Spinning in Circles
The morning sunlight pierced through the gap in the curtains and stabbed at my eyelids. I tossed my heavy, aching body and forced my eyes open.
"Ugh..."
The moment I tried to sit up, a sharp jolt of pain shot up my spine.
"Ow... My back... My head hurts..."
My lower back and hips throbbed like I'd spent the whole night riding a roller coaster. I frowned deeply and glanced around without thinking—then froze solid like a statue.
'......'
The small one-room apartment was an absolute disaster zone, as if a bomb had gone off.
My top and underwear, Minjun's pants, and even my black stockings that had been brutally ripped in two were scattered all over the floor.
And right next to me...
Lee Minjun was fast asleep, completely naked, breathing in steady, peaceful little snores.
One of his strong arms was even wrapped heavily around my waist.
"What... the hell...?"
Panicking, I tremblingly lifted the blanket and looked down between my legs.
"Hic."
The bedsheet was soaked with massive, embarrassing stains from whatever we'd done all night.
And from between my swollen, puffy folds, a thick mix of transparent and white fluid that hadn't fully leaked out was trickling down my thighs.
Like I was in a trance, I reached out with my finger, scooped up some of the slippery liquid between my legs, and carefully brought it to my nose.
That distinct, fishy yet strangely floral scent.
"No way... This smell... Is this... cum...?"
At that moment, the broken film in my mind suddenly connected, and the memories of last night—how I'd gone completely wild while drunk—flashed through my head.
("I never told you to do it there!!!!")
("I did it for you! Now you do it for me!!!!!! Hurry up!!!!!!")
("Why?! Are you about to cum? Hmm? You're gonna cum already???")
Even the way I'd clung to Minjun's neck, wrapped my legs around him, and moaned like a slut replayed in my brain in crystal-clear 4K UHD.
"Ugh..."
Blood rushed to my face so fast it felt like it would explode. I grabbed my head with both hands and buried my face deep into the blanket.
'Ah, Baek Seola, you crazy bitch!!!! Even if you're going to lose your mind from drinking, you went way too far. What the hell did you do last night!!!'
Minjun's POV
Thud—!!
"Ow!"
A sudden kick sent me rolling off the bed with a short scream. As I lay there with my face planted on the floor, groaning, a lion-like roar hit my ears.
"Wake up!!! Why aren't you getting up?!"
"Ugh... Why the hell are you kicking me first thing in the morning..."
I grumbled in protest and groggily lifted my head. Seola, who must have already showered because she looked fresh and clean, stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at me fiercely.
Of course, despite being fresh, her face was burning bright red like it was about to burst.
"Clean up this mess right now! Immediately!"
At her sharp command, I crawled around on all fours with my eyes barely open, picking up the clothes scattered across the floor.
"Uh... this..."
I paused when something caught in my hand. It was the torn black stocking that I'd ripped in two with my own hands last night.
"Hic...!"
Seola gasped when she saw it, then snatched it from my hand in a flash and hid it behind her back. She scanned my body and shouted in horror.
"Hey!! Put some clothes on first! Are you insane?!"
"Huh? Oh..."
Only then did I realize I was completely naked. Yeah, a naked guy crawling around on all fours picking up torn stockings first thing in the morning. Even a total pervert would be impressed.
"Ah, sorry. I forgot."
I scratched my head awkwardly, grabbed a fresh pair of underwear from the drawer, put it on, and finished cleaning up the rest of the mess on the floor.
When things were mostly tidy, Seola, who was standing by the bed, pointed at the ruined sheets with a trembling finger.
"Th-the sheets..."
"What's wrong with the sheets?"
I looked up, following where she was pointing. On the white sheet, the intense evidence of last night's passion was drawn out in an incredibly lewd and explicit map.
The moment I saw it, the wet, sticky sensations from last night came rushing back, and my face heated up too.
Smack—!!
"Ow!"
Seola, whose face had turned tomato-red, suddenly slapped the back of my head hard.
"Ah, why'd you hit me again!"
"Take all of this, go to the coin laundry right now, and wash it! Hurry!!!"
"Okay, okay! I got it!"
Before her fist—fueled by embarrassment turned into rage—could fly at me again, I quickly stuffed the wet sheets and clothes into a big plastic bag.
"Ugh... I'll be back..."
With my hair a total mess, I slung the huge laundry bag over my shoulder and practically fled the apartment.
Bang—.
The front door slammed shut with a loud noise. Left alone in the room, Seola's legs finally gave out and she collapsed onto the floor.
"Haa..."
She cupped her burning cheeks with both hands and let out a long sigh.
The insane memories from last night kept resurfacing, making her want to crawl into a hole and hide. But she figured that at times like this, filling her stomach properly was the only way to keep her sanity intact.
Seola clutched her aching lower back, trudged to the kitchen, filled an empty pot with water, set it on the stove, and began clattering around to prepare breakfast.
Minjun's POV
Rumble rumble rumble—.
I stared blankly at the spinning washing machines inside the coin laundry, then popped open the canned coffee I'd gotten from the vending machine.
Hiss. Pop—.
I gulped down the cold coffee in one go. The bitter taste sliding down my throat finally cleared some of the fog in my head.
"Huu..."
I fiddled with the empty can and sighed. The memories from last night came crashing over me like a wave.
Seola, drunk and pressing her lips against mine first. Her pale skin, flushed and sensitive, twitching at every touch.
The lewd, wet sounds of friction and sticky moans that had echoed through the tiny room until it felt like it would break. The intense sensations that had soaked the sheets were still lingering on my fingertips.
But there was a bigger problem.
'...I seriously swore to myself on the way home yesterday.'
I'd decided to stop using my childhood friend to film videos. I'd even planned to apologize for coming onto her last night.
I'd opened the front door with that firm resolve—but the moment I caught a whiff of alcohol on Seola, that determination had vanished without a trace.
Well, last night there hadn't been a single thought about cameras or payouts in my head.
We'd just gotten swept up in the heat of alcohol and each other's body heat, rolling around like crazy. It had been a night spent purely on each other, without any impure motives.
But that was exactly what made my head even more tangled.
'Then... what the hell are we now?'
We'd crossed way beyond the line of simple business partners, but the title of "childhood friends for over ten years" felt too solid to suddenly become something else overnight.
Just like the laundry spinning and tangling inside the washing machine, my thoughts were endlessly twisting into a complicated mess.
Time passed, and I returned to the apartment carrying the now-fluffy blanket.
We sat across from each other at the small table, only the clinking of spoons breaking the silence as we ate the soybean paste soup.
'This is so awkward... Seriously, painfully awkward.'
Seola, whose morning rage had cooled off a bit, and me, stuck in full guilty mode, both just kept sneaking glances and sipping the broth.
I couldn't stand the suffocating silence anymore. In a desperate attempt to throw something out there, I just blurted it out.
"Hey. Last night was good."
"Pffft—!! Cough, cough cough!"
Seola sprayed the soybean paste soup everywhere and started choking. Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at me in pure panic and yelled.
"Wh-what the—what?! Are you crazy?!"
"No, I meant yesterday you..."
Seeing her face turn deathly pale, I instantly realized in 0.1 seconds, 'Ah, that joke crossed the line,' and quickly changed the subject.
"No, what I meant was! Even after drinking that much, you didn't pass out and made it home safely. I was actually really worried about you."
Seola, who had been furiously wiping her mouth with a napkin, narrowed her eyes.
"Hey. What are you talking about? How would you know I was drinking? You didn't even read my texts yesterday;;"
"Uh? That, well..."
Come to think of it, I'd been working my part-time job at the Korean BBQ place and hadn't checked her messages. As I sat there like a mute who couldn't come up with an excuse, Seola let out a small, heavy sigh.
"Haa..."
After fiddling with her spoon for a moment, she suddenly said,
"Hey. So if I call you later when the drinking ends, you'll come pick me up?"
"Huh? Yeah, of course. Actually, why don't you call me instead of coming home alone?"
At my question, Seola pouted her lips.
"Why would I call you;; It's not like there's a particular reason I have to..."
Her voice trailed off. She lowered her head, poked at the rice grains with her chopsticks, and mumbled in a tiny, ant-like voice.
"But I don't know... When I came home alone yesterday... these days everyone has their boyfriends picking them up and taking care of them, so it made me feel a little... jealous... mumble mumble..."
"Huh? What did you just say?"
"Ugh, fine! If I call, you'll come, right?!"
Seola jerked her head up and shouted.
"Yeah, yeah. If you call, I'll come. I'm worried about you, obviously."
At my firm answer, her lips twitched slightly as if relieved, but then she shot me another sharp glare.
"Unbelievable. The guy who says he's worried did that kind of thing to me yesterday..."
"Hey! You started it! Get your story straight. Who was the one who jumped on me and threw a tantrum?!"
When I got worked up and protested, Seola's face flushed bright red like a tomato again.
"What?!?! No way!! Hey! No matter what, if your friend comes home completely wasted and passed out from drinking, you should just quietly cover them with a blanket and let them sleep! Who the hell takes advantage of that and eats them up right there?! Ugh, ugh, you real pervert!!"
Seola slammed her spoon on the table repeatedly as she yelled, unable to contain her anger.
I'd been quietly watching her rant when suddenly, as if something in me snapped, I asked in a low, unusually serious voice.
"...Did you really hate it that much?"
"...Huh?"
"What we did yesterday. Did you hate it so much that you truly regret it?"
At the sudden direct question, Seola's fiery movements froze completely.
Her large eyes shook in confusion, unable to find their footing, before a tiny, barely audible voice slipped out.
"Ah... It's not that I... really hated it or anything..."
Her mumbled answer while avoiding my gaze left a strange silence hanging in the room.
'Damn it, what am I doing right now? Why did I snap at her like some pathetic, sulky kid?'
Even I thought my tone just now had been way too narrow-minded.
I tried to somehow salvage the sunken atmosphere, but nothing good came to mind. So I just silently scooped more soybean paste soup and stared at my phone.
That was when it happened.
"Huh?! Hey, hey! We made the TOP 10!"
"What?"
I jumped up from the table in excitement, slamming it with my hand. Seola across from me stared at me with wide rabbit eyes.
I excitedly shoved my phone screen in front of her face.
"No, look at this! You know that overseas adult site, right? Our first video made it into this week's weekly view count TOP 10!"
"......"
After glancing at the screen, Seola's face hardened. She replied in a completely cold voice.
"...So what? What's so great about that?"
"Hey! Don't you get what this means?! It means our video finally blew up! This is the perfect timing! Right now we should immediately follow up with..."
I was spitting out words rapid-fire when I suddenly gasped and shut my mouth.
'Ah, right... You idiot.'
I'd just sworn it to myself at the laundry place, and last night too.
I'd decided to stop using my childhood friend to film videos.
What happened last night wasn't because of some impure motive like filming—it was just something that happened because we got swept up in the alcohol.
If I suggested filming the next video now, it would completely cheapen what we did last night and turn it into nothing but business.
"......?"
When I froze mid-sentence, Seola looked up at me with a puzzled expression.
"Ah, uh... No, never mind. Anyway, the view count went up like that, so..."
I waved my hands frantically and hid my phone behind my back, but the damage was already done. Seola bit her lip hard, then dropped her gaze to the floor.
"...So you're saying since the wave is here, we should quickly film the next one and upload it...?"
"No! That's not what I meant...!"
"Huu..."
Seola took a short deep breath, then suddenly stood up.
"I got it. Tonight..."
"Huh?"
"Anyway!! I have a group project meeting at the cafe this afternoon, so I need to leave right now! I made the food, so you do the dishes!"
She rattled off her words in a rush, then spun around without giving me a chance to explain. She grabbed her bag by the front door and stormed out.
"Hey, wait! Listen to me for a sec...!"
Click. Slam—!
Ignoring my call, she shut the front door and ran off like she was escaping.
Left alone in the empty apartment with the dirty dishes, I stared blankly at the firmly closed door and roughly ruffled my hair.
"Damn it, the timing is seriously fucked..."
The curse that slipped out unconsciously echoed hollowly through the quiet apartment.
I hadn't meant to suggest filming the next video at all, but she had clearly misunderstood completely. And "tonight," of all things. Did she really mean she was going to turn the camera on and do it again?
I looked down at the empty rice bowl and let out a deep sigh. It felt like the very first button had been done up completely wrong.
