The hands that were scratching the stomach looking for clothes and then moved around everywhere trying to grab any piece of clothing they could find.
When one of those hands at last reached her underwear, he seized it.
“??”
She looked at him with a strange light in her eyes.
“It’s hot though…”
With her left hand still in his grip, she used her right hand to fan her face.
“You should stop drinking.”
“Nn…?”
“Give that to me.”
He took the bottle of alcohol that was near her and placed it down next to him. Flailing her arms around, she retaliated and later bent her back to reach forward so he held onto her shoulders and stopped her.
“Why did you take that…?”
“Let’s just go, Bom. And put some clothes on.”
“But it’s too hot… I’m sweating too much…”
Words weren’t going through.
In fact, she indeed was sweating quite profusely. Considering how dragons did not usually sweat, that in turn displayed exactly how drunk she was.
“Do you want to wear it yourself, or should I put it on for you.”
“Do I have to choose one…?”
“Yes.”
“Put it on for me…”
She leaned her unstable body on the chair. Even though Bom had gotten drunk several times, she had never been this drunk because she usually regulated her own consumption.
That was why this was very disconcerting for him.
Going closer to her, he raised the singlet back up. He knew how to put clothes on someone else thanks to his experience with Gyeoul.
“Raise your arms up. ‘Hurray’.”
“Hurray…”
“Don’t just do it with your mouth.”
“…”
In response, while he was right in front of her with the singlet in hand, Bom lifted her gaze and looked at him with a hazy pair of eyes.
Perplexity.
Ever since a very long time ago, he had been feeling perplexed when seeing Bom. It always showed itself when they were at a close proximity like this.
And this thing called perplexity was something he just couldn’t get used to.
“Then, what should I do it with, instead of my mouth…?”
When words that weren’t suitable for the situation started drawing a picture in his mind, he felt even more perplexed. On the other hand, Bom started chuckling, ‘Kyahaha–’. She continued giggling as if she had a screw loose so he gave the child a flick to the forehead.
Thud!
“Aukk…”
Bom flinched and looked into his eyes with a drop of tear under her eyes.
“Put it on.”
Saying that, he threw the singlet over her legs. Touching her reddened forehead, Bom continued staring at him with the same hazy gaze that deepened over time in consideration.
“Why…?”
“What do you mean why.”
“You said I was pretty…”
“What about it.”
“Don’t you, want to keep looking at something pretty…?”
“Stop blabbering nonsense and put your clothes on, Bom.”
“I haven’t shown it to anyone else before…”
“Whatever, just put them on. What is with this shameful conduct when we are at the very end. I’ve never heard of a dragon disgracing themselves after getting drunk.”
Bom was throwing him the question, ‘Don’t you want to know more about me?’ It was obviously a provocation and her words were intentionally trying to incite his perplexity. She wasn’t doing this just because she was drunk; this was what she always did.+
“…”
“If you don’t wear them, I’ll just wrap your body with a blanket and take you back by force.”
However, he fervently turned her down.
“But, it’s so pretty…”
Bom turned to the large mirror that was inside the room. She fidgeted with her own cheeks, touched her fringes and then raised her hands to collect her hair behind her head before lifting them into the air. Looking at the mirror, she tilted her head. All of her actions were slow; they emphasised her white arms, her thin fingers and wrists, her skin drenched in sweat, the belly button, faint shadows cast under her ribs and the picturesque waist line. Those explicit areas all entered his sight.
Trying to deny himself, he turned his eyes away. But the disgusting truth was that he really was feeling a different urge.
“Is it not pretty…?”
Since when was it that he had begun feeling this urge for no-one else but Bom? This feeling did not stop at just considering her pretty and an explicit name for it would be ‘greed’. This dirty instinct that his mind did not like in the slightest would often soar up inside him.
It was a fact that he discovered belatedly and before realising its identity, he had simply labelled all those moments under the name of ‘perplexity’.
How could he hold anything similar to greed against her – thinking that, he tried to deny himself.
“Hmm… I think it is pretty…”
Murmuring that, she used her arms to support the round bulks and intersected her arms, and then used her two hands to either stretch her belly or pound it. After flexing her muscles, she observed the faint outline of her abs and appeared fascinated by her own body.
Soon, when the room was engulfed in silence, he turned his eyes away while Bom turned her indifferent gaze back to him. The shadow cast on the round things being supported by one of her arms accidentally entered his sight so he quickly shifted his gaze. But his eyes instead had to look at the strings of the underwear, the white skin behind those strings and her twitching red lips. Those were more daunting than her body itself.
He felt increasingly more perplexed. In other words, he was feeling a rise in urge so he decided to close his eyes.
It was very strange. He had already lost all interest and excitement in women. There wasn’t a specific reason or anything and by the time he realised it, he was already indifferent to everything sexual.
But strangely enough, after entering the 7th iteration, he was again feeling that thing which he thought had vanished into thin air.
Is it because she was always clinging to him and teasing him? Or is it because she always nonchalantly whispered into his ears? Or because she excessively stuck to him?
No.
That shouldn’t be it.
The thing that happened with Yeorum a few days ago was also strange.
Even though it was true that he was finding Bom pretty, that did not mean he treasured Bom more than Yeorum or anything.
In other words, if he was going to have a relationship with Bom, there would have been no reason for him not to have a relationship with Yeorum. That was because he had a similar level of bond with both Bom and Yeorum, and he himself did not see a physical relationship as anything that significant.
However, he had still rejected the physical intercourse with Yeorum even though it was a doable act that she wanted herself. He had never once considered Yeorum as a target for a sexual relationship nor did he want to.
Why?
Because it was linked to the ‘daily life’ that he had barely managed to recover by living the 7th iteration.
And according to that logic, finding Bom pretty and craving her body could also be interpreted as something that originated from the ‘daily life’.
“Look at me.”
But at the same time, that ‘daily life’ was commanding him to suppress his urge.
“Do you see me…?”
He knew all too well how hideous and laughable it would be for him to shake his waist after reaching this point.
“It’s all yours…”
And yet that mindset was about to crumble today.
He didn’t know why, just like how he did not know what the ‘start’ of his perplexity was; just like how he did not remember the ‘first time she started looking pretty’.
“Just put your clothes on. Hurry up.”
“…”
The urge was continuing to rise up and he was feeling perplexed by it.
“Wear it. Before I get mad. Unless you want to be in trouble.”
“…”
But Bom did not listen to him.
It was when he was thinking of forcing out the intoxication before anything.
Leaning her body towards him while standing on her toes, she wrapped her arms around his neck. Her small head closed in as he then felt something touch his lips. The thing touching his lips was twitching, wet and was steaming hot.
He pushed Bom away. An urge that was equally hot was surging out from his heart into his throat. It was so extreme that it couldn’t even be compared to the one he had when killing demon smallfries, nor the impulse he felt when telling Bom about his secrets.
Her bare shoulders under his palms and her gleaming collarbones were setting fire to his urge. Thus, he had to let go of her body.
Have I seriously gone insane?
She was an existence whom he had pushed into the pit of misfortune.
Finding her pretty was different to this. Treating her well and playing along might have been an act since that was what she had wanted.
However, the urge he was feeling right now, was craving for the body which he had personally experimented with. How could someone in their right mind ever do such a thing?
He could not deny his sins – from the perspective of daily lives, this was a vulgar, disgusting and disgraceful conduct.
“…”
After escaping from his grip, Bom collected her breath. A little bit of temperament was added to her previously indifferent gaze.
Yu Jitae pushed one of his palms out. Then, he pressed on his temples and heaved a deep sigh while shaking his head.
She muttered.
“Why’re you pushing me…?”
Should I strike her on the nape and make her faint, he thought but soon decided against it. The rising urge was linked to all sorts of his violent desires. He had to refrain from being agitated or stimulated, as that would instigate his sharpened impulse.
“Why are you still holding back…”
Running away from this situation was the best solution he came up with.
On the other hand, he felt irritated. He wasn’t expecting the last day for open conversations to turn out like this. This was why alcohol was too dangerous for young kids.
“You wanted my body. I remember it clearly…”
It happened right as he was about to turn his body: Bom synchronised her mana with the Dimensional Cruise as if she had been preparing for it. Her ability to manipulate mana was still as mysteriously remarkable as it had always been.
And just like that, she gained control over the Ignition Key, the device that would move the ship.
“Bom. This is not funny.”
He said with a straight face.
She was crossing the line.
“I’m not doing this because it’s funny.”
Her mana wriggled and shook the ship. This was clearly a threat, and went right against his intention head-on for it to be simply disregarded as a small mistake.
Irritation soared inside, and increased the impulse even more.
“Let that go.”
He pointed at the cluster of mana in her hand.
“Can you kiss me on my lips…?”
Bom was still heavily drunk and blabbered without noticing the look on his face. Twitching her lips, she poked her tongue out and diligently licked her lower lips. “Hurry.” That obscene movement of her tongue entered his eyes and his impulse was now overflowing so much that it gave him chills.
“I will do that as much as you want if you sober up.”
He tried to strike a deal,
“No. Do it now.”
But it was negated.
Once again, the ship quivered. Bom was trying to use the [Ignition Key] to move the ship.
“Just kiss me first…”
She urged him on.
“You are crossing the line right now. You are making me irritated.”
He tried sounding upset,
“So what.”
But it didn’t work.
‘Perplexity’.
That wasn’t some positive emotion or anything. In truth, he was feeling uncontrollably displeased by his turbulent psychological state to the point that he wished to scrape his heart out.
Even now it was the same. Embracing Bom and craving her body was nothing difficult. In fact, considering the impulse in his mind, it would probably be enjoyable. His current situation was like a person holding himself back from scratching a deathly itchy mosquito bite. How immensely pleasant would it be to scratch it without any restraints?
However, the ‘daily life’ he had retrieved with difficulty was not wishing for that because the body in front of his eyes was the experiment subject that he had tortured.
So whenever he was feeling such a disgusting desire, it was extremely distressing in a different sense. He could feel his sharp conscience piercing through his ribs…
That was the nature of his ‘perplexity’.
“Alright. Will you let that go if I give you a kiss?”
“Nn.”
The authenticity hanging on the Eyes of Equilibrium was ‘true’.
Let’s do a short kiss and snatch the device from her hands. After that, let’s smack her on the back of her head regardless of the impulse.
Thinking that, he approached her.
He approached the expressionless Bom and grabbed her face.
Should I snap her neck.
There was a sudden flash of an impulse but Bom was still holding onto the [Ignition Key]. Controlling the urge that was threatening to explode, he tried his best to hold back any violent action.
However,
The moment his lips met with hers,
He immediately realised that something was going terribly wrong.