The Time Axis
The end of my first expedition. Reluctant to leave, I spent the whole night with Lee Soyeon and departed at dawn.
That was my last memory. A week had passed since then, so naturally Soyeon should have been fine.
But the Soyeon in front of me now was nothing of the sort. The traces of fluid and my kiss marks still marked her smooth legs, as if flaunting the lewdness that had soaked into her flesh.
How did I know? Because while we were at it, she'd lifted one leg in a way that pleased me so much I'd deliberately marked her hard.
Kiss marks don't usually last more than a week, and the house itself felt strangely warm.
Besides — the usually immaculate Lee Soyeon, sleeping amid a mess of disordered clothes and kicked-aside blankets?
Clothes in disarray, her one-piece dress hiked halfway up. One strap slipped off her shoulder. I'd pulled that down myself — easier to get at her chest that way.
And every mark I'd left on her was laid bare across her defenseless body.
It made no sense.
A week had gone by. Why did she look like I'd only just left?
Could it have been some other guy?
No. Those were my marks. Every trace of that night belonged to me, no matter where I looked.
And more than anything, she was still aroused beyond her usual state — firm and inviting, tempting me.
The bite marks, too — those were mine. I'd left them to jolt her when she was panting, limp and spent.
Who else could have done all that the exact same way?
"But still..."
A full week had passed. What the hell had happened?
Fragments of incomprehensible questions drifted through my head.
I looked back toward the living room and saw the footprints I'd noticed earlier — my own.
Given Soyeon's personality, there was no way she wouldn't have cleaned those up.
Not if a week had really gone by.
So what was this feeling that I'd only just left?
Did that even make sense? The time was wrong. My thoughts wouldn't settle.
What was I supposed to make of this? What kind of phenomenon was it? Was I dreaming?
Or else...
I was so rattled that even the sight of Soyeon right in front of me — so lewd and defenseless she looked ready to beg me to take her then and there — barely registered.
The marks I'd carved across her whole body, the seed I'd poured into her spilling from between her spread legs, that decadent exhaustion still written on her sleeping face.
Normally I would have just gone for her. But right now I couldn't make sense of any of it, so I stood still.
Even a feast laid out perfectly can feel terrifying when something is off.
Dissonance.
Yes. This was clear, unmistakable dissonance — the same dissonance I'd felt after returning to my original world.
Right. After I came back, I'd gone out at night to buy chains and padlocks. I was sure of it...
When I left, it had been afternoon. And while I was active in this future world, it was daytime too, so I hadn't thought much of it.
But after I came back, washed up, and stepped outside — the day was already dark.
I'd gone to the future in the afternoon and returned a day later...
Had the date changed?
A chill ran down my spine.
The time axes of the future world and the present were different. That much was obvious — but even after spending roughly a day there, nothing much changed in the present world?
And after spending a week in the present world and coming back, barely any time had passed at all?
The fragmented pieces in my head were locking together, forming a hypothesis.
I'd heard this concept somewhere before. The idea that you could spend years or hours on another time axis and not feel even a second pass in reality.
I couldn't quite remember the details, but once you have a hypothesis, you test it.
Confirm whether Soyeon really was still in the state from right after that night — and re-examine the concept of time itself.
That was what mattered.
So today's agenda was clear. Stay here for about two days, then return to reality and check the time.
"Good. That settles what I need to do."
Kill some zombies and resolve this new question — call that the main objective of this expedition.
"Mm..."
I studied Soyeon carefully. Once my thoughts had settled somewhat, my original lust stirred again.
I felt a little sorry for her. I'd kept her up all night, and she'd been exhausted and worn out.
Even so, "all night" hadn't meant a continuous eight hours — it was start and stop, rest and go again, and every time she slipped straight into a dazed, exhausted haze.
The last round, she'd been so spent she could barely move.
And by all appearances, I was about to go at her again after only thirty minutes? The look on her face when she woke up would be something.
But so what. If I wanted to, I would.
That was the reality she had to accept — the only reality that existed.
I chose. I led. I did as I pleased.
Those were the rules I'd set in this world. Pointless guilt could get you killed out here.
I let a male's instinct take the front seat, stripped off my anti-stab gear, and went for Soyeon's body — still warm, still marked.
I'd carve myself into that unforgettable flesh one more time.
"Your husband's home. Time to show him some hospitality."
And once again, in a room where the heat of our bodies had never fully faded, the heat rose anew.
"Honestly, how good does a woman have to be for a man to go after her like that? My husband was ridiculous when we first got married."
"It was genuinely exhausting, you know? He'd been like that since we were dating."
"But do you do everything your boyfriend asks for? You know... with your mouth and all that."
"That's a little much..."
Lee Soyeon was dreaming. Being in her late thirties, most of her friends were either married or at least had relationship experience.
Soyeon herself had had a boyfriend, after all.
So once they crossed into their thirties, bedroom talk started coming up, along with all the petty details about husbands and in-laws — the main currency of conversation.
"What about you, Soyeon? You're a celebrity. You've got a man, right?"
Her friends would look at her with envy, expecting glamorous stories from the entertainment industry.
Soyeon always just smiled awkwardly at those questions.
Given her looks, the approaches never stopped — but by temperament, she was never much of a "good girlfriend."
She wasn't particularly proactive about sex either. She simply went along with whatever her boyfriend wanted.
So even when she dated, the men left disappointed on the affection front. After that shock, she went a long time without seeing anyone — until finally she started dating the man Si Hyun-ah introduced her to.
And in the end, that man left her for Si Hyun-ah.
He abandoned her.
"You're just no fun. It feels like I'm the only one putting in the work. There's no spark. I'm sorry, but that's the truth."
Those words had driven a blade straight into Soyeon's chest.
On top of that, though never confirmed, there had been accusations that he'd been stringing her along on purpose just to mock her.
So Soyeon had almost no confidence left. Those two men were the only ones she'd ever dated. Fear had closed her heart to the opposite sex.
Even when the zombie outbreak hit, when people around her turned or the whole city descended into chaos, there was a reason she'd survived unscathed.
Mentally it was hard, but her will to endure was strong — and dying like this would have felt too unfair.
Days of waiting for some kind of change, waiting for rescue. But change had come in a form she never imagined.
Bastard. And he's younger than me.
Her body, thoroughly ravaged through the night, had finally given out near the end — she'd been on the verge of blacking out.
She shouldn't have been able to like any of it. And yet Soyeon couldn't deny the strange sense of relief settling somewhere in her chest.
No. I hate this. I hate it.
He was greedy, rough, and vicious.
The pleasure exploded in proportion to that — but the fact that it was sex without a shred of consideration was equally clear.
"From now on, you're mine. Get that into your head and nothing else."
And on top of everything, some stranger had shown up out of nowhere and started playing husband.
Calling himself her husband when she'd never even been married — the word itself was absurd, almost laughable.
But why was I so helpless? Had I already given up? Even with him doing all that, I didn't put up a real fight — I even cooked for him.
She couldn't understand her own actions or thoughts.
I'm so tired. How long did I sleep?
Half-asleep, Soyeon suddenly realized a flood of thoughts was thrashing through her mind.
And that her body was strangely flushed, too. Well — the heat she could understand.
She'd been held by that man all night, and the aftershocks of pleasure still clung to her flesh, along with the brief jolt of it.
"Ah... ha... ah..."
Her mind went hazy, as if everything inside her were draining away.
Did I pass out midway?
The light at the window told her morning had at least come and gone.
She forced her eyes open and tried to move — only to find her lower body wouldn't budge.
More precisely, someone was holding it. Soyeon struggled to identify who.
"You're awake. Good morning... well, more like good afternoon."
"Afternoon...? Hah... ah! Ahh!"
Her sleep-dulled body snapped fully alert under the sudden, violent motion.
Yes. The man in front of her had gone at her all night — and was still going.
"W-wait... just a sec—! Nngh!"
Soyeon couldn't process it, but her self-proclaimed husband had just spent a full week away — a body at peak sexual frustration.
From her perspective, this was a man so sex-crazed he'd gone from an all-nighter straight through to lunch.
Wet, obscene sounds rang out hard, joined by the vulgar noise of their coupling.
Every time his hips moved with practiced skill, a strange friction stirred deep in her lower belly — and something kept seeping out of her.
It felt bizarre, almost like being in a swimming pool. But before she could check, her self-proclaimed husband flipped her over.
"Ah..."
And then it filled her far deeper than before.
As if racing down a well-slicked track, Jin Dohyuk drove himself into Soyeon with relentless force.
This is... that, isn't it? A man's... How much did he come?
What made this different from ordinary sex — the thick, packed wetness — was semen.
She didn't know how many times, but after twelve straight hours her insides were literally full of him.
That was why every movement produced that squelching, filthy sound.
Soyeon was so floored she nearly laughed out loud.
"Ha... mmp!"
She barely managed to stifle the moan of pleasure by clamping her mouth shut — a close call. One slip and she would have been handing him exactly what he wanted.
And she was desperately thirsty.
She hadn't slept properly since last night and they'd been at it nonstop — her body needed water.
The problem was whether this self-proclaimed husband and master would actually stop just because she asked.
"I decide. You just follow. If I want to do it, I do it — however I want."
Pure tyranny, distilled.
"Um... ah... hnn!"
She was barely holding back moans of a pleasure far softer and deeper than before when Jin Dohyuk suddenly pushed his face in close.
No!
She would stop a kiss no matter what.
It was the bare minimum of resistance.
When she refused, Dohyuk pulled his face back.
He simply focused on the act itself, as usual.
About an hour passed before he took a short break. Soyeon, still gasping for breath, managed to ask for water.
This is weird. Why do I need permission to drink water in my own house? From a kid younger than me, no less.
The more she thought about it, the more ridiculous it was — but for now, that was how things worked.
Humiliation, the revulsion of submission, and shame all rose in her — and yet, strangely, something inside her felt reassured.
Soyeon ignored the peculiar feeling.
She managed a single glass of water, only to find her new master waiting with himself standing stiff and ready.
You know what fellatio is?
A friend's words surfaced unbidden, and she averted her eyes.
Those slender hands and that gaunt face, taking that thick thing into her mouth?
It was something she'd never done for any previous boyfriend — not once.
"Ever given a blowjob?"
At Jin Dohyuk's question, Soyeon flinched like prey cornered by a predator.
Of course she hadn't.
Kids these days do it like it's nothing, apparently. I tried it myself — it's actually kind of fun?
Watching the man point at himself, Soyeon felt a flicker of anger.
Something she'd never done for anyone — and she refused to do it for the man who'd forced himself on her.
"I've done it, but... I'm n-not going to."
"You still don't get the situation, do you. You think you have the right to refuse?"
A hint of anger edged his voice, and Soyeon shrank back in fear.
The image of mindlessly taking that thing into her mouth rose unbidden, and she shuddered.
"W-well, you'd do it anyway even if I didn't want to."
"...."
"...sir."
Soyeon startled at herself for slipping into formal speech.
He's younger than me. He's just a criminal.
One blow to her pride after another. The man grabbed her arm and pulled her close.
"That's right. You're mine, so you take everything. You're here to serve me. But I won't force it right this second. Rest a bit first, then we'll do it. And I'm hungry."
Soyeon stared at the smirking invader, speechless.
In the end, just like last time, she boiled him another pack of ramen. She watched him devour it, then started to move.
"Where are you going?"
"...To wash up."
"Wait. I'll finish eating and go in with you."
The man handed down his verdict. Soyeon had no choice but to wait until he finished his meal, then go in together.
But thinking about it coldly — there was no way this honeymoon of sorts would end with just a bath.
They lost themselves in coupling all over again.
Soyeon felt a strange emotion at how greedily he wanted her.
I'm being forced. I don't want to die either. So this is coercion.
Bath time lasted two and a half hours. By the time they came out, the sun was starting to set.
But there was nothing to do here — nothing except kill zombies.
Soyeon had barely finished washing when a jolt of fear hit her.
How long is he planning to stay? If he just keeps staying, then I...
Her fear became reality.
"Aah! Don't pull me — just a little rest... can't we rest a little first?"
Starting again at six in the evening. Then after a late dinner, she was dragged off once more and surrendered her body in a daze.
Soyeon's neat bedroom was transformed into a mess of disordered traces, and the sheets stained with fluid and lewdness grew steadily more ruined.
The one mercy was that this time it ended before dawn.
Given they'd been at it all day, that was only natural.
She managed to sleep — only to be taken again first thing in the morning. The intense sex life of a newlywed couple continued without pause.
At least at lunch he left her alone so she could clean up the evidence of their coupling, and the man himself stepped out for a while.
Finally. He's gone.
Soyeon hurriedly shut the door, locked the front entrance, locked the veranda.
It was pointless. Not long after, Jin Dohyuk opened the door with the key he'd taken from her house — and once again she was taken without mercy.
Moans rang out without end, and another day slipped past.
That dawn, he went out for a "quick" trip and came back asking how much time had passed.
"I don't know exactly... you came back right away...."
"Did I? Good."
Whatever pleased him so much, Jin Dohyuk was grinning as he finally introduced her to his supplies.
Food.
Into her house, where the stores were nearly gone, he poured in abundant rice, preserved foods, and water — massive quantities, from who knew where.
He brought food. This much...
"I'll take responsibility for you."
His words surfaced in her mind, and Soyeon felt something she'd buried deep begin, little by little, to seep through.