episode_0220

.

First, I formulated a hypothesis.

Perhaps gumiho experience something akin to a mating season. …Or so I thought.

Of course, I really didn’t want to admit it myself.

Beyond whether I liked or disliked lewd things, it was a matter of human dignity.

I wasn’t some breeding-season animal—there was no reason I had to enjoy that kind of thing.

It just felt… fundamentally filthy.

Having seen my sisters, who once shared meals with me, throw themselves into sex and ruin their lives in real time—enough to make me sick of it—

and having witnessed Yozora lose herself over a man, unable to regain her senses,

it was impossible for me to have any positive impression of that dirty act.

Unless, of course, it felt really good…

And whenever I touched myself out of curiosity, it only ever felt ticklish or painful, which probably influenced my perception.

But earlier… it was different from what I knew.

It felt… …good.

It wasn’t even skillful—

just awkward movements, too embarrassing to even call masturbation.

But it felt good.

I won’t deny the truth.

Even after the heat in my body had completely cooled,

my hand kept drifting downward.

I remember it clearly.

The pleasure, enough to make my lower abdomen tingle,

is firmly etched in my mind.

…Ah, of course,

that doesn’t mean I’ve suddenly started liking lewd things…

Absolutely not.

“….”

Mating season.

After coming up with such an embarrassing hypothesis, I had nothing better to do, so I looked up a bit more about gumiho.

Maybe another gumiho besides Shizuka had said something similar, and if so, I could cross-reference to guess whether this “mating season” was real.

But unfortunately, I couldn’t find any information that seemed related to Shizuka’s claims.

All that popped up were cheap rumors—like how all gumiho are perverts, or how people got sick of seeing them after a few encounters.

Frustrated, I even considered asking another gumiho, but I only thought about it—I never acted.

For an obvious reason.

Every gumiho besides me lived respectable lives.

Lives completely detached from crime.

After staring at my phone for nearly an hour, I fled the internet, now flooded with nothing but garbage, and buried my face in my pillow.

“I don’t know. Whatever… Annoying….”

So what if there really is a mating season?

If it happens, I’ll just… masturbate for a bit.

Rubbing around the clit.

Teasing the entrance with just the tip of my finger before pulling back… That sort of thing.

I don’t need to be as promiscuous as other gumiho.

Hell, some gumiho even live without being promiscuous.

I can live like them.

Like a proper human.

Without shame.

“Sigh…”

Maybe I’d been holding it for too long.

I tossed my slightly warmed phone onto the bedside table and headed to the kitchen.

Just a while ago, the living room had been unnecessarily crowded with three people.

Now, overlaying that fading memory onto the empty living room, I let out a light sigh and approached the water dispenser.

“….”

…Then what was the reason I only experienced this “mating season” for the first time today?

The question, momentarily pushed aside, resurfaced in my mind.

“…Seo Woo-jin.”

The answer that came to mind was undeniably Seo Woo-jin.

Not because I had any romantic interest in him or anything like that.

But if I had to name something—or rather, someone—recently different from usual, especially regarding the opposite sex, it could only be him.

Yet, precisely because I felt no such attraction, another question arose simultaneously: Why Woo-jin?

No affection, of course—and no sexual desire either.

The only thing I felt toward him was the thought of how to get him back together with Yozora.

To pinpoint him as the cause of my heat…

…felt like something was missing.

When you say someone’s in heat… you usually think of lewd stuff, right?

Like you have to have sex with them right now, or…

Just looking at them makes your panties wet,

or you can’t think of anything but dirty thoughts,

or whatever.

But the fact that I didn’t have those reactions didn’t necessarily mean Woo-jin wasn’t the cause—there was just no other explanation.

“Don’t tell me it’s Yoo Si-woo… …No way.”

Gulp, gulp. After briefly quenching my thirst with cold water,

I placed the empty glass in the sink, exhaled a sigh laced with self-mockery, and returned to my room.

If I still wasn’t sure,

I could just stop by the infirmary tomorrow and check, right?

With that simple answer in mind.

220

How long had it been since I left the infirmary?

Too embarrassed to even lift my head properly, I fled—only to spot the women’s restroom sign ahead and duck inside.

Fortunately, my reflection in the mirror looked no different than usual.

If anything, my face was slightly redder, but that was it.

Not enough to make anyone suspicious.

Relieved, I lightly punched the innocent sink a few times.

If my face had been bright red…

I’d have had to lock myself in a stall until I calmed down.

Glancing to the side, I noticed the slightly ajar stall doors—none were locked, likely because no one else was using them.

Confirming that the restroom (and the area outside) was empty, I finally let out a haa— and began washing the wrist Woo-jin had touched under running water.

—Ssshh

Honestly, I’d half-expected to go into heat the moment he touched me, bracing for the worst.

But contrary to expectations, my body remained perfectly normal—so much so that it only deepened my confusion.

“What the hell…?”

I’d called it a hypothesis, but I’d been half-convinced.

That Woo-jin was undeniably the cause of my abnormal physical state.

My usual, uneventful routine had been briefly interrupted by Woo-jin and Han Soo-ah, and the very next day, I experienced my first heat.

Wouldn’t it be natural, then, to suspect those two?

So I deliberately sought Woo-jin out and let him touch me—to confirm the hypothesis as quickly as possible.

…But strangely.

Contrary to my worries about going into heat again,

having Woo-jin grab my wrist

caused no change whatsoever.

My face did warm up a little, but that was probably just embarrassment, not heat.

And the feverish body temperature that had left me dazed yesterday remained quiet, unchanged.

This result could only mean one thing: I’d been completely delusional.

…How humiliating.

“Haa…”

So it wasn’t Woo-jin?

Then what the hell was the cause?

If not Woo-jin, could it have been Soo-ah, the student I’d supported for so long?

Even with no information to go on, I couldn’t imagine going into heat over a girl…

Ah, come to think of it, the fever only started after I got home yesterday, right?

Maybe my body takes some time to react.

About 20 to 30 minutes.

In that case, I should skip the next class under the pretext of student council work…

Mixing what I’d just learned with my previous experience, I roughly dried my soaked hands and left the restroom.

Then, from across the hallway, a familiar face approached.

“Ah, good morning, Seo-yeon.”

“….”

Seo-yeon?

Every time I heard it, I thought it sounded like some outdated title fit for a museum, but given the speaker’s age, I had no choice but to tolerate it.

His salt-and-pepper hair, pulled back in a white ponytail,

and the obnoxiously trimmed beard he probably thought looked cool.

My lips curled slightly as I naturally slipped into the role of Student Council President Baek Seo-yeon in front of the Principal.

“Good morning, Principal.”

“Right, right. Stand straight—no need to be so formal with me. You make me feel awkward every time.”

“No, I’m comfortable like this.”

“Tsk… Kids these days can’t even be bothered to bow properly, just moving their lips…”

Was Principal Seok Jae-hwa from the countryside?

Or was this just his dry sense of humor?

As I recalled his profile, maintaining a humble, gentle smile, he boisterously grinned and stepped closer, clapping me on the shoulder.

Famous for his simple, brutish ways as a former Evolution-type hero, his hands packed quite a punch.

“I hope you do well on the midterms. In all my years as principal, I’ve rarely seen a student as hardworking as you.”

“Thank you…”

As expected. He still thinks I’m some diligent overachiever.

I’ve just been coasting at a comfortable pace since freshman year.

After that, true to his elderly nature, he launched into a long-winded chat.

How if he had a son, he’d want someone like me as a daughter-in-law—a strangely unsettling comment.

Whether I’d decided on a career path, or if I was interested in the Mutation-type field where he knew some juniors.

Or if there were any issues with student council work.

Just as I was about to say everything was fine but I’d let him know if problems arose—

“There is a problem, Senior. The student council room Wi-Fi keeps cutting out.”

“Ah, Si-woo. I heard the office’s evaluation last winter break was quite…”

“No, no. That’s not…”

“….”

Yoo Si-woo had silently approached from behind and stopped right beside me.

So close our shoulders nearly touched.

…No, they did lightly brush.

As if we were close friends—

fitting for the student council president and vice president.

“The Wi-Fi… Would replacing the router fix it? I’ll mention it. Anything else?”

“Nothing else!”

“….”

Just yesterday, at the convenience store, I’d snapped at him, telling him to cut the caretaker crap and get lost—or something to that effect.

But whether it was because he’d endured my verbal abuse for so long or because the principal was watching,

Si-woo answered in his usual weightless tone and gave a deep 90-degree bow as the principal left first.

“….”

…That guy.

I hate him.

“Phew… Now the internet won’t cut out during gaming sessions.”

“….”

From his voice to his actions.

He behaved exactly as he always did.

“Ah, Senior. Are you feeling better? You looked really sick yesterday.”

“…I took medicine and slept, so I’m fine now.”

Yet at the same time,

he casually probed about yesterday.

“Medicine? I thought you said you’d call the nurse.”

“…How could I call a man to a woman living alone? I only said that because I didn’t want you playing caretaker.”

“Ah~”

He swallowed my hastily fabricated lie

without hesitation.

Even if I outright said I hated him,

as if it were just another routine,

he showed no sign of offense.

Instead, brimming with playful amusement,

he said:

“Then next time you’re sick, I’ll bring a few other student council members too. That should work.”

“…! Hey, wait—”

…And naturally,

as he tried to slip his arm

around my waist—

I hate him.

“What the hell are you doing? Disgusting…”

“Hmm… My way of showing affection? Other girls like it.”

“Didn’t I—no, didn’t I tell you before? Save that for girls who actually like you.”

“But I’d rather you liked me, Senior.”

“I’ve said it countless times—that’ll never happen, so give up.”

“If you keep saying that, even I might get hurt. I was really sad when you said you didn’t want me taking care of you yesterday.”

Maybe because I immediately recoiled the moment his shoulder moved.

Instead of trying again, Si-woo gave up cleanly and awkwardly scratched his cheek.

I hate that shamelessness.

I hate the suddenness.

I hate the blatant, filthy lust in his eyes.

But honestly, even if I said so, he’d just look at me like I was cute.

So instead of engaging further, I glared at him, then turned and walked away.

“Senior. Heading to class? Honestly, someone like you—”

“I’ll handle it myself, so mind your own business.”

“There’s still paperwork left, right? Since you were sick yesterday, I’ll skip gaming today and help—”

“I said I’ll handle it.”

…Maybe I was a little irritated.

So much so that I forgot my plan to skip the next class under the guise of student council work.

Step. Step.