First Girl Da-in (2)
Da-in shot up from her seat and bolted for the bathroom.
I was already looking forward to the weekend.
Ten in the morning.
A company-wide notification chimed.
Security Team — Kwon Taeo, Staff → Assistant Manager (Special Promotion)
Effective: Immediately
That was my name.
Assistant Manager.
I hadn't even been here a year?
Holy shit. Jackpot!
"Hey, Kwon Taeo — you see this?"
"Just saw it."
"Assistant Manager? Does that even make sense?"
"Beats me. But it happened."
I grinned.
Honestly, it felt fucking great.
The team lead walked over.
"Kwon Taeo, congratulations. Looks like the Division Head took a special interest in you."
"Thank you, sir."
"Keep it up."
The office buzzed.
People offering congratulations. People looking baffled. People barely hiding their envy.
A senior I ran into every day in the elevator walked past and tossed out a line.
"Must be nice. Connections make everything easy."
He didn't even look back.
Yeah, whatever.
A win's a win.
Da-in came running over.
"Should I call you Assistant Manager? Or Oppa?"
"Oppa."
"Haha, Oppa, congrats on the promotion!"
Her eyes sparkled.
"This weekend I'll give you a real congratulation — with my pussy."
"Hahaha."
I called Su-jeong right away.
"I made Assistant Manager."
"What?"
"I got promoted."
"Whoa. For real?"
"For real."
"You dumbass was actually competent."
"Hahahaha."
"Hahaha."
Someone who genuinely celebrated for me. Someone who was happy like it was her own win.
This was the real good stuff.
"But how did you get promoted that fast?"
"I think Division Head Kim Do-hun pulled some strings."
"Ah..."
And then the line went quiet.
"You did good."
"Yeah. When I get off work I'll run home so hard my dick falls off."
I thought Su-jeong would laugh. She didn't.
Around lunch, the team lead came by again.
"Kwon Taeo, the Division Head wants to see you."
I opened the door to the Division Head's office.
Do-hun was sitting on the sofa.
"You're here? Sit."
"Thank you, hyung. For the promotion."
"You got it because you've got the skills."
Do-hun held out a coffee cup.
"Taeo, I've got a favor to ask."
"Anything. Just say the word."
"I'm going to access the Birth Control Bureau database with a master account."
I nodded.
"Can you wipe the access logs for me?"
In that instant, the coffee lost all its taste.
Access logs.
I knew exactly what those meant.
Who accessed what data, and when.
Wiping them meant—
"...What kind of data are you trying to access?"
"You don't need to know that."
Do-hun looked at me.
Smiling.
Same as always.
"Taeo. You trust me, right?"
"..."
"Have I ever asked you to do something that screwed you over?"
He wasn't wrong.
"Understood."
Do-hun smiled again.
"Thanks, little brother. Once I'm in and done, I'll text you."
"Yes..."
Fuck. This felt nasty as hell.
By the time I clocked out, there was still no text from the Division Head.
No access logs either.
Had he just been testing me?
Anyway — tomorrow was the weekend.
Da-in was fidgeting at her desk, restless as anything.
Saturday morning.
May 15th. Half the month already gone.
Was she pregnant?
Su-jeong and I were both dying to know — but there was no way to find out except the Birth Control Bureau's official test on the first of next month.
And today was the day Da-in was coming over.
Su-jeong sat on the couch watching TV, same as always.
I did a full lap of the living room.
"Hey, should we clean a little more?"
"We did it yesterday."
"Still."
"Sit down, you idiot."
I sat.
I stood up.
Opened the fridge.
Closed it.
"Su-jeong."
"What."
"What time is it?"
"Eleven."
"Still three hours left."
"Until what."
Su-jeong flipped channels.
I stood up again.
"Taeo."
"Yeah?"
"You pace one more time and I'm snapping your dick in half."
"..."
I sat on the couch.
Didn't move a muscle.
Su-jeong set down the remote and looked at me.
"What are you doing?"
"Sitting still."
"Haha, you look like an idiot."
"..."
"Why are you so nervous. It's your own house."
"True."
Su-jeong went back to the TV.
"Just go with your instincts. I'm not gonna kill you."
"My woman. Fucking charismatic."
Su-jeong snorted a laugh.
One-thirty.
A text from Da-in.
"Da-in's here but she's too scared to come in alone."
"Go get her."
I took the elevator down.
Da-in was standing at the entrance to the alley.
White short-sleeve blouse, short plaid skirt. Full brown permed hair. Heart earrings on her earlobes. A cake box clutched in her hands.
The second she saw me, her whole face softened.
"Oppa."
"Why are you frozen out here?"
"Because I'm scared."
"Walk."
"Can I hold your hand?"
"If you want."
Inside the elevator, Da-in gripped the cake box tight. The hand holding mine trembled pitifully.
"Oppa."
"What."
"What if unnie's first word really is 'fuck'?"
"Just smile."
"If I can manage a smile, I'll be lucky."
We got off the elevator.
Ding-dong—
The door opened.
Su-jeong was standing out in the living room.
"U-unnie. Hello."
Da-in's voice shook.
Su-jeong looked her over.
"So you're that keyboard girl?"
"Y-yes..."
"Cuter than I expected."
Da-in's face relaxed.
"Th-thank you."
We sat at the dining table. Su-jeong brought out coffee, and Da-in unpacked the cake.
Strawberry cake.
Su-jeong cut herself a slice and ate without a word.
Da-in watched her carefully.
"Is it good?"
"Yeah."
Su-jeong set down her coffee cup and looked at Da-in.
"Why do you like him?"
Da-in's teacup rattled in her hands.
"I... I don't really know."
"I just feel comfortable next to Oppa. But at the same time my heart feels like it's going to explode."
She likes me?
It wasn't just that she wanted to do it?
"Dangerous..."
Su-jeong muttered something half to herself.
Then she picked up the remote and turned on the TV.
Nine hundred forty thousand and eight.
A million was right around the corner.
Da-in stared at the screen.
"Th-that's us?"
"Yeah."
Da-in covered her face with both hands.
"Am I on there too?"
Her face was bright red.
"Obviously."
Da-in looked at me.
"Oppa, is this being broadcast right now?"
"Yeah."
"What do I do."
"Just stay put."
Su-jeong looked at Da-in.
"Look at the camera."
"Huh?"
"Look straight at it."
Da-in lowered her hands and faced the camera, eyes trembling.
"Hello."
She gave the camera an awkward little wave.
Su-jeong set down the remote.
"Come to the couch."
Da-in looked at me. I nodded.
The three of us moved to the sofa — me in the middle, Su-jeong on the left, Da-in on the right.
Su-jeong laid her hand on the first button of my shirt.
Slowly. One by one.
Da-in watched. I could feel her holding her breath. Her ears went red.
Su-jeong undid every button without a word, then peeled the shirt off my shoulders.
She looked at Da-in.
"Well?"
"...He's really handsome."
"Not his face."
"Ah..."
Da-in's eyes dropped, then climbed back up. From her ears to her whole face — pure scarlet.
Su-jeong let out a snort of laughter. A kind of laugh I'd never seen from her before.
"You strip too."
At Su-jeong's words, Da-in's expression froze.
"Huh?"
"It's not too late. You can still leave."
"Ah... n-no... no, I don't want to."
Da-in stood up from her seat.
Her fingers trembled as they found the buttons of her blouse.
Da-in's fingers undid the first button.
They shook — visibly.
Second.
She drew a single breath, lips pressed tight.
Third.
The blouse slipped from both shoulders. White skin bared.
Da-in looked at me. Her eyes were wet. Just trembling eyes.
"Oppa."
"Yeah?"
"From the first day I subscribed, I dreamed about you. Every night."
"But right now... this feels like a dream."
The living room went quiet.
Even the comment feed seemed to freeze for a moment.
Su-jeong looked at Da-in.
"I feel like this is a dream too. Fuck, I just hope I don't wake up..."
I turned over what the two women had said for a long time.
Da-in's hand found the zipper of her skirt. She drew it down slowly. The plaid skirt slid to her ankles.
Plain white cotton panties. No lace, no frills.
And somehow that made them — even more her.
Da-in looked at me. Eyes locked on mine, her hands went behind her back.
Click.
The bra strap loosened, and it fell to the floor with the blouse.
Her white breasts were bare — soft swells, shy and modest.
Da-in started to cover them with both hands — then stopped.
And looking straight at me — she slowly set her hands on her panties.
Fingers hooked the waistband on both sides. She couldn't pull them down, just fidgeted with the elastic.
She drew one deep breath.
And then the white panties slid down her thighs and dropped to her ankles.
Da-in stood there just like that.
"Hhk... how am I supposed to breathe?"