Chapter 30

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 30

Chapter Title: Beginning (5)

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Hospital life wasn't half bad.

It was a private room, so there was no noise, and with the refreshing view of Seoul laid out below and the comfortable space, it never felt stuffy.

Plus, they'd approved regular meals, so I could eat whatever I wanted. The only real downside was one thing.

"Ji-hyeok! I'm here…!"

Im A-rin showing up every single day.

"Sorry I'm late. There was traffic just up the road…."

"…Nah, it's fine."

"You must be starving…? I'll set it up right away! Just wait a sec!"

"…Yeah."

Right on cue with mealtime, Im A-rin breezed into the room and started prepping the meal as naturally as could be.

It was a homemade lunch she'd packed herself, squeezing it in from her busy schedule.

"Here, dig in…!"

Of course, she'd brought enough for herself too, and she beamed brightly as she handed me wooden chopsticks….

But her kindness wasn't entirely welcome to me.

'This is tricky.'

Ever since my first day in the hospital, Im A-rin had started visiting so naturally and taking such good care of me.

"Who else is gonna look after you if I don't…?"

Her excuse was that no one else was around to do it, so she'd step in.

It would've been great if it was just simple sympathy….

But the problem was it clearly stemmed from romantic feelings.

"How is it…? Good? I tried making it like that place you said was delicious before…."

"It's tasty…. Did I ever say that?"

"Yeah! Anyway, glad it suits your taste…!"

She kept showering me with favors, like she was screaming for me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to notice her feelings.

"Try this too…!"

"No, my hands are fine…."

"Hurry up!"

At this point, it would be weirder if I didn't notice.

Honestly, I didn't hate receiving her affection, but the other two Queens members kept nagging at me.

If I accepted Im A-rin's feelings and became her boyfriend, it could sour things with Hong Yu-ra and Seol ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Ju-hee, who already disliked me.

Especially now that I'd learned the Demon King's forces weren't acting like they did in the original story—ruining the unity I'd carefully built in Queens over something like this would be downright stupid.

I didn't want to sabotage my top priority for a bit of immediate happiness, so it was hard to just accept her heart outright.

"Haa…. So full."

"Thanks to you, I ate well. Sorry for always being a bother…."

After the meal, as I helped her pack up the lunchbox, I tossed in a light apology.

Im A-rin glanced at me, then flashed a sultry smile.

"It's fine. I'll collect on it later…!"

"Yeah, do whatever you want, A-rin."

I figured she was just teasing like always and chuckled it off with my usual response….

"Where should we go…?"

Like she'd been waiting for it, she threw out the question with an adorable smile.

"Huh?"

"On a trip!"

"A trip?"

"Yeah! Anywhere you wanna go…?"

"Hmm…. Jeju Island?"

"Jeju?"

"Yeah. We haven't been in ages."

I answered without much thought as I snapped the lunchbox lid shut.

Click.

That instant.

"Jeju Island…. Got it! Let's go there."

Im A-rin said something oddly ominous.

"…Huh?"

"This month's no good…. How about next month…?"

Her big eyes blinked innocently, and as I met her gaze, it finally hit me what she meant by "trip."

"Wait…. You mean with me…?"

"Who else…?"

"…Just the two of us?"

She nodded like it was the most obvious thing.

Her utterly lovable expression left me speechless for a moment.

'Is she serious…?'

Even if we'd known each other forever, a solo trip was a whole different beast.

A Jeju trip, no less!

We'd definitely be staying overnight, and for an unmarried man and woman to go on an overnight trip—it was basically a done deal.

"Don't wanna go with me…?"

Sensing my hesitation, Im A-rin put on the saddest puppy-dog face.

I swallowed hard at how cute she was, then snapped back to reality and calmly tried to talk her out of it.

"A-rin. I get how you feel, but…. Just us going on a trip feels wrong."

"Why…?"

She tilted her head innocently, like she had no clue.

'This won't cut it.'

It was ridiculous to lecture someone who'd been an adult for years, but with saintly resolve, I explained as calmly as I could.

"A-rin. No matter how close we are, we're friends, not dating. Sure, you're probably just thinking innocently about having fun on the trip, but from my perspective…."

That's when.

"Um…. Ji-hyeok…."

Im A-rin cut me off, whispering low with a face red enough to burst.

"I…. I'm n-not going just to enjoy the trip…."

Her unexpected reply left me dumbfounded.

"…Huh?"

She gazed at me with hot, sultry eyes.

*

A few days later.

"Congrats on discharge!"

"…Congrats."

"Thanks, everyone."

I checked out of the hospital earlier than planned and jumped straight into team training.

"You sure it's okay not to rest a few more days?"

"Yeah, you could've taken it easy a bit longer."

"Nah, I feel better working. Besides…. I gotta be here to give you guys work."

The Team Seoul City Hall members fussed that I should've rested more, and I brushed it off with a joke to ease their worries….

Truth was, there was another reason for the early discharge.

"Producer! Check this out!"

Bang Han-na, thrilled to get feedback after so long, bounced around like a puppy reuniting with its owner.

"I bumped the dummy's class up a notch, but…. something feels off…!"

"Yeah? Let's try it."

"Yes, sir…!"

I compared her to the data backlog and checked her status inside the booth.

'Not bad at all.'

'Level 6…. Time to hit the gates soon.'

Training had clear limits for growth.

But at this rate, a few low-grade gates would shoot her straight to mid-level shield art.

Beep──

The beep signaling set end stopped the dummy, and Bang Han-na stumbled out of the booth, panting.

"Hoo…."

"Here."

"Th-thanks…!"

As she wiped sweat with the towel, I reviewed the set's data on my tablet and pointed out fixes.

"No shock dispersion when it drops on your crown. Fine once or twice, but repeated hits…."

But then.

"…Why're you standing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so far?"

For some reason, Bang Han-na was listening from way back.

"I-I'm sweating too much…."

Turned out she was self-conscious about the sweat.

'Girls gonna girl.'

I chuckled at her fresh innocence and waved her closer.

"It's fine, don't worry. Come here."

"R-really…?"

"Want me to come to you?"

"…N-no! Coming…!"

She shuffled over hesitantly, and I stepped close on purpose to continue the briefing.

"Waist hurt on pattern four?"

"Uh…. A bit…?"

"Just a bit? For sure?"

"…A l-lot a bit…?"

"Oof…. You okay?"

"I can handle it…!"

From experience, "handle it" from her meant serious pain.

"…Nope. Let's apply some ointment first."

"I-I'm fine…."

"I'm not."

I snatched her shield and dragged her to the assigned massage bed.

"Why here…?"

"Lie down."

"Y-yes?!"

"Gonna put ointment on. Gotta check the others too, so hurry up."

"……."

Mentioning the team worked—she obediently lay on the bed and tugged up her combat top, revealing toned abs.

"…Han-na. Face down."

"…Oh."

Her face flushed crimson as she flipped over in a panic.

I was newly startled by the sideboob spilling out under her, tugged the top higher, and wiped sweat with a towel.

Swipe… Swipe…

That moment.

"…Hng…."

Bang Han-na let out a faint moan.

"…?"

I paused, then casually peeled off the towel and squeezed sunflower beast oil ointment along her waist.

Twitch─ Twitch─

As it dripped, she clamped her mouth shut and squirmed.

I swallowed at her oddly erotic writhing, feigning calm as I placed my hand.

"I'll go easy. Tell me if it hurts."

"…Y-yeah…."

Her slim waist tensed under my palm, fingers feeling the subtle tremors.

'It's just medical….'

Reminding myself it was treatment, I gripped my focus and moved slowly.

Swipe… Swipe…

The sticky oil on her pale skin made for an incredibly lewd sight.

"…Hht… Hng…."

Each rub drew tiny spasms and breathy moans from her.

"…Hoo… Hnng…."

Her sensitivity made the mood weird—I decided no more massages and pulled away.

"…Done."

Vowing never again after this, I finished applying.

"…Rest a bit before coming out."

"Y-yess…."

Leaving the sweet scent of her body filling the room, I headed out and ducked into the bathroom to cool my flushed face.

"…Hoo…."

Her reactions had my mind drifting back to Im A-rin's words from before.

'I…. I'm n-not going just to enjoy the trip….'

I'd brushed it off and tabled the trip talk for now….

But Im A-rin didn't seem like backing down.

Accept her. Reject her.

Or keep this ambiguous almost-dating limbo going.

One of those three soon.

"…Haa…."

Lost in thought for that brief moment.

Bzzz─ Bzzz─

My phone buzzed impatiently.

[ Seoul City Hall Han Gyu-ri: Producer! Seo-won's looking for you. Where are you? ]

Message to get back to work.

"…Yeah…. Work first."

I replied I'd be right there, splashed cold water on my face again,

shelved Im A-rin thoughts for later, and returned to the training grounds.