The Armrest
"……Ah. Right."
"Yeah. There are way more women trailing after you than you think, oppa. Especially when you're as good a person as you are……. That's why I was worried."
"She's right. Shinwoo, you really do need to be careful from now on."
"But both of you."
"Yes?"
"Yes, oppa."
"You don't have to tell your mothers? It's an important decision."
At that, Rahi and Hyunji's eyes went perfectly round. They looked at each other, and then both pairs of eyes began to bend, little by little, into crescent moons.
"Ahaha. Oppa, honestly. The second you ask Mom that, she'll tear into you. Why haven't you signed already—what are you even doing?"
"She's right. Our mother would probably shoot straight up out of her chair. I can just hear her. And what do you plan to do if the gentleman changes his mind?"
"Exactly. It's like I can hear unnie's voice in my head. Oh—but oppa is so cute today."
"I know. Brunch was pretty good today, wasn't it."
"We'll have to come back, unnie."
"……Let go."
Hyunji and Rahi pinched my cheeks at the same time, and something about it made me feel as if they were treating me like an idiot. It rankled. Not that I was truly offended. I could set their family affairs aside, but following Rahi and switching gyms still felt like the right call. Rape was another matter entirely. Women who did that sort of thing could not possibly be lovely, or beautiful.
"Anyway, Rahi. Deciding to follow you and move gyms seems like it was the right idea."
"Huh? You two are switching gyms?"
"Ah, some problems came up, so we decided Rahi should change jobs."
"I see. Where to?"
"It's close to here. There's a bit of distance, but……."
We had only been talking a little while when the director came in with several paper cups on a tray and set them down in front of us. A female civil servant followed her in and held our IDs out to us. The conversation looked likely to drag, so I meant to excuse us for the day.
"Thank you for the tea, but we've got somewhere to be today."
"……Ah."
"We'll think it over seriously. If we come by again later, we'd appreciate your help."
"O-of course. Please, take my card. You're welcome anytime."
"Then there's nothing else we need to fill out?"
"Correct. Thank you so much for registering with our community office."
I scratched my cheek at the two civil servants bowing us out and left the reception room. It felt like far too much courtesy.
"Shall we head back, then? Anything you want to do today?"
The moment I stepped outside, Han Gyeo-wool caught my eye, leaning against the car. She had to be well over five foot seven, and her proportions were as long and slender as a model's. It was nothing more than an ordinary black women's suit, yet the line of the jacket laid her extended legs and slim figure bare without the slightest reserve, and the effect was anything but ordinary. The shoes weren't heels, either—closer to plain low oxfords—and I hadn't imagined they could suit her so well. I'd never harbored any particular fantasy about women in suits. Today I was going to have to revise that.
"Ah, I…… like I said, I think I need to go see my friend's gym."
"Oh? That's what you're doing?"
"Yes. I think I know what I need to do now."
I wasn't sure what she meant, but Rahi had fixed me with a hardened look, and meeting that gaze, I nodded. Eyes full of resolve stirred the thirst in me all over again—the want to possess, the want to be cruel. I wanted to dye that bright look with lust, the way I had last night. The image of Rahi on the bed rose up, and I hurried to wipe it from my mind.
"I'll go look around for a few days first, then tell you how it is."
"All right. I'm leaving it to you."
"……Okay."
"That's a shame, unnie."
"Sorry. Let's eat together again next time."
"So you're going straight from here?"
"Yes. It's fine if I go on my own."
"Don't say that. I'll give you a ride, unnie."
"No. I mean it. It's close from here."
"……All right."
Rahi stepped in close to Hyunji and began to whisper something at her ear. I had no intention of eavesdropping without a scrap of tact, so I wore a contented smile and gave them a step of space.
"……Shinwoo, I'm counting on you."
"Don't worry, unnie."
"A-and…… I guess even twice still isn't enough for him……."
"T-twice? Unnie…… were you even able to get up?"
"N-no…… I—I used my mouth first…… and then this morning we almost did it again……."
"I knew it……. All right. Let's talk on the phone, unnie. Oppa will hear us. Are you really sure you don't want to come?"
"I'm really fine. If I stay next to Shinwoo, I feel like my resolve will start to shake. And you need to go on your date, too."
"Unnie……."
"Go have fun. We'll talk later."
"Thank you."
"Thank me for what. We're…… practically family now, aren't we?"
"……Yes."
I couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but from the look of them it must have been something amusing. Both their faces were warm. Then I felt a gaze from beside me and turned my head without thinking, and my eyes met those of the woman in sunglasses—Han Gyeo-wool—watching me.
"Thank you for today. It was easy, thanks to you."
"Ah, not at all. The young lady has been having a difficult time lately. Seeing her look brighter puts me at ease."
"Has she?"
"Her practice is quite demanding."
"You speak as if you see her every day."
"……That was not quite my meaning. I will not deny it, however."
"I understand. I knew she was a rich family's daughter, but I didn't realize it went this far. Even I couldn't leave a girl as kind and pretty as Hyunji on her own."
"……You must care for the young lady a great deal."
From the faint line of her eyes behind the sunglasses, I could tell this woman was no ordinary beauty either. I wanted a proper look at those eyes. A shame.
"True, isn't it. A girl that kind and gentle, and pretty on top of it—it'd be harder not to like her, don't you think?"
"I agree with you, Mr. Shinwoo."
She knew my name. Hmm.
"Have you known each other long?"
"We have been together since around the time the young lady entered elementary school."
"You're practically her real older sister, then."
"……The madam and the young lady have been good to me."
It was light talk, but even this much let me sketch her character. Loyal. A voice with almost no rise or fall, and hardly any change of expression. A sober temperament. It still felt too soon to offer a joke, and with her eyes hidden I had no further hints. It might have been a mask, but the way the corner of her mouth lifted, just barely, when she spoke of Hyunji made it likely she was exactly what she appeared to be.
The card can wait. If I go digging, I might only invite a misunderstanding.
It was the perfect moment to ask for a business card, and I let it pass. Whenever I actually needed to know, Hyunji would tell me. I needed to fix this habit of mine, too—the one where I couldn't quite trust people.
"We'll be seeing each other often from now on. I'll be counting on you."
"……Not at all. I am the one who should thank you, deeply, for treating the young lady so well."
"Shinwoo! I'm heading out!"
Rahi, who had been talking with Hyunji, waved. Watching that bright smile, I smiled quietly and waved back. I followed her with my eyes as she made for the bus stop behind us, and before I knew it Hyunji had come up beside me, and I took her hand.
"Oppa! What should we do today?"
"Hmm. Last time you said you wanted to go shopping, didn't you?"
"Ah, that's right. You'll really come with me?"
"Yeah. I've got plans this evening, too."
"Perfect. I'll pick things out for you."
"Mm."
Behind us, an engine turned over. Han Gyeo-wool must have slipped into the driver's seat at some point. She had been right beside me, and I hadn't felt so much as a hint of her moving.
"How about Hanseong Department Store?"
I turned Hyunji's suggestion over for a moment before I answered. Even if department stores were where she usually shopped, places like that honestly sat a little heavy on me. Years of life as a corporate drone must have left their mark; buying clothes online was simply easier. Window-shopping, or a date for its own sake, might have been another matter.
"Isn't there an outlet around here? Want to try that?"
"Ah—an outlet?"
"Yeah. I heard they did a nice job with it. Supposedly it's like a park."
"Are you sure? A department store would be fine, too."
"No. It's a little much for me, anyway. The point for us is the date, isn't it?"
"……Ah."
Color rose in Hyunji's face. Shy, she caught my hand and spoke.
"……Oppa. I'm always grateful, the way you look out for me……."
"It's not looking out for you. Department stores just make me uncomfortable, that's all."
"Even so."
I'd never been to an outlet, but I knew well enough that they weren't cheap across the board. For a man without a job, it was still plenty of luxury. Even so, a shirt or two, or a single knit, seemed reasonable enough. I wasn't the type to hang my worth on luxury brands, but once I bought something I wore it for a long time. A small indulgence of that size might be all right.
Hyunji climbed in through the opposite door, pressed close against my side, and reached over. She took the hand I'd rested on the armrest and slowly leaned her head against me. The enormous armrest between us was uncomfortable enough to notice, and Hyunji seemed to feel it too; she shifted, resettled, and still the thing refused to disappear.
"Disappointed?"
"Ah, no. I wanted to go at least once, too. And I don't think unnie would scold me if we went there."
"……When have I ever done such a thing. The price aside, buying clothes you cannot even wear is simply wrong."
"Well, I could wear them someday, couldn't I?"
"You do not wear them. That is precisely the point. The clothes you have bought that way would fill a truck."
The way they bickered really did make them look like sisters. I held Hyunji's hand and watched the two of them talk, and before I knew it she had rested her head on my arm and drawn even closer. The huge armrest in the middle kept catching her in the side, though, and she pouted and grumbled.
"……This is uncomfortable."
"How can you call it uncomfortable, riding in a car like this?"
"Even so. I was just going to bring my own car, but unnie—"
"Had you taken it out after two years, anyone would have stopped you. Not only I."
"……This is overprotective, isn't it, oppa?"
"No. I think she did the right thing."
"Oppa! You're supposed to take my side!"
"And if you get in an accident? What am I supposed to do then?"
"……Ah."
"A taxi is fine. The world doesn't end because you don't have a car."
"……Hehe."
"Don't try to laugh your way out of it. If you want to drive, start with lessons."
"Okay."
And in that moment a screen began to rise, slowly, between the driver's seat and the second row. Like a motorized curtain, black blackout cloth drew across the front and the rear, and Hyunji started fidgeting with my hand. I could feel the courtesy in it—a quiet withdrawal, leaving the conversation to us.