Dormitory Infiltration (2)
The Recovery Department Dormitory.
Within the academy, it was an area where male entry was strictly forbidden.
And yet here I was, quietly crossing that boundary — to carry out the dormitory infiltration operation Kim Isabel herself had proposed.
-Squeeze.
With Kim Isabel's waist wrapped in my arms, I matched her footsteps as carefully as I could. I didn't even need to guide her — she had been the one to suggest the plan and take charge of executing it every step of the way, so there was really nothing left for me to do.
Originally, I'd planned to engineer the situation myself: casually steering the conversation toward whether she had access to the dormitory, or asking if she happened to know any concealment-type spells. Since Isabel had handled all of that on her own, it was genuinely convenient.
'That's how much she enjoyed the training I gave her that day, I suppose.'
Enough to break even the taboo against letting a man into the Recovery Department Dormitory. She was probably rationalizing it in her head — it's necessary for the training, so I have no choice — but honestly, the why hardly mattered.
“S-Seonho. You're following right behind me, aren't you?”
-Squeeze.
“…Y-yes, you're clinging nicely and keeping up. Please be careful — if you speak, or if you separate from me even a little, the Holy Shadow might come undone.”
-Tap, tap.
“Eep?! Th-that means you understand, right…?”
Instead of answering, I poked her belly button with my fingertip, and Kim Isabel rewarded me with the cutest reaction. Thanks to her spell hiding us from sight, this was a situation where I could get away with far bolder physical contact than usual.
Arms wrapped around her waist, my entire body pressed flush against her back as she moved — an extreme form of close-contact training. Truthfully, if our main goal had simply been not getting caught, holding her shoulder or hand would have been more than enough. But Isabel herself had been the one to ask me to hold her waist.
…She was the one who'd requested the bolder contact, so it made no sense for me to dial the intimacy back.
-Press.
“Nn…?”
I deliberately rubbed my still-flaccid cock against the small of her back, right along her waistband. She'd already felt it during our last training session — even during today's Basic Self-Defense class. She'd never seen it directly, but she had to have a rough idea of its size. That alone was more than enough to make the contact feel indecent.
“Haa… nnhh. Hoo, hoo….”
Trembling slightly, breathing a little heavier, Kim Isabel put one foot in front of the other. And yet, even now, she never once asked me to back off a little or to keep my distance.
Only the nape of her neck and the tips of her ears, visible beneath her veil, burned crimson. She was going this far just to bring me to her own room — feeling a certain satisfaction in that, I moved as carefully as I could.
From the first floor to the second. From the second to the third.
Isabel's pace was slow, but she never stopped. Step by step, with me pressed against her back, we crept forward. She was surely aware of how close we were, too — and yet she'd deliberately chosen the stairway route, which meant hesitation and anticipation must be coexisting in her heart in equal measure.
Just as we climbed the dormitory stairs and stepped into the third-floor corridor, footsteps echoed from somewhere.
-Thud, thud.
The corridor was silent, and in a space that quiet, even the smallest sound carries. I instinctively held my breath, and Isabel's body went rigid for an instant.
-Tap.
“Sister Isabel?”
“Nngh?!”
A black-haired woman had approached and lightly touched Isabel's shoulder. The faint tremor running through her back traveled all the way into me. With her sharp, piercing eyes, the Recovery Department's resident villain — Yoon Selena — had appeared right in front of Isabel and me.
'That was way too close.'
It was only because I'd slipped back a fraction at the exact moment Selena grabbed Isabel's shoulder. If I'd been spacing out, my body would have pressed straight into hers.
That would have been a real nuisance. Setting aside the infiltration itself, I'd have had to seal Yoon Selena's mouth first and foremost. I could improvise a Suggestion, break her in, and secure a weakness — that much was possible — but I couldn't do any of it in front of Kim Isabel. Not exactly the kind of sight to show a girl who still believed I was a 'safe man.'
“H-hello, S-Sister Selena….”
“Is something the matter, Sister? Your gait seems a little strange today.”
“Ah,ahaha…. I-it's nothing, I'm, I'm just a little tired, that's all….”
Kim Isabel piled up excuses through an awkward laugh. It was a small mercy that her veil hid her expression — if anyone could have seen her face right now, the lie would have been obvious at a glance.
Of course, even without the expression, Isabel's stiff manner of speaking would never convince Selena to drop her suspicions. That was simply who she was.
“Tired, you say…? Your steps looked rather unsteady to me.”
“D-did they…?”
“…….”
Honestly, in a situation like this, the most enjoyable move would have been to tease her a little and watch her squirm. I fought down the desire pooling deep in my chest. Pushing things too far while her route wasn't even complete could needlessly reignite her wariness.
Selena hadn't yet entered the conditioning phase either, so getting caught now would be genuinely dangerous. I wasn't about to sacrifice over a month of carefully built progress on Isabel for a moment's impulse.
So — restrain myself as much as possible.
…Restrain myself as much as possible, and keep it to a level that carries no real risk. That seems fair.
-Slide.
“……!!”
I let my fingertips drift subtly along Isabel's waistline, brushing her gently. Startled, her whole body stiffened for a heartbeat. If her expression had been visible, I'd have been caught, no question.
“Sister, are you truly all right?”
“I-it's nothing! I've just been standing so long my body's a bit stiff, that's all…!”
“…Really? Then shall I cast a healing spell for you?”
“N-no! I'm fine! Really, I'm fine! Absolutely fine!”
“…Sister?”
…Yeah, I don't think I can push this any further. Forget everything else — Isabel's acting was just too clumsy. Any further antics and we'd be caught a hundred percent. She was already struggling to hide her own feelings: the tips of her ears glowing scarlet, even her fingertips trembling.
'No need to take unnecessary risks.'
Abandoning the teasing, I smiled to myself and quietly tightened the arm wrapped around her waist instead. I felt Isabel flinch and swallow a small moan.
“I-I'll head in and rest now! Have a pleasant day, Sister Selena!”
“…Yes. Rest does seem to be in order for you.”
Selena was still regarding her with doubtful eyes, but she didn't press further. Isabel, desperate to escape this situation as quickly as possible, whirled around and hurried into her dormitory room.
And I, keeping our pressed-together posture all the way until the door closed behind her, slipped silently inside with her.
“…….”
“…….”
The moment we entered, the air changed in a subtle way. The tension of the outside had vanished, yet the atmosphere between the two of us still hung strangely, deliciously charged.
-Click.
The door shut, and the lock turned.
…Somehow, we made it.
-Click.
I carefully closed the door and slid the lock into place.
“…Haaa.”
A deep sigh escaped me before I could stop it. That was truly, truly close. If Sister Selena had pressed any harder, she might have noticed Seonho clinging right against my back.
And if he hadn't suddenly started stroking my waist… it might have gone a little more smoothly, too.
'…He didn't do it on purpose, surely.'
This is Seonho we're talking about — he must have had some reason for it. Perhaps he was trying to ease my nerves. Or perhaps it was a small刺激… no, a little stimulation, to help me grow accustomed to a man's touch even under pressure.
Not once, in all this time, has a single one of Seonho's actions been without meaning… so I'm sure that's it.
'Besides… this is no time to be worrying about anything else.'
…Because my training to overcome my androphobia is still not finished.
With that thought, cheeks faintly warm, I turned my gaze back toward where Seonho stood behind me. Not that anyone could tell whether I was blushing, thanks to the veil.
“Y-you can speak now, Seonho. Thank you for your hard work.”
“…Yeah.”
At his short reply, the Holy Shadow dissolved and his figure appeared. Like me, he couldn't quite hide a faint trace of embarrassment.
Seeing that — knowing I hadn't been the only one flustered — some of my resentment over his sudden touch earlier melted away.
“So this is your room, Isabel. You have it all to yourself?”
“Y-yes. The Recovery Department doesn't have many students, so single rooms are the standard.”
…Somehow, I feel a little nervous.
Come to think of it, this is the first time I've ever brought a man into my room. I only moved my lodgings to the Academy Church recently, and I carried over nearly everything from my old room at the church just as it was….
Showing him my everyday living space feels a bit embarrassing, somehow.
'My underwear… I remember putting it all away properly before we left.'
Nothing here seemed worth being embarrassed over, so I decided to carry myself a little more confidently. After all, when I visited Seonho's place, he let me in without a second thought. If I acted awkward, it would only be rude to him.
And besides… we'd already done things far more embarrassing than showing a room. Several times over, at that.
“S-should I make you some tea first?”
Just as I reached to heat water in the electric kettle, Seonho gently shook his head.
“I'm fine. Let's focus on the training instead of that. We may not have time to waste anywhere else.”
“Th-that's true. After all, today I invited you to my room for the training.”
“Right. If we waste time on other things, we might not see it through to the end properly.”
…That, indeed, must not happen. I've only just barely begun to grow accustomed to Seonho… no, to men in general. If the training stops short of completion, everything so far would be wasted.
As expected of Seonho — he thinks of everything. I nearly made a serious mistake.
“First things first — shall we take off our clothes?”
“…….”
“Isabel?”
“…Yes? Ah, yes! Th-that would be… gr-greatly appreciated…. Ah, no — yes, please, let's do that, Seonho….”
No. I must calm down. This is just our usual training — the training I do to grow accustomed to men.
I caught myself imagining Seonho's bare body and nearly lost my composure for a moment.
…This is only training, nothing more. I absolutely must not let my heart wander anywhere strange.