42 - Chapter 40: Discharge
When it was time to shower, Noona forced me into a wheelchair.
Then she wheeled me out of the hospital room herself.
"Oh my, didn't they say Han Su-hyeon just woke up?"
A nurse passing by in the hallway stopped and asked Noona when she saw us.
"Ah... well... you see..."
Even though she must have gotten used to seeing the nurse around while I was unconscious, Noona couldn't even make eye contact.
"Ah, I see. He must still have some lingering side effects, so he can't move very well yet."
As Noona hesitated and avoided her gaze, the nurse jumped to her own conclusion and nodded understandingly.
"Y-yes... right..."
Seizing the opportunity, Noona quickly mumbled her agreement.
"Well, keep up the good work."
With a light wave, the nurse went on her way.
"Phew..."
To anyone else, it would have been nothing, but for Noona, it must have been incredibly tense. The moment the nurse left, she let out the breath she'd been holding.
"Haa... haa..."
Trying to catch her breath and calm her racing heart, Noona wheeled me into the shower room.
In the changing room, Noona stripped off my clothes and then wheeled me into the empty shower room.
Once inside, I turned on the showerhead and let the water wet my entire body.
Meanwhile, Noona squeezed body wash onto a wet sponge and worked up a rich lather.
I squeezed out some shampoo and started washing my hair. Noona, completely naked just like me, began lathering her own body.
I finished rinsing my hair just as Noona finished lathering up.
"Now then..."
When I turned off the water, Noona, covered in thick suds, hugged me from behind.
Her soapy breasts rubbed against my back as her hands groped my chest and stomach, spreading the lather.
Once she finished with my torso, her hands slid downward. She kneaded my buttocks, sliding her fingers between them to firmly press against my anus and perineum. With her other hand, she gently stroked my balls and cock as if giving me a handjob.
After finishing with my upper body, Noona had me sit down and pulled my arm, wedging it between her thighs and rubbing herself against it.
Once she had lathered my entire body, Noona turned the shower back on and rinsed us both off.
"All clean... Now, finally..."
Noona laid me down on the hard floor, spread my legs, and buried her face between them.
She nuzzled her nose against my testicles and kissed my perineum, her lips gradually moving lower until they reached my anus.
"Mmm... smooch, slurp..."
Noona planted several deep, lingering kisses on my twitching anus as if it were the most adorable thing, then stuck out her tongue and licked it.
At the same time, she reached for the sponge and squeezed it to work up more lather.
"Ah... Ah...!"
As she stroked me with her slick, soapy hand, I couldn't hold out for long and pathetically came.
"Hunter Natalia."
The moment Natalia stepped out of the hospital, her secretary hurried over to her side.
"What?"
Turning toward the voice, she saw her secretary standing in front of the box truck where Belladonna was locked up.
"Did it go well?"
"Yeah."
"Then what should we do with Belladonna?"
At her secretary's question, Natalia scratched the back of her head in annoyance and tossed back a careless reply.
"That thing? Do we even need it anymore? Just do whatever you want with it."
"Understood. I'll arrange to donate her to the research institute, then. That should cause the least amount of gossip."
Natalia nodded half-heartedly, but then froze as a thought suddenly crossed her mind.
"Wait..."
"Yes?"
"Hold on a second."
The secretary tilted her head, confused by Natalia's sudden change of heart.
"Is something wrong?"
"Just give me a moment. Hold off on disposing of her for now."
"Understood."
The secretary didn't push the issue and calmly accepted her employer's decision.
It was one of the reasons she had managed to last so long working under Natalia, who was notorious for her awful personality.
After his shower, Han Su-hyeon turned his phone back on for the first time in ages while eating his hospital dinner.
At that exact moment, as if on cue, his phone rang.
It was Natalia.
"We literally just saw each other today... If she had something to say, she should've said it then."
Han Su-hyeon muttered to himself and answered the call.
"Yeah, what's up?"
[Can you get out of the hospital right now?]
She was blunt as always, cutting straight to the point.
Han Su-hyeon didn't mind her bluntness. In fact, he actually preferred it.
"I should be getting discharged today or tomorrow."
[Really? No curfew or anything?]
"I'm leaving soon anyway, and my body is completely fine now."
[Then get your ass out here.]
"Yeah, yeah."
He wondered what she wanted this time.
Feeling a bit curious, Han Su-hyeon slowly got up.
Throwing a jacket over his hospital gown, he stepped outside and breathed in the fresh air for the first time in a while.
The meeting spot Natalia had designated was a convenience store near the hospital.
When he arrived, Natalia was already busy opening drinks and snacks at an outdoor table.
"Oh, you're here. Sit."
Han Su-hyeon sat down across from her.
Sitting face-to-face, the two of them began munching on the snacks spread across the table.
'Why does this taste so good? It's been forever.'
Han Su-hyeon kept reaching for more, drawn to the intense, salty flavor of junk food.
Watching him, Natalia felt a strange sense of satisfaction.
Her guess had been spot on. After eating nothing but bland hospital food, he was bound to crave something with a strong flavor.
"So? It doesn't look like you called me out here to fuck, so what's this about?"
Han Su-hyeon, who had been quietly eating, suddenly cut to the chase.
"I want to make you an offer."
Natalia answered immediately, without beating around the bush.
"An offer?"
"Yeah. Your mana is only D-rank, and you can't even use magic, right? What kind of Hunter do you think you're going to be? Why don't you just quit?"
"What?"
It was an unexpected intrusion into his life. Han Su-hyeon's hand froze mid-air as he reached for another snack.
"...I don't recall us being close enough for you to lecture me about my future."
"I saved your life when you were practically dead, so I think I'm entitled to give you some advice. Even if you do become a Hunter, something like this will happen again, and next time you'll actually die."
She wasn't wrong. A D-rank Hunter's role in the field was basically that of a common foot soldier.
In other words, a meat shield thrown in just to make up the numbers.
It was safe to say that the high pay D-rank Hunters received was entirely hazard pay.
"Of course, I'm not telling you to just quit with no backup plan. Instead, how about becoming my pet? It's not a bad gig. It's the same as what we've been doing, but I'll cover all your living expenses."
"A pet..."
"Yeah, a pet. I'll spoil you rotten."
At first glance, it was a highly tempting offer.
Even back in Korea in his previous life, the biggest reason women fell into sex work—and couldn't get out—was the easy, fast money.
But Han Su-hyeon had no intention of accepting.
'In the end, she's asking me to hand over my life to her. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted, but the risk is too high. Who knows when Natalia might change her mind? I need an insurance policy so I can survive even if she suddenly dumps me on the street.'
And the insurance policy Han Su-hyeon had in mind was a Hunter license.
As the saying goes, a man with a trade will never starve.
After a brief moment of thought, Han Su-hyeon spoke.
"Thanks for the offer, but I'm not interested. At least, not until I get my Hunter license."
"...I see."
Despite the rejection, Natalia didn't push the issue. It was surprising, yet entirely typical of her.
"If you change your mind, let me know."
With that, Natalia stood up from the table.
As she walked away from the convenience store, she pulled out her phone and called her secretary.
"I've decided what to do with Belladonna."
[I see. What would you like to do, Hunter?]
"I think we should keep her. You never know when she might come in handy."
[Understood. I'll look for a holding facility immediately.]
"Yeah. I'm hanging up."
After hanging up, Natalia's expression turned slightly bitter.
To wash away the bitter taste in her mouth, she pulled out a cigarette and slipped it between her lips.
*
The next day, I was finally discharged and able to go home.
On my way back, I suddenly remembered that the female Orc had been left all alone.
Worried that she might have starved to death, I quickened my pace, but it turned out to be a completely groundless fear.
The moment I opened the door, the savory scent of instant ramen hit my nose.
The female Orc was sitting at the kitchen table, happily eating cup ramen.
Since she was smart enough to learn how to use kitchen utensils just by watching me once, she had easily figured out how to prepare the cup ramen I'd stocked in the cupboard.