Please Get My Hopes Up—I'm Already Looking Forward to It

"Oppa. Time to eat."

I leaned in and gave a quick kiss to Oppa, who was still sprawled out in bed like he meant to savor the entire weekend right there. Could a face that hadn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even fully woken up really be this dizzyingly handsome?

"Mm… sniff. Toast for breakfast…?"

He stirred a little, twitched his nose, and sat up.

When it came to smell—and food in general—both Oppa and I had noses like bloodhounds. I actually liked that about us. Thanks to Oppa giving me proper feedback, my cooking kept getting better by the day.

"…?"

Well, there was no way he wouldn't know this time. A plate of toast thick with the smell of toasted bread and eggs was sitting right under his nose. How could he miss it?

Today, I was going to do everything for him. After all that piled-up fatigue from endless work, he needed to unwind—and then we were going out to play.

"Today ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you rest in bed as much as you want. Absolutely nowhere but the bathroom, okay~?"

"Ah… so that's why the toast is in here?"

I'd set a folding tray table on the bed and put breakfast right on top of it, so it did feel a little like when I'd been hospitalized before…

"For now… shall we eat?"

"…I'm fine, though. I'll help you today. We always do it together anyway."

"Ah-ah. Not today. Right now Oppa needs my devoted, full-service nursing."

From this moment on, Oppa was the patient. I was his personal beautiful nurse, and he was a handsome overworked patient whose exhaustion somehow only made him sexier!

It sounded a bit like the title of some romance novel for women, but… well, this was reality.

"But…"

The truth was, he really had helped me a lot. No matter how many times I told him not to, he always insisted on pitching in.

Housework was clearly my job—so why did he keep trying to help? He'd already worked all week. Why wear himself out even more…

"You've always been like this, Oppa. Housework is my responsibility. Why do you keep stealing it from me?"

"Stealing…? I'm just help—"

"To me, it's stealing!"

He went completely silent, like a man who'd swallowed honey and then died of it.

"Aigoo, you adorable Oppa…!!"

"Uweh… ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that's not faaair."

"I'm genuinely grateful, you know!? But if you do that, there's really nothing left for me to do!"

There was a limit to how nice a person should be. Cross that line and you just became a pushover.

When you're tired, you rest. Wasn't that obvious?

"Haa… I do like that about you, but… please understand how I feel… please."

"Augh… okayyy…"

I stretched his cheeks out, and he looked thoroughly pleased about it. Reflect. Reflect on your crimes. He'd stolen my work—and stolen my heart while he was at it.

"Huu… fine. Once you're done eating, play on your phone. I said bed, but the computer's fine too."

While we ate, Oppa tried to sweet-talk me. He went on about how it was better when we did things together, even deploying his face skills—but Oppa's stamina mattered more to me, so all of it was null and void.

…Well. I'd only said reasonable things, so nothing got through to me. No matter what he said, I was sticking to my guns.

"Ahem… and where do you think you're going?"

Right as I was thinking that, Oppa slowly got up and tried to slip out of the room. Of course I stopped him. The way he hesitated was a little cute, but I still needed to hear his reason.

"I should brush my teeth, shouldn't I…?"

"No. There's a bathroom right here. Why are you trying to leave?"

"Ah…"

In the mornings we usually used the one by the kitchen for convenience of traffic flow, but this room had a proper little bathroom of its own—and a tiny shower, too. And I could take the laundry myself. It was a free weekend, after all.

"I'll go do the dishes~"

I cleared the tray and tidied up the leftover scraps of trash.

With nothing but plates and a frying pan, the dishes were done in no time—and then something felt off. Why could I hear the washing machine running? I hadn't touched it.

"…Oppa."

I went back into the room and checked the bathroom. Sure enough, he wasn't there.

"Oppa!?"

"…Ahaha."

Why was Oppa here, when he should have been at the bathroom sink washing his face?

Why was the washing machine humming and churning water? Why was he trying to hide the detergent and fabric softener behind his back?

"Sss… come here. You're going to get scolded a little."

—Thud.

The detergent and fabric softener tumbled to the floor. Like a vine finding a stake, I wound myself around him in a spiral.

"Chup… haup… jjup…"

I stole his lips, wrapped my tongue around his, and sucked as if even his saliva belonged to me, devouring him. He'd brushed his teeth—there was a faint mint taste.

"Ha… Oppa. I've been holding back this whole time, you know?"

"Jihye…"

"Haa… so? Want to get scolded some more?"

"Jihye. Taking it this far this fa—kh."

I gave him a light tap down there, and he flinched. Then Oppa slipped away like a ghost and fled into the bedroom.

"Ugh…!"

I still didn't understand why I was the one on the attack.

At this rate, you'd think nothing would even stand—he was that absurdly restrained… and yet.

From where I was standing, his pants had clearly swollen enough to burst, so the fact that he still hadn't lunged at me made me think he must be preparing something after all.

Honestly, though, if he came at me right now, I'd take him gladly.

"Aigoo."

I checked the washing machine with something that wasn't quite admiration for his considerable willpower.

"Huh… hmm…"

I called Oppa back out.

"It says right here to put the fabric softener in this compartment—why are you pouring it straight onto the laundry!"

If you're going to do it, do it properly. What even was this?

"Got it…"

"Where do you think you're going. You still have to take your punishment."

I grabbed his damp hair, forced another kiss on him, and only then let him go.

I felt like I'd gone back to being a short-timer with one day left until discharge. The date was set and unchangeable, and yet time seemed to freeze and stretch farther away, as if deliberately tormenting me.

"Haa…"

A faint wave of dizziness hit me.

"Ugh… Jihye… you don't have to go this far, do you…? And also…"

"Think of it as payback. But what's the 'and also'?"

Oppa hesitated, then cut himself off.

"Ah, never mind."

Ever seen a woman give a man a foot bath? I, at least, never had.

Oppa's gaze was fixed on me right now. And thanks to the sleeveless top I was wearing, my cleavage was on full, shameless display.

I didn't even need to say it out loud.

I was currently engaged in a grand and glorious act of seduction.

"Look how hard your feet have worked. There's no reason not to do this for you."

"Thaaat…"

He couldn't get the words out and just groaned, which was adorable.

"If you have a complaint, should I suck on them with my mouth instead?"

"I don't! I have none…!"

"Good. We're already done anyway."

Teasing him really was fun.

I gently dried his feet with a towel.

"All finished. How was it?"

"…It was nice. Thank you."

"And when do I get to receive that gratitude?"

"……"

Oppa thought it over for a long time.

And then he short-circuited.

"Huh. Oppa?"

"Augh… too faaast…"

"What's too fast. I think it's perfectly substantial and good."

He ended up covering his face and flopping down onto the bed.

"Then… the day after tomorrow."

"Tomorrow."

"…Huhh?"

"Let's do tomorrow. Tomorrow night. Ah, once it passes midnight it is the day after tomorrow. I don't mind either way."

I decided it on my own and thought it through on my own, and Oppa short-circuited all over again.

"Oppa. You know I'm serious, right?"

"Huu… yeah. Okay."

"Please rest properly today. Stockpile some stamina."

With unspoken meaning, I set a glass of water next to the supplements on the nightstand and left the room.

Dinner on a day off… donkatsu. Somehow I'd reached the point of researching how to make it even more delicious, as if I'd started enjoying it myself.

Sometimes, even more than a homemade sauce, just dipping it in salt was the real deal.

"Oppa, dinner's ready."

"Yeah."

A woman who made donkatsu this well was his girlfriend—how was anyone supposed to hold out against that?

"It's good, right?"

"Yeah."

And yet there was a man holding out against it… ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and that man was my boyfriend.

"I think it's delicious too."

"…Huh?"

"You heard me. Why are you pretending you didn't?"

"Ahaha…"

Oppa just laughed.

"Don't laugh it off. Look at me properly."

I meant it. I'd held back a lot.

If "tomorrow" turned out to be empty bluster… I really wouldn't be able to take it. I'd just devour him.

"…Okay. I'll really look at you properly. It's just… I've been feeling a lot of pressure, so. Will you… understand?"

At least he said it prettily.

"Okay…"

"…It's not that I don't want to. I just… want to do it somewhere with a nice atmosphere. Let's really do it tomorrow. Th-that…"

"Just say sex. How old are we?"

"Let's… have sexual relations."

Both of us were so lacking in dating experience it made us shudder. Oppa… I hadn't heard the details, but could you even call it dating experience? "Getting used" experience felt like the more accurate term.

Not that I'd ever dated anyone either…

"Oppa, you go shower first."

"Okay."

It was strange, honestly.

We'd already done everything up through kissing, and yet he wouldn't go further because "the mood" wasn't there.

Did he want to do it with me in some five-star hotel with a view? The before and after didn't line up, and it was confusing.

Anyway, it was settled for certain now.

Tomorrow. Night. Naughty stuff.

I'd look around the amusement park for things to do, take some pictures, go into a haunted house and cling all over him, pack a lunch and feed him… yeah. Perfect.

"Ahh… I can't wait."

I cleared the dishes, washed them, scrubbed the sink until not a speck of grime remained, and gave the range hood a decent wipe-down too.

"Ha. Seriously spotless. Lee Jihye, you are incredible."

I wrung out the dishcloth with some useless self-praise and hung it over the sink.

"I'm done~"

"Yes, yes. Oppa, pack your clothes too. It's a date, so something handsome."

"Okay."

I opened the suitcase and started packing clothes.

Something that suited Oppa, something pretty, something he'd like…

"Oppa. Do you like stockings?"

"Huh? Uh…"

I was pretty satisfied with them myself, but Oppa might prefer bare skin. That was why I was asking.

"I… like them."

"Okay. I'll wear nothing but stockings for five days straight."

"Wh—huh?! Will you be okay?"

"It's not like they wear out, and I don't mind. I'm going to wear clothes you like the whole time anyway."

Well, I was joking.

Even fashion got old if you saw the same thing too long. I slipped jeans and slacks in between.

"Mm-hmm, and I'll pack this too…"

"What's that?"

"Condoms!"

"…?"

"What. You want to go bare?"

Going bare would be even better for me.

But Oppa seemed to be questioning the quantity.

"No… it's a whole box…?"

"Um… this is… in case they tear…?"

Before he could ask anything else, I just shoved them in and closed the suitcase.

"I can't wait for tomorrow!"

I breezily changed the subject.

"Mm-hmm. And Oppa."

"Yeah?"

"Tonight I'm sleeping in my own bed. For your sake."

"Ah… okay."

We'd always slept in the same bed, but this time I was going to sleep alone.

It was a shame for me, but for Oppa it would honestly be more comfortable.

I accepted it as part of the stamina-recovery plan.

"Good night."

"Yeah… you too, Jihye."

The lights slowly went out, and in a bed that felt a little empty—no, very empty—I quietly tried to sleep.

"Jihye."

"…Oppa?"

"I want to… sleep together."

I flailed an arm through the dark and switched on the nightstand lamp. Oppa was standing in front of me with a pillow in his arms.

I'd been half-asleep when I woke, but relief and happiness arrived together.

"Come here. Hehe. Were you lonely without me?"

"…Yeah."

He went past adorable and felt almost like a baby.

"Here's the chest you like. Sleep well~"

"Yeah…"

Without much resistance—rather, pulling me into his arms—Oppa let out a quiet breath, as if already drifting off.

I stroked his hair gently, felt the happiness settle over me, and fell asleep again.