Just a Healthy Massage... Right?
Just massage oil, that's all. Wholesomely! ……………
A few more days passed. In that time, I kept agonizing over it, again and again. Should I leave Baek Sehee, or should I stay? To cut to the chase……nothing had changed.
I would stay by Baek Sehee's side. That was the best option. Realistically, there were no other choices available to me. And……Baek Sehee seemed safe. That was the conclusion I reached.
That said, there had been a slight change lately. Baek Sehee had started demanding skinship.
At first, it was light stuff. Hugs, holding hands, kisses on the cheek. I figured it was just expressions of affection. Proof that she liked me. Sure, my ability might be influencing her, but that much was fine.
But it kept escalating…….
That was as far as my thoughts had gone when Baek Sehee's voice reached me.
"Yujin-ssi?"
I looked up. Baek Sehee was standing in the doorway of the bedroom.
"I'm ready. Come on in."
"……Okay."
I answered and headed into the bedroom. In the back of the room was a dedicated massage bed. Baek Sehee had ordered it about a week ago. And on top of it……
Baek Sehee was sitting there. Wrapped in nothing but a single towel.
"Yujin-ssi, please take care of me again today." Baek Sehee smiled.
"Sure."
Why did things turn out like this……?
I swallowed a sigh. To be precise, it was my fault. As her manager, I felt bad for just following her around and doing nothing useful all day. So I'd told Baek Sehee I'd do something to help her.
And like she'd been waiting for it, she asked for a massage. She'd already ordered the bed, after all.
At first, I thought it'd just be kneading her shoulders or back. But reality was……a bit different. A lot different.
Baek Sehee lay face-down on the massage bed. The towel couldn't fight gravity and slipped, revealing her pale naked body. Her back, her waist, and below. That white skin, her breasts so large they were visible even from over her back. Her beautifully developed erector spinae from training, her perfect apple-shaped glutes.
I unconsciously swallowed.
Get a grip.
This was me, as her manager, giving her a massage to relieve her fatigue. I couldn't let it turn into something lewd.
When I didn't start right away, Baek Sehee asked in a voice laced with amusement.
"You're just staring again today? Not ready yet? Or……do you just want to admire the view?"
"Wha!? N-no, it's not like that."
I jolted and reached out to touch her body. Soft, smooth, warm skin met my hand. I pressed with some force and slowly moved downward. Starting from her shoulders, up to her neck. Then down her spine.
It was my secret technique, self-taught from YouTube tutorials.
"Mmm……."
Baek Sehee let out a strange moan. After a few minutes, the room grew steamy. Her pale skin flushed pink.
……I wondered if this was okay at first.
Truth be told, when she first asked me for this "massage," I'd tried to refuse. But Baek Sehee insisted consistently and persuaded me. Her logic went like this:
Getting a massage from Moon Yujin—her very close manager and live-in roommate—would relieve her fatigue. But just kneading her shoulders wouldn't cut it. She needed a full-body massage. And with her schedule getting busier lately, she needed this to melt away the accumulated stress.
Honestly, it sounded like sophistry. But it was hard to argue against.
When I'd hesitated at her initial request, Baek Sehee had said this:
I couldn't respond to that. She was smiling when she asked, but it absolutely didn't feel like a normal smile.
Choi Seori, Kim Bom, Catalina. After dying entangled with three women across three worlds, and having my leg destroyed by Kang Haneul, I'd developed a certain instinct.
Hard to explain. But when I get the feeling that messing up here could lead to disaster……and ignoring it always led to bad outcomes.
Living with Baek Sehee, I'd felt it occasionally. And when I'd tried to refuse the massage, it hit me again.
So I couldn't say no. I accepted the full-body massage.
These days, I was pretty used to it. If I quietly massaged diligently, she was happy. And that was enough for me.
I can handle this much, at least.
I thought as I pressed into the inner scapula, her infraspinatus.
She'd done so much for me already—how could I not grant a request like this? Let's list just the basics of what she'd given me: a home, a job, money, safety.
After all that generosity, refusing a massage would be ungrateful. And Baek Sehee was a good person. She might be influenced by my ability, but she wasn't the type to harm me like Kang Haneul. She was protecting me, even.
So……I have to do at least this much.
I coached myself and kept my hands moving.
"Yujin-ssi."
Then, her voice came, languid and drowsy.
"Yes?"
"From today……could you do my lower body too?"
"………."
Lower body. I paused my hands for a moment. But we'd come this far—it was hard to stop now.
"……Sure."
My hands slid lower. Her waist. Then further down. Toward her gluteus maximus.
My palms followed the soft, elastic curves.
"Mmm……that's nice, but deeper inside……."
"……Here?"
"No, the inner thighs……."
Inner side. There was nothing more inner than here.
It was obvious what she meant.
The room grew even steamier.
…………
Evening came. I finished showering and stepped into the living room. My legs and back had zero strength left.
Baek Sehee was already at the dining table.
"Yujin-ssi, that was really good earlier." She smiled as she spoke.
I knew exactly what "earlier" meant. It had started as a massage, but ended up……
Ahem. My face heated up.
"You must be tired. You moved your hips a ton, after all. Hope you don't get sore tomorrow……."
"………."
Her blunt words left me speechless.
"I don't have the energy to cook either. Let's order pizza tonight."
"Okay."
Soon after, the delivered pizza arrived on the table. Steaming hot……pineapple cilantro pizza.
I approached the table to eat. But something was off. There was only one chair.
……Huh?
This table where we'd eaten together dozens of times. Even this morning, there'd been two chairs.
Now, only the one Baek Sehee was sitting on remained.
"Um, Sehee-ssi? It looks like my chair's gone."
Baek Sehee tilted her head.
"Chair?"
"Yes. My chair's missing."
"Oh."
She smiled. Then, ignoring my question, she patted her lap.
"Sit here."
"……Pardon?"
I doubted my ears. Her lap. She meant sit on her lap right now.
"I'll help you eat."
"Uh……that's not necessary."
"Yujin-ssi, you're exhausted from the massage and all that movement. I want to help."
"Still……."
I wasn't some baby—eating on someone else's lap? That didn't make sense.
"I'm fine."
"Don't say that."
Baek Sehee patted her lap again.
"Sit here, and I'll feed you."
Feed me. The meal.
"Really, I'm okay……."
"Please, Yujin-ssi. Let me help you."
Baek Sehee said.
"………."
A request. Baek Sehee had helped me. Provided a home, job, money. I'd received so much from her.
Could I refuse her request?
……No way.
I could snap, get annoyed, fight her here. But then what? Could I safely leave her? And even if I did, how would I survive after? End up as a one-legged homeless guy?
Yeah. Baek Sehee was a good person. I could handle a request like this. No, I had to.
Suppressing a sigh, I approached her. Carefully sat on her lap.
Her body heat pressed against my back.
"Good boy! I'm so happy, thanks to you, Yujin-ssi."
Her hand stroked my head.
Am I a dog or something……?
Baek Sehee picked up a slice of pizza and brought it to my mouth.
"Here, say ahh—"
"……."
I opened my mouth, and the pizza went in. I chewed and swallowed.
"Tasty, right?"
"……Yes."
"Good. Have some cola too."
Baek Sehee beamed. She looked genuinely happy.
This is……weird.
No matter how much she wanted to help. When I didn't have my prosthetic, she'd helped with everything from bathroom breaks to showers, changing clothes, even sleeping beside me.
Now she was feeding me. On her lap, no less.
Something was wrong. This wasn't normal.
Am I……being tamed?
The thought flashed through my mind.
How to put it. Baek Sehee got happy when I depended on her. She wanted me to depend on her. That was clear.
So……was she trying to make me keep depending on her? Taming me slowly like this.
A chill ran down my spine.
But.
At least it's not dangerous.
Baek Sehee wasn't violent. She wouldn't attack me, at least. She just……wanted to take care of me.
It might be my ability's influence. But it wasn't entirely bad. She liked me in the end, wanted to look after me.
……It's probably fine, right?
Baek Sehee fed me another slice.
"Hehe, Yujin-ssi is so cute. I want to live like this forever."
Her hand tickled my chin. I just chewed and swallowed.