Back at the Cafe
Splash… splash…
“Hup… hup…”
I cut through the water with powerful strokes. An empty swimming pool. There, I was swimming.
So… so heavy…
The resistance grew stronger with every moment. Especially my upper body felt strangely heavy as it parted the water.
Suddenly my senses sharpened. The brush of water against my skin registered several times more clearly than usual.
…What is this…
With every stroke of my arms, every twist of my waist, a strange weakness uncoiled from deep inside my body.
My breathing grew more and more labored. I was only swimming normally, and yet…
“Huet… huet…”
My body… was strangely hot. To escape this place I had to reach the finish line…
Ziiing—
Just as I was about to touch it, the pool kept stretching longer and longer. No matter how hard I paddled I could not reach the end.
“Ugh!”
My fingertips sliced through empty air. Without ever touching the wall my center collapsed, and water rushed into my mouth.
I had almost made it—
“Hwaaah!”
I kicked the blanket away and sat bolt upright. Looking around in panic, I saw my still-unfamiliar room.
“A dream… it was a dream.”
My mind was still hazy. To shake off the unpleasant sensation I slapped both cheeks hard.
“What kind of nightmare was that…”
Cold sweat covered my entire body. In the dream I had struggled with everything I had, only to drown in the end.
“What on earth does it mean?”
They say dreams usually express one’s desires—so what could this one possibly mean?
Was it simply that my body’s urges had gone unsatisfied… or…
“Is it telling me not to struggle against my fate?”
The dream felt as if my destiny had already been decided.
It’s a futile struggle. Don’t run away. Accept it.
It felt like someone was whispering those words inside my head.
I took a deep breath and made a resolution.
“Hah… No way. Not without even trying…”
I got out of bed and loosened my stiff body. Moving around made me feel a little better.
With a calmer heart I perched precariously on the edge of the mattress.
“This… di… dil… do I need to buy a dildo or something?”
I forced out a word that was hard to say aloud.
“If I just… buy one and take care of it thoroughly, maybe it’ll get better?”
No matter how hard I thought, no clear solution came to mind. But if I didn’t release something somehow, I felt I would end up drowning just like the me in that pool.
“Yeah… it’s not wrong for a person to use some products, right?”
Hoping the dream had come from physical need, I decided to visit an adult goods store later.
“I can’t just skip my part-time job today…”
I couldn’t go right away. I would tough it out for today.
“Ugh… I don’t want to go.”
After getting ready for work I stood in front of the door. The dream rose again in my mind and my feet refused to move.
“Just… today, I’ll be as cold as possible…”
Choi Deok-hun was at the cafe—one of the netorare men from the game. In the game he was probably the ugly fat-guy role…
I had hated this uncle’s route.
I always thought a development where he forcibly rapes the heroine and steals her with pure physical pleasure, rather than gradually taking her through emotional connection, didn’t belong in a netorare story.
“But the way things are now… it’s exactly like the game situation.”
To resist my fate, not meeting him would be best—but after that dream…
“It feels like… I’m going to accept my fate.”
I recalled my goal once more. I could not simply submit.
“If I set my mind to it… there’s nothing I can’t do!”
Shouting that, I headed for the cafe.
“Oh~ A-yeong’s here.”
When I arrived at the cafe, Choi Deok-hun approached with a welcoming act. He immediately reached out his hand to me again.
Tak—
“It’s burdensome, so please don’t touch me.”
I slapped his hand away and spoke as coldly as possible. Choi Deok-hun’s expression hardened for a moment.
Then he put on a shameless smile.
“A-yeong, it seems you’re in a bad mood today.”
“Not just today—please just don’t touch my body. It’s burdensome.”
Even with my icy response he kept smiling to the end.
“Alright. I’ll be careful from now on.”
Saying that, he returned to the counter. A good start. If I just kept this up, it would be fine.
I went into the storage room behind the counter and changed clothes in the corner.
Flinch—
A sudden chill ran down my spine and I looked around. Had Choi Deok-hun been peeping?
“Is someone there?”
Choi Deok-hun answered my question.
“What’s wrong, A-yeong?”
He came into the storage room as if asking what the matter was.
“Kyaaaah! I haven’t put my clothes on yet!”
I let out a girlish scream. Choi Deok-hun, who had entered, was startled—
“So… sorry.”
Glance—
He turned around in surprise, but his eyes had already scanned my body. It felt like bugs were crawling all over me.
“So creepy…”
While finishing changing I brushed down my goosebumped arms and left the storage room.
“Sorry about earlier. I should have asked before coming in…”
Choi Deok-hun apologized with a sorry expression. But the slightly upturned corners of his mouth bothered me for no reason.
“Please be more careful from now on.”
“Got it. I’ll be more careful.”
Saying that, he tried to take my hand again. I lightly slapped his hand away with the back of mine.
“Don’t do this either.”
The more coldly I treated him, the more his smile gradually stiffened.
After that he kept a bit of distance and acted carefully around me.
Good, this is the situation I wanted.
The cafe proceeded in a quiet atmosphere. The busy hours came again, but…
“Customer number 147! Your iced cafe mocha…”
Customer 150, 152, 155… With a more familiar situation and a calm mind, I skillfully handled the cafe work.
Pulling shots, pouring milk, closing cup lids—the motions flowed like water. Suddenly I checked Choi Deok-hun’s side once.
Glance…
Choi Deok-hun was standing as if organizing the register, but the timing overlapped subtly. Every time I raised my head our eyes met slightly.
Is he looking for a chance to approach me…
Since I wasn’t flustered, it seemed Choi Deok-hun had no room to intervene.
If I just do it like today, no problem…
The busy hours passed and closing time gradually approached. Nothing special had happened until then; all that remained was to finish a successful day.
“It’s almost closing time…”
Looking at the now-quiet cafe, I leaned on the counter and propped my chin in my hand.
I wish every day could be like today…
The desire to go home quickly grew. As I kept glancing at the clock—
Ding-a-ling
At the sound of a customer entering I looked toward the cafe entrance.
“A-yeong~”
Lim Se-yeong opened the door and came in. He seemed to have chosen a freer time today. He entered with a bright smile.
“Se-yeong~ You ca…”
The cheerful greeting I was about to give went back into my mouth. Following behind Lim Se-yeong, a pure beauty came in together.
“A-yeong, I came too.”
Kim Hui-yeong. The small, soft smile suited her well. After a brief surprise at the unfamiliar face—
“Why… did you two come together?”
A strange emotion swirled in my chest. What on earth was this situation…
“You collapsed, and I couldn’t reach you, so I was worried and came looking.”
Kim Hui-yeong answered that way and sat across from Lim Se-yeong. What kind of relationship were these two anyway…
I approached them and asked.
“But how did you two come together? You wouldn’t even know I was working part-time here…”
“Se-yeong contacted me. He said you were working part-time here.”
“Yeah. I contacted her. Since you collapsed and we couldn’t even talk, I brought her along.”
Lim Se-yeong kept smiling as if something made him so happy.
“It’s free until closing, right?”
“Uh… yeah. More than that, should I bring you some drinks?”
At those words Kim Hui-yeong naturally told me what she needed.
“Since it’s evening now, not something with caffeine—something like an ade or juice, please.”
At her words I headed to the counter.
“Ah… and Se-yeong doesn’t like sweet things, so something like tea…”
Suddenly… my steps stopped. Looking back slightly, the two were looking at their phones, laughing and chatting as if having so much fun.
“I only know my own feelings… I don’t even know what he likes or how…”
It felt like the distance between me and the two was growing farther and farther. I pretended to be nonchalant, went inside the counter, and started making the drinks for them.
Why suddenly the two of them…
Kwarrrrr—
Splash—
“Ah…”
While pouring ice into the cup, the ade splashed and soaked my apron.
“A-yeong, are you okay? Wipe with this.”
Choi Deok-hun approached and handed me a clean dish towel. I took the towel he offered.
“Ugh… damn. This is sticky…”
I grabbed my top and scrubbed the part where the ade had stuck with the towel. Choi Deok-hun watched me wipe for a moment, then picked up the finished drinks and went.
“I’ll deliver these. You hurry and wipe.”
I fumbled, putting the towel inside my clothes to wipe my body. The ade was wiped away, but my heart still felt sticky.
What kind of situation is this, what kind of relationship are they.
I tossed the towel down and looked at the two happily chatting.
Choi Deok-hun stepped right up close beside me. I had no room to care about the closing distance.
“Those two… they look pretty close, don’t they?”
Flinch—
My body trembled slightly at the sound of him whispering small into my ear.
“A-yeong~ Come over here~”
“Ah…? Ah! Yeah…”
I answered the two calling me, but my feet wouldn’t easily move.