Taking a Breather (1)
Back home, I sank into the living room sofa and quietly sorted through my thoughts.
After being practically chased out of Eunyoung noona's house and slapped with a temporary ban on entry, I needed to tweak my plan to seduce her back to her original self a bit.
The strategy had been to keep dropping by her place daily—tomorrow, the day after—to steadily rack up points in a stable way, then pounce the moment an opportunity arose.
One thing was crystal clear: we'd been that close. Right before she snapped out of it at the washing machine's chime and shoved me away, her projected points had climbed to 90.
That meant she'd been just a hair's breadth from my personal benchmark.
In fact, I had a gut feeling that even if I'd gone for it a second earlier, before the damn machine buzzed, nothing bad would've happened.
I'd hesitated only because I wanted an even better shot, and that hesitation had botched it.
Realistically, conquering Eunyoung noona was as good as done.
The remaining 10 points or so? I could fill those easily by meeting her on Saturday and chatting about this and that.
The door being triple-locked wasn't a huge deal either. She wouldn't keep it shut until her own daughter Hyeun came home anyway, and if push came to shove, I could just ask Hyeun for a spare key.
Still, like noona said, it might be smart to give her space until Saturday—cool our heads, keep some distance. Forcing my way in now could just ramp up her wariness.
From the start, I'd planned to play the long game, take it slow and careful. No need to rush at the finish line and screw it up.
The downside? It left a gap in my schedule from today through Friday.
I wanted to make the most of every minute, so I started prioritizing my to-do list.
"Black Slime material delivery deadline's still got a few days... Mina's heat cycle's about ten days out too...."
Not that I had to hit her during heat, but it'd sure make things smoother. With heat as an excuse, she'd have one less mental barrier to sleeping with me.
Plus, the amplified libido during heat meant bonus points I couldn't ignore.
The thought of wrapping my arms around that soft body and tail again in a few days made my heart race a little.
Anyway, for those reasons, I'd hold off on Mina until her next cycle.
Hyeun and I had gone five rounds just last night, burning through all my points from consecutive sessions with her.
That naturally narrowed my remaining candidates to two.
"I wonder if Sihee's done with her stuff."
By time since last meetup, Yuri might edge her out by a day or three, but Sihee was a chaebol heiress—opportunities to meet were scarce, so I needed to schedule ahead.
I fired up CocoaTalk's open chat and messaged her.
Listening to her—even just over text—it was clear that being a chaebol heir wasn't all smooth sailing in this world.
That explained why Sihee had been pushed so hard when she was on the verge of stalling at B-rank.
Even in a quick text chat, complaints like these slipped out; I could only imagine the pressure she'd face if she hadn't hit A-rank.
Hmm, should I promise that here? Sure, I had zero intention of hooking up with other foundation hunters besides her.
But what if another emergency popped up like with Sihee or Yuri? Abandoning them wasn't an option.
I'd become a hunter to save as many lives as possible from monsters. No matter her request, sacrificing someone for it would flip the whole point on its head.
After another brief silence, her reply came.
No need to dwell on anything that might sour things.
I trusted her without needing the family oath, but whatever—it wasn't a bad deal for me either.
Among foundation hunter ladies, plenty could crush a guy like me with a flick of the wrist.
Getting intel from a reliable source? Smart move.
If so, it'd get needlessly complicated—might make me rethink things. But her reply was surprisingly chill.
Cynical? Or just cool and unattached? A tricky one, but a woman showing this vibe from the jump? Totally welcome.
I was just grateful for it.
The chat went quiet after my last message.
Typing "love you" in text never stops feeling cringey, no matter how many times.
I hadn't nailed down a meetup date, which stung a bit, but confirming she still loved me and looked forward to next time? Solid win.
As I sent that awkward goodbye and backed out to the chat list, a new message updated the list.
I was just about to reach out first. Not bad at all.