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The kiss, which I had accepted while lying down, finally came to an end.
No—accepted might not be the right word.
I should reconsider that.
The first kiss, maybe.
But the second kiss?
That was the one I initiated.
I was the one who pulled Happy in.
So rather than saying I had accepted it—
it was more accurate to say that I started it.
But for both Happy and myself—
the second kiss had come without warning.
She hadn’t expected me to do this.
And I hadn’t realized that this was the punishment the Quest Jewel had given me.
As a result,
when our lips finally parted—
neither of us spoke.
Instead, we were both too busy trying to cool our flushed faces,
too shaken to even hide our emotions.
Of course,
the reasons behind our reactions were completely different.
Happy was embarrassed by the sudden happiness.
And I—
I was angry at the sudden affection.
“Uh…?”
I wanted to say something—
anything—
to break the awkwardness.
But no words came.
Frustrated, I closed my mouth again.
After a few failed attempts,
I gave up.
Instead, I turned my gaze away from Happy
and reached into my pocket,
fingertips brushing against the Quest Jewel.
It was shaking slightly,
as if laughing at me.
I felt an overwhelming urge to fight back.
Even though I knew it was useless,
I wanted to resist—
to tell it that this was too much.
But instead,
I just let out a deep sigh,
accepting my miserable fate.
This happened because of me.
I had angered the Quest Jewel,
and this was my punishment.
But this won’t last forever.
This isn’t something that will haunt me for life.
It’s just for this life.
It’s only a punishment for my 132nd life.
It’ll be fine, Yeres.
Just endure it a little longer.
But could I really endure it?
“Yeres unnie?”
Finally, Happy spoke.
Her face was still red,
but her eyes burned even brighter.
Maybe staring was a better word for it.
Her love and madness were too intense—
but strangely…
I didn’t hate it.
In fact,
I was happy.
You love me this much…?
I didn’t hide my smile.
I enjoyed the way she looked at me.
“Happy.”
“Yes, unnie?”
“What do I look like to you?”
This was a question I never would have asked in the past—
back when I still rejected her love.
But my mindset had changed.
The Quest Jewel’s punishment had distorted my perception.
For the first time,
I saw beauty in something that had only ever been a nightmare.
To be fair,
Happy was never ugly.
I had just been too blinded by hatred to acknowledge it.
Objectively speaking,
she was a cute high school girl with magical girl aesthetics.
Her pink twin tails,
her overly frilly outfit—
it was cheating, honestly.
“You’re lovely.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Really.”
And then,
my sense of smell betrayed me.
If I had simply been drunk on perfume,
it wouldn’t have been this bad.
But no—
It was just her scent.
The simple, natural scent of Happy.
And it was making my head spin.
“Thank you.”
In the end,
I failed to resist the Quest Jewel’s punishment.
My hands,
which had been resting on her shoulders,
slid down—
and wrapped around her waist.
“Huh?”
I pulled.
She fell onto me,
her body pressing against mine.
The warmth of her body.
The softness of the blanket.
It was all too direct.
Her face was close.
Her scent was overwhelming.
Had I ever held someone like this before?
It had been so long.
And I wanted it.
“Just stay like this for a bit.”
“No.
Let go of me right now.”
But Happy’s thoughts weren’t the same as mine.
She immediately tried to sit up,
her eyes filled with suspicion.
No—
staring wasn’t the right word anymore.
She was glaring.
Her expression was frozen solid,
and her eyes were cold.
There was no love in her gaze.
Not even a trace of it.
And that scared me.
What if Happy abandons me?
What if all the whispers of love she filled my ears with were lies?
I clenched my fists,
forcing myself to hide my growing tremors.
“What’s wrong?”
“Why are you doing this all of a sudden?”
“Do I need a reason?”
“Of course, you do.
You pretend to love me,
but deep down,
you hate me.”
When I realized the truth,
I couldn’t hold back my laughter.
Because I had found it—
The love and madness hidden beneath her anger.
I wanted all of it to be poured onto me.
“Don’t overthink it.
Come here.”
I grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down.
She didn’t resist this time.
“You’re going to try and make another deal, aren’t you?”
She narrowed her eyes.
“I won’t fall for it this time.”
“I refuse.”
“It’s not like that.”
“Not like that?”
She wasn’t resisting.
So once again,
I wrapped my arms around her waist.
And this time,
I spoke my true feelings without hesitation.
“I just… wanted to do this.”
Of course,
I didn’t tell her the real reason—
that this was the punishment the Quest Jewel had given me.
I couldn’t explain that I was acting this way
because sudden feelings of love had been forced onto me.
It wasn’t because I was ashamed to reveal it.
But because that wasn’t the atmosphere I wanted.
“Are you serious?”
She narrowed her eyes.
“You’re definitely hiding something.
Tell me honestly—I won’t get mad.”
“I’m serious.”
I wasn’t lying.
“Happy.”
“…Yes, unnie?”
“I’m just… so lonely.”
The effect was immediate.
Happy’s sharp gaze began to soften.
The rigidness in her expression slowly melted away.
“If you’re lying about this… I won’t let it slide.”
“It’s the truth.
So please… comfort me.”
Even though this emotion was artificial,
even though it had been forced on me by the Quest Jewel—
When Happy smiled,
It felt better than the thrill of achieving any objective.
“I’m sorry, Yeres unnie.”
She spoke softly.
“But you’ve only been here for two days.
And today—
you spent more time sleeping than awake.”
“…What?”
“Do you even know what time it is?”
“It’s 7 PM.”
As our bodies grew warmer,
Happy pulled out her phone and showed me the time.
7:11 PM.
I blinked.
I had slept from 8 AM until now.
A bitter laugh escaped me.
And at the same time,
I let out a deep sigh—
because our time together had been cut short.
Even if the Quest Jewel had assured my future,
I felt like I had wasted too much time.
Instinctively,
I moved my left hand,
fumbling inside my pocket.
“…What’s in there?”
“Wait—!”
Suspicious, Happy grabbed my wrist
and forcefully pulled my hand out.
The Quest Jewel was still in my grip.
I hadn’t even had the chance to let go.
The red gemstone was now completely exposed.
But Happy only tilted her head.
“…There’s nothing there?”
She frowned.
“I thought you were hiding something,
but you’re not holding anything.”
A silent sigh of relief escaped me.
The Quest Jewel was still invisible to her.
No—
I couldn’t call it an illusion anymore.
This gem,
which had shaken me to my core,
deserved my gratitude.
“You’re right.
There’s nothing there.”
Without hesitation,
I opened my hand,
letting the Quest Jewel fall to the floor.
Then, I reached out and stroked Happy’s cheek.
“There’s nothing there…”
“I just wanted to do this.
Is that… so wrong?”
And then,
I did exactly what I knew she would love.
I kept telling myself—
This is only because of the Quest Jewel’s punishment.
But I wasn’t disgusted by it.
“Mm… I guess…?”
“But I still feel like you’re hiding—”
“Come here.”
I silenced her with our third kiss.
And as we kissed,
I could feel it.
Both of us were getting better at this.
And the sweetness in my mouth—
it was getting stronger.
To the point where—
“Agh, seriously!
I can’t take it anymore!”
It was so overwhelming,
Happy even forgot what she was upset about.
She threw herself at me,
pressing her body against mine.
Our chests touched,
and the friction only made the heat rise higher.
Her long pink hair fell over my face,
like a curtain sealing us away.
In this space,
no one could see what we were about to do.
As I imagined what she wanted from me,
I felt my own breath grow heavier.
“…So you’ll let me hug you without any conditions?”
“Do whatever you want.”
The shame of being controlled by the Quest Jewel?
The pain of being abused by Happy?
The pride I once had as the Queen of Darkmoon?
I forgot it all.
None of it mattered anymore.
All that mattered was the lovely enemy on top of me.
“Then…
there’s something I’ve been wanting to try with you.”
I didn’t even ask what it was.
I already knew.
I remembered the way she had tried to take me after our first kiss.
I knew exactly what she meant.
“First, get up and kneel.”
And I didn’t hesitate.
I wanted it.
I didn’t think it was wrong.
I didn’t even question if it was real love or something artificially implanted into me.
The excitement doesn't stop here! If you enjoyed this, you’ll adore The Childhood Friend Left Behind. Start reading now!
Read : The Childhood Friend Left Behind
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