Chapter 410

In complete contrast to her cold skin, the inside of her mouth was incredibly warm.

As soon as my tongue slipped past her lips, I could feel that blazing heat.

Even though we had just eaten, her mouth tasted only of mint. I pushed my tongue inside, exploring every corner as I tasted her.

“Huep...!?”

A sharp breath escaped Hiyori's nose the moment my tongue brushed against her rabbit-like front teeth.

Her wide eyes squeezed shut, and she kept a death grip on the seatbelt strap.

The aggressive girl who had initiated a kiss with me not too long ago was completely gone. Now, it was funny to see her trembling like a sparrow caught in the pouring rain.

But she was just as incredibly cute as she had been then.

The silky sensation of her hair against the hand cradling the back of her neck felt wonderfully soft. Savoring the feeling, I pushed my tongue in a little more boldly.

Slipping past her teeth, I reached deeper... I stimulated the frenulum beneath her curled-up tongue, coaxing it out to slowly intertwine with mine.

“Heuk...!”

When her entire body shuddered wildly in response, I briefly pulled back to trace the inside of her lips...

Just like that, I continued kissing her, savoring the moment like a delicacy I had craved my entire life.

Not long after, the tension around Hiyori's eyes melted away.

“Uu...”

A strange, soft whine escaped her nose as her trembling intensified.

She kept her eyes squeezed shut, clearly losing herself in the kiss.

Her feelings weren't just apparent on her face; they showed in her actions, too.

Her stiff tongue had relaxed.

Her movements were terribly awkward, but the way she actively tried to intertwine her tongue with mine—as if attempting to take the lead—was both amusing and endearing.

Hiyori adapted incredibly fast.

Yet, she was still tense.

The cold sweat gathering on the hands clutching the seatbelt and glistening on her face said it all.

Keeping my lips firmly locked with hers, I slid the hand resting on her thigh up to her slender waist.

“Eup...!”

Her entire body flinched instantly.

I loved how obvious it was that she was feeling every ounce of the stimulation.

Taking it a step further, I slightly tugged down the waistband of her shorts and slipped my hand inside.

My fingers met nothing but the bare skin of her pelvis.

Startled half to death, Hiyori tried to pull her face away, but the hand cradling the back of her neck held her firmly in place.

I didn't rush to slide my hand any lower.

Instead, I slowly stroked the skin from her protruding hip bone to the small of her back, gently gauging her reaction.

“...”

Perhaps relieved that I hadn't ventured into more sensitive territory, the tense dryness inside Hiyori's mouth softened into a damp warmth once more.

It was proof that she was adapting again. Relieved, I rhythmically tapped her lower back to soothe her further.

Even with the air conditioner running, the inside of the car grew sweltering as our body temperatures steadily climbed.

Feeling her exhales quicken, I finally lowered the hand resting on her lower back.

Sliding smoothly downward like a snake with wicked intent, my fingers began to knead the upper curve of her buttocks...

Hiyori trembled violently in surprise. Keeping her knees clamped firmly together, she jerked her legs upward.

Because we were confined to the limited space of a car seat, feeling her up wasn't easy.

But humanity always finds a way. Enduring the cramped discomfort, I leaned my upper body further forward and managed to make it work.

After fondling her bottom for a while, I noticed she was starting to struggle for breath, so I finally pulled my face away.

Then, just like I sometimes did, I gently bumped my forehead against hers and spoke in a low, husky voice.

“You're not wearing any?”

Her face flushed so red it looked ready to burst. She answered in a sullen tone.

“...Y-you already knew that.”

“True.”

“Then why make a fuss about asking...! So annoying...!”

“Did you hate it enough to be annoyed?”

“What...! That's not what I meant...! Seriously, so annoying...”

Why was Hiyori so incredibly adorable when she puffed out angry breaths and grumbled like this?

Maybe it was because her bashful true feelings—so utterly different from her fierce facade—were written all over her face.

“L-let's just go home now...?”

Hiyori pointed out the car window, trying hard to act composed.

I let out a light chuckle. Just as she flared up and prepared to argue, I released the handbrake.

“Buckle up.”

“...Okay.”

On the drive back home, Hiyori—who usually talked my ear off with her constant chattering—didn't utter a single word.

She remained perfectly quiet, staring out the window as if mulling over our heavy makeout session.

She was exactly the same when we arrived home.

Throwing open the passenger door before I had even stepped out, she rushed to the tightly shut front gate. Standing impossibly close to it, she mashed the doorbell like a madwoman, acting as if someone were actually inside to open it.

“What are you doing? Nobody's home.”

I asked playfully as I finished parking and walked up to her. Hiyori shifted her body, turning her back to me.

“Open it. I need to use the bathroom.”

“Emergency?”

“Yes.”

It wasn't that she urgently needed to use the bathroom. She just didn't want me to notice her slightly wet shorts and wanted to change out of them as quickly as possible.

“I can't open it if you don't move. You're blocking the keyhole.”

“...”

Realizing her blunder, Hiyori shuffled sideways, moving away from the door.

I unlocked the door, finding it incredibly easy to see right through her since she still refused to look back at me. The moment the door opened, she practically teleported past me and dashed inside.

I casually strolled in after her, watching her retreating figure. When I noticed that the black plastic bag was missing and the bathroom light had already flicked on, a small laugh escaped my lips.

She really, really didn't want to get caught.

Hiyori flushed the completely innocent toilet and made sure I could hear the sink running. Even then, quite a bit of time passed before she finally emerged.

Naturally, she had changed back into the shorts she had originally arrived in.

She was holding the black plastic bag, which now bulged thickly—presumably because she had stuffed my pants into it.

Glancing between the bag and Hiyori, I asked.

“Why'd you change?”

“Because I have to go home. Isn't that obvious?”

“You could've just worn my clothes home.”

“Why? Are you worried they're too revealing and people might stare? You're going to drive me home anyway, sunbae-nim, so what does it matter?”

That was a surprisingly calculated comeback. She had grown.

“True, but what about my pants?”

“I'm going to wash them at home.”

“You don't have to do that. Just leave them here.”

“No. I wasn't wearing underwear in those pants, and I don't want you sniffing them, sunbae-nim.”

“Wow, that hurts.”

“Sorry, but it's only right that I wash them before returning them. I'm not backing down on this.”

“My washing machine is right—”

“No talking back.”

Swiftly cutting off my teasing, Hiyori approached, moving her legs with exaggerated care.

Judging by her stiff movements, she still hadn't put her panties back on.

The shorts she originally arrived in were incredibly short. It was blatantly obvious that she was terrified I might catch a glimpse of her precious parts.

“Shall we go now?”

“Let's rest for a bit before we head out.”

“My legs hurt.”

“We barely even moved.”

“They just do.”

“Then lie down. I'll turn on the TV.”

“I'm hot, too.”

“I just turned on the AC. And my eyes are tired, so just give me a few minutes.”

“...”

Since I had brought up physical fatigue, Hiyori couldn't stubbornly insist anymore. Taking very short, rapid steps, she shuffled past me.

She immediately claimed the center of the futon and yanked the blanket all the way up to her chin.

“Where am I supposed to lie down?”

“Then just don't lie down.”

“Is that even yours?”

“What's yours is mine, isn't it? Between us.”

She was throwing one of my favorite catchphrases right back at me.

It was absurd, but hilarious.

Considering the ordeal she went through earlier today, I decided to let it slide.

Making up my mind, I sat down right next to the stubborn Hiyori, pressing my hip flush against her side.

The flush of embarrassment from our heavy physical contact earlier had largely faded from her face.

But a lingering trace of shyness remained.

Seeing how she met my eyes only to quickly avert her gaze, it seemed more than just a trace remained.

“What are you looking at...!”

She glared at me, putting on the cocky front of a delinquent.

I casually rested my hand on top of the blanket right over her stomach. She let out a bizarre, strangled "Huek!" and recoiled in shock, curling herself into a tight ball like an armadillo.

I was getting to see so many different sides of Hiyori today.

She had cycled through countless expressions and reactions, yet she couldn't completely suppress her naturally hyperactive personality. It was absolutely endearing.

Pulling her knees all the way to her chest, she fortified herself in a heavily-armored defensive stance beneath the blanket. She glared at me and declared, “No touching allowed.”

“Why not?”

“Because I'm highly sensitive right now.”

“And why are you so sensitive?”

“You know exactly why.”

“I have a pretty good idea. You want to sleep over tonight?”

“What!??”

Ambushed by the sudden question, Hiyori shrieked, her voice echoing through the spacious living room.

My ears rang a little, but I answered nonchalantly.

“I asked if you wanted to sleep over.”

“No...? I don't want to.”

The frantic way she shook her head was hilarious.

She knew it, too. She knew I wasn't just offering a place to sleep.

Was she still not ready for that? It certainly looked that way.

“Do you hate the idea that much?”

“I-it's not that I hate the idea! But I didn't tell my parents I was staying out, so how could I just sleep over?”

“I didn't realize you were such a dutiful daughter. You didn't hesitate to ditch class earlier.”

“That's completely different...! I'm going home tonight...! My younger sibling is home alone.”

“You're taking good care of your sibling. Weren't you just cursing them out the other day?”

“We might fight, but we're still family! If I'm not there, they'll starve.”

“Wouldn't your parents make them food?”

“They're super attached to me, so if I'm not around, they'll bawl their eyes out.”

All she had to say was that she didn't want to or that she needed to go home, yet she kept spinning excuse after excuse. It was taking everything in me not to burst out laughing.

“So you're just heading back for tonight, then?”

“Yes. Today... a lot of things happened. I'm exhausted.”

“Is that so?”

“I'll sleep over next time. Tonight's just...”

“Not the night for it?”

“Something like that...”

“Alright.”

“...Okay.”

She must have been relieved that I backed off so easily, because the pitch of her voice ticked upward at the very end.

She had been acting ridiculously cute all day. I was going to let her go home, but I wasn't about to just let her leave unscathed.

Having made up my mind, I pretended to lie down on my side on the tatami floor, stealthily sliding until I was right up next to her.

“Heup...!”

Intuition screaming that something heated was about to happen, Hiyori openly caught her breath.

So she was perfectly fine with some level of intimacy, huh...? How adorable.

Chuckling softly, I slipped my hand under the covers and immediately found her bare arm, gently beginning to stroke her skin.