Chapter 644: Bedside Story

After spending a good time washing each other’s bodies in the bathroom with Cheon Jihee.

Her body, now clean inside and out and slightly cooled down from its earlier heat, lay down next to me on the wide hotel bed.

Although the atmosphere wasn’t exactly leading to immediately getting intimate, we didn’t put on clothes again with something like a hotel gown either.

To be precise, it was a situation that happened because I stopped Cheon Jihee, who was about to put on a hotel gown, once. I suggested, ‘Since we’re going to do it again later anyway, wouldn’t it be better to just lie down after showering instead of the hassle of getting dressed and undressed again?’

Being the kind of woman she was, with her bold personality, she followed my suggestion without any particular sign of objection and lay down naked on the bed. Thus, the naked man and woman lay in a line on the wide bed, quietly conversing.

A serious conversation between her and me, one that we didn’t usually have many opportunities to engage in.

“Sung Taekyung.”

“Yes, Jihee.”

“I have one question about you and Hye-eun, can I ask?”

“Asking is free. Whether I answer or not is something I’ll decide after hearing it.”

“……”

Cheon Jihee’s expression became serious, perhaps because she was about to ask a somewhat serious question.

Thinking that this was likely not an ordinary everyday conversation, I also tensed up slightly and waited for her next words.

“Earlier, you said yourself that you wouldn’t let Hye-eun go for the rest of your life, right?”

“…Yes, I did. Strictly speaking, it’s a statement made under the premise that Hye-eun will continue to love me.”

“Hm?”

“I intend to pour the best affection I can give to Hye-eun, just like with other women, but from Hye-eun’s perspective, she might feel neglected because of my relationships with other women. If Hye-eun starts feeling bothered by that and gets tired of me, that would be my responsibility.”

“…No, the Hye-eun I know isn’t the type to let her relationship with you get ruined to that extent.”

“Yes, I know that too. That’s why I said I wouldn’t let her go forever. From my side, I will absolutely never let her leave first.”

If, by any slim chance, Hye-eun were to feel disillusioned with my relationships and leave me, I probably wouldn’t have the right to hold onto her then.

However, if Hye-eun is satisfied even with the current relationship, I will absolutely never abandon her first.

Of course, as things stand, I’m the only one who can satisfy Hye-eun’s somewhat peculiar sexual desires, so as long as her libido remains, she’ll probably stay by my side for a long time.

Besides, regardless of sexual desire, we’ve known each other since childhood for over 15 years as childhood friends, so she wouldn’t drift away from me for such a simple reason.

…And even if Hye-eun decided to leave me, I didn’t exactly plan to let her go without a fight. Whether through persuasion or ‘physical conversation’, I intended to try everything I could.

If all of that didn’t work, then ultimately, I’d have no choice but to let her go.

I wondered if Cheon Jihee was asking me this because she still harbored lingering feelings about becoming lovers with Hye-eun alone, but surprisingly, what followed from her lips was a slightly different kind of question.

“Then, will you eventually end your relationships with women other than Hye-eun and me?”

“What?”

“I know you’re already involved with all our party members. And that blonde woman from the Foundation we briefly encountered in the abandoned village last time, she’s one of your lovers too, right? Though I don’t know about the others.”

“Well, yes.”

By now, the situation had progressed to where I was also involved with the other two Foundation hunters who were present at the scene, besides Sihee.

“When you say you won’t give up on Hye-eun until the end, should I understand that as meaning you’ll eventually end all relationships, including our other party members and the women from the Foundation?”

“……What?”

“…Well, from your perspective, I’m like an extra to Hye-eun, so maybe you won’t bother ending the relationship, but the other women are in a slightly different position.”

…What on earth are you talking about out of the blue?

Although I felt momentarily flustered by the absurd story I hadn’t anticipated at all.

For now, I needed to clearly convey that such a thing wouldn’t happen.

“I think I roughly understand what you’re imagining, Jihee, but my relationships with the other party members will continue going forward.”

“…How? Just in case you didn’t know, polygamy is illegal in South Korea.”

“I know. That’s why I won’t bother forming relationships tied by law, like marriage.”

“……What?”

Cheon Jihee showed a momentary expression like ‘What is this kid talking about?’, but I had my own future plans firmly laid out.

Now, I had no intention of changing my life plans by particularly paying attention to what she was saying.

“First, I intend to take responsibility for the people I’ve decided on in my heart, for as long as possible. Of course, this is only as long as they wish for it.”

“…What does ‘taking responsibility’ mean, to what extent?”

“Well. For starters, it would largely involve ensuring everyone’s hunter life can continue as long as possible through periodic relief of sexual urges. Like when you, Jihee, were struggling with your awakening ability weakening and contemplating leaving the party, and asked me for help.”

“Mmm…”

“In the case of Cha Yuri-ssi, she seems to have a specific future she wants to achieve as a mage, so I plan to continue helping her achieve that goal as much as I can. As for Min-ah, her awakening ability is weakening, and on top of that, she experiences periodic heat cycles, so naturally, I’ll continue to pay attention to that aspect.”

“I’ve only mentioned people we both know, Jihee and I, but of course, I intend to continue relationships with other women you don’t know, Jihee, as much as I can responsibly manage. They are all young ladies with their own goals, and I want to support all of them.”

“…Isn’t that too reckless? What if you accidentally end up having a child with one of them?”

“For now, we’re using contraception, and I don’t have plans for that far ahead as I have my own dreams, but if it really happens, of course, she should give birth. It’s complicated for a woman to register a birth alone, so I’d probably end up registering as the biological father.”

“…Are you serious?”

“Yes, I’m serious. Not just Hye-eun, but the children of Cha Yuri-ssi and Min-ah, and other women too, I will register all of them as my biological children.”

“……”

Perhaps my calmly spoken words were quite shocking, as Cheon Jihee was flustered, unable to even give a proper response.

And then, she looked at me with the most serious expression of concern I had seen from her so far, continuing the conversation.

“What if the mother runs away? I’m not saying Hye-eun is that kind of person. But, there’s no guarantee that among the women you meet, the ones I don’t know wouldn’t do that….”

“It doesn’t matter. If that happens, I’ll raise the child alone. Although I’ll try to prevent such a situation from occurring if possible.”

“…A man alone? It looks difficult no matter how I look at it.”

“I know. Just hearing it sounds like a very difficult future. But I’ve already decided to do so. If discord or unforeseen problems arise in the process, it will be because I didn’t do a better job.”

“…Can you really understand it just like that? A case where your wife runs away, leaving only the child behind because you didn’t do properly?”

“Jihee. I’m telling you again in case you’ve forgotten, my awakening ability is named ‘Hunter Lust Manager’.”

“…I know that, I heard it last time.”

“In other words, if a woman gets tired of me and runs away means I failed to properly manage her sexual urges, right? It means that even with this convenient power, I couldn’t properly take care of her feelings, so it’s right that I take responsibility.”

“……”

Cheon Jihee, still looking at me with a serious gaze after hearing everything I said, seemed to be pondering something.

Then, perhaps having organized her thoughts in her own way, she gave a brief assessment of my future plans.

“…Okay. I think I understand a little better now, from what you just said, what mindset you’ve had when forming relationships with women.”

“That’s fortunate. It seems my story was conveyed well.”

“And I think I understand why you keep fixating on love in relationships. You don’t just think of sex as a means of relieving sexual urges, but you’re also thinking about a future with that woman, right?”

“That’s exactly right, Jihee.”

“And why you keep emphasizing love and affection to me…”

“It’s naturally because I’m thinking about a future with you, Jihee. I’m greedy, so I want to maintain connections with the women I’m already involved with until the very end, if possible. Of course, this is assuming you, Jihee, consent to this kind of relationship with me.”

Cheon Jihee blushed, realizing that the love and affection I had spoken to her about until now contained quite a bit of sincerity.

Seeing that reaction, it seemed the story I told her had resonated quite well with her.

That I wasn’t just acting crazed by instinct, taking care of women’s sexual urges, but also constantly thinking about the future in the process.

“This future plan of yours that you talk about seems surprisingly realistic.”

“What?”

“Probably, if the women around you have eyes and brains, they won’t particularly run off somewhere else leaving you. If there is such a woman…”

“…If there is?”

“She’ll either live regretting her foolish choice for life, or she’ll be a woman with a weird head who has worse taste in men than I do.”

“……”

Should I consider this statement she just made to me, in a sense, an indirect confession?

Cheon Jihee spoke of betraying me as a foolish judgment, thereby indirectly mentioning that she herself wouldn’t betray me. Thus, my heart began to pound again at Cheon Jihee, who was once again unexpectedly giving me words like a strange expression of affection.

The second round of sex with her on the bed happened right after that conversation ended.