Escape
As soon as Baek Donghyuk closed the front door behind him and stepped inside, Im Jihyun exhaled the tension coiled in her chest, leaning her back against the wall. Her heart pounded relentlessly in her ears, refusing to slow. No, the greater issue was the dampness soaking through her panties. Even the walk to the bathroom to change her underwear felt unbearable. Anyone who saw her would assume she had just wet herself.
‘That bastard went crazy... or am I the crazy one...’
Cold water cascaded from the shower, but the sensations from the VIP Room refused to wash away. No matter how much she thought about it, the manual therapy she received at the hospital was abnormal. Beneath the guise of treatment were those lascivious touches. And the reactions her body had shown.
Im Jihyun roughly dried herself with a towel, then quickly sat at her desk and turned on her computer. Even to clear her mind of the swirling questions, she needed to confirm something.
She opened her familiar internet browser and logged into the hospital information sharing cafe she had joined recently. In the search bar, she entered the name of the hospital she had visited along with the keyword "manual therapy." There weren't many reviews, but a few posts about "Baek Donghyuk therapist" caught her eye.
With a trembling heart, she clicked on the most recent post.
[Our mom received manual therapy from Therapist Baek Donghyuk a few days ago because her lower back hurt too much. She said the pain decreased amazingly. The knotted muscles were relieved, and she slept soundly for the first time in a long time. Thank you so much!]
It was nothing but praise. The same went for the other posts. Chronic pain relief, muscle relaxation, kind counseling... None of it matched what Im Jihyun had expected. Nowhere could she find anyone who felt abnormal pleasure like she did.
‘As expected... am I the only one? Did that bastard do something strange only to me?’
Suddenly, another thought crossed her mind. Could this be a phenomenon outside the realm of ordinary medicine? Im Jihyun unconsciously connected to the superhuman or mystery phenomenon online community gallery for those who handle superpowers. It was a matter of the bottom feeding the top.
Typing "manual therapy" into the search bar, among the many posts, one title stood out.
[Has anyone felt sexual pleasure while receiving manual therapy?]
Im Jihyun held her breath and moved the mouse to click on that post. Her heart began beating wildly again. However, the comments filling the screen were nothing like what she had expected.
[You're a complete pervert, lol. What kind of thoughts are you having in the hospital?]
[You're just a complete pervert, lol. Pitiful therapist]
[Thank goodness you weren't reported for sexual harassment, writer]
[You must have taken photos of pussy instead of manual therapy, lol]
Im Jihyun's face flushed crimson in an instant. Seeing the comments treating the writer as a pervert, she closed the window. For a while, she stared blankly at the monitor. Her face still burned, and her chest felt suffocated in one corner.
Am I really the strange one? Maybe I was unconsciously craving such sexual curiosity or stimulation without realizing it? Doubt crept in like a snake.
‘No, that's impossible...! I'm not that kind of woman!’
But doubt coiled around itself. Im Jihyun cautiously began inputting other words into the internet search bar. After a moment, with hesitation, she downloaded a video file.
On the screen, a man and woman were entangled, mixing their bodies. Im Jihyun swallowed dryly and, without realizing, raised her hand to lightly touch her own breasts that Baek Donghyuk had been so insistently groping and sucking. She even lightly brushed her nipple with her fingertip.
Despite the violent movements and explicit sounds of the man and woman on screen, her body showed no reaction. Forget the electrifying pleasure she felt when Baek Donghyuk's hands touched her in the VIP Room; rather, the scenes unfolding in the video felt extremely vulgar and disgusting.
“Damn... what the hell is this, disgusting!”
Finally, unable to hold back, she spat out a curse and turned off the video. Im Jihyun felt a despair beyond frustration at her incomprehensible body and mind. Why did she react so sensitively to Baek Donghyuk's touch, but feel no thrill from these videos? She tugged at her hair in agony, then in a fit of anger, threw her phone at the wall.
Crack! With the sound of the screen shattering, the phone fell to the floor. Fortunately, Im Jihyun checked that the screen was still on and let out a deep sigh. Then, with a trembling hand, she called her manager.
“Um, oppa. My phone screen is cracked. Please get me a new one right away. The best one.”
Before hanging up, she urgently called out to the manager, “Wait a minute.”
“And there's a drama we're currently filming. Please tell the director to prioritize overseas location shooting as much as possible. As soon as possible. Got it?”
It would be better to create a situation where she couldn't visit the hospital again. By dealing with the hectic overseas schedules, over time, this confusion and humiliating memories would fade or be completely forgotten. Im Jihyun consoled herself with that thought while staring at the cracked phone screen with a complicated feeling.
***
The 1 million won prize money from winning the table tennis tournament at the unification competition was held in Choi Yunjin's hands. She handed it to Baek Donghyuk with a shy smile.
“This... It's to buy a medical bed to use for studying.”
“I was already thinking of moving to a new officetel soon since my salary has increased quite a bit. With this money, I should properly furnish the study room.”
Baek Donghyuk playfully patted Choi Yunjin's butt. She jumped in surprise but didn't seem to mind, smiling cutely with a giggle. Now, without the excuse of medical practice, she seemed to accept such light skinships and sexual atmospheres as natural.
‘Is it the influence of the martial arts? Or did she hide this tendency from the beginning?’
The color magic martial arts had only served as a detour; the fundamental change might have originated from her personal tendencies. Baek Donghyuk pondered for a moment but soon shook his head as if it didn't matter. The important thing was this relationship now. Baek Donghyuk lowered his posture and brought his face closer to Choi Yunjin.
“Before leaving work, is there anything you forgot?”
Dot.
Choi Yunjin glanced around cautiously, then gave a light peck and hurriedly retreated. Her face was as red as a beet, and after hesitating for a long time, she narrowed the distance again.
“Um, oppa... No matter how much I think, I think I like oppa...”
It was an unexpected confession. Baek Donghyuk looked at her with surprised eyes, and Choi Yunjin waved her hands in greater embarrassment.
“Ah, no! I don't mean to burden you! It's just... I wanted to honestly tell you my feelings...”
“Yunjin-ah.”
“I like you like this right now, oppa. Really! Then... See you tomorrow!”
Thinking he would give an unwanted answer, she cut off her words midway and fled first to leave work. Left alone in the empty hallway, Baek Donghyuk let out an incredulous laugh. Anyway, her actions were cute. After staring at the hallway where Choi Yunjin had disappeared for a moment, he shrugged and straightened his waist. While stretching his stiff neck side to side, his phone in his pocket vibrated briefly. Checking the screen, it was the team leader.
[Team Leader Baek, if you're still at the hospital, could you come up to my office for a moment?]
Even though the salary negotiation was already over, what was this? Baek Donghyuk headed to the team leader's office with curiosity. The team leader greeted him with a slightly awkward expression, unlike usual.
“I'm sorry to call you suddenly, Team Leader Baek. It's not that... It's because of Im Jihyun's manager.”
“Im Jihyun's manager?”
“Yes, that person has been contacting me repeatedly saying that Baek Team Leader has something important to say. Since I know her personally, it's hard to refuse... Could you do something about it?”
Baek Donghyuk thought for a moment. These trivial requests might not bring any benefit to himself. Moreover, since it was related to Im Jihyun, he couldn't just ignore it.
“Understood, Team Leader. I'll contact her once.”
“Ah, thank you so much!”
The team leader sighed in relief and handed over the phone with Im Jihyun's manager's number saved. Baek Donghyuk left the office and called the manager from a corner in the hospital building lobby.
- Hello, is this Therapist Baek Donghyuk? Sorry to bother you since you're busy. This is Im Jihyun's actress manager.”
The manager answered the phone before the ring finished. Her voice was polite and calm.
“Ah, yes. Good afternoon. I heard from the team leader.”
- Team Leader, I'm really going crazy. Recently, our Ji-hyun has become too difficult. Originally, she wasn't the type to be gentle, but lately it's gotten worse. She's irritable with the staff and sensitive to small things, making the on-site atmosphere unbearable.”
Baek Donghyuk quietly listened to the manager's complaint. He understood her feelings well. Just recalling the sharp side of Im Jihyun he saw in the VIP Room. But why was she talking about this here.
“It must be tough. But, Manager, why are you telling me this...”
- It's like this, Team Leader... Recently, Ji-hyun has been mentioning Therapist Baek Donghyuk's name in her sleep a lot. I don't know exactly what she's saying, but I think something might have happened between the two of you. No matter what it is, please do something to resolve it. Otherwise, it might cause big problems in the drama filming.”
The manager's voice was filled with desperation.