Chapter 136

 

As I froze in shock, the sensation of what I assumed was Seong San-ha’s tongue brushing over my lips paralyzed me further. His warm breath brushed against my face as he barely stifled a laugh.

Snapping back to my senses, I jerked my chin back to put distance between us.

“You, you…! What the hell are you doing?”

“What else? Kissing you.”

“You crazy, insane son of a…!”

I was so flustered that I couldn’t even finish cursing. Watching me malfunction, Seong San-ha grinned mischievously and leaned in again. My fumbling protests were swiftly cut off as he pressed even deeper, parting my lips and twining his tongue around mine. A shiver ran down my spine at the startling intimacy.

All I could see was his face, so close it filled my vision. His eyes curved softly, silently instructing me to follow suit as he closed them. Despite my resistance, I found myself clenching my eyes shut as his tongue tangled with mine, slick and commanding, leaving no space for breath.

They always said first kisses were supposed to be sweet — but this was nothing like what I imagined. It was wild, raw, and completely overwhelming, as though every nerve in my body had been seized and dominated.

Despite being unable to move as I pleased, I didn’t dislike it. In fact, a tingling warmth spread from my fingertips, and my brain felt like it was melting into mush.

Seong San-ha is a guy… so why does this feel so good?

Overwhelmed by the sensation of his long, heated tongue curling and twisting like a serpent, I instinctively tightened my grip on him. My mind raced, wondering when I’d stopped thinking of him as a crazy jerk and started responding in kind.

His arms, once purely restraining me, were now sweeping gently over my tense back. I hadn’t even realized it. And yet, all I could think was how incredibly good this felt — far too good to stop.

The sound of a groan leaking from deep inside my throat made me feel a tremble from Seong San-ha’s lips as they brushed against mine. Soon, a soft, tickling sound followed as our lips parted.

“Why do you make such a cute sound?”

Even with the laughter mixed into the question, I couldn’t say anything and just stared blankly ahead. I couldn’t take my eyes off Seong San-ha’s lips, which were now flushed and glistening with a shiny red hue.

‘So pretty…’

“Mm? Eui-jin ah?”

Is this what a kiss is like? The gentle gaze and the soft touch of his hand on my head spread a tingling sensation from my heart down to my abdomen.

I had missed the chance to be angry. I felt so good that there was no way I could be mad.

Now I understood why people only kissed after they promised to be together. A kiss was as dangerous and powerful as a seductive potion—no, even more so. With how good I felt, I was definitely going to become addicted to it.

As I remained silent, Seong San-ha, who had been quietly observing me, slowly lowered his head. In a hurry, I raised my hand to cover his mouth. Seong San-ha’s eyebrows lifted in surprise.

“I’m not going to fall for it again… Woahh!”

I shuddered as I felt the sensation of his tongue sliding slowly across my palm, pulling my hand away. As I shook my hand to get rid of the lingering chills, Seong San-ha, who had moved closer to me again, lightly pressed his lips against my cheek and the area above my eyes, whispering as he did so.

“You didn’t seem to dislike it, did I see it wrong?” 

“It wasn’t that I hated it. But…”

“Then why?”

Every time his skin touched mine, it felt ticklish, and when his lips brushed teasingly near the corner of my mouth, I felt a shiver run through me, causing my body to tremble.

Without missing a beat, Seong San-ha pressed his lips to mine and pulled me by the waist, slowly drawing me closer as he kissed me. 

“I regret it. I wish we hadn’t kissed.”

“You’re the one who did it, what kind of nonsense is that?”

“I think I would’ve been better off not knowing. I don’t think I’ll be able to hold back anymore. What should I do?” 

For a moment, I almost said ‘me too.’ But I barely managed to hold onto my composure and pulled my lips away. 

“Then just stop now…” 

Before I could even finish my sentence, Seong San-ha covered my lips with his.

***

I glared at myself in the mirror with a pout. My lips, swollen and seemingly twice their normal size, felt completely foreign to me. My overly sensitive lips stung even from the slightest touch of my fingers. 

“Will this go down?”

“I don’t know. Maybe some healing will do the trick?”

I slapped away Seong San-ha’s hand as he reached for my lips. Was he giving me trouble and trying to heal it? I might as well drink a healing potion. 

I glared at him as I brought the glass in my hand to my lips.

“You disgusting bastard, leech, pervert.”

“That’s harsh. Didn’t I get hurt too?”

“That’s because of you…! Fuck, let’s not talk about it.”

The kiss, which had continued without me noticing the passage of time, was suddenly interrupted by a change in my body. Specifically, the healthy and natural physical response of a man.

The tingling sensation and the feeling of my heart pounding down in my abdomen felt both familiar and new at the same time. I had trouble connecting the dots because Seong San-ha was a man.

While I was deep in the pleasurable sensation, mixing our tongues, at some point, Seong San-ha slipped his leg between mine and began subtly stimulating me. The unexpected stimulation acted as a trigger, causing my excitement to burst. 

On top of that, I was taken aback by the hard… damn, incredibly large thing pressing against my leg, and I instinctively punched him in the stomach.

During the process, Seong San-ha’s lip brushed against his canine, causing it to bleed, which I felt guilty about. The punch to his stomach was deserved, though.

“That was the most cowardly surprise attack ever. You know that, right?”

“Yeah, damn it, who—ugh, is this happening?”

“It’s just a natural reaction. And you also has…”

“No, it’s not!”

I shouted out in denial, and Seong San-ha shrugged his shoulders. 

“Okay, I get it. So it’s not a natural reaction, but a change because of me.” 

“Yeah! It’s all because of you… huh?”

I only realized something was off after seeing Seong San-ha’s face grinning mischievously. A curse nearly escaped my lips, but when I saw his red, swollen lips, I felt a sudden dryness in my throat, so I quickly drank the alcohol in my glass.

Once the alcohol settled in, I felt a little calmer and spoke more calmly, looking away.

“I’m not gay.”

“I’m not either.”

The shameless response that came immediately made me want to retort, asking if someone who kissed a guy wasn’t gay, but then I realized that the one he was kissing was me, so I shut my mouth.

I knew that Seong San-ha saw me as someone else, but I didn’t know how to sort that out.

Seong San-ha was looking at me, but I just silently stared into empty space. The drink, which I had been sipping slowly to cool down my burning lips, finally ran out. Seong San-ha, who had picked up the bottle and filled my glass again, asked softly:

“Will you tell me later how you ended up at the center?”

“Well… maybe a very, very long time from now.”

“Then what about this?”

“What about it?”

Seong San-ha hesitated as he carefully chose his words and then asked cautiously:

“Did you lose your memories when you were young because of that incident? And they still haven’t come back?”

“……”

‘Does he think I lost my memories?’

Now that it was clear I was Kang Eui-jin, I could talk about Sa-na, but it wasn’t the right time. I couldn’t face Sa-na after what had just happened.

‘It’s better if he just stays as Seong San-ha for now. Damn it…’

I had a lot of questions about the orphanage and Sa-na, but since I had pretended not to know until now, I figured it was okay to wait a little longer before telling him. I stayed silent, and Seong San-ha smiled lightly. As if to signal that he wouldn’t ask further, he nodded slightly and filled his own glass.

“Clear your schedule for tomorrow afternoon. I have somewhere to go for a bit.”

“I heard Lee Cho has an interview tomorrow.”

“It’ll be done by afternoon. Just don’t make other plans and keep the time free.”

I nodded in agreement. When Seong San-ha clinked his glass against mine, a refreshing sound echoed. His gaze fixed on my hand holding the glass.

“Does your hand feel empty? Are you feeling hurt?”

“…I used to carry it around. Tae Jae-heon took it, you know. It’s not that I lost it, I had it taken, so you should understand.”

It was an S-grade item, after all. Plus, now that it was in Tae Jae-heon’s hands, the chances of getting it back were next to nothing. Feeling a little guilty, I blurted it out, and Seong San-ha smiled, squinting his eyes.

“It’s okay. I have something to replace the ring.”

“What… wait!”

At Seong San-ha’s gesture of tapping my neck, I jumped up from my seat.

“Right, release me from this.”

“Why would I take off the leash from a dog who put it on themselves?”

“Back then, I was trying to run away from Tae Jae-heon! Damn… What’s the keyword? Just tell me that at least.”

At my bold question, Seong San-ha tilted his head. Soon, a status window appeared in front of me, and my feet moved automatically.

「Master has commanded “Come here.” Hurry and run to Master.」

Seong San-ha, who had wrapped his arms around my waist after I ran toward him, looked up at me and smiled.

“What do you think it is?”

“…Woof?”

“Wrong.”

His firm denial made me pout in frustration.

‘How the hell would I know the damn keyword? You probably don’t even know what I’m thinking right now.’

“Stop cursing in your head.”

“…You’re like a damn ghost.”

There had been a condition that it would only last until I found Tae Jae-heon, but now that I had put the collar on myself, I had no idea how long it would last. In the end, I shook off the hand wrapped around my waist and took a step back.

“Stop messing around. I’ll figure it out without your help.”

“I hope it turns out well.”

I figured if I stayed any longer, I’d just have to listen to more nonsense, so I turned away. Seong San-ha slowly followed behind me and spoke.

“Stay the night. I won’t touch you.”

“Get lost. I’m leaving.”

I walked out of the room, leaving Seong San-ha, who was leaning against the doorframe and waving his hand. As I turned the corner, I heard the sound of a door closing in the quiet hallway, and then it hit me.

‘Oh, right. I don’t have the key to my room.’