The moonlight, now brighter, slipped through the curtains and gently illuminated the room.
In the center of the room stood a giant bed, where two people were huddled together.
“…An egg of wish? The one that was playing around in the Tower of Growth like a fried egg… and a fairy came out of it…”
Hong Yeon-hwa shook her dizzy head and tried to organize the information she just heard.
[Yes]
Lee Ha-yul nodded in affirmation. He continued with the summarized information.
“So, the fairy recognizes you as, uh, daddy… and you gave the fairy the name Seo-yul… ‘Lee Seo-yul’?”
[Yes]
“Lee Seo-yul… I mean, not Shin Seo-yul?”
[Huh?]
[Why suddenly mention Shin Seo-yul…?]
Hong Yeon-hwa’s mouth dropped open as she absorbed the situation. A dizzying feeling spread through her body, as if the ground had cracked open, and she was about to fall into an unfathomable abyss.
It felt like the world was mocking her for making the wrong choice…
Just a moment ago, Lee Ha-yul, who was in her arms, had mentioned someone named ‘Seo-yul’.
Drunk and emotionally heightened, it had slipped from Ha-yul’s lips without referring to anyone as ‘sir,’ casually mentioning Seo-yul.
As far as Hong Yeon-hwa knew, the only Seo-yul Lee Ha-yul could have met was none other than Shin Seo-yul.
And just like that, her reason snapped. It felt like her head was about to burst from all the heat. She wanted to go back and beat her past self to a bloody pulp.
‘No…’
It was absurd.
Who would think of anyone besides Shin Seo-yul in this situation?
At least, no one would ever think that after an egg discussed for playing around like a fried egg hatched a fairy, and that fairy would consider Lee Ha-yul a parent and be given the name Seo-yul, which belonged to her close friend.
It was almost a matter of injustice.
Hong Yeon-hwa clutched her ringing head.
Her hair had gathered in clumps.
It seemed time to cut it as it had gotten a bit long. She was overwhelmed with the impulse to just tear it all out.
Guilt came flooding back. It felt like her chest was tightly constricted.
Ha-yul had done nothing wrong, yet she misinterpreted things and committed such drastic actions.
“Ha-yul, um… I’m sorry. I misunderstood and did something terrible—”
“Sniff sniff…”
“—to you…”
A sound echoed from the edge of her embrace. Hong Yeon-hwa’s body shivered. The breath brushing against her chest made her eyes snap shut.
Once again, those dirty desires peeked out.
Perhaps because she had vented a little earlier, their intensity was somewhat lower this time.
Hong Yeon-hwa, who managed to suppress her desires in an instant, let out a deep sigh and sneakily looked down at her arms.
In them was Lee Ha-yul, cuddled closely.
Hong Yeon-hwa lay on her side, hugging Ha-yul on the bed. With a complicated expression, she patted Ha-yul’s back.
At that, Lee Ha-yul tilted his head back. The face that had been buried in her chest peeked out.
“……”
Lee Ha-yul usually kept his eyes closed.
This wasn’t just a fact only Hong Yeon-hwa knew; now, simply hearing the name Lee Ha-yul was enough for most people to understand.
He walked around here and there with his eyes tightly closed; when it was time for battle, he literally wielded weapons without needing to see.
One day, when she cautiously asked, he replied that there was no need to keep them open if he couldn’t see anyway.
When his eyes were open, they hurt for no reason, so it was better to keep them closed.
“……”
Hong Yeon-hwa blinked.
Her eyelids opened and closed. It was a natural bodily function. Most creatures with eyes would behave similarly.
Then Lee Ha-yul blinked.
His tightly closed eyelids opened up. Through them, the pupils that had concealed themselves until now emerged.
Their gazes met.
Gray pupils stared intently at Hong Yeon-hwa.
She swallowed hard.
Gray eyes…
They weren’t that rare to find. If one looked carefully around, they’d see many with gray pupils.
The difference was that Lee Ha-yul’s eyes held no spark.
The dull color, devoid of light, gave them the look of the eyes of a long-dead corpse.
But they were beautiful. Those lusterless, dull pupils were strangely pretty and beautiful.
Unlike them, Lee Ha-yul was alive.
The pupils that struggled to focus trembled slightly. Even while his gaze scanned around, it couldn’t quite lock onto anything.
The gaze shifted to Hong Yeon-hwa.
The focus fixed.
It felt like his eyes were exclusively capturing Hong Yeon-hwa.
At that moment.
Lee Ha-yul scrunched up his eyes tightly, as if something inside wasn’t going smoothly.
– Thud!
Hong Yeon-hwa’s heart raced violently.
Just a moment ago, he had seemed foreign, but now he transformed into an incredibly cute figure.
‘So cute… No, before that…’
As Hong Yeon-hwa’s lips trembled, she reached out her hand.
As her hand approached, Lee Ha-yul tightly shut his eyes. Her slender fingers carefully grazed his eyelids.
“If it hurts, don’t force yourself to open them; just keep them closed.”
Why had they opened?
Congenital disabilities remain difficult to solve, even for an awakened superhuman, and even with help from other superhumans.
In some cases, even with all sorts of elixirs and top-tier healing heroes on board, solutions are tough to come by.
Lee Ha-yul was in such a case, yet right now, he was keeping his eyes open.
When asked why, Lee Ha-yul stumbled over his words and couldn’t readily answer.
“You don’t have to give me an answer. If you think one day you can, then tell me; and if it seems impossible, then it’s alright if you never mention it again.”
[Okay…]
She didn’t pry too deeply. After all, Lee Ha-yul probably had his own story, and it was likely a troublesome one if he hesitated to share it.
The guilt from earlier still lingered in her heart.
Having previously known her crime of wanting to slap down whoever she felt like…
Lee Ha-yul, who didn’t reject her touch, let her gently caress him for a while before suddenly poking his head forward.
Their faces drew closer together, filling her vision.
Lee Ha-yul, with slightly opened eyes, gazed at Hong Yeon-hwa’s face and started to move his lips.
It felt a bit awkward.
It seemed strange to both open his eyes and flail his lips like that.
Finally, after fumbling through this back and forth with his lips, he managed to speak slowly.
“And… give me a kiss…”
“Gah…”
Hong Yeon-hwa gasped.
That pretty voice, which she had never heard before, gently tapped at her eardrums.
She hadn’t any great talent for singing or music, but she had heard plenty of sounds in her life. Yet none compared to this.
“Kiss… please give it to me.”
Her body trembled as if an earthquake had hit. A pleasure starting from her ears vibrated through her entire being.
His voice had awakened.
A child who had lived as mute all their life was now able to speak… why was the voice coming out now along with the opening of his eyes?
She couldn’t concentrate on that puzzling thought.
Inside, Gop-hwa lifted its head slowly. Violent and sinister cravings bubbled up.
‘Gah…’
She desperately suppressed those desires.
As the culprit, Hong Yeon-hwa shouldn’t surrender to her impulses, especially having committed a wrong due to her misunderstanding just moments ago.
Slowly averting her face, she watched as Lee Ha-yul closed his eyes shyly.
A light kiss… initiated by the warmth of their lips caused Hong Yeon-hwa’s eyes to flutter shut. The dizzying sensation weakened her rationality, while the desires twisted and her breath became ragged.
Lee Ha-yul, as if inadequately satisfied, bounced his lips against hers repetitively.
This was somewhat clumsy or should it be called cute? It was like a baby bird pecking lightly at its nest.
“Peck… ptoo…”
Their lips rubbed against each other, mixing their breaths. The sweet scent, unique and honey-like, brushed past Hong Yeon-hwa’s senses, causing her eyelids to flutter.
“Peck… pfuh…”
“Ah…”
The lips, which had been warmly brushing against one another, parted. The soft, warm sensation drifted away, evoking a moment of regret.
Lee Ha-yul let out a soft breath, burrowing his face back into Hong Yeon-hwa’s chest.
“Sniff sniff…”
‘Oh…’
Not just burying his face again.
Previously, he had nuzzled against her chest, but this time he pushed her clothing aside, diving deep into her chest, shamelessly sniffing.
Breathing was natural, but now there was an openly stated intention behind his actions.
“It… smells good…”
Honestly, it was embarrassing.
Having someone smell you was more than one would expect. Especially in a deeply intimate area like the space between her chest, where natural scent would be stronger.
Her head felt like it was about to explode.
While she hadn’t felt embarrassed when she had sniffed Lee Ha-yul’s hair, this was a whole different story.
Hong Yeon-hwa found herself unable to push him away and instead quietly submitted her chest.
“Sniff sniff…”
“…Do you like it?”
[Yes]
[It smells good]
[I’m happy]
To be honest, she didn’t feel bad. Rather, it was rather nice.
It was akin to watching a puppy clinging affectionately to its owner. He was the loveliest little fellow, provided she could keep her urges in check.
“Is there no bad odor?”
Hong Yeon-hwa trembled as she asked. She felt guilty for not having showered yet, laying on the bed and not washing off the sweat beforehand.
[It smells like milk]
[Very strong]
[Sweet]
“Uh…”
She received a response even more embarrassing than she had anticipated. Apparently, she smelled like milk from her chest. What was she supposed to make of that? Would it be better than the smell of sweat…?
Her already rosy-cheeked face turned crimson.
“Um… I’m sorry. I’m not producing yet… but I’ll definitely feed you later…”
Hong Yeon-hwa awkwardly patted Lee Ha-yul’s head, which was nestled against her chest.
[Good]
[I’m happy]
[Milk?]
“Yeah…”
‘Ugh…’
She pulled inwards.
Lee Ha-yul nestled deeper into her embrace.
His face buried itself along her exposed cleavage.
The strands of hair rubbed against her soft skin. She could distinctly feel his warm breaths and whispers against her, coming from the deep space between her chest.
At times, his closed mouth would open, expressing youthful affection.
Additionally, the necklace hanging around her neck clinked away, producing occasional lewd sounds.
“……”
All around her, her reason was under siege. It felt like her rationality was shattering to pieces, and her impulses were ready to trap Lee Ha-yul into her embrace.
But the sinner Hong Yeon-hwa couldn’t let that happen.
If again she succumbed to her desires and overwhelmed Lee Ha-yul, she wouldn’t be able to lift her head against herself in the future.
With a soft crunch, Hong Yeon-hwa bit her lip quietly.
During that process, she allowed her chest to be presented for Lee Ha-yul’s comfort.
She had to hold on.
This was her own karma.
It was purely a punishment derived from her own mistakes.
Engulfed in this loop of thought, she continued to endure the urges until the morning sun arose while quietly positioning her body for Lee Ha-yul’s comfort.
‘…Now that I think about it, it’s not just my karma; that girl has a share in it too.’
Shin Seo-yul.
Why did he have to share a name?
Hong Yeon-hwa cursed Shin Seo-yul while deep inside her mind.
Whether or not it logically made sense didn’t matter. For Hong Yeon-hwa, all she needed was someone to blame and share responsibilities with.
In the world of Gop-hwa, those who manifest such tendencies must also possess skills in shoving their shortcomings onto others for a healthy mental state.
*
– Ding!
[Contact: Gop-hwa Hong]
▶Gop-hwa Hong: That Bitch
“What is she doing?”
Despite the vacation, Shin Seo-yul frowned, having not had a moment’s peace since he began visiting the dungeon regularly.
On his way to the dungeon, he received a brief, swear-word-filled text from a friend out of the blue.
Suddenly jolted, he swiped at his arm.
Something prickled with goosebumps.
It was a sinister premonition that though he was innocent, punishments were forthcoming.
‘…Should I just take a day off today?’
He felt something strange. Today didn’t seem like it was his day.
He felt like he could suffer a mishap and end up using the dungeon as his burial ground.
Shin Seo-yul quickly turned around.
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