Hospital (4): The Second Hypnosis
“What did the hypnosis feel like?”
“…It just felt like I was dreaming.”
“What about your memories? Anything coming back?”
“Still nothing… but they said there’s a high chance they’ll return.”
“I hope they come back soon.”
“Yeah…”
After the hypnosis session ended, Ellie and I talked again in the hospital room. She smiled prettily while gently playing with one of my hands. Her cute, beautiful face hadn’t changed at all from the first time I saw her after losing my memories.
But…
‘What was that look in her eyes earlier…?’
Right after the hypnosis finished, for just a moment, Ellie’s gaze as she looked at me had been chilling. It sent a shiver down my spine… like I’d seen a ghost.
‘A ghost…’
The second the word crossed my mind, my body reacted—my hands started trembling. The gallery guys had said this world was full of ghost stories and supernatural beings. I’d confirmed it wasn’t a lie by watching videos the old me had uploaded before losing my memories.
“……”
“…Ares.”
Was Ellie a ghost…? One of those supernatural entities?
‘No, but Ellie’s my girlfriend…’
Or maybe she’d gotten caught up in one of those ghost stories?
I didn’t know. My body’s instincts were telling me clearly that whatever I’d just seen had been strange and wrong.
“Ares…!”
“Huh, yeah?”
“Are you okay? Feeling dizzy…?”
When Ellie called my name, I looked up at her. I’d been so lost in thought that I hadn’t heard her voice.
“Is it… because you’re worried you won’t get your memories back?”
“Huh…?”
Ellie seemed to assume my brief silence came from anxiety about recovering my memories and tried to comfort me.
“It’s okay, Ares.”
“……”
“Even if you never get your memories back… I’ll still love you just the same.”
“Ellie…”
Her considerate words moved me, and I smiled. When you’ve lost your memories, there’s nothing more reassuring or joyful than hearing something so kind from your girlfriend. Ellie met my eyes, held my hand, and smiled shyly.
Then—
“Ah, just a second.”
“Huh? Why?”
“I’ll completely wipe away all your anxiety.”
“How?”
Ellie let go of my hand and stood up. She neatly placed her shoes beside the bed.
“Uh, uh?”
Creaaak.
She lowered the bed’s safety rail, then—
Slide…
—climbed up and sat on the bed.
Creaaak.
She raised the safety rail again. The result? Ellie was now sitting right beside me on the bed, leaning slightly against me.
“E-Ellie…”
“It should be fine, right…? There’s no one else in the room…”
“F-Fine? What do you mean fine…?”
This couldn’t be…
No way. No way.
Hospital room se—!
“I’ll hold you. Come here.”
“Huh…?”
…It wasn’t that kind of play. Ellie stayed seated at an angle and gently opened her arms, offering her embrace.
“Before you lost your memories… we used to lie down together in your dorm room sometimes.”
“……Really?”
“Yeah. We’d hug and fall asleep together…”
“……”
And we never did it…?
Was the old me impotent? How the hell did he get through something like that without doing anything?
‘No, because doing it would kill me.’
I decided to think of it as involuntary erectile dysfunction. I could get it up, but I couldn’t use it.
“Then…”
“Yeah.”
Can’t do what you can’t do. I decided to focus on what I could do right now. After all, Ellie was my girlfriend. This wasn’t exactly wrong.
Swish…
I gently wrapped my arms around Ellie’s waist as she sat beside me.
“……”
“……”
Something soft brushed against my cheek.
“You can… hold me tighter…”
“Y-Yeah…”
I still couldn’t bring myself to bury my face, so I hugged her just enough for my cheek to touch. But since she’d given permission, I gathered more courage and tightened my arms around her waist.
Squish…
‘Whoa…’
The sensation of her chest pressing softly against me made my heart pound. Then—
“I told you it’s really okay…”
“Uwah—?! Mmph…!”
Ellie placed her hands on my head and shoulder and pulled me fully into her embrace.
—Squish.
‘Uwooooh…!!’
A soft sensation that sent a thrill through my skull. Warm body heat and a sweet scent filled all my senses. In that moment, nothing existed in my world except Ellie. Ninety-nine percent of my brain was consumed by the excitement of being held in her arms. My face sank into that massive valley along with her clothes. It was suffocating, but a happy kind of suffocation.
“Before you lost your memories… we hugged like this all the time, Ares.”
“I see…”
“Yeah… And lately…”
“……”
“You even sucked on them like a baby sometimes…”
“……”
Sucked on them like a baby…?
‘That means…’
We hadn’t even kissed, but we’d done that? And we still hadn’t had sex…?
I was starting to understand the old me even less.
‘More importantly… the fact that she’s telling me about the sucking… does that mean…’
…I’m allowed to do it now?
“……”
“……”
The possibility made desire bloom in my chest. Ellie fell silent, and so did I. All I could hear was the faint sound of her heartbeat.
Was it okay…?
Right here…?
After all, the only people in the room were me and Ellie. It wouldn’t be a big deal. If I just lifted her clothes a little, her pale skin would show… If I just did it for a moment…
“……”
“I-I see…”
“Yeah…”
“……”
In the end, I didn’t move. I simply stayed in Ellie’s arms and closed my eyes. I had no choice.
‘Because doing it would kill me…’
I didn’t have the confidence that I could cross that line and then stop. Just what kind of mental fortitude had the old me possessed to endure situations like this? He was a piece of trash, but I had to respect him a little. If he didn’t have that kind of self-control, he probably wouldn’t have been able to cheat on a girlfriend like this either.
“……”
“…It’s okay even if you don’t get your memories back, Ares.”
While I stayed quietly in her arms without doing anything, Ellie leaned against the wall, stroking my head as she spoke.
“I… love you even without your memories…”
“……”
She spoke softly, as if trying to reassure me.
“It’s okay if you never find them. …You understand, right?”
“……Yeah.”
Stroke, stroke…
The gentle sensation of her hand on my head made my heart race and my head feel hazy.
‘Yeah, I must’ve just seen it wrong earlier.’
How could I suspect a girlfriend like this of being a ghost? No matter how free imagination was, that was just rude. I’d definitely been mistaken. Ellie was just a normal girl who loved me very much.
They said there’s a high chance I’ll get my memories back lololol
The hypnosis treatment seems pretty effective.
But even if I don’t get them back, it might not matter that much.
That’s how your friend found out and told us.
Still, we only confirmed up to tomorrow’s date, so be careful.
So be careful.
One day of the enjoyable weekend had ended. I’d had some private time with Ellie and gained hope that I could recover my memories.
‘Will I be able to find some of my memories with the hypnosis rehab treatment tomorrow…?’
I lay down in bed, looking forward to tomorrow. And when I closed my eyes in the darkness, the blissful skinship from earlier that day came to mind—the happy time I’d spent in Ellie’s arms. I’d experienced something every man dreams of.
‘Since Ellie’s my girlfriend… next time we’re alone together…’
Because I was busy imagining happy moments with Ellie, I couldn’t fall asleep easily. Maybe that’s why—
Tap, tap, tap.
“……”
Tap, tap, tap.
In the dark hospital room, I heard footsteps from the hallway beyond the door.
‘A nurse…?’
The only person I could think of was the night-shift nurse. Maybe she was doing her rounds?
‘1 a.m.…’
I opened my eyes and barely managed to check the time in the darkness. And then—
Creaaak…
“……”
Tap, tap, tap…
The door opened and I heard the nurse enter. I quickly closed my eyes. It would be awkward if I was caught awake.
‘So she checks the rooms every night like this.’
It was something I hadn’t known because I’d always fallen asleep early since waking up in the hospital. I held my breath and pretended to sleep until the nurse left.
“……”
“……”
But—
“……”
“……”
I didn’t hear the sound of the nurse who had entered leaving.
‘What…?’
Pretending to sleep with my eyes closed was starting to feel awkward and nerve-wracking. I wanted to open my eyes and see what she was doing. But I couldn’t easily open them. I kept thinking she’d leave soon, and that getting caught pretending to sleep would be embarrassing.
A moment later—
Creaaak…
“……”
I heard the door close.
‘She must’ve left…’
Only after hearing the nurse leave did I relax. And then I fell asleep.
Around 1 a.m.
A nurse was doing rounds and came into my room.
She stayed completely silent for a while, then left.
…Is this one of those ghost stories you guys were talking about?
Did you actually see what she was doing??
but usually they just scare you and then it’s over as an event-type ghost story.
Like that intensive crackdown period last time.
‘So it’s not something I need to worry too much about…?’
Thinking back on what happened at dawn yesterday, it had been a little creepy. Someone had entered my room while I was sleeping, stayed completely silent, then left.
when Monday comes, ask Lana to get your diary and bring Teacher Rapori for a visit.
Still, NightRat gave me proper advice in case it turned out to be dangerous. ‘This person is especially helpful.’ Maybe it was just their personality, but they were pretty considerate from start to finish. Even if their tone was rough, I was grateful.
Just wait.
If I get my memories back and all that ghost story/supernatural stuff turns out to be bullshit, you’re all dead.
And so Sunday arrived—the day of the second hypnosis treatment. But—
“Hey. How’s hospital life treating you?”
“……Why are you here?”
“What~, I came to visit over the weekend. Not happy to see me?”
“……”
Today, instead of Ellie, Lana had come. The person I’d cheated with before losing my memories—the one I’d wanted to avoid meeting if possible.
“Where’s Ellie…?”
“Huh? We did rock-paper-scissors. Yesterday was Ellie’s turn, today’s mine. Didn’t you hear?”
“Rock-paper-scissors…?”
Why would my girlfriend decide visitation days with rock-paper-scissors…? Did she know…? Did Lana know about our relationship?
‘No, based on everything she’s shown so far, that can’t be it…’
Of course, on the surface, Lana was also my friend. Even if Ellie was my girlfriend, she could still let another friend visit. But usually… if someone has a girlfriend, wouldn’t the friend side refuse to visit like this? Besides, Lana was the person I’d cheated with. Maybe she didn’t know about my relationship with Ellie…
“……”
“Did you sleep well? Weren’t you scared being alone?”
Squish…
While heading to the hypnosis treatment room, Lana linked her arm with mine as if supporting me, pressing her body close as we walked. Our reflection in the hallway window looked just like a couple.
‘Yeah… this isn’t right.’
I made up my mind. No matter what the old me had done—cheating on both of them while I had no memories—I couldn’t keep making the same mistake now that I knew it was wrong.
“Hey, Lana.”
“Yeah?”
So I pulled my arm away from her and looked at her seriously. I’d hardened my resolve. I had to draw the line with her.
“Actually…”
“……”
“I… have a girlfriend.”
“……”
I squeezed my eyes shut and told her, prepared to take whatever came—whether it was a slap or curses.
“So…”
“So you’re telling me not to approach you anymore?”
“……Y-Yeah.”
But Lana didn’t slap me. She didn’t curse either. She just spoke in a calm voice. And then—
Grab.
“Uwah—?!”
She grabbed my arm and pushed me against the wall.
Thud!
“Wait…! What are you—!”
“I don’t want to?”
“Huh—?!”
Squish…
Slide…
Pressing me against the wall, Lana pushed her chest against me and slid her thigh between my legs. Her soft body overlapped with mine completely.
“Lana…! What are you doing right now…!”
“But you’re trying to push me away with weird nonsense.”
“Because…! I have a girlfriend…!”
“So? You didn’t say you don’t like me, did you?”
“……What.”
Lana’s arms wrapped around my waist like a snake coiling around its prey to suffocate it. She clung to me, pressing her face right against my shoulder.
“Once you get your memories back, that kind of thing won’t matter anymore… So why should I stay away from you…?”
“T-That’s…”
She was right. I would get my memories back. And the me who remembered the past… was the kind of guy who had an inappropriate relationship with Lana even while dating Ellie. He probably wouldn’t push Lana away like I was doing now. More importantly—
‘Lana knew about me and Ellie…!’
She hadn’t been surprised at all when I said I had a girlfriend. She’d maintained that inappropriate relationship with me even while knowing. Even while knowing Ellie was my girlfriend, she’d come to visit in Ellie’s place today.
“So, Ares…”
Lana whispered to me from below my chin.
“Just endure it a little longer…”
At the same time, her lips bit down on my neck.
“Kuh—?!”
“Mmm…”
Along with her breath, her soft lips touched my neck, and her teeth sank into my skin. A sharp pain followed. But it didn’t feel unpleasant. From the way her arms tightly embraced my waist, I could feel her obsession with me. Like she was marking me—as if to say, this is mine. Her lips stayed on my neck for a while. Then, after leaving a satisfying mark, Lana pulled away and finally let go of my waist. Instead, she gently held my hand and smiled lovingly.
“Shall we go? You need to get your memories back.”
“……”
Clearly, this wasn’t right. My head knew that. But my body already seemed to have surrendered to her. I followed her, hand in hand.
‘This isn’t right…’
My mind was in chaos. But at the same time, I started to understand why I’d cheated with Lana even while having Ellie as a girlfriend.
‘What… should I do…’
My worries deepened. I stood at a crossroads. Should I go to the treatment room, recover my memories, and choose Lana? Or turn my back on the treatment room, keep my memories lost, and choose Ellie?
—I had to make a decision.
“……”
“Huh…? What is it…?”
But—
“Ah, patient…!”
Before I could decide, an unexpected situation appeared first. A flustered nurse approached me in front of the treatment room.
“I’m sorry… What should we do…?”
“What? What do you mean?”
“Well, the equipment for the hypnosis rehab treatment suddenly disappeared.”
“……What?”
“Since this morning, various things have been going missing around the hospital… and the equipment for your rehab treatment was one of them. It looks like today’s treatment won’t be possible… What should we do?”
“……”
At the nurse’s unexpected words, Lana and I stared at her blankly.
‘The treatment… is canceled…?’
At the same time, Lana, standing beside me, tightly gripped my hand and muttered.
“So that’s how it’s going to be…”
It was the first time I’d heard Lana’s voice sound so cold. For some reason, I was afraid to turn and look at her.