episode_0150

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“Hey, Teacher.”

“Huh? Oh, no. It’s not like I want to do it again or anything.”

“I think I twisted my ankle a little earlier.”

“No, no. You don’t need to assign someone to help me. I can go alone. It’s not like it’s completely sprained—it just stings a little when I walk.”

“Yeah. I’ll come right back here after treatment.”

…

…Haaah.

“Just asking in case, but…”

“What if there are a lot of other people in the infirmary right now?”

“If I wait, the timing might get a little awkward…”

…Ah.

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Thanks.”

“Teacher.”

—

150

The treatment was over.

This time, the patient was a guy who looked like he’d been in a group brawl somewhere, wearing what resembled a tattered gym uniform.

At a glance, his back and shoulders were covered in bruises, along with cuts and lacerations.

Well, I guess he must’ve been training hard somewhere.

Honestly, I don’t care.

If he were an ordinary person, he’d be heading to a funeral home, not here. I exchanged trivial small talk like “You’d be in a coffin if you were normal,” then sent him off with a smile.

The treatment was over.

This time, the patient was a female student who came to the infirmary with her right arm swollen stiff, as if she’d fractured her wrist.

Her face wasn’t bad.

Which, in other words, meant it wasn’t good either.

As for her figure, I couldn’t tell.

Whether she liked wearing oversized clothes or had other reasons, her pink-lined gym uniform was crumpled, hiding her shape.

I stared at her for a long time, wondering if she might be one of the promising future heroes, but maybe that made her uncomfortable. All I could see was her flinching and avoiding my gaze.

Not a face I remembered.

Overall.

Disqualified.

After finishing the treatment, just like before, I saw her off with a smile.

“Thank you…”

“Nah, don’t mention it. It’s my job.”

After that, various people came and went from the infirmary.

A male student who, thankfully, only exchanged light greetings, received treatment in silence, and left.

A female student who knocked on the infirmary door with just one wound that made me think, “Really? Over this?”

And even a teacher who came in during class, claiming they’d gotten hurt.

I welcomed them all with a smile and sent them off with a smile.

Of course, it’s not like I did it because I enjoy treating wounded people—as if I were some kind of saint.

One.

It’s decent image management.

Two.

…It reduces the chance of being bothered by nuisances.

Because it feels good.

—

“Come in.”

Knock knock knock.

At the sound of the door, I closed my laptop, and a familiar face peeked halfway through the infirmary door.

Snow-white hair, completely different from her older sister’s.

But the more I looked, the more I saw the exact same deep green eyes as her sister.

Lee Jiyoon, staring straight at me with those pretty eyes.

After a brief staring contest, instead of walking in, she began glancing around the infirmary.

…What should I say?

The way she acts is oddly cute.

It’s almost like Lee Hayoon is overlapping with her—no wonder they’re sisters.

“What are you doing? Get in.”

“…Is there anyone else?”

“No. And why does that matter? Didn’t you come to get your headache treated?”

“…”

It is important, though.

If someone else were here, I wouldn’t be able to do weird things with you.

But jumping straight into sex the moment we meet,

or telling you to scram once I’m satisfied…

That’s no different from how I treated those practice toys before.

With them, I didn’t need to put in the effort to care about their feelings.

But you—you’re special.

I have to handle you carefully.

So you don’t break too soon.

So you can break down properly.

Specially.

“You’re not in uniform today?”

“…Is this your first time seeing me in a gym uniform? You said a lot of patients come to the infirmary. No way you haven’t seen me in it before.”

“It’s not my first time. It just suits you.”

“……”

“Ah, did you wear it once before? …Or was it Hayoon noona who came in it…”

“…Shut up. You idiot.”

For a moment, she rested her chin on her hand, acting prickly.

Somehow, it felt like it had been a while since I’d heard Jiyoon swear. As I grinned, she slipped through the door and carefully closed it behind her.

From the sound, she didn’t lock it.

If she’d come here fully intending to do it,

she would’ve either locked it outright

or quietly locked it without me noticing.

But she didn’t seem to have that in mind.

Guess she thought it’d be weird if strange noises were heard from a locked infirmary.

…Unlike you, your sister made all sorts of cute noises while having sex in here, you know?

Ah. Maybe later, when we’ve gone further, I’ll casually mention this. Then next time, she’ll lock the door first thing.

Lost in pleasant thoughts, I continued.

“Don’t just stand there. Sit here.”

“……”

I wondered if she was upset by the silence, but thankfully, when I lightly pushed the chair out for her, she shuffled over and plopped down.

Normally, she gives off a cat-like vibe, but the way she peeked through the door earlier and how obedient she’s being today reminds me a bit of Hayoon.

A cat-dog, maybe?

Of course, she’s not wagging her tail wildly like Hayoon, but this side of her is nice too.

The way she moves so actively when she’s usually so prickly.

If this weren’t the infirmary,

I could’ve told her to go wash up quickly.

Or whined for her to strip instead of washing.

…Or maybe even caught her stealthily removing the condom I’d just put on.

I might’ve seen that side of her.

A bit of a shame.

“So, what brings you here, Student Lee Jiyoon?”

“…Headache. You already know.”

“…Really?”

“…”

“Your head hurts? Now?”

“…”

I grinned as I asked, but Jiyoon only furrowed her brows further.

When I met her eyes and chuckled, she kicked me in the shin.

Of course, there’s a slim chance she is actually in pain.

But if she had beaten those odds, she should’ve snapped back with something like, “You think I’m faking? Idiot,” when I asked again, right?

But even after I pressed her, she just fidgeted with her fingers, silent…

Missing her childish, immature displays of affection,

I playfully closed the distance.

“You just wanted to skip class with me, huh, Jiyoon?”

Even though I already knew.

Even though I was the one who gave her the excuse of a “headache” over text first.

Screech—

I pulled my chair closer until our shoes touched.

“But what can I do? I’m getting paid to work here.”

“…”

“If I get fired, are you gonna take care of me?”

“With all the money you have… Ugh…”

“That’s prejudice. Prejudice. You think all healers are rich? You saw my tiny apartment yesterday.”

“Yesterday…”

Seizing the chance, I brought up yesterday’s events and stared at Jiyoon with a blooming smile.

What kind of face will you make?

If it were the Jiyoon I knew, she’d probably get flustered and snap at me.

So how should I play with her to make it fun?

Should I just hug her without a word and see how she reacts?

Or mention all the bad things we did yesterday, one by one?

As I watched her, lost in thought,

“……”

Jiyoon just—

Turned red.

Her cheeks flushed crimson as she averted her gaze.

As if remembering last night.

“Jiyoon-ah.”

“…What.”

“Your face is really red right now.”

“S-So what…”

Jiyoon, who had only been fidgeting with her fingers until now, slowly raised her right hand to her chest.

Then, she grabbed the zipper of her gym uniform dangling near her chin and pulled it up to cover her face.

…Not that it hides much. Only her lower face, leaving her cheeks and ears fully visible.

Seriously, the way she acts today is exactly like her sister.

It’s driving me crazy.

“…Hey. Seo. Seo Jin.”

“Yeah?”

Maybe I should go lock the door now.

As I tapped my fingers on the desk, lost in thought, Jiyoon—still gripping her zipper—spoke up hesitantly.

“…Yesterday. You know.”

“Yeah.”

Her voice was unusually small.

None of the usual coldness,

or bluntness.

None of the impressions I usually got from Jiyoon.

…And yet, just seeing her blush and mumble in front of me—

That alone was enough.

Little by little,

blood rushed south.

“We… did it, right? A… a lot.”

“Yeah.”

“A lot… like, a lot… ……Sex… last time.”

“…”

“Do you remember what you said to me?”

“We weren’t even drunk. Why wouldn’t I remember?”

“Then, um…”

Jiyoon’s voice, which had been trickling out, cut off briefly.

Then, one sentence.

Staring straight at me,

she loosened the stiff gym uniform covering her lips and asked:

“…Do you like me?”

“…Do you like me?”

“…”

“You were the one who asked first during se…x. ‘Do you like me too?’…”

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Clutching my wrist as if to suppress my pounding heart, I forced the words out.

Do you like me?

The words themselves aren’t strange.

It’s just… well…

A way to confirm the other person’s feelings, right?

It’s something the frustrated party might blurt out during the awkward, fluttery stages of a situationship.

Or something you might say after being asked to meet up alone, before the other person launches into a speech.

But.

If the other person is your sister’s boyfriend.

The meaning shifts slightly.

And if you’ve already had sex with that person behind your sister’s back.

The meaning becomes a little dangerous.

“Yeah. I like you.”

“…”

And if that person confesses to their girlfriend’s little sister.

Ah, it was a misunderstanding…

That kind of hollow conclusion.

Ah, shit… You meant you like the sex…

That kind of dumb excuse.

I-I never said that? …Ah, it’s fine. I must’ve misheard…

That kind of vague backtracking—

All of it becomes impossible.

The meaning becomes dangerous.

“It’s not like I’d have sex with someone I don’t like. Dumbass.”

“A-Ah…”

But maybe, compared to seriously discussing this dangerous topic, the earlier innocent atmosphere was better.

Seo Jin, still wearing a playful smile, pressed his index finger against my forehead and spoke.

“I already kinda liked you, but then you started pulling weird moves, saying you’d ‘practice sex’ with me, and I ended up getting seduced. Happy?”

“We-Weird moves? I didn’t mean it like that…”

“You tied your hair up, imitated Hayoon noona, wore her clothes, let me touch your thighs—if that’s not a weird move, what is, idiot? You even said you’d ‘get it wet’ and enthusiastically sucked me off.”

“That’s because you kept acting like a pervert in front of my sister, so I got frustrated…!”

“Frustrated enough to give your virginity to your sister’s boyfriend?”

“…”

“Didn’t you have feelings for me too?”

“…”

Forcing a strong denial into a ‘yes’ is just stubborn logic,

but prolonged silence usually means ‘yes.’

Not that I’m saying this based on some psychological study or anything…

Just from personal experience.

…For example,

right now.

Yeah.

“Sigh… Whatever. It’s not like this is your first time lying. You’ve been lying nonstop since back then.”

“…”

“If it’s too embarrassing to say it out loud, put your hand here. Right for ‘Yes.’ Left for ‘No.’”

“…Where am I supposed to…”

“Right in front of you. I’m holding my hand out.”

“…Ah.”

Flustered, I glanced around the infirmary before finally looking back—only to see Seo Jin offering his hand.

…But, how do I put this?

I know this is just a natural gesture,

but the way his palm is facing up like this…

It feels less like he’s talking to a person and more like he’s calling a dog.

Placing my hand on his like this is just… No.

A pervert like Hayoon might love this, but a normal girl would just feel repulsed.

“…Seo Jin.”

“Yeah.”

“Right hand is ‘Yes’? …Right?”

“Yeah. Tell me if you want to switch. Left for ‘Yes’ is fine too.”

“Idiot. Why would I switch…”

…Calm down.

This isn’t a big deal. It’s just a coincidence.

Seo Jin didn’t mean it like that. Mhm.

Pushing aside the dirty thoughts popping up (probably from masturbating too much lately),

I slowly began to move my right hand—still gripping my gym zipper.

Then.

“Um…”

“Ah, noona.”

“…!”

“N-Noona, you say… …Ah, it’s just Jiyoon…”

“…”

Just as my sister—sweating profusely—appeared without knocking,

and just as I, hesitating, withdrew my right hand from Seo Jin’s—

That was the moment.