The Nightgown
"……And how, exactly, do you mean to look after it?"
"We'll handle the cleanup as well. To be frank, guarding a Multimale is a first for our security team, so we acknowledge the mistake and apologize once more. We'll revise the manual and have it distributed."
"……I see."
"The coverage will widen somewhat, so we may occasionally catch your eye."
"How many of you are there?"
"Six in total. Do you require more?"
"No, no. I only wondered if you were watching around the clock."
"Yes. Two to a team, three shifts."
"……Understood."
"Then I'll take my leave."
I watched Han Gyeo-wool bow to me yet again, then spoke quietly.
"Give me a card."
"Ah, yes. If you need anything, please call whenever you like. The number at the bottom is the security team's shared line."
"Right. I'm only asking just in case, but—"
I studied the card for a moment, then asked.
"Yes."
"……Does what happened today get reported to anyone?"
"It does not."
"Not what I expected."
"I was instructed to use my own judgment in your protection and in managing your surroundings. I have no intention of involving myself in your private life. If anything, I would like you to know that I am rooting for you."
It didn't sound like a lie. Her eyes didn't waver either. I'd asked because I half suspected the guard detail was surveillance dressed up as protection, but it seemed she really was doing nothing more than guarding me. Quite the luxury I was living in.
"And if you're ordered to file a report?"
"Then I will have to submit one."
"Understood. And I'd appreciate it if you didn't film me."
"Please don't worry. Your privacy will be strictly protected."
"Then we're fine. Thank you for today."
"Not at all. Have a good day."
"You too, Gyeo-wool. Oh—and I think I owe you an apology as well."
"Yes?"
"I probably won't change. If I want to do something, I'll do it."
"……That is enough."
A black sedan drew up flush beside us, as if it had been waiting. I could tell they'd heard every word; it must have come through the earpiece visible in Han Gyeo-wool's ear. She bowed to me, climbed in, and the car vanished. Dumbfounded, I let out a hollow laugh.
Unbelievable. Is this how all rich people live?
It did feel a little high-handed. Even so, I could hardly pick a fight over it—they had helped me, and I had no real grounds to refuse.
Whatever. Don't dwell on it. They've already seen.
Knowing someone was watching nagged at me, but I had no desire to hold back from what I wanted. I was already growing used to this world, and I understood that in nearly every situation I was the one holding the upper hand. So they knew. What were they going to do about it? It still wasn't in my nature to live that way out in the open. If it were something Ra-hee or Hyunji disliked, I wouldn't do it either—but this wasn't that. And I had not the slightest intention of blaming Ra-hee.
"Shinwoo."
I'd saved Han Gyeo-wool's and Kwon Yoonji's numbers in my phone and started walking, and before I knew it I was in front of the gym. The mart had already closed, its sign gone dark, but Go Yewon was waiting at the entrance that led up into the building, wrapped in a black nightgown that fell all the way to her ankles.
"Why are you out here?"
"You were so late…… I got worried."
Her instincts were pretty good. Worry filled her face as she looked at me. There was no need to let on about what had just happened, so I smiled quietly and went to her.
"What, did you think I'd just gone home?"
"N-no, it's not that……."
"You could have called."
"……I didn't want it to seem like I was rushing you……."
She'd been looking up at me; now she flushed and dropped her gaze. I reached out, lifted her chin, and looked into her eyes. They were beginning to soften, and I watched them as I whispered.
"……Shall we go up, then?"
"……Yes……. Gulp."
When I quietly took her hand, the slender fingers that had been twitching curled around mine. I started up slowly, and she followed without a word. The elevator, which had been powered down, was on now.
"You said the rooftop, right?"
"……Yes……. Get off on the third floor and walk the rest."
"Is it livable up there?"
"A-a little uncomfortable, but…… it was all right……."
Her fingers fidgeted inside my hand, so delicate they looked as if they might snap if I squeezed. We stepped into the elevator waiting in front of us, and the fingertip she used to press the third floor trembled.
"Embarrassed?"
"O-of course……. My heart feels like it's going to burst."
"Want to leave it for later, then?"
"No! I don't! It's not—"
I looked at her as she grabbed my arm in a rush, then quietly met her eyes.
"Enjoy that tension while you have it. You won't feel it later."
"……Okay……."
"You even put on perfume?"
"Ah, that……. Yes……."
A sweet scent rose from her. Something tropical? No—more like berries. Blueberry. When I quietly breathed in at the nape of her neck, I could see the fine down along her neckline rise at once. Maybe my eyesight was sharpening too; even in this dark building, I could see perfectly well.
"……H-here, just a moment……."
A cool wind met us on the roof and set the hem of her nightgown fluttering. My eyes drifted over the pale ankles and pretty calves it bared as she worked the door lock and led me inside.
"……Oh?"
"……I-is it weird……?"
"No. It's cuter than I expected."
"Thank goodness……. Your c-coat and bag…… here, give them to me……."
"Thanks."
I'd braced for a storage room and something grim, but it didn't look hard to live in. Among the little decorations there were quite a few rabbits. The curtains patterned with them seemed a bit childish at first, though the longer I looked, the less I minded. What caught my eye more than any of that, though—
"You even lit candles. That must have been work."
"……I, I did it in a hurry……. You don't like it……?"
I nearly laughed without meaning to. She wanted to be praised. There was something childlike in her—not vacant prettiness so much as a simple, pure wish to be seen trying. Event candles, yes, but she'd also brought out scented ones, and even the emergency candles meant for a blackout. Quite the welcome, really.
"No. The mood's nice."
"I, I prepared wine, too……."
"……You couldn't have managed all this without planning ahead, could you?"
At the whisper she looked away and swallowed. The sight was so cute that a quiet laugh escaped me as I slipped off my shoes and stepped in. The place was clean and tidy. You could tell the cleaning had been rushed in spots, but it didn't seem as if it was usually filthy either.
"I'm curious what it looked like before you cleaned."
"……Th-there won't be a next time. No one comes except Ra-hee……."
"That's a shame. I wanted to see you being natural, too."
"Ah……."
I met the eyes watching me and slowly reached out. Unhurried, but not slow. My fingertips lightly traced the knot tied at the front of her nightgown.
"Do we need the wine?"
"……Gulp. Ah, that's……."
"You don't really know, do you?"
"……Hn……."
I took the end of the knot and drew it loose. At the soft rustle of fabric she sucked in a breath. Startled by her own reaction, she covered her lips with the back of her hand, but I neither looked away nor stopped.
"I'm curious."
"……Y-yes……?"
"You went so far as a pretty gown. I wonder what you're wearing underneath."
"……Hnn……."
With a soft pop the knot gave, and all at once the gown's tension slackened. Like a bride lifting her veil, her collarbones and the valley between her breasts began to show. My gaze settled on the narrow bridge in the middle, straining to hold two peaches together. The bra, red as a scarlet rose, stood out against her snow-white skin, and the mood changed in an instant.
"……It suits you."
"……D-do you like it……?"
"Yes. And it's new, isn't it?"
"……Yesterday, in a rush……."
"The candles and the wine, too?"
"……Yes……."
"So you were looking forward to this."
She couldn't bring herself to answer, only swallowed as her face grew redder and redder. Watching her switch flip over nothing more than this much tension, I whispered.
"I like it better when it's natural."
"……Ah……."
Without waiting for an answer, I let my fingertips follow the gown draped over her shoulder, tracing slowly upward.
"This isn't bad either."
"……Th-thank goodness, thank goodness……. Haa……."
"Cute. I wonder what you were thinking while you got ready."
"Hn……."
"Were you sure I'd hold you?"
"N-no……. Just in case, just in case……."
"What did you talk about with Ra-hee?"
"Haa……."
As I slowly pushed the gown aside, her collarbones came clear, and with them a valley deep enough to hold water. When her firm, snow-white shoulders gradually emerged, she barely managed to swallow a moan.
"Did you say you wanted to do it with me?"
"Th-that's……. Hnn……."
The gown, having reached the curve of her shoulder, finally slipped down beside her arm. Her upper breasts appeared, and the whole of the scarlet bra straining to hold them, and for a moment I had no words.
"……Beautiful."
"Th-thank…… you……. Haa……."
"You're holding it in well."
"……I-it's hard……."
"Stay still anyway. Let me look."
"……Yes……. L-look, please look……."
"I will."
I liked her natural, but a look this carefully set wasn't bad either. The faint drift of perfume, the scent of her skin, clean skin and a new bra—she looked like a new bride prepared for her wedding night. The fact that she had readied herself to take me in was quietly provocative.
"Haa, haa……."
Her breath, breaking against my chest, was starting to grow hot. I watched her for a moment, then began slowly peeling the gown from her other side as I whispered.
"While you were getting ready, did you imagine it?"
"……Haa, wh-what kind……?"
"How I'd do it to you. Or else—"
"Hup……."
I moved my hand slowly and deliberately tickled near her collarbone. She flinched and covered her mouth with her palm, and I quietly took that hand and drew it down.
"Things like where I'd touch you?"
"……Yes……."
Looking up at me, she swallowed and answered in a voice that seemed to shrink away. Surprisingly obedient. I couldn't tell whether it was embarrassment or whether she was passive by nature. She'd tried so hard—maybe I ought to play along, just once.
"Is the start better than you imagined?"
"Hnn, more, better……. It's too…… lewd……."
"And I've only taken the gown off?"
"I didn't, didn't know it would be like this…… hup……."
Once again I gently caught the hand covering her mouth and drew it down. Not in a rush, so she wouldn't be afraid.
"Don't cover your mouth. I want to hear you breathe."
"Ah……."
"I wonder what the fantasy was like."
"Haa……."
And I let those fingertips travel slowly down, as if drawing along the line of her snow-white shoulder and collarbone.
"Hm? Will you tell me?"
"……K-kissing……. On the lips……. Hnn……?"
I listened to the trembling voice as she looked up at me, and before she could finish I quietly covered her lips with mine. They tasted of cherry. I couldn't tell whether it was tint or lipstick. The moment my mouth touched hers, tension flooded her whole body.
"Mmph… hn… mm…"
But as I tasted her lips as if massaging them and slowly offered my tongue, she put out her own, as if she had been waiting, and came to meet me. I moved both hands, let the sleeves of the nightgown slip free, and while I was at it stroked gently down both her arms.