episode_0002

Hanna couldn’t go out with her shoes on, but she couldn’t come back in either. She stood frozen in place.

Her trembling eyes turned towards this direction.

More accurately, towards the phone that made the sound.

“Oh, no? Please…”

Despite her desperate wish, Kim Taeyang’s voice flowed from the phone once again.

[Shall we try for real now?]

[Ah…ah….]

With those words, a scream came out, followed by the sound of flesh hitting each other from the phone.

In an instant, Hanna collapsed into her seat as if all strength had left her.

Even though she couldn’t see the phone screen, Hanna, with her hands covering her face, seemed to see everything just from the sound, lost in shock.

I paused the phone for a moment and gently supported her.

Normally, she wouldn’t have allowed such a touch, but Hanna, overwhelmed by shock, gratefully accepted the supporting hand.

I sat Hanna back on the couch and said, “…Have some warm coffee.”

“…Sugar…please give me some sugar.”

Even though it was coffee that I had made with great effort and she hadn’t even glanced at, to Hanna right now, this coffee seemed to be what she desperately needed.

Like shedding a skin, Hanna roughly dropped her belongings near the couch again.

Instead of neatly placing them down like when she first entered my house, she almost threw them down on the floor as if venting her frustration.

Knowing her feelings, I didn’t bother to point out her behavior.

“Here’s the sugar.”

As I handed her the sugar and spoon, Hanna silently took them and started pouring sugar into her coffee.

After filling about half of the coffee with sugar, the angry stirring with the spoon stopped.

Even though it would taste sickeningly sweet, Hanna drank the coffee in one shot.

As the sugar rushed to her head, Hanna, looking somewhat better, cautiously asked, “…Why did Taeyang, I mean Kim Taeyang, send this video to you?”

“…The woman in the video is my girlfriend.”

“Oh…I’m sorry…”

Hanna seemed to have some intuition about it, but as I spoke nonchalantly, she even bowed her head in apology.

Seeing her like that, I smiled and reassured her it was okay.

As I smiled, Hanna seemed to feel even more guilty, burying her gaze in the coffee cup with only sugar left.

Her expression as she fidgeted with the cup was changing constantly.

Betrayal and anger towards Kim Taeyang, apologies and some inexplicable guilt towards me were all showing on her face one by one.

Not missing this opportunity, I brought up the topic.

“I’m thinking of just reporting it to the police.”

“Re-reporting?”

“Yes… I want revenge, but I can’t think of any other way…”

“…Yes, that’s right. Reporting…sigh…”

Hanna sighed deeply and nodded her head.

Although she understood my desire for revenge, the word ‘report’ seemed to weigh heavily on her.

In fact, just the fact that Kim Taeyang sent me this video was enough for a report.

Not for revenge, though.

“No. I’m just thinking of uploading this video to SNS…”

“That’s!”

Hanna, with a startled look in her rabbit-like eyes, interrupted me.

She grabbed my hand, pleading with a look that seemed to say that it was not allowed.

But she couldn’t bring herself to say that it was not allowed.

If she did, it would seem like she was shielding Taeyang, who had done wrong.

So Hanna bit her lip, looked up at me.

It might have been an action driven by her desperate heart, but it was stimulating the man’s heart.

“Please…if you could just endure…”

She murmured softly, as if a puppy whimpering.

The reason was clear.

For Kim Taeyang, it wouldn’t be right to say such things.

Hanna’s profession was a social media star.

When browsing her social media, even though Hanna was just an ordinary person, she was famous enough to receive advertisements for cosmetics and workout clothes and promote them.

She had numerous followers and fans filling her account, an achievement she had accomplished in less than a year.

Even when I saw it, she had the potential to grow even more.

Yes, if it weren’t for Kim Taeyang.

Nevertheless, Kim Taeyang was the main culprit in stirring up complicated emotions for Hanna.

He was her precious boyfriend, but many fans pointed out Kim Taeyang’s handsome appearance and past, urging Hanna to break up with him.

In fact, there were comments exposing Kim Taeyang’s past on her posts from time to time.

And every time that happened, Hanna fiercely defended her boyfriend’s reputation.

The past is the past. He is working hard to atone, and Kim Taeyang has changed.

She would say that, forcefully defending her boyfriend.

As a result, she even fought with fans, and some fans who saw that left.

That’s why when we first met, she reacted a bit sharply, maybe asking if I was a victim of the past.

“But Kim Taeyang hasn’t changed.”

What would happen if I revealed Kim Taeyang’s true self on social media?

It would definitely cause significant damage to Hanna’s account.

“If there’s any trouble…”

“That…”

Hanna couldn’t easily answer my question.

She couldn’t bring herself to talk about seeking revenge in front of the man who had stolen her girlfriend.

Especially because it was related to her social media.

With her dry lips trembling, Hanna became as silent as a clam.

“Or, there’s another way…”

“Another way?”

As I spoke softly, a glimmer of hope seemed to appear as Hanna eagerly took the bait.

But I awkwardly smiled and didn’t answer.

Avoiding Hanna’s eyes as if I had imagined something that shouldn’t be said.

Looking at me, Hanna asked urgently.

“Um… it’s not that.”

“What is it? It’s okay! Tell me.”

“No. It’s just a passing thought… it might upset you if you hear it.”

“Oh…”

Every time I hesitated, Hanna urged me for an answer, looking anxious.

I deliberately looked around cautiously, trying to gauge Hanna’s reaction, before bringing up the topic.

“What if we did the same thing…?”

“The same thing…?”

After hearing my words, Hanna fell into deep thought for a moment before gasping and looking at me.

It was clear that she understood the meaning of what I said.

“That, no?”

“What?”

“I mean…”

Hanna looked around for how to say it, then pointed at my phone with her finger.

More precisely, she pointed at a paused video on my phone.

“This…?”

“…Yes.”

Hanna was flustered.

There was a brief awkward silence between us before Hanna smiled and said.

“…It’s not like I can get revenge anyway, right? He’s just a guy who cheated on me with another woman.”

Hanna lowered her head.

She even pitied herself for being abandoned.

But is that really the case?

I thought differently.

No matter how many times I replayed the video, I didn’t feel like Kim Taeyang genuinely liked my girlfriend and cheated on her.

He was just using her.

Comparing Kim Taeyang’s behavior towards my girlfriend with how he treated Hanna on social media, it was easy to notice.

He simply used my girlfriend as an outlet for his sexual desires, satisfying his strange tastes.

Then why did Kim Taeyang, who has a girlfriend, cheat?

“By any chance, do you and Taeyang engage in skinship these days?”

“S-Skinship? No, well… I’m not really… fond of that.”

“Could that be the reason?”

“Me avoiding skinship…?”

Of course, that wasn’t necessarily the reason.

It might be that.

Perhaps there’s a barrier stealing other women like Kim Taeyang, whether it’s his name or appearance.

Once again, the shadow of guilt appeared on Hanna’s face.

Just one more step.

If I could take just one more step, I thought Hanna might accept my proposal.

“Don’t worry. Even if that’s the case, I won’t go all the way.”

“If by ‘all the way’…?”

“I won’t go as far as insertion. I can’t drag Hanna into my revenge that far.”

Insertion.

In other words, Hanna’s mood softened considerably at the mention of not engaging in actual sex.

“Really?”

“Yes, unless Hanna desires it, I won’t do it.”

“I don’t desire it.”

Thinking of my words as a joke, Hanna chuckled softly.

It was a smile I had never seen before, not in a picture.

“So, the answer is…”

“…yes. And there’s one thing I want to say.”

“What is it?”

“My… reaction might be weak.”

Hanna accepted my revenge after much consideration.

At the same time, she revealed her secret.

“I actually have a numbness.”

“Numbness…”

Was it numbness?

Perhaps the reason I avoided skinship with my boyfriend Taeyang was because of numbness.

Certainly, that was an awkward story for me.

But I also had a secret that I hadn’t told Hanna.

“Don’t worry about that.”

I won’t engage in sex unless I desire it myself.

The reason for setting this condition wasn’t because I handle women well or because I’m exceptionally good at caressing.

If that were the case, my girlfriend wouldn’t have run to Kim Taeyang in fear in the first place.

However, at some point, a window that appeared before me was instilling confidence in me.

[Hidden Quest Completed.]

[Show the video to Kim Taeyang’s girlfriend yourself.]

[Acquire the Weak Saliva LV.1 skill.]

I acquired a skill.

I’ll have to see if numbness wins, or if my skill wins.