78. A Kiss Is Medicine
78. A Kiss Is Medicine
The rooftop, where a cool breeze blew.
It overlooked the entire academy.
I asked Yu Ha-yeon.
"...Yu Ha-yeon."
"Hm? Han Si-jun, why did you call?"
"Why are you here?"
"Why did I call? Because you're here, obviously," she answered with a sly smile.
It was an expression that meant she didn't want to answer.
The people on the rooftop were me, Yu Ha-yeon, Ban Ha-na, and Na Yu-na.
The bodyguard offer Na Yu-na had made to me.
We had come up to the rooftop to give our answer.
"So, why did you follow us?"
"...Because I was worried? I don't really know why I followed you, either..."
Yu Ha-yeon smiled and evaded the question.
I wanted to flick her on the forehead,
but it was a shame I didn't have the strength.
"...Ahem."
Na Yu-na cleared her throat and spoke.
"Han Si-jun. You heard the detailed explanation yesterday, right?"
"Yeah, I heard all the details."
NAVI had put forward the bodyguard position for Na Yu-na.
Unexpectedly, their terms weren't bad.
A bodyguard job with pay, keeping other students from approaching Na Yu-na—that was the condition.
And compiling reports about everything to send to the company once a month.
It was a hassle, but for me, who was running out of money even for rice, it was a good deal.
Ha-na.
Finally, I can buy you chicken.
Even though I won't taste a thing.
As I silently recalled the flavor of chicken from before I lost my sense of taste,
Na Yu-na continued.
"Anyway, that's all we're offering. It's not bad for you, either. The only downside is..."
Na Yu-na turned her head and focused her gaze on Ban Ha-na.
"That you'll have to handle everything alone. Her background is way too unclear. Like someone who disappeared and suddenly popped up."
"I... I'm a hero! I can protect you...!"
No, Ha-na.
You don't have to do anything.
NAVI had apparently investigated Ban Ha-na, but there were some uncomfortable aspects, so they seemed disinclined to hire her as a bodyguard.
Well, that was somewhat expected.
I nodded and was about to tell Na Yu-na that I'd take the bodyguard job—
—when Yu Ha-yeon stepped forward and met Na Yu-na's eyes.
"About that bodyguard thing, can I do it too?"
"...You?"
Na Yu-na looked surprised.
She'd never dreamed Yu Ha-yeon would step up for something like this.
"I've been a bit short on money lately, so a part-time gig on the side, you know?"
"...The company doesn't want that kind of casual attitude."
"Even if my attitude is light, my skills are decent, aren't they?"
I was less interested in protecting Na Yu-na and more in kissing her.
My mindset about the bodyguard job was even lighter than hers in the first place.
'Once I kiss Na Yu-na, I'm done with girls...'
The life-threatening danger from Yu Ha-yeon would end with kissing Na Yu-na.
Even this morning, I had to confess about kissing Ban Ha-na, and my heart almost dropped.
'If Ha-na hadn't looked away, I would've been in the room cafe...'
A room cafe I never want to visit again.
That place was a nightmare.
"Han Si-jun."
"Huh?"
Yu Ha-yeon suddenly called my name.
From the look of it, their conversation already seemed to be over.
I didn't need to ask for the outcome; I could tell from her expression.
"So, you're going to be a bodyguard too...?"
"Yeah! How is it, Han Si-jun? Happy we're in it together?"
"Of course I'm happy..."
Yu Ha-yeon said it with a bright smile.
But I could see through her real intent, so I couldn't smile with her.
'...She's doing this to keep an eye on me, isn't she?'
Suspicion close to certainty.
Yu Ha-yeon had plenty of money.
There was no other reason for her to take the bodyguard position.
"Si... Si-jun! I said I can protect you too...! I'm a hero...!"
"Sure, Ha-na, but for now let's start by protecting me..."
Ban Ha-na confidently shouted at me.
I patted her head.
'Is this right...?'
A bodyguard job now under Yu Ha-yeon's surveillance.
How could I get Na Yu-na's lips?
With the difficulty spiking so abruptly, a headache was coming on.
***
Academy, dormitory, training ground, dormitory.
A normal daily routine flowing in that order.
For me, the club became a variable that created a new routine.
'The evening air really is chilly.'
The cold night air, so different from the afternoon.
I was outside now because of club activities.
There were three of us on patrol.
Lee Seol-ha, the group leader, spoke.
"Today's patrol members are as notified: me, Kim Su-yeon, and Han Si-jun—three people. We'll patrol the academy for two hours, checking for anyone suspicious."
Lee Seol-ha addressed me and the member named Kim Su-yeon in a cold tone.
Kim Su-yeon looked a little uncomfortable at Lee Seol-ha's icy demeanor.
With her sharp senses, Lee Seol-ha seemed to pick up on the mood and asked.
"...Is something wrong?"
"N... no. It's nothing..."
"..."
Lee Seol-ha frowned slightly and handed us a map.
Of course, when she handed the map to me, she used two fingers so her hand wouldn't touch mine.
'Why not just pick one or the other...'
Lee Seol-ha's expression held both guilt and disgust.
If anything, seeing her expression made me uneasy.
Lee Seol-ha immediately composed herself and returned to her icy expression.
Then she spoke confidently.
"The map should have zones A, B, and C marked with circles. We'll each take one section to patrol. Any objections?"
"..."
No one voiced any objection to Lee Seol-ha's words.
No one here seemed dumb enough to complain about the efficient way of splitting up the zones.
When there was no response,
she immediately headed toward her own zone and said,
"No objections? Then let's start the patrol."
With that, Lee Seol-ha disappeared into the darkness in the distance.
'...But why does she seem angry?'
Lee Seol-ha's footsteps seemed to insist, 'I'm mad.'
Seeing that, Kim Su-yeon muttered.
"Is it because of me...?"
...No.
Probably because of me.
Last night, because of the bodyguard contract that had arrived from Na Yu-na, I hadn't answered Lee Seol-ha's messages.
It looked like she was angry at me.
Lee Seol-ha's assigned zone was Zone A.
I headed to the adjacent Zone B.
But before I could leave entirely, Kim Su-yeon muttered,
"Weird... Why is Lee Seol-ha angry...?"
"Uh... um...? Is it my fault...?"
She flustered with an anxious tone.
I left her there as she began reflecting internally.
Her patrol time would probably pass quite quickly.
***
Nothing at all.
Even though I was patrolling Zone B, I saw nothing.
Unfortunately, today didn't seem to be a day when a Hidden Piece would appear.
The Villain Research Club's Hidden Piece.
It appeared randomly on evening patrol days,
and was an item easily visible even with my poor eyesight.
'Tsk.'
But if nothing happened today, that meant it wasn't a Hidden Piece day.
I put my disappointment aside and continued the patrol.
As I was about to resume, I felt someone's presence behind me.
Who...?
And the owner of that presence called out to me.
"Wait. Stop right there."
"..."
I immediately stopped walking at the sound of that voice.
A tone that sounded angry, hurling a warning at me.
'Did she abandon Zone A and come over here...?'
She slowly approached me and said,
"Why are you leaving me on read? Do I look like a pushover?"
"...I had circumstances."
"Something so big you couldn't contact me for two days? I saw you today, laughing and chatting with some girl. Is that the big deal?"
What the.
Had she come looking for me?
It seemed Lee Seol-ha had caught sight of me together with Ban Ha-na and Yu Ha-yeon.
I turned around to check Lee Seol-ha's expression.
"W... wait! Don't turn around...!"
Lee Seol-ha shouted at me not to turn around.
She was trying to stop me because meeting my eyes triggered an unavoidable disgust.
'...At this rate, it'll take two years.'
Talking without facing each other.
This approach wouldn't quickly cure Lee Seol-ha's misandry.
In the first place, her condition fell within the realm of trauma.
If you tiptoe around it, the treatment will also be slow.
That's why, even if she found it difficult,
in order to treat her, I had to keep pushing her trauma.
'This is also the only time I'm not being watched by Yu Ha-yeon.'
Yu Ha-yeon would be training hard at the training ground right about now.
Her fervent desire to gain strength to protect me never faded easily.
"Wait...! I told you not to turn around...!"
"Lee Seol-ha. This is one of the treatment methods."
Simply avoiding it doesn't help the treatment at all.
To heal her trauma, some pain needed to be involved,
and she had to endure and overcome that pain.
'Let's start with her hand.'
I approached Lee Seol-ha.
Thud. Thud.
My footsteps echoed as I got closer to her.
The closer I got, the more she retreated with backward steps.
"Don't run away, Lee Seol-ha."
"N... no!"
Lee Seol-ha's complexion worsened the nearer I came.
I called out to her.
"Lee Seol-ha, just close your eyes."
"W... what?"
"Don't talk back. Close your eyes."
"..."
Lee Seol-ha flinched at my coercive tone.
She immediately closed her eyes.
She had squeezed them shut so tightly that the corners of her eyes trembled slightly.
'...She is pretty.'
A straight, shapely nose.
A smooth jawline.
Fair skin.
Short hair like the night sea.
I had meant to just hold her hand,
but I figured she needed a bigger shock.
'Lips, rather than hands.'
I can't fool Lee Seol-ha's senses.
I had to move fast so she wouldn't react.
I thought it through in my head, and when the moment came, I immediately turned it into action.
"How long do I have to— mmph...!"
The moment Lee Seol-ha's mouth opened, I closed the distance and slipped my tongue inside.
Because of me, her words couldn't continue.
'Repeat the kisses, and gradually reduce the trauma.'
This was the short-term treatment method for Lee Seol-ha.
In the park beneath the glow of the streetlamp.
There, we quietly kissed.