Antidote

He pretended to be friendly and wrapped his arm around my neck. I pursed my lips and furrowed my brow.The long winter was approaching. And for that entire winter, the master of this Glenburg manor would be Lister. Just the thought of it weighed heavily on my heart, like a stone lodged in my chest.Days passed by quickly.Lister was unusually quiet.Lisbeth and her children had all left, leaving the manor in silence, with only the maids and the knight’s squires coming and going.The healing of the badly broken left thumbnail was slow. Every night, I clipped the nail that was growing in a strange shape and digging into the flesh with small scissors. Other than that, it had been a peaceful few days.But Lister’s antics didn’t last more than five days before starting up again.As always, the starting point was something absurd. One morning, he asked me an out-of-the-blue question.“You, now that I think about it…”“?”I glanced at him while swallowing medicine. The round pill went down my throat with some water. I took another sip of water before speaking.“What?”Lister seemed hesitant. His green eyes looked me up and down before staring at the back of my hand. Feeling uneasy about his gaze, I quickly hid my hand under my sleeve. Then Lister lifted his head and stared into my eyes.“What is it?”I asked again.“You…”Lister, uncharacteristically, hesitated. His gaze traveled up from my sleeve to my collar.“Where did you get that outfit?”Ah. I shrugged.Come to think of it, hadn’t he previously picked a fight with me about where I got this stupid outfit? It seemed like this crude garment was really getting on his nerves.“The chef gave it to me.”“Why would he give you clothes?”Lister’s voice sharpened. Looking at the corner of his raised eyebrow, I answered quietly, trying not to provoke him.“Well, I couldn’t wear my old clothes anymore, so…”“…So what!”He opened his mouth wide and then shut it again.His lips moved several times.Finally, his face twisted into an ugly scowl.“Are you protesting that I ruined your clothes, or what?”A ridiculous accusation. I couldn’t help but let out a sigh. And my reaction made Lister’s face twist even more. He crossed his arms and stormed toward me. I took half a step back, but my rear hit the table. Seizing the moment, he planted himself right in front of me.“You’re refusing to wear the clothes I gave you because I ruined your old ones, so you wear that annoying rag around me instead? Am I wrong?”It was an absurd accusation.Whatever I said in response would surely annoy him, and since his words weren’t entirely off the mark, I simply lowered my head. As I stared at the tips of my feet for a moment, Lister’s harsh voice barked from above. He was ranting on about whether he was wrong, challenging me to offer an excuse, whether I liked that raggedy cloth so much, why the chef gave it to me, and other such nonsense.I found myself desperately missing Lisbeth. As I stood there in silence, staring at the floor, Lister’s breathing grew rough above me. He breathed harshly, nearly scorching the top of my head with his hot breaths.Finally, he snapped. His hand viciously grabbed my chin.“Ah!”I couldn’t help but cry out as my chin was suddenly grabbed with such force. I thought it might come loose. But regardless of my cry, Lister’s grip was unyielding.“Why don’t you at least make an excuse? Are you mute? Or do you just not want to say anything to me? Do you really want me to make you mute?”My face twisted at his threat to cut out my tongue.I bit my lip and glared at him. Seeing my defiant gaze, he seemed even more provoked, his expression growing fiercer. The ends of his eyebrows, raised toward the sky, twitched.“Do as you like.”“What?”“If you want to cut out my tongue, go ahead. You can do whatever you want.”“You, you…”He breathed heavily.My chin hurt as if it were about to shatter. Unable to endure the pain, I shoved his arm with all my strength. Surprised by my unexpected resistance, his hand slipped off my chin, and I staggered back. My back slammed into the table, causing it to shake. The kettle on the table wobbled and then fell to the floor. With a loud crash, glass shards scattered everywhere. A splash of water soaked both Lister’s and my feet.“Ah!”Startled, I stepped to the side. My body wobbled.A large glass shard had fallen beside my foot.“Damn it!”Cursing, Lister immediately stepped forward into the middle of the mess. At the same time, he grabbed my arm.“Don’t move! What if you step on the glass?”I swallowed and nodded. Lister, gripping me tightly, turned his head and called loudly for another maid. Soon, a maid appeared quickly from the corridor. Lister ordered her to clean up the glass shards. While the maid crouched on the floor, clearing away the shattered glass, Lister continued to hold onto me tightly.—After a while, the maid had cleared away all the glass shards from the floor and wiped the tiles with a soft cloth. The shiny floor was spotless, as if nothing had ever been dropped on it. I suppressed my pounding heart in surprise and turned my head to look at Lister.“Let go now….”My voice was faint, like the dying flame of a candle.Lister’s eyebrows knitted together.His gaze fell on the arm he was holding. After a while, he slowly let go of me. I quickly pulled my arm back as if I had been burned. He had grabbed me so roughly that my forearm ached.Lister cursed softly under his breath and, rubbing his forehead roughly with one hand, turned away from me. For several seconds… I timed it, wondering if he might turn back around and lash out at me again. But even after what seemed like a long time (probably well over twenty seconds), he still had his back to me.It was a good opportunity. I cautiously took a step back. Then, like an arrow, I darted out of his room.Lister didn’t look for me all day after that.That night, a sandstorm began.The fierce wind shook the entire building all night long. Large clumps of sand battered the walls and windows. I spent the night wide awake, pulling the blanket over my head. I had to stay alert and on guard against the crazy bug gnawing away at my mind, ready to erupt again at any moment.After drifting in and out of sleep, I finally managed to close my eyes at dawn. Half-asleep, I drifted through the haze of confusion and woke up to darkness.The windows were shaking violently.The wind had only slightly subsided from the night before.It was only the first day of the sandstorm season, which could last for nearly ten days.The air was cold. I hunched my shoulders like a frightened turtle and searched for my outerwear. Once the sandstorm passed, the overseer would distribute fur-lined winter coats to all the maids and squires. Until then, I had to endure with this coat lined with padding. Last winter, Lisbeth had given me a thick fur cloak. Of course, toward the end of winter, Lister had taken it away from me, picking a fight over something trivial. He had been waiting for me to beg him to return the cloak, but I had no intention of giving him the satisfaction, so I spent the rest of that winter without a thick coat. And this year, Lisbeth wasn’t even here to look after my clothing.As I stepped out of the room, the cold grew even more intense.A shiver ran down my back.I hurriedly rushed through the dark corridor.There was light flickering from the kitchen. The warm glow of the fire mixed with the smell of food. I could also hear the quiet murmurs of conversation.“…He’s not going back to Ipsen?”“Isn’t this the first time he’s spent the winter in Karlac?”“Why, didn’t he use to come here often…”“But ever since that incident, not once…”“The Duke of Karlac must have allowed it reluctantly.”“Now that the sandstorm has started, once the snow falls, he won’t be able to leave Karlac anyway…”I slowed my pace.I took a few more steps forward, stopping just a few paces away from the entrance to the kitchen. I placed my hand on the wall and listened closely to the cooks’ chatter.They were talking about that rogue who had suddenly grabbed me and kissed me.Curiosity got the better of me. I pressed myself against the wall to hear their voices more clearly.A few more words drifted out from inside the open doorway.So, in the end, he decided to spend this winter in Karlac instead of going back to Ipsen. The Duke of Karlac is really unhappy about it. He doesn’t even like him staying inside the inner walls, so he gave him a manor in the northernmost, isolated building. Not only that, but the Chancellor refused to allocate the budget for repairs, using the excuse of insufficient funds. The reason why that war hero would endure such humiliation to stay in Karlac is obvious, isn’t it?Just then, in my eagerness to eavesdrop, I accidentally took another step forward.Thunk, my foot caught on a tile seam, and an unusually loud footstep echoed.The chatter abruptly stopped.I cleared my throat a few times. When I walked into the kitchen as if I knew nothing, all the cooks and maids turned their eyes to me. The woman, who was wearing an apron and stirring soup in a large iron pot, gulped.Unable to bear the awkwardness and guilt, I lowered my gaze.“I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop. I’m sorry.”They exchanged glances.Only the sound of the large chunks of meat sizzling on the iron pan filled the air.“…Go on with your conversation. I… I just came to get something to eat before Lister wakes up…”Eventually, my voice trailed off until the last words were barely audible. One of them, understanding what I said, nodded quickly and scrambled to move. Another one started slicing the smoked venison on the cutting board.In no time, a proper meal was placed before me. Grilled green beans, thick slices of ham, potatoes, and a few pieces of pork fat, all served with a flat barley bread on a large plate. Finally, a bowl of hot soup was placed beside it.I accepted the plate and was about to turn away, but curiosity got the better of me.“…So, why did the Lord of Ipsen insist on spending the winter in Karlac, enduring such humiliation?”At my question, the kitchen fell silent again.Their gazes darted through the silence.The face of one elderly cook twisted into a very peculiar expression. He cleared his throat a few times.Even I could sense that something was off. They weren’t angry, nor were they frightened, but their faces were strangely contorted.“Well, obviously…”“Ahem!”The woman stirring the soup in front of the pot deliberately coughed to interrupt the conversation. Once again, their gazes darted back and forth.The youngest servant made a comical face, with one corner of his mouth turned up and the other twisted downward. He kept glancing at me and then dropping his gaze to the floor repeatedly.“I shouldn’t have asked….”“No, it’s fine.”One of them cleared his throat and responded.“The Lord of Ipsen… originally said he would return to Ipsen before the sandstorm hit Karlac.”“Is that so?”At my question, his lips twisted again.“But just before the sandstorm, ahem, ahem, he fell ill.”“Fell ill?”My voice grew loud with surprise.Everyone turned their gaze toward me once again. I couldn’t understand the meaning of their exchanged glances, but I couldn’t hide my surprise either. Hadn’t he seemed perfectly fine when I ran into him in the corridor a short while ago? I recalled his solid, robust body that seemed as if it had been sculpted from molten bronze. His chest, as hard as steel armor, hadn’t budged no matter how hard I pushed. And those rough hands that had tossed me around as if I were a feather—what about them?It was hard to believe that a man who seemed as if not a drop of blood would come out even if pricked by a needle had fallen ill.Moreover, since small ailments could easily turn into serious illnesses during this season, a quiet worry began to bloom in a corner of my heart.“…There’s nothing to worry about. The, ahem, wizards diagnosed it as a mild fever. He’s just staying in Karlac because it would be too much for him to travel a long distance.”Denying that I had been worried seemed ridiculous. I simply nodded.A fever is common during this season. There’s no need to be suspicious….However, it seemed everyone noticed the dubious expression that had crept onto my face.The young servant who had been glancing at me from behind finally raised his voice.“You don’t need to worry! It’s probably just him faking it anyway!”At the same time, the young cook gave the boy such a hard smack on the crown of his head that a loud thud was heard. The boy let out a cry of pain. And the woman in the apron yelled, “The food’s going to get cold!”With a sour expression, I was more or less chased out of the kitchen. I took the plate and returned to my room.While eating alone, I couldn’t stop thinking about the Lord of Ipsen. I tried to push the thoughts away, but once they started swirling in my head, I couldn’t easily shake them off.Just as my thoughts drifted to that long, lingering kiss, fortunately, the distant sound of a bell announcing an opening gate rang out.I shuddered and put down my spoon. Then I covered the remaining food with a handkerchief.Because of the sandstorm, it was difficult to gauge the time, as the surroundings were dark. I suddenly remembered the intricate mechanical clock I used to own. It was a precious item from the southern capital, given to me as a gift, but it had vanished without a trace two years ago, never to be seen again. Surely, it must have ended up in someone else’s hands.Lister was already awake. He had been quiet the whole time. That unusual silence didn’t feel welcoming; rather, it felt strange.As he fastened his belt himself, he glanced down at me. A fleeting, unreadable expression passed through his green eyes. I gave him a puzzled look. After a moment, the corner of his mouth lifted slightly. It quickly dropped back down, and with a forced calm, he pushed his feet into his shoes. I knelt in front of him and began tying his shoelaces.After finishing the left side, I reached for the right shoe’s laces, and his voice came from above my head.“You won’t be attending to me today; I’m going to have you do something else.”At those words, my head instinctively shot up.Was he finally going to send me to the stables to clean up after the horses, or make me haul bricks at the repair site on the castle walls?Lister chuckled lowly at my reaction.“Lately, it seems you’ve become too comfortable. I’ve been too lenient with you. The lower servants don’t even see you as a proper example, do they?”The corners of my lips twitched faintly. I quickly bowed my head and tied his shoelaces in a hurry. After finishing the knot, I swiftly stood up. Whatever it was, it would surely be less taxing than enduring his constant stream of nonsense.As if responding to my resolve, Lister continued.“Don’t worry. I’m not going to send you to the stables. What, were you scared I might?”“Whatever you have me do will be better than attending to you, so stop dragging it out and just say it.”Lister fell silent at my curt reply. Then he took a breath and forced a composed smile.“The northern courtyard. Even though the northern section is mostly used by the servants and squires, isn’t it a bit too neglected?”The northern courtyard?I made a sour face.Karlac Castle was designed to face due south, and all the buildings within the inner walls were oriented the same way. Therefore, the northern section of the buildings was usually where the servants and squires resided. This was the case with Glenburg Manor as well.The northern courtyard referred to the small yard between Glenburg’s main building and the northern annex where the lower servants stayed. I’d occasionally seen workers gathering there to drink beer or fruit wine, or young squires tumbling around as they practiced with each other.Lister had no reason to visit that area, so why was he suddenly bringing up the northern courtyard?“When I went there recently, it was a mess… dirty spots all over the place, and the corridors were covered in dust.”“Well, that’s because it’s used by the servants and… young squires and such.”“Including you?”He asked in a nasty tone. It wasn’t funny. I nodded indifferently.“Yeah. Including me.”“Aha.”A sarcastic expression appeared on Lister’s face.“Perfect timing. I was thinking of redoing the central garden and planting a laurel tree… or maybe an olive tree. Well, even if that’s postponed until next spring, I still feel like I have to clean up that corridor right now to be satisfied.”It was his usual nonsense. Since when did he care so much about the castle’s garden trees that he was making a fuss now? Could he even tell the difference between a laurel and an olive tree? Did he even know that the sauce he liked on his favorite pork skin salad was made from olive oil mixed with vinegar?Lister’s eyebrows twitched, as if he could tell I was thinking how pathetic he was.“Ha, ha, ha.”He forced out a laugh, but he couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from twisting at the end.His hand reached my shoulder, gripping it with all five fingers as if they were glued on. He brought his face close to my ear.“You don’t mind cleaning up the place you used to work in, do you?”“Clean up? The North Corridor?”When I looked up, Lister gave a sinister smile.“Yes. The North Corridor.”“But…”My gaze instinctively turned toward the balcony. Outside the thick shuttered glass, I could hear the sound of sand grains hitting the outer wall with a dull thud.Lister laughed again, this time naturally, and with a sense of enjoyment.“Do I have to tell a slave twice?”I was speechless. No matter what I said, it would be useless. What could I, a slave, say to someone who had already decided to torment me? The only thing that didn’t even make me laugh was that he, a noble knight, was trying to tease me with such childish tricks.In the end, I found myself alone in the empty corridor in the middle of a sandstorm. I must have looked like the biggest fool holding a broom. Occasionally, servants or knights who passed by quickly would gape at me, but the wind was so strong that they didn’t stay long.The wind was fierce.Reddish sand grains whirled around savagely.On the floor, where pink sandstone and white spinel tiles alternated, sand and dust were piling up thickly. No matter how much I swept, hundreds of times more sand blew in than what I could sweep away.It was a foolish task.But it was also true that I had no way to resist.Of course, if I knelt before Lister, clung to his feet, and begged tearfully, I could probably stop this stupid, childish task….I bit my lower lip hard.I would never do that.Even if I had to sweep and clean the corridor until my fingerprints wore off and the sandstorm passed, I would never beg Lister.I steeled myself, pulling the hood of my long robe deeper over my head.But even before an hour had passed, my shoes and the insides of my sleeves were full of sand. With every step, the sand-filled heels of my shoes crunched.After noon, the wind grew stronger. The thick sand grains hit my calves painfully. The wind was getting worse, and as I was wondering what to do, a servant hesitated and called me inside. As soon as I eagerly stepped in, he stood before me, nervously biting his lips. Then he said I should go to the Eastern Red Gate and borrow some apricot kernel oil from the steward.“Now? Apricot kernel oil? Why? Are we out of it? What’s it for?”I asked in disbelief, but the servant just sweated profusely, unsure of what to do.It was obvious. This was another ploy to torment me.This poor servant was just another victim of the harassment. There was no point in holding him up. I eventually nodded in resignation. A boy, about to be knighted, looked at me with pity.I brushed the sand off my pant legs, tightened my collar, and stepped back outside.The wind blew like a blade between the buildings.The cold sand dust from the northern Tavros mountains hit my cheeks painfully.I lowered my head and quickened my pace.All the corridors and courtyards were empty.Occasionally, I saw servants in the same situation as me, running somewhere with their hoods pulled over their heads.I ran as fast as I could along the shortest route.The wind was so strong that I almost fell several times. It was a gale so fierce that it was hard to even stand. By the time I finally reached the Red Gate, both my body and mind were in shambles.The elderly steward reacted with a sullen expression to my unexpected visit.“Apricot kernel oil?”When I nodded, the wrinkles on her forehead deepened. She looked at me as if observing, and I lowered my head to avoid her gaze.This steward came from the Karlac family, a prestigious lineage that had produced several chancellors, and was a distant relative of mine. We hadn’t been particularly close even before I lost my status and title, but now, facing her as a slave, the awkwardness was overwhelming.“I’m not sure if we have any in the storage.”She repeatedly furrowed and raised her eyebrows in a troubled expression.“I’ll go check. But don’t expect too much.”She fumbled through a drawer with her wrinkled hand and pulled out a key. It was a shiny bronze key. She gripped it and gestured at me again with her eyes.“Please, have a seat. You look…”The stewardess stuttered for a moment.“…You look exhausted. Would you like a cup of tea?”The fact that she wasn’t treating me like a slave caused a small ripple in my heart. I hesitated for a moment before nodding.The stewardess lifted a heavy brass teapot from the table. Steam was still rising from the spout. Her aged fingers trembled faintly. A heavy ceramic cup was placed in front of me. The tea was brewed with cinnamon and honey.The elderly woman who served me tea put on a coat hanging on the wall and left the room. I listened quietly as her slow footsteps faded away. Only after they were completely out of earshot did I reach for the cup.The tea was very sweet and hot. Before I knew it, I had gulped down about half of it. As the warmth spread through my body, which had been chilled to the bone by the half-day sandstorm, I began to feel a bit more relaxed. The tips of my fingers and toes tingled.I let out a low sigh and looked around. The room was dim, with a large tapestry hanging on one wall. On the fireplace mantle, there was a glass and crystal vase, and next to it, a long mirror was mounted on the wall.My gaze inadvertently turned to the mirror. A man with a dark expression was sitting in it.For a moment, I didn’t recognize who he was.His complexion was dark and gloomy. His face was pale, his eyebrows drooped, and his lips were chapped. His hair, falling over his shoulders, was rough. His wrist, exposed above his sleeve, was so thin that the bones stood out in a rather unsightly way.Ah….A low groan escaped my lips.I touched my face with my hand. I could feel my cheekbones under my fingers.Two years….It hadn’t been a short time.Whether it was these two years of slavery that had made me like this, or my own madness….The young man in the mirror glared at me. The corners of his eyes were sharply raised in his bloodless face. I could see madness in those blue eyes.I quickly averted my gaze from the mirror, my heart pounding. My fingertips, gripping the handle of the cup, had turned white.The events of the past felt dreamlike and hazy.It was as if I had been swept away by the raging torrents of the overflowing Koevisto River, unable to regain my senses.I anxiously pressed my temples with my index and middle fingers. I muttered a series of names, dates, and places under my breath.My madness was like an untamed horse. Sometimes it was calm, and other times it wasn’t. A wizard who had examined me once said that consistently memorizing something, especially memories of the past, would help alleviate the madness.It was then.I heard footsteps outside the door.I lowered the hand that had been pressing my temples. I hid my pale hand, with its unsightly blue veins showing through, inside my sleeve.It took a few seconds for the curiosity to creep in.The rapidly approaching footsteps didn’t sound like those of the elderly woman.They were light, quick, and mixed with a faint sound of metal clashing with leather. It was the sound of a steel sword hilt rubbing against a leather belt.I jumped up from my seat.And at that moment, the door opened.“Ah….”My eyes widened.A tall man stood in the doorway.His broad shoulders seemed to press against the narrow frame, as if his body were a rock wedged between the door and the corridor.My gaze flicked from the few strands of disheveled hair sticking up to his feet. The hem of his long cloak was wrapped around his ankles.A few seconds later, the man stepped inside.“Why are you here…?”Before I could finish my sentence, his hand touched my shoulder.He pulled me toward him, and my upper body was suddenly drawn forward.His other arm wrapped around my waist. My cheek brushed against his chest. I thought of his firm body, which I had absentmindedly recalled while chewing bread early one morning as the cooks chattered in the kitchen. My face grew hot.“The stewardess said you were here.”He whispered above my head.I looked up.Our eyes met. In his slender gray eyes, there was a soft light.“Why would she tell you that?”“Well….”He lowered his head and kissed me on the crown of my head.“Because she knows that I’m so crazy about you that I’m out of my mind. Do you know that you’re the only one in this Karlac castle who doesn’t know that?”As he teased, he kissed my head several more times. The arm around my waist grew warmer. My cheeks stung as if they were buried in the midday desert sand.I gently pushed against his chest with both hands.But Jiyod didn’t budge. Instead, he pulled me closer and asked again.“Why are you resisting?”“I can’t breathe.”Only then did he slightly loosen the arms holding me. His grip relaxed enough for me to take a step back, but instead of retreating, I remained motionless, huddled within his embrace. My mind was in turmoil, yet at the same time, I felt a strange sense of comfort that I couldn’t quite explain.“The stewardess? She was supposed to bring me some apricot kernel oil….”When I mentioned the stewardess, a hint of disappointment flashed across Jiyod’s face.“You’re looking for apricot kernel oil while you’re in my arms?”“I came here on an errand….”I muttered awkwardly.Jiyod then let out a low chuckle. The sound of his laughter rumbled from his throat.“No matter who sent you on this errand… No, never mind. It’s obvious. Madam Lisbeth isn’t at Karlac right now, so it must be that brat. In any case, I want to thank him for once. Thanks to him, I found you here… You heartless man, didn’t you miss me at all?”I shook my head, bewildered.“It’s not like that….”It was hard to think clearly as his firm hand began to stroke my back. Every time his fingertips gently brushed my spine, my body trembled and shivered.“But why are you here? I heard your quarters are far from here.”I recalled the kitchen staff gossiping about how the Duke of Karlac had given him the most remote building in the north. I asked, wondering.“The stewardess here owes me a few favors. Technically just one, but it was such a big one that it’s as good as owing me several.”He began to chatter on while still holding me.The hand that had been gripping my shoulder now teased the area under my chin.“So she turns a blind eye when I sneak through the red gate. I was actually on my way back from outside today.”“Alone?”I asked in surprise, and he nodded.His gaze softened.“Where did you go through this sandstorm?”“Are you curious?”When I nodded, his eyes crinkled, and a sweet smile spread across his face.“Well, it wasn’t anything important. Just something like a hobby of mine, but anyway, thanks to that, I was able to meet you like this….”He sighed softly. Or maybe it was a groan….“It was worth braving the sandstorm.”As he said this, he boldly pressed his thumb against my lower lip.“You seem thinner than before. Are you eating properly? Are the Glenburg people starving you?”“I’m eating well….”I suddenly remembered the miserable sight I had seen in the mirror, and I felt ashamed. I lowered my head to avoid his finger, but he insisted on lifting my chin back up.“What’s the matter? Is showing me your face too much to ask? It’s true that your face is worth a lot, but you could show me a little more than others, couldn’t you?”As he babbled on, he pressed his thumb between my lips. My mouth involuntarily parted, and my front teeth touched his finger. It was hot, and there was the salty taste of human flesh. Laughter escaped from Jiyod.He suddenly bent down and pressed his lips over mine.“Are you finally allowing me to kiss you?”He asked, even though he was already kissing me.“I’ve been holding back for quite a while.”“For a while?”“Of course. Honestly, from the moment I walked in, I wanted to grab your waist and run straight to the bed. The closest bed is right behind you, just a door away. What do you think? The stewardess might not like it much, but I think she’d lend it to me if I asked.”He went on and on, his lips still pressed to mine.I couldn’t help but glance up at him with one eye half-open.“Have you always talked this much while kissing? Or am I just not remembering it right?”At that, he burst into laughter. His cheerful laughter rang out briefly, and soon after, I was pulled close. Our bodies were pressed together. Our lips were even closer. His tongue licked the inside of my cheek. Our tongues intertwined.“Mmm…”I closed my eyes and let out a small moan.I didn’t even realize he was practically lifting me as we kissed. At some point, my heels were completely off the ground.Jiyod briefly broke away, only to dive back in.The kiss continued, with our lips parting and meeting repeatedly. My breathing grew heavier. My heart pounded. My head felt like it was going to explode. His large hand grabbed the back of my head, adjusting it to the angle he found most convenient for kissing.After a long while, he finally pulled back a bit.“Open your mouth.”He stared intently into my eyes as he spoke. I gasped for breath and did as he asked, opening my mouth. He then slid his finger inside, touching my tongue. Startled, I jerked my head back.“What are you doing?”“What do you think?”He coaxed me in a gentle voice once more.