Chapter 17: An Unexpected Situation (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 17: An Unexpected Situation (4)
Right after Kim Do-jin collapsed.
As Seo Jeong-hee cradled his head, her trembling hands fumbling with her smartphone to dial 119.
“We found them!”
The Hunters directly under the association, dispatched after his earlier report, finally appeared.
Though they were impossibly late, they quickly began to secure the scene.
Kim Do-jin and Seo Jeong-hee were immediately transported to the hospital.
Perhaps out of guilt that they had nearly died because of an orc the association had missed, their examinations were conducted immediately.
Fortunately, their injuries weren't serious.
Seo Jeong-hee had only minor scrapes and bruises, while Kim Do-jin was suffering from mana exhaustion and a fractured left ulna.
The doctor advised them to rest for a day and was about to give them separate private rooms, but…
“No, just give us a two-person room, please.”
She refused.
And so, the two of them were admitted into a two-person room, side by side.
Not long after, Shin Yu-jeong, who had rushed out of class after hearing her mom was attacked by a monster, burst violently through the door.
“Mom! Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
Seo Jeong-hee forced a smile as she greeted her daughter.
In truth, just thinking about what happened made her heart pound and her mind go blank, but she didn't want her daughter to see her like that.
Her gaze shifted to the bed on the other side of the room, where Kim Do-jin lay receiving a mana IV.
“Do-jin saved me.”
“That pig?”
“Hey, what did you just call the person who saved my life? A pig?”
Startled by the word, Seo Jeong-hee smacked Shin Yu-jeong hard on the back.
Smack!
“Ow, that actually hurt!”
“Oh! I’m sorry. Are you okay?”
She’d struck her without thinking, forgetting to control her strength.
The word ‘pig’ had brought back the image of the orc charging madly toward her.
It seemed pork wouldn't be on the menu for a while.
“So how did he save you?”
She didn't really want to talk about it.
Just recalling the situation was incredibly stressful for her.
Nevertheless, she told her the story.
“I was shaking like a leaf, and then Do-jin just appeared out of nowhere.”
“Whoa… that pig… no, that guy did that?”
As Seo Jeong-hee recounted the tale, a strange smile formed on her lips.
Now that she was putting the perilous moments into words, she realized it wasn't just fear that remained.
Overlaid on the overwhelming terror of the orc was the image of Kim Do-jin—finding her in that dangerous moment and, finally, killing the beast.
“Wow… honestly, if I hadn't heard it from you, Mom, I don't think I would've believed it.”
Shin Yu-jeong was quite surprised after hearing the whole story.
‘That pig took out an orc in a single blow?’
The fact that he had used magic wasn't all that shocking.
She already knew he had the potential to be a mage, which was why she had decided to change her attitude toward him in the first place.
What surprised her more was that he had driven an awl into the creature's neck without hesitation.
‘Even the bastards who sign up to be Hunters usually puke their guts out or break down crying the first time.’
Monsters were living creatures, too.
Even knowing they were a threat to their lives, people hesitated to take a life.
It was unavoidable.
Some monsters even had humanoid forms, and killing them felt little different from killing a person.
‘That bastard… could he actually become something big later on?’
That expectation began to grow and grow.
She even started to think that her decision to make him her own little project might turn out to be the greatest achievement of her life.
‘Is it because he’s lost some weight lately…? He used to be just plain disgusting, but now… maybe not so much…'
Before, he was so bloated that his eyes were just ugly slits. Now, he had a certain chubbiness to him, like a little piglet.
‘What am I thinking!’
She shook her head violently.
He may have saved her mom, but this was going too far.
“Anyway, are you being discharged tomorrow?”
“Yes. Don't you dare call your friends over just because I'm not home, you hear me?”
Shin Yu-jeong hid a guilty expression and waved her hands dismissively.
“Come on, Mom, you still think I’m in high school?”
“That’s exactly why I’m worried, you brat.”
A storm of nagging was brewing.
Shin Yu-jeong immediately took a few steps back from Seo Jeong-hee and waved.
“Well, I’m heading out! See you at home tomorrow!”
“Okay. For today, just eat the side dishes in the fridge.”
“Yeah, got it.”
Shin Yu-jeong hurriedly left the room.
Silence returned.
“Haa.”
Her heart began to pound again.
She had felt better while she was talking for a moment.
Vvvmm
Her smartphone, placed by her pillow, vibrated.
Her face brightened when she saw the caller ID.
It was her husband.
—Honey, I heard from Yu-jeong. She said you were almost attacked by a monster. Are you okay?
The anxiety in her chest began to subside at the sound of her husband's worried voice.
“Y-Yes, I’m fine. Thankfully, nothing serious happened.”
—That’s a relief. She said Do-jin saved you. Wow, you live long enough and you see everything. That pig… every time I saw him, I wondered what use he could possibly be. I guess a day like this finally came.
Her expression hardened slightly.
“Honey. I’ve told you before, both you and Yu-jeong are too harsh with Do-jin.”
—Haha, sorry, sorry. It just slipped out.
After that, their conversation continued like that of any other married couple.
As she sensed the call was nearing its end, Seo Jeong-hee felt her anxiety return.
“Um, honey.”
—Yeah? What is it?
“I’m sorry, but… is there any way you could come up today?”
Seo Jeong-hee’s husband, Shin Byeong-cheol, was an Awakened.
A civil servant Awakened who had finally passed the special exam after failing for five years straight.
Having barely scraped by, most of the jobs he was assigned were in the provinces, not Seoul, so the two of them naturally had to live apart.
In the past, he used to come up every weekend and holiday to see her and their daughter, but as time went on, his visits became less frequent. Now, it was difficult to see him even once every three months.
—I’m sorry, honey. Like I said, if I leave, things won’t run properly here…
It was always the same excuse.
That things wouldn't run smoothly without him, so it was difficult for him to leave his post.
“I see…”
It was a wonderful thing that her husband was treated as someone indispensable.
But did he know?
That she needed him right now, too.
“I just missed you. I’ll see you next time you come up.”
—Yeah, okay. Ah! I’m getting another call. Sorry, honey! Love you!
“Yes, me too.”
The call ended just like that.
Putting down her smartphone, she sat in the chair next to Kim Do-jin’s bed and looked down at him.
She remembered what he had said in that life-or-death situation.
His words that he wouldn't mind dying as long as he was with her.
Was he just trying to reassure her, or was it how he truly felt?
A faint smile touched her lips.
‘He was quite manly then.’
The aura Kim Do-jin had exuded at that moment was incredibly masculine.
At the same time, she recalled a moment that had made her blush with embarrassment.
The rooftop room she had gone up to, to bring him side dishes.
She had knocked a few times, and the door had opened with a grating creak.
A lewd video full of flesh tones, and Kim Do-jin, completely engrossed in it.
Even without understanding Japanese, the content was so explicit that she could roughly grasp what was happening.
‘A married woman… that’s what she was.’
Her clothes, the setting, even her appearance.
Everything about her screamed ‘married woman.’
A married woman like that, bringing another man into her home, their bodies tangled together as they drowned in pleasure.
‘Could Do-jin possibly see me…?’
She thought it was impossible.
That a young man, just twenty and in his prime, would see her, a woman in her mid-forties, in that way.
But she kept thinking about what he had said yesterday.
The words he had added to his ridiculous request for her to strike a sexy pose.
That it wouldn't work for anyone else, but it would for her.
‘If that’s really true…’
What on earth was she supposed to do?
“Umm…”
The boy, who had been completely still, seemed to be slowly waking up.
Snapping out of her thoughts, she leaned forward and studied his face.
His trembling eyelids struggled to open.
His blurry gaze darted left and right before finally settling in one place.
“Ajumma…?”
“Yes, Do-jin. It’s me.”
*
This was the second time.
The second time I’d woken up in a hospital.
Ajumma filled me in on what had happened.
The Hunters who found us late had cleaned up the mess.
Is cleaning up other people's messes their main job or something?
“They said your left arm is fractured, so it’s best not to use it for a while.”
“Ah…”
No wonder my left arm felt so stiff.
I looked down and saw it was wrapped tightly in bandages.
Judging by how hard it was to move, it seemed there was a cast underneath.
“Thank you, Do-jin. You saved my life.”
“Oh, it was nothing. I wouldn't have been able to kill that thing without you, either.”
We helped each other out.
I didn't have the strength to beat it head-on.
If Ajumma hadn't completely drawn its attention, I never would have won.
“By the way, are you okay, Ajumma?”
“Hm? Me?”
I could see scrapes here and there, but she didn't seem to have any major injuries.
Of course, I wasn't talking about the visible wounds.
“It was your first time seeing a monster, right? And you were being chased, too. You must have been terrified.”
At my words, Ajumma’s eyes widened slightly.
What’s with that expression?
While I was wondering, her expression changed again.
Her mouth was smiling as if she were happy, but her eyes were welling up with tears.
This was baffling.
“A-Ajumma?”
Looking surprised herself, Ajumma wiped away the tears welling in her eyes.
“I didn't know. I never knew you were such a sensitive man, Do-jin.”
“Ha, haha.”
I let out an awkward laugh.
Civilians who encounter monsters that escaped due to a Hunter's mistake almost always end up with trauma.
In severe cases, some people become so afraid of another monster appearing that they can't even leave their homes and become shut-ins.
That was what I was worried about.
“Do-jin.”
Ajumma said my name.
Her moist eyes stirred a protective instinct in me.
“Ajumma… could you give me a hug, just once?”
Ajumma reached out her hands with a shy look on her face.
I sat up.
Then I swung my legs over the side of the bed and gave the woman sitting across from me a light hug.
“It’s okay, Ajumma. Sometimes, really unlucky things happen in life. Today was just one of those days.”
Accidents happen, sometimes due to a Hunter's mistake, other times due to a monster's cunning.
“But a day like this might happen once in a lifetime, if ever. You went through it today, so it won't happen again. Don't worry too much.”
It was comfort based on facts.
Most people who encountered a monster lived with the trauma of what would happen if they met another one, but contrary to their fears, there wasn't a single person who had gone through it twice.
Ajumma, who had been resting quietly in my arms, suddenly wrapped her arms around my body.
“A-Ajumma.”
The wide space between our stomachs vanished in an instant.
Our bodies, which I had tried to keep apart, finally touched.
I could feel it.
The sensation of her full breasts pressing against me through the thin hospital gown.
The rich scent of her body from where her neck was buried in my shoulder.
It was stimulating me beyond measure.
“Ah.”
The thing I had feared was happening.
My limp dick was beginning to harden.
Shit, I got hard again.
“A-Ajumma. Just a second…”
I tried to pull away, but she was holding me too tightly.
Soon, something gently pressed against my fully erect dick.
It was the area around her lower abdomen.
“Do-jin…?”
Sensing it, Ajumma loosened her tight embrace with a puzzled expression.
“No, it’s just.”
Her gaze dropped to my lap, and her pupils widened.
Then, her face hardening, she lifted her eyes to meet mine.
She looks angry… what do I do?
“Do-jin, can you be honest with me.”
“…Yes.”
“That… did it get like that because of… me?”
I was dumbfounded.
In this situation, wouldn't it be even crazier if I got hard thinking about some other woman?
“Well… um, yes.”
“I see…”
Ajumma nodded.
As I was blaming myself for ruining the mood again with my clueless dick.
Ajumma’s expression changed.
A determined gaze, as if she had made some great resolution.
At the same time, one of her hands, which had been resting neatly on her lap, reached toward me.
“Hup?!”
Her outstretched hand landed on my dick.
Her hand gently covered the bulge in my hospital pants.
What, what is happening? Is this a dream?
The situation felt so unreal that my mind was a chaotic mess.
Just then, as if to prove this wasn't a dream, Ajumma’s shy voice tickled my ear.
“Well… since it happened because of me… I’ll help you with it.”
The pressure from the hand resting on my dick began to increase.