You! Don’t Press that Button! - Chap 69

Two days passed, and the day before Atlena’s third day had arrived. Like Cinderella, when the clock struck twelve and the full moon rose high in the sky, I was destined to be in pain. I lay on my bed, popping sweet treats like chocolates into my mouth. Drinking Karhan’s blood might alleviate the pain a bit, but the fear still lingered, causing tears to well up in my eyes.

“Karhan, when are you coming…?”

I could already feel a slow, creeping fever spreading throughout my body. If it got any worse, I wouldn’t be able to keep my eyes open, and my throat would swell up, making it hard to swallow even a single drop of saliva. Surely, he wouldn’t keep working until I reached that state, right? We are friends, after all.

The moon had climbed high in the sky, and the festival atmosphere outside cast flickering lights through the window. The brighter the lights got, the hotter my body became, and each breath I exhaled felt like a wave of heat.

“Karhan…”

Damn you. As I was on the brink of dying, I weakly called out Karhan’s name. My throat was swelling up, and even calling out his name was painful. Just as the thought crossed my mind that he might not come until I was dead, I heard the doorknob turning. The bright light from the hallway seeped into the quiet, dim room.

A familiar silhouette entered, and I quickly turned my head towards the ceiling and tightly closed my eyes. It was too early to acknowledge him. The door clicked shut, and I heard the sound of polished shoes on the floor. He stopped after a few steps, and the silence piqued my curiosity. I glanced sideways and saw Karhan.

“I’m glad you didn’t come when I was dying…”

A single tear slid down my cheek. I heard Karhan chuckle softly at my sight. Although I said it half-jokingly, there was some truth to my words. Was he laughing? I glared at him with teary eyes, and only then did he look apologetic and furrow his brows.

“I’m sorry, I was held up by work.”

With that, Karhan slowly climbed onto the bed. The soft bed sagged under the weight of his heavy, adult body.

He could have just given me his blood, so why climb onto the bed? I looked at him with confusion. In the blink of an eye, he had pulled back the blanket and positioned himself over me.

“Hey, Karhan? Why, why are you on top of me?”

“I can’t let the blood spill on the blanket, can I?”

True. Bloodstains are hard to remove. I nodded in slight agreement. While I understood to some extent, the position was still quite overwhelming. It felt like I was about to be pounced on by a predator.

As I struggled to keep my eyes open and gather my thoughts, Karhan placed his knees between my legs and spread them apart.

“Wait a minute.”

“Is there a problem?”

“No…”

The spot where his knee was placed was quite awkward. It was bothering me, but I didn’t know how to put it into words. My mind was already a mess due to the fever.

In the end, I said nothing and just stayed still as Karhan cut his forearm deeply with the knife he was holding. I watched the beads of blood well up and then he brought it close to my mouth.

“Open your mouth.”

“Wait a minute. You want me to drink it like this? Isn’t there a cup or something…?”

“Lord Liras said it’s more effective to drink it directly. It might be a bit unpleasant, but bear with it.”

With that, he brought his bleeding forearm closer to my mouth. Naturally, Karhan bent over and supported my head with his other arm. I was completely trapped beneath him.

What are we doing, lying on the same bed in this position in the middle of the night? I pressed my lips together and squeezed my eyes shut. Karhan probably didn’t think anything of it. Get a grip, we’re just friends. I tried to reassure myself and slowly opened my mouth. His blood, warm and thick, touched my lips.

I opened my mouth as wide as possible, sucking on his thick wrist like a baby sucking on a candy. Saliva gathered in my mouth, and I heard a sound that was embarrassing to hear at night. I tried to ignore it and forced my eyes open. Trembling, I looked up and met Karhan’s gaze.

My eyes, now adjusted to the dark, took in every detail of Karhan’s face. His sharp, silver-gray eyes shone brighter tonight, perhaps due to the moonlight streaming through the window.

Karhan’s blood seemed to be working; the fever that had engulfed my body and the swelling in my throat gradually subsided. The effect was so quick that I felt it wouldn’t matter if I stayed by Karhan’s side forever, as long as I didn’t die.

As I was drinking his blood, Karhan’s knee, which was positioned between my legs, moved slightly and pressed down on my sensitive area.

I thought it was an awkward spot, but I didn’t expect it to actually touch me. My sensitive spot reacted immediately. I couldn’t hide my embarrassment and quickly pulled away from his arm.

“Ah, cough!”

I swallowed some blood the wrong way and coughed it up. The stimulated spot wouldn’t calm down easily. My mind was filled with the urgency to calm down before Karhan noticed. I took a deep breath and shakily opened my mouth.

“It’s, it’s enough—”

“You’re hard.”

“…What?”

I was so flustered and out of it that I couldn’t process my thoughts or emotions. It felt like I had been dropped into a barren wasteland. I stared blankly at Karhan.

Karhan lifted his upper body and ran his fingers down my body, stopping just above a certain spot. If I moved my hips slightly, it would touch. Finally, I snapped out of it and flailed my arms.

“No, why is this happening… It’s not usually like this, no, it’s just the stimulation… Karhan, you understand, right?”

I no longer cared about the fever that had been consuming me. All my focus was on explaining my physiological reaction to Karhan to avoid any misunderstandings. I looked up at him with a red face, and Karhan, who had been watching me, spoke calmly.

“I understand.”

“Right, right!”

I was relieved that Karhan didn’t misunderstand and understood my situation. I took a deep breath and relaxed my tense body.

“Ah, I think I’m okay now.”

“Good. Then we need to deal with this.”

“What?”

Was there something else to deal with? I looked at Karhan with confusion. His silver-gray eyes, usually cold, now held a strange amusement. As soon as I thought something was off, Karhan spoke.

“We need to relieve it.”

“Relieve… what?”

A red warning light flashed in my mind, signaling danger. I had a feeling I shouldn’t have asked, but the words were already out.

Karhan gripped my hips firmly and rubbed my sides with his other hand, slowly moving down. I thought he was going to grip my other hip, but his hand slid forward and gently rested on my sensitive spot.

“Ah.”

I gasped in surprise. Luckily, I was still clothed, so there wasn’t direct skin contact, but I could feel his thick, heavy palm through the fabric, making my sensitive spot react even more.

“Wait, Karhan…!”

Why are you touching there? Panicked, I grabbed Karhan’s thick forearm. I couldn’t tell if my face was hot from pain or embarrassment.

My voice, filled with panic, echoed in the quiet room, followed by the sound of my heartbeat. The loud thumping in the spacious room, where only the two of us were present, made my face grow even hotter.

He can hear it, can’t he? I glanced up at Karhan’s face and saw a slight smile on his lips.

Oh no. He can hear it. I closed my eyes tightly. Above me, Karhan’s voice came low and amused.

“If we don’t relieve it, it’ll be difficult, so let me help.”

“No, it’s okay. I can handle it myself…”

“It’ll be faster if I help. Don’t refuse.”

“No, no! I mean… It’s weird, isn’t it? Friends don’t help each other with this kind of thing…”

At that, Karhan’s body stiffened. It seemed he also thought it was strange. My current state must be affecting me… When I was a bird, he would do anything for me, so he probably got momentarily confused. As I tried to steady my breathing and calm my mind, Karhan’s disappointed voice reached me.

“I’m helping because we’re friends.”

“Huh?”

“We’re not strangers; we’re close. If I can’t help with something like this, how can we call ourselves friends?”

What kind of nonsense is that… My pupils shook violently in all directions. I looked at Karhan with anxious eyes and saw that the amusement from earlier was gone, replaced by a bitter expression.

Seeing an unfamiliar expression on Karhan’s face, I wondered if I had said something wrong.

…Maybe it’s different here. It’s a fantasy world, and it’s common for men to date each other here… In this world, it might be natural for close friends to help with this kind of thing.

I fidgeted with my fingers, still holding onto Karhan’s forearm, and pondered. Karhan’s face slowly lowered, and I felt our breaths, trembling slightly, touch my cheek.

“If you don’t want it, I’ll stop. I won’t force you.”

“No, it’s not that I don’t want it…”