Chapter 337

When I touched and sucked on the tongue that was half-raised, Im Haekyung's tongue followed mine just like that. When I lightly tapped the soft tongue, the tongue that had been held obediently twitched slightly. As I felt along the surface of their tongue with the tip of mine and lightly touched the roof of their mouth, the hand wrapped around the back of my neck slowly slid down and gripped my shoulder.

I did not know what they had been thinking alone that made them go from reestablishing the upper hand in our relationship to issuing another warning, but despite being the one who had initiated the kiss, they did not seem particularly pleased by it. It would have been funny to think Im Haekyung had frozen in this situation merely because their body had stiffened from tension.

I lowered the hand supporting the back of their neck and gently stroked downward, then wrapped it around the back of their head and tilted their head slightly backward. I naturally slipped my tongue into their mouth as it opened a little wider, slowly sweeping over the roof of their mouth and their tongue, then pulled my lips away around the time their breathing grew slightly faster.

"......."

"......."

Blood must really have been flowing, because there was diluted blood around Im Haekyung's nose and lips as well. Perhaps they felt it too, because Im Haekyung silently wiped their chin with the back of their hand.

"Guild Master."

When I called Im Haekyung, they slowly lowered their hand and looked directly at me.

"You probably didn't want to kiss me, so why did you try it this way?"

"......."

Im Haekyung might like me and consider this a unique relationship, but I had not thought they would choose this method. It was not as though this relationship was completely without equal, either.

"I wasn't trying anything."

"Then?"

"Mr. Jehyun, I... including this, I want to restrict the range of your actions."

"Ah, so this is something you'll put up with?"

"Why would you interpret it that way?"

I had asked because I was genuinely curious, but they seemed to have taken it sarcastically. To explain myself, I moved closer to Im Haekyung. Since the seawater had collected in a depression shaped like a pit, Im Haekyung's back naturally touched the wall leading up to the shore.

"I think you misunderstood. I wasn't being sarcastic."

"Then explain yourself properly."

"There are parts of me that only you have access to as well, Guild Master."

"Parts?"

Well, then was the whole of me supposed to belong only to them?

"In any case, you know far too much, Guild Master. It's not just one or two things you've discovered. There are also things I showed you myself."

"......."

"We're similar too. I admit that."

Im Haekyung and I were both focused on the future. The things we were curious about and the things we did not particularly welcome were inevitably similar. Though there was a slight difference in that I had opened the answer sheet and looked ahead to a certain extent, whereas Im Haekyung had foreseen the future solely through deduction and prediction.

'No, that's actually a pretty big difference.'

Im Haekyung merely stared at me obediently as though waiting for my explanation. I tilted my head slightly and continued.

"But I didn't expect that to... lead to this?"

"Ha...."

Im Haekyung let out a short laugh and sighed, then frowned and spoke sarcastically.

"You did this first, Mr. Jehyun. You said it was a habit...."

"There was some impulsiveness mixed in back then."

"That's mixed into everything you do."

"Sometimes I'm methodical."

"Only at the beginning, I suppose."

Since that was true, I did not particularly deny it.

"So? What are you trying to say?"

"I'm genuinely curious. You must like me, Guild Master. By process of elimination."

"......."

"But is this how you liked me?"

Wanting to see their expression, I gently lifted Im Haekyung's chin after they lowered their head slightly. Im Haekyung swept their wet hair back and spoke quietly.

"Why do I need to distinguish between them?"

"......."

"And it's not as though you didn't expect it."

"......."

"You acted like you knew."

When I tilted my head slightly and moved closer, Im Haekyung's body trembled faintly. Just before our lips touched, I asked as though checking their intentions.

"You didn't seem to like it very much."

"I suppose I don't like how practiced you are."

"Should I do it badly for you?"

"And you're so...."

Im Haekyung swallowed and whispered as though genuinely displeased.

"Annoying."

"Yes.... What did I do?"

"I'm serious. I don't want to like you. Even the fact that I'm deducing things one by one like this to understand you...."

"You looked like you were enjoying it."

At that, Im Haekyung pressed their lips tightly together and stared at me. I apologized quickly.

"I'm sorry."

"There's one other option."

"What is it?"

"I use Mental Domination on you, damage certain parts of your mind, and keep you sitting quietly in one place. That would solve your impulsiveness problem too."

"It would also make things half as entertaining."

"I can do it delicately."

"You probably won't have many chances. You only have one brain to work with."

"Don't act so relaxed. I might let it slide if you at least acted desperate, but when you behave like this, I keep wanting to actually do it."

Should I put the mana-suppressing restraint on Im Haekyung's wrist even now? While I was seriously considering it, Im Haekyung gripped my shoulder hard. The strength of their grip sent an immediate ache through the area near the bone.

"Yes, I'll listen."

When I answered obediently, some of the strength left Im Haekyung's hand.

"How am I supposed to act desperate?"

"Like I'm the only one."

"You are the only one."

"......."

Their eyes narrowed as though judging whether my words were true. I calmly stated the facts.

"In any case, you understand me, Guild Master."

"......."

"And you let things slide."

"Did you want to be understood?"

I thought for a moment at Im Haekyung's question. Before, they seemed to have said it as though certain that I wanted to be understood.

Well, did I want to be understood?

I had not expected to be made to see all these past events, which there had been no particular need to recall, one after another. Had memories like those contributed to making me who I was now to some extent?

Well, living without being understood did not matter much. I had never thought another person's understanding was particularly important anyway.

I did not know whether it had been sincere, but I had been understood quite a few times. Even if they could not truly accept it, there had also been someone who tried to understand.

"That doesn't matter very much."

"......."

"But I did want to try understanding someone else."

Then I would not need to infer and piece together their principles of action or... their way of thinking. I would be able to accept it more intuitively. Even if the relationship turned to shit, at least the reason would be intuitively understandable.

Im Haekyung remained quiet for a moment at my words, then asked,

"Do you understand me?"

Did I understand Im Haekyung?

"Fairly well...."

"......."

"In my opinion."

"Then why did you act as though you didn't?"

I lightly kissed Im Haekyung and answered.

"To make sure."

"......."

The moment their eyes closed, I pressed my lips against theirs harder than before. Their mouth opened along with the pain of their lips being crushed against their teeth.

"Ah...!"

When I bit their lower lip, the hand gripping my shoulder tightened sharply. I roughly swept over the tender flesh inside their lip, then found their tongue and sucked it in as though drawing it into my mouth. Every time the uneven bumps on the surface of their tongue irregularly brushed against my lips, faint goosebumps rose over my skin. It might have been an aftereffect of being in the water for too long.

When I lightly massaged the back of Im Haekyung's neck, some of the tension left their rigid body. Taking advantage of that moment, I put my weight behind my sagging body and pushed upward slightly, and their body came up onto the shore as though being laid backward.

I felt around the ground with my hand to roughly understand the terrain and pulled Im Haekyung onto land without separating our lips. With my body overlapping theirs as they lay on the ground, I held their cheek with one hand and tilted their face slightly upward. Their head sank faintly into the sand, opening their mouth a little wider. Since neither of us was swallowing properly, our lips were thoroughly wet, and every time they rubbed together, there was a wet sound.

After kissing for a long time, I pulled my lips away, and Im Haekyung's face was properly revealed in a slightly brighter place. I swept their hair back and tidied it while carefully observing their face.

'Handsome.'

I moved my hand and brushed over their eyebrow, then lowered it and rubbed their bleached-white eyelashes with my thumb. Im Haekyung reflexively closed their eyes and turned their head to the side as though wanting to avoid my finger.

"Don't...."

Their voice came out lower and hoarser than before. I obediently removed my thumb, lightly rubbed their cheek a few times, then swept over their saliva-wet lips. Because I had not properly wiped it away earlier, there were still traces of blood here and there. When I rubbed the area clean with my thumb, Im Haekyung's body twitched.

"Why are you acting like you're enduring this?"

My voice had also grown much lower than before. I considered clearing my throat, then quickly gave up and lightly tapped Im Haekyung's chin with my index finger. There was no other intention behind it. It meant they should answer.

"I need some time... to adjust."

"Adjust to what?"

"I can't really tell whether this feels good or unpleasant."

"Me?"

"Both. You, and doing things like this. Right now, I think it's actually closer to the latter."

Things like this?

I quietly looked down at Im Haekyung, then pressed my thumb firmly against their lower lip and crushed it. Their lips closed briefly so they could swallow, then parted slightly again. Watching that, I asked quietly.

"This isn't a question meant to make you uncomfortable. I'm only asking to make sure."

"......."

"Is this your first kiss?"

At that, Im Haekyung twisted their head and pulled their lips away from my finger before answering.

"I normally... don't think about wanting to have that kind of contact with other people."

"......."

"Unlike you."

In contrast to how irritably they had slapped my hand away, Im Haekyung lay there rather obediently and glared up at me as they added,

"Do you think kissing is the only thing I've never done?"