Without hesitation, Han Seojin slipped his hand under her monastic robe.
His fingertips brushed perilously against Cheongwol's belly, touching and withdrawing in repetition.
Rather, those faint contacts made her body burn even more sensitively.
If he just touched her fully once, she could get used to it and be done, but since he didn't, every contact felt stimulating.
Just like how testing the cold valley water makes it harder, while diving in all at once is easier.
If he gripped her belly firmly, maybe, but this teasing touch made her tingle.
"S-Stop... Don't touch my body like that."
She couldn't yield her body.
Especially not so suddenly like this.
That she had no interest in men.
Han Seojin had been special as a friend, not because he was a man.
It was their friendship that had been precious.
As a nun, she knew nothing of men.
...But now, he was leaping over that line.
It felt like he was saying, you're a woman, and I'm a man.
She didn't know why that newfound sensation felt so chilling.
"D-Don't touch me...!"
Cheongwol pushed away Han Seojin's altered hand with both of hers.
Yet astonishingly, no strength entered her arms.
She couldn't stop his fingers toying with her.
"We're friends, aren't we? Can't we do this?"
"Ugh...! Y-You're right, we're friends, but... this is..."
"Or was it just my illusion? Did you only call me a friend with words?"
"Ugh...!"
His words made it even harder to resist.
Pushing him away felt like claiming they weren't friends at all.
Before she knew it, Cheongwol had retreated tightly against the wall to evade his touch.
Beyond leaning on the wall, she was even on tiptoes.
"You said you wanted to play. I'm doing it, so why?"
"That's... I mean, that's..."
She had wanted to, but now she didn't.
She had just wanted to feel his affection.
And now that the play had started, she realized how foolish her plan had been.
Han Seojin easily began the play, and the Sect Leader was still outside.
To him, it seemed this wasn't as difficult as Cheongwol had thought.
"E-Enough now."
At her words, he broke the flow.
Han Seojin tilted his head.
"...Has your heart demon already been resolved?"
"...!"
If she said yes, would Han Seojin leave Mount Emei?
The condition she had set was for him to resolve her heart demon... or stay on Mount Emei if he couldn't.
Before she knew it, she felt she had fallen into her own trap.
She knew this play could resolve her heart demon by the end.
But what use was that if he wasn't by her side afterward?
So Cheongwol shook her head.
"N-No...! But I don't want to play right now—"
"—Really? Then I'll keep going until it's resolved. Don't worry, Wol."
In that instant, he slid forward and gripped her waist.
"Gasp!"
It was the first time a man had grabbed her waist so blatantly, and Cheongwol gasped in shock.
She tried to breathe in, but couldn't.
That awkward, rough sensation tormented her as a new stimulus.
Unable to speak, Cheongwol flailed in flustered panic.
She pushed his arm, bent one leg, lightly struck his body, but nothing changed.
Like kneading dumpling dough, he savored her soft belly flesh with his thumb.
"So soft. Is it okay for a nun to have a body like this?"
"Ugh... Uh...!"
"You have such a womanly body?"
At his words treating her like a fool, Cheongwol furrowed her brow, and Han Seojin smiled as he spoke.
"Relax your face."
Then, he pressed her side, tickling her.
"Eek!"
Cheongwol barely suppressed the laugh that nearly burst out against her will, then looked at him with flustered eyes.
"W-What are you doing...!"
"Hm? I clearly told you to relax your face?"
"Hya!"
"Shouldn't you hold in the sounds? The Sect Leader might hear."
Her body's reactions were dictated by his will.
She had to force a laugh when she didn't want to.
He was freely touching her body, and she couldn't properly resist even once.
Suppressing laughter when she should be angry felt utterly humiliating.
"Haa... Haa...!"
As soon as she had a moment, Cheongwol moved to escape the wall.
"Ah...!"
But in that moment, Han Seojin's knee slipped between her legs, blocking her movement.
"Hmmp...!"
His tickling continued.
With nowhere to go, Cheongwol folded at the waist like crumbling.
Her forehead touched his chest, and before she knew it, she was clinging to him.
"Hng... Stop...! C-Clan Leader...!"
His brief tickling stopped.
"Resolved now?"
He asked.
Cheongwol had to hold back her face crumpling again.
Let Han Seojin go from Mount Emei after just this a few times?
That would truly be madness.
"...Are you treating me like a fool?"
Cheongwol finally asked.
"With just this forced laughter, what..."
This time, she barely succeeded in pushing his hand away by force.
Next was the problem of his leg wedged between hers...
"..."
Embarrassingly rubbing against him and twisting her body, she finally escaped even that.
"I'm not in the mood for games. We'll talk about today later. I have nothing more to say to you right now, Clan Leader. I'm going to talk to the Sect Leader."
With that, Cheongwol tried to leave, but Han Seojin was persistent.
He hugged her from behind as she departed.
Once again, Cheongwol's breath caught.
Every time he approached so aggressively, she struggled to respond.
The gap from his usual self made it even harder.
Even in a situation not for it, like when the tickling made laughter burst out.
Held by him, her heart pounded wildly.
Han Seojin spoke.
"Do I seem like I'm playing around right now?"
"..."
"Wol. Even to me, your heart demon looks serious. I can't leave until it's resolved."
It wasn't wrong.
But then, why not manage it a bit before now?
What was the reason for doing it so belatedly?
The Sect Leader was outside, and there was no more inconvenient time.
"...No... As I said, I have things to discuss with the Sect Leader—"
"—Going to draw a sword or something?"
At his question, she froze solid.
****
"Going to draw a sword or something?"
Coming to my senses, I realized that insane question had already been asked.
I, who always hid behind a mask, spitting out words she wanted to hear or what a sadist should say.
Was it the shock of seeing her hand on the sword hilt?
Or from touching her body, unconsciously feeling an intimacy I hadn't realized?
From tormenting her and reconfirming that she showed patience only with me?
From knowing that if she fell, I'd be screwed too?
From our promise not to push her away?
Hugging her from behind, I threw a more essential, honest question.
"...What?"
Cheongwol weakly asked back.
"..."
The words were already out.
With my arms around her waist... I mustered courage.
I knew it was foolish, but I trusted the situation.
I couldn't let her go here, not knowing what she'd do outside.
"What were you going to do, Wol?"
"...I..."
"It's not even been long since we promised not to kill people with me. Why do you keep reaching for your sword?"
"..."
"Are you the one treating me like a fool?"
It was a foolish question.
Even not killing wasn't going as easily as words.
How much would my words reach her, who would later kill tens of thousands?
Still, I asked for now.
Wasn't she changing little by little?
"Are you... insane?"
Cheongwol responded belatedly.
"Me... draw a sword on the Sect Leader...? Clan Leader, how much of a monster do you think I am?!"
"Then what were you going to do?"
"Ugh...! Confront her!"
"About what?"
"...About telling you not to get close to me...! Or subtly urging you to leave Mount Emei! Or just... everything she's made me suffer so far...!"
The mood was getting too heavy; I should avoid that.
I slipped my hand back under her monastic robe.
Gently stroking to soothe, touching her bare skin again.
Her body tensed, her breath quickening, all transmitted to my fingertips.
The more I slightly raised my hand, the more her ribs felt under my fingers.
...It wasn't far to her breasts.
I couldn't cross that line either.
"Ah... Ugh...! D-Don't touch me now...!"
Cheongwol whispered in a trembling voice.
But even that voice was losing strength.
Her ears and nape flushed red, sweat slowly spreading down her spine.
Her hands pushing me away were still feeble.
Less stopping me... more hesitating on how far to allow, it felt.
That subtly female-like behavior strangely stimulated me.
Like chewing onions and tasting apple.
Was that why?
Like playing cops and robbers, as the sadist, it felt okay to suddenly dominate her now.
She said earlier she hadn't planned to draw her sword, but I thought otherwise.
Perhaps even more than her, I was sensing the killing intent within her.
I'd lived my whole life reading the room.
Earlier, it was definitely killing intent.
"Why are you always so desperate not to fight?"
"Always?!"
Cheongwol cried out in an outburst.
"Do you even know how much I've endured, Clan Leader?"
"..."
"The Sect Leader is trying to push away my first precious friend...! How long do I have to keep enduring...?!"
Afterward, Cheongwol continued venting while held in my arms.
The pressure from the Sect Leader, the expectations, the strictness, the firmness she'd shown, and so on...
...Wow.
Even in this situation, I was impressed.
That old lady had more issues than I thought.
Cheongwol getting this worked up always tied back to that old lady.
Hadn't she first entered my basement to avoid getting caught for staining it with blood for that old lady?
Hadn't she come to me first asking to resolve her heart demon, fleeing from her?
In the original story, her heart demon grew from discord with the Sect Leader.
In the first place, Mount Emei being safe far in the future...
...Was because Cheongwol had gotten revenge on the Sect Leader and her master.
She had no lingering attachments, so she never returned.
Listening to Cheongwol's complaints, I closed my eyes and thought.
Considering how to make myself safer.
...Right, so that old lady is Cheongwol's fuse?
She's the biggest problem?
...Then, should I shake their relationship?
Would sowing discord between them free Cheongwol from her heart demon?
Maybe Cheongwol had too few bonds, clinging to Muwol Satae.
Don't kids grow by leaving parents' embrace, making friends, achieving their own growth?
Maybe that's what she lacked.
No time for a thorough plan anyway.
I always had to go by instinct.
For now, that seemed right.
"Wol. No matter how I think, you need to apologize to the Sect Leader."
At my words, Cheongwol thrashed in my arms like furious.
"What? Even you, Clan Leader...! Taking the Sect Leader's side—"
"—That's not it."
My stiffened hand began slowly rising.
Cheongwol tensed rigidly, as if anticipating what followed.
I didn't stop until I reached my goal.
I'd already steeled my resolve.
I bet on the idea that Muwol Satae outside wouldn't spy on us.
No matter what, would a nun her age eavesdrop or peek at what we were doing?
Soon, a soft texture touched my finger joints.
The texture everyone who's seen Cheongwol has imagined at least once.
A space untouched by a man's hand.
Like leaving the first footprint in fresh snow, my finger joint touched first.
Startled, rigid, or terrified... Cheongwol showed no reaction.
Frozen like acupoint struck, unable to breathe, only her ears and face flushing like bursting.
I still couldn't stop.
Had to do it all at once.
Before the rigid her could stop me, I placed both hands over the cloth supporting her breasts.
Then, gently squeezed them.
Insane texture.
Elastic yet seeming to flow away.
The breasts of Mount Emei's top disciple, just turned of age this year.
I nearly forgot, but slightly altered the words, squeezing them out with difficulty.
"That's not it—apologize by saying you're sorry for growing into a pervert who stays still even when I touch your breasts like this."