episode_0400

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“Maybe I rushed it too much.”

Seol Da-bin was doing her best to maintain a neutral expression, but anyone could see how visibly flustered she was.

Right after she left the infirmary, I leaned back in my chair and absentmindedly fiddled with my empty pocket.

My mind was a mess, and for the first time in a while, I craved nicotine—but of course, there was no way I could get my hands on any now.

In the end, my substitute was a cheap candy I occasionally handed out to students.

With a rustling sound, I unwrapped it and popped the orange-flavored sugar lump into my mouth.

It tasted like my teeth were rotting. No wonder kids loved this stuff, I thought briefly.

Then, as the next patient walked in, I put on a gentle smile.

“Hello, teacher. Um, I think I might be coming down with a cold…”

“Ah~ A cold. You must’ve stayed under the AC for too long in this heat.”

“Maybe…”

“Summer colds are supposed to be rough… Do you have a fever?”

“It’s a low-grade one, but… yeah.”

If I wanted to steadily close the distance between Seol Da-bin and me, I obviously needed to take my time.

If I let my personal feelings show carelessly, it wouldn’t just end in momentary contempt.

News would naturally reach Lee Ha-yoon too, and then I’d lose the fish I’d already hooked.

But the biggest problem was that if I prioritized safety too much, I couldn’t guarantee how long this plan would take.

There was even a chance I might not get a single meaningful connection with her before she graduated from the academy.

So, I had to take the longest detour possible.

And within that, the fastest route available.

I thought it was a decent idea to use counseling as a pretext to bring up the topic of nighttime activities between couples with Seol Da-bin.

I also figured it was within bounds to casually probe how often she’d been doing it with her boyfriend.

“……”

But I hadn’t expected it to end with absolutely no gain.

“From what I can see, it seems like a throat cold. Your throat hasn’t been bothering you?”

“Uh… No. I haven’t had any symptoms there…”

The only things I got from Seol Da-bin were: “Just go masturbate or something.” and “Time will solve it.”

On top of that, I’d already guessed that she used to have sex frequently but had slowed down recently.

Around high school age—when hormones were raging—she probably went at it like crazy, and now her body had cooled off a bit.

In the end, all I gained was…

The fact that I’d broached that kind of topic with Seol Da-bin for the first time.

I should take back what I said about gaining nothing, but that didn’t make the disappointment disappear.

If my relationship with Seol Da-bin was progressing at this snail’s pace, it’d take years before I could make her betray her boyfriend.

In the end, I’d have to keep pushing forward while looking for a better method.

“…This is tough.”

“Huh? What’s tough…?”

“Ah, just talking to myself. Just talking.”

“Oh…”

Maybe I should design a situation that could serve as a more direct trigger.

Like getting trapped alone together in a mountain lodge, drenched from a downpour outside. How about that kind of artificial scenario?

Or maybe set up another drinking session, pretend to be blackout drunk this time, and claim I mistook her for Lee Ha-yoon before absolutely wrecking her.

But if I really tried that, I’d probably get crushed by Seol Da-bin before I could even get her clothes off.

What about this? What about that?

After a chain of stupid thoughts, I finally decided.

“Feeling a bit better now?”

“Yeah, yeah. Thanks…”

For now, I’d aim to become someone who frequently counsels Seol Da-bin.

I’d suggest that masturbation probably wouldn’t solve her problem.

Who knew how things would turn out later…

But compared to rushing in impatiently and ruining everything,

keeping this pace was the better option.

400

…Even now, it’s ridiculous to think about.

Four or five hours.

Is that even human?

I sneakily searched it up on my phone, and apparently, no one lasts that long.

And even after all that, it’s still not enough?

They’re holding back because they’re worried Ha-yoon or Ji-yoon might get tired?

…Since I can’t exactly ask them to show me, that text must’ve just been a tease, right?

“Da-bin. Here. Your phone.”

“…Ah. I was gonna grab it anyway.”

“It’s fine. We can just go shower together like this, right?”

Even though lunchtime was almost over, dealing with those idiots who only knew how to fight—still making loud banging noises in the distance—was finally done.

Taking the phone from Ha-yoon, who was drenched in sweat, I gave her an awkward smile and met her eyes.

…Hmm.

Is this because of that weird conversation I had with Seo Woo-jin in the infirmary earlier?

Ha-yoon’s bright smile was no different from usual, but my damn eyes kept superimposing Woo-jin over her, which was seriously troublesome.

The fact that the other person was the pure-hearted Ha-yoon only made the cognitive dissonance worse.

“Let’s shower before the others crowd in. Don’t you have to meet your boyfriend during lunch too?”

“……”

Is it really true that she has sex with Woo-jin for hours every day?

Is it really like those lewd videos, where she moans in a sweet voice, panting heavily?

And that she does that kind of thing with her younger sister too?

Annoyingly, these weird images kept overlapping in my mind, but there was nothing I could do about it right now.

Like I advised Woo-jin earlier, all I could do was wait for time to pass.

I tossed my phone into my personal locker, then headed to the showers with my toiletries.

Thanks to the many students still sparring, Ha-yoon and I were the first in the communal showers.

After passing a few showerheads with weird water pressure, we settled into stalls separated by a single partition.

Soon, the sound of rushing water filled the air, followed by Ha-yoon humming a cute little tune.

Honestly, she’s got a bit of a knack for singing—I noticed that at karaoke too.

A daily life slightly quieter than usual.

While rummaging for shampoo, I heard her voice from the other side of the partition.

“Yesterday was really fun, right?”

Her voice echoed slightly in the shower.

Normally, this place would be too crowded for proper conversation, but with just the two of us here, I squeezed shampoo into my palm and replied.

“Wasn’t bad.”

“Huh? Just ‘not bad’? Hmm… Did we take too many pictures without you…?”

“I didn’t take any either because I couldn’t be bothered. Besides, we lost that 2v2 at the arcade.”

“Ah, come on~ I thought maybe only I had fun… And you won the board game!”

Our hushed conversation continued—about how lunch had been really delicious.

How in the end, all that remains are photos.

How she’d install a board game app on her phone when she got home and master it before the next match.

How Ji-yoon also liked games and was good at them, so she’d force her to be her practice partner.

A belated question—would it be okay if the four of us went on another double date like this?

And since early June had passed and real summer was coming, what about the beach or a pool? And so on.

As Ha-yoon chirped away, I nodded along and occasionally teased her.

Then, as if something had just occurred to her, she gasped and tapped the partition with her finger.

“Oh, and Da-bin, you asked me something weird yesterday…”

“……?”

Something weird?

Now that I thought about it…

“You asked how often I do it with my boyfriend… Why did you—”

“Cough! Cough…!”

“Whoa, you okay…? Did shower water go down your throat?”

…Ah, right.

She’d also remembered that time I drunkenly described “size” in front of friends.

Of course, she’d remember this too.

Especially since I was half-awake this time, not passed out.

Flustered, I accidentally swallowed some mouthwash and quickly spat it out before scrambling for an excuse.

“I-I was just… curious about how other couples are. You know, besides us.”

That should be a plausible enough cover.

If I’d blurted out something actually weird, that’d be one thing—but all I’d asked was whether they did it often, which was pretty harmless.

Maybe that’s why Ha-yoon didn’t press further and just laughed it off like usual.

However.

“Ah, Da-bin, what about you? Do you guys do it often? Or has it slowed down since you’ve been together long?”

“……”

The question carried the assumption, “Of course they’ve had sex,” so I answered like a couple who obviously had.

“Lately, it’s been less frequent… I mean, we’ve been together a while.”

“Hmm~ …Talking about this stuff feels kinda embarrassing. Hehe.”

“Same here. It’s totally 19+.”

“Pfft…” “Anyway, I liked it so much I’ll probably do it a lot more. Seems like you didn’t enjoy it as much, Da-bin.”

Seems like you didn’t enjoy it as much, Da-bin.

= Seems like your boyfriend couldn’t make you feel good.

= Seems like your boyfriend’s bad at sex.

If it were some rude girl, there’d be a high chance she meant it in that annoying, catty way—but this was Ha-yoon, so she definitely didn’t mean it like that.

She probably just meant “Guess sex isn’t your thing.”

So, after spitting out the rest of my mouthwash, I continued the conversation with some creative embellishments.

“Yeah. Everyone else says it’s great, but I guess it’s just not my thing.”

“That’s so interesting. For me, from the very first time, it was… totally amazing…”

“……Huh.”

Her voice dripped with honey, as if just remembering it made her happy.

Well, no wonder she was so willing to stay up until 3 a.m. with Woo-jin.

Anyway, judging by Ha-yoon’s reaction, it seemed like Woo-jin could’ve gone further if he wanted—she wouldn’t have minded.

“……”

…Just how good did it feel to make her sound like that?

Rinsing off the shampoo, I glanced down at my lower abdomen.

Logically, shouldn’t it hurt when something thick and long forcefully pounds such a soft, tight space? …Or not?

Like, guys might like big breasts, but if they’re too big, it’s just grotesque.

So even if bigger is better, there’s probably an ideal size, right…?

Lost in thought, I finally gave in to curiosity and asked.

If nothing else, Ha-yoon was my “senior” in this area.

“Ha-yoon. That time you said… it was really big. The nurse. …Not something to say in front of her, but.”

“Ah, yeah. Probably on the bigger side…?”

“Then doesn’t it usually hurt? More than feeling good?”

“Hurt?”

“…I-It did for me. …With my boyfriend.”

“…Ah~ I guess that could happen. But for me, it’s just… When Woo-jin holds me, it feels so good. I don’t really notice any pain.”

“……Hmm…”

“Actually, when he presses deep inside, it’s…, …Hm, wait. Saying it out loud is kinda embarrassing… Haha…”

But no matter how much I asked, Ha-yoon just giggled shyly without elaborating.

After staring at her partition for a moment, I finally changed the subject and continued showering.

By then, other students had started trickling in, making it impossible to continue that kind of conversation.