Chapter 27 - Yoo Seo-rin (2)
[ Yoo Seo-rin (2) ]
=== Yoo Seo-rin (2) ===
Yoo Seo-rin lay perfectly still, eyes closed, pretending to be asleep.
I stared down at her for a long moment before slowly moving my hands.
I slipped off my shirt and quietly laid it on the floor, then slid my pants off too.
Stripping down until I was completely naked, I carefully climbed into bed next to her.
The mattress dipped slightly under my weight, causing her to stir.
This unspoken agreement—where she pretended to sleep while waiting for me, and I pretended to believe her act—made my heart hammer against my ribs.
I slowly rolled over to face her.
Her eyes remained closed, but her eyelashes fluttered ever so slightly.
I reached out with a trembling hand.
My fingertips brushed against her waist first.
...She was so warm.
Because of her reputation as an Ice-attribute mage, I had unconsciously expected her to feel cold, but her skin was surprisingly warm.
A soft, living warmth radiated directly into my fingertips.
It was a deep, gentle heat, like someone who had just stepped out of a long, hot bath.
Slide...
When I pressed my entire palm against her waist, she flinched.
I felt her muscles tighten, her skin twitching ever so slightly under my touch.
Even though her reaction confirmed she was awake, I kept up the charade and wrapped my arm further around her waist.
Slide—
I pulled her flush against me, our bodies pressing tightly together.
The instant our bare skin met, a shiver ran down my spine.
I felt the soft weight of her breasts flattening against my chest.
Her hardened nipples poked lightly against my skin.
Our stomachs pressed together, our body heat blending into one.
And then her thighs tangled with mine, wrapping around them.
Every single sensation was incredibly vivid.
She was so incredibly warm.
It was hard to believe she was someone who wielded ice magic; if anything, she felt warmer than an ordinary person.
I couldn't tell if it was just the heat of the moment or if her body was always like this.
As her warmth seeped into me, my heart hammered even faster.
And...
...down below, my body was reacting fiercely.
The moment her soft stomach and thighs brushed against my groin, my half-erection hardened completely.
My shaft swelled, growing thick and heavy as it pressed against her warm, smooth skin.
"...Haa..."
I grit my teeth, holding my breath.
The sensation of my erection pressing hard against her lower belly was overwhelmingly intense.
Enveloped by her radiating warmth, the veins in my shaft throbbed as if they were about to burst.
She flinched again.
This time, her hips trembled slightly.
Her breathing was growing noticeably heavier.
...
Squeeze—
Unable to hold back any longer, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into a tight embrace.
Her breasts flattened completely against my chest, and my hard shaft pressed firmly against her lower belly.
As my erection dug into her soft abdomen, our combined heat flared between us.
"...! ...Ngh."
A soft gasp escaped her lips.
Her eyes were still closed, but her eyelashes fluttered wildly.
I slowly caressed her back, pressing my erection even harder against her.
The hot, rigid length of me rubbed against her soft, warm skin.
Her body shuddered, a tiny spasm running through her.
Every tiny reaction made this shared pretense of sleep incredibly erotic.
Ten minutes.
Not even a single minute had actually passed.
Yet the air between us had already grown incredibly thick and hot.
I held her tighter, slowly and carefully moving my hand.
I ran my palm gently down her back.
Her warm, smooth skin slid beneath my fingertips.
With every inch my hand traveled, she flinched, yet she stubbornly kept her eyes closed, determined to play along.
Stroke... stroke...
My fingers slowly traced the curve of her waist before sliding back up along her spine.
A tiny, shallow breath escaped her lips.
Emboldened by her soft sigh, I grew more daring.
I cupped her back with my entire palm, tracing light, delicate patterns along her skin with my fingertips.
...
Time ticked away.
About five minutes in, a memory from a few years ago flashed through my mind.
The day our parents died.
After they both vanished in a dungeon accident, only me, Yoo Ra-eun, and Noona were left.
At the time, Yoo Seo-rin was a high school sophomore, I was a freshman, and Yoo Ra-eun was only in her second year of middle school. We were all so young.
Our only income came from the part-time jobs Noona and I took on alongside our studies, and the inheritance they left behind was barely anything.
We were drowning in financial stress, anxiety about the future, and grief.
And then, Yoo Seo-rin Awakened.
She was the first of us to Awaken. From that day on—
—she reached out to a female guildmaster of a mid-sized guild who had known our parents, explained our situation, and stepped into the dungeons.
Even while attending school, she spent her weekends clearing low-rank dungeons until dawn, supporting the three of us with every penny she made.
From her high school days until now, for nearly five years...
Noona had fed and raised us all on her own.
Whenever Ra-eun came home from school and said with a tired smile, "Eonni, thank you for everything today!"—
Noona would silently pat her head, leave snacks outside my door, and wash the dishes without a single word of complaint.
During those five years, she barely ever smiled.
No matter how exhausted she looked when she came home, she always made sure we were taken care of before finally retreating to her own room.
Every single time, my heart ached with a mixture of guilt and gratitude.
Only now did I realize the truth.
The high school version of Yoo Seo-rin, who had stepped up to lead us like a mature adult...
...was actually just a young girl who wanted to be pampered and loved.
Yesterday evening.
The way she had stood beside me while I washed the dishes, silently nudging her head toward me.
I had been too flustered to think much of it then, brushing it off—
—but looking back, she might have been asking me to pat her head.
If she really had been awake since the very first night I snuck in, pretending to sleep and letting it slide...
...then yesterday's gesture was her own quiet way of acting spoiled. A rare moment of vulnerability from the sister who had carried our family on her back for so long.
I carefully moved my hand upward.
My fingers brushed through her navy-blue hair.
The silky strands slid smoothly between my fingers.
Slowly, gently, I began to stroke her head.
Stroke... stroke...
I ran my hand from the crown of her head down to the nape of her neck, lightly massaging her scalp.
Her body shuddered violently for a brief second, before—
—gradually relaxing into my touch.
"......"
I remembered how she used to stroke our heads with a weary smile, telling us we'd worked hard, hiding her own exhaustion.
That memory overlapped perfectly with the way I was stroking her hair now.
Maybe Noona wanted to be held like this, too.
At the very least, I could have hugged her and told her she'd done a good job.
The thought sent a dull ache through my chest.
To soothe the ache, I kept stroking her hair.
To tell her she'd worked hard.
To tell her I was grateful.
To let her know she could lean on me from now on.
I poured all of those unspoken feelings into my touch, gently stroking her head.
With every stroke, she seemed to snuggle just a little closer.
Her hair was incredibly soft.
Every touch released the faint scent of her shampoo, mingling with her warm body heat.
Eight minutes... nine minutes...
I kept stroking her hair while my other hand, which had slipped down to her waist, gently rubbed her back.
She pressed herself even closer to me.
Then, finally.
Ding!
[Quest cleared. Rewards are being distributed.]
"......"
It was strange.
Normally, the moment the quest ended, I would have slipped out of bed and left the room.
That had been my routine up until now.
But tonight, I couldn't bring myself to pull away.
Her warmth was too intoxicating, radiating directly into me.
Her breath fluttered against my chest.
And...
Her fingers, resting against my chest, twitched against the blanket.
"..."
And then...
Slowly...
Yoo Seo-rin opened her eyes.
Her damp, navy-blue eyes stared straight into mine from inches away.
"...Ga-on."
She whispered, her voice low and sweet.
Staring into her damp eyes, I lost my voice.
She slowly tilted her head up, bringing her face close to mine.
Chu—
Her soft, warm lips pressed against mine.