After Kim Seonghwa left.
"Haa... haa..."
Left alone, Seo Jubin finally exhaled the breath she'd been holding and slumped to the floor.
Her trembling hands fumbled to close her disheveled blouse.
The clothes still carried the thick scent of Kim Seonghwa's body mixed with the musky smell of semen and her own sweat.
'I'm insane. What the hell did I just do...'
The image flashed in her mind of herself clinging to that man moments ago, begging him to cum inside her.
Shame flooded her, but at the same time, deep in her lower abdomen, she felt the phantom twitch of the hot remnants he'd left behind.
"I have to clean up before Seola-nim gets back."
Seo Jubin staggered to her feet.
She was the aide to Korea's No.1 Hero, Min Seola.
A position that demanded rationality, cool-headedness, and perfection.
What if word got out that she—a woman in such a role—had gone into heat for some mysterious man, neglected her duties, and slept with him?
'I'm dead. No, it'd be better to just die.'
She hurriedly opened the windows for ventilation and wiped the stains from the sofa.
Kim Seonghwa's essence filled her body so completely it felt like a waste, but she rushed through a shower to erase any visible traces.
And after some time had passed.
The sound of the front door lock disengaging echoed through the apartment.
It was far earlier than expected.
"Jubin-ah? I'm back!"
Seo Jubin's heart plummeted.
She fought to compose herself and stepped into the living room.
"Welcome back, Seola-nim."
Min Seola strode in through the entrance, as confident and beautiful as ever.
But her gaze slipped past Seo Jubin, scanning the depths of the living room.
"Huh? Where's Kim Seonghwa-ssi? In the room?"
Min Seola's eyes gleamed with undisguised anticipation.
Seeing that made a sharp pang twist in Seo Jubin's chest.
Guilt... and a strange sense of superiority.
The thrill of having tasted the man her revered hero cherished so dearly.
Seo Jubin swallowed dryly and delivered her prepared lie.
"...I sent him home."
"What?"
Min Seola's expression hardened in an instant.
Anticipation turned to disappointment, then to confusion.
"Sent him home? I told you to keep him under surveillance. And he's... just a regular guy, right? You sent him out alone, where it's dangerous?"
Min Seola's voice sharpened.
Seo Jubin adjusted her glasses and replied calmly.
"Seola-nim. Be honest with me. He's not a regular person, is he?"
It was a preemptive strike.
Min Seola's eyes widened round.
"Huh? W-What are you..."
"You wouldn't have assigned him to me without knowing my ability. You said to keep him close, so I took the liberty of running a basic contact analysis on my own, just in case he posed any risks."
"Ah..."
Min Seola averted her gaze, looking caught.
It was embarrassment from her aide seeing through her lie.
'Right, Jubin's ability...'
She'd overlooked that simple detail in handing him off to Seo Jubin.
The unfamiliar comfort and the urgency of the situation had led to the blunder.
'But there's no one else I could trust with this but Jubin.'
Min Seola inwardly sighed in relief.
In truth, she'd insisted he was a regular person only because of her promise to Kim Seonghwa. If Seo Jubin had figured it out on her own, things would be easier.
'Sorry, Seonghwa-ssi, but this doesn't count as breaking my promise...'
A spark returned to Min Seola's eyes.
"Yeah, you're right. He actually is an Awakener. But he wanted to keep it hidden, so..."
"That's not the issue."
Seo Jubin adopted a grave expression as she began.
This was the real play.
She had to repackage Kim Seonghwa's lies as her own analysis results.
"From my analysis, Kim Seonghwa-ssi's mana circuits are extremely unique and unstable. They were in an overloaded state."
"Overloaded?"
"Yes. If he uses his ability on someone, or even if a powerful mana user like you stays too close, it starts draining his life force."
"Draining his... life force?"
Min Seola's face paled.
"So if I'm near him, he'll die?"
"That's the current situation."
"No way..."
Only now did his words come back to her.
The warning about severe side effects if raised too quickly.
It applied not just to Min Seola herself, but to Kim Seonghwa as well.
"Then what do we do? I need that guy."
"He needs a cooldown period—a recovery phase. Until his circuits stabilize with sufficient rest... neither you nor I should approach him. It would only be poison."
Seo Jubin felt relief even as she lied.
Min Seola was a genius in combat, but she tended to trust Seo Jubin's word completely on complex theories like this.
"I had no idea..."
Min Seola sank onto the sofa, looking shell-shocked.
"That's why I sent him back. Holding him here by force would just kill him. For now, no contact or surveillance is the best course."
Perfect.
The justification of protecting Kim Seonghwa covered her own mistakes flawlessly.
"You did well, Jubin-ah."
Min Seola nodded, gazing up at her with a woeful expression.
"If it weren't for you, I might have harmed him out of my own selfishness..."
At Min Seola's bitter praise, Seo Jubin offered an even more bittersweet smile.
'I'm sorry, Seola-nim.'
Seo Jubin murmured inwardly.
'But it's true. He needs rest. He just squeezed everything out of me until moments ago...'
Seo Jubin placed a hand on her lower abdomen.
It felt like Kim Seonghwa's life force brimmed inside her.
"Then let me know when his recovery cycle is complete."
Min Seola muttered glumly.
Seo Jubin nodded and turned away.
"Yes. I'll monitor his status remotely from a distance periodically. Don't worry about it, Seola-nim."
"Okay, thanks..."
And so, Korea's strongest Hero was perfectly deceived by her own aide.
Utterly unaware that Seo Jubin's body was filled to the brim with the semen of the very man she'd craved.
Seo Jubin bit her lip as she headed back.
'The lie worked. But what about this thirst?'
The insane addiction that made her miss him the instant she sent him away—what was she to do about that?
'He told me not to contact him, but...'
Getting Kim Seonghwa's contact info was child's play for her.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Whew, now I can breathe easy."
Having escaped the penthouse, I leaned back in the taxi's rear seat and muttered to myself.
That intense round with Seo Jubin.
It felt amazing, of course, but the mental fatigue was no joke.
'Screw heroes and all that crap. Living as a corporate drone messing with Excel in the corner and clocking out on time is the life for me.'
I gazed lazily out the window.
Today, I'd head to the office, hole up in my cubicle fiddling with spreadsheets, and leave right on time.
That was the life suited to my station.
But my modest dream shattered the moment the taxi entered the tunnel.
Screeech!
The taxi slammed to a halt.
As I opened my mouth to complain to the driver, the tunnel shadows rippled grotesquely, and black hands erupted from them.
"What the—?"
⚙ TARGET ACQUIRED ⚙Target secured. Commencing transport.
A sticky female voice echoed from the shadows.
I had no chance to resist.
A sinking, floating sensation hit as if the ground had vanished, and my consciousness was sucked into the darkness.
"...!!"
When I opened my eyes, an unfamiliar ceiling loomed above.
Or rather, it resembled a cave dripping with stalactites, shrouded in pink lighting and violet mist.
'What the hell is this now?'
A pungent smell assaulted my nose.
Thick rose perfume blended with the cloying scent of night-blooming flowers and feminine musk—an obscenely lascivious aroma.
"Awake already, male?"
An arrogantly haughty voice.
I turned my head to see a woman lounging on an ornate throne, legs crossed.
Leather straps barely covering her breasts, a heart-shaped tail, and horns sprouting from her head.
It was Yupia, the S-Rank Villain Succubus Queen from the villain handbook.
"Ha, seriously... I have to get to work."
My nonchalant response made Yupia's eyebrow twitch.
She rose from her seat and approached me.
But she never came closer than a certain distance.
Her demeanor was like one avoiding filthy trash.
"You have no idea of your place. You don't even know where you are or what's coming next."
Yupia gestured with her hand.
A succubus who seemed to be her subordinate emerged from the darkness, carrying a silver tray.
Atop the tray was...
'...Scissors?'
A massive pair of pruning shears with razor-sharp blades.
"Min Seola's using you as a battery, right?"
Yupia nodded disdainfully toward my crotch.
"I hate men's grotesque cocks more than anything in the world. Especially knowing Min Seola draws power from it—makes it even more repulsive."
She levitated the scissors with mana and floated them toward me.
"So I'm going to cut it off. Nice and clean."
"Hey, you have the wrong guy."
"Bullshit."
With a flick of Yupia's wrist, the airborne scissors shredded my pants and lunged at my groin.
It was a killing blow.
But...
Clang!
A sharp metallic ring echoed as the blades bounced off.
My dick was unharmed.
My pants were torn, but not a scratch on my skin.
"...What?"
Yupia's eyes widened at my exposed manhood.