grabbed my hand.
“S-Serin-ssi?”
Min Serin’s gaze was quite serious. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but couldn't, continuing to hesitate with a flushed face.
‘What is this? Is she confessing? No… she’s confessing because we did that while drunk?’
My heart began to pound, and sweat started to bead on my forehead. I wanted to break the window and jump out to escape this place right now.
“S-Serin-ssi… let me speak first…”
“I want to do that… one more time…”
“Yes? What did you say?”
Min Serin’s story was this: that day, after reaching a climax while rubbing against me and wetting my trousers, she had slept like a baby for the first time in months. She had been living on Drops since then, so she wondered if it wasn't the alcohol but the fact that someone had comforted her, but that wasn't it either.
So, the next day, she tried various things and eventually… masturbated, and while it wasn't as good as that day, she was able to sleep. Even on the day of the explosion and the day after, she stayed locked in her room masturbating all day, but she couldn't achieve the same pleasure or the deep sleep she had felt while riding and rubbing against me.
It wasn't just the pleasure; she said she couldn't stop thinking about the touch of a man and the atmosphere. So… Min Serin asked me with a desperate expression and polite tone.
“Can you do it like that day? It doesn’t have to be rubbing; using your hands would be fine too…”
“I… I’ll be back from the bathroom for a moment.”
I stood up and went to the bathroom. I turned on the faucet, splashed cold water on my face a few times, patted it dry, and then returned to my seat.
“Serin-ssi, could you say that again?”
“I’m clumsy at that kind of thing, so I’d like it if S-Sunghyun-ssi did it like that day…”
‘Fuck.’
I hadn't misheard.
‘No, in the first place, I didn’t do anything, you climbed on top of me, shook your hips by yourself, and fell asleep…’
Min Serin’s expression looked far too desperate.
“Haa…”
I let out a couple of sighs and spoke to Min Serin.
“Then… what can I do to help you…”
“Like that day, with that erotic atmosphere… you know…”
I wondered if I should take the lead, but the thought that the number of women I’d have to take responsibility for might increase kept me from speaking.
‘My family is already more than enough…’
Just then, Min Serin pulled a notebook from her bag, flipped through the pages, and spoke.
“What is that…?”
“Actually, I looked it up…”
“Yes.”
“H-how about we start with a kiss?!”
“…”
“For starters…!”
Min Serin stood me up, rinsed her mouth with water, and said:
“Then, kiss me!”
“…”
Min Serin opened her mouth wide and closed her eyes.
‘What is she doing?’
When I stood there in silence, Min Serin opened her eyes and said:
“Have you never kissed before, Sunghyun-ssi?”
“No, that’s not it… but what kind of kiss are you trying to do right now…”
“Ah… I looked it up, and adults kiss like this, by opening their mouths and mixing tongues…”
‘She learned how to kiss… from theory.’
“For starters, you can keep your mouth closed…”
“Then… how do I kiss…”
I let go of everything and began to explain slowly.
“I mean, you don’t start by opening your mouth and sticking your tongue out; you start by pressing your lips together…”
“Ah, yes!”
Min Serin closed her eyes again and pursed her lips.
‘Just how starved is she?’
Ironically, seeing Min Serin like this made the current situation feel almost wholesome.
‘She says she’s dying because she can’t sleep, so what can I do? Kissing without any feelings for each other is just…’
I told myself I was saving a person’s life and pressed my lips against Min Serin’s.