The Get-Well Visit (2)
I was staring at the door of my hospital room, wondering if it was mealtime, when the person who appeared was none other than the MVP of the Owlbear subjugation—Han Sora.
-Creeeeak.
"How are you feeling?"
"Hanging in there. Doing okay."
"Oh, Cha Eunju's here too? You left even later than me yesterday, didn't you? Wait—don't tell me you actually slept here?"
"Y-yeah. I was… a little worried…."
"Wow, with a girlfriend this devoted, you'd better hurry up and get better."
Well, from an outsider's perspective, it was only natural to assume Cha Eunju and I were a couple. I'd carried her in my arms without a moment's hesitation, and when I got hurt, she'd teared up worrying over me. Honestly, the misunderstanding was completely understandable.
But if I let people recognize us as a couple too early, it might complicate winning over Han Sora and the other heroines later….
"W-we're not exactly boyfriend and girlfriend, though…."
"Hm?"
…Attagirl, Eunju. Being adorable again, I see.
Good work, well done. As your reward, I hereby designate you as my first sexual partner.
Since Cha Eunju had severed Han Sora's misunderstanding at precisely the right moment, I seized the opening and picked up where her words left off.
"If I were her boyfriend, that would actually be disrespectful to Eunju. We've only known each other for, what, barely a week."
"Huh, seriously? You two have such good chemistry I just assumed you'd known each other for years."
"We happened to sit together during the written exam and hit it off. We got in sync while preparing for the practical together."
"…Hmm, I see."
I'd expected her to grow suspicious and press further, but Han Sora simply nodded along with surprising nonchalance.
Could it be that the news of my being single was a pleasant development for her? Personally, I certainly hoped so.
Just as I was entertaining that little fantasy, Cha Eunju leaned in and whispered, carefully, in a voice pitched low enough for only me to hear.
"S-Seonho…?"
"Yeah?"
"I-it's not disrespectful at all, actually…."
"What isn't?"
"I-if you were my boyfriend…. I, I wouldn't think it was disrespectful at all…."
…Eunju. This is a hospital room.
Keep tempting me like that and I just might abandon all decorum and pounce on you.
I turned my gaze back toward Han Sora while indulging in that lecherous little daydream, and my eyes landed on the sky-blue envelope in her hand.
"What's that? Fruit?"
"A get-well gift. You're supposed to bring something like this when you visit a sick person, right?"
"Beats me. This is actually my first time being on the receiving end, so I wouldn't know. Thanks anyway."
"Don't mention it. We all fought together, but you're the only one who got hurt and ended up hospitalized—I'm the one who should be sorry."
"I'm in the Support Department; it couldn't be helped. Speaking of which, once we start group classes after enrollment, let's look for a vanguard or two to fill out the party. A senior I know will be a second-year in the Shield Department next year—if there's a class we can take together, I'll put in a request…."
-Creeeeak.
"Y-y-y-your me-meal…. I-I'll se-set it up… f-for you…."
Just as we were naturally discussing Choi Marie, in walked Kim Isabel—this time dragging what looked like a serving cart behind her. It wasn't simple hospital fare; the cart carried several lidded dishes, each stacked with food. Luxurious enough to feel almost excessive for a patient's meal.
"Thanks, Isabel. But if you're still not comfortable around men, someone else could have brought the food for you."
"N-no, not at all…. A-as the one assigned to you, I-I have to do it…. i-it's my duty…."
"Whoa, what is all this? Does the Academy Church always serve meals like this?"
"I think they're going out of their way to accommodate me because they feel bad about how badly I was hurt during the entrance exam. There was so much this morning that even after splitting it with Eunju, I couldn't finish it all."
"…At this point, you really didn't need to bring fruit. Should've just brought ice cream or something."
"There's a separate stomach for fruit, you know. The fact that you came at all is thanks enough, so don't worry about gifts."
"I-I'll help too, Isabel."
Kim Isabel unfolded the folding table with practiced motions and began setting out the dishes one by one, while Cha Eunju—who had gotten quite friendly with her by now—stepped in to lend a hand.
Since it was already mealtime, adding anything else would have felt awkward, so amid the bustle, Han Sora carefully rose from her seat.
"I'll get going, then. Enjoy your lunch."
"Han Sora, have you eaten lunch yet?"
"Not yet. I was about to head home and eat."
"Then eat with us if you haven't. It'll just be me and Cha Eunju leaving food on our plates anyway."
"Oh, really? I can?"
"Why wouldn't you be able to? I ate breakfast with Cha Eunju too; one or two more people joining is no problem."
"…Well then. I won't say no."
Guess she was curious after all—about what a patient meal pampered by the Academy Church actually looked like.
With this, the entire roster of the Owlbear subjugation party was assembled under one roof, which naturally made coaxing Kim Isabel into things that much easier.
"While we're at it, Isabel, you should eat with us too. You haven't had lunch yet, right?"
"M-m-m-me?! B-but I…."
"Yes, Isabel, you should eat with us since you're here anyway. Come to think of it, we never did have a proper get-together after the practical exam ended, did we?"
"Right. Eat with us, Isabel. …Or are you busy?"
"No…. I'm not particularly busy, but…."
Judging by her hesitation, her heart had already tipped in our favor.
Without me even needing to say another word, Han Sora and Cha Eunju took it upon themselves to pull Isabel over to the table, and in the end she sat down with us, turning lunch into a comfortable meal for four.
"Wow, this is good. Wait, is a patient allowed to eat fried food?"
"You weren't hospitalized for a stomach ailment, so yes. And I'm not going to be petty about food, so eat as much as you want—no need to hold back on my account."
"S-Seonho…. The tteok-galbi is delicious too. Should I move some over to you…?"
"Just pick up one piece and feed it to me. Say ahh~."
"E-eheh?! H-here, in front of everyone…."
"…You two are seriously not dating?"
Meals alone with Cha Eunju are certainly nothing to complain about, but nothing beats eating surrounded by heroines like this.
So Han Sora went home after snacking on a few pieces of the fruit she'd brought as her gift, and Kim Isabel returned to the priestess lounge once her afternoon treatment was done.
That left just two people in the hospital room: me, stuck in bed for at least two more days, and Cha Eunju, who showed not the slightest sign of leaving again today.
-Taptaptap.
"S-Seonho…? D-do you need something…?"
"No, not really. My eyes just happened to wander your way, that's all."
"Hehe?! O-oh, I see…."
It's not that I dislike this time spent alone with Cha Eunju.
Absolutely not because I dislike it—but, how do I put this….
'Since I'm hospitalized at the church anyway, I'd like to use this opportunity to somehow close the distance with Kim Isabel.'
It was something like that. If Cha Eunju is a starter Pokémon, then Kim Isabel is more like a wild Pokémon, you could say.
Besides, being in the church meant plenty of opportunities to be alone with her that wouldn't exist normally—call it a drop-rate-up event of sorts.
Even just her bringing me meals or administering treatments gave us five or six chances a day to be alone together. …That is, if Cha Eunju weren't glued to my side since last night.
"Hey, Eunju."
"Yeah?"
"Could you, maybe, today…."
I tried to spit out the suggestion that she head home earlier today, but the words just wouldn't leave my mouth.
Cha Eunju was staying here, enduring an uncomfortable bed, out of worry for me—and asking someone like that to clear out felt downright cruel.
Especially with the lecherous motive behind it: treating a fish already caught as caught, so I could go hook a different one.
'Sigh. What am I even thinking?'
Entertaining thoughts like this about a girl who's sleeping at the church just to stay near me out of concern.
I should be thinking about doing more for Cha Eunju—obedient, devoted Cha Eunju—not pushing her out the door just because she interferes with pursuing another heroine. Honestly, it was laughable.
Don't be hasty. There will be plenty of chances to win over Kim Isabel.
"S-Seonho?"
"Yeah?"
"Did you… want something today?"
"Ah, it's nothing."
I brushed it off in a way that anyone could tell was awkward, but there was nothing for it. I hadn't exactly prepared an alibi in advance before opening my mouth.
In that slightly strained atmosphere, just as I was reflecting on the thoughts I'd entertained moments ago, Cha Eunju—wearing the expression of someone steeling herself for something—carefully extended a rather special proposal to me.
"U-um…."
"Yeah?"
"W-were you, you know. Asking me something because you wanted me to do something for you?"
"No, it's not that."
"I-if it's hard to say out loud, you don't have to say it. I-I can understand anything…. Y-you're a boy too, so, um…."
"…Cha Eunju?"
She was interpreting my awkwardly cut-off words as if they carried some profound hidden meaning. Curious what would come out of her mouth next, I waited quietly—and her utterly unexpected response left me a little flustered.
"I-if it's too hard to say directly…. th-then you could h-hypnotize me and…."
"……Sorry, what?"
"Wh-what if you hypnotized me and made me do it…? I-I wouldn't mind, so…."
…Honestly? She just came onto me first.
I was genuinely planning to restrain myself while we were at the church. But when she tempts me like this, there's no way in hell I can hold back.
"Wh-what if you hypnotized me and made me do it…? I-I wouldn't mind, so…."
The moment the words left her lips, Cha Eunju's head began to spin like a top—confusion, humiliation, shame, and every other emotion under the sun churning together into a dizzying whirl.
'Cha Eunju, you idiot! Why did you blurt out something so weird all of a sudden?!'
It had all started as nothing more than a slightly lewd daydream.
A slightly lewd daydream, born from a single remark of Lee Seonho's.
He'd started to say 'Could you, maybe, today…' and then trailed off, wearing a troubled expression before falling silent. Watching his face, Cha Eunju had run through all sorts of possibilities in her head.
What exactly was the thing Seonho had originally meant to say, before he fumbled and deflected?
'It probably wasn't an invitation to go somewhere together….'
His body was in that state; he'd be bedridden at the church until he fully recovered.
Which meant he must have brought it up to ask something of her—and the moment her thoughts headed in that direction, her mental circuits abruptly veered off into the lewd. It had happened just yesterday, after all: him secretly groping her chest while she was asleep during the practical exam. And this morning too, he'd quietly patted her head.
After all, she had shown him her breasts under hypnosis. For a girl who'd been through all those experiences, Lee Seonho's suggestive hesitation was more than enough to drag her thoughts straight into the gutter.
'Maybe he means, like, sleeping in the same bed together today….'
…No, that won't do. She hadn't given him permission to go that far yet.
And they weren't even dating—not officially. Everything so far had been showing her chest under hypnosis, or being touched while asleep. Wasn't pushing the pace that aggressively a little dangerous?
…Not that she disliked the idea. Yeah, not that she disliked it at all.
'I'm curious.'
And now, above all, she genuinely wanted to know what on earth he'd been trying to say.
If it really was the slightly indecent kind of request she was imagining, he probably wouldn't answer even if she asked outright.
'In that case… what if.'
What if she did what she'd always done—what if she "pretended to be hypnotized" for him?
Her act of playing hypnotized had never been caught yet, and anyway, whenever she was under, Seonho became even more honest than usual.
If she were in a hypnotized state, wouldn't he clear up her question for her?
They were inside the church, after all. He probably wouldn't pull something mischievous like making her show her chest again, not like last time.
…And so. She decided to be a little bold.
"Hypnosis?"
"Mmhm…. I-if it's an embarrassing request, you could just hypnotize me and order me to do it…. U-under hypnosis, I'll agree to any request, so…."
"…And how do you know that?"
"………Huh?"
"How do you know that I'll agree to any request when you're hypnotized, Eunju?"
"………."
Oh.
N-now that she thought about it. This… this was something she was not supposed to know, wasn't it?!
"Um, Eunju?"
"………."
Wh-what do I do?!
What am I supposed to say at a moment like this?!