Chapter 139

You can’t control all the countless variables that can throw a plan off. Even a plan as simple as “get Aquarion’s Heart” almost went sideways multiple times since I got here.

And yet I still make plans, because even accounting for variables, planning is efficient. Snapping to handle the moment matters, sure, but the most important thing isn’t Plan B or C—it’s how little Plan A... deviates.

‘But am I really that much of a planner?’

Yeah, obviously not.

I’ve never once thought of myself as a “methodical” person. I make plans, but as long as the result lands, I don’t care if the process changes. If it doesn’t work, I drop it without hesitation.

So purely as a result, getting Aquarion’s Heart in my hands today was damn good. I did flush the money Kang Sojeong was supposed to pay me, but for a second-day invite and safety, that expense wasn’t bad. Especially considering how much I’d already blown on that useless piece of crap Nagao.

But once it was actually in my hand... weirdly, it didn’t feel that great. Why?

It wasn’t because I had to do the job twice. It wasn’t because Joo Seowon looked incompetent, and it wasn’t because I had to hand a variable to some unknown like Kang Sojeong.

Tracing the source of this mood means going back a while.

When I first dropped here, after a brief “this is bullshit” phase, there were a few months where I was high on the daily dopamine parade and had a decent amount of fun. After that, the upheaval became routine and life was peaceful.

Now? Not really. If anything... everything’s starting to grate.

‘Ahh....’

Once I realized it, I laughed.

It wasn’t “plans going wrong” that bothered me. It was the variables themselves. Meaning, plans can go wrong—that’s fine—but once the world is crammed full of variables I can’t control, that’s when it turns to shit.

Isn’t that obvious? “It’s fun when plans go awry” only applies when the dopamine is centered on me.

Kwon Taehan’s about to come back to life, and my body is still pathetically underpowered... Cheonmyeonggyo poked its head up and then nothing, I’m not prepared for the future, and meanwhile all I’ve got is important info like deleted chapters and my previous life clogging my head.

I’ve never had a daily life that refused to run in my hands like this, so I didn’t recognize why it felt so off.

Put a time bomb in front of me and no matter what I do, it just drags and stalls—I can’t even dream of defusing it. Fun? If it’s going to be like this, it should at least blow fast. Instead I’m stuck with nothing actionable, strung along, and of course my mood’s in the gutter.

So what made it flip to enjoyable in an instant?

I looked quietly down at Joo Seowon. He made a whole show of “in and out” over a bit of touching, but once I stripped him, he behaved.

‘He’s always been all bark and the actual actions are lukewarm.’

Do I... like that?

It was also satisfying that I’d cracked his operating principle all at once. He likes wanting to know pointless things, and those sudden texts over nothing are dependence born of affection.

In other words, a guy who would “never” act like this slid perfectly into a predictable range. That was very nice. From now on, Seowon’s not likely to end up clinging to Kwon Taehan.

I didn’t deliberately set out to rewiring his feelings, but it’s still a change that passed through my hands. And it broke the original plot cleanly, while yielding someone I can more or less control.

‘Mm... nice.’

It wasn’t just the situation stoking my sex drive. It was something more... fundamental. Satisfaction?

“Hey, S—Seo Jehyun.”

He seemed thoroughly mortified, frozen up and panting, but I didn’t feel like rescuing him from the embarrassment.

By his logic, what I was doing now would count as a kind of deceit....

“...Are you not going to do it?”

“No.”

Will he regret this later?

I ran my eyes slowly down his body. Since coming here, both of us had been sleep-deprived and stacked with crises—we weren’t exactly in our right minds. My head was foggy, thoughts a step late, and Seowon was wasting his good brain on this mess too.

Put another way, intelligence drops and instinct wakes up.

I lifted my hand and tapped his flushed cheek. There were layers of sensation already built up, so even that was enough to pull a whimper.

“Hh....”

I listened to the faint groaning, then moved my hand to his ear, teasing along the rim. The way my fingers bumped his piercings felt novel.

He was definitely more sensitive at his ears than his cheeks; he actually curled in on himself. I glanced at the piercing and spoke low.

“If it were any other accessory, you’d forget it on purpose and wander around without it, so I had you match it with a piercing....”

“......”

“Also because I thought it would suit you.”

I slid my hand down his neck in a sweep; the goosebumps were sharp under my palm. His neck, raised with gooseflesh, was flushed red.

Dropping my gaze further, I saw the chest I’d just licked—still wet. I pressed my thumb there and got an instant response. His well-built ribcage heaved harder with roughening breath.

‘He’s tense.’

His hands clenched the sheets tight. I glanced at that, then down again, and found something cut better than I expected.

I spread his legs, slid my thigh between the mattress and his, and propped his lower body up.

When I pulled him in, he sucked in air ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) fast.

Obviously there was nothing usable around—sleeping with Seowon was not in the plan. I kneaded his taut thigh as a half-measure, then pushed two fingers into his mouth.

His mouth closed by reflex; I turned my hand and pressed the roof of his mouth.

“Don’t bite.”

He got the point. Face red, he gave a small nod. I rummaged around his mouth, found the pooled saliva, and slathered my fingers. The feel of his soft tongue squashing around them was pretty good.

With his jaw propped open, drool started to thread out on its own. I withdrew my hand after poking around and wiped the spit off his lip, then brought my hand down.

“Relax.”

“Ugh....”

His body went rigid, discomfort at the foreignness. I had no intention of a long, sticky foreplay; he was already wound up, and if I teased, he’d clock out fast.

“Mm—gh....”

Jaw clenched, he turned his head aside. I caught his chin, brought him back to face me, and dipped for his mouth. My tongue brushed his plumped upper lip and his lips opened immediately.

The foreign feeling below must have been stronger than he expected; the groans leaking into our kiss were loud.

He tolerates pain well, but judging by this, the situational arousal was huge.

“Mmff...!”

His eyes flashed open mid-kiss. Not that he “felt it” instantly—more like the strange sensation startled him.

“Stay still.”

“H—ugh!”

He grabbed my shoulders in a rush and pushed, gulping for air.

His legs, which he’d spread, kept inching closed and slapped together, catching the tender inside of his thighs with a smack.

“Ow—ow!”

“Stop squirming and rip the sheet. Or hold my shoulders.”

“Hh....”

Every time he squeezed his eyes shut and opened them, his pupils rolled up, then belatedly found focus again.

“Ah... this won’t do.”

“Haa—ngh....”

I’d meant to take it slower, but I changed my mind. I pulled my hand away from below. The unfamiliar sensation made him rub his feet on the sheet and twist.

“Hah—! S-slow, f—”

“Hold still.”

For the first time in a while, heat shot to my head.

‘Wasn’t I just bitching at Seowon about being pent up?’

True, lately I’d been burning energy on everything but sex, like a guy who’d lost his libido. The sudden surge of primitive want shorted out my thoughts.

I unbuckled with a clack and said, almost laughing,

“This is your belt.”

Not that he was in any state to register it. I stripped the belt and sent it to the floor, popped the button.

I pushed off the bed with my hands, leaned back, and stood up slowly. He stared, bewildered. I took a breath, shucked my pants, then my shirt.

“Seowon. I’ve been thinking....”

“......?”

With my brain barely turning, there wasn’t much to think, of course. I ditched my underwear too and let it fall anywhere, then climbed back onto the bed. His legs had drooped; I hauled them up and set them back over my thigh.

“Ugh—hey...!”

Shame thickened his voice until it was sticky. I kneaded his thigh, then brought my hand back down and spread him, rough.

“Ah...!”

“I think I’ve been underestimating you like a chump.”

“Uh—hh—ah... hh....”

“Right? You’re a B-rank hunter.”

I worked my hand a few more times, then moved fast, palming myself from below to tip.

“Haa... mnh—so...”

“......?”

“Try to hold it.”

With that, I lined us up. He pushed himself up a little, blurting,

“G-gentle!”

“It’s fine. I’m very—”

“Fuck, that—won’t—go in—”

Well, I didn’t expect it to be easy.

“I got you nice and wet.”

And with that, I moved my hips.