Chapter 307 Game-Changer (4)
The impact the lip bump caused was terrific. Indeed, in many different ways.
“Ah, ah!”
Elle stepped back with tears in her eyes. That was understandable. Even though they were both far from human, they had collided with a significant amount of force.
“S-she didn’t think it was this painful…”
“Who?”
“…”
Elle lowered her head and said nothing. She only just realized what she did…
Yoon-seok smirked. Well, it was obvious. It must have been the fellow administrator who told her about a table for two the other day.
“How can it not hurt when you hit me like this?”
“…Then what should I do?”
She hid her red cheeks and bowed for a moment. Elle then slowly raised her head and looked at Yoon-seok. He couldn’t see her eyes because of the cloth covering them, but somehow Yoon-seok could feel it. Her strange expectations and desire.
“….”
Elle’s cute but ridiculous mistake sent her hyperventilating for a few moments. Again, the air started to heat up.
Yoon-seok decided to be more honest.
“This is probably how you do it.”
He slowly reached out and caressed Elle’s cheeks. As soon as their flesh touched, she hesitated and grew still despite being the one who said she was done talking. However…
“…What’s next?”
Her face was burning. Even while the sound of her heart pounding could be heard, she boldly asked for what was next. Was it because she had been waiting for so long? He didn’t know for sure, but Yoon-seok came to his senses.
-No!
It was because of the voice in his head. At first, he thought it was just a signal from his reason that he should refrain, but it was the first time in his life that he had heard a hallucination so clearly.
‘Is it you, Rick?’
No answer returned, but Yoon-seok was sure of it. That was the only reason why such a sound lingered in his head while he had no intention of holding back.
“Don’t hesitate.”
Yoon-seok came to his senses and stared at Elle. She was embarrassed, but she wasn’t impatient and waited for him to move. Even though Yoon-seok had no experience, he knew one thing.
He shouldn’t make her wait any longer.
“Teach me. The next thing I don’t know.”
Was this what it felt like to be enchanted? His reason was paralyzed. Yoon-seok carefully wrapped an arm around Elle’s waist and pulled her gently in.
“That line, did anyone tell you to say it?”
“No…”
Elle shook her head. Yoon-seok smirked.
“That’s all that matters.”
Sometimes you can learn something without being taught. Instinct is what you need.
“…!”
Just like now.
* * *
The kiss lasted forever but ended too soon. But Elle was new to this.
“T-t-the tongue! it’s inside…!”
After their lips parted, she was mesmerized for a while. Elle, eventually returning to her senses, fell into a panic. Well, it wasn’t for long.
“Yoon-seok! What’s next?”
Did they have a similar desire to take care of everything at once? Elle was unsatisfied with this new experience and wanted to move on to the next one. However, Yoon-seok couldn’t do that. Just as the first administrator entered this hut without permission, this place wasn’t safe. No matter how much Yoon-seok got used to the peeping Tower, this was too much.
“…It’s indeed true?”
When he explained it, Elle also accepted. However, she seemed to be disappointed.
“…”
“…”
Anyway, after each of them calmed down, the hot atmosphere dissipated, replaced by an awkward silence.
It was Elle who broke it.
“Ah, Yoon-seok! Aren’t you thirsty?”
Elle sincerely took care of Yoon-seok as if she were helping her husband, who had just returned from work, and Yoon-seok calmly accepted it. Because otherwise, it’d be more awkward.
“…”
Yoon-seok also regretted it a little.
‘What do I think of Elle?’
Right after it happened, he didn’t intend to put Elle, who was smiling brightly without knowing anything, in an awkward situation. However, Yoon-seok seriously questioned his feelings now that it was a bit late.
Now was not the time for that. It wasn’t too late to think about it after everything was over. He had always turned away from these feelings, but now he couldn’t put it off any longer.
‘Elle… she’s kind. She’s also innocent.’
Elizabeth Lorwen. She was special. When Yoon-seok had nothing, when he finally thought he had no choice but to fight alone, she was the first person to take his side.
‘It’s funny to deny it now.’
Yoon-seok admitted it. The more he went through this and that, the more he got to know about Elle, the more he liked her. If it weren’t for the barrier called Rick, maybe he would have noticed his feelings earlier.
‘Those words must be the catalyst.’
Elle said, it’s all because of you, Yoon-seok, not anyone else. At those words, Yoon-seok abandoned his reasoning and followed his instincts like a wild beast. However…
‘As expected, this is so hard.’
It was certainly. He was romantically interested in her. But, if she asked him if that meant ‘love,’ he couldn’t answer right away. There was only a difference in size. After all, there was a time when similar emotions bloomed while he looked at Cheon-ma or Lee Su-yeon.
—The reason why you can’t answer immediately when you’re asked about the cause is that it’s not the cause.
Yoon-seok remembered what the Heavenly Buddha once said. Perhaps he thought it was too difficult to feel love because he had never encountered a normal relationship with the opposite sex.
“What are you thinking about?”
“…It’s nothing.”
“I don’t think it’s nothing. Did you… like it that much? Tsk.”
“…”
Yoon-seok sighed silently. If Elle knew what he was thinking inside, what would she think? Would she say he’s trash? He didn’t know, but…
“Yeah. I like it.”
Even confused by his feelings, at least one thing was certain. His feelings right now.
—…I want to be with you. Always in the future.
It was the same feeling Elle felt that day. Yes, that was as clear as it gets. Someday when everything was over, he hoped they’d be together.
* * *
They drank tea together, ate sweets, and chatted. Yoon-seok honestly revealed his feelings. He had never experienced this before, so he didn’t know. But their desire to be together was the same.
Elle didn’t criticize Yoon-seok. No, she was rather happy about one part.
“…Does that mean I’m the first?”
“…What?”
“Fufu. I feel like I got an unexpected gift.”
What did she mean, an unexpected gift? Yoon-seok didn’t expect such a reaction even in his dreams. Even if she didn’t get angry, he thought she’d be a little disappointed.
“About that, Yoon-seok, you are very popular, right? T-those things… you seem to have had a lot of experience…”
Yoon-seok was stunned by Elle’s answer. Even though it was from Elle’s point of view that he looked experienced.
“What do you mean by popular?”
He had never been popular in his life. It was his first time hearing such a thing. But it must have been so in Elle’s eyes.
“You know? Those women.”
He could tell instinctively who Elle meant.
“I thought I was the only one left behind. Because all I can do is wait here.”
Yoon-seok realized perhaps this was why she bumped into him today, as well as the sudden call last time. Indeed, everyone else was born as challengers in the same era, and it must have been painful to look at them working together to achieve a goal from afar.
As he thought about that and understood Elle’s heart, he suddenly remembered Soul Bonding.
—It is the ability to summon the contracted person. Even if they are far away, you’ll share their mana and vitality.
According to Henigus, using this ability would allow Elle to leave this hut and be with him. However…
—For example, an administrator or so. But would they sign this contract with a challenger?
After learning about the Tower’s trick, he realized that this information came from Henigus.
‘Somehow, it seems that I was encouraged to use this.’
As he couldn’t do anything about it, Elle grabbed Yoon-seok’s hand.
“But I’m okay now. I’ll certainly be next to you in the future. I can wait no matter how long it takes.”
“…?”
Yoon-seok stiffened. He didn’t understand. Wasn’t it normal to say that he would eventually choose her at times like this?
“…What do you mean?”
Even though he asked that question, he wondered if that way of thinking was different because she was from Seheranbad, where polygamy is common, unlike Korea.
“But, Yoon-seok, in the future, you are always with many women.”
So this was what Elle was talking about now. Come to think of it; the first administrator once said something like this. Originally, he had the fate of becoming an administrator and living happily with three women. And Elle had seen it numerous times in the future.
“But that’s already changed…”
“Even if the big frame of the future changes, the ties within it do not shift easily.”
Yoon-seok complained as if it was unfair, but Elle flatly dismissed it.
“Still, I can feel relieved now since you said it properly for the first time. That you want to be with me.”
“…”
Yoon-seok stopped making excuses. Having relationships with multiple women. That in itself was ethically unacceptable for Yoon-seok, who was born in Korea. But wasn’t it fun to say something like that in front of someone who didn’t care?
* * *
After they chatted a little more, Yoon-seok returned to the waiting room. Unfortunately, he couldn’t stay forever.
‘Let’s think a little more about using the Soul Bonding. Just in case.’
Yoon-seok, who returned to the waiting room, first checked the special reward that the first administrator mentioned. There were two rewards, including those obtained by killing rankers and those obtained by counting contribution. But there was no confusion about what he was talking about.
*New Beginning (Rank EX) – When used, Unique Skills and abilities are initialized and changed to random abilities of the same grade.
There was no doubt this was the special reward, but… still, it wouldn’t be this one.
*Purification Elixir (Rank EX) – When consumed, the soul belongs to the body, and all harmful effects on the soul are extinguished.
Yoon-seok, who quickly read the information on the second item, smirked.
‘Belongs to the body, huh…?’
He didn’t know exactly what that meant. However, if he drank this, there was a high probability that Rick’s arrangement would amount to nothing. Well, instead, Yoon-seok would be caught up in the Tower’s trickery.
‘I should tell Su-yeon first. So that she won’t drink it even if she gets it.’
Yoon-seok felt the need to inform not only Lee Su-yeon but also the others through her. The Tower might have tricks for his other teammates as well.
‘To do that, I have to go back.’
[You will return to Earth.]
Yoon-seok didn’t hesitate to tear a Ticket. And he realized right away.
[All-dimensional aggression deterrence systems will be extinguished for self-defense.]
The real meaning of this message that appeared just ten minutes ago is in real-time.
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