This Doesn't Count Because I Didn't Enjoy It!! (Aftermath 2)
Wilhelmine de Boa savored a quiet moment with her cup of coffee. The Superhuman Emergency Support Center was a hospital dedicated to heroes, and most of them weren't the type to come rushing in complaining of illness first thing in the morning. For her, mornings were the most leisurely part of the day.
“Oh?”
She was idly flipping through the news while sipping her warm coffee when every headline seemed to be about Botal Rabbit. Considering the national disaster alert had only been lifted yesterday, this was unusual. She set her cup down and tapped the top story.
“My, my. She'll be broke, won't she?”
The thought was rather satisfying. Wilhelmine hummed as she scrolled further. Paying taxes was something you could manage if you squeezed every last penny, but she'd have to work herself to the bone for a while. Wouldn't that mean less time with Colossus?
“Hmm… Maybe I should ask him out to dinner first?”
Wilhelmine pushed her glasses up with a smile.
Tap. Tap.
A strange sound came from the window. Frowning, she turned her head. On the tree right outside her clinic window on this bright spring morning, someone was hanging and throwing pebbles.
“Oh?”
Tap. Tap. Tap!!
The figure lowered their mask and removed their sunglasses, mouthing words silently. It was Botal Rabbit—Park Yeonha. Wilhelmine chuckled softly and picked up the phone.
“This is the head of Superhuman Emergency Support~”
“Yes, Professor de Boa! What can I do for you?”
“There's an unidentified suspicious person dangling outside my clinic window right now. Could you have them removed?”
“…Pardon?”
“Quickly~ Please~”
After reporting to the front desk, she took another sip of coffee. Outside, Yeonha—who had overheard the entire conversation with her sharp hearing—exploded in frustration and stormed toward the hospital entrance.
*
Knock knock.
“Come iiin~”
“Yeah, yeah. You crazy bitch~”
Yeonha trudged in with a completely defeated voice and flopped down in the chair across from her desk. In the end, she'd even had to register as a patient. She wrote “mild stomachache” on the form… A hero… with a mild…? Stomachache…? And not just any hero—the hottest issue in Korea right now—was coming to the ER for a stomachache? Even if she were a reporter, she'd definitely pull that chart to check. No question.
“Haaaa… I'm… I'm ruined…”
“Who did you do it with?”
“…What?”
“There's no other reason you'd come looking for me, is there?”
Wilhelmine leaned back in her chair with a bright smile.
“Normally I'd have kicked you out and told you to make an appointment, but I was too curious to resist. This sudden leave of absence—that's why, isn't it? From what Colossus announced, it seems he knows about it too.”
“Who's ‘he’?! Who's ‘he’!!”
“Hehe, stop dodging and just tell me. It's fine. I did take the Hippocratic Oath, you know. Doctor-patient confidentiality and all?”
“…Forget it. Just give me the medicine.”
“Medicine? You already took all of it at once?”
“That was…!! I didn't take that… So… give me the morning-after pill…”
When Yeonha muttered with her head bowed, Wilhelmine stared at her blankly for a long moment. Several seconds of silence passed before she began to tremble.
What? Yeonha looked up…
“Aha… Hahaha…!!”
Wilhelmine was laughing with her breath held in. She was bent over at the waist, shaking as she laughed!
“W-what's so funny!!”
“Look at you right now!!”
Wilhelmine—no, Dr. Mentis—pulled her chair closer and leaned in.
“Do you know what you just said? You got taken without even having time to take the pill beforehand? That must've been rape, right? An S-class hero, and by whom? Never mind that. But you need the morning-after pill? A girl who ovulates through Induced Ovulation? Then…”
You enjoyed it, didn't you? More than anything you'd ever experienced with Colossus?
Mentis smiled coldly and whispered to her. Yeonha shuddered, raised her hand as if to strike, then let it fall weakly.
“…Having fun? Teasing people.”
“It's always fun, but right now it's especially sweet?”
“You… You have to give me the medicine. At the very least, you… have some responsibility!!”
“Of course, as an ER doctor I'll prescribe the morning-after pill, but responsibility? Hmm. Did I sleep with you yesterday?”
“Ghh…!!”
“Well… How about you think it over again? The morning-after pill has serious side effects. It's really bad for a woman's body. If the partner was that enjoyable, maybe this is your chance to have a child and live happily ever after?”
Yeonha's eyes flashed sharply. She glared at Mentis and spat out each word like she was chewing it.
“Stop mocking me. This is your final warning.”
“My, my. You're on hero license suspension and you're going to hit me? How long until they designate you a villain?”
“You…!!”
“Colossus knows too, doesn't he? Ah, how wonderful. That kind of love—embracing a woman who's carrying another man's child? And while receiving that much love… you enjoyed it so much you ovulated under another man.”
“I'll kill… you…!!”
“I'll fill out your chart. You can pick up the prescription at the desk—the pharmacy is on the first floor?”
“N-no, no!! Just give it to me… Just hand it over! Don't leave any records!”
“That would violate pharmaceutical regulations, so I'm afraid that's difficult~”
Mentis smiled brightly as she watched Yeonha for a long while, then chuckled.
“Just kidding, kidding! Relax your face. Here, take this. Take it right away—the rule is within 72 hours after intercourse.”
“…This just came out of your drawer?”
“I was prepared. I knew you'd come for something like this.”
Mentis leaned back in her chair again and picked up her coffee cup.
“Come again. It's fine if you come often. Ah, next time you can even climb through the window! Make sure to come get more medicine, okay?”
“I'm never coming back!!”
Bang! Yeonha slammed the desk, seething, and stood up. Grabbing the doorknob, she hesitated for a moment.
“What are the side effects of the morning-after pill…?”
“Oh? For superhumans, it's just a bit of stomach discomfort for a day and that's it. It's really bad for regular women, though. Being an awakened superhuman is so convenient and nice~”
“You… rotten… bitch…!!”
Crash!
After watching Yeonha's retreating figure storm out and slam the door, Mentis stretched refreshingly. The morning-after pill—she could give it anytime. Without a prescription, without charting it. It wasn't hard to obtain anyway. Even if Yeonha had refused, she could have gotten a prescription from any small neighborhood OB/GYN.
But the reason she hadn't refused… the reason no record was left… was to give that light-headed, foolish girl a sense of “relief.” Mentis had given her the pill without any record. That relief—that tiny bit of carelessness—would become a fatal weakness for a hero.
When those weaknesses piled up until they became irreversible, and Colossus finally lost interest in her and they broke up… then it would be her turn. Definitely.
“Hehe… Colossus. Just wait a little longer… It won't be long now…”
She buried herself in her chair, rubbing between her legs as she whispered. A mantis was a predator that knew how to wait a very long time for a single hunt.
*
When there wasn't a disaster, the disaster relief team heroes were generally relaxed. Gathered together in the Golem Kingdom, they each killed time drinking coffee or working out.
“Sunbae~ I brought you a cup of coffee~”
“Thanks.”
At 9 a.m., Colossus cracked his shoulders and accepted the coffee Stonekin handed him. Stonekin dragged a chair over and plopped down beside him.
“Whoa, Sunbae. I heard you worked 55 hours straight? I passed out after 40. That's impressive.”
“Onyx Knight was with me too.”
“Well, the team leader's a monster, so of course!”
“She wouldn't like hearing that.”
“I respect monsters!”
Stonekin snickered as he drank his coffee. He was, well, a flashy guy. A flashy gold necklace, yellow-dyed hair, rock-pattern tattoos across his entire body, and a muscular build easily twice the size of Colossus's. That look didn't exactly fit a disaster relief team, but according to him, helping others suited him better than fighting. Onyx Knight had been moved and approved his membership. It was rare enough for a physical reinforcement-type superhuman among regular heroes to join the disaster relief team in the first place.
In reality, he worked quite diligently. He'd even passed out once when his leg broke during demolition work—that was how dedicated he was. And neither Colossus nor Onyx Knight—none of them in this team—were foolish enough to judge someone based solely on appearance. After all, when you said “disaster relief team,” it meant they were all good people.
“Ah. What happened with sister-in-law?”
“Hm?”
“She suddenly took temporary leave, right? I was surprised when I saw that this morning. Is she not feeling well?”
“Hmm… No. Sometimes you just need to rest.”
“Even while paying all those taxes?”
“I make money too, so it's fine.”
“Sunbae, are you rich? I thought everyone on our team was poor.”
“You just have to work hard.”
Colossus spoke curtly and sipped his coffee. Watching him, Stonekin soon lost interest and started tapping on his phone—whose screen proudly displayed a photo of him with a girl.
“Is that your girlfriend?”
“Ah~ No. Just a younger girl I know. But she likes it when I set her as my background, so I did.”
“Hmm… Is that what they call ‘something’ these days?”
“Sunbae, I'm only three years younger than you. Why do you talk so weirdly?”
Stonekin chuckled. He rubbed his chin and nodded.
“More experience is always better. Sunbae, you look like the type who goes all-in on just one woman at a time.”
“…Isn't that normal?”
“With that attitude, how are you supposed to gain experience? Sunbae, the way to understand women is to go through a lot of them. Sister-in-law must be frustrated.”
When Stonekin spoke jokingly, several things flashed through Colossus's mind. Yeonha pounding her chest and shouting that she was frustrated. Yeonha tearing at her hair in anger. Yeonha pinching his cheek or biting his shoulder while fuming. Come to think of it, it was all like that.
Colossus nodded. He was lacking in experience. Though he had no desire for new experiences either.
“Something on your mind? Your reactions are pretty good today.”
“Hmm… Stonekin.”
“I'm listening.”
If this experienced junior had advice, it might help. Colossus nodded and slowly opened his mouth.
“What if a woman thinks her preferences are… embarrassing?”
“Ugh. Didn't expect this topic to come up so suddenly…? Go on, I'm listening.”
“What should I do?”
Logically speaking, no matter how much he told Yeonha it was okay, she wouldn't believe it. And in that regard, Yeonha wasn't the type to easily accept his words either. To avoid hurting her, he needed to speak as gently as possible. If that let her enjoy herself without worry, that would be best for him too.
“Hmm. It's a difficult problem, but it's common.”
“…Common…?”
…It is?
“It is. There are a lot of women who are embarrassed about their preferences. Women often have more twisted tastes than men.”
“Hmm…”
“In that case, just saying ‘it's okay’ or ‘I understand’ won't work. That has the opposite effect.”
“Hmm…?”
“Then the man has to approach it confidently. Not ‘it's okay,’ but ‘I like that too.’ Not ‘don't be embarrassed,’ but ‘even if you're embarrassed, I'm more embarrassed than you—so it's nothing.’ The man takes on the burden the woman would feel. That's what a man does, isn't it?”
“Hmm…!”
Colossus found himself nodding. Seeing this, Stonekin snickered.
“So, what exactly is sister-in-law's preference that makes you ask?”
Just as Colossus was wondering how to answer, his smartphone suddenly started vibrating.
Beep!
Where are you? Colossus? (9:22 AM)
Working. (9:23 AM)
Come home, quick!! It's urgent!! (9:23 AM)
“I should go.”
“Yeah. Good luck!”
After watching Colossus's retreating figure, Stonekin clicked his tongue and walked away again.