Chapter 17
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Erection
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Geumbi noona's body grew feverishly hot.
Humans are homeothermic animals, so our body temperatures should stay constant, and since we'd been embracing for so long, they ought to have equalized by now.
Yet for some reason, noona's body kept getting hotter and hotter... It wasn't hard to guess why.
"Jigu."
"Yeah, noona."
"...No, it's nothing."
"...Okay."
Geumbi noona softly called my name in that small voice, then swallowed her words as if she'd never said anything.
How many times did she repeat that? By now, the thumping of our hearts drowned out even the ticking of the clock.
And still, nothing changed in the situation enveloping us.
'Noona's body... shows no sign of cooling down. At this rate, she's gonna melt away.'
Was it because we'd been holding each other too long in the pitch-black living room?
My mind grew hazy, and all sorts of wild thoughts flooded in.
What if time just stopped like this?
What if our bodies stiffened up in this embrace and went numb?
What if we missed the right moment to pull apart and ended up like this until morning?
Ridiculously, in every one of those imaginings, Geumbi noona and I never let go of each other.
Just like the relentless pounding of our hearts, refusing to settle.
Just like my lower half, showing no signs of calming down.
'No, snap out of it. Stay calm, get this thing under control first... Ugh.'
The cause of Geumbi noona turning to stone.
The culprit that had silenced us both—I tried to subdue it.
But if it were that easy, it wouldn't be called instinct.
The clearer my mind got, the sharper my senses became, and the more the sensations and heat transmitted between us made my groin assert itself even harder.
'Not now, this isn't the time. Please, ugh...'
I squeezed my eyes shut and bit my lip tight.
Absolutely never—not even once—had I harbored filthy fantasies about Geumbi noona, so why wouldn't this damn thing listen to its master?
"...Jigu."
"Ugh, noona."
"Your body's shaking so much."
"Ah, sorry."
"And down there... it's shaking a lot too."
"Eek...! S-sorry..."
In the end, I lost my chance to make excuses, unable to dodge Geumbi noona's follow-up interrogation.
Geumbi noona, having waited so patiently, now peeled herself away from me slowly, as if there was no rush anymore.
Her eyes, gripping my shoulders and staring straight at me, carried a fierce determination—not too late, but not about to let this slide easily.
"I've waited pretty damn long for this, haven't I?"
"Ugh, yeah, noona."
"So this isn't some accident, or mistake, or misunderstanding, right?"
"Ugh... noona."
"Then you're admitting you're erect enough for me to notice right in front of me, yeah?"
"Y-yeah... that's right, noona."
Each word she pointed out pierced my heart.
Now that I'd admitted it myself, the situation was crystal clear. Geumbi noona glanced down just a bit and let out a soft "eek."
"That thing down there... it's been standing at attention for a good long while."
"Well... given the situation."
"You mean it's bigger because it's me in front of you?"
"N-no, not like that. I just mean... it's hard to calm down right away... all things considered."
"Ah, ugh. Yeah, I get it."
I denied it, but not cleanly.
It wasn't because it was noona that it got bigger, but it did grow while holding her... Neither was a good excuse.
In fact, Geumbi noona pulled her hands off my shoulders the moment she heard me.
I slipped my hands off her body too, leaving just a tiny gap between us, close enough to feel each other's breath.
"......"
"......"
Breathing was easy enough, but it felt suffocating—an ironic scene.
Unlike my expectation of immediate scolding now that the facts were confirmed, Geumbi noona stayed silent for a while, lost in thought.
'Is she pondering how to punish me? Or... planning some specific penalty?'
Whatever it was, I steeled myself to accept it.
Geumbi noona had warned me about stuff like this before, and lately Sujeong noona had said something similar. In the end, I'd given in to desire.
'Can't say it was unavoidable because I'm a guy. Even accounting for that, I brought this on myself thinking nothing would happen.'
Should've just boasted about it proudly.
I wanted to sew up my past mouth and even pull out the arrow lodged in my chest to reuse it.
"Hey, Jigu."
"Ah, yeah, yes. Noona...!"
As if telling me to cut the random thoughts, Geumbi noona looked my way.
I swallowed hard under her piercing gaze, so close it stung, and she slowly reached out a hand.
Right toward my face, close enough to touch my cheek—I squeezed my eyes shut.
Geumbi noona must have decided on a stinging slap over words or restraint. I vowed to take a few slaps like a man.
And then a soft palm gently touched my cheek.
"Eek? N-noona?"
"You've... been through a lot lately, huh?"
"Huh? Wh-what?"
Her response was so far out of left field that I couldn't string words together.
But Geumbi noona, as if expecting even that, stroked my cheek and whispered tenderly.
"I can tell from your face. This isn't because you had weird feelings for me or Sujeong unnie."
"Eek. That's... noona..."
"Hey, I'm twenty-five too, you know? Even as a woman, I get that guys have moments they can't control."
"No, that's... not it, but..."
"I felt how hard you were trying to calm down while we hugged. ...And everything else you couldn't control, I felt that too."
"......Noona."
Every word from Geumbi noona pierced my heart with a different meaning than before.
I wasn't the only one agonizing during the embrace, and I wasn't the only one confused by the transmitted body heat and trembling.
Geumbi noona understood me far better than I'd thought.
"Still... sorry anyway, noona."
"Don't apologize for something like this. I said I get it, didn't I? If you apologize anyway, it just makes it seem like I'm nitpicking over something unavoidable."
"Ugh, then... what should I say?"
"Hmm. Well, since you were wrestling with complicated thoughts, maybe 'good job agonizing over it'? Or 'thanks'?"
"In that case... I'll go with thanks."
"Heh, good. Thanks for holding out and enduring it when it must've been tough for you too."
The siblings' awkward mishap wrapped up with mutual comforting.
No one was at fault, so apologies didn't make sense. Just exchanging thanks made for a heartwarming sight.
...If not for Geumbi noona's next words.
"So, what are you gonna do about it now?"
"Huh? About what?"
"Sujeong unnie's sleeping in your room. You're not gonna... handle it all the way there, right?"
"Huh? What? Noona, what are you even talking about?"
"Well... unavoidable or not, doing it right next to unnie is kinda wrong. I get the erection as a physiological thing, but anything more? That's really crossing the line."
"Wait, wait, hold on. I have no idea what you're saying. Geumbi noona, what exactly are you talking about?"
I'd thought with the hug over and the confirmation done, we'd just head back to our rooms.
But Geumbi noona, with a puzzled look suggesting there was more, rambled on about something deeply tied to my lower half.
"But guys are like that, right? Once the physical signal hits, you need a physical release to make it go down..."
"No, no, no! Time out! Geumbi noona, are you serious right n—mmph?"
"Shh, quiet. Even on the first floor, you're too loud. The kids are sleeping upstairs, and Sujeong unnie's right next door."
"Mmph, mmph, mmph?"
"Got it. We'll talk more in my room. I'll hear the rest there."
"Mmph? Wait, no, noona... Ow."
Somehow, I ended up dragged full circle to Geumbi noona's room.
She'd started interrogating me on the open sofa, but taking me to her second-floor room now must mean she trusted me that much.
-Click.
The door shut, and the lock engaged. I couldn't just be thrilled about the situation.
Geumbi noona had grabbed my wrist and plopped me down by her bed, making me hesitate even more on how to broach it.
"Okay, talk here. What do you want to say?"
"Well, um. I think you have a huge misunderstanding about guys' bodies..."
"Misunderstanding? What did I get wrong?"
"You know, like... ugh."
Twenty-five years old, claiming she knew everything about it.
But she was clueless about the important parts, this noona.
'To sum up, Geumbi noona thinks this: Once a guy gets erect, he has to somehow get it out for it to go down?'
She got everything else right—why miss just that?
Didn't pay attention in health class? The teacher must not have gone into detail. Our school skimmed over the fine points too.
Reciting the textbook I remembered: Men can get erections regardless of their will.
And underlined below: The erect organ returns to size after ejaculation.
No memory anywhere of it shrinking on its own after time without ejaculating.
Right? Why waste page space on that? It's common sense for guys, unnecessary for girls.
'But that's why I'm here now? Ugh, this is insane...'
Unable to spit it out, I just furrowed my brow and groaned.
Geumbi noona looked at me with worried eyes and clasped my hand.
"You okay, Jigu? Has it... been too long holding back, and now it's hurting or something?"
Why did this noona only know bits and pieces of common sense so well?
If she knew nothing at all, I could've brushed it off or dodged.
"Geumbi noona."
"Yeah? It's okay, tell me."
"Just wondering."
"Yeah."
"Noona, have you ever... been with a guy?"
"Wha...? Huh? Ehhh?!"
Good thing we'd moved from living room to bedroom.
Geumbi noona's startled face let out a shriek that would've woken someone if we'd been outside.
"Wh-what do you mean?! No! Absolutely not! Never!"
Someone once said it.
Strong denial is one form of strong affirmation.
Even without that, the flustering proof was right in front of me.
Geumbi noona fanned her flushed face, her eyes darting everywhere.
"Ugh, seriously, out of nowhere... Why ask something like that?"
This was the fork in the road.
Wrap up tonight's midnight fiasco as one big mishap?
Or teach Geumbi noona the correct worldly facts now?
I didn't agonize long.
Unlike her busy fanning hand, I gently wrapped my fingers around the soft hand resting on my knuckles.
Meeting her wandering eyes, I spoke without hesitation.
"Geumbi noona, calm down and listen. I'm gonna teach you about guys' bodies from now on."
"Huh? Wha...?"
Hmm, maybe too straightforward.
Should've thought a bit more before blurting it out, idiot.
Too late for regrets—my words hung in the air.
Geumbi noona's lips stayed parted, unable to close, and my wrapped right hand vibrated like an alarm going off.
As if grabbed tight by someone, unable to escape.
Her trembling gaze flicked to the door.
Despair at the lock she'd set herself, silent screams welling as tears glistened on her face.
The moment I should've corrected it as a misunderstanding.
The instant my lips parted just a bit, Geumbi noona yanked my arm with her captured hand, throwing off my balance, while shoving my chest with her other, tumbling me onto the bed.
"Ugh?!"
"S-stay still. Don't move a muscle...!"
Like she'd learned self-defense, Geumbi noona expertly pinned me to the mattress.
Straddling me in mount position, her glare was fierce, but her tear-streaked face warned me.
"If you don't stay still... I really don't know what I'll do to you."
And so, pinned under noona tonight—what would become of me?
Gazing up at the pouncing Geumbi noona, I let out a deep sigh, never quite catching the moment to get a word out.