At the BBQ Restaurant
Not long after the semester began, near the university district. The alley that usually thronged with people on weekdays was a little quieter, perhaps because it was Friday.
With so many students gone home for the weekend the streets felt leisurely, yet the meat restaurant we stepped into was still fairly packed with those who remained.
"A-yeong, you go on inside."
Choi Geon-woo gave my back a light push, guiding me toward a seat against the wall. Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, he claimed the spot right beside me. Across the table, Hui-yeong and Se-yeong sat side by side.
"Oppa, are you going to grill the meat for us?"
When Se-yeong asked, Geon-woo smiled and picked up the tongs.
"Of course. You kids just eat comfortably."
After a few rounds of drinks, once the meat on the grill had begun to cook through, Se-yeong across from me stared straight at my face and said,
"But A-yeong, your skin's gotten really white. You used to be super dark."
"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. All that tanning's completely faded."
Hui-yeong chimed in agreement. I fiddled with my water glass and answered casually.
"Guess it's because I haven't been swimming lately and I've just been stuck indoors."
"It looks good on you now."
The sudden, affectionate remark made my face burn. I shot a quick glance at Se-yeong's face.
He's had a bit to drink... thank god.
He could just assume my flushed cheeks were from the alcohol...
Geon-woo continued to steer the conversation. Even though they were close in age, the three-year gap between them was palpable.
There was something easy about him—something that put people at ease while still commanding the mood. Se-yeong and Hui-yeong rode that atmosphere, chatting and laughing freely.
As the drinking session deepened, the mood grew even more relaxed.
"Isn't it getting a little hot?"
With those words Choi Geon-woo shrugged off his outer layer. A thin short-sleeved T-shirt came into view, revealing the deep cuts of his forearm muscles and thick upper arms.
His body is seriously... incredible.
"I'll grab that glass for you."
Just as I reached to pass him the glass in front of me, he leaned in hard toward my side. Across the suddenly narrowed distance, a strange scent mixed with the smell of liquor flooded my nose.
"Hnn..."
The alcohol made it even harder to control my heating body. Without realizing it I let out a small, breathy sound.
The moment the sound escaped I scanned the room. Everyone was talking so loudly and boisterously that no one seemed to have heard.
But the way Choi Geon-woo's body paused for the briefest instant as he started to return to his seat with the glass—was that just my imagination?
He turned his gaze back toward Se-yeong and Hui-yeong with a smile, as if nothing had happened. My heart, however, began to hammer wildly.
"Should we order more meat?"
He pointed at the menu and shifted his body naturally. In that same moment, under the table, his solid thigh brushed against my leg.
Normally, if you accidentally bumped into someone in a tight space, you'd pull away on reflex. But his leg stayed pressed lightly against the side of my knee and didn't move an inch.
Ah...
A hot surge of heat suddenly bloomed low in my belly. The hard feel of muscle traveled up my leg.
Ever since the trip I had been constantly exposed to male stimulation, yet between the busy schedule and living with Hui-yeong I hadn't properly relieved myself even once.
I had forced the desire down to the limit, but maybe it was the alcohol—my patience was steadily crumbling.
The insides of my thighs burned, and I could feel my underwear growing damp. At the sudden swell of need my back straightened of its own accord.
"A-yeong, your face is really red. Are you drunk?"
Choi Geon-woo suddenly turned his head and looked at me. In a worried, gentle voice he reached out a hand.
The instant those fingers were about to touch me—
"I-I'm going to the bathroom real quick!"
I startled and shoved my chair back, standing up. If that hand had made contact I couldn't guarantee how I might react, so I fled toward the restroom as if running away.
I fled into the restroom tucked in the corner of the restaurant. Old tile floors and dim yellow lighting. I locked the door firmly and sank down onto the closed toilet lid.
"Haa, hnn..."
Inside the cramped stall the breath I had been holding burst free. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead and the back of my neck.
Outside, the noise of the restaurant drifted in. The tension of knowing people were right beyond the door only made my desire boil harder.
A need I could no longer endure mixed with the alcohol and completely swallowed my reason. With trembling hands I undid my belt buckle. My underwear was already soaked through, slick and sticky.
Afraid the sound might leak out, I clamped one hand tightly over my lips and used the other to pull my underwear down. After a brief pause to catch my breath I pushed my fingers inside.
"Hnn, ah...!"
The moment my fingertips touched the slick inner walls a sharp jolt of electricity raced up my spine.
My head was a mess. For days the busy schedule and unfamiliar environment had forced me to suppress this need. But once the alcohol hit, the fragile thread of reason I had been clinging to snapped with pathetic ease.
"Haa, hnnngh...!"
Hot breath spilled helplessly between the fingers I had pressed over my mouth. Maybe it was how long I had held back—every tiny stimulation made every nerve in my body stand on end and react with raw sensitivity. Wet, squelching friction filled the narrow stall.
"Haa, nn... aah..."
Pleasure washed over me, yet at the same time a vicious emptiness that refused to be filled circled low in my belly.
"Really... hnnngh."
No matter how hard I thrust and rubbed my fingers, a body that had been trained on something far larger simply would not reach climax from my own hand alone.
Heat climbed all the way to the top of my head, but the knot ready to burst only hovered on the razor edge, never quite tipping over.
"Hnn, ah, not enough, ah..."
I needed stronger stimulation, something that could reach deeper. Stretching toward a place I couldn't quite touch, I bit my lip and moved my hand faster.
That was when it happened.
Creak—
The outer restroom door opened and footsteps approached.
"A-yeong? You in there?"
"Hnn...!"
Hui-yeong's voice. I froze mid-breath, startled, and stopped the hand that had been moving. As my fingers slipped free of the wetness below, a wave of frustration and fear crashed over me at the same time.
"Your face was really red—did the alcohol hit you all at once? You okay?"
Knock knock—
The sound of knuckles on the stall door echoed through the small restroom. One turn of the lock and my filthy state—belt undone, touching myself—would be completely exposed.
"Y-yeah... I'm, I'm fine! Be right out!"
I managed to answer in a trembling voice and hurriedly began fixing my clothes. My hands shook and tangled as I yanked my pants up over the soaked underwear.
"You're really okay, right? If your stomach hurts I'll rub your back. Open the door."
Clack—
At the sound of the handle turning I panicked and threw my full weight against the door from inside, holding it shut.
"N-no! I'm really fine! Just a second, I'll be out in a second!"
Extreme shame at the thought of being caught made my fumbling hands hurry to straighten my clothes. Outside I could still sense Hui-yeong's presence.
"You're sure you're okay?"
"Mm-hmm, just tidying up and coming out."
Footsteps, then the sound of the outer door opening and closing. Only then did I let out a long breath.
"Huu... even here... get a grip."
I opened the stall door and looked in the mirror. A flushed face and messy hair stared back. My underwear was still askew, and through the thin T-shirt the places that jutted out were obvious.
Only after splashing cold water on my face and fixing my clothes did I finally manage to leave the restroom. By the time I returned to the table the drinking session was already winding down.
The grill fire had been turned off; Lim Se-yeong and Choi Geon-woo were putting on their outer layers, getting ready to stand.
"Oh, A-yeong's back. Feeling any better?"
Choi Geon-woo asked as he looked at me returning from the restroom.
"Yes, some cool air and a splash of water helped."
I answered as casually as I could, but the moment our eyes met the memory of that wet act inside the stall made the insides of my thighs tense on their own.
"Good to hear. Oh, right—you remember we're meeting for lunch next Monday?"
He picked up his bag and lightly draped it over my shoulder as he spoke.
"Yes. I remember."
"Let's grab a meal and then check out a few club booths. Oh, and you two have to come too. I'll text you the details."
He informed Se-yeong and Hui-yeong just as naturally. I nodded, said I understood, and stepped out of the restaurant.
Outside, the cool night air touched my cheeks. The body that had been burning like mad finally began to settle a little.
Even though I hadn't reached a full climax and a heavy, aching residue still lingered low in my belly, my reason had more or less returned to its place.
After parting with Choi Geon-woo and Lim Se-yeong, I walked toward the shared apartment with Hui-yeong.
Under the streetlights I fell quietly into thought. Everything that had happened today flashed rapidly through my mind.
This world was clearly something strangely mixed with reality.
Until now I had naturally been wary of Kim Tae-yang. The blatant violence, the crude stares, the way he tried to force his way into my space—that classic behavior. I had believed without a doubt that he was the "netorare guy," a character from the game.
But the events of the past week had cracked that certainty.
Faced with Kim Tae-yang's cheap harassment today I had only felt disgust and anger. The strange scent that actually snapped the thread of my body's reason had come when I was with Choi Geon-woo.
That leg pressing subtly against mine under the table. And the peculiar fragrance mixed with the smell of liquor that had set my whole body on fire.
Suddenly a chill ran down my spine. Was Kim Tae-yang really the character?
"...yeong-ah. A...?"
Lost in a daze while walking, I jumped when something brushed my shoulder and looked to the side.
"A-yeong? What are you thinking so hard about?"
"Hmm? Nothing, just thinking about clubs."
"Oh, really? I was..."
The suspicion that had just surfaced scattered like mist, yet it left a crack deep in my heart.