Confessions Over Drinks
Oh Yoo-ri smiled faintly as she spoke. “Su-heon, you’re more shameless than you look.”
“...........”
Her eyes, fixed on me, were serious. It wasn’t a passing remark. There was accusation in her gaze. I froze, unable to move or speak. Though she was smiling, I felt an inexplicable pressure bearing down on me.
“Aren’t you curious who I met yesterday?”
“...........”
She waited for my answer, but my lips refused to open, as if glued shut. Oh Yoo-ri turned and switched off the lamp.
“Let’s sleep, Su-heon.”
She rested her head on my chest and idly played with my already limp cock. That was how we passed the white night, and time continued to flow.
Very slowly, the four of us gathered at the neighbors’ house. It was eight in the evening. We sat around a simple spread of drinks. Lee Dae-woo looked noticeably thinner than the last time I’d seen him. Though we chatted about this and that, none of us looked cheerful. Each of us seemed to be carrying something heavy in our hearts.
After several bottles had been emptied, the clock struck ten. Oh Yoo-ri and Ko Yoo-mi both looked quite drunk. The first to speak was my wife.
“You know, unni,” Oh Yoo-ri said, looking at Ko Yoo-mi. Ko Yoo-mi cupped her flushed cheeks and met her gaze.
“I tried really hard to forgive you and Su-heon.”
“...........”
“But it was difficult. I never imagined you two would do something like that behind my back.”
“...........”
“So I even thought about getting revenge on you and him.”
“How?”
Ko Yoo-mi smiled softly, still cupping her cheeks. With the divorce already decided, she seemed fearless. Oh Yoo-ri smiled back and continued.
“For example, I could sleep with Dae-woo, just like you did with Su-heon.”
“Kk, that would be tough for my husband.”
“Hoho, really? Dae-woo, what do you think? Shall we give it a try?”
Both women turned to Lee Dae-woo. He simply raised his glass with an indifferent expression and gave a small chuckle.
“If it’s Yoo-ri, maybe it would work, heh.”
“Oh my, listen to him. Are you saying I’m less attractive than Yoo-ri?”
Ko Yoo-mi pinched his arm.
“Hahaha.”
“Hohoho.”
Watching the three of them joke around like that, I felt as though I was in a completely different world. Oh Yoo-ri, who had been laughing loudly, spoke again.
“So you’re giving permission, unni?”
“Do I even need to? I’ve already slept with Su-heon too, right? Su-heon?”
Ko Yoo-mi looked at me and puckered her lips as if blowing a kiss. Even though she was drunk, tonight’s Ko Yoo-mi was far bolder than usual. Perhaps the impending divorce had given her courage.
“Dae-woo, unni says it’s fine. What do you say? Should we do it right here, in front of them?”
At Oh Yoo-ri’s persistent question, Lee Dae-woo looked at her with a flustered expression.
“Hoho, are you nervous, Dae-woo?”
“...........”
His gaze shifted between Ko Yoo-mi and me. A spark flashed in his eyes.
“I heard Dae-woo doesn’t respond to ordinary sex.”
“Pardon?”
“Having sex with the married woman next door right in front of her husband, while the husband watches… wouldn’t that be exciting enough? Right, Dae-woo?”
“Well…”
In an instant, Oh Yoo-ri’s smiling face turned ice-cold.
“Why? Is that not enough?”
“...........”
“Wouldn’t it be more arousing than secretly watching your wife get raped? Hohoho.”
At her words, Lee Dae-woo’s expression stiffened as he stared at her, and even Ko Yoo-mi’s playful smile vanished. I felt as though I had been struck in the back of the head with a hammer and went blank.
“What’s wrong with everyone? Hohoho.”
Oh Yoo-ri turned to me.
“Honey, what’s wrong? Was that a secret only I didn’t know? Hohoho.”
“Honey, how…”
“I met Jae-geun.”
“...........”
So she had been with that bastard until late that night.
“Why? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Why… that guy…”
“He asked to meet. Said he wanted to apologize.”
“So you met him? The man who tried to rape you?”
My voice grew louder. Startled, Lee Dae-woo and Ko Yoo-mi stared at me with wide eyes.
“The Jae-geun who tried to rape me.”
“...........”
“Is he any different from the Su-heon who raped unni? Hohoho.”
“Honey…”
I was speechless. Oh Yoo-ri looked at Ko Yoo-mi.
“Unni, how did it feel when Su-heon raped you?”
“...........”
“Even after being raped, you didn’t hate my husband, did you?”
“Actually… I already had feelings for Su-heon before that.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. You didn’t know, Yoo-ri, but I’d been attracted to him for a while.”
“Really?”
“It wasn’t serious or anything. Just… ‘Ah, that man is charming,’ that kind of feeling.”
“So?”
“But that day, Su-heon suddenly barged in and forced himself on me. Honestly, the sex with him wasn’t bad. After what happened with my husband, I hadn’t been with a man for a long time. If I didn’t feel anything when a charming, healthy man like Su-heon held me, that would’ve been a lie. And…”
“And?”
“After being in his arms, I started seeing him as a man. So I went looking for him again because I wanted to be held by him. I did.”
“Then… after that, you kept seeing Su-heon?”
“I’m sorry to you, Yoo-ri. But I don’t want to lie to my own heart anymore.”
“Unni… do you love our Su-heon?”
“Yes. I love him. Even now.”
Oh Yoo-ri and Ko Yoo-mi both looked at me at the same time. Oh Yoo-ri spoke as if in a monologue.
“Even after being raped, she falls in love. Then I suppose it’s fine if I date Jae-geun too.”
She pouted and stared straight at me. Something heavy pressed down on my chest. Lee Dae-woo kept his head lowered, emptying glass after glass. I was so intimidated by the two women’s bold conversation that I couldn’t move.
“Oh? Honey, do you love unni too?”
“...........”
I couldn’t meet her eyes.
“Looks like our Su-heon loves unni as well. Hmm, I’m jealous.”
Oh Yoo-ri took a sip from her glass.
“At first I thought you two were just having an affair. That’s why I considered sleeping with Dae-woo too. But after hearing the truth from Jae-geun, I felt sorry for unni. My husband did something terrible to you. I’m sorry, unni.”
Neither Lee Dae-woo nor I could lift our heads.
“But unni, I love Su-heon. I can’t give him up to you.”
“Hoho, don’t worry. That won’t happen. I’m going to America.”
“America?”
“We’re getting divorced. Next Friday. I’m leaving for America. I probably won’t come back.”
“Unni…”
“It’s just our couple’s problem. It has nothing to do with Su-heon.”
“Still, so suddenly…”
“I’m sorry, Yoo-ri. I should’ve told you earlier, but that’s how it turned out. And… I’m sorry about what happened with Su-heon too.”
“Unni.”
Tears welled in Oh Yoo-ri’s eyes. After learning the truth from Kang Jae-geun, her sense of betrayal toward Ko Yoo-mi had turned into guilt. Tears mixed with regret and sorrow streamed down her cheeks. Even Ko Yoo-mi’s smiling eyes grew moist.
“I’m sorry, unni.”
“No, I’m the one who’s sorry, Yoo-ri. Because of me, you must have suffered a lot.”
“No, unni.”
“Let’s have one more drink, Yoo-ri.”
Oh Yoo-ri and Ko Yoo-mi emptied their glasses to the last drop. Lee Dae-woo couldn’t stay any longer and left somewhere, and I returned home. Oh Yoo-ri didn’t come back even after dawn.
She only returned on Saturday afternoon. We spent the day in silence. When evening came, I turned off the lamp. As if nothing had happened, Oh Yoo-ri stripped naked, grabbed my cock, and tried to sleep. My chest felt like it was about to burst.
On Sunday afternoon, Oh Yoo-ri busily prepared to go out. I was still sitting on the sofa, flipping through TV channels that didn’t register in my mind.
“Honey.”
I looked at her. She had done her makeup beautifully and was wearing the tight black dress I had bought her as a birthday present last year—the one with a long silver zipper running from the chest to the hem, the short dress I had chosen because it could be taken off in one go. The very dress she had once refused to wear, calling it too provocative. Now she stood before me in it.
“Let’s go, Su-heon.”
“Where are we going?”
Her hair, braided and pinned up, revealed the elegant line of her pale neck. Her snow-white skin stood in stark contrast to the black dress.
“To meet Jae-geun.”
“...........”
“You should watch too. Watch me have sex with him.”
“Hey, Oh Yoo-ri.”
“Why? That way we’re even, right? The two of us?”
“You’re serious…”
“No confidence? Then should I take Dae-woo instead? He said he likes that kind of thing too, probably. Hohoho.”
I stood up and grabbed her arm.
“Yoo-ri, I’m sorry. I… really am sorry.”
“So?”
“...........”
“So you want me to just endure it?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Then come with me. Come watch your wife having sex with another man. That way, you won’t need to apologize anymore.”
“You really think this will solve anything?”
Her eyes wavered.
“I love you, Su-heon. But…”
“...........”
“I hate you. I want to kill you.”
I pulled her into a crushing embrace. She stayed quiet in my arms.
“Yoo-ri, I’m sorry. Don’t do this. What do you want me to do?”
“I already told you. Go and watch. Your wife.”
She slipped out of my arms.