Will You Come to the Hospital With Me?
The second week of March.
Wednesday had passed, and Thursday dawned.
I still hadn't been bullied too badly. If anything, they treated me more normally than I expected, which only made it feel awkward. At most they made me buy bread. If I asked why I was late and answered that I felt like I might collapse on the way, they just stayed quiet. Where were they getting their information? They somehow knew I'd nearly collapsed after running the wrong way during PE, so they started giving me plenty of time.
Unexpectedly, the one who began touching my body more and more was Kang Hyeona. Maybe Kim Hyeongmin stayed quiet because she was the one getting angry. She'd brush my shoulder while saying we should get along better, or pin me against the wall to scare me. But she never actually hit me.
Anyway.
As time passed, the atmosphere slowly started to shift. It was still early in the semester, but my classmates had adapted to one another and begun joking around freely. Ayeong and I were still treated like invisible people, yet since we weren't alone—since there were two of us—it didn't matter.
Was that why? Jeong Ayeong showed a lot of interest in the friend she had suddenly acquired. Whether it was because he was a guy, or simply because he was a friend.
"Sein-ah, Sein-ah."
"Yeah..."
"Want to go to the store together?"
"The store's a bit..."
I get sick of going every single lunch period.
Ayeong's brightened appearance over the past few days still felt a little strange. Her gloomy looks and unkempt hair remained uncomfortable, but people say humans are animals of learning. Having talked with me and grown used to my presence, Ayeong would flash a loose, easy smile. Unlike the past when she had always been gloomy and bullied, struggling through every day, the time she spent with me she chatted like any ordinary girl.
"Ah, aah... Ah. Sorry. I'm sorry. I-I shouldn't make mistakes like this..."
"It's okay."
But every so often, like someone had pressed a button, she would sink into depression. Especially when she made a ridiculous slip of the tongue like now. If she did something that, from her perspective, counted as a mistake even when I was perfectly fine with it, the self-blame switch flipped on immediately. It was kind of stupid, yet also cute. The way she looked like she would burst if poked was surprisingly adorable.
"Ugh..."
"Hiding again."
It was Ayeong's habit. Whenever she made a mistake related to me mid-conversation, she would flop face-down onto the desk just like that.
"Don't hide~ Fight back~"
"Eut, eu..."
Twitch, twitch. When I whispered a phrase that had been popular in my past life, her ears flushed red. Sensitive to sound? Weak ears? Wanting to tease her a little, I shifted closer. I pressed myself lightly against her, brought my lips to her ear, and whispered in a soft, fluttering voice.
"Don't hide. Let me see your face. Hmm? Coward."
"Eek…!!"
Hoo. When I blew gently, her whole body trembled hard. Should I tease her a bit more?
"Cute~ Our Ayeong."
"Eek…!!"
Had I struck a woman's pride? Suddenly flaring up, Ayeong shot upright. Her face was red as a tomato. Whether angry or not, she seized both of my wrists.
"D-don't tease me… Calling a girl cute."
"...Are you mad?"
"N-not mad..."
Her breathing gradually steadied. The excited tension drained away and her mind seemed to clear; she looked back and forth between the hands holding mine and my face. Then desire began to gather in Jeong Ayeong's eyes.
Wait a second. This is starting to feel dangerous.
"A-Ayeong-ah? Can you, can you let go of my hand..."
"……."
Ayeong-ah?
Jeong Ayeong-ssi?
Did Han Sein know?
Every time he joked around with that playful face, how badly she wanted to devour him. He lifted her heart and set it down again. The way he casually touched and teased a girl—how completely defenseless he was.
These past few days, each one had been joyful and, at the same time, agonizing. Just having him beside her was something she felt grateful for. In Jeong Ayeong's mind he was someone far too good for her; she thought so every time she remembered Han Sein.
But on the other hand, he was also a thoroughly hateful person.
A fact she had learned by chance. A few days earlier, when she had happened to bring up girlfriends with him.
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
"No? I've never dated anyone, so I wouldn't know?"
One careless question she had spat out without thinking, and the answer she received while already regretting it. Whether he had answered just as thoughtlessly, he simply went back to whatever else he was doing with the same expression. The ripple those words created was anything but small. Timid, introverted, a coward who had only ever kept her feelings locked inside her heart—those words struck deep.
I was the idiot for asking on the gallery in the first place.
Jeong Ayeong let out a long sigh. She never doubted whether his words were true. She had trusted Han Sein deeply from the beginning. What mattered was this: he, too, had no experience—just like her. The small anxiety buried deep in her heart was confirmed by the way he carried himself. Clothing other guys would hide out of embarrassment, he revealed without a second thought. She was already dreading summer. Careless words made a girl's heart race wildly. Even while talking with him she sometimes had to flop onto the desk just to calm her pounding heart.
Look at him now. That silly smile. Even after clearly making a mistake that should have made anyone frown, he just laughed it off.
It's okay.
It can happen.
No need to apologize.
Why apologize when you did nothing wrong?
Every single one of his words sank deep into Jeong Ayeong's chest, as if healing every bit of bullying she had ever suffered. Words that pulled out the thorns lodged deep inside her, and actions that gently applied medicine to the empty holes left behind. Wasn't Han Sein truly an angel?
And foolish humans began to harbor dark desires toward that sacred, radiant being.
"Eut, euu..."
I want to date him. I want to kiss Han Sein. Lay him down on a bed and make love to him over and over... Grab both of his wrists, ah, aah...
No. These thoughts, these fantasies—I have to stop. But he keeps doing things right next to me, so I can't stop.
Jeong Ayeong was in torment. No matter how hard she tried to clear her head, no matter what else she forced herself to think about, Han Sein's voice whispering against her ear caught the desire that tried to flee. Even when she tried to forget, it kept rising and circling through her mind.
"Eek…!!"
So Jeong Ayeong lost her reason—just for a moment, a very brief moment. Heated body temperature, irregular breathing. Unstable as she was, it did not take long to calm down. This was school, after all, and Han Sein's voice woke her again.
I have to apologize. Grabbing a man's wrist without permission—being arrested on the spot wouldn't even be enough. If she were sued for sexual harassment she would have no right to claim injustice.
But she had to set things straight right now. At this rate she truly would not be able to hold on. Simply calling him a friend was impossible; Han Sein was far too attractive a man. She firmly told him not to do that again.
It was strange. The moment the words left her mouth, her anger melted away like snow. She saw Han Sein, overpowered by her strength—weaker and smaller than herself.
Gulp.
Jeong Ayeong swallowed. She had known his body was frail, but this weak? She had barely used any force, yet his hand moved helplessly this way and that. Soft skin and flesh of his wrist. If she did anything to him like this, it was obvious he would not even be able to resist properly. The reason that had returned was already threatening to vanish again. Her lower abdomen burned, as if she needed to pee. A tingling, throbbing sensation pulsed around her most sensitive place, sometimes stabbing sharply. It had happened occasionally when she was with him, but never this intensely.
"A-Ayeong-ah? Can you, can you let go of my hand..."
When Han Sein's voice reached her, her reason truly felt ready to snap.
"Ayeong-ah?"
"Bathroom—I-I'll go to the bathroom."
In the end Jeong Ayeong squeezed both eyes shut, released Han Sein's hands, and headed for the bathroom.
"Aak…!"
"……."
Of course, she could not even manage that properly. Because she had actually closed her eyes, she walked straight into the wall instead of out the classroom door.
"Ugh..."
"H-head! Your head!"
"Huh…?"
"Ayeong-ah! Blood!"
It hurt, but... this much? Jeong Ayeong rubbed her forehead. Only then did she notice the blood on her fingers.
"Aah..."
"Hospital—hospital!"
"I-I'm fine."
"Fine my ass!"
"Th-thank you… Sein-ah."
"Nurse's office. Now."
"Okay."
So the two of them headed for the nurse's office. The nurse's expression was not good.
"Hmm... Feeling a little dizzy?"
"...Yes."
In truth she was dazed and dizzy from excessive excitement. The entire cause was Han Sein, yet the nurse looked at the gauze-covered forehead and brought up early leave.
"You'll need to go with a guardian. It's a head injury..."
"They're busy, so that's a bit..."
Ayeong waved her hand, insisting she was fine. But the nurse, who carried a certain responsibility, spoke firmly. She would write the documents; Ayeong was to leave early. And if she truly had no guardian...
"...Me?"
"Yeah. I have to stay at my post."
Normally the homeroom teacher would have gone along, but this was Hweorang Academy. Jeong Ayeong was an adult. Han Sein was an adult too. It had aspects similar to high school, yet it was relatively free.
"It'll be fine. I'll let them know."
"Yes."
"R-really, I'm fine."
"No. Let's go, Ayeong-ah."
Han Sein hovered close beside her. He tried to support her as if wrapping an arm around her shoulders, doing everything he could to help because she was a patient. And that sight—
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing..."
Ayeong's mouth corners twitched. She was fighting hard not to break into a goofy grin. Being taken care of by the opposite sex—Jeong Ayeong felt a blissful, almost intoxicating emotion.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah..."
Even if her forehead hurt, that was secondary.