Chapter 41 - Bro...ken...
[ Broken? ]
=== Broken? ===
Yoo Ga-on.
The moment she repeated his name in her mind, Kang Seo-yoon's legs completely gave out. She stumbled in the middle of the street, barely regaining her balance.
The screen was still floating in a corner of her vision.
The sight of the perfectly restored silver pendant resting on the table, emitting a faint glow, felt as distant as a dream.
Kang Seo-yoon dragged her feet, taking heavy, sluggish steps. She couldn't even feel the ground beneath her.
With every breath, her chest tightened, suffocating her, and her vision wavered.
On the screen, Yoo Ga-on finished restoring the necklace, calmly turned around, and headed toward the dining table.
He lightly raised his hand, activating a skill. A soft light spread over the table, and shapes began to materialize.
As if by magic, the screen filled with the sight of her favorite dishes taking shape.
But Kang Seo-yoon couldn't comprehend what kind of skill it was, or why he was doing this.
There was only one thought in her head.
'That man... my, my...'
No artisan.
No repairman.
No therapist.
Could fix her mom's keepsake... No—
He is fixing my heart.
That single realization made her mind go blank.
She stared blankly at the screen, unable to process anything.
Her lips parted slightly, her eyes trembling.
Yoo Ga-on gave the neatly set table one last glance—
And slipped out of the house like a ghost.
Only when the screen went still did Kang Seo-yoon finally snap back to reality.
"..."
Her body moved stiffly, like a broken robot.
With every step, she felt as if she could hear her joints creaking like rusty gears.
Her legs trembled and she could barely breathe, but she kept walking nonetheless.
Step, step—
The entrance to her apartment drew closer.
When her hand finally reached the doorknob, her fingertips trembled.
Kang Seo-yoon stood frozen for a long moment before finally turning the handle.
The moment she stepped inside, a warm, familiar air enveloped her.
Faintly mixed into the air was the scent of a man.
Kang Seo-yoon walked straight into the living room without even taking off her shoes.
On the table...
"......"
The perfectly restored silver pendant emitted a soft glow.
Inside the pendant, her mom's photo was perfectly preserved, and the runes of the mana-infused Protection Spell were clearly engraved, character by character.
She could feel a pulse of mana warmer and stronger than it had ever been before it broke.
Kang Seo-yoon collapsed to her knees.
With trembling hands, she picked up the necklace and pressed it tightly to her chest.
The warm mana wrapped around her.
It felt as if the warmth her mom used to drape around her neck every night, so long ago, had been brought back to life.
"Mom."
Her voice cracked.
Kang Seo-yoon curled up on the floor, clutching the necklace.
She had scolded herself countless times, telling herself she wouldn't cry anymore, that she had to let go of the dead.
But her tears wouldn't stop.
For a long time, she just wept silently.
Though she muffled her sobs for fear of being heard, her shoulders shook uncontrollably.
After crying for what felt like hours, she slowly raised her head.
A warm, mouth-watering aroma drifted over, tickling her nose.
Her face wet with tears, Kang Seo-yoon slowly turned her head.
On the dining table...
A perfect meal, prepared just for her, was laid out.
Spicy braised short ribs, soybean paste stew seasoned with salted shrimp, rolled omelets that looked exactly like the ones her mom used to make, and all the side dishes her mom had often prepared.
Kang Seo-yoon stared blankly at the spread.
"M-Mom...?"
With a trembling hand, she picked up her chopsticks.
"..."
The moment she took a bite—
Tears streamed down her face all over again.
"...Sob... hic..."
Kang Seo-yoon began to devour the food frantically.
She wept as she ate, stuffing her mouth even as she sobbed, her hands moving without pause.
Her tears still wouldn't stop even after she had emptied every single bowl.
Only after finishing the meal did Kang Seo-yoon, her crying finally subsided, sit blankly in her chair.
With the necklace resting against her collarbone, she stared down at the table, which still held the lingering warmth of the food.
In a soft, halting whisper, as if savoring the syllables, she muttered a name.
"Yoo... Ga-on..."
The moment she spoke his name, a strange heat bloomed deep within her chest.
Kang Seo-yoon gasped, her breath catching.
'...What is this?'
She gripped the necklace tighter.
As the warm mana surged through her fingertips, she felt the familiar comfort of the Protection Spell her mom used to cast for her every night.
That warmth had been her only comfort, her only support.
But now, mixed into that warmth...
Was a different kind of heat.
"...Yoo Ga-on."
She had been living like a ghost, having lost all meaning in life. Now, she repeated the name of the stranger who had casually repaired her most precious possession and vanished.
The heat in her chest flared, growing even more intense.
Her panties grew damp, and a hot, slick wetness trickled down the inside of her thighs.
Kang Seo-yoon squeezed her thighs together and gripped the edge of the table.
Her mind went blank as a single, overwhelming thought took over.
Only a man named Yoo Ga-on can fix me.
No... he can fill me.
Ever since her mom passed away, Kang Seo-yoon had felt like a broken thing.
Like the shattered necklace and the broken spell, she felt as if a piece of her heart was permanently ruined.
A constant, hollow emptiness.
To protect that void, she had shut herself off, letting no one close, enduring the isolation entirely alone.
But now...
That man, with a single touch, had perfectly restored her mom's keepsake.
He had even recreated her mom's cooking, capturing the exact taste, warmth, and aroma.
Kang Seo-yoon closed her eyes. Her obsession with her mother, her longing, her guilt, her emptiness—
All of those emotions were slowly, inevitably shifting toward a single person.
Yoo Ga-on.
No one else could have done this.
An act that the Association's top restorers, high-grade artifacts, and legendary magic couldn't achieve had been accomplished by an F-class hunter who didn't even know her.
"Me, too..."
She pressed the necklace tighter against her chest.
"He can... fix me too, right?"
The conviction that only Yoo Ga-on could put her broken pieces back together and fill her empty heart completely consumed her.
As the thought took root, the heat in her chest flared hotter. Her underwear became soaking wet, a slick, hot fluid sliding down her thighs.
Kang Seo-yoon squeezed her thighs together even tighter, her fingernails digging into the edge of the table.
'Yoo Ga-on. Yoo Ga-on. Yoo Ga-on. Yoo Ga-on...'
She opened her eyes and stared down at the warm table. In a low, raspy whisper, she whimpered:
"Haa..."
A deep, burning, dangerous obsession was taking root.
With the necklace resting against her skin, she slowly stood up and faced the mirror.
Staring at her flushed face and trembling lips, she whispered:
"Tomorrow... I'm coming to see you...♡"
The next morning.
Kang Seo-yoon lay naked on her bed.
She hadn't stopped touching herself all night, playing the automatically recorded video on loop.
Yoo Ga-on's face on the screen.
Every single line on the back of his hand.
The soft light rising from his fingertips as he repaired the pendant.
The slight tilt of his head as he set the table.
Even his scent, which lingered faintly but clearly around the dining area.
She burned every detail into her mind.
Terrified of missing a single detail, she rewound the video over and over, barely even blinking.
Though her fingers had already driven her to climax multiple times, she didn't stop.
Rubbing her clitoris, sliding her fingers deep inside her over and over, she imagined they were Yoo Ga-on's hands on the screen.
Desperately hoping that, just as those hands had repaired her necklace, they would fix her body too.
"Haa... Yoo Ga-on...♡"
Every time she gasped his name, her body shuddered.
With every climax, tears welled in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks.
Eventually, morning came.
Despite touching herself all night, even as the sun rose, she didn't feel tired at all.
It was as if yesterday's meal had completely revitalized her.
Far from exhausted, her body felt lighter, and her mana felt incredibly clear.
Only when the room was fully lit did Kang Seo-yoon finally get out of bed.
She showered, dried her hair, and picked out an outfit.
She did her makeup with far more care than usual and lightly spritzed some perfume.
Looking at her reflection, she giggled softly.
"Heh..."
She had dressed up because she wanted to see Yoo Ga-on, even if she had to stage it as a complete coincidence.
Kang Seo-yoon checked her reflection one last time and fastened her mom's pendant around her neck.
As the restored necklace rested against her chest, warm mana seeped into her skin—but that warmth no longer belonged to just her mom.
It was a warmth infused with Yoo Ga-on.
Just as she was about to head to the door—
"...!"
Her Mana Perception suddenly flared.
Her senses, twice as sharp as usual, caught a familiar scent from somewhere in the apartment complex.
Yoo Ga-on's scent.
'It's definitely him...'
Kang Seo-yoon frowned slightly.
She could barely sense any mana from the source of the scent.
Only his faint, distinct scent carried on the air.
But she was absolutely certain it was Yoo Ga-on.
'Is he coming back?'
She quickly finished getting ready and opened her front door.
With the necklace around her neck, she walked toward the elevator, trying to keep her steps as natural as possible.
Ding*—
The moment the elevator doors slid open, Kang Seo-yoon's heart skipped a beat.
Yoo Ga-on was standing inside.
Instantly, her heart hammered against her ribs.
At the same time, she felt her pussy getting hot and wet.
Her panties grew damp in an instant, a slick wetness dripping down her thighs.
Kang Seo-yoon squeezed her thighs together and caught her breath.
Yoo Ga-on tried to walk past her without any reaction.
But Kang Seo-yoon quickly reached out and grabbed his wrist.
"Huh?"
Yoo Ga-on stopped, startled.
Kang Seo-yoon spoke in the brightest, most cheerful voice she could muster.
"Yesterday! We saw each other in the Association waiting room, right?"
Yoo Ga-on's panic was palpable.
And then...
The moment his eyes fell on the pendant around her neck, he froze completely.
Kang Seo-yoon didn't miss his reaction.
'Cute, cute, cute, cute, cute...♡'
Hiding her dark, obsessive thoughts, she beamed even wider.
"Excuse meee?"
Yoo Ga-on snapped out of his daze and stammered awkwardly.
"Ah... yes, right... I think... we did."
She briefly fantasized about kidnapping him right then and there, but she forced herself to give him a breezy wave.
"Well, I have somewhere to be, so I'll head out first. See you around!"
Even as the elevator descended, she could clearly sense Yoo Ga-on heading toward her apartment... Unit 2302.
'...He's going back in.'
Kang Seo-yoon got off on the ground floor and sat at an empty cafe terrace near the building.
Sitting by the window, she activated her surveillance artifact and pulled up the feed.
On the screen, Yoo Ga-on was stepping inside her home once again.
Kang Seo-yoon rested her chin in her hand, watching the screen with a soft giggle.
"What is he going to cook for me today...♡?"
To Kang Seo-yoon, his reasons for breaking into her home didn't matter in the slightest.