Shattered Convictions
I had completely cleared the false accusations against The Doctor, and now I was listening to how she had pulled me out of prison—while scolding her for it.
“You told them to use the headquarters’ name to get me out...? Why on earth would you do that?”
“I had no choice. Proving your innocence from scratch would have taken forever. I handled it well, so stop worrying.”
“What exactly do you mean by ‘handled it well’?”
“I worded it so no one would connect you to the lab. I made you out to be an ordinary civilian who got caught up in the governor’s scandal. No one will ever suspect you were part of the research facility.”
“Still... this is clearly an abuse of power. I told you not to do anything like this.”
“I had to protect you. Let’s end this conversation here. Don’t say another word.”
Her tone was unusually firm, nothing like the obedient woman she usually was with me. Her mindset must have shifted dramatically. And that was understandable.
She had gone to investigate rumors of leaked technology, only to find the lab’s cluster bomb there. Five state governors were involved. The man she loved had been thrown in prison, tortured, and even forced to take drugs. High-ranking officials were corrupt and plotting to overthrow the United States. Prison guards—who were supposed to manage inmates properly—had looked the other way. Worse, they had extorted the prisoners to line their own pockets.
If she wasn’t furious after all that, something would be seriously wrong with her. She was probably drowning in self-loathing, wondering what she had been protecting the world for all this time.
“...Alright.”
I trailed off and wrinkled my nose. The Doctor’s face twisted into a deep frown.
“The moment we get back, you’re going straight into the medical device. We need to purge the remaining drug components from your body. Your dopamine levels have to be normalized, and the damaged veins need proper repair.”
“I don’t want to. I’m perfectly fine.”
“You are not fine.”
“I’m not getting in.”
“Song Jihyeok! Listen to me!”
She practically screamed. I put on a pouty, childish expression and stared out the window of the private jet. The Doctor let out a long sigh as she watched me, then tried to persuade me in a much gentler voice.
“Jihyeok... why don’t you want treatment? It’ll be good for you to get healthy again.”
“I already said I’m okay.”
“Do you want to die young like my husband?”
She was even willing to bring up her husband’s death? This was getting interesting.
“Your husband didn’t die from drugs. That’s a bad comparison.”
“Fine. Then I’ll change the question. Do you want to die young?”
“No.”
“Right? So just get in, get it over with. It doesn’t even hurt.”
“.....”
“You didn’t take those drugs of your own free will. You were just... struggling, and someone kept pushing you, so you did it in a fit of anger. Am I wrong?”
“I don’t know... I don’t know. Let’s stop talking about this. My head hurts.”
The Doctor clenched her fist tightly. She stared at me with terrifying intensity. She was probably cursing the prison guards and inmates who had done this to me. After staring like that for a long time, she finally nodded.
“Alright. But we’re going to talk about this again once we’re back.”
“I told you not to. I agreed when you said you wouldn’t talk about that incident, didn’t I?”
“....Then I’ll just say this. I believe my strong Jihyeok will make the right choice.”
Of course I would. I was only saying this out loud. In reality, I would obediently enter the medical device and receive treatment. The last time I had returned to a human body right after being released, enduring the withdrawal symptoms had been incredibly difficult. As the Demon King, I could endure it easily, but I was about to meet Silvia and Adele. I couldn’t show up in that state.
Still, even if my body was healed, I would continue pretending that my mind was still craving pleasure. I rested my chin on the windowsill as my answer. It was a clear sign that I didn’t want to talk anymore. When I glanced over, I saw tears welling up in the Doctor’s eyes. But she didn’t cry. She seemed to believe she had to remain composed at times like this.
Whoosh—!
After several rounds of treatment, my body had returned to normal. I sat on the edge of the medical device, pressing hard on my temples. The Doctor approached and spoke with clear pride.
“Treatment is complete. Thank you for staying still like a good boy.”
“Yeah...”
“Let’s go home and rest now.”
“I can’t. I need to go to the company.”
“Why the company?”
“I’ve been gone for a long time. There must be a mountain of work piled up, so I should go handle it.”
“You can take it slow. Come on, just rest properly today, okay?”
I pretended to give in to her suggestion and agreed. The moment I stepped down from the device, a wave of dizziness hit me. I staggered and collapsed onto the floor. It happened so fast that the Doctor didn’t even have time to catch me. She quickly grabbed my head as I tried to get up and gently stroked the back of my neck.
“It’s okay. Just stay like this. Does it hurt a lot?”
It was just dizziness... but she was reading so much into it? Fine by me.
“.....”
“I’ll stay by your side. Let’s get through this together. I love you, Jihyeok...”
I nodded while tightly gripping her waist.
“Let’s go home... I don’t think I can go to the company like this.”
“Good choice.”
And so we returned to the Doctor’s house. The moment I got home, I filled the bathtub with water and sank into it with a languid sigh.
The work in America had been a success. I had shaken the Doctor’s convictions to their core, so the harvest was excellent. Things in Korea would probably go smoothly too. While I was in America, Chae Bo-young’s manager should have established a new agency. Stella needed to be under that label. Since I hadn’t received any urgent messages from Chae Bo-young or Marcela, it seemed everything had been handled well. Still, I wanted to see it with my own eyes to be satisfied.
Finally, I would get to see Stella. Had she come with her little sister? Or alone?
“Jihyeok.”
I had been staring at the ceiling, lost in thought, when the Doctor’s cautious voice snapped me back to reality.
“What?”
“Can I come in?”
“Come in.”
At my words, the Doctor slipped into the bathtub completely naked. She settled comfortably between my spread legs and spoke.
“I’d understand if you resent me. I’m truly sorry.”
“For what?”
“We only needed to focus on the monsters and Tyrat, but I stuck my nose in where it didn’t belong...”
“You couldn’t ignore it. The technology was leaked from our lab. There was no other choice.”
The Doctor shook her head.
“No. If I had been more ruthless... if I had used my power the moment you were captured, you might not have gone to prison at all. This happened because you were considerate of my weak, indecisive self. I...”
She swallowed hard, her voice trembling, and tried to continue while looking straight into my eyes. But I shook my head, cutting her off.
“I will never, under any circumstances, resent you. So please don’t dwell on it too much.”
“.....”
“Should we start with a shower?”
“Ah, okay...”
That dawn.
The rustling sound woke me, and I sat up. The Doctor, who had been curled up beside me pretending to sleep, flinched in surprise and quickly resumed her sleeping act.
“What are you doing?”
“.....”
She began making fake sleeping noises as if she hadn’t heard me. It was obvious—she had been masturbating. We hadn’t been together for a long time, and now that she was back in a safe nest where she could relax, her sexual desire must have boiled over. Seeing her trying to comfort herself alone made me smile involuntarily.
She felt too guilty to ask me for sex, but she still wanted to relieve her urges... right?
I quietly climbed on top of her, rested my chin lightly on her plump breasts, and spoke in a gentle voice.
“Wake up. You weren’t sleeping, were you?”
“.....”
The Doctor still didn’t respond. But...
“Hah...”
When I reached down and gently rubbed her pussy, a soft moan escaped her. I lifted my slightly wet fingers to her face, waved them, and chuckled.
“You must have been at it for a while... you’re soaked down here.”
Finally, the Doctor opened her eyes, her face twisted in embarrassment.
“S-sorry... I couldn’t hold it in...”
“If you wanted it, you should have woken me up.”
“How could I... when you were sleeping so soundly...”
Without a word, I slid down a little further and pressed my crotch against her thigh, rubbing slowly. Her breathing grew heavier. She had felt my cock getting hard.
“Huu...”
“Noona.”
“What...”
“Should I put it in?”
“...You don’t have to...”
“Really? Okay.”
I immediately got off her and turned my back. A moment later, her body pressed against mine from behind. I felt the soft, perky sensation of her breasts against my spine. Then a slender hand wrapped around my cock. She teased the glans with light flicks of her fingers, stimulating me as she spoke.
“I... I want to...”
“Didn’t you just say I didn’t have to?”
“That’s not it... I was just saying that...”
“You keep changing your mind. It’s annoying.”
At that, the Doctor slipped the tip of her fingernail into my urethra and pressed ever so slightly. A sharp sting mixed with pleasure. Her silent little tantrum was incredibly cute. She stroked my cock a few times with her hand, gently scratched my balls with her nails, and pleaded in a desperate voice.
“Put it in... please?”
I pulled her hand away from my cock and turned around. Staring at her gloomy face with a serious expression, I asked,
“Noona.”
“Yeah...”
“Why were you infertile?”
It was a sudden and sensitive question. I had expected silence, but she answered immediately.
“My ovaries didn’t function very well...”
“That’s strange. Last time you caught a cold, I checked your condition with the medical device. There was nothing wrong with you.”
“It was congenital, so the device probably registered it as normal. I don’t really know either...”
“Did you want to get pregnant?”
“That...”
The Doctor hesitated. She seemed worried I might get angry. I said nothing and simply stroked her short hair. Seeing my gentle expression, she finally relaxed and confessed after a long pause.
“I did want one...”
“That’s fortunate for me.”
“Fortunate... how?”
“If you had gotten pregnant back then, we couldn’t have ended up like this.”
“Yeah... I think so too.”
What I had said was incredibly sensitive—enough to poke at old trauma. Imagine telling a woman who had desperately wanted a child that it was a good thing she never had one. Who wouldn’t get angry?
But the Doctor agreed without hesitation. She truly believed meeting me was a blessing.
“Do you still love your husband?”
“That... yes. But I love you more.”
“More than when you were with him?”
“Probably... I think so.”
“Probably?”
“No. Definitely. I’ve never been this happy before.”
“You cried so much because of me. You got really angry too.”
“That’s how much I love you.”
“Then if you could meet your husband again, would you choose him over me?”
The Doctor gasped. It seemed she had never considered this before.
“J-Jihyeok... why are you asking...”
I didn’t answer. Instead, I got up from the bed and went to the utility room. I brought back the wedding photo of her and Edward. Then I turned on the lights, showed her the picture, and asked again.
“Who would you choose?”
“.....”
“Even if you say you’d choose your husband right now, I won’t get angry. I can just try harder. So please answer me honestly.”
“I...”
“I just want to know what your heart truly feels right now.”
The Doctor’s eyes narrowed. Her hesitation didn’t last long. She reached out, grabbed my wrist, and confessed.
“Like I said before, I love you more. I can’t live without you.”
Those weren’t empty words meant to comfort me. Her eyes were filled with sincerity. The size of the statues in her heart had completely reversed. From now on, I would have to smash the old one to pieces.
Satisfied with her answer, I pushed her shoulders—still slightly raised—and laid her down on the bed.