Translucent white eyelashes trembled slowly. They were close enough to feel each other’s breath. His entire field of vision was filled with bright green eyes.

The same colour, but different to his own. There was a searing heat in the gaze that looked straight at him.

As a hand pressed against the back of his head, their bodies were pulled tightly together.

Before he knew it, If was sitting on Ethan’s lap. The hand pressing against the back of his head was matched by another firmly gripping her waist so that her body was pressed flush against Ethan’s stomach.

Even as he squirmed uncomfortably in the awkward position, the hands didn’t loosen as they usually did.

His rolling vision was completely filled with green.

Slurp.
If shivered violently at the sensation of something stirring deep inside her. Something in her mouth moved as it pleased.

Ethan laughed as he looked into the wide, confused eyes staring up at him.

Her breath, ragged and heavy, trembled between tightly parted lips.

Feeling the vibrations through her chest, pressed so close together, her body quickly calmed.

The unfamiliar sensation in her mouth still felt strange, but Ethan’s laughter was something she knew well.

With all her strength drained from him, If’s body leaned completely against Ethan.

Without even understanding what he was doing – just because it was Ethan – she surrendered to him, trusting him completely.

She really was a woman who had mastered the art of driving people mad.

The veins on the back of Ethan’s hand bulged and twitched. He had to make a conscious effort not to hold her too tightly, not to hurt her.

Fighting back a sigh, Ethan turned his head away.

Hot breaths mingled in the space between them, so close that there wasn’t even the slightest gap.

Flinch.

 Creaaak.

There it was again. If jumped at the sound that seemed to echo through her head.

The wet, squelching sound of saliva being stirred echoed in her mouth and spilled into her ears.

The sensation of even her brain being licked made her body shake uncontrollably.

The tip of the tongue floating in her mouth suddenly sharpened and poked at the roof of her mouth.

Without realising it, the hand that had gripped Ethan’s collar tightened its grip.

Her mouth felt ticklish.

It was a place where vibrations passed when she spoke, where liquid flowed when she drank – something was always passing through it.

But to think that the mere brush of a tongue could make her body tremble like that – she couldn’t understand it.

It was the first time.
The first time her body moved on its own, against her will.
Poke.

The tongue, now pressing harder, rubbed against the roof of her mouth.

Faced with a sensation she had never experienced before, If’s body stiffened.

Stimulated, saliva flowed endlessly into the other’s mouth.

It was strange – an act involving nothing more than a tongue, yet it felt strangely sticky and heavy.

Their breaths mingled and their tightly pressed bodies grew hot.

What was already warm now felt searing, burning enough to make her skin flush.

Unaccustomed to the heat and sensation, If squirmed slightly.

‘This is strange.’

Everything felt really strange –

The tickling sensation,

The vibrations and the heat of their bodies pressed so close together,

Even their mixed breathing.

Her lips parted slowly.

Slick with saliva, If’s lips had become flushed, red like ripe fruit.

Just a single kiss had made her breathing ragged, her chest rising and falling heavily.

Ethan lowered his head again and pressed his lips to If’s tight ones.

For some reason, the tasteless saliva between them felt sweet.

“…What is this…?”

Ethan noticed eyes the same colour as his own, trembling without focus.

He finally burst out laughing at the sight.

It was funny – the way she always threw him off, only to look so lost and shaken now.

“Why are you laughing?”

“How could I not laugh?”

She touched her own lips gently.

Ethan’s lips, which had just pressed against hers and then pulled away, felt completely different.

It wasn’t as if he was doing it to heal.

“…It’s strange.”

“What is it?”

“Something… moved in my mouth.”

If spoke seriously, pressing her lips together as she spoke.

Ethan burst out laughing.

The heavy, intimate atmosphere of a few moments ago had completely vanished, leaving only laughter.

So it was certain.

This woman knew nothing – not just about kissing, but about s*x.

Now he finally understood how she could be so shameless, even n*ked, without a trace of embarrassment.

“You didn’t hate it, did you?”

At Ethan’s words, If touched her swollen lips gently.

The usual swirl of thoughts – whether she liked or disliked something – suddenly came to a halt.

Ethan twisted his waist slightly as he checked the wound, which had now healed, leaving only faint traces of a scar.

Crack—muscles tensed and slid between his bones, holding his body firmly together.
His skin was fully restored without any tightness or lingering pain.

Even as he examined his body here and there, one arm remained wrapped around If body, holding her close.

“…I don’t know.”

A crease formed in her forehead.

Her lips curled into a slight pout beneath her puffy cheeks.

She really didn’t know.

She couldn’t even guess what it was she didn’t know – or where that line began and ended – and the frustration was almost unbearable.

Ethan burst out laughing again at the sight.

“Then why don’t we try again?”

If she didn’t know, he could just teach her – that’s how Ethan saw it, simple and easy.

***

“…It feels different.”

Of course it did.

Ethan wanted to punch his past self for thinking so lightly of it.

Busy dismantling the beast he had caught, Ethan had no choice but to sit down in a corner of the cave.

On one side were a couple of beasts he had only roughly dealt with, and the belongings he was carrying.

On the other, a campfire was burning and the pelt of a grapple beast was laid out like a makeshift bed.

“Ethan.”

Yves, who had been hovering aimlessly, settled down and climbed back on top of Ethan, sticking out her tongue.

Her pink tongue licked the blood stained lips.

Thin and rough lips, without a hint of softness.

There was no heat, no tickling like before.

It was the same action – so why did it feel different?

Tilting her head in confusion, she let it fall with a soft thud against Ethan’s chest.

The steady, rhythmic sound of her heartbeat echoed in the silence.

It wasn’t the same vibration as the last time.

Her face, so transparent that it showed every trace of curiosity, remained puzzled without a hint of resolution.

Ethan let out a small sigh as he looked at her.

Even though he’d been the one to show it to her, he hadn’t expected her to hold on to it so tightly.

It was just a kiss, nothing more.

Simply put, it was the rubbing of lips – and more often than not, a casual signal to go to bed together.

If had rubbed her lips against his more times than she could count, and for her the whole process didn’t seem to depend on the situation or the mood.

She would grab him and press her lips against his – whether he was fighting a beast or busy dismantling one.

There had been more than a few times when Ethan almost died because she suddenly grabbed him by the collar and kissed him out of nowhere.

Ethan ran a hand roughly through his hair and pushed If’s head away.

“Why?”

With her forehead pressed and pushed back, If looked up at him, eyes wide, and asked.

“Listen carefully. This is not something you do carelessly.”

He wasn’t her parent raising a clueless child – why did he have to say that?

Ethan let out a long sigh.

“Carelessly…?”

‘Why not?’

She tilted her head.

“Right.”

“Ethan, I don’t quite understand what you mean. ‘Careless’ means doing something without caution or deep thought, just following your impulse, right? But this – just pressing our lips together – what is there to be careful about?”

The idea of thinking deeply about something like that didn’t even occur to her.

It was just a bit of slime on her lips, touching someone else’s body – what was there to think about?

“This is something you do quietly, just between two people who like each other.”

It was nonsense.

He, of all people, had probably kissed dozens of people without ever having to deal with such conditions.

Still, If, who learned about these things from Ethan, rolled her eyes thoughtfully and then gave a small nod.

“Then there’s no problem. I like you, and right now it’s just the two of us.”

She wasn’t quite sure what ‘intimate’ meant, but if she went by the dictionary definition, this situation probably counted.

“W-what?”

If reached out and wrapped her arms around Ethan’s neck.

“Ethan, do what you did yesterday. Again.”

There was no mood, no seductive tone in her voice – just a simple, straightforward request, like asking for a glass of water.

“…”

“Hm?”

When Ethan didn’t respond, If pressed her lips to his again and then pulled away, tilting her head in confusion.

“Ethan?”

“You say you like me, but do you even know what I am?”

Ethan scowled, staring at her with sharp, dangerous eyes.

Even though his face was twisted darkly enough to be frightening, If just smiled brightly and opened her mouth to answer.

“You’re Ethan.”

“That’s not what I meant – how can you say you like me without even knowing who I am…”

“What more do I need to know than that you’re Ethan?”

“Do you even know what species I am?”

“Human.”

At that clean, simple word, Ethan’s lips twisted.

It wasn’t even funny.

He had spent his whole life being treated as less than human, crawling through the dirt – and now the first person to call him human was her.

An ancient human who would only ever say that she was half human.

“…Ethan?”

He really shouldn’t have brought her.

“Open your mouth.”

Turning his head slightly, Ethan impatiently pushed his tongue into her mouth before her small lips could even fully part.
Even as he did, he laughed bitterly at himself — at how easily he was shaken by such simple words.

…He really shouldn’t have told her his name.

Turning his head slightly, Ethan impatiently pushed his tongue into her mouth before her small lips could even fully separate.

Even as he did so, he laughed bitterly at himself – at how easily he could be shaken by such simple words.

He really shouldn’t have told her his name.