A New Line Is Drawn (2)
I stepped into the shower room.
Since everything inside was visible from outside, I drew the curtain at once.
Even so, the light would still show my silhouette... well, whatever. Let them look if they wanted to.
I didn’t need any special skin care or supplements, so all that mattered was washing off the filth stuck to my body.
I splashed water over myself while facing the mirror. The stream ran down the lines of my body.
The sticky semen didn’t come off easily.
Even when I scrubbed, it left behind something half-removed, tacky and unpleasant.
Only after squeezing out a lot of body wash and rubbing hard did it finally come away from my skin.
Damn, how much did he even cum...?
It wasn’t just his cock that was big. His load was ridiculous, too.
Though I’d heard being awakened didn’t automatically mean a hunter had great stamina.
And he was only D-class, too? For all I knew, Kang Juhyuk’s only real strengths were his dick and his stamina.
The problem was that I was the one who had to take it.
I parted my sealed pussy.
I tried to force the semen out as much as possible, but... it had already thickened so much that it barely moved.
Even with water, well... what, was that supposed to wash the inside of my vagina? The water pressure would have had to be absurd for that to work, and I was about the only one who could withstand that much.
Would it come out later if I peed a bit...?
I couldn’t get it all out anyway. I wasn’t doing this to prevent pregnancy. Birth control meant pills, obviously.
I just didn’t want it leaking out later and soaking my panties, because that would be annoying.
...Wait.
There were sanitary pads in my bag—the ones Ha Yujeong had told me to bring.
Ha... I guess I’d have to use them today...
After finishing my shower, I stepped back out.
As usual, I came out naked with only a towel on my head, rubbing my hair with both hands.
As soon as he saw me, Kang Juhyuk startled. He was still naked, too, apparently unsure whether he should bother getting dressed while his body was dirty.
He was covering his crotch with one hand, probably because his cock had gone hard.
"N-nuna!?"
"What? I didn’t even bring a change of clothes in with me."
We’d already had sex, so why was he freaking out over seeing me naked?
I pointed toward the shower room and told him to hurry up and wash.
Kang Juhyuk, surprisingly quick on the uptake, grabbed his clothes and bolted straight back into the shower room.
I went straight over to the place where my clothes were... and then.
My panties and hot pants... they’d been soaked through with fluids and dried that way, so... God, it was disgusting.
At least they weren’t sticky anymore now that they’d dried out.
Honestly, I usually didn’t throw clothes away after wearing them once, mostly because buying the same thing again was more of a hassle, but this was a bit much.
This body produced so much moisture that it didn’t even need extra lubrication, which meant if I kept doing this, it would always end up like this... I’d have no choice but to get used to it, huh?
I pulled a sanitary pad from my bag and stuck it into my panties. I wasn’t sure if I was doing it right, but I’d followed the instructions, so it should be fine.
Come to think of it, that was probably why most women’s panties were cut in a triangle. I’d always thought it was just because they looked nicer—but I guess there was a practical side to it, too.
It didn’t feel great to wear, but once the pad was on, at least the thing touching my skin wasn’t the filthy panties anymore, so that was an improvement.
So I had my panties on, but... pants were still uncomfortable.
Forget it. I’ll throw them out.
I was drying my hair with only my panties and bra on when Kang Juhyuk, now fully dressed and with a towel on his head, carefully stepped out from inside.
I heard him let out a deep breath when he saw my back as I worked the dryer.
He really was impossible to read.
"What? Got turned on again?"
"...Yes."
"I’m wearing such plain underwear, and you’re still getting this horny over it?"
"Nuna... no matter what you wear, you’ll probably look, ah, absolutely irresistible."
Seriously.
Was I supposed to take that as a compliment, or as bullshit?
A dry laugh escaped me.
It wasn’t a bad feeling... but it wasn’t exactly good, either.
"Enough. Kang Juhyuk, come sit here."
"Ah, yes. But... why?"
"You don’t know how to style hair, do you?"
"How did you know?"
"I could tell from the state you were in yesterday, idiot."
Kang Juhyuk shuffled over and sat in front of the mirror.
I stood behind him and checked his hair first.
It was stiff. Hair that had never once been properly cared for.
His badly damaged hair looked like it was screaming in pain.
"Did you use treatment?"
"Ah, n-no?"
"You idiot. Your hair is crazy coarse. You need some conditioner if you want any shape at all. There should be one in there."
I used treatment myself, at least.
No matter how invulnerable the blessing made me physically, dead cells like hair weren’t magically indestructible.
Sure, hair that grew from a body blessed by the Proliferator started off in good condition and didn’t get damaged easily...
But what could I do?
If he kept walking around like this, the one standing beside him would be the one embarrassed, so I might as well teach him.
"I’m going to show you, so... memorize it."
"Yes, ma’am!"
"There are ways to do this with a dryer and ways to do it without one... but first, use a wide comb like this. Start from the ends and work your way up..."
I began by shaping the hair while it was still wet.
First the outer layers, then later I’d lift the roots a little.
"If it’s hard to shape at first, you can dry it with a dryer while you do it. I’m doing it without one, so... once it looks like it’s taking shape, leave it alone for a bit. It’s better to wait until it’s about half-dry."
"Yes..."
"At this point, you can put on some lotion or something on your face."
"Ah, lotion. Yes, I have some. Can I use this?"
"Stay still, I said!"
If you keep moving around like that, it’ll get all crooked! Seriously.
I opened the lotion he’d taken out and spread some onto my hands. Then I stood beside him and, looking at his face, applied it slowly.
Kang Juhyuk’s face was hot. No, it looked red all the way through.
Honestly. Why was he so shy? If a man’s got a woman taking care of him like this, he should accept it with some confidence.
"Once it’s dried a bit, squeeze out a little curl cream. You don’t need much. If you slather it on like you did yesterday, it just looks greasy and awful."
"Ah, ahaha. So that’s what that was."
"Work it through naturally with your hands like this..."
Using both hands, I applied the curl cream in the direction I’d first shaped it.
Softly, slowly. He was a little far away, which made it awkward. Maybe I should pull him closer.
I shifted my upper body closer to his shoulder and kept moving my hands.
"Ah."
"What now? Quit fidgeting."
"It’s, um, your chest..."
"Yeah, it brushed against you. So what? This is why virgins are impossible."
Stop noticing every little thing.
You’re making me notice it, too. Damn it, my nipples are starting to sting...
Seriously, this is annoying.
Because my tits were so big, they brushed things even when I wasn’t thinking about it.
"If you slick it straight all the way back, it looks kind of old-fashioned, so brush your bangs forward a little with the comb. That adds a point of interest. Once the shape’s all set like this... finish it off with a little hairspray. Just a bit is enough."
"O-oh. Wow. It looks like yesterday."
"The guy in that picture is a pro, so of course he’d look better. Still, this is fine, right?"
"No, I think it looks better when you do it, Nuna."
"...Egh, I told you to quit saying things like that."
"Can you do it again?"
Jesus Christ, look at this bastard.
"I told you to memorize it."
"Still, I don’t think it’ll turn out this well if I do it myself."
"Don’t get clever with me. Arrogant little shit."
I smacked him on the back right away.
It made a sharp clap of a sound.
But Kang Juhyuk didn’t look hurt.
We left the love hotel almost at seven.
He was wearing the same outfit he’d come in with... except this time he walked out without the hot pants.
The long sweater fell down to his thighs, but since he wasn’t wearing anything underneath at all, it still looked a little off.
Like his steps had become more careful, somehow.
On the way out, I returned the key and settled the bill. I’d meant to book by the hour, but it had turned into an overnight stay.
I got in the car right away, and Kang Juhyuk climbed in carefully after me.
Even though he’d already ridden in it yesterday, he still looked tense.
"What do you want to eat?"
"Anything’s fine with me."
"Say that again and I’m feeding you salad."
"Salad... is fine. Yes, yes. That’s fine."
"Cut the crap. You want meat."
"...Yes."
"We slept after sex last night without even eating dinner, and we woke up at dawn. You think leaves are going to cut it?"
At this hour, the options were actually pretty limited.
Since we were in the city, there were places that opened in the morning, but I’d have to look them up online.
Soup rice, hamburgers, salad—stuff like that, simple breakfast or meal places.
There were even some cold noodle shops open in the morning, but he’d need protein.
Well. Pork soup rice would be fine, I guess.
How many guys actually hate that?
I’d eaten it almost every day until three years ago myself.
"Let’s go get some soup rice."
"Yes, sounds good! Hehe. So you like soup rice, Nuna."
"Who doesn’t...? You don’t seriously believe that nonsense about women all hating soup rice, do you?"
"I-I saw a post yesterday saying you should absolutely never go there on a date."
"Some people like it, some people don’t. And besides, it doesn’t fit the mood for a date. Hey. Why the hell were you reading that yesterday anyway? Are you on a date with me?"
"Ah, no. No...! I was just, just searching for stuff like what to wear. Yes. Right."
...Ha.
Something about him was making me think more and more that this wasn’t it.
I took him into a place that was fairly close by and had good ratings.
As soon as we walked in, a huge pot that looked like it was simmering broth was boiling over with steam.
The smell of meat hit my nose hard. I could hear Kang Juhyuk swallowing beside me.
He was hungry, I guess. I didn’t feel especially excited about it, but I wasn’t going to refuse food, so I sat down.
Since it was morning, the place was full of people getting ready for work.
Not packed, exactly, but it felt about one-third full.
I could feel people’s eyes drifting toward me. Tiresome.
I sat down near a window right away, and Kang Juhyuk followed.
I ordered sundae soup rice; Kang Juhyuk ordered pork backbone hangover soup.
When the side dishes arrived, he kept picking up and setting down his chopsticks while staring at them.
"What? If you want to eat, then eat."
"Haha... I’m worried I’ll look rude."
"You, worrying about manners? You raped me."
"Shh, shh! N-nuna...! There are people here."
"Did I say anything that can’t be said?"
He wasn’t someone I planned to spend a long time with.
I’d better get to the point quickly. Then he could make up his mind and decide whether he really wanted to hand in his resignation.
Normally I’d do this somewhere more office-like, but...
No. That was too much time wasted.
"So. About what I told you earlier, to resign."
"Ah. Yes."
"Ha... Fine. I guess I’d better tell you a little about the story you’ve been so desperate to hear."
Kang Juhyuk’s eyes lit up.
Now that I was finally about to talk about Chae Eunha, the person he’d been dying to hear about, he looked at me with the kind of excitement you’d expect from getting exactly what you wanted.
It was seriously suffocating.
I hesitated a little over how much truth I should tell him.
I’d told Ha Yujeong and Shin Jaecheol that I was Choi Eunho and that, as payment for the contract, I’d become a woman.
But I hadn’t told them that I had to have sex regularly to recover the blessing.
I’d also kept the existence of Chae Haeun secret, of course.
But Kang Juhyuk was different.
He was the dildo I’d secured because I needed sex on a regular basis.
There was no need to hide the fact that I had to have sex... but I couldn’t tell him that I was actually Choi Eunho.
Because if I went back to being Choi Eunho, then it would be over between us anyway. We’d become strangers—no, people who didn’t know each other at all.
Better to keep things like "I held Choi Eunho" or "Choi Eunho was held" a secret from both of us.
I’d want to forget it myself, and he’d probably rather not think about it either.
"A few days ago, while dismantling a gate, some kind of curse got stuck to me, just like you thought. After that... my body kept getting aroused. Chae Haeun is... basically the instinct in me that gets aroused like that."
"Ah..."
"Yeah. Chae Haeun isn’t, like... the source of the curse or anything. She’s not a succubus or a demon. She’s just... an instinct that accepted something curse-like, I guess. I can’t really explain it well."
"So Sister Haeun is... kind of like a personality that accepts Sister Eunha’s horny side...?"
"...No. It’s different. Why would it be the same? It’s totally different. If I’m reason, then she’s instinct. If I’m trying to act like a civilized person through reason, she’s like an animal that just follows sexual desire all the way down."
Don’t compare her to me.
She is separate.
...Though when we have sex, it does feel like the two of us keep getting mixed together.
Still, absolutely, she’s separate.
"So... when the desire builds up too much, I can’t think about anything except sex. I can’t even use my strength. It’s the worst kind of handicap. I’m going to fix this. I’ll get rid of the curse and take my original body back."
"Yes. I understand the situation. Don’t worry. I’ll help you however I can."
"Ha, right. I do need help, but like I said, you’re just a dildo."
"...Pardon?"
"I’m going into the Great Rift to wash off this curse. While I’m looking for a way to do that... I need someone I can sleep with regularly."
Ah.
For a moment, Kang Juhyuk lost the ability to speak.
Then his face went red again.
He scratched at his left cheek, the one with the mole.
But soon enough he gathered himself and asked, a little worriedly, "B-but... the Great Rift is, you know, right? The first gate that ever appeared. Lower depths are somewhere other hunters can go often, sure... but if you go deep, even S-class hunters are in danger, aren’t they...?"
"You don’t need to worry about that. Just follow behind me and, when I want to, we’ll have sex. I’ll keep you safe."
"If I can’t do it, then you’ll..."
"Find another dildo."
"I’ll do it! Please, please let me do it!"
Yeah, fuck.
After I’d gone so far as to explain all this, there was no way he could back out now.
Then I’d have to tell the same humiliating story to some other bastard.
"But there are three conditions."
"Yes."
"First. Inside the Great Rift, you’ll obey my orders."
"Of course."
"Second. You won’t tell anyone, ever, about my condition."
"Yes, ma’am. Understood."
"Third. Absolutely, under no circumstances. Ever. Ever and ever. You will not get me pregnant."
"...O-of course! Ah... no, I mean. I already... did it, though."
Yeah, you bastard.
Now do you understand why I called you a rapist?
"I’m taking birth control pills at home for now. I’ll bring them with me when I’m going to the Great Rift, too. But we also need condoms. No more finishing inside me."
"Y-yes... yes. Right. N-no pregnancy. Yes. It’s not like... we’re getting married or anything. Right."
"That’s not the only issue..."
I clutched my head.
Pregnancy was a problem, obviously. It was the last thing I wanted to think about.
But that was my personal problem. Looking at it on a larger scale, the real issue was what came after.
I couldn’t even explain it properly, which was just frustrating.
The moment I got pregnant, there would be two more Chae Haeuns in the world.
One in my belly. And... one from the bastard who’d come inside me.
According to Chae Haeun’s explanation... “it” would turn the two of them into daughters.
So this was for Kang Juhyuk’s sake, too.
I was only managing to hold on because it was me. If Kang Juhyuk became this body...
Then Chae Haeun would have stolen his personality in an instant. More precisely, he’d probably turn straight into someone with Chae Haeun’s temperament.
And then that copied Chae Haeun would reel in another man...
And copy two more Chae Haeuns. Then copy them, and copy them, and copy them again.
Disgusting.
"And this is going to take a while. Honestly, I don’t know when I’ll be able to lift the curse. If I’m lucky, it’ll be within a month, but if I’m unlucky, it could take years."
"So that’s why you told me to quit my job."
"Yeah. I’ll give you money. Once the job’s done, I’ll make sure you don’t have to worry about living expenses... yeah, something like severance pay. After that, we go our separate ways. Don’t go around telling people what we did together."
"...Does it have to be like that? After you’ve lifted the curse... even if you don’t sleep with me anymore... I’d be fine with it. Just as, um, acquaintances, at least."
"No."
Because then Chae Eunha would be gone.
So even if you made that kind of lost-puppy face at me...
I couldn’t do anything for you.
Take the money and go your own way.