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Translator: penny
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: The Pain of Pregnancy
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When Lee Soo-ah woke up, the surroundings were already dark.
"Um..."
Her head didn't hurt, nor was her pussy sore from her first time.
On the contrary, her body felt more refreshed than ever, and though there were traces of semen mixed with blood dried between her legs, the lack of any aftereffects from that intense sex made her wonder if it had all been a dream.
She looked around.
Kang Jik was already gone.
She slowly retraced her memories.
"Ugh."
Bang! Bang!
Lying there, she kicked off the blanket with her feet and pounded the bed with her fists.
Tormenting the innocent blanket and bed as the memories flooded back.
She had tried to have sex without any emotions involved.
Like a business transaction.
As if she just wanted a child without plans to marry, receiving sperm directly from a man with superior genes.
The naked man in her memories wasn't that superior in terms of genes... but in the end, she had taken it all, and now she recalled how much she moaned, how much she squirted, and how tightly she clung to Kang Jik's body.
To others, it might have looked like she was holding back somehow, but for Lee Soo-ah, who held every memory and sensation intact, it felt like she had utterly broken her promise to herself.
It had felt good.
The size of his dick, its thickness—for her first time, she wasn't at the point of comparing or judging such things.
But in the end, sex with that man had been good.
She couldn't deny that the overwhelming pleasure that made her squirt and lose consciousness at the final moment was pure satisfaction.
"...It's because I received the mana from an S-grade magic stone."
At least she could rationalize or console herself with the excuse that it wasn't just because it was Kang Jik—it was the mana.
Not that it changed anything.
"Haa..."
An empty house.
Sheets soiled and stiff.
A naked woman left abandoned.
Good or not aside, the situation itself left her feeling a bit down.
Her fantasies and romantic ideals about her first time were shattered, and on top of that, the man had just up and left her behind like discarded trash.
She hadn't expected tenderness or kindness, and honestly, waking up to find Kang Jik naked beside her, grinning and holding her would have been its own kind of chaos.
It had just... happened that way.
She got up from the bed.
Right before her eyes, unfamiliar letters appeared.
Congratulations! Ability Pregnancy has been a great success!
The exclusive domain of hunters.
The moment she saw the message, Lee Soo-ah clamped her hand over her mouth.
It all came rushing back.
The reason she had sex with Kang Jik.
The reason she spent 68 billion to buy an S-grade magic stone and entrusted it to him.
"St... Status window..."
A term only hunters could use.
No matter how many times—hundreds, thousands—an ordinary person chanted it, there would be no response.
It was a word she used to call out habitually, wondering if maybe she had awakened without realizing it, perhaps while sleeping. But never had her voice trembled like it did today.
Normally, there should have been no reaction at all.
But...
Unawakened Hunter. Please use abilities after giving birth.
Pregnant Ability (SS~???)
It was all so clear.
The remaining time ticking down with every passing second.
And the ranks and probabilities.
"...Is this for real?"
She couldn't believe it.
That he wasn't a real scammer, but a man who truly had the ability to impregnate abilities?
She was the one who had believed him and even bought an S-grade magic stone, yet here she was, in this absurd situation where she could only cry out in ridiculousness.
There were plenty of men in the world who could shoot semen into a womb and impregnate a woman.
It was the innate gene and instinct of all males.
But a man who could awaken abilities and skills through that? Did such a being exist?
"If it's real..."
Her hands trembled.
An SS-grade hunter?
Of course, Lee Soo-ah knew.
A hunter's rank wasn't solely determined by their ability's rank.
While the ability formed the foundation and possessing an SS-grade ability made it highly likely to gain at least one S-grade or higher skill, to be certain, you needed good skills too.
"...Skills too..."
Since she was already pregnant.
Could she get skills as well?
Human greed knew no bounds.
Thinking she could get an ability made her consider the next steps.
But for now, she decided not to get ahead of herself.
The first step wasn't even complete yet.
The numbers right before her eyes.
Even if messages couldn't be manipulated, with a hunter who could impregnate impossibilities appearing, maybe messages could be faked too—so she had to wait out the timer.
The day an SS-grade ability landed in her hands.
That would be the day of 100% trust.
"Haa..."
Still, the excitement and trembling were unavoidable.
Honestly, at this point, what were the odds it was a scam?
She just needed an excuse to anxiously watch the timer out of sheer momentum.
She should have been too restless to sleep after such a deep rest, but her mind was at ease, her body light—she changed the bed sheets, washed up, lay down, and sleep came easily again.
Early the next morning, as the sun rose, Lee Soo-ah woke up feeling refreshed for the first time in ages and started her routine.
Nothing had outwardly changed.
Today was an ad shoot.
When she arrived on set, people's reactions were a bit different.
"Oh my. Soo-ah, why is your skin so good today?"
"Really?"
"Yeah. It's like it's glowing."
She had felt her skin looked better in the morning mirror, and now others were saying the same.
Her body felt light, skin great, makeup applied flawlessly—the director kept praising her nonstop.
"Wow, you're on fire today. Soo-ah, did you get work done?"
"No! The makeup just went on well today."
"You're so pretty..."
"You were always pretty, but how...?"
Female staff and makeup artists asked outright.
"Babe, introduce me to your dermatologist? Is it pricey?"
"Sis, did you switch skincare? Recommend something..."
At this point, she was flustered.
She hadn't done anything, yet everyone said she looked prettier, skin better.
Of course, if she could see it herself clearly, others would notice even more...
But was it that noticeable?
Then, Im Hyeji's words suddenly came to mind.
"Ah! That's why..."
Kang Jik's semen didn't just impregnate—it boosted skin, mana, stamina when consumed to grow skills.
She hadn't awakened yet, so no mana sense, but the refreshment and lightness must be from that.
And the skin too.
It wasn't just a little improvement.
"Soo-ah, your contract's ending soon—I want to extend it. I'll talk to your agency."
"Thank you!!"
The advertiser watching the shoot on site even said it definitively before leaving.
Lee Soo-ah's confidence soared.
She wasn't old in actress or ad years.
Top ad actresses often went into their early, mid, late 30s.
But late 20s.
Managing meticulously as time passed, she realized yearly that no matter the care, age couldn't be escaped—it just chipped away at her confidence bit by bit.
No matter the money poured in, aging couldn't be avoided, only slowed—that immutable truth.
But today, it felt reversed.
Skin flawless, no blemishes—even the tiny wrinkles only she saw were gone.
She didn't know Im Hyeji's benchmark for "better skin," but it felt like the S-grade magic stone's effect amplified it.
For celebrities, ad actresses, skin was everything.
She hoped this momentum carried to tomorrow's ad shoot and the 11th anniversary concert in a few weeks.
As she moved to the next schedule...
"Urp."
"...? You okay?"
In the car, her chest grew tight and stuffy, soon turning to dry heaves.
Her manager asked at the sudden retch.
"Yeah... I'm fine. Carsick maybe?"
Lee Soo-ah, who never got carsick.
And that retch was just the start.
"Urp..."
"I'll pull over. Hang on."
"Sis, you okay?"
Her condition worsened rapidly.
Dizziness and fever.
And the retching.
They headed straight to the ER.
"Ma'am, are you pregnant?"
"Yes?"
"...?"
The flustered manager and stylist couldn't respond.
Pregnant?
Lee Soo-ah, former idol turned one of the hottest actresses?
No way.
But she couldn't answer rashly.
She didn't know.
All eyes turned to Lee Soo-ah.
The doctor caught on and quickly added,
"These symptoms... morning sickness, but your temperature's up. No fever though... We'll know from tests, but yes... symptoms match."
Even on IV fluids, the hot body, dizziness, retching didn't subside.
After the IV finished, Lee Soo-ah got up.
"You need more rest, Soo-ah."
"No, I'm fine."
Then she told her manager,
"Take me to Hwaseong, oppa..."
The moment she heard "morning sickness," only one person came to mind.
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