Teaching Him His Place (9)
Once we decided to eat, we got out of the car again.
I walked ahead, with Kang Juhyuk trailing just a little behind me.
It wasn’t as if I was using Blessing to glide along like I was flying, so with our strides set up like this, there was no way he could outpace me.
For some reason, though, Kang Juhyuk kept stubbornly hanging back behind me, and I glanced over my shoulder at him with a weird look.
"What are you doing?"
"Pardon?"
"Why are you following me from behind? Come walk next to me."
"Is that okay?"
"What isn’t?"
After saying that, Kang Juhyuk glanced around at his surroundings.
A woman who made passersby turn their heads, one after another.
With Kang Juhyuk beside her, people either kept their distance without bothering to strike up a conversation, or simply looked and moved on, minding their own business.
Well, she was eye-catching. It wasn’t just her looks or figure, either; even her hair was a striking silver that stood out.
Awakened people sometimes had hair color stained by mana, so anyone seeing her would probably assume it was either dye or an Awakened’s natural coloring.
"W-well, I thought we might look like we were on a date or something, haha, so..."
"If that’s how we look, what can I do? We’re going to have sex too."
"Um... er... I suppose that’s true?"
I couldn’t afford to care about every pair of eyes that passed us by.
We were probably going to end up at a love hotel before evening anyway, and it wasn’t like there’d be no one at all to see us.
If I got hung up on every gaze that only had to glance once before moving on, how was I supposed to live?
What I wanted to avoid was the kind of trouble that stuck around.
If it looked like there wouldn’t be any fallout, then I didn’t care.
There were limits to what could be helped, too.
It wasn’t as if I could only go places where no one else was around.
And besides, if we were going to look like that anyway, that’s exactly why I’d sent him to the barber shop to get his greasy hair washed and properly set.
It would’ve bruised my pride if the guy at my side looked like crap.
"You just have to make sure you don’t get it wrong. It’s not like there’s anyone in this neighborhood who knows me anyway."
Not in all of Korea, probably.
Unless you counted Ha Yujeong or Shin Jaecheol.
And there was no reason for Shin Jaecheol or Ha Yujeong to be in this area.
"..."
"..."
After I said that and started walking ahead again, Kang Juhyuk moved up beside me like I’d told him to.
But now there was a new problem. First he’d been staring only at my back while walking behind me, and now he was walking beside me and only staring at my profile.
He wasn’t even properly looking ahead; he’d only check the road with occasional quick glances, while blatantly keeping his eyes on me the entire time.
This was a little much. I knew I was pretty—hell, I knew everything about that—but... he’d been looking at me ever since we got in the car. What was so fascinating?
"Why do you keep looking at me?"
"Your eyelashes."
"...What?"
"Your nose... and your lips. And the shoulder holding your bag, and the hand holding the strap..."
"Hey. You’ve been looking that hard this whole time, and you still can’t just say you weren’t looking at me?"
It was disgusting.
Though what was really disgusting was the cunt getting turned on by those words and that stare.
Seriously... no matter what I did, it trembled. What a body, getting excited over any little act of voyeurism.
"I may be pretty, but I’m not the only pretty woman around, so don’t overdo it."
"I’m not sure about that. Of all the women I’ve seen so far, you’re the prettiest, noona."
...Hng.
That was a mistake.
The body of an easy woman and an easy man had met, and now they were just spouting bullshit at each other.
I needed to move on to a different topic fast. At this rate, I was going to soak my panties just from walking down the street.
"What do you feel like eating?"
"Hmm. I don’t really know what’s around here."
"Like I do. We eat whatever’s in front of us. Tonkatsu?"
"Tonkatsu?"
"Why?"
"No, it’s just... I thought noona would go somewhere like fine dining."
What exactly did he think I was?
Some chaebol daughter? Seriously.
He knew damn well I was a hunter.
Did he think someone in a job that had to survive on preserved rations inside Gates would want to go to fine dining?
When I’d first become an S-class hunter, I had gone to places like that on purpose, sure.
But that was stupid. The reason I didn’t go to fine dining wasn’t because it was expensive; it was because it was slow.
It was a waste of time.
For a meal that was only ever going to be eaten once, it was enough if it met a certain standard, and if I was going to spend money anyway, I was better off investing in something luxurious instead.
I had taken women to places like that when I wanted to show off a little... but even then, only once or twice.
Most of the time, I’d just gone to Western restaurants with a decent atmosphere.
And I had no reason to put on airs for Kang Juhyuk.
It was better to just go wherever was right in front of us.
So I picked the tonkatsu place right ahead of us.
"So, you hate tonkatsu?"
"No! I like it. I eat it pretty often."
"Then that’s that."
I led Kang Juhyuk into the Japanese restaurant.
Down the stairs to the basement level, the shop in the underground floor had been decorated far more modernly than I’d expected.
We stepped inside after being greeted by a part-timer’s cheerful “Welcome!”
It was around 4:30, so it might have been break time, but thankfully it wasn’t.
I took the menu, ordered immediately, and asked for cheese tonkatsu for myself and plain tenderloin for him.
Kang Juhyuk pulled out the spoon and chopsticks and set them in front of me, then poured me some water, too.
While I drank, I looked around the place.
The hour being what it was, the two of us were the only customers there.
There was a fake cherry blossom tree standing in the corner, and the lighting was a little dim.
Still... the atmosphere was pretty nice. It made the seat across from me feel more visible than anywhere else.
Probably because we were sitting at a table for two, facing each other.
Kang Juhyuk seemed easier to see that way, too.
The collar of his T-shirt had slipped down a little as he leaned forward, revealing the line of his neck... and his collarbone.
"You have a... m-mole."
"Huh?"
"On your left cheek."
"..."
There was makeup and all kinds of things on his face, so I couldn’t really see any flaws.
But there was no way the mole on his left cheek could be hidden.
Strangely enough, that little detail stood out a lot. Not that I thought it was a bad thing. A mole was just a mole, after all.
There probably wasn’t one on this body of mine, which was practically just born...
And yet, when Kang Juhyuk heard me mention the mole, his face turned red.
He scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"What. Why?"
"Ah, no. It’s just... you looked at my face."
Are you in middle school or something?
I had been trying to make him fall for me, sure... but he still needed to keep some kind of line.
If I kept staring too hard, he might start thinking, Could it be me? and all that.
I tore my eyes away from the mole that had caught my attention.
"Noona, I’ve got a question."
"What is it?"
"Will you answer me?"
"I’ll decide whether to answer once I know what it is, asshole."
Don’t test me. You’re not in a position to do that.
"What exactly is Haeun noona?"
"Haeun noona? So now you’re just saying it outright?"
"No... I mean, I don’t really understand. You called her a succubus, but... is it something like a split personality, or is it really some curse you brought back from the Gate? If it’s a split personality, then Eunha noona or Haeun noona, either way..."
"Hey. Don’t lump us together. That pisses me off."
What the hell...
My mood soured at once, and I drummed the index finger of my right hand against the table.
If we’d been inside a Gate, I would’ve hit him for that.
More than anything, though, I could see that he kept trying to cross the line.
He kept wanting to step into my world...
Even if I were to turn him into my personal dildo, this was still a relationship I’d cut off someday. I didn’t want to get too entangled.
"Haeun noona mentioned your mole by name too, you know. Haha..."
"...What?"
Chae Haeun had looked at this bastard’s face and said he had a mole?
That bitch and I had said the same thing... what?
So what? Anybody could look at his face and think that.
Still, now that he’d just lost his virginity, he was probably the type to make a big deal out of every little thing.
It was nothing. It meant nothing. It was meaningless.
"Anyway, if you tell me, I can at least sort out where I stand with Haeun noona, you know?"
"What reason would you even have to meet that bitch? I told you to hang up if she calls."
"But Haeun noona might come find me. She knows my address now, doesn’t she?"
"..."
He wasn’t wrong.
Chae Haeun wasn’t always awake any more than I was...
But at least so far, she’d been awake.
When I was standing outside... when people around me were staring.
She kept saying she wanted to show off her ass, that there should’ve been something even sluttier to wear.
She just hadn’t surfaced in actual conversation because I’d been suppressing her.
Honestly, Chae Haeun wasn’t going to be able to break through my control and run off to have sex while I was asleep...
But I couldn’t stop her from going to meet Kang Juhyuk.
Honestly, since the control that was imposed even while asleep was probably one of those things both Chae Haeun and Chae Eunha would think, This is absolutely not allowed! about...
Of course I hated Chae Eunha moving around behind my back, but... not as much as I hated her going around spreading her legs for strangers.
Meeting Kang Juhyuk was the same.
So that was probably how she’d managed to call him without me knowing last time.
If I could choose, I’d want Kang Juhyuk to swat her away coldly without hesitation...
But seeing him all dazed and goofy, going, “Haeun noona~,” and then apparently even having phone sex with her?
Honestly, it wasn’t impossible that Kang Juhyuk might side with Chae Haeun over me.
That... that would be a problem.
This guy had to be on my side.
If I was going to make him my personal dildo, then there was no way he could belong to Chae Haeun.
I needed to make him mine...
And if he could somehow sweet-talk Chae Haeun into submission and keep her from doing anything weird...
That would be better than her sneaking around and putting out for strangers, I guess...
Could he even be used as a safety measure like that?
No, no.
I couldn’t trust Kang Juhyuk that much.
To be blunt, he was nothing more than a one-night stand.
For now, he knew his place and kept saying I was pretty, that I was amazing, but I had no idea when he might flip his attitude over like turning a palm.
Of course, if he did, I’d kill him, but it wasn’t impossible that he’d team up with Chae Haeun and screw me over either.
It was complicated.
Complicated. Complicated!
My head was a mess.
I’d just wanted to have sex. Why had it turned into this?
Just... just... fuck.
Fuck, I hadn’t expected myself to be thinking like this.
I just wanted to have sex without thinking about anything else.
"Your food’s here! Who’s getting the cheese tonkatsu?"
"Ah, yes. Put it over here."
"Sure thing~ And the tenderloin goes here. Enjoy your meal!"
The server brought the food over and set it down between us.
Steam rose softly from the cheese tonkatsu.
"Let’s eat first."
"...Yes."
Maybe he’d noticed how serious my face had gotten, because Kang Juhyuk read the mood and quietly picked up his utensils too.
I didn’t eat much.
Not that I couldn’t have eaten as much as I wanted, if I’d wanted to.
By the same token, if I didn’t want to eat, I didn’t have to eat at all.
So usually I ate when something tasted good and didn’t when it tasted bad.
But once the thought hit me that I just wanted to have sex, my appetite dropped right out from under me.
Instead of spending time on this food...
I started thinking about putting something else in my mouth.