Chapter 14: A gift and a curse

I couldn’t control my racing heart. She looked like the embodiment of love itself, all the world’s affection distilled and bottled into a luminous, breathtaking form. And her outfit… It was driving me insane.

A Santa costume. Holy f*ck, how was I supposed to resist? How did she even know? She was always home alone when I was at work…

I tried to be reasonable. Patience was a virtue. But this… this was beyond reason. The sheer force of my desire overwhelmed me. We were animals before we were humans. I was a man before I was a woman. The faint embers of my male instincts ignited, blazing into a wildfire at the sight of the fox in a Santa costume and lingerie.

“W-wait, what are you doing?!”

Crash

I leaped over the bed, tackling her.

I really, really tried not to. I knew it might trigger an identity crisis, and there could be… other repercussions… I was still technically a male, even after all this time. It’s not that I couldn’t overpower her. It’s not that she was too strong for me. No.

It was just… strategically safer to be the submissive one. But today… instinct took over.

“Oww… Th-this outfit… It’s new… And you’re so rough…”, she said.
“…Haa… Haa…”

I was losing it. This was heaven.

“…Heehee…”
“…What……What are you doing…?”
“Hehehe… Paradise…”

I was experiencing paradise.

“…I thought… you wanted me to… rip your clothes off… and be rough with you…?”
“Uh… You misunderstand…”

Right. I didn’t know anything about that. This… this was perfect. This was what I wanted. The most efficient, maximized, and absolute fulfillment of my desires.

“…Just… pet me…”
“…Ugh…”

Slide

Holding her tight, wrapped in her soft tails, feeling her caress… Closing my eyes, listening to our heartbeats, our bodies warming each other, the sound of her blood flowing through her veins…

This… this was my desire. The perfect Christmas gift.

“…You’re so… predictable.”
“…You didn’t call me Semin.”

But Hyea, perhaps disappointed that I was the one on top, used a pronoun instead of my name.

“…Whatever. It’s your event. As long as you’re happy!”
“Hehe…”

She smiled and hugged me tighter.

“Kiss“
“…”

My heart swelled with affection. I closed my eyes and kissed her cheek.

“…”

She froze, a dazed expression on her face.

“…Damn it…”
“Huh?”

She covered her face with her hands, her cheeks flushed. Or was I imagining it?

“…I never thought… I’d feel such pure emotions for you again…”
“…We did get pretty wild, didn’t we…?”

It wasn’t my imagination. I’d kissed her with genuine affection, and she’d felt it. When was the last time I’d kissed someone with such pure, untainted love? Just the other day, we were kissing out of lust. A couple driven by desire…

“Heehee, but it’s still—”
“Kiss“

I tried to say I liked the wild times too, but her lips on my cheek silenced me.

“…I could do this every day.”
“…”

Her sweet voice made me blush, my body tingling.

Hug

Somehow, our positions reversed, and I was the one being held.

“Kiss, kiss, kiss“
“Hee… Ehehe…”

She showered my face with kisses.

Slide

“Hee…”
“Kiss, kiss, kiss“

Her hand tickled my waist, making me shiver. But she seemed content to just hold me close, her touch gentle, affectionate.

“…”
“…What’s wrong…?”

The kisses stopped. I looked at her, and she seemed confused.

“…Heehee… I understand, I understand…”
“Hehehe…”

She stroked my hair, pulling me closer.

“Kiss“
“Heehee…”

A soft kiss on my cheek.

The best skincare routine ever. A kiss filled with love and affection. Not that I had a skincare routine.

“…So good…”

My senses, saturated with happiness, felt languid, relaxed. I melted into her embrace.

“…Me too.”
“Hee…”

Hug

She kissed my face again, then nuzzled my ear, whispering sweet nothings.

“Heehee…”

A silly giggle escaped my lips. I could fall asleep like this, content and happy. I felt like I was floating, weightless, wrapped in a warm, fluffy cloud.

I couldn’t contain my love. I wanted to tell her, again and again, how much I loved her. A smile spread across my face. I closed my eyes, nestled in her arms, savoring her kisses.

“I love you… so much…”
“…That’s all that matters. I love you too, more than words can say.”

We spent a warm, loving Christmas morning together.

“…Achoo…!”
“Ehehe…?”

Hyea, still in her Santa costume, seemed to have caught a chill.

“Let’s… get you dressed…”
“Y-yes… A ghost catching a cold… How absurd…”

I wrapped her in a fluffy blanket.

“Thank you~”

I stroked her hair.

“…You’re being unusually affectionate today… Does Christmas change people…?”
“Huh?”

Her face flushed, and she looked away. My heart pounded in my chest. I tried to hide it, but…

“…I can hear your heart racing.”
“Oh.”

I failed.

“…There was a reason you were a virgin, wasn’t there…”, I said.
“…Don’t rub it in…”

Hyea seemed to be re-experiencing her earlier frustration.

“…Such a beautiful woman, and…”
“…”

She still couldn’t believe it, scratching her head in thought.

Hug

“Oof.”
“…But I’m glad it happened. I haven’t felt this… healed… in a long time.”

She hugged me tight, whispering in my ear.

“…Heehee…”

That’s all that mattered. We spent a truly wonderful Christmas together. And that was it. We cuddled, kissed, and fell asleep.

“…Should I try it on too…?”
“Huh?”

But just as Christmas was ending, my insatiable curiosity…

“…Ta-da~!”
“…….”

…reignited Hyea’s extinguished desires.

Crash

“Eek?!”

I was flipped onto the bed, Hyea’s hands pinning me down.

“It fits you perfectly…! Ugh…! This is your fault, Jeong Semin…!”
“Eek! Ahh…!”

Thrust, thrust

Just a red robe, and she was… Damn it. But I wasn’t complaining.

Compared to past Christmases, spent alone and overworked, this was… beyond perfect. The best Christmas ever.

“Hngh…”

Drip

****

But the happiness didn’t last.

Buzz

“…Mm…”

A bolt from the blue. I lay in bed, the sunlight filtering through the curtains, when the buzzing of my phone pulled me from my slumber.

“Here it is…”
“…Ah…”

Hyea, lying behind me, reached for the phone and handed it to me.

“…Hello…?”

The voice on the other end jolted me awake.

“…”

It wasn’t the voice itself. It was a familiar voice, one of my employees. But the urgency in her tone, and…

“…What…?”

…the words she spoke…

“…Accusations of abuse… trending online…?”