Chapter 106: A Real Woman [R-18]

“Rio, that bastard. He really milks that handsome face for all it’s worth, doesn’t he?”

At someone’s laughing remark, Seojin blinked, clutching her glass.

Most of the people there were smiling. The atmosphere was light, the music was just right… everyone stood or sat around naturally.

Seojin, too, was no longer as stiff as she had been at first.

She could manage a small smile at the jokes from people she’d never met, and she could maintain a placid enough expression that it wasn’t strange for her not to reply.

The man who had spoken was standing right next to Rio.

He was the type to take a moderate sip whenever Rio set his glass down, to laugh along with the women, and to chime in with a well-timed joke—

A man with an easygoing vibe, wearing nothing but a pair of swim trunks, his hair neat. He held a glass in one hand, a slight laugh shaking his shoulders.

“I’m more jealous of this guy than anyone in the world. Where can I learn your talent for always bringing along beauties of this caliber as your new partner, Rio?”

Unlike the man’s cheerful laughter, Seojin’s mood, which had been held in place by a polite smile, plummeted at his words.

She knew without him having to say it. Even without him now joking about how many women Rio was seeing while keeping this beauty by his side.

The man brought the glass to his lips, his gaze drifting slightly downward. In the dimming light of the evening, the line of Seojin’s chest was naturally visible through the fabric of her swimsuit.

“Hmm…”

Her swimsuit, held together by black strings, was made of a thin, translucent material that seemed to both conceal and reveal. A single strap fell cleanly against her dry, bare skin. Seojin was still clutching her glass with both hands.

She didn’t like it, but she didn’t want to make the atmosphere awkward either. So she just nodded a few times.

The reaction of a girlfriend who knew her man, quietly acknowledging that he was still a man who never ran out of women.

At her affirmation, Rio raised a single, crooked eyebrow.

He said nothing, simply wrapping an arm around her waist. Before Seojin could even turn to look, he set down his glass and pressed himself against her side.

“—Rio?”

The moment she asked, his hand slid deeper.

He pulled her waist in tighter.
And then he strode forward.

One step, two steps. Holding her, he wove through the crowd until he reached the edge of the pool.

He stopped right at the edge.

Seojin’s feet touched the end of the tiles, and his foot gently braced her heels, holding her in place. Then, Rio slowly extended the arm around her waist.

Seojin’s body slowly arched backward, her torso tilting over the surface of the water.

She was now lying suspended on the single line of balance provided by Rio’s arm.

“Darling, if you agree so readily, doesn’t that hurt my feelings?”

His voice was low and mischievous.

“When you’re right here next to me. Right?”

To an outsider, his affectionate tone might have made him sound like a devoted man being wrongly accused of being a casanova. Of course, everyone there, besides Seojin, knew his reputation meant it was all just a show.

He smirked. There was definitely a scheme behind that smile.

“Hurry up and tell them about all the times you’ve been loved.”

As if she was supposed to brag about their dates or their intense lovemaking. Seojin, dumbfounded, just shook her head.

“…Rio, wait. I haven’t even gotten wet yet… Wait!”

“Instead of praising me, you’re already thinking about falling in.”

Rio casually moved his foot from where it had been securely supporting her heels.

“How naughty.”

And with a smile, he released his arm.

Splash!

“Aah—!!”

A scream and laughter erupted along with the spray of water. People clapped and cheered.

She flailed for a moment before trying to pull herself out of the water. But his index finger tapped her forehead, and she lost her balance, flopping back onto the water’s surface.

Watching her fall backward without even a scream, he stood at the edge of the pool and threw his head back, laughing as if nothing had happened.

“—Hahaha!”

Sputtering, she regained her balance in the water and pushed herself up. Her wet hair clung to her cheeks, and droplets of water trickled down her collarbone.

Seojin roughly swept her long hair back, her true, unpretentious nature breaking through.

“Ugh, Rio—!!!”

The target of her anger was still smiling, looking at her lovingly.

This vibrant, unselfconscious side of her suited her far better than the pathetic, sickly state she usually adopted.

“You get in here, too! Now!” Seojin shouted, her eyes wide and glaring.

Rio just spread his arms lightly and laughed.

“You see, I’m the type who knows how to push his girlfriend in, but I’m not so keen on getting in willingly myself.”

Seojin scooped up a handful of water as if throwing a bucketful at him, glaring.

“Then I’ll just have to push you in by force.”

As she said it, Seojin moved to the edge and grabbed Rio’s ankle with both hands.

“Hm?”

Rio looked down at Seojin, who was clutching his foot. His body, completely dry and smooth, was planted firmly on the ground.

He smiled nonchalantly.

“You think that’ll work?”

Rio pulled his ankle back with a heavy motion before kicking it forward, cleanly breaking free from Seojin’s grasp.

“Ugh…”

She should have used both hands and all her body weight to pull him. But just as she was fuming, from behind Rio—

“Should we do it?”

“One, two, three—!”

Thwack—!

“Wh— whoa…?!”

Arms simultaneously shoved against Rio’s waist and back.

“……!!!”

The water surged, arms and shoulders shook, and then—

Splash!

Rio disappeared completely beneath the surface. Laughter and applause erupted from the crowd.

Seojin’s eyes went wide with surprise. She covered her agape mouth with her hands before bursting into peals of laughter.

“If your pretty girlfriend falls in the water, you have to join her, right?”

“Seojin, we got revenge for you~”

As Rio emerged from the water, tilting his head back, he shot his friends a mischievous glare and let out a small laugh.

His wet hair was slicked back from his forehead, and water droplets traced the line of his jaw.

“…Hah, those bastards got me.”

With him as the catalyst, people began diving into the pool one by one. The sunset had completely vanished, replaced by lights floating on the water’s surface, scattering beams everywhere.

“Hurry up and come in~!”

“The ball’s over here, here!”

As time passed, the number of people grew, group by group.

Just a quick glance around suggested there were well over fifty guests at the villa.

A beach ball bounced from somewhere, skipping across the water. Someone was laughing hysterically while trying to balance on a floatie, while another quietly sipped their drink, arms outstretched.

The loud, high-energy music from a large speaker conveniently masked the sounds of spreading drunkenness. It was somewhere in the remote mountains, far more vibrant than it had been during the day.

There, Seojin found herself no longer in Rio’s arms, but mixed in with a group of women on one side of the pool.

The women, who had been splashing around to their hearts’ content, were now leaning against the pool wall, their chatter endless.

“I’m telling you, this girl has such a pretty figure.”

“Look at this waistline. Seriously, seeing this makes life worth living these days. But I’m dying for some carbs.”

Seojin smiled awkwardly.

No one asked her anything directly, but when their gazes naturally gathered on her, she fiddled with her swimsuit straps for no reason.

The women’s conversation topic shifted in an instant from exercise, diet, and weight loss to skin and bone structure, and soon everyone was talking about recent procedures and surgeries as if reciting a mantra.

“These days, it’s trendy to just get obvious work done.”

“Honestly, though, only people who have the right face shape to begin with can say that.”

“I heard Dr. Baek’s clinic is doing a lot of those shots that melt inner thigh fat lately.”

“Oh, does that leave a mark?”

The conversation picked up speed, and Seojin just nodded along, blinking her eyes.

But one woman, pretty even with her hair plastered to her head like seaweed, hugged her tightly. Seeing Seojin accept the casual, boundary-less physical contact typical among women, there was a sense of comfort that was different from before.

The owner of the bright red bikini, Jian, who was hugging Seojin from behind as if giving her a piggyback ride, happened to glance down. Instead of the pool floor she expected to see, she got an eyeful of Seojin’s chest.

“By the way, Seojin, you said you’re twenty, right? I’m so jealous. Look how big they are, and they haven’t sagged at all.”

Then, underwater, she gave Seojin’s slender waist and buoyant breasts a little squeeze in admiration.

“The firmness is incredible. This is just… the miracle of being twenty.”

Seojin flinched in surprise, but the other women were laughing, making her feel embarrassed for being the only one reacting.

“Oh, right. I meant to ask, are they natural? Is this really your size?”

The way they spread, the unmarked bare skin, the perfect upper volume and waistline. The gazes were subtle, but the question was direct.

Seojin stammered, but with Jian continuing to playfully grope her, she eventually fell silent, her cheeks flushing.

Was it okay to be touched like this…?

What flashed through her mind were the sharp-eyed women she’d met at Rio’s party, their cruel instinct to tame one another like lionesses.

And women like Mia, who hid something yet could never fully conceal their burning blood.

But the women floating on the surface of the water now were not like them.

“You must look great in clothes. That upper volume is perfect…”

At Jian’s words, a woman next to her sighed, cupping her own breast with one arm. She wasn’t as buxom as Seojin, but she was still plenty glamorous.

“It’s surprisingly hard to find clothes that fit when you’re busty. I even looked into reduction surgery because they’re so heavy… Are they not uncomfortable for you, Seojin?”

Seojin wet her lips slightly before speaking.

“They are heavy…”

At that one phrase, the women nodded in understanding.

“Right? They’re surprisingly heavy. I asked the director to make mine even bigger than he recommended, and now I regret it like hell.”

“Ahahaha, you’re crazy~ Are you going to get them reduced again?”

“Are you kidding? I’m not going back to being an AA-cup.”

In this free-spirited conversation, there was no jealousy, no ridicule, no rivalry. Seojin, without realizing it, found herself looking at their chests before shrinking back and quickly looking up.

Then, a thought suddenly struck her.

Her past as a man, her body forcibly trained and sculpted, tailored to someone else’s taste—for those reasons alone, she had never even been able to stand on the threshold of the world of ordinary women.

But unlike before, today she hadn’t been introduced as a rare and expensive toy who happened to be by his side. She was the woman whose existence had been solidified by Rio’s kiss.

Being like this… I feel like a real woman.

---

Translated By: Meher (RaidenTL)

Please do consider subscribing to my Patreon for requests or to get early access to chapters