TFN C28

Chapter 28

His chin was caught and cradled in an open palm.

The man slowly leaned his upper body down.

Not only was his lower half pressed down, but now his chest was pinned as well. The man approached gradually, and their lips overlapped.

Wonhyo wondered what in the world this was, but even as his mind balked, his body received the man as if it had been waiting.

A tongue slipped through between parted lips, licking playfully at first as if in greeting, then tangling obscenely.

Right, left, up, down—it did not matter, the man explored the inside of Wonhyo’s mouth from every angle.

Saliva overflowed, making it hard to breathe.

Heat flared below. Blood surged until his groin throbbed with a dull ache.

He pushed at the man’s shoulder.

The man laughed, shifted upright, and lightly moved his waist.

Pressed against him was the other’s hardness, just as firm and heavy as his own, grinding together.

“Hhh—!”

As Wonhyo trembled from the alien pleasure striking him for the first time, the man tugged open the buttons of his shirt.

The suit that had confined him in a perfect, suffocating fit was instantly undone.

Not content with only loosening his own clothing, the man now set hands on his.

The T-shirt Wonhyo had bought in triplicate because he loved it like a second skin was stripped away, and his trousers, held only by elastic without a belt, were yanked down in a single motion.

With his chest and legs bared, the man raised his brows in a fleeting gesture.

A chill of foreboding ran through Wonhyo; he lifted his foot instinctively, but the man grabbed it first.

He pulled up his thigh so he could not budge.

Pinned, one leg still trapped beneath the man’s body, the other perched on his shoulder, Wonhyo lay half spread as the man stared intently between his thighs.

Wonhyo swallowed audibly without meaning to.

The man’s hand slid beneath his still-clad drawers.

Unseen but obvious, those fingers found and caught hold of Wonhyo’s penis, clutching it casually in one hand.

“!!”

Shock.

The man, holding another’s vulnerable core without concern, bent over again.

“Open your mouth.”

His composed tone urged Wonhyo.

He wanted to shove him away and flee, but his body would not obey.

Instead, once again, a tongue forced its way into his mouth and stirred while the hand below moved.

“Uht!”

The moan escaping him was swallowed back into the man’s mouth.

The hand climbed up along the shaft.

Thick fingers toyed with the tip he himself had seldom touched, kneading it ruthlessly. Writhing, entranced by the searing sensation, Wonhyo lifted his hips.

Pleasure leaked even through pain so sharp it should only have hurt.

It seared like flame, as if the man’s fingerprints would scar his penis.

“Yes… good.”

Unaware of what he was even babbling, Wonhyo shook his head helplessly.

The man lifted his head from ravishing him to find Wonhyo wrapping unsteady arms around his neck, burying his face against the man’s nape.

At his ear trickled a low laugh.

Then the hand quickened, shaking and stroking with force, violent pleasure tearing through him.

Pre-cum gushed, aiding the man’s touch.

Flesh stuck to flesh with wet slaps, his hips being tugged upward and slammed back down.

In an instant, the sensations crescendoed and then shattered him.

“Ahhh-hhhht!”

As he came, his seed drenching the man’s hand, Wonhyo convulsed again and again, his head momentarily cleared.

Was this spirit sex? (1)

“Unless I’ve been possessed by a lustful demon…”

He thought he should recite an incantation to drive it away, but before he could purse his lips, the man moved the hand now coated with cloudy semen further down.

Fingers pressed to the moist, heated rim pushed inside without hesitation.

“―!!”

A second climax tore through him.

Spilling again, Wonhyo’s mouth opened, a thin, broken cry pouring out.

He clenched down around the invading fingers, sucking them inward, hips writhing when suddenly an icy chill spread.

Alarmed by the cold, he shook his head violently, trying to wrench himself free, twisting his body just as—

He woke up.

“Haah!”

Like a drowning man breaking water’s surface, he gasped, breath ragged.

Coughing, close to choking, he dragged in air; exhaling hurt down to his chest. Forcing his heavy eyelids open, he saw it was still a dark room.

The winter sun had yet to reach, only faint lamplight from outside outlining the blackened corners. His room was all shadows.

He let his head drop back onto the pillow.

The firmer cushion pressed against his cheek, until the damp warmth at his belly and underwear made him grimace.

At his age, it wasn’t shameful in itself—but his heart sank.

The blanket rustled when he shifted, a sticky musk rising and stinging his nose.

“…Crazy.”

His swollen, cracked throat rasped the curse to no one, before he sat up.

In moments he stripped off the pajamas, staggering naked into the bathroom.

Twisting the shower handle he’d left half-open against freezing, he let it blast full.

The water, icy and unheated, poured down on him; still he didn’t move.

His head thrummed, reeling as the chill knifed in.

Stung harshly by the torrent, Wonhyo bit down hard on his lip.

“I swear….”

His muffled voice trembled.

“I’ll claw my way up that tower if I have to live like a dog to earn it.” (2)

Even if it cost more, he would ascend quickly, surely—end this cursed fate.

Shaking, he steeled himself.

[The transaction has been completed.]

[The transaction has been completed.]

-Please check your inventory. (Current:00)

Notifications stacked up on his phone.

Had it only been spam from a loan company, or insurance ads—but no, it was from Hunter Market. (3)

He checked stock, blinked, and burrowed back into pillow and blanket.

Haa. His nose tip stung from cold.

Though his back was warmed by the electric mat, today’s temperature had clearly dropped lower than usual. Even after years of “record coldest days,” he hadn’t grown used to it. He still hated moving at all.

Closing his eyes, he heard water dripping somewhere. At least the pipes hadn’t frozen. That was good enough.

Turning the heat up wasn’t an option—too much contrast would fog the windows and doors, soaking walls and floors with condensation. This was the best balance.

He rolled on the mat.

Cold drafts slipped under the shifting blanket, carrying away the precious warmth.

Resting still, his gaze fell on the talismans he’d laid thick around the mattress: charms for making his dwelling peaceful, dream-banishing charms, yin-illness treatment sigils. He recalled crowding the edges with them.

“Maybe I should’ve just sold off the Suppression Charms.” (4)

He had scraped together every last material, but none showed effect.

Sighing, Wonhyo rubbed his tingling nose.

“It’s definitely not a lust-possessing spirit. Not even spirit sex.”

So why was he harried by strange dreams every night?

He thought back to last night’s dream.

He’d been forced onto tiptoe, face mashed against some wall—or was it a window? It had been cold and smooth… glass, maybe.

Pulling the blanket over his face, he let its soft rustle hide his heated cheeks.

Since that day, every night without fail, he saw the man in his dreams.

He swore he had never once fantasized about anyone as a partner for such obscene acts.

Even casual touch of fingers, he kept with care—who would risk harming another by tangling in such a bond?

Wonhyo scrubbed his tired face harshly with both hands, as if to rub away the heavy shadows under his eyes.

The first night, he’d woken from only a finger.

The second, he’d been drained of semen again and again, forced into acts on body parts he’d scarcely imagined.

One night on top, another night pinned beneath.

This level, near the Bureau, surely risked harassment charges if not worse.

“I’d better not go anywhere near.”

Terrified the man might reach out to him, he shrank deeper beneath the blanket.

Still, he needed to craft more talismans for sale, but he lacked paper. He had water purified with ritual and prayer, but no paper.

Technically it didn’t matter whether he used white paper or yellow paper—the “items” worked the same. But people preferred yellow, so he had no choice.

The last inquiry he’d gotten was whether he had any talismans in gwehwangji—yellow spirit paper. (5)

Without it, sales would stall, and his goal was close.

He’d covered the fee to ascend to the sixth floor—now he only needed the funds for a proper expedition to the seventh.

“Should I start submitting bids for jobs?”

He reached for his phone, dark screen suddenly flickering back to life.

Bzzz—

The vibration came late, startling him. He checked the sender.

[-Where are you now?]

[-You okay? Nothing happened?]

His body, tense with fear it might be Cheongmun, relaxed at once.

It was a message from his older sister.

Footnotes

1. Spirit sex / 귀접 – In Korean shamanic lore, this refers to spiritual intercourse between a human and an entity, usually a ghost or demon. It carries ominous, exploitative implications. 
2. Gwehwangji (괴황지, yellow ritual paper) – A specially prepared yellow paper traditionally used for shamanic talismans or Buddhist sutra copying. Its yellow color symbolizes sanctity; buyers prefer it even if functionally unnecessary.