The Beginning of Change 2

"Babe, shopping today was so much fun, wasn’t it?"

"Huh? Yeah… it was fun…"

Even as I answered my wife, my mind was somewhere else entirely. Once again today, she had drawn the eyes of countless men. Especially back in the elevator, in that brief span of time, her face and figure had completely captured the delivery driver’s attention.

If they had been strangers like the men at the outlet today—people we would never see again—it might not have weighed on me so heavily. But the fact that even the delivery driver who came to our apartment complex every single day had been staring at my wife filled me with a strange tension and, at the same time, a sharp, thrilling excitement.

"Oh, right. Babe, I’m meeting a friend tomorrow outside."

"A ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠friend? Who are you seeing?"

"You know Ha-jung, right? I’m meeting her."

My wife told me she had plans with a friend the next day. The friend she mentioned—Lee Ha-jung—was someone she had grown close to in college. They had been practically inseparable for four years, and she was the one who had given my wife the sexy underwear as a gift.

After graduation, my wife had taken a job at a mid-sized pharmaceutical company while Ha-jung left immediately for a working holiday in Australia. Their contact had briefly faded during that time. Later, while my wife and I were dating, Ha-jung returned to Korea and now worked as a freelance translator.

"That’s nice. You’ve barely seen her since we got married, and I know how much you regretted that."

"Yeah. She said she’s free tomorrow too, so we’re meeting in the city center. We’ll probably end up having dinner together… so I won’t be able to make you anything tomorrow night."

"It’s fine. I’ll just grab something out. I can eat with Chul-min hyung."

"Okay, that works. Babe, let’s get some sleep. You have to go to work tomorrow."

"Yeah. Let’s sleep."

Monday, Company Rooftop

"Chul-min hyung, any plans tonight?"

"Hm? Nothing in particular. And just call me hyung when it’s the two of us."

"Got it. Chul-min hyung. If you’re free, want to grab dinner together?"

"Why are you eating out tonight? What about your wife?"

"She’s meeting a friend and staying out late."

"Alright. Then after work, want to try that new barbecue place in the city center?"

"Sure, why not. I went there once with my wife and it was pretty good."

"Okay~ Let’s go there for dinner then."

After we finished our cigarettes, Chul-min hyung and I headed back down to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the office. As soon as we stepped inside, I saw Team Leader Park Yeong-hwan.

"Chul-min, Gyu-min, do you two have plans tonight?"

"Sorry? Is something going on?"

"No, nothing like that. It’s almost quitting time, so I thought we could grab dinner together."

"Ah. I already have a prior engagement, and Gyu-min has family elders coming over today."

"Hmm… I see. Can’t be helped then. Alright, let’s wrap up and head out."

Thankfully, Chul-min hyung had the sense to invent an excuse and turn down the team leader’s invitation. Neither of us cared for Park Yeong-hwan, so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I felt relieved we wouldn’t have to share a meal with him.

After work, Chul-min hyung and I drove to the barbecue restaurant in the city center. Once we arrived, we ordered the meat and started pouring drinks while we waited.

"Gyu-min, you still browsing Heaven Net these days?"

"I am. Thanks to you showing it to me, I usually check it once before bed."

"Yeah, once you start it’s almost impossible to quit."

"But sometimes ads pop up while I’m looking at posts?"

"Ah, you have to make an account to get rid of those."

"Did you sign up, hyung?"

"I did. You should too."

"I probably will."

"How are things with your wife lately? Still sexless?"

"No, it’s gotten a lot hotter again, like before. It’s partly thanks to you, hyung."

"Good. That’s all that matters then."

"Your ordered meat is ready."

The meat arrived and we began eating in earnest. We talked about work and current events, losing track of time as we enjoyed the meal.

"Gyu-min, I’m going to hit the bathroom. Go out first and have a smoke."

"Will do, hyung."

I stepped outside the restaurant and lit a cigarette near the entrance to the alley. As I smoked, I glanced sideways and saw a group of young men standing together, also smoking. From their faces and clothes, they looked like college students at most.

I wonder how Yu-jin’s doing right now…

From what she told me last night, she was supposed to meet her friend around lunchtime. Because of that, I had no idea what she had chosen to wear when she left the house. Personally, I had hoped she would wear one of the revealing outfits we bought at the outlet, but given her personality, that seemed unlikely. She had probably gone with the kind of pants she usually preferred.

"Dude, aren’t the girls who were at the table behind us fucking insane?"

"No kidding. I heard this pub was completely dead lately, but tonight it’s off the charts?"

The voices of the men beside me drifted over. From the sound of it, they had been drinking at the pub in the building next to the alley and had come down for a smoke break.

Their conversation intrigued me, so I pretended not to listen while secretly paying closer attention.

"Both of them have great faces, but one is seriously killer. Her face is elegant and pretty like an actress… and her body is unbelievable. Tall and slender, but with curves in all the right places."

"Exactly. Usually tall girls have tiny tits and no ass, but this one had massive tits and a fat ass…"

"And the way she was dressed was pure sex—white shirt, black miniskirt, coffee-colored stockings… exactly the office look that makes me lose my mind. When she walked to the bathroom, her ass was swaying and I got hard on the spot lol."

"With tits like that, she’s gotta be at least a D-cup, right? Pretty face too. I’d love to bury my dick between those tits, give her a paizuri, and blow my load all over her face."

"Her legs were perfect. I’d suck on those stockings for a whole hour, no joke…"

They kept throwing out dirty comments until they fell silent for a moment, probably imagining it.

"Fuck it. Let’s try to pick those bitches up tonight lol."

"They probably have boyfriends though…"

"Dude, do girls with boyfriends come to a pub like this to drink? And you don’t know shit. Girls with boyfriends are actually way easier. These days having two guys at once is the baseline. That’s why they come to places like this, shake their asses, pick up men, and have one-night stands."

"You think? Anyway, the one on the right is mine. Don’t touch her."

"So I’m supposed to take the grenade?"

"What’s wrong with that? The left one has a pretty face too. Her body isn’t as good as the right one, but it’s still solid."

"Whatever. Whoever picks them up gets to fuck them. Deal?"

"Yeah, yeah. Let’s head back up."

The young men climbed the stairs again. I finished my cigarette and stared at the building where the pub was located.

They’re in the prime of their youth. There was a time I used to go to clubs or pubs like that with my friends, but after getting married there’s no reason to anymore…

"Gyu-min, the designated driver is here. Let’s head home."

"Okay, hyung."

Chul-min hyung let me ride in his car, dropped me off at our apartment complex, and continued on to his own place. I took the elevator up and opened the front door.

What greeted me was a pitch-black apartment with not a single light on. It seemed my wife still wasn’t home yet. I checked the time on my phone—it was a little past eleven.

I turned on the living room light, drank some cold water in the kitchen, then went to the bathroom to shower. Even after I finished showering, my wife still hadn’t returned. The clock on the wall showed it was nearly midnight.

Is she okay getting home? If she missed the last train she’ll have to take a taxi… Should I go meet her?

Worried, I called my wife. But after a long ring, she didn’t pick up. Growing more concerned, I sat down on the living room sofa and waited.

Some time passed. The wall clock had already moved past midnight when my phone lit up with my wife’s number.

"Yes, I understand. I’ll be down in ten minutes."

I threw on some clothes and slowly made my way outside. When I reached the first-floor entrance, I saw a taxi pulling up. As I walked out toward it, the back door opened and two women stepped out. One was my wife; the other was her friend.

My wife was extremely drunk, stumbling badly as she got out of the taxi. Lee Ha-jung was supporting her.

"Hello, I’m Lee Ha-jung, the one who called earlier. Sorry for bringing Yu-jin home so late."

"Not at all. But… she really drank a lot, huh?"

"Yes. It had been so long since we last saw each other that we ended up talking a lot and drinking more than we realized. I told her she should call her husband, but she was too out of it, so I called for her."

"Thank you so much. Here, let me pay for the taxi fare. You brought her all the way here."

"No, it’s fine. It’s my fault she drank so much in the first place. Let’s just have a meal together with Yu-jin next time. I’ll be going now."

"Alright. See you next time."

Yu-jin’s friend, Lee Ha-jung, left my wife in my care, got back into the taxi, and headed home. I supported my staggering wife—whose eyes were closed—and brought her upstairs.

I laid her on the bed and caught my breath for a moment. When my wife drank heavily, she would pass out completely. No matter how much you shook her, she wouldn’t wake up. So I gave up on changing her clothes and was about to pull the blanket over her.

That was when I noticed what she was wearing.

My wife had on a white shirt and the black miniskirt we had bought at the outlet. Thanks to the short hem, her long, slender legs were exposed all the way up her thighs. Covering those legs were coffee-colored stockings whose texture and shade made ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her beautiful legs look even more stunning.

Wait… those guys from earlier…

Suddenly, the conversation I had overheard from the young men while smoking in the alley came rushing back. The description of the woman’s outfit in their crude talk matched exactly what my wife was wearing right now.

In that instant, my vision went dark and my heart began to pound violently…