You! Don’t Press that Button! - Chap 98

As I raised my head with furrowed brows, I saw an annoying face smiling neatly. I gritted my teeth with an expression that anyone could see was angry.

“Karhan.”

Exhaling sharply, I slowly pronounced the three syllables of his name, and Karhan looked at me with innocent eyes as if he knew nothing. I raised my limp hand and grabbed Karhan’s cheeks, stretching them wide.

“We were having an important conversation just now.”

I protested seriously, but Karhan smiled with his cheeks held and said,

“How could I stay still when you were speaking so lovingly?”

If only he couldn’t speak. His glib words made my face heat up again. Unable to argue further, I just smacked my lips in displeasure.

“I’ve been holding back for a while, so I’d appreciate it if you could let it slide lightly.”

“For a while…?”

“We couldn’t do it for a few days because your waist hurt, right?”

A few days…? No, just for those few days? Don’t tell me he… I looked at Karhan with wavering eyes, then quickly reached out and pushed his chest hard. Perhaps thanks to the sudden push, the hand around my waist easily loosened.

I hurriedly pulled up and fastened my pants and moved far away from Karhan. Then I raised my hands in an X shape to cover my body. Karhan slightly furrowed his brows at my strange behavior and asked,

“What are you doing?”

“Karhan… Are you dating me just for my body?”

I asked with a trembling voice full of tension. A chilly silence intertwined with the cold air and settled on the floor. Karhan’s tightly closed lips showed no signs of opening, and as time passed, my anxious heart wavered. I blinked slowly and lowered my head.

As a social novice, I was too naive. I hadn’t doubted Karhan, who had been taking care of me until now, but to think such a wicked intention was mixed in. Even if he desired my body, still. As I glared at the floor, creating many wrinkles on my chin, Karhan approached with large strides.

His hand, as big as my face, slowly rose as if dealing with an easily startled animal and wrapped around my shoulder. As I watched his thick thumb gently caressing my protruding collarbone, I heard a soft sigh from above. After stubbornly avoiding eye contact, I reluctantly raised my head to see Karhan’s face, which seemed to have a lot to say.

Karhan, who had been hesitantly moving his lips a few times, raised his hand and brushed back his hair. His tightly closed lips parted, and a slightly petulant sound escaped from them.

“I meant that I want to keep touching you because I like you.”

“…W-What are you saying!”

He’s saying such embarrassing things again! I opened my eyes wide and hurriedly raised my hand to block Karhan’s lips. Karhan frowned, expressing his dissatisfaction, but I pressed my hand more firmly and spoke in a urgent yet small voice.

“Why do you keep saying embarrassing things…!”

As I stomped my feet, the hand that had been gripping my shoulder fell away. It moved to grasp my wrist, and thinking he was trying to remove my hand, I applied more strength and stubbornly looked up at Karhan.

And at that moment when our eyes met and his narrowed, gleaming, I felt a strange sensation on my palm. A soft, squishy feeling.

“W-Wait a moment…”

A chilling sensation started from my palm and traveled eerily up my spine. I couldn’t stop my whole body’s hair from standing on end and shuddered. Thinking something was wrong, I tried to quickly remove my hand from Karhan’s mouth, but the hand holding my wrist now became a shackle, not letting me go.

“Wait! J-Just a moment!”

I tried to dissuade Karhan with a bewildered voice, my eyes wide open, but his mischievous eyebrows didn’t relax. Instead, he made a “slurp” sound as if to show off, making my body tremble.

“Stop joking around! Let go! Let go!”

I don’t know what made him so upset, but he gently licked my palm with his tongue. Good heavens, to have my palm licked by someone. What is this! I looked at Karhan with a helpless expression, but he stood there proudly as if nothing was wrong.

The situation itself was so embarrassing and mortifying that I felt like I was going crazy, and with his wet tongue tickling my sensitive palm, I could barely keep my sanity.

“Nngh…”

Every time the soft flesh tormented my tender skin, a ticklish feeling bloomed inside my stomach. Just as I was about to lean against the wall and exhale heavily, unable to endure anymore, the large hand finally let go.

My arm trembled, probably from being stretched upward for so long. As my legs gave out with a “swish,” I had no choice but to slide down halfway, collapsing limply.

As I sat there, unable to even think of looking at my palm, Karhan bent his knees to match my eye level. His silver-gray eyes blinked slowly as they gazed at me. I glared at him with a mix of resentment and embarrassment, and his broad shoulders shrugged.

“It saddens me that my feelings don’t seem to give you certainty.”

A lonely curve appeared on Karhan’s lips. Clearly, I was the one whose backside had been thoroughly stirred up and whose palm had been ravaged by a tongue, but he acted as if he had received all the hurt, leaving me blinking in confusion. When I didn’t open my mouth, Karhan exhaled deeply and said,

“If you’re uneasy, tell me anytime. I will be by your side for a lifetime.”

His beautiful fingers approached and brushed away the hair tickling my cheek. The wind coming through the window visible over his shoulder gently shook the quietly hanging curtains. His transparent silver-gray eyes caught the sunlight and shone dazzlingly.

As I blinked rapidly at his seemingly comforting action, Karhan’s eyebrows suddenly curved playfully. The corners of his mouth turned up like hooks, and his cool lips parted.

“Or, do you dislike having intimate relations with me?”

“No! No! I liked Karhan’s thing!”

I absolutely liked it. As I hurriedly shook my head and spoke, Karhan’s mouth closed tightly. A strange silence fell between us, and only the quiet sound of the wind coming through the window gap could be heard.

One second. Two seconds. Only after time had passed did I realize what answer I had given, and I swallowed hard.

“That… by ‘like’… I mean, the bed was very soft and…”

“You mean you liked it when I rubbed your good spots.”

Karhan spoke in a nonchalant voice while stroking his chin. On the other hand, my face burned as I recalled that night. In my haste to not make Karhan feel dejected, I had ended up saying I liked something truly ridiculous.

Unable to bear the embarrassment, I jumped into the bed. I pulled the blanket over my face and made a dying sound.

“Ughh…”

Embarrassment enveloped my entire body. As I thrashed about like a fish jumping out of water, the bed tilted slightly to one side. Even with my face covered by the blanket, I could instinctively tell that Karhan had sat on the edge. With my lips twisted in dismay, I spoke in a miserable tone.

“…Forget it.”

A slight trembling occurred outside the blanket. He’s probably laughing at me. I felt like crying out loud, but I held it in, reminding myself that I needed to maintain an adult’s dignity. All I could do now was pray for time to pass quickly while I was under the blanket.

I’m dead. As I curled up motionlessly like a corpse, I felt a large hand patting my back. Don’t comfort me. I wriggled my back, but the gently tapping hand didn’t stop. Finally, with a small groan, “Ungh,” I slowly turned my body, and Karhan’s amused voice was heard.

“If you’re anxious, come to me anytime. I’ll erase that anxiety for you.”

His low voice held a sweetness that could melt the dense blanket stuffing. At his gentle voice, my hands gripping the blanket involuntarily tightened. Gaining courage, I slowly peeked my eyes out from under the blanket. Our eyes met immediately, and I flinched before clearing my throat, “Ahem,” and carefully opening my mouth.

“I may not have much dating experience, but everyone has their worries, right? I’m just…”

I took a deep breath and said,

“…unable to feel certain.”

I was afraid of the uncertain future if I stayed here. Rather than experiencing the terrible feeling of being alone again after pouring out affection, it would be better to leave first when I still knew nothing.

If I quietly spent my days like this, I could regain my usual daily life. After taking exams, I would go to karaoke with friends, play games at bars… When everyone was exhausted and passed out, I’d return to my rented room and sleep. Then a similar day would start again.

If only the way back was more complicated or if finishing the story in the book was a condition, I wouldn’t have to worry like this. A resentful feeling crept up in a corner of my heart.

I looked up at the stiff face with slightly furrowed brows. A problem of my own that I couldn’t even share with Karhan.

As I quietly gazed into his eyes, Karhan gently lowered his head and pressed his lips against my eyelids. The soft, squishy sensation soon departed with a “chu” sound, then landed like a feather on my round forehead once more.

Karhan lightly stroked my cheek with his thumb and spoke in a low voice.

“I won’t force you. I’ll try my best to be by your side so you can feel certain, so just watch that.”

His sparkling silver-gray eyes gazed at me without wavering. I felt grateful yet sorry for Karhan, who didn’t ask anything even though he probably didn’t know exactly what I was worried about. I composed my expression and slowly nodded, and a faint smile spread across his lips.