Communion
I needed an excuse. You couldn't simply declare a scene and begin. However it might look from the outside, this was a genre that pursued an aesthetic of its own. There had to be a fault before there could be punishment, a mistake before a penalty was given. Only the trust built upon promises kept in the course of play could carry you to the next step. What it sought was for two people to pile up a mental bond through play until they became one.
Whether I was capable of that was its own problem. If she truly required something deep, I might have no choice—but this was a relationship that had to end today. To hold her leash without properly filling her would be nothing more than tormenting Ju Hayeong.
"……Hard?"
I asked it while watching her hips as she slowly tugged at my pants. She flinched at the word and rushed to answer.
"N-no. No. I—I'm just soft…… soft……."
I nearly sighed in relief before I caught myself. But we'd already crossed the threshold, and I had to show some authority. Hard play held far too many things I couldn't bring myself to accept, and I had no confidence I could do them, so it was something I absolutely had to ask.
"Then take them off."
The moment she spoke to me in that formal register, she had consented, and the scene had begun. The only pity was how thin my excuse for punishment was; I'd have to manufacture one, and that rankled. I watched the white of her hips beginning to emerge and slowly stroked over them. Goosebumps rose beneath a touch that barely grazed her skin. The shape was lovely, and the bold purple panties covering it suited her well.
"You brought me to the café for this? Using a part-time job as an excuse is a bit much."
"……N-no. Really……. Nnh……."
I slowly pushed aside the panties that had been splitting the hips I'd been stroking, tucking the fabric down into the cleft between those round cheeks.
"You were looking forward to it. Weren't you?"
"……Haa, haa……. Yes……."
I drew the other side in as well, gathered the panties into one place, and gave them a light tug.
"Hnn……."
At the soft pressure against her groin she let a moan slip free and rose up on her legs. Nothing but a sound drawn out by the stimulation between her cheeks. Bondage, it seemed, might not be her taste. A dark, sodden stain spread at once through that purple, and I asked as I watched it.
"Since when have you been wet?"
"Haa…… hnn……."
She didn't answer, only moaned, so I brought my hand down on her ass.
"Ah—!"
A reddish print of my palm bloomed across her snow-white skin as it trembled. She shivered for a long while; she'd climbed lightly to another peak. I waited for her to settle, and at last, still panting, she swallowed and answered.
"Ahk……. Hnk. F-from when you held my hand……. Haa……."
"That must have made you happy. Didn't it?"
"……."
When no answer came again I raised my hand, and she blurted out in a rush.
"I was—I was happy! I was happy! I'd only ever imagined it……. Your hand was warmer……."
The afterglow had probably hurried the words out of her. I could understand that. My questions didn't stop.
"When did you masturbate?"
"Haa, haa, hnn……."
Her breath grew wetter with every question. Still she didn't answer, so this time I struck without delay.
"Ahk!"
The instant my hand landed she pushed her upper body up on both arms and began to tremble. I swallowed as I watched the plump ass, marked with my handprint, shiver in fine little quivers, and I waited quietly for her to enjoy the climax. I couldn't tell how large it was, but coming again like this told me just how long she had been holding back. Already the wine-colored panties between her round cheeks had darkened until they looked black, and in the cleft between them a little spring was overflowing.
"L-last night……."
"Did you spank yourself?"
"N-no…… I m-masturbated normally……."
"Did you come?"
"……A l-little……."
"Was it better than what you just felt?"
"……Th-this is much…… much better……. Haa……."
"Who were you thinking of?"
"Haa, hnn……."
I watched her bite down on a trembling lip. She had braced herself. Matching that resolve, I raised my hand and brought it down on her ass.
"Ahk! Hnn, hnk."
When she tucked her waist in, that ripe ass crumpled and rolled inward. Her skin really was remarkably fine for her age. A red handprint began to settle over it. I felt a quiet sadism rising to fill me, and I took in the sight in silence.
"……I was thinking of M-Master……."
The title had changed all at once. I didn't let a flicker of it show, and asked as if nothing at all had happened.
"Did you imagine me spanking you?"
"……Yes……."
"You use a regular customer as masturbation fodder?"
"……I'm sorry, I'm sorry……."
"Since when have you been using me like that?"
"H-hnngh……."
I stroked the place I had struck, and she began to tremble. This time I didn't hit her. So long as she showed the will to answer, punishment wasn't allowed. Trust accumulated by keeping even the small rules.
"I d-don't—I don't know…… just from some day……."
"How do you feel right now?"
"……G-good…… where you hit me…… is warm…… your hand too…… I'm h-happy……."
"How many times did you come?"
"Haa, hnn…… th-three times……."
"From now on you tell me every time you come. Understand?"
"Yes, yes……."
"Are you satisfied?"
"……Ah……."
"Getting cheeky."
The moment I sensed a shade of regret in her—as if she already knew this was the end—my hand swung at a speed unlike any before it. I struck her ass and drove the impact inward, as if to push the blow all the way through. It was the hardest hit of the scene.
"Ngh?! Hnnnngh!"
The moan came out strange; she must have bitten her lip. I drew myself up straight, even onto the balls of my feet, and waited through the trembling of her climax. A few breaths later she simply folded down onto the floor, breathing hard.
"Hak, hnk, huk, I came. I c-came……. Hnn, haa, haa."
"How many times?"
The eyes she lifted to me were already glazed and unfocused, and drool trailed from the corner of her mouth. A small bead of blood had gathered on those pretty lips. That last climax had been the strongest.
"Haa, hnn…… four times, four……."
"Satisfied?"
"……Yes. Yes…… th-thank you……."
The moment I let go of her panties, her body gave out. She sat on the café floor, staring somewhere below with unfocused eyes, dragging in rough breaths. She clutched the apron at my thigh as if she thought I might run. I looked down at her lost in the afterglow, pulled several tissues from the box on the counter, and sat on the floor myself.
"Was it good?"
I whispered it as I gently wiped the mess of tears and saliva from her face. At my words she broke harder, silver-bead tears pouring free, and covered her crumbling face with both hands.
"……Sob, yes, too much…… sniff."
"Why are you crying? If it was good, that's a relief."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry……."
"Sorry for what."
She'd grown emotionally unsteady. It had been sudden—an accident, in its way. Not difficult to understand. Her inclination exposed out of nowhere, a scene following at once, climax after climax. Of course she would be shaken. I drew her quietly into my arms. The end of a scene was usually much the same: apology and gratitude turned toward each other, the afterglow and the excitement, regret and hurt soothed until it closed.
"Is this much all right?"
Nestled against me and burrowing closer, she held my chest and nodded. It had been nothing but light play for me, yet watching her spill this much emotion, I let out a breath of relief.
"……Sh-Shinwoo…… you don't have to, if you don't want……?"
Wiping her tears and sniffling, she asked it carefully. Held against me, she had probably felt me between my legs. I was aroused too. But right now her mind mattered more than satisfying myself. If I went on to fill my own need—penetration or otherwise—my act could become the thing that blurred the line between daily life and play for her. A blowjob, sex, either one. Her body and mind were already the sort that wore away little by little; if she lost the ability to tell the two apart every time we had sex, Ju Hayeong might truly break someday.
"Do you need penetration?"
"……."
What I'd meant was whether she liked scenes that required penetration, or preferred play on its own. Startled by my voice, she worked her mouth soundlessly, then asked with care.
"……A-are you…… on this side too, Shinwoo……?"
"A little? Not completely, though. I only know a bit. Is play alone not enough for you?"
"……I don't really know. Of course I want to, but……."
Just as I'd expected, she still couldn't separate play from sex. Good thing I'd held back. There was time. Slowly, starting with learning to tell ordinary life from a scene, she would have to grow used to me. I intended to give her what I could give. I'd touched this; I had to take responsibility.
"Still, let's stop here for today. We have more to talk about, don't we?"
"……Yeah. Th-thank you……."
"Then let's close the café first. If you still want to stay open……."
"N-no……. We're out of stock……. Just, give me a moment……."
"Rest. I'll do it. I just reverse what we did this morning, right?"
She nodded quietly. I turned my back on her and began putting the place in order, and only when I was nearly finished did she get up and slowly pull her pants back on. The red handprints covering her ass remained as proof of the lapse we had just enjoyed.
"……Want some coffee?"
"Yes. Sounds good. An iced Americano."
"Yeah. I know."
Still in a tight voice, she began pulling the coffee, and I sat in a chair and waited for her to come over.
"……Here."
"Thanks. Mm. Yours really is the best, boss."
"Sniff. That's a relief."
Half expecting her to cry again, I looked up. Her eyes were still red and swollen, but she wasn't crying. Just her nose, it seemed.
"Don't go sniffling into coffee this good. It's disgusting."
I teased her on purpose, and she snatched a tissue to her nose in a hurry.
"Ah, s-sorry."
"Be like usual. Play is play. We're still us."
Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes again, and I hurried to pull a tissue and hand it over. She still hadn't found her ease.
"……Okay."
After that we took a sip and sat for a while in a quiet silence.
"Was it really your first time?"
"Yeah……."
"I'd like to hear what you thought."
"Better than I'd imagined……. It hurt, but…… it was warm. I felt all of your care, Shinwoo……."
"Will this level be all right from now on? I kept it very light, though."
Honestly, play like this was no more than what lovers might enjoy lightly. On the facts alone, all I had done was spank her a little. It had only run long because she climaxed so easily, and because I'd had to force excuses for the scene.
"……It was so good. I feel like I can live now……."
Even this much seemed to have satisfied her; she smiled softly. I watched her tap her chest as if it were too full, then slowly opened my mouth.
"Every day would be hard."
"……Yeah. S-sometimes. Even really sometimes is fine. So……."
She had heard refusal in my words again. Seeing how urgent and desperate she was, I couldn't pretend not to understand.
"Don't worry. I'll be here from now on."
Her face crumpled once more and she began to cry, and I quietly pulled a tissue and handed it to her. Better, for now, to let the feeling spend itself. I waited, and when the crying stopped she answered me in a small voice.