More Than Friends, Less Than Lovers (2)
Finishing her night shift at the Sky Blue Shield office, Han Mina returned to her semi-basement villa in the morning hours. The moment she got home, she opened the KakaoTalk app on her smartphone and rolled around on the floor in every possible position, wrestling with her worries.
She had told Sung Taekyung she'd handle telling him about her heat cycle herself, but now that it came time to actually do it, her courage failed her completely. Especially since she'd acted like she didn't need any help before—now flipping her stance felt downright shameless. What if the message she sent rubbed him the wrong way? That nagging fear had her agonizing over the wording again and again.
In the end, she managed to fire off a single, nonchalant line.
Of course, the instant she hit send, she checked it and regretted it immediately.
"Ah, no! No, this isn't it! How can you be so brazen, Han Mina, you crazy bitch?!"
Up until sending it, she'd imagined herself looking cool and detached, like she didn't care if he helped or not. But once it was out there, she pictured Sung Taekyung's baffled face upon reading it, and she rushed to delete the message.
Or at least, she tried.
"……."
Until the unread "1" on KakaoTalk vanished.
Why did he check her trivial message so damn fast? Deep down, his quick response thrilled her, but it also pissed her off that her chance to edit the screw-up was gone. What if he saw it and just dumped all his annoyance on her?
Of course, if she really nitpicked, she wasn't even his girlfriend—just a somewhat close female friend from school days. Worrying about him losing affection might be overthinking it entirely. Their bond had only gotten suddenly intimate thanks to that unexpected hookup a month ago.
She was definitely closer than just friends now. Not quite friends... not quite lovers... and calling it sex partners felt a bit off too. Sure, sex was part of it for heat relief, but asking him specifically wasn't just about that.
It was the affection she'd secretly harbored for him. And the not-so-shallow friendship built over nearly six years. With those tangled emotions mixed in and physical intimacy added on top, even Han Mina felt her feelings in total chaos.
"Ugh, I have no idea what that guy's even thinking...."
She hadn't gotten the full story from Hyeun yet, but she knew sex with her helped his awakening ability somehow. That's probably why even Kang Hyeun—who flipped out at his name—tolerated her or Yuri sleeping with him.
But no matter how you sliced it, could Sung Taekyung really have sex with someone he wasn't into? Women could manage without genuine attraction; their libidos were stronger than men's, so their bodies got ready easily enough. And wetness levels didn't hugely hinder things from a woman's side.
Men, though? They needed serious mental prep. Without real desire, staying hard from start to finish was tough—that's what Han Mina knew from sex ed. In this world, guys often went soft mid-sex, fizzling things out. Even with lovers, men's weaker sex drives meant initial external stimulation got them up, but familiarity killed the arousal, leading to deflation.
But last time? Sung Taekyung stayed rock-hard through two orgasms with her, even chatting with his dick still buried inside long after. For a woman, that was blatant affection—no mistaking it.
"Yeah, that's definitely way closer than friends...."
But Kang Hyeun clearly held the girlfriend spot, and Han Mina knew she was a step further out.
As she stewed in these irritating thoughts, a reply from Sung Taekyung popped up—the one she'd momentarily forgotten about.
Compared to the care she'd put into her message—and her panic over messing up—his reply was straightforward, almost dry. Still, it settled her nerves. At least her text hadn't come off as too weird.
"Haa, shit.... Does one text from Sung Taekyung really make me shake like this?"
Back in school, they'd been close platonic friends without issue. But two years apart without seeing each other, plus that sudden hookup right after reuniting three weeks ago, had drastically shifted her heart.
Anyway, she'd face him in two days, so she needed to prep mentally. Would she keep treating him like a same-sex buddy, all casual? Or slip in some girlfriend vibes bit by bit? Or just brazenly lay all her feelings bare?
As she pondered how to act around Sung Taekyung, another message arrived about their meetup.
It took just three minutes after sending hers for Han Mina to regret not picking outside. Meeting out meant something like a date—a chance to build a lover-like vibe. Home meant sticking to "close enough to invite over" friend territory.
⁎ ⁎ ⁎
Back home that afternoon after sleeping with Senior Hwayoung, I laid out the various potions she'd given me and sorted their basic uses.
"The wound healing potion I can probably sub with recovery magic, but the stamina potion seems definitely useful to have...."
Remembering how I'd squeezed every last drop of inner energy in that Kraken subjugation last time, nothing beat this stamina potion for crisis moments among all of them.
A few others like monster repellents or paralysis cures had handy usage too.
Of course, what I considered my biggest haul was obviously this.
Male Stamina Potion. Checking the box with six vials in a set, I smirked faintly. Each one was worth at least dozens of points to me.
Even setting that aside, collapsing first in bed hit my pride hard.
"...Last time, even with just Hyeun, I went down first."
Sure, I'd been stressed out in various ways then, and her riding me wildly in excitement hadn't helped. But as a man, tiring out before your partner stung the ego.
In this world, with women's stamina and men's states, guys flagging first was common. Still, I didn't like it happening to me.
So yeah, I needed to stash these Male Stamina Potions for emergencies. Pop one if things got dicey.
I finished sorting: what I'd use, what to share with others, and what to hold since uses weren't clear yet. Didn't change much—they all ended up in my subspace pocket anyway.
The expanded 400-slot subspace pocket was shining here.
And now for the last bit....
"Time to check the rewards from sex with Senior Hwayoung."
Skill Unlock >> Point Shop >> Achievements (NEW!) >> Current Libido-Managed Hunters (NEW!) >> Nearby Hunters >> Remaining Awakening Points: 560
Down to zero last time, now back to 560. Yacht with Do Sihee once. Eunyoung noona once in the underground gym, once in the bedroom. Once with exhausted post-work Hyeun in the bedroom. And last night, first time at Senior Hwayoung's. Five sessions for 560—not bad.
Do Sihee's max affection bonus was in there, so average around 70 per time without it. Solid number.
Plus two new achievement rewards from Hwayoung bumped total to 660.
The sex with Senior Hwayoung was plain vanilla, but her half-elf status scored the racial achievement. The other was her being my fifth virgin conquest.
Realizing you're someone's first is always a rush. Even more so when it makes them see you special.
On that note, Han Mina's KakaoTalk tomorrow was a tad disappointing.
I'd hoped an outdoor date-like walk might make her see me differently. Guess to her, I'm still just a close guy friend.
Can't force it. At least she was cool with the heat relief. Nudge her awareness bit by bit, and we'll get closer eventually.
Mulling that, I browsed the point shop idly and wrapped up my day. Tomorrow, how to tame that heat-crazed cat? Fun thoughts to drift off to.