First Member (4): Waking Up in His Arms?!
"What? What? What the hell is this!?"
When she woke up, she was nestled in her old comrade's arms?! It was like the title of some women's romance fantasy novel come to life. Yoo Seo-ah trembled violently from the shock.
Why... why am I in bed with Jinseong...? Ah!
As Yoo Seo-ah tried to piece together why she'd been sleeping so soundly in Kang Jinseong's embrace, she realized there was something far more urgent to check first. With trembling hands, she slipped them under the covers to feel her body. Smooth, baggy clothes draped over her—clothes that weren't hers. A chilling shiver raced up her spine at the unfamiliar touch.
My clothes... these aren't mine...?
Yoo Seo-ah peeked under the blanket to confirm her state. It was obvious at a glance: oversized men's pajamas that didn't fit her body at all. Right now, she was wearing Kang Jinseong's baggy pajamas. Without a stitch of underwear on top or bottom.
Eek...
Yoo Seo-ah had never even dated once in her life. Hell, she'd never even had a crush. Elementary school? Too young. Middle school? All-girls school. Hunter Academy? Bullied and ostracized by the delinquents from prestigious families. Now she was a recognized beauty, the Sword Flower, but that bloom had come only after meeting Kang Jinseong and becoming the team leader of his squad.
So Yoo Seo-ah was utterly clueless about man-woman relations. But even she could grasp what her current situation implied.
No underwear, wearing Jinseong's baggy pajamas, sleeping in the same bed as him, hugged tight in his arms... Anyone would think that means we...!
It was that obvious—even to her, with zero experience. Her state screamed it.
W-what do I do? What should I do? Am I gonna get pregnant? What if I really am? D-do I have to marry Jinseong now?
Her last memory was a beastman's rock club about to smash her skull. She'd thought she'd die then, regrets and lingering thoughts clutched to her chest. But when she opened her eyes... this. What the hell had happened in that blank space between closing and opening her eyes to leave her like this?
The situation was so confusing and embarrassing that Yoo Seo-ah was at a total loss. Any normal woman would've shoved the guy in front of her awake or bolted upright screaming. But not her.
"Suuuuh... Hooooh."
Aaaah. I wanna hear an explanation from Jinseong right now, but he's sleeping so peacefully I can't bring myself to wake him...
It was because the man before her was Kang Jinseong. For some reason, Yoo Seo-ah didn't feel that repulsed being in this situation with him. Sure, it was confusing and mortifying, but that was it.
Y-yeah. No helping it. I'll wait till he wakes up. I can handle that much since it's Jinseong.
So she chose to let him sleep.
...But that's as far as my consideration goes. Once he wakes up, I'm grilling him on exactly what he did to me, point by point.
Of course, that didn't mean she'd silently accept this absurd situation. Yoo Seo-ah was a four-year veteran hunter now, with some real social experience under her belt. She'd even been making waves in the Cheongmyeong Guild lately. She wasn't the old pushover Yoo Seo-ah anymore. No matter how precious an old comrade he was, she wasn't letting something this embarrassing slide.
The moment she steeled herself like that—
"Mmm..."
"Eek!?"
Kang Jinseong's arm wrapped around Yoo Seo-ah's waist, pulling her tight against him. Like hugging a pillow in his sleep. She was so startled her heart pounded and her body shook, but she couldn't resist. Moving now would wake him up.
Yeah, that's why she couldn't resist. Definitely.
H-he hugged me again... Aaaah, this is so tricky... ...But Jinseong, I've been noticing bit by bit, your body's so solid. Were you always this big? I never realized before, but my body fits perfectly in your arms. It's kinda... cozy. And why does your scent smell so good? Body lotion? Gotta ask later. Such a nice smell... Jinseong's body is huge and cozy, your body heat is comfortably warm, your scent is great... Being like this feels... so reassuring...
It absolutely wasn't because his embrace was cozy, warm, and smelled amazing that she didn't move. No way. Absolutely not.
Kang Jinseong opened his eyes two hours after Yoo Seo-ah decided to let him sleep.
※
"..."
"Ehehehe..."
When I woke up and opened my eyes, Yoo Seo-ah was smiling happily in my arms. Seeing someone on the brink of death now grinning like this should be a relief.
But I felt more embarrassed than relieved.
Rub rub. Sniff. Haaaah.
"Ehehehehe..."
Yoo Seo-ah was nuzzling my chest like a cat headbutting, then suddenly sniffed me and burst into laughter. How the hell was I supposed to react to this?
Sure, I was hugging her too, but I had a justification: saving her life. But she had zero excuse for doing this to me. I wasn't internally injured like her, and she didn't have my healing ability anyway.
This was fucking embarrassing.
Our relationship was just ex-porter and team leader. Nothing more, nothing less. If I stretched it, maybe close former comrades. But that was the limit. We sure as hell weren't close enough for her to rub her cheek on my chest, sniff me, and laugh happily like this.
So I just stared down at her blankly, brain frozen—
"Ehehehe... Hee... Eh."
Yoo Seo-ah, reveling in my chest, turned her head to nuzzle again and locked eyes with me.
"...Ah."
"..."
"Aah, uaah."
"Uh, um, Team Leader. Calm down first."
"Aaaah eee ah eee!"
Flap!
The instant our eyes met, Yoo Seo-ah lost all human speech, flopping away from me like a mackerel fresh from the tank. The huge blanket sliced through the air to the floor, revealing her body in my baggy pajamas.
Wait, why's she got no pants on? I definitely dressed her before bed. Did they slip off in her sleep? Makes sense—they were super baggy. Should've given her something with a waistband even if it was less comfy?
As those random thoughts crossed my mind, Yoo Seo-ah—face beet red, tears in her eyes—opened her mouth toward me.
"J-J-Jinseong! What the hell did you do to meee?!"
"Shouldn't I be the one asking that?"
"Y-Yes??"
I countered her question with a question.
"Team Leader, what the hell were you just doing to me?"
"...Yes? W-what do you mean?"
"Rubbing your face on my chest and sniffing me and..."
"Hiyaaaaak!?!?"
Hearing my question, she jumped again, letting out a shrill scream. Guess even she knew that wasn't normal behavior.
"I'm sorryyy... I-I just, your arms were so comfy and cozy and warm, and your scent was so good... So I got carried away without realizing..."
She cut me off with her scream, then covered her flushed face with both hands and confessed. It was so cute I couldn't help smirking—then she stopped mid-confession.
"B-but! But it's not just my fault! You did something wrong too! Why am I like this? Why'd I wake up in your bedroom, on your bed, with you right there?!"
She dropped her hands from her face, squeezed her eyes shut, and demanded answers fiercely.
From her perspective, yeah, she had every right to go on the offensive. Waking up hugged by me, plus no underwear and just my baggy pajamas on.
But I had an ironclad justification for her accusations.
"I was healing you, Team Leader."
"...Yes? Healing?"
"Yeah. It was necessary to save your life."
The perfect excuse: everything I did was treatment to save her.
"Uh, th-that doesn't make sense... Eh? Wh-what?"
As she sat up to demand more, her body suddenly tilted sideways.
Thud.
Her lively complexion paled in an instant, her energized body going limp.
Yoo Seo-ah's treatment is not yet complete.
Immediately utilize the Healing Body (EX-rank) ability to continue the remaining treatment.
Required Healing Body (EX-rank) treatment time: 30 minutes.
"M-my body's losing strength... J-Jinseong, wh-what's happening? I'm s-scared. It hurts. What's this? Why? H-help me, Jinseong. M-my body's weird."
I approached Yoo Seo-ah, trembling all over with her face drained of color. I sat her limp body upright and pulled her into a tight embrace.
Squish.
Her small frame fit perfectly in my arms. Holding her stirred an addictive protective urge.
"It's okay. No need to be scared, Team Leader."
The moment I hugged her, her trembling stopped. Looking down, her face had regained its vitality.
"Hooooh..."
Her breathing steadied to a relieved sigh. I grinned and said,
"See? I was healing you."
"Y-yes... Y-yeah..."
At my words, she nodded faintly in my arms, ears bright red.
Yeah, experiencing it firsthand, she had no choice but to accept it. No worries about a sexual harassment report later.
Feeling relieved, Yoo Seo-ah asked in a quivering voice from my embrace,
"D-do I have to stay like this forever?"
Definitely a question worth trembling over. From her view, she'd been fine, separated from me for just a moment, and suddenly felt scared and pained. She'd worry if she'd have to cling to me like this forever.
I patted her back with my palm to soothe her.
"No, just 30 minutes and the treatment's done. So don't worry."
"Ah... 30 minutes..."
"...?"
What? Why does she sound disappointed?
Anyway, 30 minutes would end this awkward, subtle situation. But even so, 30 minutes of just hugging silently, doing nothing, felt like an eternity.
"...Um, Team Leader."
"Y-yes!?"
"Mind if I ask something?"
"A-ask anything!"
To pass the time, I voiced the question that had popped into my head when she crash-landed at my doorstep covered in blood.
"What the hell happened?"