* * *

Doyoung glared at his lower half.

As if that would somehow calm things down—it would have worked long ago if that were the case.

“Ha…”

He let out a long sigh and glanced at the closed door.

Beom Sinje, who had left the room, hadn’t returned since.

It seemed he was considerate enough to give Doyoung the space to rest, just as he had said.

“Or maybe he knows about my… predicament and is just waiting for me to deal with it myself.”

Biting his lip, Doyoung ruffled his hair in frustration.

“No way!”

Shameful memories resurfaced, making him squirm.

He glanced down at the bulge that still hadn’t gone down.

It was probably due to the lingering effects of the poison in his body.

“No matter how much medicine is used to stabilize it, some effects are bound to remain.”

The doctor must have warned Beom Sinje about such possibilities.

His gaze shifted back toward the door, then quickly darted away.

Finally, his hand slid under the blanket.

“Ugh…”

Warmth spread to his palm as his hand moved up and down rhythmically.

He pressed his lips tightly together to prevent any strange sounds from escaping.

Closing the door wasn’t enough to block out noise entirely for a Hunter with exceptional hearing.

If Beom Sinje was in the living room, he could hear practically everything.

“Mm… Mm… Ngh…”

He bit down on the inside of his cheek, desperately trying to swallow his groans.

Still, whenever a sound inadvertently slipped out, his shoulders trembled.

As the pace quickened, so did his excitement.

His hand grew damp, and the size in his grip felt even more substantial.

“When was the last time I did this… alone?”

Despite the situation, Doyoung let out a bitter chuckle.

“Never.”

Come to think of it, that was true.

Ever since he possessed this villain’s body, he hadn’t so much as touched anyone, let alone tried to take care of his own needs.

“Why the hell have I been living like this?”

To be fair, he had been too busy to even think about it.

Back in his training school days, he juggled classes, personal training, secret trips to the Antithesis headquarters, and checking in on Beom Sinje and Yeo Giwon whenever he had a spare moment.

After graduation, his life only got more hectic—battling the government, dealing with troublemaking villains, clearing dungeons, and keeping up with domestic and international reports.

By the end of each exhausting day, he would collapse into bed and fall asleep instantly.

“And now, when I finally wanted to live like a retired villain…”

The peaceful life he had dreamed of was ruined within half a year thanks to his favorite character showing up.

After that, he was forced into working as a secretary, something he reluctantly agreed to.

But even that job was demanding enough to leave him no time for indulgent fantasies.

“Haa…”

The more he thought about it, the less he understood why his life had only become busier after he transmigrated into this body.

“Ugh!”

Lost in thought, his hand continued to work diligently until the rising tension reached its peak.

A soft groan escaped his lips before he clamped his mouth shut again.

His body shuddered, and the warmth that had been building up inside finally burst forth.

A bitter, musky smell filled the air.

“Haa…”

Trying not to pant, he steadied his breathing and looked down at himself.

“Damn it.”

Despite having just finished, the size hadn’t gone down in the slightest.

Frustrated, he bit his lip and hesitantly scooted off the bed.

Grabbing some tissues, he wiped his sticky hands.

Tossing the tissues into the trash would essentially be advertising what he had been doing, so he refrained.

“Seriously, what is my life…”

Though self-conscious about how absurd his situation was, he couldn’t exactly ignore it.

Holding the tissues in one hand and his waistband in the other, he headed to the bathroom.

For a while after, the sound of running water filled the room, occasionally interrupted by barely stifled groans.

When Doyoung reemerged a few minutes later, his entire face, from his cheeks to his neck, was flushed red like a ripe apple.

Oblivious to how disheveled he looked, he nervously dried his hands and turned toward the bed, only to sigh at the sight of the crumpled sheets.

“I’ve done something even my younger self never would’ve.”

At least he’d avoided a complete disaster.

After quickly straightening the bed, Doyoung walked out into the living room, pretending nothing had happened.

“He’s gone?”

Beom Sinje was nowhere to be seen.

Curious, Doyoung glanced at the clock for the first time.

When they’d arrived at the S-rank dungeon, it had been evening.

By the time they conducted the initial survey and started the second raid, it had been close to midnight.

If they had spent hours in intense combat and only left afterward…

“Ah, he must’ve gone to work.”

It was likely morning now, so Beom Sinje had probably headed to the guild.

“He could’ve at least said something before leaving.”

Of course, that might have led to an even more awkward situation.

Shaking his damp hair, Doyoung began searching for his smartphone.

On the bedside table, the dresser, and even the headboard.

But no matter where he looked, the familiar device was nowhere to be found.

“Where did I put it?”

Even amidst the chaos, there was no way it had simply disappeared from his pocket.

Yet, after checking several more places, he still couldn’t find it.

“Did I lose it?”

Scratching his eyebrow with a finger, Doyoung let out a small sigh.

Fortunately, he always made a habit of immediately deleting his contacts, messages, and call logs.

Even if someone else got their hands on it, there wouldn’t be much for them to see.

“Hopefully no one’s tried to contact me in the meantime.”

Especially not anyone he had given specific instructions to.

If someone like that had tried to reach him, he’d need to find another way to get in touch.

“If you don’t have teeth, use your gums.”

Picking up his laptop, Doyoung hesitated for a moment.

Looking back at the bed, he was reminded of what had just happened there.

“Let’s move to the living room.”

Turning abruptly, he walked out with slightly reddened ears.

Settling onto the couch, he opened his laptop on the coffee table and made himself comfortable.

The moment it booted up, he opened the guild’s work messenger.

He had planned to ask Beom Sinje about the phone, but before he could, a flood of unread messages began lighting up his screen.

“What the…”

The messages were from the guild’s internal communication platform.

If there were this many urgent notifications, they must have been looking for the guildmaster.

While Doyoung was wondering why, another message popped up.

The sender was Yeo Giwon. He clicked on the chat window.

[Hyung!]

[Doyoung hyung!]

[Hyuung!]

[What the heck? Are you seriously not checking this?]

[What are you doing that you’re not answering?!]

[Your phone is off! Hyung!]

It wasn’t just sent now.

All of it had come in rapid succession, and Doyoung could practically hear Yeo Giwon’s voice through the frantic texts.

[Oh, you’re online! I see you!]

[Hyung?]

[Doyoung hyung!]

The flood of messages intensified, like an eager puppy wagging its tail upon spotting its owner.

[Calm down. Stop spamming my name.]

[What’s so urgent?]

As he replied, Doyoung skimmed through the other messages.

Familiar guild members had all tried to contact him, from casual greetings to questions about why he hadn’t shown up at work today.

“What the heck is going on?”

* * *