Chapter 47: Cramps and Misunderstandings

“It would have been nice if Senior Suah came too.”

“It seems she’s busy with the aftermath of the Sports Festival incident since she’s on the student council. Too bad.”

Two girls walked side-by-side, chatting.

One, with a long ponytail and a curvy figure, and the other, with beautifully tanned skin and healthy, toned muscles, caught the attention of the men around them.

The men, stealing glances at Himari and Juju, would sigh in admiration, but……their gazes would invariably linger on the small child walking between them, holding both their hands.

“…?”

People wondered about the peculiar combination. Older and younger sisters? Cousins?

But none of them thought of the possibility of teacher and students.

“Ugh…”

Ruah groaned, hunching her shoulders.

Crowded places were difficult for her. Even though there were fewer visitors today, the areas near popular attractions were densely packed.

‘And I’m already embarrassed because of this swimsuit…’

She wanted to move around as inconspicuously as possible, but Himari and Juju attracted attention just by existing. And she couldn’t exactly run away.

“Teacher, there are many attractions here. Which one do you want to ride first?”

“Uh… I…”

Himari unfolded the park map. Ruah scanned it, but since it was her first time here, she couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

‘I want to ride something that’s not scary.’

Having been a shut-in, Ruah wasn’t used to thrills. She wanted to avoid things like thrilling vertical water slides or rides that went inside giant tubes.

“Tube Slide… this looks good.”

She chose the name that sounded the most innocuous.

However, a short while later—

“Kyaaaaa!”

“Teacher, are you alright?!”

“Ahahaha! If you don’t hold on tight, Teacher, you might fly off!”

She hadn’t expected the slide with the innocuous name to be the most intense ride in the park.

Ruah clung to the handles of the tube, enduring several minutes of terror. If it weren’t for Juju and Himari holding onto her, the lightweight Ruah might have actually flown off.

“Pant, pant.”

Exhausted after just one ride, Ruah declared surrender. This happened only an hour after entering the park.

“I’ll rest here.”

Ruah found a less crowded corner of the pool, grabbed a tube, and quickly jumped into the water. She finally felt at ease, and the unseasonably strong sun-baked skin on her body cooled down pleasantly.

“You two go ride the attractions.”

“N-No!”

Himari followed Ruah into the pool.

“I came here to have fun with you, Teacher. I can’t leave you alone.”

“No, no. That would be a waste of the tickets. I’m already at my limit.”

“Then I’ll rest here too!”

Himari was unexpectedly insistent. Although Ruah was grateful, she felt bad that the two girls weren’t enjoying the park because of her.

“Um… Himari, please stay where you are for a moment.”

“What? Juju, but…”

“Not that.”

Juju pointed at a sign. Ruah and Himari followed her finger.

[For children 13 and under.]

Now that she looked, the water level in the pool only reached Himari’s waist. For Ruah, it reached her chest.

“Wow, a pretty big sister!”

“Are you a teacher?”

The children playing nearby looked at Himari curiously.

“Oh, uh…”

Himari quickly got out of the pool.

But the children’s attention wasn’t limited to Himari.

“How old are you?”

“Do you want to play water guns with us?”

“Why is your swimsuit so skimpy? Are you a pervert?”

The children, having found a new friend, surrounded Ruah and started talking to her.

“I, I’m twenty-five…”

Of course, this was because Ruah’s appearance didn’t look out of place among the children.

“Y-You’ll get in trouble…!”

She tried to intimidate them, but

“Hahaha! We won’t get in trouble from you!”

“Are you playing teacher?”

“Ugh…”

Far from being intimidated, the children were even more curious and approached her. Ruah tried to escape by paddling away on her tube, but the children’s relentless onslaught continued. In the end, Ruah had no choice but to reach out to Himari and Juju, who were watching from outside the pool.

“Help me… I want to get out…”

There was no paradise where she fled.

“Teacher, if you’re tired, shall we go back to school?”

Himari asked, pointing towards the exit.

“Come to think of it, I think… I’ve had enough fun.”

Himari’s gentle smile was filled with consideration for Ruah.

Himari is… making an effort.

Juju’s words suddenly came to Ruah’s mind. She didn’t know exactly what Himari was making an effort for, but she could tell it was somehow connected to Himari’s current attitude.

‘Because she wants to be with me…?’

Himari wanted to be with Ruah so much that she would rather go back with her than enjoy the park on her own.

“…No, I suddenly feel energized.”

“What?”

Ruah raised both arms.

“Let’s play more! Let’s do everything Himari wants to do!”

“What? But…”

“Come on! It’s alright!”

Ruah patted Himari on the back and walked towards the inner part of the park.

Yes, for her cute student, she could endure even a crowded place.

The three of them enjoyed the water park, riding various attractions and playing in the wave pool.

Ruah, with a child-sized tube around her waist, was an unexpected sight, while Juju impressed everyone with her swimming skills in the deep pool, diving and leaping out of the water.

Himari seemed a little troubled, as men kept approaching her every few steps.

“Did you come with your younger sister?”

“If you have time, maybe we could…”

At first, Himari was flustered and tried to escape, but she soon got used to pretending she didn’t understand Korean to get out of the situations.

Watching Himari turn down the fifth man, Ruah casually asked,

“That guy was handsome, aren’t you interested, Himari?”

“No.”

Himari answered Ruah’s question immediately.

“The only person I’m interested in is Teacher.”

“Ahaha. That’s not the kind of interest I meant.”

“I didn’t… misspeak…”

Himari muttered under her breath.

After enjoying the park energetically for a while, the three decided to ride the last remaining attraction.

However, it would take more than 30 minutes to walk across the park to reach their final destination.

“Ugh…”

As they walked, Ruah’s steps gradually slowed.

The afternoon sun was getting hotter, and her feigned energy was depleted.

The aftereffects of pushing herself for Himari were catching up to her.

‘I did overdo it…’

On top of that, the cold slushy she had just consumed created a significant temperature difference between her body’s inside and outside—

Thud.

Her legs gave way, and she collapsed without warning.

“Huh? Teacher?”

“Teacher!”

In her spinning vision, the last thing Ruah could make out were the worried faces of Himari and Juju rushing towards her.

‘Oh, they must be worried…’

After that, only fragmented scenes flashed through her hazy mind.

Being carried on Himari’s back,

Entering the park’s infirmary,

A cool, wet towel wiping the sweat off her body.

As her body relaxed due to the first aid, Ruah naturally closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

“…”

“Teacher, are you awake?”

As she blinked, her vision cleared. An unfamiliar ceiling and a familiar face came into view.

“Himari…?”

Ruah tried to sit up, but Himari’s hand gently pushed her back down.

“Where…”

“You can rest a little longer. This is the infirmary. Juju went to get us some drinks.”

Ruah finally understood the situation. She had pushed herself too hard with her depleted stamina and collapsed. Himari and Juju had brought her to the infirmary, and she was lying here…

‘Huh?’

She noticed that the right side of her vision was obscured, Himari’s face was unusually close, and she could feel a soft sensation against the back of her head.

Putting all this together—Ruah realized she was lying with her head on Himari’s lap. And the thing obscuring her vision was, of course, Himari’s chest.

“Whoa…”

“Don’t move, Teacher. You need to rest.”

Embarrassed, Ruah tried to struggle, but she didn’t have the energy. She could only blame her weak body and lack of stamina.

“…Sorry. You couldn’t enjoy yourselves because of me.”

Ruah closed her eyes and sighed apologetically.

“We came here to have fun, and I just ended up being a burden.”

“Don’t say that, Teacher.”

Himari’s hand gently stroked Ruah’s hair.

“I’m the one who should apologize. I got carried away without realizing you were tired.”

Opening her eyes slightly, Ruah saw Himari’s dejected expression.

“I feel like my desire to be with you, Teacher, has become a burden… I don’t know what to say.”

“Don’t say that.”

Ruah reached out and caressed Himari’s sad face.

“I know now that you did all this because you wanted to get closer to me.”

“…!”

Himari’s eyes widened.

It seemed Ruah was right.

Himari had suggested this outing, she had been considerate of Ruah’s fatigue, and she was even letting Ruah use her lap as a pillow, all for this reason. More than anything, Juju’s hint, about Himari making an effort, had made Ruah realize the truth.

Himari’s strange behavior was all an attempt to get closer to Ruah.

“Thank you. For liking someone like me.”

“Teacher…!”

Himari’s lips trembled. Ruah smiled and tucked a strand of Himari’s hair behind her ear.

“But I hope you won’t be too impatient, Himari.”

“What?”

“I like you too, Himari. These feelings won’t change. I promise.”

Although Himari’s flustered behavior today was cute, Ruah still preferred her usual quiet and thoughtful demeanor.

“Yes, I understand, Teacher.”

Himari finally smiled.

“Hehe. So don’t be sulky that I’m going to the camp with Juju.”

“I-I’m not sulky!”

Ruah chuckled, finding Himari’s blushing face adorable.

“Now, shall we get up…?”

Since they couldn’t lie down forever, Ruah slowly tried to sit up. However,

“Ouch!”

A sharp pain in her lower abdomen made her lie back down.

“What’s wrong?”

“My stomach hurts… I think it’s the slushy I had earlier.”

Wearing a bikini, her exposed stomach being in contact with the cold air probably made it worse.

But [Healing] couldn’t fix internal problems. She couldn’t exactly heal her internal organs.

“Um, in that case…”

“?!”

Himari’s hand rested on Ruah’s stomach.

“I’ll… rub it for you.”

“N-No, there’s no need…!”

“Now, relax your body and stay still.”

Himari slid her hand across Ruah’s soft, fair skin. At first, Ruah felt a little resistant, but the slight pressure felt pleasant, and she gradually closed her eyes, entrusting her body to Himari’s hands.

—Rub, rub.

“How is it?”

“I… don’t know…”

—Rub, rub.

From her upper abdomen to her lower abdomen, and back again. Himari diligently rubbed Ruah’s small, slender stomach. A warm sensation soon spread from her navel throughout her body.

“Mmm…”

Thanks to Himari, the pain seemed to be subsiding.

“The main source of the pain seems to be in your lower abdomen…”

“Hmm…”

Himari seemed to ponder for a moment, then exclaimed,

“Ah, I know! I’ve experienced this before, and it was also in the book you gave me!”

“What is it?”

—Rub.

Himari’s hand focused on rubbing Ruah’s lower abdomen.

“It’s a sign that your body, Teacher, is ready to have a baby!”

“?!”

Ruah’s face flushed at the blunt words.

“Th-That’s not it! It’s not that at all!”

“But the symptoms are exactly the same as in the book.”

Himari insisted with a serious expression.

“It’s alright. It’s a natural phenomenon that begins after you turn twelve.”

“Ugh…”

“Come to think of it, Teacher, aren’t you twenty-five? Is this your first time?”

“I-I don’t know…”

Ruah covered her face with her hands and mumbled a reply. But Himari’s guess was probably correct. It was a sensation she was experiencing for the first time, but it matched what she had heard in various media.

She had thought that her body wouldn’t develop any further since she was past puberty, but perhaps she was wrong.

“Choosing the water park today… seems to have been a mistake. Now, before things get worse, it would be best to change your clothes.”

Himari received a sanitary pad from the infirmary staff and brought it to Ruah along with her clothes.

“If you need help putting it on…”

“I-I can do it myself!”

In the end, Ruah had to be carried out of the park on Himari’s back.

Her stomach still ached, but she didn’t feel too bad.