Deal Breaker - Chapter 30
There was a time when they had used a vibrator. He’d thought that if she climaxed quickly, it would be easier for both of them. It was convenient. The time needed for guiding was drastically reduced, too. But after Hyeji said she didn’t like it, that it felt forced, they never used it again.
She hated the vibrator, but liked when he used his hands or mouth on her. How was he supposed to take that?
Anyway, going down on her was Hyeji’s favorite kind of foreplay, and the fastest way to get her wet, so he decided it wasn’t excessive.
So that passed.
But he couldn’t let the other things slide so easily.
Why did he do that?
In the middle of it, he’d grabbed Hyeji and pulled her into an embrace. And as if that weren’t enough, he’d slipped his hand inside her jacket to touch her bare skin. If he hadn’t come to his senses before grabbing her chest, it would’ve been too late. He’d almost crossed a line he couldn’t come back from.
Hyeji might have slapped him. Or, he could have ended up in handcuffs and thrown into a Dubai prison for s****l assault.
Han Kanghyeon, what the hell were you thinking?
He didn’t know why he did it, but he knew how it happened. He had just been bracing himself with his hand in front of Hyeji’s eyes. It was something that happened often. But it was the first time Hyeji had traced the pulse at his wrist with her fingertip and smiled. In that moment, a strange impulse overtook him and he couldn’t resist it.
For an Esper, feeling impulses toward a Guide was instinct. But before being an Esper, he was still a human being. And as a human, one should know how to control their instincts.
Noh Hyeji, who always lived wrapped in armor, only let her guard down during guiding. Watching her abandon her sharp wariness and entrust her vulnerable self to him at her weakest moment made that strange impulse even harder to resist. It was even worse when she reached climax.
Six years ago, I really had no fear.
When they signed the contract, he hadn’t realized just how powerful close-contact guiding could be with a match rate close to 100%. He’d thought it would be like jumping into a lake with a solid bottom… only to find there was no bottom at all. Every time, he found himself floundering.
Even so, they’d always managed to come out okay. But this time, he had almost kissed her without realizing it, right when Hyeji shyly smiled and bit her lip.
If he’d kissed her during guiding, at least he could have claimed it was all part of the job, even if his conscience wouldn’t have let him off the hook.
But kissing after guiding was over? That was purely a personal desire.
“Co-sign for me.”
He managed to play it off, but it had been dangerous.
What’s wrong with you, Han Kanghyeon? If you keep this up, you’re going to end up with a leash around your neck.
Today, his time for self-reflection was unusually long.
“Why are you acting so out of character?”
“What do you mean, out of character?”
On the TV in the suite’s living room, actors were tossing out cliché lines in fresh tones, competing in a battle of bad acting. It was the scene Hyeji had been waiting for all night, but she just stared blankly at the screen, idly stirring her cup noodles with her chopsticks.
She planned to carry her post-orgasmic drowsiness straight to her own bed in the other bedroom, not even bothering to wash up. If only her stomach hadn’t growled so pitifully. She had no choice but to take a shower and then boil water. But it didn’t taste as good as she’d hoped.
No wonder. The noodles had gotten all swollen and mushy while she was lost in thought.
Foolish mortal, the end of lust is emptiness.
Hyeji was having her ‘post-nut clarity’.
How pointless.
She let out a sigh, picking up a clump of noodles only to let it drop again.
No, that’s not right. The end of lust isn’t emptiness, it’s shame.
The awkward moments from earlier flashed before her eyes like a revolving lantern. No matter how long they’d known each other—six years now—they hadn’t guided every day, and they weren’t lovers, or even particularly close. So awkward moments were bound to happen now and then.
But today, they’d come more frequently. And it felt oddly different.
She didn’t know what was going on with Kanghyeon, but for Hyeji, it was because this was the place where she’d done her first guiding.
Annoying.
A sigh slipped out of Hyeji’s mouth.
Why did he have to pick this place? It was all because the CEO was partial to this hotel chain. Next time they had a business trip to Dubai, she would make sure to pick a different hotel, using the excuse that the walk from the entrance to the room was too far.
Hyeji’s eyes traced the carpet from Kanghyeon’s bedroom to the entrance. Just like she’d thought as she walked through that door, she gathered up the discarded shells of herself one by one, returning from a lust-driven beast to a desireless human.
“I should just order room service.”
At least her libido was gone.
After ordering room service by phone, Hyeji rewound her soap opera. She tried to watch from the scene she’d missed, but even this time, it didn’t catch her attention.
What’s so fun about s*x that I went so crazy earlier? Ugh, I really need to pay off my loans and find a new job soon.
