David lifted Aami from the floor—not to place her in the bean bag... but to gently seat her on an air bed.
By then, Adam had extended a first-aid kit toward him with a slight smile.
"I'll be outside, David. Let me see if there are any more of those creatures..."
Saying only that, Adam stepped outside.
After watching the path he took for a moment, David knelt before Aami and placed the first-aid box on the bed.
From it, he took out a small bottle. There was something peculiar about that bottle... it was a brown-colored glass vial. It had a certain beauty that drew one's attention. Inside, there was a liquid that looked like pale yellow oil. Aami noticed it particularly.
He dipped some cotton into the medicine and looked at Aami.
His eyes first fell upon the wounds on her forehead and lip. After staring at them for a few silent moments, he sat down close to her. Aami was watching his actions with deep curiosity, but in the end, her gaze settled solely on his eyes.
As he carefully pressed the cotton onto the wound on her forehead, she winced and squeezed her eyes shut from the sharp sting.
"It's a sanitizer... it will hurt a little."
She heard him speak in a low, tender voice, but she didn't respond. Aami felt him slowly cleaning the wound on her forehead, applying the medicine, and sticking a small bandage over it. A small sense of relief washed over her.
As Ami slowly prepared to open her eyes, she felt the next stinging touch on her lip. Perhaps because her mind was so focused on the pain that there was no room for other thoughts, she didn't feel anything in particular.
But now, Aami felt that his actions were a bit different. Because of that, when she slowly opened her eyes and looked at him, she saw his gaze travel with a strange expression from her lips down toward her neck. However, as if sensing Aami 's look, he regained self-control and looked at her, while simultaneously pressing his fingers against the wound.
"Sss..."
A sharp sound of pain escaped her once more.
"Sorry..."
As he spoke, she felt a slight, warm breath on her lips; he was blowing on the wound. Aami felt a strange shiver run through her. She felt goosebumps on her arms as if she were shivering from the cold. The heat radiating from him felt like a different kind of emotion, something she had felt many times before in her dreams. Because of this, Aami suddenly turned her face away.
"What happened...???"
He asked with a touch of surprise at her reaction.
"That wound doesn't seem like such a big deal... I can manage it..."
As Aami spoke, he hummed with a meaningful seriousness. Then, taking another piece of cotton, he began to clean the wound on Aami's wrist. Since the skin was badly peeled, Aami found the stinging unbearable.
Because of that, she bit her lower lip, trying to suppress the pain. He understood this too, and so he continued his work while gently blowing on that wound.
"Aries David..."
He said suddenly.
Aami looked at him, not understanding.
"My name.. Aries David..."
He said it once more, and Aami just uttered a small "Ha...".
She had many things she wanted to ask, but she felt a hesitation in her mind. Since he was a stranger, she feared how he would perceive her questions.
She looked at him. His blue eyes were focused intently on her wound. As she watched him, many questions and doubts filled her mind, but beyond that, a strange feeling was growing... a sense of intense closeness toward him.
When his eyes reached the place where the hyena had bitten her, his face seemed to tighten.
"Once we are back in the country, you must take rabies shots... Since the wound is deep, the saliva of those creatures might have mixed with your blood..."
He spoke with visible unease.
"Mmm"
Once again, only a hum came from her.
"Don't you have a tongue in your mouth...?"
He asked with irritation.
"Why do you only nod or hum for everything? Why are you acting like this? Are you afraid I might do something to you? Then listen... I'm not going to do anything to you without your consent..."
Aami was stunned by what he said. She stared at him. What did he mean by that? Did he mean he would do something if she consented? Or was it such a big mistake to only hum because she was too shy to speak? Even if she wanted to ask something, she couldn't look into his eyes and speak. And if she tried to speak without looking at him, her throat felt as if it were constricted.
By then, he had applied medicine to Aami's wound and wrapped it with wet cotton. Then he stood up and, kneeling on one knee, moved toward the thigh of her other leg and lifted it.
Aami looked at him in shock. Though she tried to pull her leg away in hesitation, he held it firmly as if he had anticipated her move.
"I'm a doctor.... Ok..."
Speaking as if scolding her, he began to tear the remaining part of her torn pants above her left knee.
"Oh no... don't tear that..."
Aami spoke out in distress, but he looked at her with narrowed eyes.
"Seriously... then take off your pants... either way, I just need to clean the wound..."
He spoke dismissively, and Aami 's shock doubled, followed by panic.
"No, tear it... it's fine..."
She spoke in a low, downcast voice. Without her even realizing it, her face had puffed up. Seeing no response from his side, Aami raised her eyes to look at him. His blue eyes were on her face in a way that seemed curious. Aami shifted her face as if to ask,
"What?".
"How old are you...???"
Aami sat there thinking about why he would ask such an unrelated question now. He was suppressing a smile at the look on her face, but maintained a serious demeanor.
"Answer my question...???"
His voice carried a tone of authority.
"Is it mandatory to know my age to treat me, Devi...???"
She asked suddenly, her voice laced with a bit of resentment. More than that, she had unknowingly called him by the name stored in her subconscious mind. Neither of them knew if it was her question or that way she addressed him that made him pause and stare intently into her widened blue eyes...