Chapter 180. Twins (2)
Day 4 of hospitalization.
Thursday.
As expected, I was lying in the hospital room.
Around my bed were bright bouquets of flowers.
They were flowers Nam Daeun brought.
She's come every day since getting visitation permission, and today, she even brought a huge bunch of flowers.
"This was the cheapest and had the most flowers."
The bouquet she handed me was a bundle of baby's breath.
"... Oh, thanks."
She really didn't have to worry about cost-efficiency this much.
Thanks to her, my hospital room was looking brighter.
There were a ton of rose baskets and baby's breath bouquets.
"Where'd you get all this money?"
Nam Daeun wasn't exactly rich, yet she bought so many flowers.
"Scarlett gave it to me. I told her it was fine, but she insisted."
"Hmm..."
Well, she probably insisted because a broke girl wanted to buy flowers.
Scarlett really is kind.
"Anyway, thanks. The room feels way brighter now."
I'd be heading out again later, but a gift always puts me in a good mood.
"Well then, I'll get going. Take care."
Nam Daeun always left shortly after seeing I was doing okay.
Still, I was grateful just for her visit.
"So you like this kind of stuff, huh."
I looked at the rose basket and baby's breath she left and licked my lips.
She doesn't have a bright image, but she likes flowers. Interesting.
I glanced at my smartwatch.
- Elise: I'll come by tomorrow. We need to talk about the contract.
A message from Elise last night.
Yeah, it was about time.
We made a mana massage contract, but only had one session.
The contract meant I only went when Elise called, so it wasn't my fault.
Knock knock.
"Patient Lee Hoyeon, someone named Elise is here to see you."
"Yes. Please send her up."
As soon as Nam Daeun left, Elise arrived.
She finally came.
I wonder what she wants to talk about.
I loosened up my body while waiting for Elise.
*
"... I actually came."
Elise took a deep breath in front of Lee Hoyeon's hospital room.
She'd never gone to visit someone first in her life, yet here she was.
And it was a man she was visiting.
"It's because of the contract. Yeah. The contract."
The massage contract she made with Lee Hoyeon.
She treated him like one of the top massage therapists, so the contract fee alone was huge.
But since Sebas Chan had been tracking her 24/7, she hadn't had a chance to meet Hoyeon.
Now that Sebas Chan was on vacation, it was time for a massage—but of course, he's hospitalized now.
'Should I just tell my dad?'
A mana massage from a young man, done with bare skin.
If her dad found out, the entire guild would flip, so she'd been hiding it… but maybe she'd have to tell him now.
Anyway, the main goal was treatment.
Nothing's more important than that.
'I'll think about it a little more.'
Elise shook her head, cleared her thoughts, and knocked on the door.
Knock knock.
"Yes. Come in."
As the door opened, she saw the bed surrounded by bright flowers.
And there, she saw Lee Hoyeon.
"... It's been a while."
Surrounded by flowers, Lee Hoyeon looked like an angel from another world.
Maybe it was because she hadn't seen him in a while, but his face didn't feel real.
"Yeah. Thanks for visiting."
"No, I came because of the contract. Sorry for talking business while you're hospitalized."
Elise placed the fruit basket she brought on the table and sat down.
The hospital bed Hoyeon was lying on.
It was her first time seeing it in person, but it felt familiar.
Because she'd seen it often in Scarlett's videos.
Gulp.
Elise swallowed.
Seeing the bed she always watched while masturbating at night made her body feel strangely hot.
"I was waiting for your message, but with things like this..."
Lee Hoyeon lightly lifted his arm.
His weak gesture and patient gown showed his condition.
"They say you can't use mana at all right now?"
"Yeah. A massage would be tough."
"Any idea when you'll recover?"
"Uh... not sure? Maybe around a week."
Lee Hoyeon looked at his arm.
He was definitely in better shape than day one.
At this rate, he figured full recovery in about a week.
"A week..."
But Elise only had a week too.
If he didn't recover by then, she'd be stuck waiting again with no promise.
'I can't let that happen.'
Talking to him made it clear.
She couldn't wait anymore.
She was already spending more and more nights touching herself.
All because of Lee Hoyeon.
If she could just get one massage, it felt like the frustration would melt away.
His touch during that massage gave her excitement and pleasure she couldn't find from masturbation alone. She still hadn't forgotten that sensation.
"... Okay. I'll contact you after I've recovered."
It wasn't like this would be the last massage anyway. She couldn't just wait for Sebas Chan to be gone every time.
'Yeah… this is treatment.'
Elise decided that as soon as Sebas Chan's vacation ended, she'd invite Lee Hoyeon to her house.
She had to introduce him to the mana masseuse she found herself.
*
After finishing her talk with Lee Hoyeon, Elise left the hospital room.
'But what should I say?'
Bringing a cadet she secretly investigated as a masseuse... that'd be awkward.
Wondering how to persuade Sebas Chan, Elise reached the hospital lobby.
The lobby had various shops like a cafe and a toast shop.
Among them, Elise spotted a familiar face at the flower shop.
'... Nam Daeun?'
Nam Daeun was chatting with the florist while holding a bouquet.
Roses and baby's breath. The owner looked a bit fed up—probably being pestered.
'Wait, roses and baby's breath...'
Those were the same flowers in Lee Hoyeon's room.
Was she bringing them to him?
Elise stared at her, then slowly approached.
From the start, Nam Daeun was the top pick among the first-years to recruit into the Iris Guild.
That was before Lee Hoyeon showed up, of course.
Until now, her grades and pride made her hard to approach. But thanks to Hoyeon, there was hope for her mana issue.
And since she no longer obsessed over grades, Elise felt more at ease.
'The contract might be strong… but I've never asked directly.'
It was well-known in the industry that Nam Daeun's ties to the Bayer Guild were strong.
All the guilds that tried to poach her had failed.
But there's no harm in trying. You never know unless you go for it.
Ahem.
Clearing her throat, Elise approached and spoke in a friendly tone.
When it came to official matters, Elise always gave her best.
"Daeun. Buying flowers?"
*
Meanwhile, Nam Daeun had just left Hoyeon's hospital room and spotted a flower shop.
She went in to find cost-effective flowers.
To buy flowers Hoyeon would like.
She didn't know anything else besides flowers.
While comparing prices, a cute voice came from behind.
"Daeun. Buying flowers?"
Turning around, Elise was smiling brightly at her.
"Yeah. I'm buying some."
Daeun wasn't sure why Elise spoke to her, but she responded anyway.
It had been a long time since she talked to a female cadet.
While Dahee was imprisoned, she avoided conversations. Aside from Hoyeon, she hadn't talked to any cadets.
"What're you debating? I know flowers well. I'll help."
"This one's 2,500 won per stem, that one's 2,450. But this one's a bit bigger, so I was deciding."
Elise was momentarily speechless.
Her way of thinking about flowers was totally different.
"...Usually, people look at color harmony for bouquets, not price per stem."
"Oh really? I didn't know."
Elise briefly frowned as Daeun nodded like she learned something amazing.
'She's a strange one.'
Initially, she only planned to talk recruitment—but now she was curious if the flowers in Hoyeon's room were really hers.
"Did you leave the bouquet in Lee Hoyeon's room?"
"Yeah."
"Ah... are you interested in him?"
Elise's background check showed no mention of Daeun among Hoyeon's girls.
But if she was already giving him flowers, it meant she'd visited multiple times.
They weren't just friends. Was she seriously trying to join his harem now?
"No. I just wanted to show my gratitude."
"...Really? Just checking. As a fellow girl, I'd advise keeping your distance. That guy's a total womanizer... never mind."
Elise blinked, hoping Daeun wouldn't get caught up in Hoyeon's charm.
Too many girls gets annoying later.
'... Why is it annoying to me?'
She didn't know. But it felt like it would be.
"You're close with him though."
Daeun didn't really care what Elise said.
Regardless of girls or anything, Hoyeon was her savior.
"I-it's only business for me…! Oh, right. Are you interested in the Iris Guild?"
Elise, flustered by Daeun's reply, suddenly remembered her original goal.
Recruiting her.
"Hmm..."
Daeun trailed off.
She honestly had no plans to join a guild.
Her memories of the Bayer Guild were unpleasant, and more than that, she just wanted to help Hoyeon now.
"I'll think about it."
Still, since it was the first time she'd had a long conversation with a female friend, she didn't want to end it negatively.
It was a memorable day for her.
"Smart choice. I'll give you my number—call me anytime."
"Thanks."
For the first time, Daeun had a girl friend's number in her smartwatch.
It didn't show on her face, but she was happy.
"Then... haah... one last thing—seriously, don't get close to Lee Hoyeon."
Elise was about to leave, but something still bothered her.
Daeun, standing blankly with the bouquet, looked like she might dash off to Hoyeon.
'No. Just… no way...'
Elise glanced around, stepped closer, and whispered into Daeun's ear.
"That guy's a serious womanizer. There's rumors he's slept with a ton of girls. You gotta look at that stuff when judging guys. Got it?"
Leaving those words, Elise walked out of the flower shop.
"Why did I say that... shit..."
And instantly regretted it.
Interfering in someone else's life like this was unlike her.
On the way home, Elise kept wondering why she'd done it.
But of course, she couldn't find an answer.
Because she didn't yet understand what she was feeling.