#41. Ownership
#41. Ownership
The critique turned out to be milder than I had expected.
"Wow. Minho-ya. You've become a completely different person from last week, huh?"
At the Professor-nim's ambiguous words, I found myself gauging the room's mood once again.
"What do you mean by that..."
"No, look. Even you can see the form is neat, right? Isn't it?"
...It did seem that way, kinda.
I'd hardly ever gotten praise at the form stage before, so I hadn't expected much...
But the Professor-nim's reaction was way better than I'd imagined.
"Let's develop this a bit more in that direction. It has such a great feel. It's got a bit of that Peter Zumthor vibe, you know."
At the unexpected rave review, I forced a smile and nodded along with the Professor-nim.
"Yes. I'll give it a try."
"Yeah. I'm really looking forward to it now. Make sure to fix all those points we criticized from the last project, okay?"
"Yes, yes. Thank you."
After bowing my head and leaving the classroom, I was totally dumbfounded.
Whoa... So even in life, days like this come around...
No, actually, if I'd just brought the model I'd slapped together at dawn, who knows what would've happened.
It was pretty clear that today's praise MVP was Na-eun.
I checked my phone, and surprisingly, not much time had passed.
3:30 p.m.
It actually felt like it ended early.
...Maybe I should text the self-proclaimed Hostess.
Since I kinda got some good karma today, how about treating her to a nice meal...
[Hey. Whatcha doing. I'm done.]
I sent the text, but no reply came for a while.
I figured she was probably lounging around the house, but maybe she'd gone back to her place in the meantime?
Well... nothing I can do about that.
I got on the bus and, for the first time in a while, binged through the comments on Novel World.
The reactions to the recently uploaded Han Na-eun Episodes weren't bad at all.
Still, the version before I deleted it had crushed it in terms of writing skill...
What a shame...
I couldn't shake the regret that the original version—written from my own five senses, not some indirect experience—had been overwhelmingly superior in quality.
If I'd known it'd end up like this because Na-eun found out, wouldn't it have been the right call to just post it? But I quickly shook my head.
No.
I'm only saying that because things worked out so well this time.
If Na-eun had been a normal person with common sense, there'd be no mercy at all.
I'd just be the world's worst scum who raped a department junior and then sleazily wrote an Erotic Novel using her name, and Na-eun would be nothing but an innocent victim of my desires.
Anyway, at least Na-eun didn't report me, so that's a relief...
But I couldn't predict our future at all.
The distance between us two—closer than anyone, yet so ambiguous.
I was the man who took her virginity.
She was the woman who took my innocence.
But what really connected us was the Erotic Novel on Novel World.
[I Imprisoned Her.]
I knew how white Na-eun's inner skin was, how soft and squishy her breasts felt, but I didn't really know who this 'Han Na-eun' person was.
What music she liked, what foods she couldn't eat, if she had siblings.
I didn't know the core personal details, nor even the trivial little TMIs.
Na-eun's words about taking responsibility...
Did Na-eun really want a serious relationship with me?
As lovers... or, overdoing it, maybe even as family...?
But why her?
I still couldn't figure out what Na-eun lacked that made her want to be with me, or what part of me she liked.
One thing was certain: the various things she did to show affection were nothing like how normal women express interest in men.
I thought there were girls back in the day who bullied the boys they liked on purpose, or shy high school girls who bashfully gave gifts.
But I'd never seen or even heard of a girl asking to be fucked with a look of disgust on her face.
That was the kind of thing that only came out in Erotic Novels...
Erotic Novels...?
Come to think of it, Na-eun had recited Yoo Soyeon's lines from my novel word-for-word right in front of me.
That meant Na-eun had read my novel...
A weird, slimy suspicion started creeping up.
Out of all the many Heroines, she picked Yoo Soyeon.
And not just any part—the mid-to-late training arc that I was most satisfied with... Hmm...
Coincidence?
Or did Na-eun pick it herself?
Judging that asking her directly wouldn't get me the truth, I decided to just head home first.
I got off the bus and arrived in front of my studio apartment.
Even though it was my house where I spent all day every day, the thought that Na-eun might be inside made it feel like I was approaching someone else's place.
Wondering if she was up to anything suspicious, I pressed my ear to the door.
...No sounds at all.
She must've gone home after all.
Thinking there were no signs of life, I punched in the code and unlocked the door...
...What the hell. This.
For a second, I thought I'd mistaken the building and entered the wrong room.
Shoes neatly arranged.
The floor gleaming.
Our place looked like it was polished for a housewarming party, shining bright.
Even the shelves were spotless...
And there, sitting in my gaming chair, dozing off with her head bobbing, was Na-eun.
Did Na-eun clean this?
I didn't even ask her to, and she went all out like this...
I set my bag down and plopped onto the bed, gazing at her profile as she slept.
The warm sunlight streaming through the window bathed her.
And maybe because it felt so nice, the sleeping Na-eun looked just like a little kitten.
How could she be this defenseless?
Coming into a strange guy's room and not leaving, just nodding off like that.
This time, I knew it wasn't her trying to seduce me.
Because from experience, I knew when she was really up to something, it wouldn't stop at this level.
What I was seeing now was purely Na-eun's face, passed out from exhaustion.
"...Hey."
I got up from the bed quietly and poked her cheek.
"...Hey. Han Na-eun."
"Not here, Oppa."
What? She's awake?
I flinched at Na-eun's sharp reply.
I could've sworn she was asleep...
I bent down again to check her face, but sure enough, she was breathing softly, fast asleep.
...So she talks in her sleep like that, huh.
What kind of dream is she having?
"Hey. Wake up."
I put my hand on her shoulder and shook her gently, and Na-eun started sleep-talking again.
"It's that day today, so... not there..."
Whoa...
Wanting to snap out of this indescribable mood fast, I grabbed both her shoulders and started shaking her hard.
"Wake.up.wake.up.wake.up.wake.up.wake.up.wake.up.wake.up.wake.up.wake.up.wake.up.wake.up.wake.up.wake.up.wake.up."
As I shook her wildly, Na-eun's petite body jiggled like crazy.
"Ugh? Oppa, I'm up! Stop! Stop!"
I knew she was awake already, but to make sure she snapped out of it, I shook her a bit more.
"Snap out of it! Snap out of it! Snap out of it! Snap out of it!"
"I said stop, you bastard!"
"Cough!"
The intense pain hitting my precious jewels.
It reminded me of that time as a kid when they forced me to be goalie and I blocked a shot with my dick.
Her dainty foot nailed me right there, and I collapsed pathetically to the floor.
Na-eun, shocked at what she'd done, jumped up from the chair and crouched beside me in a panic.
"You okay...? Oh no. Oh no."
Na-eun stomped her feet like she was genuinely sorry.
"...Na-eun-ah."
I called her in the voice of a general sensing his death.
"Yes, Oppa."
She gripped my hand tightly.
"I think this is it for me."
"No! Oppa! You can stand! I'll help you, just try!"
"No... I felt my balls shatter in real time just now..."
Suddenly, Na-eun let go of my hand and went straight for my pants with both of hers.
It hurt, and I was just messing around to make her feel guiltier... Hey! Wait a sec!
"I'll... I'll give you CPR!"
It was a rubber-band slacks, so Na-eun yanked down my underwear and pants in one go, then chomp.
She shoved my dick into her cute little mouth.
Maybe because of the pain, my dick was still flaccid and slipped right into her mouth no problem.
The warm temperature, the slick feel of her tongue—I felt my precious parts swelling up even through the pain of the hit.
"Puha!"
By the time it had grown too big for her to swallow whole, Na-eun looked up at me proudly.
"See! Oppa! I saved it!"
...As expected of the Great Doctor.