‘…s*x.’

s*x with Michael was mind-blowingly good. So good that she thought she wouldn’t mind dying like this. Looking down at her chest full of Michael’s traces, she bit her lip.

‘This can’t continue. With these feelings, there’s no way I can casually be s*x friends. Absolutely not.’

And now they definitely shouldn’t continue that way. The s*x without feelings that she had proposed to Michael had now become completely absurd.

So Catherine left a note.

Saying that the three times of s*x they had promised was now over. That they should never have s*x like this again. And that she was thankful for everything. That she wasn’t feeling well, so she would leave first.

“I was crazy. I was absolutely crazy.”

Catherine regretted her past self who had suggested sleeping together because they were friends, wanting to hit herself on the head.

Now that things had turned out this way, redefining their relationship seemed even more difficult.

There was no way they could go back to being casual friends like before, and if they continued having s*x, her feelings would only grow stronger. And suddenly confessing that she had fallen in love with him seemed too… Wouldn’t that be too abrupt? And would Michael accept such a change?

It was different from when she had boldly proposed having s*x. Back then… she thought it wouldn’t matter if Michael refused. Above all, she had strongly believed he wouldn’t refuse her proposal.

But now it was different. The fear of what if Michael rejected her was the first thing that came to mind. The feeling that it wouldn’t matter if he refused naturally didn’t come to her.

“D*mn it… Hnng!”

Catherine groaned, holding her aching head with both hands.

Yes, she should keep her distance for a few days and organize her thoughts. Then think about how to approach him again, or look for other ways to lead this relationship in a good direction.

‘…But Michael must like me to some extent. Definitely.’

He had definitely said it. That he couldn’t imagine mixing bodies like that with anyone but Catherine. Even if that wasn’t the case, she had enough confidence that she was somewhat special to Michael.

‘Yes, if Michael didn’t have at least some romantic feelings for me, he couldn’t have had s*x with me. Yes, that’s right!’

Suddenly, confidence welled up. She lifted her bowed head, clenched her fists, and jumped to her feet.

That’s when it happened.

“…therine!”

Huh? Suddenly, Michael’s voice from somewhere…?

Tilting her head in confusion, Catherine turned toward the direction the voice seemed to come from. But the voice she heard wasn’t a hallucination.

“Catherine!”

Beyond what looked like a wall of dense foreign trees, Michael was running toward her. His face looked fierce as he gazed at her. So much so that Catherine unconsciously stepped backward in surprise.

What, what is this…?

“Stop right there!”

Why was Michael running toward her with such a frightening face? And how did he know she was here…?

Though she didn’t understand what was happening, Catherine instinctively kept backing away. His gaze was so fierce that she felt she shouldn’t let him catch her.

“Wait! Don’t go. Stop, right there. Catherine.”

“Why are you chasing me like that?!”

“I have something, something to say. D*mn it! Catherine, I said stop right there!”

As Catherine hurried her steps to avoid Michael without realizing it, she looked back with a suspicious expression and gasped in shock.

With a face turned pale, Michael was chasing her with a terribly distorted expression she had never seen before.

Catherine ran like a rabbit startled by a predator’s roar. But it was clear that she would soon be caught by him if she kept running like this.

Just then, she remembered there was a small maintenance room nearby in the botanical garden. Catherine sprinted with all her might to escape there and managed to close the door just before he caught her.

Just before the door closed, Michael’s eyes, which she glimpsed briefly, were almost out of his mind. Good heavens, why was he acting like that?

Bang!

As soon as the door closed, Michael’s hand grabbed the handle of the maintenance room. But Catherine’s hand was slightly faster in locking the door.

Bang, bang bang!

— Catherine, open this door. Please? D*mn it, why are you avoiding me?!

The vibration of the urgent knocking on the door was fully transmitted to Catherine’s back. Huffing and puffing with rough breaths, Catherine shouted in frustration.

“Because you’re chasing me with a scary face! Why, why are you doing this?”

— Come out and talk. Let’s talk face to face. Please? Please!

“No, calm down first, Michael. What’s wrong with you?”

— You’re not coming out? I, I could break this door down…!

Eek! He must be out of his mind!

Michael, who was usually quite composed, had suddenly gone strange. Though she knew Michael wasn’t the type to harm her, somehow she still found it difficult to open the door.

She had hurriedly left at dawn to avoid seeing his face, but how did he know to find her here?

Bang!

— Catherine!

“If, if you break this door, I’ll never speak to you again!”

— …!

“I mean it!”

— D*mn it…

The sound of violent knocking on the door subsided. She could sense him anxiously pacing outside the door. After a few more minutes passed like that, Michael asked in a much calmer voice.

— …What does the note you left mean? What do you mean it’s over?

Ah, the note. That… So that’s what this was about. Catherine bit her lip, nodded, and answered with a trembling voice.

“What do you mean, ‘what does it mean’? It means exactly what’s written. What we promised, no, what I unilaterally pushed on you, was three times, and we’ve already done it more than that.”

— How is that three times? It’s two times.

Catherine was even more dumbfounded by Michael’s incredulous response.

They had arranged meetings twice, but they had spent over four nights together. During those four days, how many climaxes had the two of them reached?

“If we count by the number of times, it would be well over a dozen…”

Perhaps he heard her muttering in disbelief. Michael’s footsteps pacing beyond the door grew rougher. His breathing was so aggressive it was hard to believe it was his.

— So, so you want to stop? You, you won’t sleep with me anymore?

She couldn’t answer that question. Because she hadn’t said it to stop sleeping with Michael forever. But however Michael interpreted her silence, he started knocking on the door again.

— D*mn it! Did you find someone else? Is that it? H*ll, come out, Catherine. Please?

“What?”

This time the words were somewhat absurd and angering, but thinking about it, it was something Michael could reasonably consider.

She remembered that when she first kissed Michael, she had said she would find another man if not him, and when she brought up s*xual compatibility, she had wondered if other men would be different.

“…No, it’s not like that. No, anyway, it’s not that.”

— If it’s not that, please… Catherine, come out. Please… Please?

Michael’s voice had settled considerably. It even sounded desperate. The frightening knocking on the door had stopped, and his rough breathing had also quieted down.

— This is driving me crazy. I feel like I’m really going to lose my mind, Catherine…

A much lower voice muttered painfully from beyond the door. The voice had become so small that Catherine could barely hear it, and it even conveyed a sense of self-loathing.

By this point, she was truly curious about why Michael was acting this way. That agonized voice bothered her too much.

After hesitating, Catherine made up her mind and slowly turned the doorknob. The door opened slowly, revealing Michael with his head deeply bowed on the other side.

Examining his face, Catherine was startled and unconsciously approached him, holding both his cheeks.

“What, what’s wrong, Michael?”

His face looked so tormented. The agony etched on his distorted face was so intense that even Catherine could feel it just by looking at him.

Looking at his blue eyes that seemed ready to shed tears at any moment, Catherine moved very close to him.

“Catherine…”

Michael grabbed Catherine’s hands cupping his cheeks. Then he removed them and deeply kissed the hollow of her palm.

Catherine’s heart sank at his expression, which seemed relieved, as if he could finally breathe again.

“…I’m going crazy, Catherine. You’re driving me absolutely crazy.”

“Michael.”

“This, here, it feels like it’s not under my control. What should I do? Why did you say we should stop? We can’t go back to how we were before. If we stop here… we’ll grow apart… I, I… I don’t think I can do that…”

“…Michael.”

Was it because of his gloomy voice that she had never heard before? A corner of her heart tingled.

“Did you find someone else? Did you sleep with… another man and get tired of me? I’ll do better. I’ll… I’ll try harder. So, don’t do this.”

Michael grabbed both of Catherine’s hands. Resting his cheek against them, he closed his eyes with a regretful sigh.

As if trying to hold onto her complete warmth and fragrance, he firmly grasped her delicate hands. Violently, forcefully, enough to hurt…

Looking at that desperate expression, somehow Catherine felt as if she had heard Michael’s emotions that he hadn’t voiced aloud.

Her heart pounded chaotically. Was this excitement, or joy?

“…Please.”

Her heart, which had sensed his sincerity, beat with excitement. Her chest, swelling on its own, felt like it might burst. And then, without its owner’s permission, her lips opened.

“I love you, Michael.”

Those words that made her heart swell popped out between her lips.

“I think I’m in love with you.”

Michael’s movements stopped. He stared at Catherine, frozen like a stone, as if he had forgotten to breathe.

“…What?”

“I like you as a man, not as a friend. I like you so much. So… I don’t think I can sleep with you casually anymore. I can’t have s*x that we can stop anytime. That’s why I said we should stop. That kind of s*x.”

“……”

“I have no intention of doing it with another man, you idiot. I’ve never even thought about it. It’s disgusting and dirty. I only like your touch. I’ve only imagined your touch, and I only like your c*ck. How could I have s*x with someone else? When I’ve fallen for someone, when I’ve fallen in love with a man.”

Looking at his blue pupils widening in disbelief, Catherine urged him. She shook her hands, still held by him, prompting him.