Episode 11. How Far Will We Go, I Wonder
Episode 11. How Far Will We Go, I Wonder
"Haa......"
Seeing Yubin lying down with a needle in her arm, Seyeon propped her head with her hand and let out a deep sigh.
It was a bit absurd.
Even Seyeon hadn't anticipated things would turn out this way.
Unlike the expected reaction from the drug, Yubin suddenly staggered and then collapsed to the floor with a thud, as if she'd genuinely fallen asleep.
Even for Seyeon, it was impossible not to be a little flustered. She first neutralized the drug's effects and immediately took her to the hospital.
And that's how they ended up here, now.
Yubin was lying on a hospital bed with an IV drip.
Seyeon recalled what the doctor had said.
They'd need to talk to the patient for details, but it seemed she had briefly fainted due to various causes.
Malnutrition, dehydration, stress, and so on.
"......"
Was that really it?
Seyeon felt like puzzle pieces were clicking into place in her mind.
Yubin had said she only had one set of underwear. Her uniform was worn out, as if it were years old. She'd devoured the bread and milk given as a reward like someone who hadn't eaten for days, and she slept through every class.
And also......
The list went on and on once she started thinking about it.
So was she truly that poor? To the point of not even being able to eat properly?
And on top of that, she'd given such an excessive command to this girl......
"Ah, seriously......"
She had to admit it. She'd made another mistake.
She should have properly understood Yubin's situation before starting the conditioning.
The reason for these frequent mistakes was that, while her ability and motivation were more than sufficient—overflowing, even—she lacked experience. This was Seyeon's first time seriously developing a girl like this.
Still, there was some room for mitigation.
Who could have known she was this poor?
"You ruined all my plans for today, you dummy."
Seyeon slowly stroked Yubin's sweaty forehead.
She'd even gone to the trouble of giving her a high-concentration drug, but if she just collapsed like this......
'I guess I need to build up her stamina first.'
How could someone with a body like this even become a Hunter?
First, she needed to feed her well and get her to exercise properly, so she could handle her.
Seyeon resolved to do just that.
"Uuung......"
"Huh, Yubin-ah...?"
A groaning sound was heard, and Yubin opened her eyes.
"Don't get up. Stay lying down."
"Ah, okay......"
Seyeon gently pushed Yubin back down as she reflexively tried to sit up.
Yubin was extremely confused. This was already the second time she'd woken up in a strange place.
"What happened, Seyeon-ah...?"
"You fainted for a little while."
A strange sense of déjà vu filled Yubin's mind. It felt like she was repeating a conversation they'd had before.
Seyeon informed the doctor that Yubin had regained consciousness.
The doctor walked over immediately and asked Yubin a few questions.
"How many meals do you have a day, lately?"
"I, I have all three meals......"
"You're a student, right?"
"Yes."
"Then you have School Meals for lunch. What did you have for breakfast and dinner yesterday?"
"Um, uh......"
"......?"
Seyeon and the doctor looked at Yubin curiously as she struggled to answer.
"Uh, um......"
After moving her lips silently for a moment, Yubin finally opened her mouth and said:
"T, tap water......"
"......"
Seyeon glanced at Yubin with an incredulous look. The doctor did the same.
An awkward silence filled the area around the bed. Meanwhile, Yubin's face turned red and she just hung her head low.
The doctor was the one who broke the silence.
"Ahem, patient. We don't usually consider drinking water a meal, you know."
"Y, yes......"
"That's just something you have to do to survive. Of course, meals are too, but......"
"Yep... Sorry......"
"No need to apologize to me. Is there a specific reason you eat so little?"
"Uh......"
Yubin fidgeted with her fingers and hesitated for a long while. The doctor waited patiently without pressuring her.
"Just, it's, it's a diet."
"Hmm......"
The doctor scribbled something with his pen and looked back at Yubin.
"Actually, we see many cases like yours. Most people faint suddenly due to mild malnutrition from overly strict dieting, compounded by dehydration and stress."
"......"
"Starving yourself will make you lose weight, but it's really bad for your health. You need to eat proper meals. And you should drink bottled or filtered water if possible."
"Okay......"
"Anyway, other than that, there's nothing particularly wrong, so you can go home after finishing the paperwork. Or you can lie down a bit longer."
Yubin nodded weakly.
With that, the doctor left, leaving only Seyeon by Yubin's side.
Silence flowed between them again. Like turning a faucet on and off, silence and conversation repeated.
Seyeon was looking at Yubin with a completely expressionless face, not her usual smile.
Yubin fidgeted uncomfortably, feeling self-conscious.
For some reason, she felt foolish. The emergency room was full of people who looked quite critical. Some had heart monitors drawing strange graphs, others were being treated for bleeding external injuries. Doctors and nurses moved busily, creating a noisy atmosphere.
Lying in a hospital bed for such a trivial reason felt a bit embarrassing.
"Yubin-ah."
"Huh, yes?"
Seyeon called her name.
"What kind of diet is that with a body like this? You're slimmer than me."
"......"
"So, you 'ate' tap water for breakfast and dinner?"
As if respecting Yubin's wording, Seyeon used "ate" instead of "drank."
"Yes."
"Does that make any sense?"
"......"
Yubin had nothing to say.
Seyeon stroked Yubin's arm as she spoke.
"Is this your first time dieting, Yubin-ah?"
"...Yes."
"That's why you pushed yourself too hard and collapsed. There's hardly any fat to lose in the first place."
Is she really believing my excuse just like that?
Yubin had the foolish thought.
"Originally, dieting isn't about starving but about exercising......"
Seyeon muttered quietly, as if talking to herself.
"After school, you said you just read or studied, right?"
"Yes."
"Then, well... This might be a bit sudden, but......"
Seyeon hesitated, just like Yubin had moments ago, then finally spoke.
"Will you come to me every day at 7 PM?"
"...Huh?"
Yubin didn't understand Seyeon's words and just blinked cutely.
"What do you mean, Seyeon-ah?"
"Come to the front of the school Dormitory by 7. I'll properly show you what dieting is really about, just come."
"......"
"I'll feed you proper meals and make you exercise."
Yubin's cheek twitched slightly.
She roughly understood. Seyeon was phrasing it this way to be considerate of her.
"B-but, wouldn't that be too much of a burden for you...?"
"Yubin-ah, I knew you'd say that. It's not a burden at all."
Seyeon answered in a very confident tone.
"But if it makes you uncomfortable, think of it as something you'll pay back later."
"Hmm......"
"You can pay it back however you want. With money, or with your body."
"Hyeek......"
"I'm joking, Yubin-ah."
Yubin was scared of Seyeon's jokes that sometimes popped out so abruptly.
Though, contrary to Yubin's thoughts, that statement was actually quite serious.
"So, what will you do?"
"Ah, okay. Every day, by 7 PM...?"
"Yes, that's right. Every single day. Hehe......"
Seyeon finally gave a gentle smile as she looked at Yubin. Feeling like things were returning to normal, Yubin could let out a sigh of relief.
"Um, the meals you mentioned, how...?"
"I'm talking about dinner. I'd like to provide breakfast too, but—"
"Ah, no! You don't have to provide breakfast. It's really okay."
Yubin frantically waved her hands in refusal before her guilt could grow any larger.
"Is that so? Anyway, the Dormitory serves dinner. From six to eight. You can eat that. I tried it for a couple of days, and it's surprisingly tasty. Much better than School Meals."
"Really?"
"Really."
Seyeon gave a slight smile.
"But, isn't dormitory dinner only for dormitory students?"
"No, anyone can eat it if they pay. It's closer to buying a meal at a cafeteria rather than receiving a meal ticket."
"Hmm......"
I see, Yubin thought.
"Don't worry about anything. I'll take care of it all. Understood?"
"Mhm......"
Wouldn't she become too dependent on Seyeon like this?
Yubin had that thought for a moment, but living like a proper human being came first.
"Thank you, Seyeon-ah."
"Sure."
As she gave her thanks, Yubin felt like she might cry, but she barely held it back.
"Do you want to lie down a bit longer?"
"...Yes. I'm still a little dizzy."
"Okay, rest without worrying about what others think."
After that, the conversation ceased again. Yubin blankly stared at the fluorescent light on the ceiling, and Seyeon scanned Yubin from head to toe with her eyes. Like a printer scanning a document.
"...I've been thinking about something."
Just as Yubin's consciousness was growing distant and she was about to fall asleep again, Seyeon's voice woke her.
Yubin almost instinctively asked what it was, but her intuition told her that Seyeon wasn't saying this expecting an answer.
So she decided to just stay quiet.
"I suddenly felt motivated and ran forward without looking, but when I stopped and looked around, I felt like I had no idea where I was."
"......"
"That thought made me worry a bit. Where exactly am I going? But I couldn't find an answer."
Yubin was a bit flustered by the out-of-context story, but she had enough sense not to voice her confusion.
"So I decided to stop worrying about it."
"......?"
"I'll just keep running like I did at the beginning. Without thinking. I don't think I need to ponder it so seriously."
"Hmm......"
"For that, you need to eat well and sleep well. Understood?"
Though Yubin didn't really understand, she nodded anyway.
If Seyeon-ah said so, it must be right.
Seyeon gently stroked Yubin's slightly damp hair with her fingers.
That's right. Truly, there was no need to think so deeply about it. She didn't want to, either.
She just needed to go where her desires led her. If she did that, she would arrive somewhere eventually. Like boarding an unfamiliar train at a strange station.
She didn't know where it was going, but there was definitely a final destination.
In other words, from now on, Seyeon would focus solely on developing Yubin. She wouldn't worry about things like the nature of their relationship for now. That would form naturally in the end.
Instead, she would ponder how to condition her appropriately to prevent another situation like this. Her new goal became to move forward carefully, balancing left and right like walking a tightrope, until the moment she could make Yubin collapse completely.
Though she had said this to Yubin with such a terrifying implication, there was no way Yubin would realize it.
Looking at Yubin dozing off, her body languidly stretched out on the slightly hard hospital bed, Seyeon thought:
Just how far will we go?