The Woman Who Feared Men Pulled Her Chair Forward for Three Days

Day seven of my posting to the knight order. Sophie Lancaster, twenty-four, black hair cut in a short bob, silver eyes, 168 centimeters. The subject of my third individual counseling session.

She would be anything but an easy client.

First impression: a cold beauty. Silver eyes that seemed to hold no feeling at all. Few words, and a face almost bare of expression. If Eva was the sun, Sophie was the moon; if Karin was flame, Sophie was ice.

I had observed her yesterday, when the three of them gathered. Beside Karin she sat close. With Eva she was fine as well. But the moment I came near, her shoulders climbed toward her ears, her gaze slid away, and her hands clenched tight atop her knees.

Eight years she had endured in a mixed-gender knight order, hiding her fear of men. What Sophie needed was not the strength to demolish the wall in a single blow. It was to take back the right to set the distance herself.

Three o'clock in the afternoon, the counseling room. Sophie slipped in without a sound. "Excuse me." One word, and then the chair.

Her seat sat ten centimeters farther back than the one Eva had taken. She'd widened the gap without realizing it herself. Eva's spot from yesterday was still faintly rumpled, and Sophie had steered around it, moving one more place to the side. Her back never touched the chair rest; she leaned slightly forward instead, a posture ready to stand at any moment.

"Please, sit wherever you're comfortable."

"...Okay."

Short answers. She didn't speak even a tenth as much as Eva. Not out of dislike — out of fear.

"Shall we start with why you became a knight?"

"...My mother was one. Third Company of the Capital Knights. Retired."

"You must have admired her."

"...I did. She taught me the sword, and etiquette too."

Only on the subject of her mother did her voice warm a little. The gaps between her words narrowed, and the tension in her shoulders eased a single notch. This topic was Sophie's safe ground.

"And your father?"

"I don't have one."

Terse. Better not to press further.

"What's the best thing about the order?"

"Karin and Eva."

An instant answer. No hesitation at all.

"...If it weren't for those two, I'd probably have quit by now. Karin drags me along every single day — 'Sophie, let's go eat!' And Eva-unnie keeps coming at me with 'Smile, Sophie! My jokes are funny, right?'"

The corners of her mouth lifted, just barely. A trace of warmth in the silver eyes. Only when she spoke of her friends did her expression move even a single degree.

"They sound like wonderful friends."

"...They are."

Time to move to the heart of it. But I couldn't rush. The Eva method — smashing straight through the wall — wouldn't work on Sophie. What she needed was confirmation that she was safe.

"Sophie. May I ask you one thing?"

"...What is it?"

"You're afraid of me, aren't you?"

Sophie's eyes wavered. No dodging here. With someone like Sophie, talking in circles only deepened the anxiety.

"...A little."

The hands in her lap squeezed shut.

"That's all right. Being afraid is only natural. I'll keep whatever distance leaves you comfortable. You set the pace."

"...I set the pace?"

"Yes. Whether I may come closer, or whether I should step back — every bit of it is your call. I'll simply follow your signals."

For the first time, Sophie looked straight at me. Half a second. Then her eyes fled again, but half a second is meaningful time.

"...Thank you."

A small voice. The fists in her lap loosened slightly.

"Shall we leave it there for today?"

Sophie nodded. At the door, she stopped.

"...Mr. Do-hyun."

"Yes?"

"I'll come again tomorrow."

The door remained half open. The distance Sophie had chosen on the first day stayed exactly as it was — and the time she would return the next day was a decision she had made herself.

Day eight of the posting. Our second session. Sophie's chair had moved three centimeters closer than yesterday. She had no idea — a closing of distance she wasn't aware of making.

"Did you sleep well last night?"

"...Yes."

"That's a lie. The shadows under your eyes are dark."

"...I had a nightmare."

"Tell me if you want to. If not, that's fine too."

The fact that she wasn't being pressed seemed to bring her relief. Light talk first today, as before.

"What's your style with the sword?"

"Speed. I don't push through with strength the way Karin does — I strike the openings. My mother used to say, 'If you have no strength, then be fast.'"

Three sentences strung together. More progress than yesterday.

"That's impressive."

"...You think so?"

"Eva-unnie says I'm like the wind."

"If Eva's the one calling you wind, you must be pretty fast."

"...Hehe."

Sophie laughed. Her silver eyes crinkled thin, and her cheeks went pink. It had taken two days to see that laugh.

It was the first moment Sophie had chosen laughter instead of her guard.

"Sophie. May I ask one more thing?"

"...Yes."

"Was there something that made you afraid of men?"

The laughter died. Her silver eyes dropped to the floor. Ten seconds of silence. Her hands began to tremble, her breathing shallow and quick. The reaction of someone a memory was about to ambush.

"...Four years ago. There was a senior knight in the order. A man. During a patrol, when the two of us were left alone, he... he tried to..."

Sophie stopped. Tears brimmed in her eyes, but there was no sound. The terror that making a sound would give her away.

I did not use Memory Recall. The instant I looked upon a scene she couldn't speak of, without her permission, this counseling would become just one more intrusion.

"You can skip the hard parts. Only as much as you want to say right now."

After a long silence, Sophie told me how the senior knight had cornered her against a wall during patrol, and how another patrol had come along and she had barely escaped. She had reported it — and a high-ranking knight buried the case, saying there was no evidence.

"I couldn't tell anyone... a knight, doing that to a fellow knight... I reported it, and no one believed me."

Tears fell without a sound. The knuckles clutching her skirt had gone white.

"That's when I started to fear men. All of them. Every single one."

The fear that even if she spoke, no one would believe her — that had outlasted the incident itself, four years running. What she needed now was not my fury. It was a response that never once doubted her word.

"Sophie."

She flinched. A reflex. Fear of a man's voice.

I lowered my voice as far as it would go, and made it soft.

"Thank you for telling me. And first of all — that was not your fault, Sophie."

The silver eyes went wide.

"The fault belongs to that knight. And to the high-ranking knight who buried it because there was no evidence."

"...No one has ever... said that to me."

For the first time. For the first time in four years, she had heard the words it wasn't your fault.

"Being afraid of men is only natural. After an experience like that, it's a normal reaction. It's a defense your mind built to protect you, Sophie."

"...A defense?"

"It's not a weakness — it's a survival function. But not every man is like that. The only reason your mind learned that 'all men are dangerous' was that one person."

I did not move from where I sat. I didn't extend a hand, didn't lean in. A visible declaration that I would hold this distance until Sophie herself felt safe.

"...This is a first. The first time a man hasn't frightened me."

When those words left her, Sophie's silver eyes grew clear. A single shaft of light through the fog.

"Mr. Do-hyun. That knight's name is René Wolf. He's still in the order."

A name she had not been able to speak for four years. This wasn't simple information — it was evidence of trust.

"I'll keep it in mind."

"I'm not asking you to punish him. I just wanted someone to know."

"I know."

"...Just knowing you'll remember that name... I think I might sleep well tonight."

"That's enough. That's all we needed today."

The dining hall. Karin and Eva had taken Sophie out for the evening meal.

"Sophie, eat this! The stew's great today!"

"Eva-unnie, that's too much..."

"Too much, my foot! You never eat enough, Sophie!"

Karin gave Sophie's shoulder a friendly thump.

"So, Sophie — how was the session today?"

Sophie's silver eyes flicked to me.

"...It was good."

"Good? If Sophie says it was good, then it really was good!"

Karin gave Sophie an excited shake, and Eva laughed as she reeled them back in. All three of them were laughing. Karin's exuberance, Eva's brightness, Sophie's quiet smile. The three of them were watching over one another. Karin became the blade, Eva the shield, and Sophie the eyes.

Blade, shield, and eyes — they guarded one another. Proof that healing doesn't happen inside one person alone.

Day nine of the posting. Third session. The chair had crept another three centimeters forward. Six in total.

The dark circles under Sophie's eyes had faded.

"Any nightmares last night?"

"...None. That's a first."

"You know, sharing a secret makes the heart lighter. It changes how you sleep."

Today's work was rewriting the interpretation. Not erasing the wound itself — rewriting what it meant.

"Shall we play a question game today? You can ask me anything. Sophie goes first."

"...Mr. Do-hyun, where are you from?"

"To tell you the truth, I'm not from this world. I was summoned here."

"...Another world?"

"Yes. The hero was summoned separately. I'm just an ordinary man who got dragged along as part of the deal."

I had shared my secret first. When someone offers their secret, the other person finds themselves wanting to offer one back. That's how human hearts work.

"Was it frightening? The other world?"

"Very. I couldn't speak the language, I didn't know a single soul, and I had no abilities whatsoever."

"...And now?"

"Now it's a little better. I've even gotten to meet people like you."

Her cheeks flushed faintly pink.

...And that flushed pink was getting me fucking hot. A tingling pull gathered low in my belly, and inside my trousers something was quietly raising its head. Hold it down. If that thing so much as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠showed itself at this distance, everything was over. Clamp down, Kang Do-hyun. Sitting there with a hard-on in front of a girl who's scared to death of men — no breed of human trash had ever sunk lower than this trash.

A twitch. It strained once, then sank back down.

"My turn. What's your favorite food?"

"...Pumpkin soup. My mother's pumpkin soup is the best in the world. When I was small and came home from training, I'd smell it from the kitchen before I even reached the door. Eating it felt like the whole day was finally complete."

"Why did you become a counselor, Mr. Do-hyun?"

"Why people hurt, why they break, why they stand back up. I wanted to understand those things."

...I did want to understand. And now I spend ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠those answers breaking people instead. I sneered inwardly as I said it. Was there ever a time you actually meant it, Kang Do-hyun?

The silver eyes held still on me for three seconds. Compared to yesterday's half second, six times as long.

"You're a strange man, Mr. Do-hyun. You're a man, and yet you care about people's hearts."

In Sophie's arithmetic, "man" was another word for violence and terror. This contradiction was shaking the frame she lived inside.

"Is being strange a bad thing?"

"...No. It's a good kind of strange."

One last question.

"Do you think someone like me is strange, Mr. Do-hyun? A woman knight who fears men. It is strange, isn't it?"

"It isn't strange. You are someone who carried that fear with her and kept serving as a knight for eight years. That's not strange, Sophie. That's remarkable."

"Remarkable..."

Sophie murmured the word like a foreign phrase she was hearing for the first time.

"Yes. Remarkable, Sophie."

Tears welled in her eyes. Not sorrow — some other feeling. The sensation of being acknowledged. Recognition she had not received in four years.

"...Thank you."

"That's the second thank-you today."

"...It might be the third. I said it once more inside my head."

Day ten of the posting. Fourth session. The chair was nearly against the table now — the same distance Eva used to sit at.

"Hello."

Sophie came in smiling. A small smile, but it was the first time she had worn one from the moment the door opened.

"...May I be the one to talk first today?"

"Of course."

A deep breath. It rose into her chest once, then again.

"Yesterday I told Karin and Eva-unnie. About what happened. All of it."

My heart pounded. Sophie had decided this on her own. I had not told her to.

"How did it go?"

A smile mixed with tears.

"Karin cried. She kept saying, 'Sophie, why did you endure it all alone!' And Eva-unnie... she said, 'Where is that bastard? I'll kill him for you.'"

The laughter grew, and the tears ran down with it.

"The two of them held me so tight. For a whole hour. All three of us cried."

For the first time, Sophie cried out loud.

"You did well, Sophie."

"Karin said, 'From now on, I'll be right here beside you.' And Eva-unnie said, 'With the three of us together, there's nothing to be afraid of'..."

"They're good friends to you."

"Yes. I won't forget last night, not for the rest of my life."

Sophie looked straight at me. Five seconds. Trust was brimming in the silver eyes.

"Mr. Do-hyun. May I... hold your hand?"

Sophie's hand came out over the table. It was trembling. A pale hand, slender fingers, the nails trimmed short, and one small scar across the back. Traces of sword training.

I laid my own hand on the table. Not reaching toward her — simply laying it there. Sophie would have to close the rest of the distance.

Her trembling hand touched mine. She flinched, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a pure reflex, but she didn't stop. Her hand settled on top of mine. It was cold.

"It's shaking, but... I won't let go."

Those slender fingers wrapped around my hand. Weak in strength, but strong in will. I held still and simply let her hold me. No gripping. No enclosing. Just holding.

...And at that exact moment, of course, my cock gave a single twitch. Fuck. She had held my hand, that was all. The feel of her warming fingers against mine, and my gut was trying to knot itself tight without permission. Clamp down. Clamp down until it kills you. This was the outstretched, trembling hand of a girl who had shivered at men for four years — to be aroused by it was not the act of a human being. Without letting a single expression cross my face, I trampled myself in silence. She must not find out. This, above all, she must never find out.

One minute. Sophie's hand had gone warm. The blood was coming back.

"It's warm."

"Your hand's getting warm too, Sophie."

"...Yes."

She lifted her head. Traces of dried tears. A red nose. Black hair fallen lightly across her face. And a smile. Sophie Lancaster was smiling while holding a man's hand. The first time in four years.

"You'll come again tomorrow, won't you?"

"I'll come every day."

"...Could we stay like this just a little longer?"

"As long as you want, Sophie."

She closed her eyes. The light of the setting sun poured into the counseling room, and her black hair took on its orange glow.

In this moment, I had used neither Whisper nor Memory Recall nor Emotion Manipulation. Pure counseling technique, pure trust built by hand. For Sophie, this was the right way. This woman's wall must not be broken with an ability. Fuck — in a case like this, the ability was poison. Sophie had to open it herself.

...And there I was, justifying it all so beautifully — even basking in a smug little pride over the fact that I hadn't used my power. What a joke. A bastard who knows how to open human hearts without his abilities, knows it full well, and still turns those abilities loose everywhere else. Don't mistake the restraint for mercy, Kang Do-hyun. You simply happened to hold a hand you didn't need to play.

Ten minutes later, Sophie tried to let go, and her hand wouldn't quite come free.

"That's strange. My hand won't come away..."

"You can hold it again tomorrow."

"...Tomorrow. Promise."

"Promise."

Slowly she released my hand and opened the door. On her way out, she looked back once.

"Mr. Do-hyun."

"Yes?"

"...You're a good person."

The door closed.

Left alone, I looked down at the hand Sophie had held. The warmth was still there — a thin film of her body heat lying on the back of my left hand — and I sat exactly as I was until that warmth had cooled.

You're a good person, of all things. Those words lasted longer than the warmth on the back of my hand, and they clawed at my insides. Fuck — what was she doing, saying that to a bastard with no right to hear it? For a long while I did nothing but stare at that empty chair.

Fear of men doesn't disappear overnight. But it had begun. Undeniably. Through the window I could see Sophie running to Karin and Eva. Karin stroked her hair, and Eva pulled her into an embrace.

When the session ended, Sophie closed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the door with her own hand. And for the first time, she laid her whole hand flat against my palm.

After confirming her consent, I applied just one very shallow sentence of Common Sense Alteration.

Sophie repeated the sentence aloud, then lifted her hand away first. Confirmation that the next choice, too, still belonged to her.