Ch.103Chapter 103. Sexual Desire (1)

“Haaawwwn……”

Early morning.

Or perhaps a slightly late morning.

Cuss walked out of her room yawning when

“Hey girl! What are you doing yawning so casually! Hurry up and wash!”

“Hueeee……”

She was pushed back toward the bathroom by Jinsoo.

It was a rare sight.

Jinsoo panicking in the morning.

Of course, she’d seen him rushing several times before, but never like today.

For good reason—it was now 15 minutes before the school bus arrived.

“Should I… wash my hair?”

“Of course, dummy! Your hair is white, so even a little dust makes it look grimy!”

“Ugh……”

“Damn it. This won’t work.”

Jinsoo, who always woke up an hour early and prepared leisurely, was acting strange today.

Thinking he couldn’t leave it to me, he dragged me into the bathroom.

Then he bent my waist and turned on the shower with a whoosh.

“Eek?! The water’s cold, Jinsoo!”

“Bear with it! No time!”

“Ueeee……”

“Back in my day, you know, I had to wash my hair with cold water even in winter when the boiler broke. But kids these days insist on hot water even in summer… tsk tsk.”

Muttering incomprehensibly, Jinsoo started wetting my hair.

His movements were like rough hand-washing laundry.

After quickly spreading shampoo all over and rinsing it out, Jinsoo then

“Neeek…… it hurts, Jinsoo……”

“Stop exaggerating.”

He gathered my hair and squeezed it with his hands.

It felt like my scalp was being peeled off……

But after doing that once, most of the moisture was gone, making it easier to dry.

“Eat, dummy.”

“……?”

When I sat down, there was unfamiliar food.

At first glance it looked like kimbap, but it contained nothing besides rice and seaweed.

It was just rice wrapped in seaweed.

“What? Got a problem? If so, you should’ve woken up early and woken me up.”

“No……”

“Then hurry up and eat it. Damn girl.”

“Nom nom nom.”

It was still edible though.

Nothing Jinsoo made was ever bad.

It was perfect for a hasty meal.

At first I tried eating with chopsticks, but the seaweed kept unraveling and rice kept falling out, so I had to use my hands.

But every time I tried to eat, Jinsoo kept shaking a towel behind me to dry my hair, which was quite distracting.

“Eat some kimchi too. Don’t just eat that.”

“Mmm…… It’s inefficient.”

“What’s inefficient?”

“Having to put down what I’m eating with my hands to pick up chopsticks for kimchi, then put them down again. It’s an extremely inefficient movement.”

“Sigh, damn it……”

You sure have a long way of saying you’re lazy.

Jinsoo put down the hair dryer in irritation.

My hair was still slightly damp, but it seemed dry enough.

Then he pulled up a chair next to Cuss and started modifying the kimbap(?).

He put kimchi inside one.

A little stir-fried anchovies in another.

And in yet another, he secretly added braised lotus root when Cuss wasn’t looking.

Braised lotus root was one of the side dishes Cuss absolutely refused to eat.

“Five minutes left. Hurry up and eat.”

“Mmm…… mmm……”

Watching Cuss hastily stuffing kimbap into her mouth, Jinsoo rested his chin on his hand and barely held back a smile.

It was just like watching himself when he was young.

Back then, his mother would occasionally oversleep and make a quick breakfast like this.

Except for the pitch-black sky before sunrise when he had to cross a mountain to get to school, the situation was exactly the same as back then.

Who would have thought I’d come to understand my mother’s feelings one day?

Jinsoo felt like he could finally be a good son.

Long after she had passed away……

“Hey, wipe your mouth. Stick out your lips.”

“Mmm.”

“For clothes…… just wear this. No time to choose. Arms up.”

“Arms up.”

Everything moved like clockwork.

As soon as she raised her hands, her pajamas were whisked off and a dress was put on almost simultaneously.

It was like a clothes-changing machine.

After changing, Cuss put on white socks and tied her hair with the hair tie Juliane had given her, completing her preparations.

It was the first time she had gotten ready in less than 15 minutes after waking up.

“The bus is here. Go now.”

“Okay……”

Shouldering her large backpack, Cuss left the house with Jinsoo.

As she was about to board the bus, Cuss turned around to look at Jinsoo.

With his sleeves rolled up and the ankles of his pants wet, it seemed he had been splashed with water while washing her hair earlier.

“What?”

“Nothing…… just.”

“Hurry up and get in.”

“Kiss before I go.”

“Haa, really.”

The driver, having stopped the bus, was watching the father-daughter farewell with a warm smile.

Sometimes they wouldn’t even look at each other when parting after a fight.

But most days, they were sweet like this.

“Mmm…… slurp, sluuurp……”

“……”

Except for that deep kiss.

Did they think he couldn’t see from this angle?

That father would seem like a really good dad if he just didn’t explore his daughter’s tongue.

The driver could only shake his head.

***

“We’ll miss you, Cuss!”

“Thanks for everything! For covering me with your broad back when I was goofing off!”

Cuss felt dizzy from the boisterous voices coming from all directions.

It seemed everyone had decided to say their goodbyes today.

After today’s exam, summer vacation would start in a few days.

After summer vacation, Cuss would move up to 7th grade.

“Give me your phone number, Cuss. Let’s keep in touch, okay?”

“Mmm, okay.”

“Me too! Me too!”

Watching Cuss give her phone number to the children, Tom crossed his arms with a strange sense of superiority.

‘Heh. I’ve known her number all along.’

Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles, as they say.

I had obtained her phone number long ago, back when I disliked Cuss.

Now that I don’t dislike her so much, I think that was a really good move.

Recently, Cuss contacted me and I gave her my brother’s contact information.

‘Wait. What was that about?’

Why would she need my brother’s contact info……?

I was half-asleep at the time so I gave it without thinking, but thinking about it again, it was really strange.

What reason would Cuss have to contact my brother?

‘Stay calm, Tom. At times like this, you need to calmly observe the situation and examine the evidence.’

Tom put his hands to his mouth and began deducing.

First, Cuss dislikes my brother.

That was obvious from how she suddenly shoulder-threw him and struck his side, making him foam at the mouth and faint during their so-called duel.

And my brother…… seemed to like Cuss.

Maybe it’s that “you’re the first girl who treats me this way” kind of sentiment……

Anyway, I didn’t understand it, but seeing how he didn’t say anything despite knowing Cuss’s critical weakness, it was obvious he was going easy on her.

Then the reason Cuss might contact my brother directly could be……

‘Did my brother confess?!’

That would be if my brother had found the courage.

Since childhood, unlike me, my brother would immediately act on his decisions.

Love would be no exception.

If my brother, who charges like a bison, had proposed to Cuss right away, it wouldn’t be strange.

Crucially, didn’t my brother go out without saying anything on Sunday and not return?

It wasn’t mealtime, and it was a short outing of about an hour, so he wasn’t out playing somewhere.

What if he met Cuss and confessed his feelings?

“Aaaah! That can’t be!”

“……?”

Tom suddenly shouted by himself.

The children looked at him strangely for a moment, then turned their attention back to saying goodbye to Cuss.

“Everyone, sit down! We’ll start the exam soon~”

When Ms. Jane entered, the atmosphere immediately deflated.

Although it was their first exam since entering 1st grade, most already felt its heavy weight.

Given the school’s standards, they were burdened by their parents’ expectations.

“……”

Meanwhile, Cuss sat alone in the now-quiet classroom, not even receiving an exam paper.

Having already completed the tests for grade acceleration, there was no need for her to take the 1st grade curriculum assessment.

“Teacher. May I go to the bathroom?”

“Uh…… yes. You may go.”

Jane felt something odd but had no reason to refuse.

With permission granted, Cuss stood up, opened the door, and went into the hallway.

Cuss was alone in the quiet corridor.

Occasionally, teachers’ voices drifted from classrooms, but even the noisy chatter of children was absent.

The school atmosphere felt unfamiliar today.

Even though she was in a classroom with other children, Cuss felt an inexplicable loneliness.

Now, in this open space alone, she paradoxically felt less lonely.

“Hmm. Hmm hmm……”

With her hands behind her back, Cuss walked heavily while humming.

Wait. When did she start humming?

It wasn’t a habit she had when she lacked these sophisticated vocal cords.

Seeing Jinsoo hum, she must have picked it up without realizing.

Speaking of Jinsoo, she thought of him.

She considered calling him. Jinsoo would probably be happy to have an excuse to escape from work.

“Oh.”

She left her phone in her bag.

Just as Cuss closed her eyes tightly and turned around—

Click……

“……?”

The classroom door opened.

The one who appeared was none other than Alice.

Upon seeing me, Alice grinned broadly and came running with light footsteps.

“Aren’t you taking the exam?”

“I finished and submitted it already. Then I said I was going to the bathroom and came out.”

“……”

It seemed Alice was in a similar situation.

That suffocating feeling of spacing out alone while everyone else was quietly concentrating.

She must have escaped because she couldn’t bear it.

“Want to explore the school building?”

“Huh……?”

Alice took her hand and led her.

She held my finger with her small hand and smiled.

But I could vaguely understand the emotion hidden behind that smile.

I understood why Alice had remained silent, turning her head away in the next seat while other children were making a fuss about saying goodbye.

Alice probably wasn’t very honest.

“Okay.”

“Hehe.”

Cuss willingly allowed herself to be led by that weak force.

It seemed good to spend time with Alice, even if just for the short time until the exam ended.

The two walked the corridor without saying a word.

When they reached the quiet staircase, Alice stopped and spoke.

“Cuss.”

“Yes?”

“I’ll miss you. Of course, we won’t never see each other again…… but just not seeing you every day will make me miss you. A lot.”

“……”

“I want to stay friends with you. I don’t want us to gradually meet less and grow apart. So let’s talk on the phone often, at least.”

“Yes. I understand. Alice, you’re the first friend I made at this school. We’ll never be separated.”

Besides, Alice also knows my secret.

I needed to keep her close so I could retaliate if necessary, preventing her from becoming loose-lipped.

“Cuss……!”

“Huh?”

Meanwhile, Alice, unaware of this, was moved by her own interpretation and jumped to hug Cuss tightly.

It was perfectly normal skinship between female friends.

But as Alice pressed against her, stimulating sensitive buds, Cuss suddenly felt a tingling sensation throughout her body.

She had felt this a few times before.

When kissing Jinsoo face to face.

When Jinsoo touched her chest.

When bathing with Jinsoo.

And now……

An urge difficult to suppress was rising within Cuss.

“Huh? Huh? Cuss?”

“……”

Before she knew it, Cuss was pushing Alice against the wall.

Alice’s fragile voice of confusion was already beyond her concern.

She needed to satisfy this urge immediately.

She didn’t feel much resistance toward Alice.

She was also easy to subdue with force.

Somehow Cuss was holding both of Alice’s shoulders, with her knee pressed between Alice’s thighs to immobilize her.

“C-Cuss?”

“Slurp……”

Alice’s pupils trembled as she looked up at Cuss.

Cuss, with predatory eyes, was licking her lips.