* * *
Ateol leaned in again and whispered something even filthier than before.
Words so explicit, even in Korea, I had rarely heard them spoken out loud.
If he hadn’t been holding my wrist, I might have reflexively slapped him across the face.
“What are you, some street thug?!”
“Young people these days talk like this all the time.”
“That’s disgusting!”
“It may sound crude to someone refined like you, but you’ll come to understand that this is all part of making things more enjoyable.”
Would I, really?
I clenched my teeth, but Ateol’s hand returned to my cock.
He wrapped his fingers around the shaft and started to move.
His grip was firm—not painful, but just enough.
His hand glided up and down with ease, thanks to the wetness already coating me.
Then, he focused on my glans, rubbing the sensitive tip with his thumb.
“Aah…”
I barely managed to hold back my voice.
This was nothing like touching myself.
Ateol was experienced.
He stroked me in ways I had never even considered trying on my own.
His large, calloused hands moved up and down my shaft before forming a ring around the base, giving it a light squeeze and a slow, deliberate twist.
By the time he started fondling my balls, my cock was so hard it curved backward.
“Hnn… ngh…”
Suddenly, the absurdity of the situation hit me.
I was writhing beneath Ateol’s touch, my body betraying me completely.
Just a while ago, we had been strolling through the market together.
But at least… at least this was distracting me from my thoughts about Yuri.
“Ah… Aah… ngh…!”
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop the moans from slipping out.
It felt like bubbles were popping inside me, each one sending shivers through my core.
Ateol adjusted his grip, intensifying his movements.
My abdomen tensed.
My thighs trembled, and my vision blurred white. I was close.
The grip on my wrist loosened, giving me back control of my arms.
Instinctively, I pushed against Ateol, squirming away from his touch.
Or maybe, just maybe, I was clinging to him, silently begging for more.
My hands clutched the sheets before I eventually found myself pulling Ateol closer instead.
Moments later, I came into his hand with a drawn-out moan.
“…”
“You must have gone without for quite some time.”
Ateol held up his hand, now coated with thick, milky fluid, and showed it to me.
The post-orgasmic haze cleared my mind instantly.
Reality hit me like a brick.
What the hell had I just done?
Gasping, I thrashed wildly, but Ateol easily caught my wrist again.
“L-Let go! Let me go!”
He released me without resistance.
I scrambled away, pulling the blanket over myself.
My cock and the surrounding area still throbbed, tingling from the aftermath.
Even my stomach felt strangely warm.
And there he was, right in front of me, watching me with amusement—his hand still slick with my release.
Worse, I was the one who had begged him for it.
This was insane. I was insane. I had completely lost my mind.
Seeing Yuri again must have thrown me into some kind of frenzy, but to jump on Ateol like that?
Driven by a desperate urge to claw my own hair out, I shot him a glare.
He simply smirked and—
“W-Why are you licking that?!”
“I thought it might embarrass you.”
“…”
Unbelievable.
Absolutely insufferable.
Thankfully, he grabbed a handkerchief and wiped the rest away.
Then, I suddenly remembered—the question he had asked me earlier.
Whether I preferred the front or the back.
I hadn’t answered.
Front or back?
The thought of being the one to take Ateol made me hesitate.
It didn’t feel right. I wasn’t into that.
Which meant, by default…
‘…So that’s how it is.’
Wait. Did that mean we were doing it right now?
I wasn’t mentally prepared!
Just the handjob had drained me completely—my body might be fine, but my mind had already reached its limit.
Still wrapped in the blanket, I peeked up at Ateol.
“You don’t have to glare at me like that. We’ll stop here for today.”
“I wasn’t glaring.”
“Really? Your gaze feels quite sharp, though.”
Glaring?
When did I ever?
Anyway, that was a pretty intense interaction.
I snuck a glance at my status window and couldn’t hide my disappointment.
My favorability score hadn’t increased even by 0.1%.
My face scrunched up in frustration, and Ateol tilted his head in curiosity.
“Why do you suddenly look upset?”
“I’m not upset.”
“Did I fail to please you?”
Ateol suddenly spoke in a playful tone and moved closer.
It didn’t sound cute at all.
I pressed my palm against his cheek and pushed him away, but he simply grabbed my wrist and turned the situation around by kissing my palm.
“I’ve never been slapped in bed before… But I suppose it’s nothing compared to your extensive experience?”
“Who said I have extensive experience?”
“Well, considering how long you’ve lived, it would be strange if you were still a virgin.”
How old was Yuri again?
Just by looking at his face, it was obvious he was younger than me.
I wasn’t entirely sure about my own exact age either, but based on the date of the 22nd Tower Master’s succession ceremony, I estimated myself to be around twenty-three.
Even if my birthday was uncertain, calling that a ‘long time’ felt like a stretch.
“It wasn’t that long… And it’s not like I’m a virgin or anything.”
“Oh? So to you, that span of time doesn’t feel long at all.”
Ateol looked intrigued.
He really had a way with words.
Ateol was twenty-six.
He was older than I had been in my past life.
I guess to a twenty-three-year-old (give or take), it might not feel that long.
But from the perspective of a twenty-six-year-old, was that so fascinating?
“Anyway, we’ll see if another opportunity presents itself.”
“You think it will?”
I was already irritated that my favorability score wasn’t increasing.
“I can create one myself.”
“Hmph…”
I turned my head sharply.
Would the score rise if we just went all the way?
How was I supposed to gain the remaining 2%?
I had to reach 100% for Ateol to truly fall for me—and for me to be freed from the restriction of acting like my past self.
This was turning out to be more of a hassle than I expected.
Just then, the status window flickered again.
[Tip! Increasing the favorability of other target characters may be helpful.]
…There are other target characters?!
This was the first I’d heard of it.
I was certain Ateol was the only capture target.
Had I done something wrong that prevented the others from appearing?
Damn, does that mean I’ve wasted over a month?
No… I had tried everything, and no new capture routes had opened.
So was there a third, undiscovered target all along?
I never expected Ateol to become such an important figure in my life, either.
“Why are you spacing out all of a sudden?”
“Huh? What?”
“You do that sometimes—staring off into space like an animal that just saw a ghost.”
“Isn’t that just a superstition?”
“That’s not really the point of my question.”
Fair enough.
Still, humans are animals, and I was looking at something others couldn’t see, so it wasn’t entirely incorrect.
I didn’t answer, just glanced at Ateol.
He got up and straightened his clothes—not that there was much to fix.
The real mess was me.
I squirmed under the blanket, struggled to dress properly, and finally threw the covers aside.
“…….”
Ateol, watching me silently, suddenly reached under my arms and lifted me up.
* * *
