Chapter 17. Why Do You Like Me This Much?
After thoroughly cleaning my body, I pulled some of Chae-ah's clothes from the closet and slipped them on.
"I'll fetch some water."
"Okay, unni."
To wipe down Chae-ah's body properly, I filled a basin with lukewarm water and grabbed a thick towel.
Having never wiped down someone else's body before, I felt a bit tense.
In truth, this nervousness stemmed from realizing that my actions toward Chae-ah were changing from how they used to be.
I knew I didn't need to fuss over her like this normally.
But the occasional deviations from my usual behavior were happening without me even noticing, and that was the problem.
If I kept obsessing over it, Chae-ah would surely pick up on the differences too, so I was trying my best to play it cool and accept it nonchalantly.
"Chae-ah, take off your top... Wait, why are you taking off your pants?"
"Huh? Aren't we supposed to take those off too?"
As I approached the doorway with the basin of water and towel, I spotted Chae-ah struggling to peel off her pants and panties together.
"I thought you were gonna wipe my whole body, unni... so I was taking off my pants and panties."
Her pajama top was already discarded, rolling around on the floor.
"We're not?"
With no experience wiping someone else's body, I had no benchmark for right or wrong.
"Euuung... all off nowww..."
While we talked, Chae-ah succeeded in removing her pants and panties, dropping them casually onto the floor.
"Unniii, wipe me down pleeease."
"R-right..."
The silver lining was that her lower half was still under the blanket, giving my eyes some freedom to roam.
-Swish! Swipe!
"This okay?"
"Yeah, feels good."
"Water temperature?"
"Not too hot, not too cold. Perfecttt."
Her back, as I rubbed it with the towel-wrapped hand, felt endlessly small and delicate.
This view suited the moment I'd imagined her alone, bursting into tears.
"You're still just a kid."
"Huh?"
"Your back's all trembly. Mine doesn't do that."
"Hehe, 'cause I'm only twenty-one."
"Do your parents know you're sick?"
"Nope. They'd just worry and ruin their trip if they did."
"You didn't tell them."
If she was scared enough to cry, she could've asked her parents for help, but her desire to respect their time must've been even stronger.
"Maybe I didn't say anything 'cause I knew unni would come for me."
"How would you know that?"
"Doesn't that mean we're connected by the red thread of fate?"
"Red thread of fate. That's pretty literary."
As I lightly chuckled and finished wiping most of her back, I lifted the blanket to cover her body.
Since I'd only been looking at her back, I hadn't had a chance to see the front.
"Feeling shy?"
"A little...?"
"If you're gonna be this shy, why'd you take everything off?"
"I thought that was what we were doing."
I couldn't quite grasp her threshold for embarrassment when it came to showing her body.
Thinking of her usual self, I pictured her being totally nonchalant about it.
"Cough... cough cough!"
"Chae-ah, arms up."
After cleaning her back thoroughly, I grabbed her raised arm and wiped under it.
"Hee hee hee! That tickles, unni."
"Just bear with it a sec. Gotta get it clean."
"It's kinda... embarrassing. Showing unni even this part."
It made no sense that she was shy about her armpits after showing me far more intimate spots countless times.
Maybe this was what they meant by "can't pin her down."
"Done. Other side."
"Yaaay! Hee hee hee! Tickles so baaad. Cough cough...!"
"Don't talk so much. You're coughing."
"But I wanna talk to unni."
"Once you're better, we can talk all you want. Won't be too late."
"You'll talk lots with me once I'm better?"
Suddenly, Chae-ah twisted around and grabbed both my hands tightly.
At that moment, the blanket slipped away.
Her lower half was fully exposed, and my gaze was irresistibly drawn between her legs.
"Ch-Chae-ah."
"You'll talk lots with me once I'm better, righttt?"
Chae-ah focused more on the idea of chatting with me than on her full nudity.
"Saying it like that makes me sound like a total tyrant boss."
Knowing it came from her pure heart, I continued with a small smile.
"That's not a wish—it's a given."
"Gotta talk lots with unni once I'm better then."
She thrust her arms up high, kicking her hidden legs under the blanket.
The cuteness in her actions and words inevitably made me smile.
So different from what I'd seen that day—it sometimes made me wonder which was the real Chae-ah.
"Feels like having a little sister."
"Unni, what if I were your little sister?"
"I'd probably spoil you rotten. Think I'd adore you."
As I mindlessly said that and wiped her side clean, Chae-ah whipped around to face me again.
"Am I cute? Pretty?!"
It was an undeniable fact, so I started to nod—then her legs parted again, drawing my eyes deep between them.
"Chae-ah."
"Yes, unni."
"Uh... look forward."
"Okaaaay."
If we hadn't had sex, if our first meeting hadn't been that awkward moment, would I be reacting differently now?
Maybe we'd buttoned it wrong from the start—
No, that's just pushing Chae-ah away.
All I had to do was resist her tempting words and actions.
Everything else, I should accept without pushing back—to keep this relationship as it was.
Staring at the overwhelming sight too long must've let bad thoughts creep in.
"Gonna wipe your chest now."
"Okay, unni."
I stepped forward to face her and sat down for better access.
Careful not to let the towel brush her nipples, I wiped the tops of her breasts, then gently lifted to clean underneath.
"Pfft!"
Suddenly, Chae-ah burst out laughing.
"Why're you laughing?"
"Your hand holding the towel looks so careful and deliberate."
I let her words go in one ear and out the other as I slid the towel-wrapped hand between her breasts.
Then Chae-ah grabbed my hand, forcing it to squeeze her breast.
"Chae-ah..."
"What do you feel when you touch my breasts, unni?"
"Quit messing around..."
"Not messing. I really wanna know."
My gaze naturally fell to the breast I was gripping.
It was instinctive—I couldn't resist.
"Does it turn you on? Wanna have sex with me?"
"...Of course it turns me on."
Her serious eyes killed any urge to dodge the question.
"What do you think of my breasts?"
"Soft. Squishy. Wanna keep touching."
"Then touch whenever. It's fine if it's you, unni."
With my other hand, I pried her fingers off my wrist one by one.
As her grip loosened, she desperately tried to hold on tighter with her fingertips.
Regrettably, I refused.
"Just 'cause I'm turned on and wanna touch doesn't mean I can act on it."
"Why? Don't like me?"
"No, I do. I like you a lot."
"Then...!"
"That's exactly why I can't. It'd ruin this relationship."
Chae-ah stared at me with eyes full of questions.
Her face brimmed with words she was about to unleash.
"But... uh...?"
Suddenly, her body swayed.
I hurriedly reached out, cradling her head and gently laying it on the pillow.
The medicine was finally kicking in.
"Sleep well, Chae-ah."
"Unni..."
As I tried to pull away, she weakly clutched my finger with trembling fingertips.
"Don't go..."
"I won't. I'll stay right here."
With those words, her eyes slowly closed.
I dunked the fallen towel into the basin, then pulled the blanket up to her neck.
"Sweet dreams, Chae-ah."
As the deep night settled after everything was done, I stayed awake, staring blankly at her.
"To think you'd like me this much."
Until now, I'd been convinced her feelings were some shallow infatuation at first sight.
But that tremor and gaze just moments ago couldn't come from anything so superficial.
The vibration still lingered, so I stared at my wrist for a while.
"What is it about me that you like so much?"
I hadn't said it while she was awake—fearing it'd create a bad situation for me—but now, with no answer possible, I blurted it out.
I was such a coward, so petty.
"Mmm... Yui unniii..."
Chae-ah shifted in her sleep, turning toward me and murmuring my name.
Meeting someone who liked me this much felt like pure luck, of course.
That's why I was grateful to her.
But I kept pushing her away, unable to show it.
"I'm sorry, Chae-ah."
As I leaned close to smooth her hair, I whispered softly in her ear.
"I don't know when it'll be, but... I hope the day you come to me arrives."
Hoping for that moment was the only way I could express my gratitude to her.