Chapter 692: Perhaps, The First Date (2)

The movie theater darkened, and a few commercials played.

Casually grabbing a few kernels of popcorn, I waited for the movie to start, quietly savoring this moment of my date with Hye-eun in my mind.

‘Maybe because it’s been a while, I’m definitely feeling a little flutter.’

Perhaps because we’d shared a light kiss just a little while ago, I was becoming even more conscious of Hye-eun sitting beside me.

This was actually our first time at the movies together since becoming a couple, or more precisely, since we’d gotten intimate.

It was inevitable that I’d feel a different kind of awareness compared to the dates back in school, where we’d just hang out somewhere after classes.

Lost in those thoughts, I intertwined my fingers with Hye-eun’s hand clasped between us and watched the movie studio’s logo appear on the screen. Just then, the commercials ended, the lights dimmed further, and the movie began.

…For what I’d expected to be a romance movie, the opening scene was rather bold.

「Nghh, Haa…!! Faster, faster…!!」

「Haa, my darling, seeing you so hard tells me you must be quite hungry?」

‘Huh?’

「Fasterrr…!! I, I want to cum, faaast…!!」

「Haa, so cute. Noona will take care of everything, so just a little bit….」

…Seriously, I never imagined it would be a movie with such explicit sex scenes right from the very first scene.

I’d asked Hye-eun to just tell me the movie title and handle the ticket purchase because I didn’t want any spoilers, but it seemed her pick wasn’t a romance movie but an erotic film.

As I had that thought and quietly shifted my gaze to the seat next to me, I saw Hye-eun there, looking even more flustered than I was, her eyes darting around.

‘W-what? It, it was this kind of movie…?’

“……”

Seeing her quietly muttering to herself with a bewildered expression, it seemed Hye-eun hadn’t expected it to be an adult film either.

She probably picked it based solely on the title, thinking it was a romance movie to set a nice mood between us.

…Well, I suppose eros is a type of romance, but the fundamental vibe is definitely different from the romance she probably had in mind.

Thinking this was a perfect opportunity to tease her, I quietly whispered into Hye-eun’s ear.

‘Hye-eun-ah, were you holding in a lot of desire?’

‘N-no…! I, I didn’t know it was this kind of movie either….’

‘Sure, sure. I’ll believe you this time.’

‘I’m serious…!’

Hye-eun’s flustered face beside me was stimulating my desire far more than the actress’s revealing scenes on the screen.

I quietly watched my girlfriend’s reaction and leaned a little closer to her.

Whether she’d chosen it intentionally or picked it and was now pretending ignorance, I wasn’t sure.

Either way, watching this movie together made it perfectly clear what kind of atmosphere was naturally expected.

-Swoosh.

‘Gasp.’

-Stroke, stroke.

‘Uhh, Tae, Taekyung-ah?’

As I moved our clasped hands to stroke one of Hye-eun’s thighs, she called my name softly in surprise.

Then, with a blush visible even in the dim light, she carefully placed her hand over mine.

‘T-Taekyung-ah…. This is a movie theater….’

‘Didn’t you pick this movie wanting this kind of atmosphere?’

‘I told you, no…. I, I didn’t know….’

‘So what? Even if you didn’t know, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s this kind of movie. If you made a mistake, you have to take responsibility, right?’

‘If you put it that way, I, I have nothing to say….’

Hye-eun seemed deeply conflicted, debating whether to push away my hand stroking her thigh.

Her girlfriend’s face, quietly blushing beside me, felt tens of times more lewd than the actress’s naked body or the sex scenes on the screen.

For me, it was a movie-watching experience that was enjoyable in many ways.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

After the long, three-hour movie screening finally ended.

Hye-eun and I, our faces slightly flushed, quietly held hands tightly as we stepped out of the theater, rather than lingering inside.

“……”

“……”

From the sex scene right at the beginning to the overall high level of explicitness, the movie certainly didn’t skimp on erotic scenes.

To put it bluntly, it was pretty much on par with porn with a main storyline.

Of course, the fact that it was shown in theaters meant the story had some level of recognition, and both Hye-eun and I did focus on the plot itself.

However, the frequent erotic scenes popping up throughout made it impossible not to feel tension directed towards each other.

‘No wonder there were hardly any people.’

It was hard to understand why it was so empty even for a weekday morning, but if it was an erotic film, it made perfect sense.

What couple would actually go to the movies to watch an erotic film on a weekday morning? Maybe in the evening, but still.

Thanks to that, the mood of my date with Hye-eun instantly turned lewd.

I had intended to take things a bit slower when I first met her today.

Since we couldn’t proceed with the date starting off with such an awkward atmosphere, I naturally steered the conversation towards the next part of the date she had planned.

“…It’s already 11 AM. Hye-eun, aren’t you hungry?”

“Ah, r-right! Let’s go grab something to eat, Taekyung-ah!”

“Do you have a place in mind?”

“If you go out of the building and turn left at the intersection, there’s a cafe with brunch, how about there?”

“Sure, sounds good.”

Considering the time and that we’d snacked on popcorn during the movie, it was a good choice.

It definitely felt different from dates during school; this first date as a couple showed she’d put a lot of thought into it.

For now, I decided to go along with the date course Hye-eun had prepared.

A brunch cafe would be perfect for sitting back and chatting, and I had something I needed to tell Hye-eun in that kind of relaxed atmosphere.

“We’re eating first, right? Taekyung, is there anything you want to eat?”

“For starters, I think one pulled pork baguette sandwich to share would be good, and for the other dishes….”

We ordered three other appealing dishes and our drinks, enjoying a leisurely brunch on a weekday morning.

Perhaps because it was a rather nice place, the slightly lewd atmosphere from earlier had melted away, replaced by a comfortably ordinary date vibe.

As soon as I took a bite of the rich pulled pork sandwich, I felt a strange sense of returning to the everyday normalcy I shared with Hye-eun.

“It’s been a while since we ate out together like this.”

“Yeah…. It really has been a long time since we ate out together….”

“Excluding meals at the company, this is the first time since our school days. We ate together quite a bit back then, but mostly at my place.”

“R-right…. School days….”

“Back then, I didn’t even know you liked me, so I didn’t realize it was a date.”

“…Well, I was too shy to say anything back then. If you hadn’t made the first move that day, Taekyung-ah, I might still not have said anything….”

The words “I can’t believe it went that far” were practically on the tip of my tongue, but on second thought, her statement held a surprising amount of credibility.

Considering our connection goes back nearly 20 years to when we were very young, becoming lovers only happened about a year ago, at best.

And even that was triggered by sex that happened shortly after I first awakened as a Hunter’s Desire Manager, when I was feeling a bit rushed.

If I hadn’t pushed things a bit and gotten intimate with Hye-eun that day, our relationship might still be running on parallel tracks.

Thinking about it that way made me feel how precious this miracle was.

Thanks to Hye-eun trusting me and saying she wouldn’t mind my relationships with other women, I’ve been able to properly utilize my awakened ability as a Hunter’s Desire Manager.

If Hye-eun had tried to restrict or inhibit my actions with petty limitations, it’s highly likely I wouldn’t have grown this much.

I might still be living the life of a B-class hunter, barely scraping by day-to-day at the Guild, or maybe, if I got lucky with a job change, I’d be an A-class at best.

Becoming an S-class hunter by defeating the Three-Headed Basilisk in the abandoned village was a feat achieved through the bonds I shared with everyone, including Hye-eun.

Among them all, Hye-eun, my oldest connection and the first person I became intimate with, was bound to feel special in many ways.

After that, Hye-eun and I continued our meal quietly, exchanging ordinary, trivial everyday conversation.

Once we finished our brunch and were about to share a cup of coffee, I decided it was time to convey the main purpose of today’s date to her.

“Hye-eun-ah.”

“Yeah?”

“I have something important I want to talk about. Can you listen seriously?”

“…Something important?”

“It’s about the monster subjugation rewards from the abandoned village the other day.”

“Ah, that…. Right, that is an important topic….”

Of course, what’s more important is what we’ll do with those subjugation rewards.

I told Hye-eun, who nodded with a slightly tense expression, about my plans, which might become our near future.

Regarding the reward money for defeating the Three-Headed Basilisk, and my new guild that I plan to establish in Chuncheon City.