The Masterpiece
"Ah! I-I'm sorry. It's a mess, isn't it...?"
"I'm the one who made it. What's messy about it? Don't tell me you think mine is dirty?"
"No! Not even a little!"
"Then don't call it dirty. Can't you see me?"
"...Ah..."
"You're the one who got it like this."
My boy had been up for a good long while already, thrusting toward the ceiling with all the stubborn pride of a building's pillar. Rahi took him in, stared at me in a blank daze, and murmured.
"...I-it got that big...?"
"Yeah."
"...gulp... Sh-Shinwoo..."
"No. Go wash up, before it runs any farther."
"...It really doesn't hurt...? If you're uncomfortable..."
"I'm disappointed too, but later. All right?"
"...Okay..."
I wasn't blind to what those moist eyes wanted, or that flushed face, or the heat coming off her body. I wasn't exactly unbothered myself, but I stepped in close and drew her into my arms. My boy jabbed her abdomen like a dagger. Rahi only pressed her belly against him as if she liked it, and pulled me in all at once.
"...Wanting it makes the next time better. Right?"
"...I know. You're always looking out for me..."
"That too. I want it as well. I'm just holding back."
"I know..."
"Go on. And don't kick the shampoo bottle while you're staring in the mirror."
"...H-how did you know?"
"What. You actually kicked it?"
"N-no. I didn't do it on purpose..."
A laugh slipped out of me. I kissed her forehead and hurried her off toward the bathroom. I was just as much of a mess from last night, but there was still time.
...Hah...
I watched her back as she went, muttered at my boy to settle down, and reached for my phone. I texted Ju Hayeong that I'd be late. The answer came flying back at once that it was fine, so I apologized, then pulled the sheet off again. I checked the mattress without much hope, and sure enough, it was already a lost cause. Nothing to be done. Still.
Hmm. There's some artistic merit here. I'll give it a four.
I took in last night's pleasure: Rahi had used her own wetness for paint and the mattress for a canvas. I could claim a share of the credit myself. Pride welled up at the thing, worked over in something very near contemporary art. So our Rahi had an eye after all. How many times could I tease her with this?
Better take a picture, too.
I saved the masterpiece on my phone and left the window open. The sky didn't look like rain. One day probably wouldn't be enough; I'd have to leave the sheet off and let it dry quietly for a few days. Rahi would feel awful about it, so I'd need to douse the room in deodorizer as well.
When we move, I'm buying dozens of sheets. And a pile of waterproof ones.
I hadn't let any of it show to Rahi, but pride aside, washing the bedsheets every single day was a little stressful. Then it struck me that if something this trivial counted as stress, my days lately really had been happy, and another laugh got away from me. More sheets wouldn't change the fact that they still had to be washed. And there was pride in it, so it wasn't purely unpleasant.
"Haaahm."
With the washer running, I yawned, scratched myself, and stood in front of the coffee machine, staring blankly at the wall and letting my head rest. The morning had already been too stimulating. Talk of anal, and Rahi's eyes so full of trust, had my boy trying to lift his head again. I hurried to put him back to sleep.
...So. What we'd need.
If I'd still been my old size, fingers and a string of beads would have been plenty. Now we'd need more. A slim anal vibrator or a dildo, and a plug on top of that—though I wasn't even sure this world had such things. I didn't know where to look, but Brother Google knew everything. Amazon would probably do. Or I ought to search that Chinese site Ju Hayeong had mentioned.
...What is this?
The screen was so absurd I let out a hollow laugh. Of course.
So protecting the hymen means anal is more mainstream than the front. That's what this is.
Figures. Having seen their sex drives with my own eyes, and lived through them, I knew better. Simply enduring it didn't make any sense. Women in my old world couldn't live that way either. The market for women's toys was enormous, and there was a limit to what a bullet vibe could solve. Once a person knew the pleasure of being filled, a rotor alone could never finish the job. With a thing no bigger than a bean, even a few solo happy hours through the night wouldn't be enough.
To think that old line—saving yourself for marriage by going in the back—would turn out to be reality.
I didn't have to look far. I scrolled calmly through the photos of toys packed onto the big green shopping portal. The ordinary stock was almost nothing but bullets and suction toys in the Womanizer vein, and the menu sitting at the very top was anal. But one thing wasn't quite what I'd expected.
...There are no expanders.
Anal meant, literally, the anus. Past that was only rectum and colon, and the colon had no pain sense. There was no reason for an erogenous zone to be sitting there. A rare person really did have one, of course, but what people enjoyed was the feeling of being filled, and the pressure and stimulation spreading through everything around it—not direct stimulation of the colon itself. Only a minority went all the way to full insertion, so the styles were nearly identical and there weren't many of them. Most of what existed were beads and small vibrators meant for the anus and just behind it. Tools of any real size, or tools meant to open the sphincter, were almost nowhere to be seen.
Fair enough. Stretch it, and if a man noticed in bed, he might reject you.
Maybe it was the humiliation. Hold the front in reserve all that time, and then the moment a loosened backside showed, a man's disgust and refusal would be hard to bear. Even I felt the shame rise the instant I imagined being turned away in bed. The line pull out was famous, after all. Anyway, it was a shame the selection was so thin.
Still, it's not like there's nothing.
For now the plan was to get her used to it. The main event itself would have to be handled directly. Gel or lotion would obviously be necessary. Ah.
Why not have Rahi pick them?
I'd choose a few myself and make her choose some too. I was curious about her taste, and I was already looking forward to the face she'd make, blushing while she showed me. Decided. We'd pick them together. Buy them together, too, and enjoy her reaction one item at a time. Shy, mortified Rahi painted herself in front of my eyes all on her own.
"Shinwoo."
"Oh—yeah. You out?"
"What's got you so happy? Your face is glowing."
"I was thinking about you."
"...Then I'm just taking today off after all."
"Hey now. Get dressed. I'm going in. Have some coffee."
"...Okay."
The reluctance in her answer was plain. I snorted a laugh and turned toward the bathroom. She knew she shouldn't, either. Oh—right.
"Oh, I think I left something on the bed. Looked like yours."
"Huh? What is it?"
"You're the artist. Take a look. I'm not even sure of the subject."
"...Okay."
Rahi tilted her head and went into the bedroom. I grinned, and just as I was about to shut the bathroom door, a crash came from in there. Yeah. This was the good part. What had she kicked this time?
"...I'm sorry."
"Why do you keep apologizing? I said it's fine."
All the way to the gym in the van, Rahi kept her head bowed and wouldn't lift her face.
"...I-I didn't even think about the mattress..."
"It's fine. It was too narrow for the two of us anyway. We were going to replace it. Oh—unless you're sad about throwing away that artistic masterpiece..."
"P-please throw it away. I'll buy you a new one. Okay?"
"There. Now you're showing me your face."
"...Oh, honestly..."
Her face had gone bright red with embarrassment. She stamped a foot against the floor of the car and muttered at what I'd said, and she was so cute I laughed before I could stop myself.
"What's there to be so shy about? It's not the first time. Yesterday you even put the sheet on yourself."
"...I wasn't thinking then either. Really. I don't know why I didn't notice..."
"You were probably too busy thinking about what I'd like."
Rahi looked at me, bit her lip, and ducked her head again. She was mortified. I hadn't expected the reaction to land this well.
"So I think we'll have to let the mattress dry for a while."
"...Okay..."
"Then we go to your place?"
"...Huh?"
"What. We can't sleep at yours?"
"N-no. I'd love that..."
"Then we're good. And the blushing is cute, but."
I stopped at a red light, looked at her, and went on with a soft smile.
"This is going to keep happening. You should be ready."
"...Isn't there something like a waterproof mattress?"
"Well, well. You can't exactly promise not to make a mess."
"...How am I supposed to hold it in? I really can't think of anything. My whole body goes tingly, and I c-can't even breathe right..."
"Want to look around a mall this weekend?"
"Yes..."
I pulled away again to the sound of that small answer and her quiet nod.
"Oh, and. I looked something up while you were washing."
"What?"
"You said you wanted to try anal."
"...Ah. Yes..."
"When you have time, pick out whatever you're interested in."
"C-couldn't you pick for me...?"
"It's going on your body. You should like it."
"...I'll look..."
"If you only said it for my sake, we don't have to."
"...No. I-I want to do it with you too..."
I kept reading her. What came back wasn't so much excitement as a little curiosity, and mostly the sense that she was considering me. But this was enough. Keep asking, and she might start to feel I didn't like the idea. It was also a decent way to ease the debt she kept thinking she owed me.
"Good. I want to, too. Put them in the cart and we'll look together."
"Okay..."
"Don't wait up today."
"Oh, right. Hyunji's performance... Should I really go too?"
"No. I already told Hyunji. She understood."
"...I'm so sorry. I know how hard she's been practicing."
"Yeah. The timing just turned out a little unfortunate."
"I'll definitely go next time."
"Let's. She'll perform again."
"Yes. Shinwoo."
At the sound of my name I turned my eyes. She was quietly watching me, and I asked with a small laugh.
"What?"
"...Would it be all right if I bought you something? Like vitamins...?"
"Vitamins?"
"Yes... I'm not much of a cook... And your meals seem so irregular..."
"Irregular? I eat lunch and dinner on time now that I'm going to the gym."
"Even so. Yesterday, twice... If we keep this up, you'll hurt yourself..."
"Then should we stop for a while?"
"...Okaaay..."
She sounded so dejected that I laughed again.
"Don't worry. If it gets hard, I'll say so. And if you don't want to, tell me anytime."
"That would never happen... But I really am worried..."
"You, on the other hand, keep getting prettier."
"...Ah. I-I do feel a little strange lately..."
Good timing. She seemed to be noticing that something was off, so I'd have to steer her carefully, before the strangeness had a chance to register. She stroked her own cheek and studied the face reflected in the window. I watched her out of the corner of my eye and spoke as casually as I could.
"Strange, nothing. Especially today. You're even prettier."
"...Y-you're handsome every day too..."
"I didn't say it so you'd bow back. Be honest. Are you eating something behind my back?"
"...Th-there's nothing like that... It's just..."
"Just?"
She looked at me, lips parting and closing, lifting her seat belt and setting it down again for no reason at all. Then she murmured, almost a whisper.
"...It's because of you..."
For a moment my heart dropped before I could stop it. No way. Had she been feeling that something was wrong for a while already? I clenched my teeth, held my face in place, and asked with a gentle smile.