A Refreshing Morning and a Slip of the Tongue
On the final day, Sihyun opened his eyes feeling wonderfully refreshed. The lethargy that had crept over him around lunchtime the day before had vanished completely, but Spica had insisted he not overexert himself, so he had obediently stayed in bed until evening. The sanitary pad he had worn to sleep—just in case—was still clean, and after a deep rest, his body felt in perfect condition.
"Good morning, Spica!"
"Good morning, Sihyun-ssi."
When he stepped into the living room, Spica was already preparing breakfast.
"How is your body feeling?"
"Great! Perfect!"
"Whew. What a relief."
"Thank you. It's all thanks to you, Spica."
"Not at all."
As he sat at the table, Spica served him warm tea. The gentle heat slowly cleared his head.
"You've worked so hard, Spica. It must have been difficult for you, right?"
"No, Sihyun-ssi. You were the one in pain."
The two of them beamed at each other. They finished their light breakfast of bread and coffee, leaving him feeling comfortably full.
"So, Spica. I want to repay you for everything you've done."
"Repay me?"
"Yeah. Is there anything you'd like me to do for you?"
At those words, Spica's mind began spinning at full speed from the moment she woke. In truth, while Sihyun had been suffering through his period, her own desires had been rather thoroughly satisfied. It was different from before, when she couldn't even touch him. While nursing the ailing Sihyun, they had cuddled and fawned over each other. Under the excuse of easing his menstrual cramps, she had occasionally caressed him, and she had even slipped away to her room in secret to use those memories as fuel while pleasuring herself.
With her urges moderately sated, Spica was no longer desperate enough to throw herself to the floor and scream, Please have sex with me! So what should she ask for instead? Perhaps it was time to pursue platonic love rather than erotic love. She wasn't dating Sihyun-ssi just for the sex. Simply chatting and laughing together already made her blissfully happy. Besides, Sihyun-ssi had been ill and confined to the house for days. He must have felt so stifled. If they went out together, breathed fresh air, ate delicious food, and enjoyed fun sights, how much brighter his mood would become. And while they were happily playing like that, the atmosphere would surely develop on its own, wouldn't it?
The answer was a date.
"Please go on a date with me… not sex!"
"……"
"Please go on a date with me!"
Unfortunately, her mouth had moved a fraction faster than her brain. She corrected herself immediately, but Sihyun's sharp, stinging gaze did not soften.
"Haa."
"That came out wrong. I meant to say 'date' from the very beginning."
Sihyun let out a sigh, but soon offered a wry smile and spoke to her.
"Fine. Let's do it!"
"Wh-what do you mean?"
- Slap!
"What else? Sex, obviously!"
"Huh?!"
Even Sihyun seemed embarrassed to say it outright first thing in the morning; he gave Spica's back a light smack with his palm. The dazed Spica, however, felt nothing at all.
"Come on! If you're done eating, let's head out right away!"
"Yes? Yes! Right away!"
"When you come home from work today, pick up some lunch and dinner—something suitable. For dinner, get something that still tastes fine cold. Understood?"
"Yes!"
"And while you're at the mart, buy whatever we might need. Condoms, drinks, that sort of thing."
"Understood!"
"All right, dismissed!"
"Dismissed!"
Before she knew it, Spica had been shooed out the door. Though she quickly regained her senses, going back inside was out of the question. It was still a little early, but she turned her steps toward the standby area.
"Is senpai an idiot?"
"Just say my maiden heart went into overdrive…"
Spica was on standby duty once again. This time she was paired with the junior who had consulted her during Sihyun's period, as the rotation had come around.
"Understood. I'll correct myself."
"Thank you."
"Senpai, you are an idiot."
"Is my idiocy officially confirmed now?"
"What maiden heart? It's clearly just sexual desire."
"……I have nothing to say in my defense."
It was the truth, so Spica couldn't even argue.
"Does senpai remember what actually happened? It's only been a little over a month since you met him and spent the entire day raping him!"
"That's true, but…"
"Is that incorrect?"
"Can't we just let it go now?"
"You really are an idiot!"
- Whoosh!
"I dodged it!"
- Slap!
"Ow!"
She had avoided the right-cheek slap, but the follow-up left-cheek slap caught her cleanly.
"If it were the victim, maybe, but one person should never just let it go!"
"……Yes. You're right."
She had been treated so kindly and forgiven so readily that she had almost forgotten, but the fact that she had committed a crime would never disappear. It would follow her forever. Tears welled up in Spica's eyes.
"This will probably haunt me for the rest of my life."
"Yes."
"Hey, junior."
"Yes, senpai."
"Never do anything like this…"
"I won't."
After a brief moment of despair, her head cooled. Spica began to ponder in earnest.
"But what exactly should I buy?"
"What do you mean?"
"Sihyun-ssi told me to pick up various things we might need. I have no idea what to get."
"Why are you asking someone who's still single?"
"Two heads are better than one, aren't they?"
The junior grumbled but agreed to think it over with her. After all, there was nothing else to do.
"He said to get lunch, dinner, condoms, and drinks."
"Don't you have condoms at home?"
"Now that you mention it, we don't."
"You're living together."
"We haven't been intimate at all since we started living together, so it never crossed my mind."
It was a somewhat understandable reason. Most magical girls showed little interest in sexual matters until they found a lover. That was why Spica had never once considered contraceptives until now.
"You have to be careful. Without protection, you could get pregnant."
"True. If I suddenly ended up pregnant…"
"Yes. If that happened…"
"……That would be wonderful."
"What?!"
Spica imagined it: a cute daughter who resembled Sihyun. She would be utterly adorable and beautiful. What if it were a son who looked like Sihyun before he became a woman? Wouldn't he grow up to be just as dignified? A child with the person she loved. Wasn't that the true crystallization of love?
"All right. I'll only buy a few condoms."
"No, what are you even saying! You'll really get kicked out at that rate!"
"Then I'll throw myself down and beg with everything I have!"
"Even begging on your knees has its limits…"
The junior tried to dissuade her more firmly but eventually gave up. No amount of persuasion seemed likely to work. Just what had turned her respected senpai into this? A look of awe bordering on reverence filled the junior's eyes.
"For lunch, maybe something hearty like an eel rice bowl."
"Wow. That's pretty blatant."
"Since the main event is already decided, I should at least take care of his body."
"Lunch is fine—what about dinner?"
"Hmm. What tastes good even when it's cold?"
"How about kimbap?"
"Oh. That's perfect."
With the meal menu settled and various drinks chosen, they circled back to the original dilemma. What else should she buy?
After thinking hard, Spica suddenly had an idea.
"……Something naughty?"
"That might be it."
"Things you can get at an adult shop?"
"Yes."
Unfortunately, with only the two of them in the waiting room, there was no one around to tell her no.
"Like erotic underwear that either I or Sihyun-ssi could wear?"
"Should we search an online shopping mall?"
"Let's do it."
Why, when they had internet access, had they never thought to search for 'sex preparation items'? No one could say.
"The most basic item is probably a dildo, right?"
"Putting anything other than mine inside Sihyun-ssi's body feels a little wrong."
"That makes sense."
"And I can't use it myself anyway."
"A vibrator gets rejected for the same reason…"
Simply ruling out those two options narrowed the choices considerably.
"Then how about something that vibrates but isn't a dildo-type vibrator?"
"Oh… this thing called a rotor, and…"
"Right. This one's small."
"Does this one go inside too?"
"I'm not sure?"
"They sell electric massagers at adult stores?"
"Wow… so electric massagers can be used that way too…"
It was a fresh discovery for both of them that there were uses beyond shoulder massages.
"There are also devices specifically designed to stimulate the clitoris."
"Oh… that's impressive."
Spica was momentarily tempted. But after a moment's thought, she decided against it.
"No, that won't work. Sihyun-ssi might go into shock if he used that."
"Then this gets rejected too…"
"What about products meant for setting the mood rather than direct stimulation?"
"Cosplay outfits for sex?"
The shopping site had a special section dedicated to clothing. The two of them lost all track of time as they browsed the mall.
"……Oh."
"……Wow."
"Look at this, senpai."
"Amazing, amazing, amazing."
"Wha… you wear this?"
"……If wearing this is what it takes to get Sihyun-ssi into the other one, I'd gladly do it."
"Are you really going to order it?"
"……I'll buy it first and figure out the right moment later."
"Oh. True challenger spirit."
"If it goes wrong, please gather my bones for me."
"Ehh. I'd rather not."
The standby time flew by in the blink of an eye. Only when it was nearly time to head home did she realize these particular items probably weren't sold at the mart. Sihyun had simply told her to buy appropriate things from the mart—he hadn't meant deep, specialized sex supplies. It was fortunate she had realized it now.
"We wasted both time and money."
"……No. The money wasn't wasted. I'll use them later."
"Oh. True challenger indeed."
It was truly a blessing that she had thought to search for preparation items online before leaving the waiting room. After a quick search, Spica decided to stop by the mart and then head straight home.