Chapter 2: The National Actress, Im Jihyun
Baek Donghyuk’s eyes felt gritty. Last night he had clearly fallen asleep after reading the book without a care, but when he woke up this morning his body felt completely off. There was a feverish heat, and every sensation in his body had sharpened into something unfamiliar. An inexplicable, strange aura seemed to drift inside him.
‘…Is it a cold? Please, no…’
He tried to push down the uneasy feeling and prepared for work. The walk to the hospital felt like carrying a thousand pounds on his back. The memory of being scolded by the team leader and ignored by his colleagues yesterday was still vivid. Today would probably be the same. Or worse, since his body was acting up.
Upon arriving at the hospital, the nurses at the desk greeted him with cool indifference. It was a familiar response. After changing clothes in the changing room and heading toward the treatment room, his eyes landed on a medical chart. It looked like today’s first patient.
He picked up the chart and checked the name. Baek Donghyuk’s heart dropped straight to the floor.
“Im… Im Jihyun?”
There was no one in Korea who didn’t know that name. The national actress famous for her beautiful appearance and proper image. In a place like this large hospital, celebrities sometimes came to the manual therapy room, but Im Jihyun of all people?
Baek Donghyuk barely managed to steady his racing heart and skimmed the chart. Simple muscle pain and body-shape correction, no special notes.
‘Why me…?’
He quickly calculated in his head. Im Jihyun was known in the industry for being picky and difficult, contrary to her outward appearance. It was a well-known secret among hospital staff. The team leader had clearly dumped this troublesome patient on the incompetent, powerless Baek Donghyuk.
“Haa…”
Baek Donghyuk let out a sigh he hadn’t realized he was holding. Sweat was already forming on his forehead. But what could he do? He had no choice but to head to the VIP room. If he was late, he would be called out and scolded again.
Standing in front of the VIP room, he took a deep breath and opened the door. It was a private space completely shielded from the outside world. In the luxurious interior, the actress Im Jihyun—far more beautiful than any screen—waited for him.
“…Nice to meet you. I’m the physical therapist Baek Donghyuk.”
Baek Donghyuk greeted her as politely and brightly as possible. Im Jihyun only gave a slight nod and looked him up and down. The suspicion and disregard in her gaze were fully felt by Baek Donghyuk. Indeed, as rumored.
“This hospital changes the assigned therapist every time I come, doesn’t it?”
Discontent was clear in Im Jihyun’s flat voice. Had she already heard the hospital’s reputation for poor skills? Or was this simply her natural personality? All sorts of thoughts flashed through his mind.
“I’ve checked the chart. Please tell me in detail where you’re uncomfortable…”
“Whatever is written there, just do it.”
Im Jihyun cut him off. It was a clear prompt to hurry up since she was busy. Baek Donghyuk stood tense beside the bed. The moment he placed his hand on her shoulder, the strange aura he had felt since morning gathered at his fingertips.
Faint red dots appeared along Im Jihyun’s back, shoulders, and neck lines. Things he couldn’t see normally. The red dots that rose like computer graphics were not sharp but clearly existed.
‘What is this? Why can I see these? Has my vision gone weird?’
Was it related to the book he had read last night and the change in his body? Baek Donghyuk was confused, but he had to start treatment. His fingers moved unconsciously toward one of the red dots. He pressed it lightly.
“Uh… eek!”
At that moment, a small sound escaped Im Jihyun’s mouth. Baek Donghyuk’s heart sank. He was doomed—he must have hurt the patient. He was useless after all. The thought crossed his mind. Sweat began flowing down his back. Baek Donghyuk, in panic, tried to pull his hand away, but another red dot caught his eye. He pressed it gently, as if possessed.
“Haa… ueup…”
A longer, suppressed moan came from Im Jihyun. Baek Donghyuk fell into full panic. What to do? The patient was in pain. A famous actress! What if a complaint came? The team leader would scold him to death. Were those red dots related? What exactly had happened to her body? Anxiety filled his head completely.
***
The newly assigned physical therapist didn’t sit well with Im Jihyun’s heart. The awkward movements she felt right away. She had heard the rumor of a bad reputation even in the hospital. Probably dumped on some incompetent person. Im Jihyun had intended to just loosen the knotted muscles and leave.
Im Jihyun lay on the bed. The casual greeting sound reached her, and after a moment, a hand touched her shoulder.
‘What? Doesn’t seem to have any strength?’
Something was wrong. The touch that had felt thin suddenly on her shoulder sent a tingling sensation, like having ice pressed against her skin. A cool aura spread through her. The fatigue and knots accumulated deep in her muscles seemed to loosen instantly.
“Uh… eek!”
Im Jihyun couldn’t help but moan. It wasn’t from pain. It was from the overwhelming coolness and pleasure, the tension releasing. Soon, the feeling of pressing a specific area on her back. At that moment, a powerful pleasure surged through her body like electricity. The knotted, painful part was exactly hit, and it felt like the blocked blood vessels were unclogging… Anyway, an indescribable coolness.
“Haa… ueup…”
She moaned again, unable to hold back. Confused. This feeling was new. She had met many physical therapists, but never had her body reacted with such intense pleasure immediately. Moreover, how from this awkward-looking therapist’s touch? Every place his hand touched was too cool, making her body tremble uncontrollably.
Since her face was buried in the pillow, she couldn’t see his expression, but the touch from behind felt the same. He was pressing the areas that caused the good reaction. Every time pressure was felt, her body reacted with tingling, and moans leaked out.
‘Who is this person…?’
Im Jihyun felt confusion at his fingertips that looked too different from his appearance. At the same time, she wished this treatment wouldn’t end. After finishing the treatment, Im Jihyun hurriedly left the hospital.
When parting, Baek Donghyuk kept apologizing, saying she must have been in a lot of pain, but he couldn’t stop fidgeting. Im Jihyun just mumbled and fled as if escaping. She wanted to escape from the inexplicable uneasy feeling.
Getting into the car driven by her manager, heading home. Im Jihyun stared out the window, but her mind was full of the unfamiliar experience from the treatment room. That awkward physical therapist. The powerful something that came out from deep in her body when his hand touched, completely different from the pain. It was definitely a feeling that couldn’t be explained by words like coolness or refreshment.
Upon arriving home, Im Jihyun opened the door familiarly. About to shower to relieve the accumulated fatigue, she paused, thought for a moment, and leaned her body on the living room sofa. But there was an uneasy feeling somewhere. Her lower body… was wet.
Im Jihyun panicked, quickly got up from the sofa and headed to the bathroom. Worried that her period might have started unexpectedly, she checked her underwear, and her face flushed instantly. The panties were noticeably wet.
‘Why…?’
The strong reaction that occurred inside her body when the awkward Baek Donghyuk therapist’s hand touched her shoulders and spine at the hospital today. It wasn’t just coolness or pain relief. That feeling was…
Im Jihyun bit her lip. She wanted to deny it, but it was evidence of sexual excitement. Unbelievable. That she, a representative national actress with iron will, whose steel mentality didn’t shake even in front of countless cameras, had her body react sexually to the touch of a mediocre physical therapist’s hand.
Her body was still lazily loose, and the tingling sensation she felt earlier lingered in her lower body like an afterimage.
Not a handsome doctor, but a normal manual therapist… Im Jihyun stared at her own face reflected in the bathroom mirror. Confusion, embarrassment, and excitement blooming deep inside. Complex emotions mixed chaotically. And she felt an inexplicable impulse that reason couldn’t explain.
‘I need to check again.’
The man who caused an unknown strange reaction in her body. She was about to cancel everything, rush back to the hospital… but the phone rang loudly.
The manager’s message appeared on the screen: “We packed all the props needed for the overseas fan meeting. Is there anything else you need?”
There were several schedules a day, so she thought to cancel the acting academy class. But it was an overseas fan meeting. Im Jihyun looked down at her crotch soaked with her underwear, then poured cold water on it.