Chapter 43

“Heub…!”

Haon was startled by the collision of their lips and froze in place. Cha Yugeon parted his lips and slip his tongue between them. Even until then, Haon wasn’t in his right mind. Therefore, he simply let Cha Yugeon do as he pleased with his lips.

Haon felt the tender cheeks being continuously stimulated. Not fully aware of what was happening, he couldn’t even close his eyes and was left in a daze.

“Ugh…”

A muffled voice seeped through their touching lips. Feeling embarrassed, Haon tightly shut his eyes. Should he push Cha Yugeon away? Or should he just stay here since they’ve come this far?

Wait, this is his first kiss, is it okay to let it happen like this? No, this is just part of the training, don’t treat it like a kiss.

For a brief moment, various thoughts crossed Haon’s mind. Because of this, he simply let himself be kissed by Cha Yugeon.

Memories of him putting a potion in his mouth came to mind. It was similar to that moment yet somehow different. He felt shiver run down his spine, and his legs seemed to slowly lose strength. And then, somehow, Cha Yugeon knew and tightened his grip around Haon’s waist.

Haon, within Cha Yugeon’s embrace, mingled his breath with him as they kissed. How did things end up like this? Just a while ago, he had sworn not to even guide Cha Yugeon. So much had happened in between.

Honestly, Haon could have easily pushed Cha Yugeon away. The reason he didn’t was… well… Haon couldn’t even explain it himself. If he had to pinpoint it, it might be because things had gotten out of hand due to the atmosphere.

Anyway, despite the awkwardness of the situation, he thought that if he could enhance his abilities, he might be able to overlook it. That’s how desperate Haon was to do his part.

To do that, it was important to be recognized by others, but he also had to be able to be satisfied with himself. But now he felt very inadequate and weak. That’s why he wanted to grow stronger.

But deep down, he doubted if the training was going well. If kissing Cha Yugeon didn’t yield any results, it would be so unfair. Maybe kissing alone wouldn’t increase his instantaneous resonance in a moment like this.

Thinking like that made him even more anxious. He had kissed Cha Yugeon, and if his abilities didn’t improve, he would feel so frustrated.

Haon made up his mind. He couldn’t retract his lips.

It was a kiss filled mixed emotions.

Haon held Cha Yugeon’s face firmly and tilted his head. Cha Yugeon hesitated for a moment, then continued to kiss him more passionately. The air around them heated up intensely.

How long they stayed intertwined, he wasn’t sure. All he knew was that his lips felt numb and his mind was hazy. They slowly parted their heads. Saliva that hadn’t been swallowed lingered between their lips.

“Cha Yugeon.”

“Yeah?”

Struggling to regain his fading consciousness, Haon called his name. Cha Yugeon, just as dazed as Haon, responded with a dazed expression.

“If there’s no progress, I’ll kill you.”

“Got it.”

Seeing Cha Yugeon obediently respond to the threat of being killed, it seemed that even Cha Yugeon wasn’t in his right mind. That fact was a great comfort to Haon. If he were the only one feeling disoriented and dizzy at this moment, he felt like tears of injustice would burst forth.

So the two of them stood in silence for a long time, lost in their respective dazes.

* * *

Gulp.

Haon swallowed dryly, feeling anxious. Depending on the response of Director Han, he could either become a murderer or not.

“As I mentioned before, your instantaneous resonance is 75 percent, significantly lower compared to the matching rate of 107 percent.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Haon replied with a trembling voice. Although Cha Yugeon didn’t say much, his restless demeanor was evident.

“Currently, your instantaneous resonance is 78 percent, showing a 3 percent increase.”

“3 percent…”

It went up. Just a few days ago, Haon had threatened to kill Cha Yugeon if there was no progress even after kissing him. But now, with a 3 percent increase, it couldn’t be said that there was no progress.

However, the number 3 percent seemed quite ambiguous. It wasn’t significant enough to be celebrated. Therefore, Haon was at a loss, unable to react one way or another.

“Oh, and Cha Yugeon, regarding the documents you sent regarding the cait-sith, we’ve received them. However, since cait-siths are monsters, you need to sign a document stating that you’ll take responsibility for any issues caused by the cait-sith you rear in the future.”

Director Han extended the documents and a pen. Haon, still reeling from the shock of the 3 percent, stared blankly, unable to recover. In the meantime, Cha Yugeon finished signing.

“Thank you. Please be careful not to cause any accidents with the cait-sith in the future. Well then, I’ll leave first due to other engagements.”

He handed one of the documents Cha Yugeon signed to him and placed the other in the file before getting up from his seat. Haon could only stare helplessly at Director Han’s retreating figure.

“Not bad.”

“What do you mean?”

At Cha Yugeon’s words, Haon snapped out of his daze and narrowed his eyes. Considering he had just been spaced out, his reaction was surprisingly quick. Haon stared at Cha Yugeon, ready to grab him by the collar.

While Cha Yugeon said 3 percent wasn’t bad, for Haon, it was a terrible figure. He had threatened to kill Cha Yugeon if there was no progress even after kissing him. But now, with a 3 percent increase, it couldn’t be said that there was no progress.

However, the number 3 percent was quite ambiguous, not significant enough to be celebrated. Therefore, Haon couldn’t react one way or another.

“Think about it. If 3 percent increases with just one kiss, wouldn’t it go over 100 percent after just 8 times? Isn’t that okay?”

“…”

Haon glared at Cha Yugeon discontentedly. His words made sense if you only did simple calculations. However, there was no evidence that the instantaneous resonance would increase by 3 percent with each kiss. Even though it happened this time, it might not happen next time.

“Do you have a guarantee that it’ll increase next time? And is doing it 8 times easy?”

Haon’s eyes were filled with resentment as he looked at Cha Yugeon. Not only was there no guarantee that the instantaneous resonance would increase by 3 percent every time, but Haon also had a bigger problem.

It wasn’t just 8 times, but he had to spend an excessive amount of time kissing someone, and it wasn’t just anyone, it was Cha Yugeon. It was frustrating to think that he had to kiss Cha Yugeon 8 more times or even more.

“If you want to do it, you can do it even once a day, is that a lot?”

“That’s not the point! I don’t want to waste kisses damn it!”

It was his first kiss, darn it!

Haon shook his fists tremblingly. He felt like he had to do something. Although he kept telling himself in his head that what he was doing with Cha Yugeon wasn’t a “kiss,” it didn’t go as planned.

No matter how much he tried to package it as training, a kiss couldn’t become something else. Even if he later told his lover, “I hugged and kissed my designated esper tightly and deeply, but the first kiss is with you,” his lover wouldn’t agree to it.

So ultimately, the fact remained that Haon’s first kiss was with Cha Yugeon. Haon buried his face in his hands in despair.

“Park Haon.”

“What?”

“Could it be… your first kiss?”

“First kiss? What do you mean?”

“Is it with me?”

Just when Haon hoped that Cha Yugeon wouldn’t know about his painful spot, it seemed he had found out. Haon tightly closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.

“So what if it is? Are you happy about it?”

“Uh, well, your expression tells me it is. It is your first time, isn’t it?”

With great difficulty suppressing his anger, Haon couldn’t help but strike Cha Yugeon’s solar plexus with his fist.