* * *
Actually, that was the main point.
I could control my powers now, had a license, and with all the martial arts training, I was better at regulating my strength.
I wasn’t a full-fledged Hunter yet, but I no longer had to worry about accidentally hurting someone without meaning to.
Soon the reward from Wind Hole would be deposited, so it was time to prepare for moving out.
I’d need to go house hunting and make various arrangements.
Taehwan had gotten this house for me, so he might feel hurt—but I wasn’t in a wheelchair anymore, and I was both mentally and physically healthy now.
I couldn’t keep living here forever.
If I got too comfortable in his arms, I’d never leave the pouch like a baby kangaroo.
“…You’re leaving this house?”
“Yeah.”
Taehwan’s expression hardened instantly.
I knew he didn’t want me to go, but his face was scarier than I’d expected.
His voice dropped low, cold enough to make my hair stand on end.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I-I mean, now that you know about my sexual orientation… it’s hard to keep living together like nothing’s changed… I think I’m ready to move out…”
“Hey. Kissing a guy once doesn’t make you gay. And that kiss—were you even in your right mind when it happened? Did you beg him to kiss you?”
“Uh, well… not really.”
“Do you love him?”
I flinched without meaning to.
‘Love’—such a heavy word. Do I… love Gray Coat?
I definitely felt a flutter when we were alone together.
But it’s a feeling I’ve had with Taehwan too.
No—stronger with Taehwan.
Twice as much, maybe more.
If I feel that way toward Taehwan too, doesn’t that mean it’s not romantic love?
We’re just friends, after all.
“I’m not sure yet. I do like him… but I don’t know if it’s love.”
“That’s… pretty vague.”
“I don’t really know what love is…”
“I told you before, didn’t I? The conditions for someone you’d give your body to. Try thinking of it that way.”
“Well, that’d be you.”
“…Me?”
“Yeah. You.”
What had he said again?
Someone it would kill me to be apart from, even for a moment.
Someone I could love even after turning my back on the entire world.
Someone who loves me back just as much.
I counted it all out on my fingers—and it all pointed to Taehwan.
“You match every condition.”
“…Ah.”
Taehwan’s expression became… complicated.
At first he looked like he wanted to call bullshit, but then he seemed to accept it, propping up his chin and sighing.
“Right. I wasn’t thinking. You’re the type who’s shy around strangers but easily gets attached, and would risk your life to save a passing stranger. If that’s your standard for love, then yeah—you probably love everyone.”
“…No, I—”
“Well, they say there are different kinds of love. Let’s narrow it down to sexual love, then.”
Not everyone, though…
I couldn’t imagine a situation where Taehwan would need to be rescued, but if—just if—I had to choose between saving him and someone else, I’d pick him without hesitation.
I might feel guilty afterwards… but I wouldn’t regret it.
He’s not just a friend—he’s a special friend.
A one-of-a-kind existence.
Maybe even more precious than my family.
But Taehwan tends to undervalue his place in my life.
Still, I didn’t feel like nitpicking with someone trying hard to help me understand what love is.
After a pause and after finishing his food, Taehwan finally looked up as if he’d reached a conclusion.
“Guess there’s only one way to know. If you wanna have sex with someone, that’s love.”
The moment I heard the word sex, I involuntarily twitched.
Did he really just say it?
Sex.
As in, that—when two adults who love each other sleep together and… mix their sperm and egg to make a baby…
I didn’t know much about it, but I did know it was very lewd.
Probably way beyond anything we’ve done up until now.
“So, um, how do you… do sex? I mean, I… don’t really know exactly…”
I didn’t even know what it felt like to want to have sex with someone…
My voice got so quiet from nerves that I wasn’t even sure I finished the sentence aloud.
But he must’ve understood.
Taehwan scooted his chair back and patted his thigh.
An invitation to sit.
He still acted so casually with physical contact.
Did it really not bother him even if I’m gay?
I felt relieved, but also strangely embarrassed, and hesitated.
He frowned and patted his lap harder.
I had no choice but to carefully perch on his thigh.
Right away, he shifted one leg and turned me to face him.
Their faces naturally drew closer, and for a moment, my heart skipped a beat.
It was the same face I’d just been kissing—no, “cleaning with”—just moments ago.
He probably wasn’t trying to do that again… but the memories came rushing back.
The feeling of it, the breath we shared, the way our body temperatures had steadily risen the deeper and more intense things got.
“Can I touch you?”
“Uh, yeah. Mhm.”
“You might be surprised.”
“Where exactly are you touching?”
“That’s a secret.”
Honestly, Taehwan was already touching me.
Sometimes I think this guy just slaps my butt out of habit.
Maybe it became second nature after all the toilet training—it was a necessary motion, after all.
And it bugged me a little that his hand was so big it made my butt feel small.
I’d been working out pretty seriously this past month, but my muscles still hadn’t filled out the way I’d hoped.
I thought I’d bulk up more after awakening, like Taehwan did, but it’s just not happening.
Is it because my powers are long-range?
Taehwan’s a production-type, and he still ended up with a body like that.
I quietly placed my hand on that enviable body and answered.
“You can touch me. No need to ask so formally.”
“Still, if you don’t like it—even halfway through—just say so.”
“Okay… ah.”
I wondered why he even bothered asking if he was going to touch me this naturally.
But then I realized there was a reason.
The hand that had been stroking my butt moved up to my waist… then slipped right into my pants.
Even though I was used to Taehwan’s touch, having his hand inside my pants still shocked me.
Couldn’t he just touch over my clothes?
Why go in?
Wait—was he trying to touch my dick?
I didn’t exactly mind, but if that’s what he was planning, a little warning would’ve been nice.
I instinctively tightened my grip on his shoulder, thinking I should push him away—but I was wrong.
He just gently rubbed my round butt again, his palm soft and steady.
“Jaehee. When a man and a woman are in love, where do babies come from?”
“Hmm… the womb? The belly?”
“Right. So, the egg has to be fertilized there, yeah? How do you plant the seed in the belly?”
“Ah…”
As soon as Taehwan said that, something clicked in my mind.
I’ve never seen a vagina before, but I know that while a penis sticks out, a vagina doesn’t.
Just that much.
And when I combined that basic knowledge with the phrase “planting a seed,” I could finally imagine what that act actually involved.
So, sex means…
“Oh… it goes inside…”
Putting the penis into the belly and releasing semen carrying the seed.
Even that vague mental image was enough to make my face burn.
I think I finally understood why all the naughty stuff Taehwan and I had been doing up until now played out the way it did.
“Real sex” involves putting the penis inside a warm body.
So the hand jobs, the rubbing, the oral stuff—that was all meant to mimic that warmth and pressure, to give the same kind of pleasure.
Taehwan smiled at me like I was a clever little student who’d finally figured it out.
“Exactly. You insert it here and plant the seed. That’s sex.”
“Ah…”
As he said “here,” Taehwan gently pressed on my belly.
It felt… weird.
Why was he talking like he was going to plant the seed in my belly?
Couldn’t it be me doing the planting…?
I mean, I still couldn’t really imagine myself putting that… thing inside someone else’s body, but still.
And then, as his hand rested warmly on my belly, my thoughts became a tangled mess.
He said the seed would be planted in the belly, and the stuff that exploded from my throat before—that was hot, too.
So if it were released inside, would it feel just as hot…?
‘What the hell am I thinking?’
Having dirty thoughts during what’s basically a sex-ed lesson?
I’m a terrible, rude, pervy student.
I shook my head quickly, trying to banish the thought.
“Hey… then, between two guys…”
I was going to ask how it worked between guys, since there’s no vagina, but before I could even finish the sentence, I came up with the answer myself.
Because… I think I’ve heard something before.
A slur used to insult guys like us—gay guys.
That word had a certain body part in it.
And if I considered where Taehwan’s hand was right now, the answer was obvious.
“No way. Taehwan—hey, wait, not there—”
Before I could say the answer out loud, Taehwan’s middle finger slipped between my butt cheeks.
Without hesitation, it moved toward that place I’d just figured out.
I jerked my hips up in surprise, trying to escape, but his hand followed relentlessly—and his fingertips eventually reached the target.
With only a thin layer of underwear between us, I could feel his finger… touching a place I could barely believe was real.
So this is… the anal…
* * *
