The Showdown
Hyang-sook's backside caught my eye — especially the damp triangular stain that had begun somewhere near the center of her miniskirt. I studied it a moment, then asked her quietly.
"You sure it's all right to end it like that?"
"I-it's fine... The guest broadcast ends at eleven anyway, and everyone knows settling the numbers takes a while."
"They're all going to be writing novels about it."
"...Don't worry. I've never caused an incident over a guest, and I can clean it up tomorrow."
"Hmm. Am I supposed to trust that?"
"...A-are you sure you're all right, Shinwoo? Saying that Multimale thing out loud?"
"I didn't bring it up. I only answered a question."
"I'm trying to think of a time something like this got opened up on air, and... there just isn't one."
What had happened had happened. Fretting over it wouldn't produce an answer; all I could do was move with the situation. I reached out slowly and ran my hand over Hyang-sook's backside. She flinched as if a current had gone through her and whipped around to look at me, but I only took my time admiring her face.
"Making excuses for myself feels a little cheap, doesn't it?"
"Aah— th-that's not what I meant..."
"If this little bit of stimulation gets you this worked up, what are we going to do with you?"
I moved my hand and closed it over her backside in one grip. It wasn't so much firm as soft, and it was pleasant to hold. Hyang-sook didn't even turn away. She simply stayed where she was and quietly enjoyed the touch.
"Aah... I told you, this is my first time with anything like this. My heart feels like it's going to burst..."
"So. Being touched doesn't feel bad, does it?"
"...How could it feel bad... hah..."
My hand left her backside and drifted down to stroke her thigh. Leaning on the desk, she looked back at me, her breath coming hotter by the moment. That was when a droplet slipped out from beneath the miniskirt, pooled against the band of her stocking, and vanished as the fabric drank it in.
"How long have you been like this?"
"N-no... hnn... Just— just a second..."
"Why? You turned the stream off. Isn't this what you were hoping for?"
"Hah..."
She pressed the back of her hand to her mouth, her thighs trembling lightly — Hyang-sook, or rather Bae Jihyun. The eyes watching me over her shoulder were filling, little by little, with naked want. I quietly scooped up the slick between her thighs with a fingertip and rubbed it, and Jihyun turned her face away, biting her lip.
"Shall we wrap this up, then?"
"...What...?"
"Why? The broadcast's over. Time to do what we came here to do."
"Ah..."
I rose slowly under the weight of her disappointed stare. Our eyes caught as she let out a sigh. There was no mistaking what that look wanted. I only felt like teasing her a little longer. The main event would need some thought.
Messing with a streamer is risky.
A bit of play on a broadcast was nothing to worry about. It had been adult-rated to begin with, and there hadn't been so much as a glimpse of skin. What I disliked was the thought of sleeping with her being reduced to nothing more than streaming material. Getting closer to Jihyun and trusting her were two different things.
"See, you should have given me a reason to trust you. I can't bring myself to believe you, Jihyun."
"Ah... I— I never meant to do that. I mean it. I wasn't trying to disappoint you..."
She seemed to understand. She shot to her feet and reached for me, and I took that hand and slowly lowered it.
"I was just going to leave. But you were kind of cute today."
"...What...?"
"The truth is, I want to touch you too."
"Ah..."
I stepped in toward her. Jihyun flinched, gathered both hands in front of her chest, and looked up at me. I held that look, gazing down at her, then slowly lowered my face.
"...Ah..."
Whatever she was expecting, she closed her eyes and offered her lips, and I nearly laughed. Instead I tucked my face in over her shoulder and quietly shut the computer down. If the camera was still live, we'd have a problem.
"I know what you were thinking."
"...Ah, th-that's..."
The whisper at her ear turned her face red in an instant. She couldn't even look at me, and I turned the moment over in my head. I'd been the one to work her up, so I ought to take responsibility for it.
"When it's just the two of us, you're cuter than I expected."
"Ah..."
Hyang-sook in front of the camera, Jihyun once it was off. She drew a clean line between work and private life — as if she'd split the personality itself in two. That was talent. I stroked her hip and the curve of her side, watched her looking up at me, and slowly changed our positions. Then I leaned against the computer desk and spoke to her as she shifted awkwardly, not knowing what to do with herself.
"Do you want to kiss?"
"Th-that... yes... hnn..."
Every time my hand traveled, I could feel her whole body go tight. Whether that was because I was stringing her along or because she was sensitive to begin with, I couldn't tell yet.
"That thing we agreed to leave for later. I think I'll just have a look before I go."
"Wh-which...?"
"Try taking it off."
"Ah..."
"If I'm satisfied, well. I'll think about it."
I shifted aside as naturally as anything and was about to sit in Jihyun's chair when I felt it — the leather was soaked through.
"Ah!"
She lunged to wipe the chair, but I simply stepped back from it, sat in my own, and crossed my legs. Jihyun hovered, opening and closing her hands on the hem of her skirt, watching my face for a cue.
"What are you doing?"
"Ah... A-are you really going to...?"
"If you don't want to, you can get up and go."
"Ah! O-okay..."
I didn't rush her as she swallowed and answered. The moment our eyes met and held, Jihyun let out a hot sigh and brought her trembling hands slowly to her blouse. Two buttons were already undone, and under her fingers the front fell open around the black bra that had been peeking through.
"How does it feel, taking your clothes off in front of a man?"
"...I-I'm embarrassed..."
"More embarrassed than taking them off on stream?"
"...I-I don't do broadcasts like that..."
"A minute ago you were telling me to strip, bold as anything."
"That— that was just a joke... Why would I take your clothes off..."
"Oh, so it was only a joke? Then I'm the boring man who takes a joke for the real thing."
"Ah! Th-that's not what I meant..."
"You can stop your hands anytime you want."
"...Ah..."
"Did you want to be the one in charge?"
"...I-it's not like that..."
"Then what?"
Jihyun bit her lip and kept her hands moving, working the rest of the blouse buttons free.
"I... I wanted a promise for the next broadcast..."
"Ah. So it was only ever about the broadcast?"
"Ah..."
"Not a shred of personal interest?"
I shifted in the chair as if I might stand, and Jihyun rushed to speak.
"N-no! Of course not... I want to see you again, so..."
Then, head bowed, she moved a shaking hand toward the next button and murmured.
"You're the first man who's ever... shown me this much interest..."
"So if you meet a man who treats you better than I do, you'll strip for him too?"
"...Th-that's not what I mean... And... there's no way I'd ever meet someone like you again..."
The stomach coming into view wasn't toned, but it was slim, and the deep dip of her navel was rather cute. Rahee and Hyunji were so firm that their navels sat completely on display.
"Cute navel."
"I-is it weird...?"
"No. I said it's cute."
"Ah..."
"Well. Time for the next piece, isn't it?"
"...Yes."
At my words Jihyun squeezed her eyes shut and slowly took off the blouse. The black bra was plain, without a pattern, probably because it was a sheer style. Bared like this, the design was closer to dull than anything else. The size was decent — a C at most, by the look of it, though I'd have to touch to be sure. It was a little absurd, realizing anew that somewhere along the way a C had come to feel merely adequate to me. Still, they were pretty. Under my gaze Jihyun swallowed and slowly brought her hands to her waist.
"What you were expecting when you called me over. I'll be able to tell, won't I?"
"...What...?"
"Whether you wore something bold. Or whether you weren't expecting anything at all."
"...Ah..."
By now Jihyun's face was red enough to burst, and the breath she let out was thick with heat. Even so, she seemed to have a fair amount of patience. She listened well, too, and she appeared to know how to enjoy this sort of thing. She might not have realized it herself, but even with me steering her, getting this worked up over nothing more than taking off her clothes wasn't easy.
I waited quietly. Jihyun swallowed, bit her lip again, and moved a hand to the side of her hip. With trembling fingers she undid the skirt's hook and zipper. The skirt began to slide, baring her hips and a scrap of black cloth as it fell. The design of those panties was bold: a single string barely clinging to her hips, and lace embroidered over a faint mesh that showed the dark of her. Anyone could see they were meant to win.
"You were expecting something."
"...O-of course..."
"Do you get ready like this every time a male guest comes over?"
"...N-no. Really..."
"I did tell you to be honest."
"...I do... get ready..."
"So anyone will do after all."
"I-it's not like that..."
Jihyun swallowed hard and let the skirt fall the rest of the way, and the scrap of cloth covering her most private place came into view. As if ashamed, that scrap was soaked through, spilling silver beads of slick down her thighs.
"'Not like that.' You just want anyone to touch you and fill you up, and that's enough, isn't it?"
"N-no... I mean it. I just..."
"Just?"
"...A long time ago, a boy flipped my skirt up. I got made fun of for wearing cotton panties, so..."
"Sounds like an excuse. So I don't have to touch you, then?"
"...Ah..."
A soft moan of disappointment slipped out of her, and her brows sank prettily. I took in her body piece by piece, then whispered.
"Ask me nicely, and I'll think about it."
At that her wavering pupils vanished beneath lids that shut tight, and a small voice escaped the lip she'd been biting.
"...Please touch me..."
"Come here."
She swallowed, the sound loud in the quiet.
"Closer."
"Hoo... haa..."
Jihyun's thighs trembled in fine little shivers as she started toward me, and her breathing grew rougher. She listened better than I'd expected. It might have been lust, but since we'd been alone, very little about her had looked like a lie.
"Nervous?"
"Y-yes... I didn't think you were this— this dirty..."
"If you call just this dirty."
"Ahh..."
I ran a gentle hand over the thighs that had come to stand before me. The feel of the stockings catching against my palm was new, and little by little I started to feel it too.
"You like stockings?"
"...Yes. D-do you hate them...?"
"No. This design suits you."
"Ah... I-I have a lot of these..."
"They look like they're meant for a garter belt."
"Th-that's right... hnn... D-do you like garter belts...?"
"A little."
"...Next time I'll wear them for sure... mm..."
"Why didn't you today?"
"...B-because she looked so innocent..."
"She?"
"At the c-cafe... haah... the person I saw..."
"You thought I'd like that kind of style?"
Of course there was no way I'd dislike a style like our Hyunji's. I stroked Jihyun's thigh and studied her, checking for any spark of rivalry, but it didn't seem to be competition or jealousy. The feeling was stronger that she'd simply wanted to imitate a similar look. Her own taste ran bold, so by her standards she'd dressed as plainly as she could manage.
From the choker on, she was already headed in a completely different direction.
Whether it was my hand gliding over her or the talk that followed, something about it must have been getting to her. The space between Jihyun's thighs was beginning to fill with heat and wet.