The Approaching Threat
My head stayed foggy the entire way home.
From the moment I stepped out of Choi Deok-hun’s door, those words kept ringing in my ears.
You can go.
…It hadn’t meant he was letting me leave.
It meant I was already caught.
It meant that from now on, everything was up to him.
The second I got inside I locked the door first thing.
Click—
Only then did my breath loosen a little.
But I still couldn’t feel safe.
The image of myself on that TV screen kept flashing through my mind.
The clothes I’d worn yesterday.
The spot where I’d been standing.
The way I’d closed the door and checked my surroundings.
“…When did he film that.”
Choi Deok-hun had that video.
If he felt like it, he could show it to Hui-yeong. To Se-yeong.
“…Hah.”
I leaned back against the wall and closed my eyes.
I was scared.
Not just because of the video.
Because of what would come next…
What is he going to make me do from now on.
He could touch me at the café like it was nothing. Or worse than that…
Little by little, slowly…
He might just keep testing me until he was sure I had nowhere left to run.
The second that thought crossed my mind my heart started racing harder.
Especially when Se-yeong’s name brushed through my head—my breath caught in my throat.
I went into the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face.
The heat still wouldn’t go down.
The face in the mirror looked like a stranger’s.
A frightened face. A face that had been caught. A face that had no idea what was coming next.
How is he going to make me take it.
The moment that thought rose, my fingertips clenched without meaning to.
At the café?
Or somewhere else with no one around?
Maybe even in front of Se-yeong?
“…Stop.”
I muttered it low, but the images wouldn’t stop that easily.
My spine felt cold, yet my body was strangely, unnervingly sensitive.
I forced myself to write it off as anxiety.
Yeah.
Just nerves.
It had to be.
“…I’m losing it.”
I didn’t even know who I was talking to.
Choi Deok-hun, or myself for thinking those things.
I sank down onto the bed.
So what comes next?
That single thought made my heart pound hard all over again.
When I went to the café tomorrow, what kind of face would Choi Deok-hun look at me with.
I was scared.
Really scared.
And yet…
That fear seemed to leave a small heat somewhere in my body, and that made the goosebumps worse.
I pulled the blanket around myself and curled up.
“…What am I going to do tomorrow.”
There was no answer.
In the quiet room only the sound of my heartbeat kept getting louder.
I didn’t think I’d be able to fall asleep easily tonight.
My steps toward the café felt heavy.
What kind of demand was he going to make today.
Just thinking about it made my fingertips go cold.
Even after I reached the front of the café I couldn’t open the door right away.
I scanned the glass once, then deliberately steadied my breathing.
…I had to go in.
I knew that, but my feet wouldn’t move.
Then Choi Deok-hun spotted me from inside. He grinned and walked toward the door.
Ding-a-ling—
The door opened and I flinched on pure reflex.
“What are you doing just standing there?”
“…Ah. I, um…”
“Get in here and get ready for work already.”
The second those words left his mouth—
Slap—
Choi Deok-hun’s palm lightly smacked my ass as he walked past.
I jerked and scanned the area. Luckily no one was nearby.
I stared at him with wide eyes.
Choi Deok-hun’s face looked completely unbothered.
“Better do a good job, yeah?”
He shrugged and went back inside.
I stood frozen for a second right where I was.
Already… like this?
I had a bad feeling this was going to go sideways from the start.
I clenched my teeth and followed him in.
The café was still quiet.
I deliberately tried to keep distance from Choi Deok-hun.
Whether I was lining up cups or pulling out beans, I moved to the opposite side as much as possible.
It didn’t matter. He kept coming over even when there was no reason to.
Our arms brushed while I was moving cups.
He’d pretend to tidy something and casually bump my shoulder.
From the outside it just looked like a boss and a part-timer moving around busily.
Natural enough that no one would find it strange.
That only made the goosebumps worse.
Once customers started coming in he got even more blatant.
He’d stand right next to me while I took orders, resting a hand on my arm like he was explaining the menu.
He’d pass behind me so close his breath brushed the back of my neck.
And in the moments when no customer’s eyes could reach us—
his fingertips would graze my waistline, skim lightly over the top of my ass, and move on.
Every time, my body jerked.
But I couldn’t show it.
“One iced americano.”
“…Yes, I’ll have it right out.”
I bit the inside of my mouth hard so my voice wouldn’t shake.
Choi Deok-hun seemed to find my reactions entertaining; he just smiled casually beside me.
When there was a gap between customers I hissed under my breath.
“…Please stop.”
Instead of answering, Choi Deok-hun pulled out his phone.
Without even showing me the screen he pressed a button once.
Just for a second.
A familiar breathing sound, and a voice that had tried to stay quiet but slipped out, reached my ears.
I froze solid.
Choi Deok-hun turned the volume down and lifted the corner of his mouth.
“What.”
“…Turn it off.”
“Then behave.”
My heart dropped.
I couldn’t say another word.
More customers came in and I lifted my head like nothing had happened.
“Welcome.”
My mouth moved normally, but my body was less and less under my control.
Every time fingertips touched my waist my breath caught.
Every time he came close to the back of my neck my shoulders hunched on their own.
It was because it was unpleasant.
Just nerves making me oversensitive.
I repeated that to myself over and over, yet my body kept registering the places his hands had brushed first.
The spot where his arm had grazed me, the place his hand had skimmed along my waist—those stayed strangely vivid.
He’d already pulled away, but every time fabric touched them they felt even sharper.
Why is this happening…
I pretended to wipe a cup and put force into my hands.
I had to calm down.
I had to act like nothing was wrong.
And still heat had pooled strangely inside me.
Under the thin T-shirt my chest felt like it was standing on end for no reason, and the more I pressed my legs together the more clearly I became aware of what was lower down.
That made it even more horrifying.
I really hated it, yet my body alone seemed unable to tell the difference between that tension and those hands…
Ding-a-ling—
At the sound of the door I lifted my head.
Two familiar faces walked in.
Lim Se-yeong. Kim Hui-yeong.
They glanced around the café once, then came inside like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“You’re here.”
Choi Deok-hun greeted them first for once.
Hui-yeong dipped her head lightly.
“Hello.”
Se-yeong looked my way and gave a short smile.
“Working again today, huh.”
“…Yeah.”
I answered as casually as I could.
Inside I was anything but.
All the contact from earlier had already left my body wound tight and hypersensitive.
Hui-yeong glanced toward the window seats like she always did, and Se-yeong came up to the counter.
“What do you want today?”
“Two iced americanos.”
I lowered my eyes like I was entering the order.
My fingertips clenched for no reason.
Se-yeong stared at my face, then tilted his head a little.
“You seem off today.”
“I’m not.”
I answered right away, but my voice came out stiffer than I expected.
Se-yeong’s brows drew together slightly.
“Tired?”
“…Just a little.”
I tried to brush it off short, but Se-yeong leaned his arms on the counter and bent a little closer.
“Something going on?”
For a second my throat closed.
He was too gentle…
So I answered even more stiffly.
“…I said no.”
The moment I managed to get that out—
I felt someone come up behind me.
I didn’t need to turn around to know who.
I tightened my grip on the cup in my hand.
Se-yeong stood in front of me. Choi Deok-hun stood behind me.
And right then…
From an angle Se-yeong couldn’t see, a hand tightly squeezed my ass.
“Nh…!”
A short breath escaped.
My whole body locked up.
The cup in my hand rattled.
Se-yeong reacted instantly.
“What’s wrong?”
“…Ah, nothing.”
I shook my head quickly.
My heart was hammering like crazy.
The hand gripping me from behind didn’t let go easily.
The pressure in those fingertips, the feeling of him holding my body, was far too clear.
Se-yeong looked at my face, worried.
I clenched my teeth.
I couldn’t let my expression crack.
I couldn’t let anything show.
Not in front of Se-yeong. Not like this.
“…Are you really okay?”
The more I held my breath the harder my chest rose and fell, and strength kept flooding into my legs.
From the place he was holding me a hot sensation slowly spread upward.
“Yeah… I’m fine.”
The moment I forced the answer out…
his hand slid lower.
Precariously, deliberately, like he was aiming for somewhere even more sensitive.
“……!”
My knees almost gave out; I gripped the cup harder.
I really hated it, yet in front of that blatant stimulation my body crumbled far too easily.
Choi Deok-hun laughed low behind me.
Quiet enough that Se-yeong wouldn’t hear.
“Focus.”
Only then did the hand leave.
I barely managed to swallow a breath.
Se-yeong watched me a little longer, then finally didn’t ask anything else and turned toward Hui-yeong.
I turned my head and glared at Choi Deok-hun.
A completely unbothered face.
A casual voice.
Hard to believe he was the same person who had just done that.
I couldn’t say a word; I just finished the order.
My hands were trembling faintly.
I looked at Se-yeong and Hui-yeong.
Hui-yeong was sitting by the window like it was nothing, and Se-yeong still had that slightly unsettled look on his face.
Even so my head was full of the sensation from a moment ago.
Se-yeong was right in front of me…
looking at me with a worried face…
and behind me Choi Deok-hun
had been gripping my body like it belonged to him.
That fact was so shameful it choked me, and strangely, so much hotter.
Because of the feeling his hand had left, my body had grown even more sensitive, and that was horrifying.
I bit the inside of my lip hard.
I had to get a grip.
I had to act like nothing was wrong.
But…
the more I told myself I hated it, the more honestly my body reacted.