The Balcony
"It's beautiful."
"Isn't it? Do you like it?"
"Yeah. It does feel a little excessive, though."
"Oh, don't worry about the garden. The groundskeepers come by twice a month. No one's living here yet, so it'll only be now and then, but still."
It wasn't the size I'd meant. Should I learn to mow the lawn too? YouTube would probably teach me well enough.
"......Yeah. It's too lavish."
"You're someone who deserves to enjoy it, Oppa."
"......Let's go inside."
"Ah, there you go getting shy again."
Hyunji smiled softly as she looped her arms around mine, whispering with a teasing lilt.
"And yet you praise me like that every single time."
"......Should I stop? This is secretly embarrassing, you know."
"Please don't. I love it every time I hear it."
"All right."
"Hehe. Oppa. You're so cute today."
She beamed at me as if the whole thing had been worth it. I let out a long sigh, then leaned in and whispered back.
"You're cuter, you know."
"......Then be even sweeter to me."
She tipped her face up. I met her eyes, then quietly pressed my lips to hers. Happiness flooded the bright smile that answered me, and I let that warmth settle in my chest before I murmured against her.
"Shall we go in?"
"Yes. Let's, Oppa."
"Yeah."
We walked on until we reached the front door, and I waited while Hyunji worked the lock. She glanced over at me, head tilted.
"What's wrong?"
"Let's go in together."
"......Okay."
She smiled, shy, and nodded. I took her hand, and we stepped inside at the same moment. I didn't really understand why it mattered, but I could feel how happy it made her, and that was enough to lift my own mood. Something like this I could give her as often as she wanted. The entryway opened into the living room, and I nodded as I took it in.
"It's already been cleaned?"
"The management office probably tidied up once they heard we were coming."
"That's kind of them."
"I'll pass along your thanks."
"It's nothing. More importantly, let's look around together."
"Yes."
The interior was exactly what the sleek exterior had promised. Marble dressed the rooms the way a brand-new apartment might, the palette leaning gently toward gray—understated at a glance, quietly lavish if you looked closer. I liked it. Truth be told, I was the sort of person who thought even the cherry-colored molding in that old rental was perfectly fine, but standing in a place this refined, I felt my eyes open a little wider.
"Is there anywhere you'd like redone?"
"Nothing jumps out yet. Is there somewhere you don't like?"
"Mm, not yet for me either. It just feels a little out of fashion, so it nags at me."
We picked our way through the house room by room, but nothing stood out as wrong. I liked how spacious the bathroom was. Maybe it was simply too nice to feel real; trying to find fault with a house this good didn't work. I turned on the tap, washed my hands, and splashed my face, and Hyunji was already holding out a handkerchief as if she'd been waiting.
"Here."
"Thanks."
"......It's nothing. Give it here."
"Put it to good use."
She smiled at that and folded the handkerchief as if it were something precious, and I scratched at my cheek. The cloth was pretty worn.
"That handkerchief's seen better days."
"Hasn't it? A little, I guess."
"No. It's broken in nicely. Soft. When did you get it?"
"Mom bought it for me when I was little."
"And you still use it?"
"Yes. I'm attached to it."
"I get that. It's nice to have one thing like that."
"These days, that thing is you, Oppa."
"Hm. Maybe I'm the same."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I want to keep you in my pocket all the time."
"......I want that too."
I smiled at her, and when we stepped out of the bathroom the living room's enormous floor-to-ceiling windows caught my eye again. The house was undeniably too big. The first floor alone looked as if it could comfortably hold three or four people. Seven rooms, and the alcove meant for a refrigerator looked big enough for three of them. The pantry and the laundry room were absurdly vast—those two together were about the size of the place I lived in now. The kind of house you only saw on television. So spacious it made me hesitate.
"Hm. Maybe we should live on the first floor."
"Oh, the second floor is nice too. The view is pretty good."
"You must have been busy. When did you even see it?"
"I made a little time at lunch and came by once."
"I see. And here you were run ragged with practice."
"It's nothing. I wanted to pay even more attention, but......"
Hyunji fidgeted shyly with my hand as we climbed slowly to the second floor. The upstairs living room and its six bedrooms drew a nod out of me. As I'd thought—this wasn't a place for one person. Still, apart from that, the sunlight pouring through the glass was beautiful.
"......It's beautiful."
"I'm glad you seem to like it."
"What about you?"
"I like it too. If there's anywhere you don't, I can have the interior redone."
"No. I'm satisfied. It's wonderful."
Then I noticed the balcony beyond the second-floor windows. I walked over slowly, opened the glass, and stepped out into a spring wind that rushed over my whole body.
"......Yeah. I like it a lot."
Beyond the rail lay the forest, and past the trees, the city. I nodded. We weren't so far from downtown; the night view would probably be lovely too. I leaned on the balcony and simply looked, and Hyunji came up beside me, resting quietly against my shoulder as she whispered.
"I'm so happy you like it."
"......Yeah. But one thing's missing."
"Huh? Ah......"
I drew her in by the shoulders and pulled her against me. She startled for a moment, then leaned into my chest, and I held her from behind while we took in the view—her warm, soft body, and the sweet scent of her skin.
"Now it's perfect."
"......For me too."
"Let's stay like this a little."
"Yes......"
I held her close and watched the scenery. A few minutes of wind later, I felt her begin to squirm in my arms.
"Too warm?"
"Ah, n-no......"
Her voice had gone small. I looked down and found her face flushed, her eyes damp and shining, and I understood what she wanted. Hyunji wanted me.
"Oppa...... I......"
"Yeah. I'm listening."
"......I want to do it with you......"
She was so cute whispering it that I felt like teasing her a little. Still holding her, I murmured into her ear.
"We are doing it. A date."
"Th-this is nice too, but...... huh?"
"Tell me. I want to hear it. What does my Hyunji want to do?"
"......Oppa......"
"Hm? I really don't know."
"......You know perfectly well......"
She glanced back at me, then swallowed, her pretty lips parting and closing. I enjoyed the sight and waited. Then, like the scent of flowers drifting on the spring wind, a very small voice slipped into my ear.
"......Oppa, I want you to hold me......"
In the end she gave up on saying the word sex, too shy to get it out. The hesitation alone was cute enough.
"Can't hold it in?"
"......No. Today it's too...... I can't bear it......"
Her hand stroked the arm I had wrapped around her waist, and she went on.
"Oppa, you were so cute today...... and seeing how much you like it makes it even......"
Fair enough. Yesterday at the hospital we'd kissed for dozens of minutes, close enough to count as foreplay, and today I'd felt how much Hyunji was holding herself back out of consideration for Hwang Jiyoung. She'd been enduring it since yesterday, only begging once the two of us were alone. That thoughtfulness was unbearably cute. Still, there was something I needed to confirm. I slowly stroked the firm plane of her stomach and her side where I held her, listened to the trembling breath she let out, and whispered.
"Haa...... Oppa......"
"What did they say at the hospital? They told you to rest for a few days, didn't they?"
She seemed to catch what I was really asking. She swallowed and nodded slowly, her voice shaking.
"......They...... th-they said it was okay......"
"They said sex was fine?"
At my whisper her face flushed even deeper. She nodded again and mumbled.
"......Yes. Haa...... I a-asked......"
"Really?"
"Yes...... They said not to overdo it for a few days......"
She stole a look at me, then went on in a voice thick with regret.
"......They said not to finish inside...... that I could get an infection while washing......"
"Is that so?"
"......Yes...... B-but I got the medicine too."
As if she thought I might stop, she rushed to keep talking—and I simply closed my hand over her breast. Hyunji drew in a sharp breath and began to tremble in small shivers.
"Ahh......"
"Then we'll just be gentle."
"You're always gentle......"
She leaned her weight into me, giving herself over little by little, and I whispered against her ear.
"Even in the middle of all that chaos, you had the presence of mind to ask?"
"I-I was afraid you'd refuse out of consideration for me...... I thought I'd die of embarrassment......"
"I'm sorry I missed that."
"Haa...... Oppa......"
"I bet you were adorable."
"......It was really hard to ask...... Ah...... Oppa, touch me more...... It feels so good......"
"Like this?"
"Ahhnn...... Yes...... Oppa, your hands are so gentle......"
"Because my Hyunji is lovely."
"Haa, do you like my breasts that much......?"
"Yeah. They're cute...... but they seem a little bigger?"
"......I-is that strange? Today's size was a bit tight...... haa......"
"Mm. I like it better this way."
I looked at her ear and her flushed cheek as she whispered, and let the hand stroking her body grow slower, heavier, more lingering. Her breasts fit my palms as if they'd been made for them, and I swallowed too. The sound seemed to excite her further; she let out a heated moan and called for me.
"Haa...... Oppa......"
"Must be because I keep touching them."
"......I like it. Touch me more. They're yours......"
"Yeah. This cute body—all of it—is mine."
"Ahh...... Oppa......"
Her eyes gone hazy and unfocused, Hyunji looked up at me, stroked my cheek, and called to me in a voice thick with longing.
"Oppa, I...... I want to...... okay......?"
"You're sure no one lives here?"
"......Yes......"
"Can they see us from the guard post?"
"Ah, there's probably CCTV......"
But I didn't get the sense she wanted to go inside at all. More precisely, she was too busy pleading, afraid I might refuse. CCTV, well. As long as we didn't expose too much, it would probably be fine. We could always ask them to delete it later. And if I was honest, it excited me a little too.
"Shall we do it here?"
"Anywhere is fine...... Oppa...... actually......"
"I'm listening."
"I-I'd like it if I were the first one you held in your house......"
After preparing something this enormous, that was all she wanted. And then, still looking at me as if she were begging, she went on—and I found myself a little speechless.
"The first time was with Ra-hee unnie, but here, at least, I want to be...... the first......"
"......That was bothering you?"
"Ahh...... I just wanted there to be something I did with you for the first time, ahh, that's all......"
"There are plenty of firsts I've had with you."
"Ah...... ahh, hnn......"
"The play date was one."
"O-Oppa...... haah...... haa......"
"So was enjoying ourselves at the theater."
"Ahh, haaann...... ahh......"
"The ballet was a first too."
"Haa, haa, hnng......"
"And touching a body this pretty—that's a first."
"Ah......"
At my whispering, Hyunji's breath grew hotter and more unfocused, tangling with the spring wind before it broke apart in the air.
"Still, we've done less together than I thought. We just sleep every time."
"Ahhk, Oppa...... I-I'm going to go crazy......"
"From now on, more. Let's do more together. All right?"
"Yes, yes...... hnn, haah......"
"So don't worry about Ra-hee. When we're together, let's think only of us."
"......Haa, I-I'm sorry...... I was t-trying to...... haaann......"
"I know. I'll be careful from now on too. Okay?"
"Yes, yes...... I can feel everything you're feeling, Oppa...... ahh......"
I watched her face as her answers grew more urgent, then slowly slipped the hand that had been stroking her breast inside her cardigan. The soft cotton of her dress and the rising heat of her body came up to meet my touch. My left hand, which had been tracing the firm line of her stomach, drifted past her hip to caress the skin around her thigh, and Hyunji swallowed a breath and let a moan spill out.