Chapter 484
Chapter 484
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 484
Chapter Title: Doctor Gam Deok-bae (20)
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"Iris! Stop crying and tell me straight! What the hell happened?!"
"Ru-in-nim… *sob*, he absorbed the fruit inside my body… *sob*…"
"What?! The, the fruit?! Does that mean… you're completely cured?!"
"……Huh?"
"You don't hurt anymore? Right? Stop crying and talk to me!"
His face flushed with excitement as he demanded an answer from me. My brother, rejoicing without a clue about how serious this was. I hated seeing him so happy when Ru-in-nim had caught a rare disease because of me… How could he be thrilled about that? Overcome with resentment, I glared at him sternly. With Ru-in-nim passed out right there in front of us… smiling like that. This was the first time I'd ever felt this irritated.
"Oppa!"
"Y-Yeah?"
"Aren't you even worried about Ru-in-nim?!"
"……What?"
"He sacrificed himself for me! But… you don't even know that, and you're yelling! Screaming! Cursing! *sob*… How could you do that?!"
"N-No, I…"
"Ru-in-nim told you. He risked his life… He must've planned from the start to take the disease in my place… But you… you never even thought to trust him?! I'm really, really disappointed! I hate people like you the most, Oppa!"
"Ah… Iris…"
He'd once been someone I truly admired… but not anymore. Always flying off the handle, resorting to violence, spewing curses… I thought he'd gotten a little better, but no, he was the same as ever. Oppa was never a good person. To think I'd idolized him without realizing that… My past self seemed so pathetic now.
And that face of his… H-How could he blush while looking at his own sister?
Startled, I yanked the blanket up to cover my body.
In this world, the only man allowed to see me naked… was Ru-in-nim, and him alone.
"T-Turn your head!"
"Ah… Aah, sorry."
"Pervert… So Oppa, you're a pervert who lusts after his little sister?"
"What?! N-No, I'm not!"
"But… y-you're erect! That's disgusting… revolting, the absolute worst!"
"Iris! It's not like that! This is… just a physiological reaction!"
From one to ten, everything about him got compared to Ru-in-nim. Even if that lame excuse of his was somehow true… he was still a disappointment. Ru-in-nim… held back his erection right up until the end. Only today, when he had no choice because he was taking my disease… But Oppa… Oppa was just…
Aaah, it was truly repulsive.
My stomach churning, I didn't stop complaining.
"You're not planning to just… abandon Ru-in-nim like this, are you?"
"……"
"Oppa?"
"No, not that… but the treatment's done now…"
"Oppa… you!"
Like someone whose true thoughts had been exposed, Oppa wore a troubled expression. No more use for him, so just toss him aside, huh? But I couldn't accept that. I couldn't let my lifesaver—the man I adored—end up in dire straits. My anger surging again, I yelled at Oppa.
"Treatment's over, so it's okay to throw him away… Is that what you're saying?!"
"Iris…"
"You know exactly what it takes to cure 'Arbo Somnium,' don't you, Oppa! It needs a woman! A woman to do… 'that sort of thing' with Ru-in-nim! Do you think that's easy?!"
"……"
"He's not some gigolo, and even if he tried that… weird rumors would spread. A pervert doctor who teases but never goes all the way! Oppa… you're okay with that happening to the man who saved my life?"
"……So, Iris. What are you saying? That you'll help him?"
"Yes, exactly. Who else is going to help Ru-in-nim if not me?"
"But Iris, like you said, that would mean…"
"Yes, doing 'that sort of thing' with Ru-in-nim. But… so what? It's not like there's any impure motive… It's all for the treatment, purely for the treatment. Just like what Ru-in-nim did for me a little while ago!"
"……Iris."
"Speak!"
"Sigh… As your brother and as the head of the Lehinar family, I can't allow that."
"…Why not?"
"Because, obviously…"
"Are you jealous?"
"What?!"
"Oppa, you're a pervert who lusts after me! So you're jealous! …Full of jealousy! Isn't that why you're wary of Ru-in-nim? I can't think of any other reason!"
"That's not it… Siiiigh, please calm down."
"But… if I don't step in, you'll kill Ru-in-nim!"
"……!"
It was a low-probability guess, but not entirely unfounded suspicion. The current Ru-in-nim… held the Lehinar family's weakness in his hands. If the treatment for 'Arbo Somnium' ever leaked out by mistake… it'd be a disaster. From Oppa's position, eliminating the risk factor might seem like the smart move. But not from mine.
"Iris! Do I really seem like that heartless of a guy to you?"
"……Did I go too far?"
"Haaa…"
"I'm sorry. But if you really abandon Ru-in-nim… if you let him die… I'll resent you for the rest of my life! This is how I really feel!"
"……Iris."
"……"
"You… don't tell me you like that guy?"
"……"
Finally… the day had come. Unable to hold back any longer, he let out a huge sigh and looked at me with an awkward expression. That look was so unfamiliar it made me a little anxious… but I mustered my courage. I confessed my feelings with courage. That I liked Ru-in-nim… no, that I loved him. Oppa squeezed his eyes shut and let out another sigh.
"How could I not love the man who risked his life for me?"
"……Iris, that's not love."
"No, it is love."
"You're just mistaken."
"Mistaken?! These are my true feelings!"
"You're still too young and don't understand! You're just swept up in the heat of the moment! What do you even know about Dirk Ru-in? All you know is him as a doctor! Can you say you love Dirk Ru-in the man, not just the doctor?"
"T-That's…"
"Iris… you need more experience. You're too young right now. To you, locked away like a bird in a cage, Dirk Ru-in must seem like your entire world… but he's not. The world is vast! If you let these feelings turn into love, you'll end up regretting it!"
"……No, that's not true!"
"Please, Iris! This world isn't some pure fairytale!"
"But Oppa! Are you saying we should abandon Ru-in-nim right now? The man who took my disease… who got sick in my place to save me? Have you always been that ungrateful?!"
"Haa, Iris! ……Damn it!"
No matter how we talked or raised our voices, the gap between our positions wouldn't close. In the end, he spat out a curse, flew into a rage, and glared at me. He still had some reason left, at least… he didn't resort to violence. Instead, he said we'd talk tomorrow—that we both needed to cool off for now.
"……Sorry for losing my temper."
With that, Oppa left… leaving me alone with Ru-in-nim.
As my excitement faded, the chill in the air raised goosebumps on my skin.
I should've tried persuading Oppa more calmly… Ugh, looking back, I regretted it. Arguing like that only hurt us both. A bitter feeling. Depressed, I gazed at Ru-in-nim, sleeping peacefully in my arms. Were my feelings… really just an illusion, like Oppa said? My chest tight with frustration, my eyes welled up with tears…
And I leaned down to kiss Ru-in-nim.
-Creak
"Miss, I heard the story. Ru-in-nim collapsed… Oh, oh my goodness!"
"Uweck?! M-Maria!"
"N-Naked kissing… how scandalous…"
But then Maria walked in, and I ended up with the most ridiculous misunderstanding.
"O-Oh no, misunderstanding!"
"Misunderstanding?"
"It's a misunderstanding!"
"Then why is your hand… right there?"
"Eeeh?! A-Ah…"
"Pinching a nipple while kissing… so bold of you…"
"Thiiiis… this is…"
"And your other hand on a man's…"
"Kyaaaaah!"
It'd take time to clear up the misunderstanding… ughhh… but no helping it. Maria already knew a fair bit anyway… so I explained in detail what had happened between the two of us. That the fruit had transferred, and that I had no intention of abandoning Ru-in-nim. Ah, but I kept the details of what happened during the treatment a secret.
We'd done that sort of thing naked… it was too embarrassing.
I couldn't tell even Maria about that.
"But Miss… how was Ru-in-nim's… you know?"
"Huh?"
"You saw it up close, right? The size when it's erect!"
"W-What are you talking about!"
"Sigh… it's already that big when flaccid…"
"D-Don't look! What the heck are you saying!"
"Oh my, Miss… are you already playing the good wife? Pretending to hide it while caressing… My goodness, you've grown into a real woman! I'm so moved!"
But now that I thought about it, I was still naked… No matter what excuse I made, Maria wouldn't buy it. Forced to reveal the truth, I ended up getting scolded. Maria said it was rude not to have sex in a situation like that. But… hmph, who said it was because I didn't want to?
Frustrated, I spilled all the details to Maria.
"I see… so doing it transfers the fruit…"
"Yeah, that's how it happened."
"But… are you going to keep touching it like that?"
"Kyaa?!"