Chapter 44
“If you're okay with it, Isabel, you can touch me without feeling pressured. Don't think of it as touching me to treat me; think of it as part of treating your fear of men.”
“…But wouldn't that be meaningless to you, Mr. Lee Seonho? It wouldn't even be treatment, and you'd probably find it unpleasant if my hands touched you….”
“It's fine. If it's you, Isabel, I don't think I'd find it unpleasant.”
“…So, you mean you'd be fine with it if it were me.”
Kim Isabel murmured, taking my answer in a suggestive way.
Yet she didn't seem able to bring herself to reach out. Until now, she had used the excuse of ‘treatment’ to put her hands on my body, but without even that flimsy excuse, she seemed hesitant to engage in physical contact.
I could guide her actions by other means, but the emotion I used to get Kim Isabel to act this time was guilt.
“But whether I should really put my hands on Mr. Lee Seonho's body….”
“Sorry, Isabel. I guess this was still a little too much for you.”
“…Pardon?”
“I only brought it up because I thought it might help you treat your fear of men… but asking you to touch a man's body—my body—must be a little too much after all.”
“That isn't what I meant….”
“It's all right. I think there are many other ways for you to get used to men besides this. I'll think of another way that won't make you uncomfortable.”
“…No, it's just….”
I couldn't see her expression, but I somehow had a vague sense of what kind of face she was making.
She was probably feeling guilty that her hesitation, meant to spare me, had instead disappointed me, or regretting that she'd let a rare chance to touch my body without another pretext slip away.
With her curiosity about the opposite sex amplified by Heart of a Succubus, it didn't take her long to correct herself.
“P-please!”
“Hm?”
“I-if it truly wouldn't be disrespectful to you, Mr. Lee Seonho, please let me use your body to get used to men.”
“…Are you sure?”
“Yes. Other men are still frightening, but I think I can manage if it's you, Mr. Lee Seonho….”
Yeah, I knew she'd say that.
She really did react quickly when I tugged at her guilt. Maybe she gave in so readily because she already owed me quite a lot.
Anyway, I had somehow succeeded in guiding her toward the kind of physical contact I wanted, and Kim Isabel carefully removed her gloves, preparing to make direct contact with my body.
-Sliiide.
“U-uhh….”
Kim Isabel hesitantly reached toward me with a cautious touch that nevertheless somehow betrayed her desire.
Her hand touched my chest once more. This time, it was bare skin against bare skin, with neither gloves nor patient gown between us.
Kim Isabel's fingers, approaching simply to touch a man's body without any particular therapeutic purpose, began crawling over me with movements full of desire.
-Tap.
“Hk….”
At first, she began touching me cautiously with just one finger.
She had openly rubbed my body with her palm and wiggled her fingers during treatment, yet she was reacting like this now; being watched by me must have made her somewhat self-conscious.
Of course, she didn't stop midway; Kim Isabel carefully worked her fingers into the contours of my body, so if I left her alone like this, she would probably become gradually more honest about her desires.
-Slide, sliiide.
“Hoo, hhh….”
-Rub, rub.
“Hoooh, ngh….”
At first, she hesitated as she watched my reaction, but before long she began rubbing me more boldly, just as she did during treatment.
It didn't take long for her caresses, which had begun with her lightly touching me with her fingers, to cover my entire chest and abs.
-Rub, rub.
“How is it, Isabel?”
“Hyaaah, wh-what?!”
“I mean a man's body. Do you think this will help you get used to it?”
“Y-yes. I don't know for sure, but I think it's having an effect. Probably….”
“If it seems to be working, then it'd probably be best to keep touching me.”
“A-are you all right with this, Mr. Lee Seonho…? You don't find my touch unpleasant or anything….”
“I'm fine, so don't worry about that at all. It's not as though a woman's hand touching my body makes me feel strange. If it becomes uncomfortable, I'll tell you, so until then, don't worry about it.”
“…Yes. Thank you for being considerate, Mr. Lee Seonho.”
With that answer, Kim Isabel felt around my chest again with the hand she'd brought there.
She had seemed hesitant and a little resistant at first, but once her hand touched me, she showed no intention of stopping. Unless I told her to stop or something, she probably wouldn't be the one to halt midway.
Since this and the afternoon treatment a few hours from now were my last opportunities to advance my relationship with Kim Isabel, I had no intention of stopping her or otherwise restraining her. As long as her hand didn't wander too far down, I was willing to let it slide even if she touched somewhat sensitive areas.
Just as this intimate, bare-flesh-against-bare-flesh contact continued and Kim Isabel was in the midst of satisfying her curiosity about a man's body—
-Tap.
“……!”
-Flinch.
“Ah….”
One of Kim Isabel's fingers touched my nipple, making my body flinch for an instant. Realizing what part she'd touched, Kim Isabel was startled too and hurriedly pulled her hand away.
“…….”
“…….”
The atmosphere became awkward in an instant.
Kim Isabel had touched an intimate part of a man's body—not his lower half, but still—and I was wondering what I should say to get us past this with as little embarrassment for her as possible.
Thinking I might have been better off pretending I hadn't felt anything and enduring it, I was regretting my reaction when Kim Isabel offered a cautious apology first.
“I-I'm sorry…. I really didn't touch it on purpose….”
“It's all right, so don't worry about it. I gave you permission to touch me in the first place, so I have no intention of making an issue of this now. I only flinched because I was a little startled; it wasn't that I found it unpleasant or anything.”
“Yeees….”
The mood became a little awkward, but we managed to get past it somehow.
In the end, reacting in surprise may have been the better response. If I'd shown no reaction despite being touched, Kim Isabel might have been left alone with an even more awkward feeling—or I might have missed this chance for her to become conscious of me as a man.
Since things had become a little awkward, I decided it was also a good opportunity to change the subject. This time, I showed her my back instead of my chest and asked,
“Would you like to try touching my back this time? Come to think of it, during treatment, you've only ever touched my chest. You haven't touched a man's back before, have you?”
“…No, I haven't touched a man's back directly before.”
“Then experience it while you have the chance. With things like this, it's best to experience them properly when the opportunity comes.”
“But, um….”
-Whip!
“…….”
Without giving Kim Isabel time to think or refuse, I quickly turned around and thrust my back toward her. It did feel a little like I was forcing her to choose, but I had no choice.
I didn't have many opportunities left, and it would be a shame to end things after she'd barely touched my bare chest. I had to advance things as far as I could so I could guide her into making the mistake I wanted during the afternoon treatment.
“Hoo, hhoo….”
As soon as my back faced Kim Isabel, I heard her slightly excited voice behind me.
It was probably quite interesting for her, first of all because she'd never touched a man's back before. And the burden must have lessened considerably now that she no longer had to worry about my gaze.
More than anything, a well-trained back was attractive to the opposite sex, regardless of whether one was a man or a woman. There had been more than one occasion when I wanted to pull that well-defined back into a tight embrace with both hands while exercising with Choi Mari morning and evening.
It was a body I'd built by diligently exercising with Choi Mari over the past month, so I wasn't ashamed to show it to someone else.
-Stroke, sliiide….
“Hh, hoooh….”
“How is it, Isabel?”
“It's… fascinating. This is actually my first time seeing a man's back from this close….”
“How does it feel? Is it frightening or anything?”
“No, not at all.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really. I don't remember ever seeing another man's back, so I can't compare, but at least your back, Mr. Lee Seonho, makes me feel reassured rather than frightened….”
Kim Isabel chatted calmly as she began rubbing my back in earnest with both hands. Just as she was in the middle of learning about ‘men’ by using my body as a teaching aid—
-Rattle, clack!
“Seonho…! You're being discharged today, right…? I-if anything's bothering you before you leave, I can….”
“…….”
“…….”
“…Uh, Isabel?”
…Oh, damn.
I'd let my guard down, assuming she wouldn't come today because it was my discharge day.
The morning treatment had run a little long because of all the things Kim Isabel and I had tried, so it was only natural that I'd be caught like this if Cha Eun-joo came at the same time as yesterday.
“Eun-joo?”
“M-Ms. Cha Eun-joo….”
“…What's going on?”
There I was, completely stripped from the waist up and showing my back to another woman, while Kim Isabel, despite her androphobia, had her hands on my back and was rubbing it.
Cha Eun-joo spoke in a noticeably colder voice than usual.
“Isabel? What are you doing right now? Why has Seonho taken his clothes off in front of you?”
“Th-that is….”
“Didn't you tell me you weren't used to men? Then how are you touching Seonho's back right now? And you've even taken off your gloves to use your bare hands.”
“…….”
“I-I haven't even touched Seonho's back yet….”
“Eun-joo, calm down.”
“I-I haven't even sat beside Seonho and whispered in his ear like that…, and I-I haven't even seen Seonho's naked body…. Why, why is Isabel….”
Cha Eun-joo quietly questioned Kim Isabel with hollow eyes, then suddenly began muttering in a trembling voice.
Her body could not withstand the sudden shift in her emotions, and dark mana slowly began to seep out around it.