Unexpressed Desires
The mushroom water wasn't half bad. Maybe I'd grown so used to scavenging whatever strange things I could find that everything tasted acceptable now. Either way, it was fine by me. There was something oddly addictive about the flavor.
A-ram, on the other hand, looked genuinely shocked. For someone with a normal palate, being told to drink mushroom water like it was regular water... that had to be rough. If I had to compare it to something, it was like a bitter, herbal concoction brewed from random medicinal plants. Even the color was a murky brown, like barley tea.
"A-ram, if you think you can't handle it, say so now. We still have time before the four hours are up. We can leave whenever we want."
The black market let you exit freely before the four-hour window closed. If A-ram wanted to back out, I could send her out and either bring in someone else or just work with Cheshire and Eila as a three-person party.
Normally we crammed every minute of those four hours to avoid wasting time, but since we'd already planned to stay here for a full week, spending a little time escorting her out wouldn't hurt.
"What do you want to do? It's your choice. If it's too much, you can leave. Honestly, I figured this place might be too insane for some people. No one's going to blame you if you give up."
I gently patted her head while asking. A-ram bit her lower lip, then shook her head.
"I'll... try to endure it. I think I can manage. This is probably just the adjustment period."
"Yeah? Once the four hours pass, we'll be stuck here for a whole week. You're sure about this? You'll have to drink mushroom water every single day and eat all kinds of disgusting food even if it doesn't suit your taste. Still okay?"
"Yeah... There were others who wanted to come, but I was the one who insisted. I'll grit my teeth and push through."
"Heh. Good."
A-ram decided to stay. If mushroom water alone was enough to break her, she wouldn't have survived this long in the first place. She was just adapting. I figured she'd get used to it quickly—she had pretty high adaptability.
"Can I... try drinking it again, unni?"
"Huh? Oh, sure."
Cheshire pulled another bottle of mushroom water from the fridge and handed it to her.
A-ram twisted the cap off and downed it in one shot, as if proving to herself that she wouldn't crumble so easily. She finished the entire bottle. As expected of a survivor... I clapped for her. She'd probably adapt to the black market just fine.
"Ugh... It's, it's drinkable..."
"Hahaha! That's the spirit!"
"Whoa."
— Clap clap clap clap.
Cheshire also praised A-ram for her courage. Since A-ram had come here specifically to rescue her, Cheshire had been nothing but grateful and thankful toward her the whole time.
"I think I'll take this stuffy mask off for a bit."
While A-ram sat on the sofa looking dazed and burping from the discomfort, Cheshire apparently decided shopping right away would be too much. She removed the neon mask she'd been wearing.
Her cute ears popped out, twitching.
"Huh...? Unni, those..."
A-ram stared at Cheshire's perky animal ears and took a few steps closer, clearly fighting the urge to touch them. I'd noticed her playing with Harin's wolf ears sometimes too. She must really like soft things. Not that anyone would blame her.
"Hehehe. Curious? Want to touch?"
"Ah. Yes."
A-ram had already seen Harin with wolf ears, so she wasn't too surprised. But when asked if she wanted to touch, she got visibly excited.
"She really likes them. Cute, right?"
"Heh... A-ram might seem a bit dense sometimes, but she's adorable when you watch her."
Cheshire found A-ram, who was now absentmindedly fondling her ears, endearing. Good. The two of them would probably get along quickly. There was quite an age gap between them—almost like mother and daughter. Cheshire had never told me her exact age, but she was definitely older. Not as old as Merb, of course...
After calming down by playing with Cheshire's ears, A-ram let go and turned her attention to the pet humans on the table. The tiny, stubby humans scurrying around inside the terrarium seemed fascinating to her, and she stared at them for a long time.
While A-ram was completely absorbed in watching the pet humans perform some unknown ritual offering inside the terrarium, I took Eila out of my bag.
Cheshire, who had been watching nearby, reacted immediately.
"I knew it! That's Eila! I know her!"
"Huh? Ah... right."
Only then did I remember Eila mentioning before we entered the black market that she knew Cheshire. She'd even said she'd visited the black market multiple times.
"Jo-jun, did you become Eila's master?"
"Well... not exactly a master. We have an exclusive contract."
"Aha... Wow... Anyway, it's been so long. How strange. Our paths crossed again like this."
Cheshire smiled as she gently touched the sleeping Eila's face. Then she asked me casually.
"Did you... do it with her too?"
"Huh?"
"I mean sex."
"Ah... not yet..."
"'Not yet' means you plan to eventually, right?"
"Well... that's..."
I wasn't sure how to answer.
Having sex with Eila... I mean...
If Eila was okay with it, I wouldn't mind. Even though she was an expressionless doll, her skin felt just as soft as a real person's... and she was crafted so precisely that embracing her wouldn't be a problem. I did want to try it.
"Hehehe... Should we play a little prank on Eila while she's asleep?"
"Huh? She'll... she'll get mad..."
"It'll be fine. She told you how to turn her on and off, right?"
"Yeah..."
"That means she trusts you completely. It's okay... I'm not saying we should just jump her. I just... I'm curious. What she looks like inside. Whether she's just a plain doll or if she's like a real human... Aren't you curious? Right?"
Cheshire tempted me, suggesting we strip Eila and check her body.
Since we weren't leaving for a week anyway, we weren't pressed for time. A little mischief wouldn't hurt. In the end, I swallowed hard and gave in to Cheshire's suggestion.
Honestly, I'd been curious since the first time we met.
What did Eila's body look like underneath?
Did she really have nipples and everything else exactly like a human?
And if she did, what would it feel like to be with her?
While all these questions swirled in my head, Cheshire's temptation was impossible to resist.
"Then... let's just check a little."
"Yeah... Actually... I was curious too."
"This is because Cheshire's curious, so she's tempting us, right?"
"Hehehe."
Apparently so. Cheshire grinned brightly.
Just then, A-ram, who had been watching the pet humans, came over to us.
"What are you doing over there...?"
"Ah, A-ram... well..."
"Huh? Are you... taking Eila's clothes off right now?"
I felt like we'd been caught doing something we shouldn't. A strange sense of guilt washed over me. It was like a boy getting caught by a neighborhood girl while undressing a Barbie doll in a corner of the playground.
"Hmm..."
A-ram crossed her arms and looked down at me. Then she just stood there watching, as if telling me to continue. Did that mean she was allowing it...? I wasn't sure. I turned my gaze back to Eila, who was lying neatly on the table. One by one, I began unbuttoning her top.
I could hear Cheshire swallowing saliva beside me.
"Hey, Cheshire... are you getting excited?"
"Huh? Ah, no..."
"Really...?"
Cheshire seemed to be enjoying the situation quite a bit. Maybe she had a slightly sadistic streak.
I finished removing Eila's top. Her pale—no, snow-white breasts spilled out.
Yes, she had breasts. Even though she was a doll... they were incredibly detailed. Even the pink nipples... they were a rare shade of pink. Most of my women were Asian, so brown nipples were far more common... but Eila's were pink.
"Gulp..."
"Jo-jun... the bottom too... let's take off the bottom. You're curious, right... A living doll... You can't check something like this anywhere else. This is your only chance."
"I-is that so?"
"Yeah... You're curious too. A-ram is too, right?"
Cheshire looked up at A-ram and asked. A-ram's cheeks flushed slightly as she answered.
"Ah... yes... Her arms and legs have doll joints, but... her body is completely human-like, so... a bit."
Everyone present agreed. I removed Eila's lower clothing. Once I took off even her white panties, Eila lay completely naked for all to see. Since her power was currently off, she wouldn't wake up no matter what we did.
That meant we could touch her as much as we wanted. Like handling a doll. I felt the desire buried inside me starting to stir.
— Squish... soft... supple...
I reached out and touched Eila's breasts. They weren't particularly large, but they were softer and more pliant than I'd imagined. It was as if they'd been made hoping that whoever touched them would feel good...
'Ah...'
I pressed my thumb against Eila's pink nipple and felt a wave of happiness.
Truthfully, I'd always wanted to try it with a sleeping woman. But my women always had bloodshot eyes and tried to devour me instead, so it had never been possible. Sleep sex was just a fantasy. They wouldn't even give me a footjob because it would "waste semen."
In reality, I was nothing more than a breeding stallion. Just endlessly pounding away like a stud... Not that I minded being milked dry. When every last drop was squeezed out until my balls were empty, it felt like my soul was leaving my body, and I could sleep without a single worry.
Anyway, I was getting sidetracked. The point was that sleep sex had never been an option for me. But now... someone who could fulfill that desire had appeared. Someone who wouldn't wake up no matter what I did.
"W-we... didn't we say we were going shopping...?"
At that moment, A-ram checked her wristwatch and asked worriedly.
She was right—we had to finish everything we needed to do within the four hours. Once those four hours passed, the black market became a true hell for players. The so-called human protection system would shut off.
The rules written in the black market guide weren't there for nothing. If you failed to escape in time, you could be dragged off to some strange place and endlessly regenerated as meat, or turned into a breeding sow in a human ranch.
"A-ram's right. We should do what we came here for."
"Ah..."
"Jo-jun, let's hurry and put Eila's clothes back on and wake her up."
"Yeah..."
I never expected Cheshire to side with A-ram. I had to soothe my aching erection by rubbing it lightly.
Right. I hadn't come here to have sex. This wasn't a vacation... I needed to finish what I came for first.
In the end, I swallowed my tears and woke Eila up.
I swore to myself that I'd make A-ram pay for this humiliation later.