A long ti had passed since I composed myself in Ha-Yeon's embrace. It felt like an hour. Throughout that ti, Ha-Yeon didn’t show a hint of discomfort. She didn’t say a word and simply held tightly to comfort .
I shouldn’t be doing this. I shouldn’t cling to my favorite person like this. This isn’t how a proper fan behaves. Yet, sowhere deep inside, I wanted to stay like this forever. I didn’t want to let go.
This wasn’t sothing I would normally do. But right now, I just wanted to be weak.
I felt a bit calr. I was so sure I’d win. This ti would be different. I thought I’d definitely get my revenge.
I faced Silfin again with that determination, only to suffer an absurd defeat.
And it didn’t end there—once again, I almost got assaulted.
What infuriates most isn’t that I lost, but that I felt fear toward Silfin again.
It was humiliating. The ordeal was so shocking that I buried myself in Ha-Yeon’s arms for a while to calm my mind.
"...I’m okay now."
I loosened my arms from around Ha-Yeon and raised my head.
"Ms. Hye-Rim, are you alright now?"
"Yeah. Thanks for letting lean on you. Sorry—it must’ve been hard for you."
I gave a bitter smile and sighed. I expected Ha-Yeon to scold at least a little, but instead, she shook her head.
"Not at all. I’ll do anything to comfort you, Hye-Rim."
"......"
She’s a true hero. Saying she’d do anything just for …
I was deeply grateful for her kindness.
"No, you don’t have to go that far."
I can’t just act like a spoiled child forever.
Being comforted in the arms of my favorite person. It’s a situation so blissful I could lose my mind. I need to control myself.
Anyway, Ha-Yeon already has soone she likes. So there’s no way we can get any closer than this.
This level of friendship is just right.
"Ms. Hye-Rim, co here for a mont."
Suddenly, Ha-Yeon grabbed my hand and pulled toward her again.
Wondering what was going on, I saw her take out a handkerchief and start wiping my mouth.
"Mmmph…!"
"You still have sothing on your lips. Let clean it for you."
She was wiping off Silfin’s saliva. I’d been forced into such an unpleasant kiss earlier that the sticky residue lingered around my lips.
I appreciated Ha-Yeon cleaning it up, but—
"Mmmph! H-Ha-Yeon… mph! A little gentler, please…"
Her handkerchief was rubbing my mouth too roughly.
"I can’t. I need to wipe it off properly."
My protests were muffled against the handkerchief. Ha-Yeon kept cleaning my face for quite a while.
***
After calming myself down to so extent, I checked my phone.
There were dozens of missed calls, mostly from So-Young.
It seed my sudden disappearance and lack of communication worried her.
Even the section chief had called. It seed So-Young had reported the situation to him, and he was concerned as well.
I decided to call So-Young first. Normally, I’d call my boss first, but since So-Young seed so worried, I thought I should reassure her.
The phone barely rang twice before So-Young answered.
[Hello?! Team Leader! Where are you right now?! Are you okay?!]
Judging by her frantic tone, she must’ve feared I’d been in an accident.
To be fair, I had been in an incident, but I couldn’t tell her everything.
"Yeah, I’m fine. I got so absorbed in sothing I was investigating on my own that I didn’t notice your calls. Sorry."
[O-oh, I see. But what were you investigating?]
"Well..."
I hesitated. Should I ntion Silfin, who could turn even the powerless into awakened beings?
Soone like Young-Hee, who was powerless, had suddenly awakened, only to lose their ability again. I couldn’t keep this a secret forever.
So, I shared a sowhat altered version of the truth.
"I felt a similar energy to what I sensed from Young-Hee elsewhere. I thought there might be sothing there, so I checked."
[Oh, I see. You used your magic again, didn’t you?]
"Yeah. I didn’t find anything, but it’s clear that sothing we don’t understand is happening."
[...I see. Alright, I’ll let the section chief know about this too.]
"No, I’ll do it. It’s my responsibility as the team leader. Thanks for worrying about . You should get so rest now."
After reassuring Yu-Sung, I called my boss next.
"Hello."
[Hey, Shin-Hye-Rim!! Where on earth are you?!]
"Geez, calm down, section chief. You’re going to lose your voice."
[Does this sound like a joke to you?! Where have you been?!]
As section chief shouted, I repeated the sa explanation I gave So-Young.
Finally, he cald down.
[Sigh, what a headache. Are these strange phenona happening to awakened beings now?]
"I’m not sure yet."
I hadn’t fully grasped the extent of Silfin’s powers. If I had, I would’ve stopped her already.
[Alright. I have a feeling I’ll be living on headache dicine for a while.]
"Hang in there. Let’s hope this is sothing for the heroes to handle. It’d be nice to offload the work onto them."
[If only. But if it involves awakened beings, we’ll have to act...]
I could hear him muttering curses at the world on the other end.
Yeah, tis like these are perfect for blaming the world. What else can you do?
"Alright, that’s it for the report."
[Okay. Oh, Hye-Rim.]
"Yes?"
[Are you alright?]
"What do you an? I just told you I didn’t find anything."
[No, not that. Your voice sounds... off.]
"......"
Having known for so long, section chief must’ve picked up on my emotional state from my voice.
As expected, seasoned workers like him are no joke.
"I’m fine. Nothing happened. Goodbye."
[Alright.]
After hanging up, I finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Now I can finally take a break."
"Reporting isn’t exactly an easy job."
"What can you do? It’s work, so you have to."
At my words, Ha-Yeon gave a bitter smile.
I hadn’t lied; I’d just left out a few things. So there shouldn’t be any problems.
But my head was full of worries.
Silfin said she’d co again. How would I deal with her then? What was her true objective?
It was overwhelming.
"...For now, I should rest."
"Should we head ho together?"
"Uh... no. Ha-Yeon, you go ahead."
"Huh? Why?"
I couldn’t tell her the truth. I didn’t want her to know what kind of state I was in.
"I just want to get so fresh air alone for a bit."
"I see. Then I’ll stay with you."
"...What?"
Usually, people would just say “Okay” and leave when I said sothing like this.
But Ha-Yeon stuck right by my side.
"I don’t want to leave you alone right now."
"Ah, no, you don’t have to worry so much—"
"I’m doing it because I want to. You don’t have to feel uncomfortable... Oh?"
As she looked closely at , Ha-Yeon tilted her head.
"Hye-Rim, your face is red."
"Huh?"
"You seem feverish."
Of course, she noticed.
"No, I’m fine. Really, it’s noth—ugh!"
Just as I tried to take a step back, my legs gave out, and I collapsed on the spot.
"Hye-Rim!"
"I-I’m okay. Don’t worry about ... haah, ugh..."
"...You’re burning up."
Ha-Yeon placed her hand on my forehead.
She was right. My body was burning. My heart was racing.
I’d been holding back, trying to maintain my composure. But I couldn’t anymore.
"Hah..."
Every breath I exhaled was hot. My body felt feverish. My stomach ached—no, it burned.
This indescribable sensation...
"Should I take you to the hospital?" Ha-Yeon asked, placing both hands on my shoulders.
I could feel her warmth through her hands. The faint scent of her perfu made my stomach churn even more.
I knew what I was feeling. And that only made clench my teeth harder.
That damn woman—she didn’t leave unscathed after all.
"Hye-Rim, stay with ! Hye-Rim!"
As I struggled to answer and only gasped for air, Ha-Yeon grew even more concerned, leaning closer.
No, my mind was fogging up. My thoughts were growing blurry. My instincts were taking over. I couldn’t let this happen.
"I’ll do anything for you, like I said earlier! Just tell what to do!"
"...Anything?"
I turned my head slightly toward her.
Our eyes t, and I saw my reflection in her gaze.
A face flushed red, lips slightly parted, panting breaths escaping, and eyes glistening with tears.
The woman embarrassingly overwheld with desire was .
"Yes, anything."
At her words, my clouded mind lost all reason, and I finally spoke.
"Then... kiss ."
T/N: Title originally said “You were hit by Ahri’s E, weren’t you?” Ahri is a champion from League of Legends, and her E skill is called Charm
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