No Longer Hiding
Five in the afternoon.
Min-ho was on the subway, riding home. The shoot had been perfect—the chemistry with Yoon-a, the director's praise, and Seo-yoon's certainty.
A hundred million views... is that really possible?
Even inside the car he could feel the stares. The outline under his black leggings drew them; women kept stealing glances his way. He no longer cared.
Ten days, and I've changed so much.
He got off at the station in front of his one-room building and, before heading up, stopped at the convenience store—the twenty-four-hour shop on the first floor, the same place he had ducked into ten days ago, the day he first arrived in this world.
The automatic door slid open with a chime.
"Welcome!"
A familiar voice. The woman behind the counter saw Min-ho, and her eyes went wide. She looked to be in her mid-twenties—about five foot four, softly plump, with a cute face and black hair pulled into a ponytail.
"Um... sir..."
She stared straight through him. Especially below the waist. Min-ho remembered. It had been this same woman then, too.
"A rice triangle and... strawberry milk."
He picked them up and brought them to the counter.
"Y-yes..."
She scanned the barcodes, but her hands were shaking, and her eyes never left his leggings.
"That'll be 2,500 won..."
"Right."
Min-ho held out his card. Taking it, she asked, carefully.
"Um... sir... I was wondering..."
"Yes?"
"How about... oral sex? With me?"
Startled, Min-ho stared at her. Her face had gone red, but her eyes were serious.
"It's been my wish... to try it just once with someone this big..."
She said it breathlessly.
"Last time you came in, I wanted to say something... but it was the first time, and I couldn't get up the nerve. So I've been waiting every single day for you to come back... Please..."
Flustered as he was, Min-ho remembered what this world was—a place where sex between people who both wanted it was simply ordinary.
"But... here?"
"I'll hang a sign, say I stepped out to the restroom, and lock the door. We can do it in the drink storage!"
She was pleading now.
"Even if it's quick... please, I'm begging you. Just once..."
Min-ho hesitated. But looking into her eyes, he found he couldn't refuse.
"All right."
"Really?!"
Beaming, she rushed to the door, hung a sign, and locked it.
"This way!"
She caught his hand and pulled him into the drink storage at the back. The moment the door shut, she dropped to her knees in front of him, and Min-ho pulled his leggings down.
"Oh... god... this is insane..."
She breathed it in awe and took hold of him. Even soft, he was over twenty centimeters. Carefully, she opened her mouth.
"Mmm... mmm..."
She sucked him like she was starving.
"God... this is heaven... a big one even tastes different..."
Drooling, she worked at him in earnest. Five minutes of it.
"Sir... oh... I... I can't hold back..."
She sucked desperately, drawing him deeper—and from outside came a knock.
"Hello? Are you open?"
Trying not to make a sound, she sealed her mouth tight around him and kept sucking.
"Ugh... I'm in a hurry. I'll just go somewhere else..."
The footsteps faded. A few seconds later, Min-ho came in her mouth.
"Oh... it's hot... there's so much... ahh!"
When it was over, both of them were gasping.
"That was... the best..."
She smiled, satisfied, and wiped the spit from the corner of her mouth.
"Come to me anytime... I'll give it to you for free..."
"What?"
"I'll cover the bill, so whenever you stop by the store, just leave it to me. Please..."
Absurd as it was, Min-ho laughed.
"All right."
They straightened their clothes and came out of the storage room. She unlocked the door and took the sign down.
"Thank you, sir... please come again..."
She waved, smiling brightly.
Stepping out of the store, Min-ho turned the thought over.
This world... really is different.
In a pleasant mood, he took the elevator up to the fifth floor. Walking the hall, he found someone standing in front of his door.
A woman. In a business suit.
As he drew closer, she turned her head.
"...Assistant Manager Jeong Min-ho?"
His breath stopped.
Kang Ji-eun. His team leader at the company. Late thirties, tall at five foot eight, with a slim figure, a short bob, and sharp eyes—a career woman with a chic, cutting presence. She was the most capable team leader in the company, and at the same time the most frightening person in it. Toward ordinary employees like Min-ho, she had always been cold.
"Team Leader? What are you doing here..."
Ji-eun was holding a fruit basket.
"You took ten days of sick leave and never once got in touch, so I came to check on you."
Her gaze traveled over him. And then it stopped.
His clothes. The old Min-ho had always gone around in baggy jeans with a generous rise and an oversized T-shirt, doing everything he could to hide what was between his legs. Now it was a tight gray T-shirt and black leggings.
"Assistant Manager Jeong... your clothes..."
Ji-eun's eyes dropped. And widened. The outline inside the leggings—even soft, a size past twenty centimeters stood out with perfect clarity.
"L-let's... talk inside."
Flustered, Min-ho opened the door.
The cramped one-room. Ji-eun set the fruit basket on the little table and sat, and Min-ho took the seat across from her. Silence settled. She kept looking at him—especially below the waist. Seated, the leggings showed even more.
"Assistant Manager Jeong."
"Yes, Team Leader."
"What on earth is going on? You take sick leave out of nowhere, you don't answer... If you're going to be out for ten days, you owe your team leader an explanation of exactly what's happened."
Her voice was cold, but something in it seemed to tremble.
"I'm sorry..."
"Save the apology. Explain. And what is that outfit? You never used to dress like that."
Min-ho drew a deep breath.
I'm quitting anyway. I'll just tell her the truth.
"Team Leader, I... I'm planning to resign."
"What?"
Ji-eun's eyes went wide.
"I've started a new line of work."
"Out of nowhere, in ten days? What kind of work could that possibly be?"
"AV acting."
Silence.
Ji-eun couldn't close her mouth.
"An AV... actor? For real?"
"Yes."
"Assistant Manager Jeong Min-ho?"
"Yes."
She looked at him again. This time the look was different.
"So that's why you've been walking around dressed like that?"
"Yes. There's no need to hide it anymore."
"No need to hide..."
Her eyes dropped once more.
"Assistant Manager Jeong, that thing of yours is... impressive."
Her voice shook a little.
"That's..."
"No. You don't have to say it. I can see."
Ji-eun flushed. Min-ho was stunned—the team leader who had always been cold and composed, blushing.
"Since when? This work."
"Not long. A few days. I was scouted, by chance."
Ji-eun studied him again.
"And that's why you've changed like this?"
"Sorry?"
"Assistant Manager Jeong... you seem like a completely different person. Your eyes are different, the way you carry yourself is different, the whole atmosphere is completely..."
She went on.
"Before, you always had your head down. You looked like you had no confidence at all. You never said a word in meetings, and you couldn't even meet my eyes..."
Min-ho's face burned. It was true.
"But now you look sure of yourself. You're looking me straight in the eye."
He was. The old him could never have done it.
"And..."
She lowered her voice.
"I'll be honest. I watch AV too. I like it."
"You do, Team Leader?"
"What? Is that strange? Everyone watches."
Ji-eun smiled. It was the softest expression he had ever seen on her.
"That's why it's even more surprising, that you're doing that work. And..."
She stared at him openly.
"I'm curious what kind of actor you are."
"It hasn't come out yet. Next week."
"Is that so? Then..."
Ji-eun took out her phone.
"What's the name? I'll look you up."
"Jeong Min-ho."
"No stage name?"
"No. I'm using my real name."
"Brave of you."
She started to search, then stopped.
"You said it isn't out yet. When it is, I'll be sure to watch."
She stood.
"I'll go for today. Come into the office tomorrow. We'll need to process your resignation."
"Yes..."
Ji-eun walked toward the door, then stopped in front of it.
"Assistant Manager Jeong."
"Yes?"
"Tomorrow, after we handle the paperwork—do you have time?"
"Tomorrow I have plans."
He thought of his dinner with Yoon-a.
"Then the day after?"
"The day after tomorrow?"
"Have dinner with me. My treat."
Ji-eun turned, smiling.
"I think I've been a little cold to you, all this time. I'd like to apologize."
"It's all right..."
"No. And..."
She looked at him steadily.
"The way you've changed... it's attractive. I mean that."
His heart pounded. Five foot eight, the team leader who had always been cold and terrifying, had just called him attractive.
"It's amazing you could change this much in ten days. What on earth happened to you?"
She asked it with her eyes full of curiosity.
"I just decided to stop hiding. To be as I am."
"As you are..."
Ji-eun glanced once more at what the leggings couldn't conceal.
"Yes. I think that's right. It would be a waste, hiding something like that."
She left.
Min-ho stood there, dazed.
The team leader... about me?
The man who had always been overlooked, who couldn't even meet her eyes—that man had just been told he was attractive. That hiding him would be a waste.
He looked in the mirror. He had changed, no question. His clothes, his posture, his eyes.
In ten days... I've changed this much.
His phone buzzed. A message from Yoon-a.
Min-ho sent a reply.
And then he thought of his team leader.
The day after tomorrow...
Dinner the day after tomorrow, with her. With the woman who had always been frightening, and cold.
This, too, will be something new.
Min-ho lay down on the bed. In ten days his life had turned completely upside down. He, a virgin all his life, had already been with two women and taken a signing fee of a hundred million won—and now even that terrifying team leader was showing an interest in him.
I really have changed.
Tomorrow was his last day at the company, and his first date with Yoon-a. The day after, dinner with his team leader.
Even if I'm short, it's fine. I have another weapon.
Min-ho smiled and closed his eyes. Confidence in this new life was beginning to take root.