Chapter 33: The Changed Thing
"Welcome!"
Having turned back time to return home yesterday, I found Seomun Ye-jin waiting to greet me at the door.
"I've prepared a dish brimming with love just for you, Seo-jun! Hehe~"
The meal Seomun Ye-jin had proudly prepared was beef bourguignon.
It was a dish that demanded more than two hours in the oven and required some effort, but she had clearly put her heart into it.
"You've worked hard. Miss, I'll eat every bite."
Having endured far more than I had expected, I felt the need to rest after tasting the dish Seomun Ye-jin had made.
"Yes! Seo-jun-ssi, I'll feed you myself."
"It's easier for me to eat on my own."
"Then how about I feed you with my lips?"
The moment I turned her down, Seomun Ye-jin boldly pressed forward. At her words, I gently drew her into my arms.
"Anytime is fine."
"Yes!"
Her visibly delighted expression made me smile.
"Then let's start with the taste."
"Mmm!"
After I kissed her, Seomun Ye-jin closed her eyes and eagerly responded with her lips and tongue.
"Mmm, haa..."
Her lips were sweet as she received the kiss, but the warmth of her body nestled against mine stirred me. My hand gently stroked her soft light-purple hair and slid lower, yet she accepted it without resistance.
She would probably have welcomed me even more if I had touched her hips.
Still, I held back the intense caress and slowly stroked only her back before pulling away from the kiss.
"Seo-jun-ssi."
She spoke to me.
"It's all right to... just slide your hand down."
Seomun Ye-jin wore a simple t-shirt and dolphin pants. The thin, soft fabric made it easy to feel the warmth of her skin.
The gentle curves of her beautiful figure were clearly visible, and with me holding her, the sensation of her body was unmistakable. Lowering my hand now would likely take a long time.
"If I lower my hand now, it might drag on for a while?"
"Hehe~ I don't mind. What about you, Seo-jun-ssi?"
If I refused here, she would definitely sulk. And it would be a lie. Since I had no desire to deceive this lovely young lady, I answered honestly.
"If I did, I'd cross the line early."
"I don't mind though?"
At Seomun Ye-jin's words, I lightly poked her side.
"Hiyaaaa?!"
Her chest trembled as she arched her waist like a bow and let out a soft moan.
***
After finishing the dinner Seomun Ye-jin had prepared, the next morning arrived.
"Huu~ Aah~"
I ran my hands over Seomun Ye-jin's snow-white skin, including the delicate curve of her back, while she lay on the bed in nothing but her underwear.
Every time my fingers touched her, Seomun Ye-jin deliberately released lewd little moans laced with playful intent.
"Aah~ Seo-jun-ssi~"
"Miss, you're overdoing the teasing."
"Hehe~ But it feels so refreshing and good!"
It was refreshing. What I was doing was a form of power massage.
I slowly infused my high-level power into her body, gently reshaping her to become more attuned to magical energy.
Seomun Ye-jin's body, already possessing the talent to reach SSS-class hunter, was growing rapidly under this treatment.
Within a year, she could easily become an SSS-class hunter.
'There's a better way, but.'
Yes, there was a better method, but it was one I still couldn't use.
For now, this power massage was the most effective.
When my hand reached the soft flesh beneath her hips, Seomun Ye-jin subtly tensed her buttocks.
Her blatant invitation through the subtle sway of her hips made me want to tease her further.
"Miss."
"Yes! Seo-jun-ssi’s finger is touching my lower butt~ How does it feel?"
The sensation was the real goal. A bewitching power made me want to freely caress and play with every inch of her body.
But...
"Miss, you're being quite proactive."
"Yes! Even though I look like this, I've been diligently memorizing and practicing the seventy-seven ways to seduce a boyfriend online!"
Her energetic tone did not hide the unease I sensed beneath it.
"What's making you uneasy, Miss?"
"What?"
"You're uneasy. That's why you're being so proactive."
After my remark, Seomun Ye-jin's voice softened.
"I... I feel like I have nothing I can do for Seo-jun-ssi."
"Miss?"
"I... I feel like there's nothing I can do. I don't think I can help you in the future... Instead, I'm only receiving help from you."
I had thought I had helped her a great deal, but she clearly felt otherwise.
"I think you've been quite helpful, Miss."
"In the future... I can't guarantee I'll be able to help. So, to make you happy... I wanted to mark my body with your love."
She spoke with honest embarrassment.
"I see."
"Yes. What I can do is simply wait for you to return and greet you."
This young lady had far too many complex thoughts.
"Miss, simply existing is special enough."
I said as I climbed onto the bed and lay over her.
"Ah, et..."
Even though I was the one seducing her, her naive reaction of surprise and confusion when I climbed on was adorable.
"Miss, just stay with me. Just being my woman is enough help for me."
"Seo, Seo-jun-ssi..."
I gently kissed the nape of her neck while lying down, then resumed the power massage.
Today I was also scheduled to participate in the arrest of Pi Woo-jae, the enemy of Han Se-hee's parents.
***
"Please take care."
Pyo Jin-seong was extremely polite to me.
Choi Kang-in had told him nothing about me. He had only instructed him to treat my orders as his own and obey them.
It would have been natural for the vice guild leader to feel slighted by such secrecy, yet this uncle, recognized as Choi Kang-in's loyal subject in the original story, followed the command without question.
Truly, it was as if I had become Choi Kang-in himself, and he treated me with utmost respect. I was about to ask him something but stopped myself.
'Asking would be foolish.'
The strength I had shown as Kim Ho-jun, though only partial, was far beyond what a fifteen-year-old boy should possess.
Others would surely piece it together and wonder how they should view me.
Choi Kang-in's successor.
The next guild leader candidate for Kangin Guild would finally appear, they would report.
***
Han Se-hee had received an invitation from Baekho Guild and been assigned the role of becoming Baek Seo-jin's friend.
She had no real choice from the start, but I had not interfered in this matter.
If I were to harm her or if she requested help, I would not intervene on my own. I hoped she would remember the favor I had shown her, but if not, that would simply be the end.
I had simply given her the favor I wanted, and that was all.
"Pi Woo-jae, I arrest you in the name of the Kangin Guild. The charges are for the murder of the couple Han Yeon-woo and Jin So-yeon inside the dungeon!"
And crashing into Baekho Guild, Pyo Jin-seong easily subdued Pi Woo-jae.
The sight of Kim Yu-jeong and Baek Seo-jin staring in shock was strangely satisfying.
Those two were probably thinking this was a bolt from the blue.
"S-Se-hee! Say something! These people have misunderstood! I, I didn't kill your parents! You know that too, right?"
Yet watching Pi Woo-jae, the suppressed man, act so pathetically in front of Han Se-hee made me feel deeply unpleasant.
Was it because it reminded me of the scene Baek Hyeong-won and Kim Yu-jeong had created?
"Don't spout nonsense in front of the victim."
I stepped on Pi Woo-jae's back with my foot, hard.
"Kuek?!"
"The Kangin Guild already knows everything you've done. So, stop this ugly attempt to deceive the bereaved families of your victims with lies?"
Baek Seo-jin and Kim Yu-jeong, who knew me, showed surprise at my appearance, but their shock was far less than the astonishment Baek Hyeong-won felt when he appeared later.
After I and Pyo Jin-seong stepped outside, I left Pi Woo-jae's matter to him.
"First, take this man and return."
"What are your intentions?"
"I'll watch for a while and then go."
Baek Seo-jun and Han Se-hee.
I wanted to see with my own eyes how the first meeting of the childhood friend heroine who once held the position of the protagonist's true wife in the original story had changed.
'Or perhaps it had not changed at all.'