Ch.6060. Nurse on the Bed

After being poked in the arm with a toy syringe several times, I started to think I’d endured enough.

“So, how long are you going to keep this up?”

I was pretending it didn’t bother me, but it was starting to become uncomfortable. The soft pressure against my lower abdomen was one thing, and Hwa Nabi’s excessively exposed upper body right in front of my face was another.

Lying here looking up at her was making dangerous thoughts pop into my head… Whether she knew what I was thinking or not, Hwa Nabi just continued to look down at me with a pouty face.

Then, without responding, she jabbed the blunt needle into me again with a soft “thunk.”

I grabbed the tip of the toy syringe and asked,

“…How long are you going to keep this up?”

“Why? Am I too heavy?”

“No, that’s not it. But still…”

“Then it shouldn’t matter if I stay like this, right?”

This didn’t seem like something that could be concluded so easily. Hwa Nabi responded primly, her face showing no trace of embarrassment or shame.

“…”

Her irritable behavior suggested something was bothering her. But what? I swallowed dryly as I tried to figure it out, but nothing came to mind. At times like this, I needed to identify what was upsetting her to resolve the situation, and just as I was thinking that—

“Siwoo.”

Having lost her syringe, she suddenly met my gaze and murmured. Her arms were still resting on my abdomen.

The movement of her fingers on my pajamas felt unnecessarily delicate. Actually, now that I looked closer, it seemed like she was pretending not to touch me while actually fidgeting… Or maybe that was just my imagination.

“What?”

“…’What?’ Is that all? Isn’t that response a bit half-hearted?”

“Then what am I supposed to say?”

When I replied grumpily, Hwa Nabi’s fingers slipped into the gap of my pajama top. I almost made a strange sound in that moment. Barely holding it in, I exclaimed in alarm:

“Hey, what are you suddenly touching?”

If our genders were reversed, this would be nothing short of sexual harassment. But Hwa Nabi looked like she couldn’t care less.

“Bear with it, this is a necessary procedure for examination.”

“Are you examining patients without a stethoscope?”

“Ah, right. I forgot to take that out.”

Muttering to herself, Hwa Nabi rummaged through her skirt pocket again. She reached deep inside and pulled out something that looked like a long cord.

A black cord with a round metal piece at the end. I didn’t need to look closely to know it was a medical stethoscope. I had meant it sarcastically, but she actually produced a real stethoscope.

“What exactly do you keep in your pockets?”

It’s amazing that all of that fit in her pocket. Dumbfounded, I threw out a comment, which she responded to with a prim expression.

“What else? A syringe and a stethoscope.”

“Why are you carrying those around?”

“Well… because I’m a nurse?”

“You’re not even a doctor, and a nurse carrying those things around…”

“…Anyway, why are you talking so much? Patients should be quiet.”

With that, Hwa Nabi put the earpieces in and placed the chest piece on my chest. Anyone watching would think this was a real medical examination.

“Can you actually hear anything?”

“Shh, stay still.”

Hwa Nabi didn’t just stop at words; she took physical action. She pressed her index finger against my lips to silence me.

But my being quiet wouldn’t change anything. Stethoscopes’ quality depends on their price, so with a toy like this, she wouldn’t be able to hear my heartbeat properly.

“Hmm… I can’t hear well.”

As if just realizing this obvious fact, Hwa Nabi moved the chest piece around a few times before furrowing her brow and muttering.

“Are you done now? I think that’s enough…”

But at that moment, something unexpected happened.

“Ugh!”

Hwa Nabi, clearly frustrated, suddenly threw off the stethoscope and pressed her ear directly against my chest.

“Na—”

I was so surprised I thought my heart would stop. I expected her to back off after a while, but the physical contact became even more intense. Without thinking, I placed my hands on her shoulders.

The previous position was already precariously dangerous, but this was a level beyond that. With just a thin layer of clothing between us, pressed together without any gap, this was a position that would cause serious misunderstandings if anyone saw us. Alarmed, I tried to stop her.

“Hey… what if someone sees us?”

My timid murmur didn’t reach Hwa Nabi. Instead, as if my muttering was disturbing her, she pressed her body even closer, signaling me to be quiet.

“Hmm…”

As if I didn’t matter at all, she made cute little noises while feeling my heartbeat. What started as auscultation had somehow turned into palpation.

Or was it the other way around? …Actually, it didn’t really matter either way.

“…”

My heart naturally pounded as the world’s most attractive nurse personally examined me.

I unconsciously started to move my hands… but barely managed to stop myself.

“…Phew.”

Come to think of it, she sometimes closes the distance like this, and honestly, it’s very troubling. She doesn’t understand what’s going on inside me, and I never know how to react in these situations.

I suppressed the urge to just embrace her tightly, thinking that might surprise her enough to be more careful next time.

“Siwoo.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Of course not, you’re not a doctor.”

“But I think I can tell something else.”

“Oh? What did you figure out?”

My tone was playful, so I asked lightly. I expected another meaningless answer that I could just acknowledge and move past.

But that wasn’t the case.

“…Your heart is beating really fast.”

“…”

Her words caught me off guard. When she accurately pointed out my condition, I involuntarily took a sharp breath.

Just as Hwa Nabi said, my chest was pounding more violently than ever before. So much that I worried it might burst. I tried not to show my embarrassment as I responded.

“That’s because of you.”

“…Why because of me?”

“That’s…”

Is that even a question? I deliberately swallowed the rest of my words.

“Um, Siwoo.”

“…What?”

“A few days ago, something you said to me. Do you remember?”

“Well, I’ve said so many things. What did I say?”

I responded playfully, but Hwa Nabi’s gaze was anything but playful. She was asking in all seriousness.

Finally understanding the situation, I looked directly into Hwa Nabi’s eyes.

Eventually, her pink lips parted.

“You said… I was the most important to you?”

…How unfair to bring that up now. I had a lot I wanted to say about that statement from back then, but I first nodded my head.

“Yeah, I did say that.”

“But thinking about it now. I never gave you an answer then, did I?”

“Did that require an answer?”

You asked how I felt about you, and I gave my honest feelings. But Hwa Nabi shook her head from side to side.

“Yes, so now you should ask me the same question.”

“What question should I ask?”

“The same question I asked you.”

“…You mean, how do you think of me?”

Though the context made it clear, I asked just to be sure. As expected, Hwa Nabi nodded, and I moistened my dry lips with my tongue.

Come to think of it, I was so busy expressing my feelings that I never heard how Hwa Nabi felt about me. I should have asked earlier.

Yes, that’s right… but why can’t I get the words out? I was able to blurt out embarrassing things before the situation was set up, but now that the stage was prepared, I felt tremendous psychological resistance.

Ah, I know I’m not being very manly. But there’s a reason I can’t help it. If I may make one excuse, it’s that our current position is quite suggestive.

Me lying spread-eagle on the bed, with Hwa Nabi perched on top of me like a cat. In this position, asking how she feels about me would be impossible for anyone who isn’t completely shameless.

“Um… well.”

I unconsciously mumbled, hoping Hwa Nabi would let me off the hook.

But Hwa Nabi just pressed her lips together and stared at me. She wouldn’t respond until I spoke first. Though she said nothing, her eyes conveyed her determination.

“Um…”

“……”

“So, how… do you think of me?”

Unable to look her in the eye as I asked, I directed my gaze slightly to the side. But Hwa Nabi showed no reaction.

She must have heard what I said, yet she acted as if she hadn’t heard anything. She just kept looking at my eyes…

“…Ah.”

…I belatedly realized. The reason Hwa Nabi was pretending not to hear was simple. She wouldn’t acknowledge anything I said unless I was looking directly into her eyes.

“…”

She still said nothing and just stared at me. The meaning in her eyes was clear. It was silent pressure for me to speak up.

Ah, I give up. Whatever happens, happens.

After taking a deep internal sigh, I looked directly into Hwa Nabi’s eyes and asked:

“…How do you think of me?”