Want to Come See the Cat?
Clack-clack. Clack-clack-clack-clack-clack-clack.
From morning straight through lunch, the keyboard at the desk beside mine hammered away at a pace that was honestly a little frightening. Min Seoeun, of course. The way she abused that thing, I had to wonder how long it had left to live.
"Seoeun."
"Yes, Assistant Manager."
"......"
And yet the instant I called her name, she stopped everything she was doing and snapped her head toward me. The whole picture was... yeah. She really was like a dog.
Not in a bad way. You know how big dogs get sometimes — they'll lock onto a stuffed toy and just lose their minds, chewing it, shredding it, going completely feral. Then their owner calls, and they freeze mid-rampage and look up.
Exactly that.
"Seoeun. Paw."
"......"
Tap.
"Good girl."
"...Thank you, Assistant Manager."
The way she offered her hand the instant I said "paw," without even a second of delay — yes, Min Seoeun was definitely canine.
"Let's go eat."
"Yes. Understood."
She shot to her feet. She'd taken "let's go eat" the same way a dog takes "want to go for a walk?" — work abandoned, already standing.
"Seoeun, you need to save that first."
"Ah... yes. Sorry."
She flinched, catching herself, then quickly hit Alt+S to save the document she'd been working on. There's something about a big dog doing something dumb that's just ridiculously cute, and Min Seoeun was the living embodiment of that. I couldn't help grinning as I stood up and left the office with her.
The moment we hit the street, Min Seoeun fell in beside me like a loyal hound keeping watch at her master's flank.
"Anything you feel like eating, Seoeun?"
"Anything is fine, but... perhaps something like short rib soup?"
"Oh, that sounds good. Let's go."
Every last thing about Min Seoeun was gradually aligning itself to me. Even this simple question about food made it obvious. "Anything" — meaning she'd match whatever I wanted. Then a modest suggestion, just in case I couldn't think of something myself. And when I said it sounded good, she smiled like she was genuinely happy.
Well — "smiled." Min Seoeun's smile was so faint you'd miss it if you weren't looking closely.
Come to think of it, how long had I even known her...
"By the way, Seoeun — how long have you been here now?"
"As of today... about three weeks, counting from my first day."
"Already three weeks."
"That is correct."
Right. Three weeks since I'd first laid eyes on Min Seoeun. And since she sat right next to me every working hour, I'd had plenty of time to watch her.
Flip that around to her perspective, though.
"So, Seoeun. It's only been three weeks — but then again, it's already been three weeks."
"That is correct."
"How about it? Feeling more comfortable with the work?"
"Yes. Thanks to you, Assistant Manager, I have gotten quite used to it."
It had been about three weeks since Min Seoeun decided to serve me as her Master. Her loyalty had been swelling by the day, and she must have been dying to show me. I was sitting right there — one reach of the hand away. She had to be going out of her mind.
"Good to hear. And today... you know, right, Seoeun?"
"Yes. I have prepared."
"Prepared? Prepared what?"
"I do not actually know exactly how we are going to... do that, so I packed whatever I could think of."
"What did you pack?"
"Spare underwear, for one, and various other things. And..."
She hesitated.
"...I also brought the vibrator you gave me, Assistant Manager."
"Good girl. We won't need it today, but keep carrying it from now on. You never know when I'll use it."
"Understood."
I'd given Min Seoeun that vibrator a full week ago. I'd told her to keep it on her at all times because I might use it whenever — and then I hadn't used it once. She had every right to feel disappointed. And yet Min Seoeun showed none of that. She just nodded.
After lunch, I was back at my desk and deep in work when a message arrived from Ju Harin out of nowhere.
"Seoeun. I'm going to step out for a bit. I'll be right back."
"Understood."
Min Seoeun answered with a blank expression that felt different from Chae Dayeon's, then went right back to hammering her keyboard. I watched the office for an opening, slipped out, and headed into my usual spot — Small Meeting Room 2 — to wait for Ju Harin.
A moment later, the door slid open with a low rumble.
"...Hello."
"Have a seat."
"......"
She flinched visibly at the sound of my voice, then pressed the Meeting in Progress button just like last time and sat down across from me.
Still active. That was why.
"What's this about?"
"...Um. Excuse me."
"Go ahead."
"......"
Ju Harin sat there at a complete loss, holding her words back. Which meant I was going to have to talk even more.
"Harin. You did this last time too, and I know I've already told you — calling someone in here and then sitting there with your mouth shut is not a good look."
"...Y-yes."
"What's this about?"
"Weeell..."
"Unlike last week, I've actually got a little time today. You can think it through if you need to. But preferably, get to the point."
Every time I spoke, her body trembled a little. It took a good while after my voice stopped before Ju Harin found her composure again.
"...Assistant Manager."
"Yes. Go ahead."
"......"
And again — the moment I spoke, she flinched. But calling me in here and then clamming up was as good as picking a fight, so that wasn't an option either.
"I-I've been thinking."
"About what?"
"Last week you said... that if I did something you actually like — not the spanking, but something you really like — you could give me a l-lot of special points."
"Of course. Technically that's not how it should work, but if there's performance, there should be extra points. Like paying out a bonus."
"So I thought about it. You said you don't particularly like spanking my ass. So I started wondering what you actually like — what would get me a lot of special points."
I'd spanked Ju Harin's ass a week ago. And a week ago was also when she'd decided that what I really wanted was to have sex with her. A week was plenty of time for her to have reached some kind of conclusion.
"...If you have time today, would you like to have dinner together? Even just dinner?"
"Dinner?"
"Yes."
"Just so we're clear... this isn't because you think what I like is eating dinner with you, right?"
"N-no. It won't just be dinner. We'll have coffee, too. Coffee."
"Coffee?"
"Coffee keeps you awake, right? So we can stay up late, which means... we eat dinner, we drink coffee, we watch a movie together... and then we watch Netflix at my place... and then you can go..."
Want to come over for ramen?
That line from some old movie was the most popular way of saying stay the night at my place — or, more bluntly, let's do it — without actually saying it. These days, though, I'd heard people ask "Want to watch Netflix?" instead. Or was it "Want to come see my cat?" I was pretty sure I'd heard that one too.
Anyway.
"We're watching a movie AND then Netflix?"
"Ah, that's... um, I mean..."
Had this woman always been this cute?
The same woman who snarled at me every time I saw her was now blushing, stumbling over her words, and asking me if I wanted to watch Netflix. They say a face like that can sell anything, so there was a certain appeal to hearing it from her. The surprising part was that the appeal came across as cuteness.
"I've seen this somewhere. 'Want to watch Netflix' — that's the same thing as the old 'want to come over for ramen,' right? That's how I understand it."
"...Yes."
"So I'm understanding this correctly?"
"......"
She had to know this was the last question — the one she couldn't take back. So she thought about it for a long time. A really long time.
"...Yes."
She didn't look down. She met my eyes and answered straight on. She had guts, I'd give her that.
"Alright. But I've got a prior engagement today, so it won't work. Let's do next Friday."
"Next... Friday?"
"Yes. We'll leave work together on Friday, get dinner, have coffee like you said. Then we'll go to a motel and watch Netflix."
She'd spent this entire conversation talking in circles. "Motel" was still something of a euphemism, sure — but it was a lot more direct than Netflix. The embarrassment hit her all at once, and her face went crimson in a heartbeat.
"O-okay."
"Where do you live, Harin?"
"Why do you need my address..."
"I figured we'd go to a motel near your place. I'll be taking you home the next day anyway."
"No, that's fine."
"No, it isn't. Taking you home isn't hard. More importantly... Harin."
"Yes?"
Maybe I should give her a little warning. Not quite a warning, but...
"Harin. You've done it before, right?"
"Uh... no, I haven't."
"What?"
"What?"
"......"
Why was Harin, of all people...
"A-anyway. If you haven't, that makes it even more necessary. I'll take you home."
"It's fine."
"It won't be fine. You won't even be able to walk the next day."
"Why wouldn't I be able to walk..."
She really doesn't know. How does something like this even happen?
"You'll find out that day. So which area do you live in?"
"Seongnam."
"Got it. Friday it is. Anything else?"
"No."
"Alright."
That was the end of it. Unlike last time, there was nothing we needed to do in the office, so the meeting itself was fairly short. But right before we parted ways—
"Harin."
"Yes?"
"...I don't know about the rest. But you can look forward to it."
"Look forward to what?"
"I can tell how resolved you are. I'll make sure you get a ton of points, and also..."
Since it was her first time...
"...I think you'll like it. Personally. So you can look forward to it."
"......"
Ju Harin stared at me hard, clearly not following, then turned and headed back to her own office.
When I got back to my desk, Min Seoeun was hard at work. She greeted me with her eyes. A few seconds later, though—
"...Assistant Manager. Who did you go see?"
"Hm? Why?"
"There is a woman's scent on you..."
Was she actually a dog? A real dog? How the hell was her nose that sharp?
And yet... I'd spoken with Ju Harin twice before today. Both times, she'd taken a spanking and ended up dripping wet. If Seoeun was going to bring up a woman's scent, shouldn't it have been last time? Or... because I'd made a date with Harin today, had she somehow sensed the difference?
Anyway. I was a little thrown, but I kept my voice as even as I could.
"Just talked with someone from Personnel."
Not a lie. We really had just talked. But given Min Seoeun's loyalty, she might take it a different way.
"She asked to meet once next week."
"...Understood."
"It's nothing. You don't need to worry, Seoeun."
As if she'd take "it's nothing" at face value. I'd just told her someone asked to meet. And once I'd said that, I found myself looking forward to this evening quite a bit.
"You just focus on your own work, Seoeun."
"Under...stood."
"Yeah. Let's hurry. The sooner we clock out, the better for you too."
"Understood."
The possibility that her Master might turn his attention to another woman... for Min Seoeun, that could be genuine terror.