I'll Grant You One More Wish!

I'd originally planned to take a light walk today, then spend the rest of our time at the resort pool.

That plan fell apart the moment Baek Ah-rin took a spill on the beach.

Thankfully, it wasn't a sprain or a break. The waves had simply been stronger than they'd looked, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and the cold water had made her muscles seize up. Pushing herself in that condition was out of the question, so I told her to take a warm bath — heat to soothe the shocked muscles, then a pain-relief patch after.

Swimming was off the table for a day like this. Once I confirmed her muscles had loosened up, we could try again tomorrow.

Still, just killing time in the room felt like a waste. This was an expensive resort, and simply being here had value of its own. But this was Jeju Island — a place you didn't get to visit every day. And for Dr. Baek, it was her first vacation in ten years. I couldn't help wanting to show her a little more of it.

If she's feeling all right, maybe we should take a drive up Hallasan.

I finished my shower, cracked open one of the complimentary canned drinks, and stepped out onto the balcony. True to a high-end resort, a recliner had been set out on the veranda. White clouds drifted past, and sunlight spilled through once more. A sea breeze rolled in. Dress just a little warmly, and the weather was perfect for savoring that crisp, clean air.

I sat in the chair, sipping my drink, letting the wind wash over me.

It had been so long since I'd had a real vacation. And I'd never had time like this — time that was entirely, wholly my own. Thanks to Dr. Baek covering the hospital, I'd taken plenty of trips with my daughter. But I'd always been with my daughter, so I'd never had time to myself. This kind of leisure... it was nice.

A beer would have made it even better, but I might still need to drive, so...

My phone buzzed.

Baek Ah-rin.

"Huh...? Already?"

I'd only showered and spent a little while on the balcony, and she was already calling. I'd told her to soak in warm water — had she just rushed through it?

I picked up.

Her voice trailed off at the end. She clearly needed the cream — she just seemed uncomfortable asking me for it.

Back on the beach, her spirits had been running pretty high. Now, over the phone, that energy had drained right back out of her voice.

That wasn't good. I felt a twinge of regret. Should I have told her to be more careful?

No. She was a grown adult. Over thirty, at that. Even if I were her boyfriend, she wouldn't want to hear that kind of nagging. Trying to teach people and correct them was never a particularly good look — not even with your own children. What mattered was that they realized it themselves: that doing the right thing was, in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the end, far more to their own benefit.

That was how I'd raised my daughter, too. Rather than criticizing her, I'd let her go in the direction she wanted. My job was simply to support her. Of course, if she ever veered somewhere she shouldn't, I believed it was my place to pull her back. Thankfully, she'd never once given me a reason to.

The fact that I kept circling back to thoughts of my daughter probably meant I was a pretty hopeless doting father.

Anyway — if I had stopped her, it wouldn't have improved her mood. If every option was a problem one way or another, the right call was probably to let her go even a little in the direction she actually wanted.

The phone buzzed again, almost immediately. I stood as I answered.

"Yeah, I'll be right there."

The door clicked open.

"I'm sorry, sunbae."

Dr. Baek was wearing a black slip. I'd expected a bathrobe. This was... not that.

"Ah— um....."

I whipped my face away in an instant. I'd been staring straight at her cleavage. A complete slip-up. I should have reacted like it was nothing... ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠If she realized I was conscious of it, she'd be embarrassed. And it wasn't as though I could tell her to go change, either.....

"I-is your leg all right?"

"Yes, sunbae. Thankfully, it doesn't appear to be anything serious. However..."

She limped — a small, hitching step.

"When I walk, the top of my foot throbs a little."

"Does it? Then sit on the bed. I'll take a look."

"Yes, sunbae."

Baek Ah-rin sat down on the bed. In the meantime, I pulled the liquid pain-relief liniment from my first-aid kit.

"You always seem to carry a first-aid kit with you, sunbae."

Her voice had gone markedly softer.

"Yeah. I do."

"The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠resort has those as well, so there's hardly a need to carry one around, is there? It only makes your luggage heavier."

"The resort probably has one, sure, but calling down and asking for it is a hassle... If I bring it myself, I can use it right away."

"What I meant was... I could have simply asked the resort for some cream, and the matter would have been resolved without any trouble."

Apology saturated every word. She'd stumbled through her own carelessness, and I'd carried her all the way back to the room on my back. I'd sent her seawater-soaked clothes out to be laundered, and now I'd even brought medicine to put on her myself. She felt terrible about all of it.

It was the kind of thing you could laugh off and move past. For some reason, though, I felt like teasing her.

"Then would you rather get treated at the resort infirmary?"

"What...? Excuse me?"

"I get the feeling you don't trust me."

"N-no — how could I possibly not trust you, sunbae? That's not it at all. I only thought it would be a bother for you..."

"Nope. You clearly don't trust me."

I stepped closer.

"Come on. Hop on. I'll carry you down to the infirmary."

"Th-that's not what I— sunbae......."

"Well, fair enough. I'm just some two-bit neighborhood clinic doctor anyway. What's a guy like me supposed to do? I'm sure the on-duty physician at a big resort like this would take much better care of you."

"Sunbae!!!"

Dr. Baek's voice cracked through the room like a whip. It was so loud I flinched before I even knew I had. I looked at her face.

She was angry. A face I had never seen before.

I'd taken the joke too far.

"Sorry... honestly... it was just a joke......"

"I wasn't joking!!"

Her voice was enormous. Anyone hearing it from another room would have sworn a fight had broken out. I had never seen Baek Ah-rin angry before. I'd only ever thought of her as a gentle soul...

It was a voice with enough force to press the air out of the room. And then there were her eyes, locked on mine. A silent accusation began to drive itself into my gaze, packed into that glare: I told you to stop. Why do you keep making me angry?

It was such a fierce protest that I found myself wondering if she really needed to be this angry.

Right. I'd forgotten. Her heart still wasn't in a normal place. Even a throwaway joke could land on her like something serious.

My honest feeling was, Why are you reacting so sensitively? But saying that out loud could leave a wound that would never heal. In a moment like this, there was only one way through. A genuine apology.

"I'm sorry... Dr. Baek. I took the joke too far."

"And you think saying sorry is enough?!!"

She shouted again. She was well and truly furious. All right — I had another move.

"Then... I'll grant you one more wish."

"...Do you mean that?"

The room went quiet as if someone had flipped a switch. It was working!!

"I mean it! Have you ever seen me lie?"

"That's true. You can't tell a lie, sunbae."

That was a complete misunderstanding. I was actually a pretty good liar. And yet, strangely, a lot of people trusted me. Was it because I had a trustworthy face?

"So forgive me just this once. I'll do whatever you want."

Dr. Baek's eyes narrowed to slits. She was turning something over. But the answer waiting at the end of that thought was as good as decided already.

"Very well. I'll trust you, sunbae."

Her eyes flew wide open again, and just like that, the matter was settled.

"Hah......."

I had the distinct feeling I'd come out behind on a joke I never should have made.

"Now then, sunbae... if you would apply the cream."

She stretched her leg out on the bed once more.

"R-right. Okay."

I took the liquid liniment from the first-aid kit again.

A slow squeeze. A pale, viscous liquid pooled in my palm.

She lifted her knee.

"Huh...?"

Her panties. They were a deep purple.

Her hips and the cleft between her thighs — everything the bed had been hiding — lay fully exposed as she raised her knee, with no attempt whatsoever to cover herself.

I snapped my eyes up to her face. She had no intention of hiding anything.

"Please put it on already, sunbae."

Her expression was a complicated thing. A face that was hoping for something. A face that was embarrassed. A face pretending none of it mattered at all.

For a moment, I forgot how to react. Like a machine that had shorted out.

The inside of her skirt... was beautiful. The flesh of her inner thighs, unblemished and even paler than the rest of her, stood in striking contrast against the dark fabric of her panties, and the effect only made her more stunning. I tried not to look. I really did. So what was I supposed to do about the fact that my eyes kept going back?

"Sunbae... aren't you going to put it on?"

"Huh...? Y-yeah..! Yeah!"

Fine. I had no idea. I'd just pretend I hadn't seen a thing. That ought to get me at least halfway through this.

I started spreading the liniment over the top of her foot.

"Hah...!"

Why did her moan sound so unbearably loud?