The Second Member (3)
S-rank Hunter Dormant Dragon Leader Baek Ji-an has been registered as an official member of the Safe House!
Congratulations on becoming an official member of the Safe House!
“Official member... Heh.”
Baek Ji-an, who had just become an official member using the Member Registration Ticket, smirked in satisfaction at the blue notification window floating before her eyes. She glanced at me, then shifted her hips toward me while still seated on the sofa.
Smooth.
We'd already been sitting just a fist's width apart, so even a slight scoot brought our shoulders smack together. Baek Ji-an was wearing nothing but my thin dress shirt, so she could clearly feel the firm muscles of my shoulder. A soft smile curved her lips at the warm heat transmitting through our touching shoulders as she asked me,
“Now that I'm an official member, does that mean I get to experience that service Yoo Seo-ah raved about too?”
“Uh? Well, that...”
I opened my mouth to answer her question. I was about to say something like, 'Sure, I can do that.' But honestly, it didn't feel all that important right now. Baek Ji-an lightly pressed her long, slender index finger against my lips, cutting off my response.
“I'm not asking for your permission.”
“Mmph.”
Her blood-red eyes gleamed as she flicked her tongue over her lips.
“This is me saying, 'thanks for the meal.'”
“Wha—? Pffft, what?”
“Alright then, let's see just how amazing this service really is.”
With that, Baek Ji-an sprang into action. She threw her arms wide and pulled my upper body into a tight embrace, our shoulders already pressed together. Her massive breasts squished flat against my solid chest with a squish.
“You...!”
“...Mmm.”
“......”
I opened my mouth to protest the sudden hug in my shock, but Baek Ji-an was dead serious. Eyes half-closed like a pro sommelier savoring a fine wine, she focused every sense on the embrace itself.
Hmm.
It took a full three minutes before Baek Ji-an finally released the hug and pulled away from me. I started to ask, 'You done?' but once again, my words didn't make it out.
Sniff sniff. Sniff. Sniff sniff.
“?!”
The moment the hug ended, she bent forward and buried her nose right in my collarbone, inhaling deeply. Not just anywhere—right there! Burying your nose in someone's skin to sniff is sensitive no matter the spot, and even I—who'd braced myself—couldn't help but tense up. I reflexively tried to pull away, but...
Grip!
“Crazy...”
Too bad—my forearms were already trapped in the iron grip of an S-rank hunter. No way a weak-ass D-rank logistics scrub like me could break free.
Sniiiiff, sniff sniff...
In the end, I had to endure until Baek Ji-an decided to stop on her own, just like before.
Sniiiiifff, phaaa...
Only after taking one last deep inhale of my scent did she finally pull back.
“Hmmm.”
“...Hmph, still going at it, huh? Fine. I'm not holding back anymore. You brought this on yourself, Baek Ji-an.”
That sniffing session had dragged on for a solid five minutes, more than enough to stoke the rage of a guy who'd just been helplessly toyed with. The second I raised both hands, vowing to yank those soft, squishy cheeks until they glowed red...
Thud.
“Huh?”
Baek Ji-an's hands gently caught my wrists.
Chop.
And pulled them straight to cup her cheeks softly.
“What the hell are you doing?”
First the sudden hug, then jamming her nose into my collarbone for a sniff-fest, and now guiding my hands to cradle her cheeks while closing her eyes to feel the warmth.
“......”
“...Sigh.”
I let out a light sigh at Baek Ji-an, who bulldozed through whatever she wanted without explanation. It wasn't like this was new for her. Our dynamic was always 7-3 in her favor. Back before the academy, when we were kids, it was reversed—but after she awakened, she seized control. Not because she was way stronger post-awakening, but because I felt this 7-3 split was the most stable balance.
Smooth.
Five more minutes passed before Baek Ji-an finally released my wrists and opened her eyes.
“So, what exactly was all that?”
I finally flexed my freed hands and asked.
Baek Ji-an stared straight at me with an utterly stern, solemn, serious expression.
“What? Nothing much.”
“What?”
“That Healing Body thing of yours or whatever. From your description, it sounded like just hugging you sends you straight to heaven. But to me? Felt exactly the same as always.”
All her inexplicable antics just now had been to test out my Healing Body.
“I was really looking forward to it based on what you said, but it's no different from before. Your scent, your warmth, the feel when I hugged you—everything's the same.”
Baek Ji-an let out a small sigh and shook her head.
“Kang Jinseong, that Healing Body or whatever? It's not all that.”
“......”
My face hardened like stone at her brutal verdict. Damn, that shocked look is kinda cute. But what can I do? Can't lie and say it's changed when it feels the same to her. Lying would just backfire.
She barely suppressed a laugh at how adorable my reaction was.
Good thing I was worried this Healing Body power might have him seducing girls left and right, but after trying it myself, it's not that big a deal. Phew.
And she genuinely felt relieved that the Healing Body ability didn't feel all that special.
I get that it heals internal injuries. Hugging him did make my body feel way better. But that's not enough to cause the problems I was fretting over.
The only standout effect Baek Ji-an noticed from experiencing my Healing Body firsthand was the internal injury healing.
“If Healing Body is just this much, then that Healing Massage or whatever is probably nothing special either. Probably just a regular massage with 'healing' slapped on the name.”
Buoyed by relief and smugness, Baek Ji-an snorted derisively. Knowing the Healing Body variable was a dud let her flash that punchable grin.
“...Is that so? Then wanna try that 'ordinary' Healing Massage for yourself?”
“No reason to refuse. My shoulders have been killing me anyway. Just knead those.”
My expression still stiff, I suggested the Healing Massage experience, and the fearless Baek Ji-an accepted casually.
“Turn around then. I'll rub your shoulders.”
“Go ahead, give it a shot.”
Unfazed even after testing Healing Body firsthand, she turned her back to me without a care. At the same time, I reached out toward her shoulders.
Thud.
My large hands settled on her shoulders, and the instant my thumbs dug into her upper trapezius...
“Eek?!”
A raw, unfiltered squeak burst from Baek Ji-an's lips.
“Wha—uh—uuuh?”
Before she could even think to hold it back, that primal sound escaped. Flustered by her own voice, she froze—then my index finger lightly pinched her sternocleidomastoid (the muscle bulging at the side of her neck).
“......Ee, eeeh.”
It was the lightest touch, barely more than brushing, yet Baek Ji-an sensed something was deeply wrong. Like his finger hovered over a bomb switch wired to her heart. A chilling dread raced up her spine, as if he'd seized her very life in his grasp.
Why? Why's this so different from before? Healing Body felt exactly the same as always, but this Healing Massage—why does it feel this good?!
Baek Ji-an was utterly confused. My Healing Body effects matched her memories perfectly. Hugging him felt like heaven, just as always. His heartbeat soothed her soul. His scent dazed her mind. His body heat melted her body and heart into goo. Yeah, my body was still that perfect bundle of Baek Ji-an's favorite comforts, past and present.
But this Healing Massage was a whole different beast. Just a quick thumb-press on her trapezius sent lightning jolting through her scalp. An impossibly blissful touch. And now that touch was lightly kneading her sternocleidomastoid.
This—this is straight-up ecstasy. If he keeps going, I'll melt into a pathetic, gooey, squishy mess right in front of him...!
“J-Jin—Jinseong! W-Wait, hold on! M-Me, actually my shoulders don't hurt anymore. No need for the massage! So get your hands off my neck...”
Desperate to stay strong in front of me, Baek Ji-an blurted it out—but...
“Aww, come on, member-nim, your shoulders are all knotted up—what are you talking about? I'll fix you right up, so just relax.”
It fell on deaf ears. I'd been dismissed on Healing Body, and that grudge ran deep.
Squish squish squish squish.
“Hiyaaaaang!”
Finally, once her neck and shoulders no longer ached, Baek Ji-an was set free.
※
“H-Huee.”
“Was that a bit much?”
Seeing Baek Ji-an sprawled face-down on the bed, her body twitching faintly, stirred a twinge of guilt.
“Serves you right for dissing someone else's ability. Karma, bitch.”
But recalling how she'd trashed my precious little Healing Body wiped that guilt clean away.
“Sleep it off there.”
Click.
I left Baek Ji-an on my bed and headed to the living room.
“Show me that notification from earlier again.”
I asked the system to replay the alert from when Baek Ji-an became my second member.
Understood.
S-rank Hunter Dormant Dragon Leader Baek Ji-an has been registered as an official member of the Safe House!
Second member registration complete!
“Temporary Member...!”
The ability I'd been dying for was finally unlocked.