"Why are you doing this all of a sudden!"
Despite Kim Seonghwa's flustered shout, Seo Jubin didn't stop.
No, she couldn't stop.
The moment her palm fully pressed against his chest, a profound silence descended.
"Haaa..."
An instinctive moan escaped Jubin's lips.
Impossible... This is even stronger than before...
Jubin's eyes lost focus and trembled.
It was a desperate struggle to cling to her reason.
No, Seo Jubin. Get a grip. You're Seola-nim's aide. You can't lose yourself like this to some mysterious man...!
This was dangerous.
As a hero's aide, becoming addicted to this unidentified sensation was suicidal—utterly disqualifying.
Seo Jubin desperately wrung out every ounce of self-control.
But her gaze was already locked on Seonghwa's nape and the skin peeking through his open shirt.
A thirst overriding her caution kept shaking her to the core.
"What's the true nature of your ability! What the hell is it!"
Her words dripped with wariness, but her body was already slipping free of reason's grasp.
"Haa... haa... What is it..."
She craved more of that overwhelming tranquility radiating from Seonghwa's scent and skin.
That primal desire dominated her entire being.
Seo Jubin's fingers were already undoing his shirt buttons one by one.
Unlike her earlier intent to subdue him, her touch was now cautious... clingy.
"For Seola-nim..."
Jubin murmured in a dazed voice.
"I need to assess any threat you might pose ahead of time. This is all just my duty. Got it?"
An elaborate self-justification to convince herself.
This is driving me insane. For real.
Kim Seonghwa couldn't believe the scene unfolding before him.
He'd resolved to steer clear of the hero world, to just live quietly.
If she keeps this up, I'm gonna get turned on too.
The cool-headed aide before him now had her glasses askew, her breaths coming in ragged gasps.
Her eyes raking over his exposed upper body through the parted shirt burned with blatant sexual hunger.
On top of that, her signature cool perfume mingled with her hot breath, threatening to paralyze his senses.
And most of all, the boldness of her hands spreading his shirt wide open.
"Haaa..."
Seo Jubin's hot sigh brushed against his collarbone.
She was now openly stroking his chest with her full palm.
Dangerous. I'm seriously gonna pop a boner.
Kim Seonghwa urgently tried to shove her away.
"No, what are you doing! Why are you undressing me!"
His shout made Seo Jubin flinch, her hands freezing.
Her eyes shook violently.
What the hell am I doing right now...?
The addictive purifying aura numbed her reason.
On bare skin, it had to be even stronger.
But snapping back to reality, she looked every bit the lust-blinded pervert.
"Wh-who said I was undressing you! I was just trying to analyze your ability properly! Don't misunderstand!"
Jubin's face flushed crimson.
She yanked her hands back and stumbled away, but the heat that started at her nape had already spread through her body.
Just one more time... No, I have to hold back... Please...!
The prickly, rational woman was nowhere to be found.
Her eyes now begged for that unforgettable ecstatic peace amid the embarrassment.
Seo Jubin forced her gaze away and cleared her throat.
Then she froze. Her wandering eyes locked onto one spot.
Kim Seonghwa's crotch.
The moment she witnessed the blatant, bulging physiological reaction, her face burned scarlet.
"You... what the hell do you think you're doing?"
Seo Jubin glared at Kim Seonghwa with eyes full of contempt.
But it was less accusation and more a defensive shield for her own fluster.
She whipped her head away, but the image was already burned into her brain.
No—as an analysis-type Awakener, the accumulating data only made it sharper.
...I'm losing my mind.
Her heart pounded wildly on its own.
"No, it's because you kept groping me..."
"What did I do!"
Before Seonghwa's excuse could finish, Seo Jubin cut him off sharply.
Her faintly trembling voice wove hostility and shame together.
"What did you do! You're the one who reacted like that on your own! No excuses—it's disgusting!"
Of course, Seo Jubin knew.
She knew that physiological response stemmed from her actions.
Her head knew, but she refused to admit it.
She couldn't face the fact that her own beastly behavior was triggering his primal reaction.
"...I'm starting to resent Seola-nim for sending me to watch a creep like you. Hurry up and fix your shirt. I can't look at you anymore."
Seo Jubin spun away.
But her flushed ears betrayed her inner turmoil completely.
Her mind swirled with the scene she'd just seen, the lingering sensations on her fingertips, and tangled emotions toward Kim Seonghwa—the root of it all.
My head's already killing me...
She wanted to clutch her skull right then, but she couldn't let him see her falter.
"You took it off. You put it back on."
Kim Seonghwa's shameless demand narrowed Seo Jubin's eyes to slits once more.
What the hell is this guy saying...?
Seo Jubin shot him a furious glare, then realized he had a point.
It had started with her aggressive moves.
Infuriating, but undeniable.
"..."
It was just a few undone buttons anyway.
Button them up quick and end this hellish mess, she told herself.
Seo Jubin's fingers touched his shirt again.
And the instant they grazed his bare skin to fasten a button—
"Hup..."
Her body stiffened against her will once more.
The warmth and silky texture flowing through her fingertips.
That jolt revived the memory in vivid detail.
The ecstatic tranquility flooded her mind anew.
Reason screamed in warning, but her body told the truth.
"Haaa..."
The thirst she'd desperately ignored coiled around her body again.
Defying her will, her fingers—meant for buttoning—slid slickly over his chest instead.
Haaa... so dangerous...
Seo Jubin felt her lower belly throb achingly, a secret wetness seeping between her thighs.
Realizing the source was the man right in front of her, desire surged hotter than any shame.
"Wait...! I said put it on—what are you doing...?"
His words jolted her, but she couldn't stop.
No—she didn't want to stop.
"Shut up."
Seo Jubin's voice came out hoarse.
No trace of its former edge.
She halted her buttoning attempt and trailed her full palm slowly over his chest instead.
His steady heartbeat pulsed into her fingertips. That thrum of life only excited her more.
"This is all your fault... You used some weird ability... You made me like this..."
An excuse. A rationalization.
With her defense for her lust complete, reason went fully numb.
"Haa..."
Seo Jubin focused solely on the pleasure and security from the man before her.
Her other hand crept up slowly, seizing Kim Seonghwa's jaw and turning his face to hers.
Her hot breath scattered right against his lips.
"Take responsibility. You're the one who did this to me."
Kim Seonghwa tried to push her away, face full of panic.
"What responsibility! You're the one going wild!"
His rough rebuttal didn't faze Jubin.
She gripped his shoulders tight and locked eyes with him.
"I don't care if you take responsibility or not anymore. I need to analyze your ability in detail. For Seola-nim, at least."
"What do you—!"
"I told you. It's my mission."
Seo Jubin invoked her flimsy justification and claimed Kim Seonghwa's lips.
Without hesitation, she softly suckled and licked his lower lip.
Mmm... what is this...
Just flesh meeting flesh.
Yet this insane pleasure and tranquility...
Way better than just touching his chest!
Seo Jubin swirled her tongue wildly.
In her clumsy yet bold, instinct-fueled kiss, even the flustered Seonghwa began to lose it.
Daring hands igniting his body, fragrant warmth teasing his nose.
Fuck, I'm fully hard now.
God, please don't let her notice.
That prayer scattered before Seo Jubin's chuckle.
"Something's been poking me since earlier—oh, it's this again?"
Seo Jubin dropped her mocking gaze downward.
She quickly spotted the stark outline bulging over his pants—and his heaving breaths.
"Bigger than before? This is because of me too, right?"
That blatant reaction felt less like shame now, more like a go-ahead signal egging her on.
"What are you talking about! This is just a physiological...!"
"You blamed me earlier, but now you're not being honest."
She whispered stickily as their lips parted.
All the while, conscious of her soaking panties, she rubbed her thighs together discreetly.
"...Feels good?"
Seo Jubin roughly yanked off his shirt and dove into his nape.
She buried her face there and inhaled deeply.
Intense relief twisted into pleasure, racing down her spine.
"You... are one dangerous man."
Soon, Seo Jubin's hand slid to his waist.
The metallic clink of his belt unbuckling shattered the silence, his pants slumping limply to the floor.