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A scent of mint lingered on Hunter's lips. A sharp, cold, and clean fragrance spread from the tip of his tongue as it explored her mouth. Before long, a subtle and sweet taste permeated every corner.
Letting out a shaky sigh, Jiyu slowly raised her arms. After hesitating several times, clenching and unclenching her fists, her hands cautiously wrapped around the back of Hunter's neck.
At that, his shoulders stiffened. The movement exploring her mouth ceased. Jiyu froze along with him.
A moment where time seemed to stop.
The air was thick with the scent of rain, and the sound of raindrops hitting the water echoed dully in her ears.
Hunter suddenly pulled her waist toward him.
The abrupt movement created ripples like waves around them. Hunter's cool, refreshing scent mixed with the smell of rain, enveloping Jiyu. Cold raindrops flowed over her closed eyelids and between their pressed lips.
Hunter's hand, which had been cradling the nape of her neck, slid down her back and lifted her up out of the water. As her upper body rose, they pressed together without a gap, and her legs wrapped around his waist. Their eyes were now at the same level.
The searing body heat radiating from Hunter warmed her. The rainwater falling on the parts of her skin not touching him felt freezing.
Hot breaths and trembling breaths intertwined secretly. Even the vibration of their hearts, beating against each other's chests, blurred together until she couldn't tell whose was whose.
Before she knew it, even the sound of the rain seemed to hold its breath. The thin moan that escaped Jiyu's lips was sucked into Hunter's mouth.
His palm groped up her side and pushed up the small triangular bikini top. Then, with greedy hunger, he gripped her breast fully in one hand.
His calloused thumb brushed over the peak. Jiyu flinched, swallowing a suppressed moan. A thrilling sensation raced down her spine, sending shivers through her entire body. Unconsciously, her legs tightened around his waist.
Hunter lowered his lips to the nape of her neck. His hot lips descended like a brand onto her cold, moist skin.
He hoisted her up a bit higher. A fine drizzle of rain hit her shyly exposed breasts. Jiyu shuddered at the feeling of tiny droplets tickling her sensitively heated skin.
Hunter lowered his head and took the erect peak into his mouth. The temperature of the tip of his tongue teasing the tender flesh was scaldingly hot, while the rain falling on her chest was ice-cold. Jiyu tilted her head back and trembled at the strange stimulation provided by that contrast.
Her flushed face grew wet with rain, and the thin moan escaping her throat pierced through the loud sound of the rain, evaporating into the dark, low-hanging sky.
Hunter pulled his lips away and looked up. Jiyu also slowly opened her tightly closed eyes and gazed at him with a hazy look.
Suppressing his short, ragged breaths, he whispered in a thick, strained voice.
[Let's go out.]
He roughly pulled down the bikini top he had pushed aside and headed toward the stairs while carrying her. As soon as they left the water, Jiyu clung to him, shivering violently. The moment they stepped out of the heated pool, the cold rain lashed her entire body, making her feel a chill as if she had fallen into ice water.
[Hu-Hunter, I'm so c-cold...]
Her teeth chattered. Only the places where she touched him felt burning hot, while her limbs grew ice-cold.
[Tsk, I figured this would happen.]
Muttering bluntly with a click of his tongue, he hugged her tighter and strode forward.
She was sensitive to the cold, and he was sensitive to the heat.
Having known each other for a long time, they knew each other well.
Hunter picked up the robe he had left on the roofed bar and only then set her down on the floor. He quickly wrapped the robe around Jiyu's shoulders and tightened the belt firmly.
Hunter's robe reached down to her ankles. She wanted to tell him that her own robe was on the canopied chair, but her teeth were chattering so hard that she missed her chance to speak.
Hunter pulled her into his embrace and rubbed her back with his large palm. A white haze of steam rose from his body.
[Are you still cold?]
Whether it was because of the robe or his body heat, her trembling subsided more than before.
Jiyu shook her head silently.
[Can you walk?]
When she simply nodded again without speaking, Hunter let out a small chuckle.
[Do you even know how to talk?]
Jiyu snapped her head up and glared at him. The question sounded strangely familiar.
It was the question he had abruptly thrown at her during their second playdate in Hunter's play room when they were children.
Hunter curled one side of his mouth into a long, mischievous smirk. Jiyu ended up chuckling too, as if it were absurd. What did I answer back then?
[...Yes.]
In her vague memory, she thought she had simply answered that.
Her tense shoulders relaxed slightly, and the trembling subsided. In truth, she had been trembling more from fear of what was about to happen than from the cold.
Jiyu looked up at Hunter with a fresh perspective. His bright blue eyes, unchanged since childhood, were looking back at her.
When did we grow up like this?
Hunter was, perhaps, a closer friend than Chloe.
Even when she tried hard to recall memories from before she met him, there was almost nothing. She had been only five years old when she first met him.
Hunter had existed in every single memory she had since then.
As a child who couldn't sit still for a moment, as a teenage boy whose voice suddenly changed and whose height shot up, and now, as the adult man he had become.
Her feelings of love for Hunter were inevitable, but as long as she didn't harbor the vain greed of wishing he loved her back, the two of them could remain friends even if this precarious and contradictory relationship ended.
'Keep in mind, Jiyu Parker. You just have to do your part.'
As she made that resolve, Hunter reached his hand deep into his long sleeve and snatched her cold, stiff hand.
[Let's go, Jewel Parker.]
Calling her by the nickname from their childhood, he smiled mischievously and pulled her hand.
Upon reaching the second floor, Hunter led Jiyu to the Alexander Suite without a moment's hesitation. She followed him inside silently.
The Alexander Suite had almost the same layout as the Elizabeth Suite, though the living room was slightly wider. Without delay, Hunter took Jiyu to the bedroom and sat her on the bed.
[Wait.]
He added, almost threateningly.
[Don't run away.]
Jiyu cast her eyes downward and gave a slight nod.
Hunter adjusted the temperature on the wall-mounted HVAC system and entered the bathroom. Shortly after, he returned carrying a thick towel.
Placing the towel over Jiyu's wet hair, he pressed down on her head with clumsy hands. Not knowing what to do, she shifted her eyes and lightly pulled at the edge of the towel.
[Give it to me, I'll do it...]
[Ssh, stay still.]
He cautioned her, drawing air through his teeth. However, because he massaged her head with the grip strength of a tennis player as if he were about to crush her skull, she felt like she was losing her mind.
[...It hurts, Hunter.]
He paused.
[Ha. How is it that there's nowhere I can touch you comfortably...]
He grumbled and shook his hands as if trying to loosen his grip. Then, with a touch far softer than before, he persistently dried her hair.
Knowing there was no way to stop Hunter Hamilton once he had made up his mind, Jiyu sat still and endured the rough touch. However, she was conflicted about where to look.
Setting aside his bare chest, the bulge protruding from his swimwear, which noticeably lifted one side of the thigh, kept entering her line of sight. Even when she tried to look away, her eyes kept drifting back there like a pervert.
Worried that Hunter might notice, Jiyu closed her eyes entirely.
It wasn't that she wasn't afraid of what was about to happen. However, unlike last time, she was now fully prepared. The sensations Hunter had awakened that night were so intense that she felt a sense of curiosity.
But there was one thing she wanted to make absolutely clear.
[Hunter...?]
[Mm.]
The indifferent response echoed low in the humid air.
Carefully opening her eyes, Jiyu looked up at Hunter.
[There's... no tennis tournament this vacation, right?]
She knew it was a contradictory and selfish greed, having agreed to be his Jinx. It was fine if it was because he was swept up in the atmosphere, or even if it was out of curiosity. She just hoped that the reason for her first time wasn't because of the Jinx.
Hunter pulled the towel off her head and dropped it on the floor.
[I told you there isn't.]
[Ah, right... you did.]
Jiyu let out a sigh of relief, combing through her messy hair with her fingers.
She wanted her first time to be with someone she loved. And now that she realized she loved Hunter, there was no longer any reason to hesitate.
But she needed courage. A very great amount of courage.
Taking a deep breath, Jiyu slowly raised her head and faced him. She had to struggle to keep from averting her gaze. Her clasped hands trembled violently.
[...Hold me, Hunter.]
It was a small voice, almost a whisper.
Hunter just stood there blankly, looking down at her.
'Was my voice too quiet? Should I say it again?'
Just as Jiyu opened her mouth again, Hunter's gaze shifted. Before she could even be surprised by the bright blue sparks flying in his eyes, he suddenly grabbed her shoulders and pulled her up. Then, he whipped back the bed sheets.
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