The Birth of an Animal Lover(?)

"Alright everyone, we've pretty much finished the research and wrapped up the final PPT, so let's call it a day! Good work, all of you~!"

"Good work~!"

With the team leader's cheerful voice, the laptops spread across the table began closing one by one with soft clicks.

Life returned to the faces of the college students liberated from the tedious swamp of their group project.

"Wow, now that the assignment's done I feel totally refreshed! Hey, it'd be a shame to split up like this. How about we grab some cold beers?"

"Oh, I'm in. Sounds good! My throat's been parched anyway."

Before long, the mood of the group meeting naturally shifted into plans for drinks.

The pair of department classmates who had clicked during the sessions and recently started a secret(?) relationship were already holding hands under the table, flirting shamelessly and cranking the atmosphere to its limit.

'I can see everything, you know… Tsk. Just die already.'

Amid the noisy, hyped-up group, I silently gathered my textbooks into my bag.

I sneaked a glance at my smartphone screen to check the time.

Six in the evening.

Time to eat dinner as the sun began to set.

'Sigh… I really don't want to go.'

Even though I'd caused that massive scene at breakfast and fled the house like I was escaping, the only place I could return to was that one-room apartment.

On top of that, the damned "assignment" of filming the next video tonight still loomed over me.

"You guys have fun. I'll head out first."

The moment I slung my bag over my shoulder and stood, one of the female classmates who'd been chattering in a high-pitched voice grabbed my arm with a disappointed look.

"Ehh…? Seola, you're leaving already? No way! The vibe is perfect right now! It won't be any fun without you~!"

"No, I'm genuinely tired today. You all enjoy yourselves…"

As I smiled awkwardly and tried to refuse, the returning male senior sitting across from me slid in slyly to help persuade me.

"Come on, Seola. You're going to kill the mood by leaving already? Stay a little longer—just one drink! Or… do you have some urgent plans afterward?"

"……."

Plans?

Rather than any appointment, the face of that big guy waiting for me back at the apartment suddenly flashed through my mind.

("Hey! What the hell does this mean! This is perfect timing! Right now you should just keep going straight into…!")

'…I have to film the next video tonight with that horny dog of a bastard.'

I swallowed the truth I could never say out loud and slightly narrowed my eyes.

Part of me wanted to drink until these complicated feelings were washed away, but the catastrophe I'd caused while drunk yesterday made me want to stay far away from alcohol for the time being.

"Sorry! I really have something to take care of, so I'll head out first!! Guys, see you later!"

I dashed out of the café like I was fleeing, leaving the disappointed voices of the senior and my classmates behind.

Ding-.

The moment the café door closed with the bell and I stepped into the quiet alley, I let out the breath I'd been holding and kicked furiously at the empty air.

"Aaaaaagh!! Baek Seola, you idiot! You moron!! Why couldn't I refuse back there?!"

I wasn't mad at myself for turning down the senior's invitation for drinks.

What drove me crazy was my own mouth that had shouted 'Tonight…' across the breakfast table.

'It's weird, right? No matter how you look at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it, this is strange…'

It was impossible to dismiss as a simple side project of filming adult videos for money. Last night we hadn't even turned the camera on—we'd mixed our bodies like real lovers, madly and without restraint.

And now tonight we were supposed to turn the camera back on and film again?

"Haa…"

I crouched in the corner of the bus stop, glancing around to make sure no one could see, and opened the internet browser on my phone.

With a complicated heart I let out a deep sigh and secretly accessed a major overseas adult video platform.

The screen filled with Western mature actresses and thumbnails of every variety.

I swallowed dryly and carefully played a video from the category that had apparently climbed into yesterday's top ten views (not the site we'd uploaded to, but for reference).

On screen the performers struck all sorts of embarrassing poses while letting out exaggerated moans.

'Do I… really have to do the same things those women are doing tonight??? So explicitly?! Ugh, no. I can't. I absolutely can't…'

I slammed the screen off and clutched my burning cheeks with both hands.

It was something I could never do while in my right mind. The normal response would be to go straight home and declare, 'I can't do this—let's quit the adult videos!'

But at that exact moment—

("Hey. Yesterday felt good.")

("Did you really hate doing that with me yesterday that much?")

Minjun's serious face as he stared at me across the breakfast table and the lewd glint in his eyes as he panted roughly on top of me last night, drenched in sweat, flashed through my mind.

My heart began to pound violently again.

"…No, seriously. Why can't I refuse?"

More than the pressure of having to film an adult video, it was the faint anticipation I felt at the thought of intertwining with him again.

Having realized my own true feelings, I buried my face in my knees and sank into deep despair.

With Seola gone for her group project, I was left alone in the empty one-room apartment, unable to control the chaotic thoughts boiling inside me.

'When it's like this, nothing beats moving your body.'

In the end I headed to the neighborhood gym and signed up on impulse.

Until now I'd only half-heartedly done bodyweight exercises in my room, but I'd seen enough videos to know I should set clear boundaries so I wouldn't get taken advantage of.

"Ah, no PT needed. I can handle it alone."

"Ah… okay. Then look around and work hard~"

Leaving the trainer's half-hearted reply behind, I scanned the equipment and spotted a massive, somehow very familiar build over in the free-weights zone.

'Huh? Isn't that Jinwoo?'

It was Choi Jinwoo, the former competitive boxer who'd helped Seola and me in that dark alley last time.

Glad to see a familiar face, I walked over and greeted him.

"Uh… Jinwoo, right? Working out?"

Jinwoo, sitting on the bench press and catching his breath, lifted his head and stared at me blankly.

"……?"

"Uh… I saw you were exercising here, so…"

"A gym is a place for working out. What else would it be?"

His dry, brutal fact-bomb left me momentarily speechless.

"Ah… yeah, that's true. Well, work hard then…"

Feeling awkward, I hesitated and tried to slip ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠away when Jinwoo's heavy voice caught me from behind.

"What are you training today?"

"?!?! Uh, what?! What do you mean? Do you know something…?"

Watching me internally panic, Jinwoo furrowed his brows sharply.

"I asked which body part you're working on."

"Ah… uh, I haven't decided yet…"

"Really? Perfect. Then spot me. The hyung I usually train with didn't show up today."

And just like that I was grabbed by the collar and forcibly dragged into Jinwoo's hellish Spartan-style chest workout.

"Huk, huk… I'm gonna die…"

A full two and a half hours.

I lay on brutal machines whose names I didn't even know—except for "bench press," which I'd only seen in videos from famous fitness YouTubers with millions of subscribers—pushing and pulling iron at Jinwoo's command.

After the soul-crushing training I practically crawled out of the gym on all fours.

Jinwoo, wiping sweat beside me, looked completely refreshed.

"Hey. You should come out with me sometimes. Your frame is decent."

"Huk, huk… If ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I keep this up I'll actually die… You're a stamina monster. Weren't you a competitive boxer?"

At my words, the hand wiping his neck with a towel froze.

He narrowed his eyes at me.

"…? How do you know that?"

"…? Huh?"

I stared at him in pure confusion.

'What? Why is he the only one who doesn't know he's famous?;;'

"No, last time our department's official SNS account posted a huge announcement promoting you as a boxing special recruit. Pretty much everyone in the department knows you're a selected athlete. It's like nationwide news."

Jinwoo blinked a few times, then scratched the back of his head.

"Ah, really? I don't follow the account so I didn't know."

"……."

It was an extremely hardcore my-way attitude.

Jinwoo changed the subject as if it were nothing.

"Hey. Doesn't your girlfriend work out?"

"Wh-what?? Girlfriend?!"

"You know, that tall, pale girl you sometimes walk around with."

"Ah… Seola? No, no! She's not my girlfriend. We're just childhood friends, childhood friends!"

When I panicked and waved my hands, Jinwoo stroked his chin with a serious expression.

"Really? Hmm…"

He pondered for a long time before suddenly patting my shoulder and nodding as if he'd realized some profound truth.

"Is that person a guy?"

"…? What?"

"Yeah, well. The world's different these days. Be honest about it later. I'm rooting for you."

Seeming proud of his incredibly open-minded attitude, Jinwoo smiled contentedly to himself and coolly walked away.

"No, what kind of misunderstanding is this crazy bastard leaving with?! Hey!!"

As I shouted at his retreating back in disbelief, my phone began ringing loudly in my pocket.

The name on the screen read [Baek Seola].

I frowned, pulling the phone slightly away from my ear.

"I'm just finishing my workout and on my way home…"

The abrupt change in her tone left me blinking at the darkened screen.

She had been yelling like she wanted to devour me, then suddenly hung up sounding strangely wistful?

"Isn't her mood swinging way too much? It's making me anxious…"

I had no idea whether something had happened during her group project or if she was still sulking over what I'd said that morning.

With an unknown sense of unease, I forced strength into my trembling legs and started running toward the apartment.

'Whew, my legs are shaking, but let's get there quickly!'

Beep-beep, click.

"Huk… huk… Hey!! I'm back."

I opened the door, breathing hard, but the apartment was pitch dark.

'What? Is she already asleep?'

I tilted my head and fumbled along the entryway wall until I found the living-room switch and flipped it on.

Flash—.

The instant the brightened living room revealed the figure standing motionless in the center, I froze on the spot like a stone statue.

"……?"

"……."

"???"

"……."

"????"

A suffocating standoff.

The insanely awkward silence filled with nothing but blinking was finally broken when Seola flinched, her shoulders trembling.

"…Hey!"

Panicking at my dazed expression, she shook her head frantically.

"N-no… say something, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at least. Please?"

Not knowing where to look, my eyes wandered as I stammered.

"No, uh… why are you only wearing underwear?? And it's cow…"

('…cow-patterned?')

I doubted my own eyes.

Seola wasn't wearing a single outer garment. The only thing covering her was a cow-patterned lingerie set—white fabric with black spots.

Even the band of the underwear proudly displayed the logo of the famous designer brand C.

The combination was both stylish and insanely erotic, and my gaze locked helplessly onto her voluptuous breasts and hips.

Under my blatant stare, her snow-white body flushed bright red in an instant, as if it might explode from embarrassment.

"……!!"

Biting her lip in shame, she spun around with loud footsteps and dashed straight into my room.

I completely forgot that I'd been thinking 'I should shower first since I smell like sweat' and swallowed hard, following her into the room like a man possessed.