Chapter 18: Confession (1)
Jin Sun-hwa stood frozen in place, unable to utter a single word. She kept darting glances between me and Su-ah, her eyes searching for any sign of how to proceed.
After a long stretch of silence, I let out a long sigh and finally spoke up.
“...Yeah, that’s right.”
I didn’t need to say anything else. Su-ah and Sun-hwa both had the right to know.
“I have abilities that other people don’t. The two of you have already experienced it a few times, haven’t you?”
Su-ah nodded faintly, as if she’d expected it. She’d been using skills herself for a while now, so the subtle unease she felt was natural, and the fact that she’d even gone through the Climax Bind once made it even more unlikely she’d missed anything.
But Jin Sun-hwa looked utterly stunned, mouth hanging open.
“W-what…?”
“Sun-hwa, have you never felt that kind of thing? The way the master differs from everyone else. The first times you experienced it.”
“That… kind of…”
Su-ah’s words had barely left her mouth when Jin Sun-hwa clamped up. Her face drained of color as she stared at me, stammering.
“Then… when we first met…”
“Exactly.”
Keeping it hidden any longer served no purpose. It wasn’t just about respect for Sun-hwa either. Yes, I’d felt a flicker of resentment toward her at the very beginning, but now she was my precious woman. So she had the right to hear this.
“Even then I used it. Like this.”
Skill 'Pheromone (Lv. 3)' used.
The accumulated energy in my dantian vanished, and both women trembled lightly. Using the direct-hit Pheromone skill in such a cramped room was rare. The moment my forgotten senses returned, Jin Sun-hwa’s body shuddered even harder than Su-ah’s. She clearly recalled the memory.
“This…!”
“That’s right. That time, the skill was what got you excited.”
“How… how…?”
Sun-hwa looked panicked. She clearly had no idea what to say next, her thoughts spinning wildly. Once I released the skill and lightly grabbed both their hands, easing the accumulated pleasure, she finally understood everything.
I stayed silent, waiting for her reaction. A moment later, after gulping down her water roughly, she asked in a trembling voice.
“So… I turned into that because of this? The fact that I’ve been acting like a crazy woman ever since that day the teacher— I mean, Kim-sunbae—arrived?”
“I never said it wasn’t your fault.”
Strictly speaking, my skill had lit the fuse. Of course, her existing frustrations played a role, but that didn’t change the fact that I had started the whole thing. I stayed quiet, waiting for her reaction.
“...So… so I fell for you because of that? So… so I… became like this…”
“...”
“...Answer me. Why… why did you seduce me? Why did we sleep together on the very first night?”
Jin Sun-hwa clutched my hand, her voice edged with desperation. Her eyes welled up and her voice started to shake. Before I could answer, she kept going.
“It wasn’t because I liked you, right? It was just… just a joke? Why… why won’t you speak? Why aren’t you saying anything…? Was I just a joke to you? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!”
Sun-hwa’s broken dialect sent even Su-ah into a start.
“S-Sun-hwa.”
“Lies, it’s all lies! It’s not true, it’s not true, it’s not— I—I can’t accept it. I won’t believe Unnie. I don’t want to be abandoned again. I don’t want to be alone. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it…! I hate it!!”
HP: [x] / [max]
“Ugh…!”
Seeing the message, my brain locked up for a second. Jin Sun-hwa still clung to my hand, her eyes completely unfocused as she muttered nonstop. The words were all the same: she didn’t want to be abandoned, she didn’t want to be alone, she just wanted to live as a woman.
It was as if she was describing the life she had lived before meeting me.
“Jin Sun-hwa!”
“I hate it, I hate it, I hate it—”
I quickly grabbed her cheeks and kissed her directly.
“Mmmph…”
As our lips met, Jin Sun-hwa’s eyelids fluttered. A moment later, still pressed against me, tears streamed down her face.
“Hic… huuug… hwaaaang…”
It seemed the burden had finally lifted; she broke into sobs. But I released the tension a beat later. Only after the message appeared did I relax and gently stroke her back.
Compatibility with Jin Sun-hwa has shifted positively. However, this event has left a strong mark on her memory. Jin Sun-hwa has temporarily acquired the Obsession state.
Yeah, that was fine. Nothing permanent.
I patted her back while she snuggled against my chest and spoke carefully.
“Feeling better now?”
“Hic… I don’t know…”
“Don’t act like a twenty-something just because you’re dressed like one. Really.”
“Don’t bring up my age… seriously…”
Jin Sun-hwa looked genuinely hurt and refused to pull away from my arms. I finally sighed, then turned to Su-ah and spoke softly.
“…You okay?”
Su-ah smiled gently and nodded.
“I’m fine. I’d already sensed it to some degree… and I trusted Master. Ah, of course I wasn’t saying Sun-hwa doesn’t trust Master.”
“Sun-hwa would think the same. More importantly, she figured it out.”
Su-ah rubbed the back of her neck, a little embarrassed.
“Well… my shoulder aches are gone, my stamina’s improved, and my skin’s super tight now. E-rin said my skin looks better than hers when she bathed last time.”
“...”
“And Master has tried everything on me before, right?”
Whoa.
The words carried real weight. She must have been thinking of the Climax Bind I’d used on her last time. Honestly, I’d been shocked too back then. It felt unfair that I was the only one getting punished.
I never expected this to happen.
“Hah… anyway… Su-ah, Sun-hwa, you two are precious to me. I mean, when I first saw you I found you attractive, and I did use this ability to make you mine. That part is true.”
Damn, my face heated up saying something so embarrassing. I ruffled Sun-hwa’s hair to calm myself and continued.
“So don’t worry. I don’t plan to abandon you or treat you like toys. I do carry some responsibility, you know.”
“...For real?”
Sun-hwa looked up at me from my arms. This auntie-daughter act at twenty years old was ridiculous. Her face and figure were carrying it, or else the gap would have been huge.
“Yeah, so stop crying already.”
“I’m not crying, idiot…”
“Wipe your face.”
Su-ah, watching me fuss over Sun-hwa, giggled and said,
“Actually, nothing’s changed. But… now that we know the secret, our bond should be deeper than before, right?”
“Thanks.”
“It’s the other way around, Master. Because you’re so kind, I’m even more grateful. I was overstepping, but you still answered.”
Su-ah bowed her head once more. The Su-ah of today—and right now—was completely different from before. Before, there had been some playful remnant; now she had fully accepted the situation. Which meant the Su-ah right now was…
“Exactly like a wife.”
“Huh? That’s not nice.”
I felt like I truly needed a wife. I hadn’t married before, but I was more relaxed than before. I wasn’t just accommodating her endlessly; I was asking for what I wanted and what was necessary, and I was pointing out my own mistakes when she noticed them.
It was actually kind of charming to imagine having a wife like that.
“Whew… I’m relieved, though.”
Su-ah finally let out a breath and leaned against the wall, posture relaxed. Sun-hwa was already dozing off in my arms, breathing softly. I stroked her hair gently and asked,
“What kind of experience was that?”
“I wonder… I don’t really know either, but I do know one thing.”
Su-ah gave a slightly sad smile.
“I love Master so, so much. And Master loves me so, so much.”
The moment those words left her mouth, my heart slammed against my ribs like it would burst.