"...Huh? Hye-Rim. What did you just say?"
"Ah."
Only then did I realize what I had said.
What the hell? Why am I acting like this?
What? Did I just ask for a kiss? From who? From Ha-Yeon?
Even if I'm not in my right mind right now, this is insane. I've completely lost it.
"I'm... I'm sorry. That was nonsense. Just pretend you didn't hear that."
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.
"......"
I waved my hands frantically, asking her to ignore it, but judging from Ha-Yeon's reaction, it didn't seem like this situation could be resolved so easily.
"A k-kiss? You and me, Ms. Hye-Rim?"
Yeah. Makes sense. She's probably wondering what kind of lunatic I am.
Even if I was originally a man, I'm a woman now. A woman asking another woman for a kiss? There's no way this looks normal.
And that's not even the main problem.
"Ha-Yeon, you already have someone you like. Even if I lost my mind, I never should have said. Please forgive me."
I still don’t know who it is, but Ha-Yeon mentioned she likes someone. Knowing that I still said something like this.
Guilt washed over me. I couldn't hold back my emotions and ended up saying something disrespectful to the person I adore the most.
I no longer deserve to call myself a Ha-Yeon fan.
"...Ms. Hye-Rim."
"You can curse at me. Hit me. I'll take whatever you throw at me."
"I'm fine with it. Let’s kiss."
"To think a person like me would be part of Awakened Crime Division. It's not even funn— what did you just say?"
"A kiss. I said, let’s kiss."
...What? Did I hear that wrong?
For a moment, I thought I must’ve misheard due to my brain short-circuiting. But then Ha-Yeon hugged me tightly from behind.
"...I'm okay with it. If it's you, Ms. Hye-Rim. No, because it's you, I want to kiss you."
"H-Ha-Yeon? What are you saying? You have someone you like."
"Don't you get it yet?"
"Huh?"
Ha-Yeon tilted her head slightly, her breath brushing against my ear as she whispered.
"The person I like is you, Ms. Hye-Rim."
"......What?"
My brain short-circuited again.
Ha-Yeon’s crush... was me?
"Why? Why me?"
It was so sudden and unbelievable that I couldn’t help but ask.
"Why do you like me? Since when? How did this happen?"
"Do I really have to explain this myself? You’re so mean."
"I mean..."
I can't help it. I honestly have no idea.
"I don't know when it started. Or how it happened. There are just too many reasons."
Too many reasons?
...I can’t even begin to guess.
"I just realized one day that I liked you. That I loved you."
Her arms around my shoulders tightened.
"Ms. Hye-Rim, I like you so much that I don't want anyone else to have you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. That’s how much I love you."
It feels like a lie. I can’t believe it. I mean, think about it. The person I adore the most—the one I look up to—actually loves me back?
Who would believe that?
But it’s real. I can feel the sincerity in Ha-Yeon’s words and her touch.
"Do you remember when you asked me if I liked Shin Chul-Min?"
"Yeah."
"I was genuinely upset then. Here I was, liking and cherishing you so much, and you brought up someone completely unrelated."
"That..."
"Do you know how much that hurt me? Honestly, I was a little disillusioned with you at that moment."
"I-I'm sorry."
I see. Now I understand.
Before Ha-Yeon could fall for Shin Chul-Min in the original story, her heart was already set on me.
That explains why there was never room for Shin Chul-Min in Ha-Yeon’s heart.
And yet, I acted as if I understood everything.
"But it’s okay. You’ve come to me now, haven’t you?"
Ha-Yeon let go of me and turned to sit in front of me, her face glowing with a gentle smile. A smile so happy, it’s something I’d never seen even in the original story.
She cupped my cheeks gently with both hands.
"I’ll say it again."
Slowly.
Her face moved closer and closer to mine.
"Shin Hye-Rim."
Slowly, Ha-Yeon’s eyes fluttered shut.
Watching her, my own eyes naturally closed as well.
"I love you."
With that confession, her lips met mine.
It wasn’t a kiss driven by lust or a need for dominance. It was a soft, tender kiss, meant only to convey warmth.
Holding my face, Ha-Yeon kissed me for a long time.
The moment felt endless, and yet it passed too quickly. It was a moment I wished could last forever.
"Ha..."
"...Ah."
When Ha-Yeon finally pulled away, I let out an involuntary sigh of disappointment.
She chuckled at my reaction.
"Are you disappointed?"
"N-No, it’s not that..."
"Ms. Hye-Rim, you’re greedier than you look."
Teasing me, Ha-Yeon gently stroked my cheek. Her touch felt ticklish, but also soothing, making me want to laugh and cry at the same time.
My head was spinning again.
My instincts screamed: This isn’t enough. I want more.
More. More of her warmth.
"Alright."
Looking into my longing eyes, Ha-Yeon smiled sweetly and leaned in again.
"Until you’re satisfied, for as long as you want, I’ll give you everything."
"Mm..."
Our second kiss lasted even longer than the first.
Without realizing it, my hands reached up to her hair.
I wanted more. Something deeper. Even though the act of kissing still scared me a little, it was okay as long as I was with Ha-Yeon.
Kissing Ha-Yeon calmed my excitement while also healing the wounds in my heart.
***
After sharing several kisses and somewhat calming myself, I decided to offer an explanation out of embarrassment.
It wasn’t because I’m some lewd woman—it was all due to Silfin’s trick.
"So, it’s because of that sig... no, tattoo that Ms. Hye-Rim got weird, right?"
"Exactly."
For the second time in my life, I revealed the existence of the tattoo on my stomach to someone else.
A tattoo like this on a person’s body, with effects that seemed straight out of a suspicious book?
It wasn’t something I could easily confess to others.
"A long time ago... I lost to that woman you saw earlier. And during that, I suffered something awful, and this got engraved on my stomach."
"...I see. So, you’ve been dealing with it ever since then."
"Yeah."
I nodded weakly.
That day still remains a trauma for me.
I couldn’t do anything—I was just lying on the ground, making humiliating noises.
Even as Silfin’s hands and lips violated and overwhelmed me, resistance was impossible.
The only ones who knew about this were me and Lee Hee-Jin. That’s why Hee-Jin still feels guilty about it to this day.
She believes it happened because of her—because she couldn’t protect me.
"Even now, if someone touches my stomach, I feel something strange. I thought I’d gotten used to it lately, but today, she played another weird trick before leaving."
Normally, I just endured it quietly.
That was the best I could do.
After explaining everything, Ha-Yeon asked cautiously.
"So, you still feel... strange?"
"Huh?"
"I mean, does it still feel unresolved? Like something’s missing?"
"......"
I understood what Ha-Yeon was trying to say, "Kind of, but why?"
Feeling uneasy, I asked, suspecting something, "Well, I thought... maybe I could help with that."
As expected, that’s the answer I got.
I clammed up. Ha-Yeon’s face turned red as she lowered her head in embarrassment.
"I mean, in those kinds of stories, resolving such feelings usually fixes everything, right? So, maybe this is part of the treatment too."
"Uh... maybe?"
Of course, the thought had crossed my mind before.
But I’d never tried it—obviously, for certain reasons.
"So, Hye-Rim."
Still blushing but speaking firmly, Ha-Yeon continued, "Shall we go somewhere... where it’s just the two of us?"
***
And so, here we are.
We ended up heading to a nearby motel and quickly got a room.
But once we were alone inside, an awkward silence fell between us.
Sitting side by side on the bed in perfect posture, we avoided each other’s gaze, staring off into the distance.
It hit me belatedly.
Neither of us had any experience in this sort of thing.
Even if I count my past, it was something I’d been forced into.
In other words, this was the first time either of us had come to a motel with someone for such a purpose.
Hmm. How am I supposed to break the tension here?
I don’t know. I kind of just want to go home.
Of course, I wasn’t actually going to leave.
"Uh, um..."
Since neither of us was saying anything, I decided to speak up first.
"Should I go shower first?"
Standing up from the bed, I made a move toward the bathroom.
But then—
"Wait!"
Ha-Yeon grabbed my hand and stood up as well.
"Why don’t we... just shower together?"
T/N: this is not the magical bloodfist novel that i was promised