How to Make Her See Me as a Man (1)

Esila's final words left my mind in even greater chaos than the moment that urgent quest had first popped up. I'd already been pretty rattled when it dangled 300 points in exchange for sleeping with Hyeun's mom. But the conditions for triggering that urgent quest had been so utterly unexpected—it was bound to hit even harder.

The day I'd slept with Cha Yuri and Do Sihee. If I'd ignored the urgent quest and left them alone... I might never have seen them again in this world. The thought made my heart pound.

'Being with you fills this emptiness I've always felt. Honestly, aside from magic, nothing really interested me. But since meeting ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you, my whole worldview has shifted a bit.''If it were something money could buy, I wouldn't have hesitated. But I had a feeling you weren't the type to be swayed by that. So rather than making things awkward with some aggressive approach, isn't it better to keep our current relationship so you don't feel burdened by me?'

The grim realization that one wrong choice could have erased all those precious moments of love we'd shared... And on top of that, the woman who'd raised me all these years—I could lose her too. My resolve hardened in an instant.

If the common thread among those three women was their impending deaths, and the way to stop it was by sleeping with them... Even if one was basically my mother—Hyeun's mom—I wouldn't turn away.

From Esila's words and the context when the urgent quest appeared, my hunch was probably spot on. Cha Yuri had been on the verge of giving up entirely, ready to die if she couldn't regain her power. Do Sihee had been charging into death's jaws against a monster she couldn't handle, wounded as she was.

Whether or not I slept with the woman I saw as a mother was irrelevant now. If it meant saving her life, I was ready to lay down my own. Something as trivial as moral hang-ups over sticking my dick in her? Meaningless bullshit.

"Haaah..."

Of course, that didn't fully ease the blow of facing a future where I'd have to fuck Hyeun's mom.

'No other way, Esila?'

'Yeah, figured you'd say that.'

It was a question I hadn't even really hoped for an answer to. If she'd suggested some alternative now, I probably wouldn't have believed it anyway.

In the end, there was only one way to avert the coming future: sharing perfect physical and emotional love with her.

The silver lining? About a week's grace period. If I could somehow start seeing her as a woman in that time—and get her to see me as a man—then we'd dodge that grim fate.

"...Eunyoung."

First things first: start calling her 'Eunyoung.' To shake off the image of her as the mom who'd raised me since I was a kid, I couldn't keep using 'Mom' or 'Hyeun's mom.' Even if it felt distant, thinking of her as Eunyoung was my first step.

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

Coming to terms with sleeping with Eunyoung was one thing—but it didn't mean barging next door and jumping her right away. No matter how critical this sex was for saving her life, it had to be filled with genuine love and sincerity between us. That was non-negotiable, my unbreakable philosophy.

Cha Yuri and Do Sihee had regained their powers because I'd approached our encounters with those exact feelings in my heart. I'd do the same with Eunyoung.

Seeing her as a woman? Doable. Her ageless beauty and that sleek, powerful body honed from swinging a greatsword in her hunter days? Hell, it'd be harder not to feel attracted.

Up until middle school graduation, I'd seen her as a real woman, after all. It was just high school that made 'Mom' stick. Given those old memories, getting hard for Eunyoung? No problem.

With that settled, two issues remained.

One: How to make Eunyoung—who saw me as her son or her daughter's boyfriend—view me as a man.

Two: How the hell to explain to Hyeun that I planned to sleep with her mom.

Both screamed trouble.

Priority one was getting Eunyoung to see me as a man. Sorry, Hyeun, but worst case, I could sleep with Eunyoung first and beg forgiveness later. Explain it was to save her life, and she'd probably come around. Complicated, sure—but doable.

The real headache? Explaining why sex with me saves lives. My awakening—gathering points from sex to level skills—was already unprecedented. Add "someone dies if we don't fuck," and how do you even broach that?

No matter how I spun it, it felt impossible. Worst case, she'd nod along but secretly doubt every word from the start. That'd undo ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my confession about my powers last time.

...Cold assessment: problems galore. But dodging them wasn't an option.

Let's recap.

One: Complete the urgent quest by sleeping with Eunyoung to erase her doomed future.

Two: That sex requires shared love and sincerity, so make her see me as a romantic prospect.

Three: To avoid betraying my girlfriend—her daughter—confess beforehand, not after.

...Not easy. Solving all three at once? Impossible. Tackle what I could, step by step. A solution would emerge eventually.

That night, I agonized over it until dawn before finally crashing.

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

I'd only dozed off around 2 a.m., and by morning, the timer had ticked down to 156 hours. About six days and twelve hours left.

No telling how things would play out, so no room for complacency. It started counting down the moment I met her last night at 10 p.m.—full week ends next Monday at 10 p.m.

Weekend was the crunch time. Had to make sex with Eunyoung happen by then.

Even starting today to shift her view of me? Tight schedule.

No more hesitation. I changed into going-out clothes and headed straight next door. No—Eunyoung's house.

"...Hoo."

Standing before her gate with a totally different mindset than usual, my fingers trembled slightly as I pressed the doorbell.

Ding-dong.

The chime rang, the intercom crackled on, and her voice came through.

She sounded a bit flustered, clearly expecting something Hyeun-related.

"Mind if I come in for a bit?"

The front gate opened effortlessly. I stepped into the yard, and her front door swung open from inside.

"Come on in, son. Been a while since I saw your face~."

She'd totally forgotten last night's drama. Good—no awkward start.

"Yeah, Eunyoung."

"Sure, son~. Uh, Eunyoung...?"

"I'm not a kid anymore—can't keep calling you Mom or Hyeun's mom forever."

"Still... Mom likes hearing you call her that..."

Her sad expression stabbed at my chest for a second. But backing down here would doom any chance of a romantic shift.

I had to tough it out and get used to the new name.

"Excuse me for a sec, Eunyoung."

"Uh, y-yeah, come in..."

She seemed a little off-balance with the new title too—her voice wavered at the end. Whether that led somewhere good? Time would tell.