More than Friendship, Less than Love (1) (Illustration Spoiler Warning)
After entering the semi-basement villa with Han Mina, who greeted me with an awkward smile, I casually glanced around her single-room unit. It was still a cramped ten-pyeong space for three people. It might've been fine when the twins were little, but now that they'd grown up, it had to be inconvenient for all of them in every way. With no personal space at all, stress must have been building up between Mina and her sisters, knowingly or not.
At least, judging by the standards of women in this world with their rampant libidos, it meant Mina and her sisters had a hard time relieving their sexual urges through masturbation. I'll focus on relieving Mina's stress during sex today if possible. For someone like her, crushed by duty to pay off her parents' debts and secure her sisters' futures, that was probably the most essential thing she needed.
"Hey, S-Sung Taekyung, first things first... Ngh?!"
So the moment our eyes met, I went straight in for a kiss. Kissing was already proven countless times to be good for mental health, and besides, I personally loved starting sex with a kiss. It wasn't just about mixing bodies for pleasure—it felt like truly sharing love with each other.
"Mmph, w-wait... Hnngh?!"
Startled by the sudden kiss, Han Mina tried a feeble resistance, but I had no intention of pulling away from her lips. The more she pushed my body to create distance, the more I deliberately ducked my head and pressed closer. The kiss that began with our lips clashing grew more intense with every step she took backward. Licking teeth, tangling tongues, exchanging saliva, sharing breaths—the whole process reached its peak in just a dozen seconds or so.
Finally, when her back hit the wall of the single room and she could retreat no further, I grabbed both her wrists and kissed her even more passionately, our breaths mingling hotly.
"Hnnngh, haa, mmph...."
Han Mina tried to say something several times, but since I was dead set on the kiss, she eventually relented, allowing her tongue and lips to respond. The starting point of our lovemaking in this ten-pyeong space. Once I felt it had gone on long enough, I moved straight to the next phase.
"Hah...?!"
I released one of her wrists and grabbed her bare breast right over her clothes. Compared to Hyeun or Sihee—or even Hwayoung sunbae, whom I'd fondled just two days ago—it was laughably small. But even at a size that fit perfectly in one hand, I couldn't deny its appeal. It wasn't purely soft, but it had a nice bounce, and above all, watching Mina's reactions when I touched it was plenty enjoyable. Seeing her go from flat as a board in middle school to this cute girl who moaned lewdly at my touch after just a few years—it was an irresistible thrill for me.
...But it felt way softer than expected. I'd started over her clothes, so I should've felt the double layer of fabric and bra, but somehow, it was like I was touching her bare breast under the T-shirt.
"Hah, haa, hnnngh...!"
And Mina seemed especially sensitive to it. Suspicious, I asked her outright.
"Hey, Han Mina. You didn't wear a bra inside, did you...?"
Thwack! Her hands shoved my body away with a sharp sound. Flustered and aroused, she met my eyes before shaking her head furiously.
"N-No, I did?!"
"What're you talking about? You clearly didn't wear anything under your T-shirt..."
"H-Hey! Sung Taekyung! Forget that, dude!"
"Huh?"
"J-Just shower first! Don't come at me all sudden like that!"
"Wha...??"
Wasn't the mood perfect for moving to the next step after the kiss? Figuring out why she'd kill the vibe just to tell me to shower first was pretty tough.
"...Now?"
"W-What, after sex?!"
"No, I mean... I'd shower after too, but..."
"Y-You sweated a bit coming here! I'll lend you the bathroom, so wash up nice and come out! Yeah?!"
"......"
Of course, I usually showered before sex anyway, so I had no real argument against Mina's suggestion. Still, her insistence on breaking the hard-built mood to make me wash up was unexpected. Cutting off a perfectly natural flow to the next stage meant her words carried only one implication.
"...Am I really that smelly right now?"
Honestly, she'd never complained about my sweat smell during our previous romps, so this reaction hit me fresh and shocking. I'd been convinced that in this world, a man's sweat scent was like an aphrodisiac to women. Hyeun and Eunyoung noona clearly loved my natural scent, and Sihee even sucked my dick eagerly every time despite its stronger musk.
So hearing this from a friend I'd known for years was a real blow.
"Uh-uhng?!"
"That's gotta be it. If I didn't smell, you wouldn't suddenly stop and tell me to wash."
"N-No... It's not exactly the smell..."
"Then let's just keep going like before..."
"N-No! You do smell! S-So, just a quick shower would be good! Really, super quick!!"
Maybe I should've just gone to the bathroom right away. My persistent grilling only confirmed that I really did stink.
"N-No, it's not that bad?! B-But I'm an animal awakening hunter! My sense of smell's way sharper than normal people's, so even a tiny bit smells stronger to me, like... um..."
"...Yeah, got it. I'll shower."
"Y-You're not taking it weird, right? Yeah? It's really just a tiny bit, so even just splashing water's fine! That's enough!"
"...I'll wash thoroughly."
"N-No, that's not..."
I never thought I'd get emotionally scarred over something like this at my age. Even in a world where gender roles were reversed, hearing you stink to the opposite sex hits hard.
With a bitter taste in my mouth, I tossed my clothes aside and headed into the bathroom-cum-toilet. Vowing to scrub every inch spotless so Mina would never say that again.
Watching Sung Taekyung enter the bathroom with a shocked expression, Han Mina felt restless. She hadn't expected him to look that bitter. Realizing too late that sweat smell was a sensitive topic for men, she tried to backpedal, but his face stayed clouded after hearing he stank.
At first, it was just an excuse to buy time. She'd wait naked for him to finish showering, then seamlessly transition to sex. That way, he wouldn't notice she had no matching underwear and was going braless.
But in trying to spare her own embarrassment, she'd ended up inflicting worse on him.
"Argh, there were other excuses... Stupid idiot..."
Truth be told, telling him he smelled wasn't a big deal to him. Sex while sharing sweaty scents had even become one of his tastes. What shocked him was her implying his sweat was so unbearable she had to kill the great mood for it.
Either way, she'd messed up with him somehow. Things always tangled up whenever she tried anything with him around. Back in school, she'd ruin budding atmospheres with her overreactions most of the time. In high school, she'd wanted to help him from sexual harassment by the girls, but all she could do was not show her heat cycle around him.
And telling her sisters to cut ties for his sake had backfired spectacularly just recently.
Today, she hated herself more than ever for always fumbling with him. Hadn't she just made him feel bitter because she wasn't thoroughly prepared?
With the milk already spilled, Mina could only think, Never mess up again, and hope for next time. Reflecting like that, she spread out the bedding on the floor, stripped naked, and carefully got on all fours atop it. Since she'd already screwed up, she had to at least hide the braless embarrassment.
After a thorough scrub per Mina's advice, I stepped out of the bathroom. The first thing that hit my eyes was her snowy-white ass. Somehow, she'd stripped naked on the bedding spread on the floor, presenting just her ass.
Naturally, a question slipped out.
"Hey, Han Mina."
"......"
"What're you doing?"
No reply came. The fluorescent light just gleamed off her alluring backside.