I Need the True Ending to Graduate - Chapter 69

When I woke with a start and opened my eyes, Jeran was standing there holding a steaming mug.

“….”

My gaze met his light green eyes.

Without realizing it, I dropped my eyes and pulled the blanket tighter over the front of my body.

Before he’d covered my eyes with the blindfold, the cold, threatening look he’d given me as if he were going to devour me flashed through my mind for a moment, making me both nervous and frightened.

Even though the time I’d spent living as Jeran’s “Ruby” was already over, the hierarchy that had existed during our time together still felt like it lingered in my body.

…And it was embarrassing to think he might’ve caught the look I’d had on my face just moments ago while I’d been savoring the memory of what we’d done.

Thankfully, Jeran didn’t seem to have the ability to see into my head. He approached me with an entirely calm expression and spoke,

“I wondered if I should wake you, but you woke up on your own. How’s your body feeling?”

His voice was gentle and kind. There was no trace of the formal, oppressive tone with which he had bound me as the other “Jeran.”

He had returned to the courteous, warm professor I was familiar with.

Relieved, as if waking from a dream back into reality, I answered, “…My body is fine.”

“Hmm.”

At my answer, Jeran gave me a doubtful look, then naturally rested his hand on my forehead.

“…?!”

I flinched at the unexpected, gentle touch, but Jeran simply offered me the mug he’d brought.

“Drink this. It’s a tea that’s good for the throat. I added plenty of the honey I treasure.”

“Ah… thank you.”

Caught off guard, I accepted the mug. It was warm in my hands, like a hand warmer.

My throat had been scratchy from crying so much, so there was no reason to refuse warm, fragrant tea.

Jeran’s hand on my forehead still made me nervous, but it lifted quickly, letting me drink in comfort.

I carefully sipped the tea so I wouldn’t burn my tongue, and just then, the cushion near my feet sank.

When I looked up, Jeran was already seated in the empty spot on the couch, gazing at me.

Meeting my eyes, he smiled gently and asked, as tenderly as if the hours he’d spent driving me to my limits were all a dream.

“How’s the tea I prepared? Is it all right?”

“…It’s warm and nice. Thank you for preparing it.”

“That’s good. And here, take this.”

Jeran reached inside his coat and pulled something out, offering it to me. Flustered, I set the mug on the windowsill for a moment and held out my hands to accept what he was giving me.

Several small paper packets filled with some kind of powder, along with a flat container, dropped into my palms.

‘What in the world is this?’

As I stared at them in confusion, Jeran kindly explained.

“They’re medicine and ointment. I pushed your body pretty hard for quite a while.”

“Ah….”

At his words, memories from the night before surged up like a wave, and suddenly I became acutely aware of Jeran’s presence.

It had been consensual, tailored to my tastes, and unbelievably good—something that wouldn’t happen twice in a lifetime—but the moment I became aware of it, a crushing embarrassment came over me.

My face burned with shame. Sitting next to Jeran on the couch felt awkward and humiliating, and I avoided his eyes without saying anything.

Meanwhile, Jeran seriously instructed me on how to take my medication. He seemed like he could have been a doctor just as well as a professor.

“The medicine will help you recover your strength, and the ointment will help the wounds heal. You only need to take both once a day. I made plenty of the medicine just in case, but if you run out, tell me anytime. I’ll make a few more days’ worth for you.”

“Yes… thank you….”

“And I hung your clothes on that hanger over there, Miss Even, so you can just put them on as they are when you leave. I made sure they wouldn’t wrinkle or get dirty, so there shouldn’t be any problem wearing them out. If you need them, I can also lend you a mirror and a comb.”

“Ah, yes… thank you….”

I had no idea why he even had a mirror and a comb, but I just nodded and expressed my thanks.

Once the conversation came to a pause, an awkward silence hovered in the room.

It was the kind of silence where both Jeran and I were conscious of the time we’d spent in this room today, yet hesitated because we didn’t know how to bring it up.

It was Jeran who broke the lingering silence.

He carefully asked, “…How was the time you spent with me? Was it all right?”

His voice was filled with worry and concern that I might not have been satisfied with the time I’d spent with him.

I had no idea why he was worrying when he had given me such an incredible time that I’d even fainted from how good it was.

If anything, I was the one who should be worried and concerned.

The sex had been tailored entirely to my tastes. Jeran’s preferences or inclinations hadn’t been reflected in it at all.

I couldn’t help but wonder if he could really feel satisfied in such a one-sided relationship.

“I enjoyed it… but what about you, Jeran? How was it for you to do it with me? Was it all right?”

I mustered my courage to ask, but strangely, even after quite some time, no answer came back.

‘Why isn’t he answering? It didn’t seem like a rude question. Jeran even asked me first….’

Puzzled, I quietly lifted my bowed head and studied Jeran’s expression.

He didn’t look the least bit uncomfortable or troubled by my question. Instead, he was looking at me with slightly surprised eyes, as if he had never imagined I would say something like that.

‘It didn’t seem like the kind of question you’d be that surprised by. I just asked how it was for Jeran to do it with me….’

My thoughts broke off there. Then, slowly, I suddenly realized what mistake I’d made, what it was in my words that had startled Jeran.

‘I just called my professor by his name!’

Crazy, seriously!

The moment I realized it, my eyes grew uncontrollably wide.

The play was completely over, and I was no longer Ruby. Which meant Jeran was no longer Jeran either, and I should have been calling him Professor.

But I’d forgotten that and gone and called him by his name just like that.

‘No, no matter how harshly I was scolded during the play, I should still know how to separate public and private matters….’

The blunder was so absurd I was at a loss for words. The fact that I’d made such a mistake and done it so naturally that I didn’t even realize right away left me equally stunned.

Horrified, I hurriedly apologized to him.

“I’m sorry. That just now… was a mistake, Professor. I’m sorry for being rude. If it made you uncomfortable….”

My words cut off without warning. The sounds I’d been spilling out in a fluster to try to smooth things over scattered uselessly into the air.

In the middle of my apology, Jeran reached out to me and cupped my cheek. His firm thumb was carefully stroking the corner of my eye.

Feeling the warmth of his fingertips gently tracing along my eye, I closed my mouth and stared at his pale face painted with the blue dawn light, as if asking what his actions meant.

And at last, Jeran spoke with a soft smile at the corner of his lips.

“I enjoyed it too, Ruby.”

Jeran’s low voice exploded in my head like fireworks. My heart started pounding out of control, and it felt like the whole world was shaking with the sound of my heartbeat.

In my trembling gaze, the status window I’d forgotten about suddenly flashed before my eyes.

[Jeran Ennessy’s affection has increased by 10%.]

[Special bonus! Affection has increased by an additional 10%!]

[Jeran Ennessy: Affection 20%]

***

A week before the conference presentation, I had Jeran review the final version of the materials I’d prepared.

Unlike about three weeks ago, when I’d first shown him my draft and felt like I was going to die from nerves, none of that panic rose inside me this time.

Back then, it had been a moment where I was about to be forced to witness, while still alive, just how terrible my own writing was. But today was a moment where I would be shown just how dazzling Lucia’s talent truly was.

Calmly, I showed Jeran the materials I would be presenting at the conference, and as expected, I received a generous evaluation. It was the kind of praise I would never hear in my entire life.

Once the work was done, we sat facing each other and talked about this and that.

Even after the time we’d spent together in the secret room, Jeran remained unfailingly gentle and kind to me.

He asked if anything unusual had happened, what I’d been doing lately, whether there were any special events, whether I was having trouble with my research, whether the book he’d given me earlier had been helpful, and whether I needed anything from him.

He had so many things he was curious about and so many things he wanted to check on that time flew by just answering him.

If there was one good thing about being called Ruby by him, it was that I could be a bit more at ease when facing Jeran.

Before, no matter how handsome and perfectly sculpted a man he was, the title of professor loomed larger than anything else. But once our bodies had grown close, that title faded, and the person named Jeran drew nearer.

Thanks to that, the time I spent talking with him didn’t feel all that awkward. There was hardly any discomfort, and every moment felt peaceful.

Of course, part of that must have been because Jeran had been considerate enough to make sure I spent my time with him comfortably.

And the strict sense of distance he kept—never grabbing or touching my body carelessly when we weren’t in the secret room—was more than enough to put me at ease.