Closing Time
I rolled up the blinds, unlocked the café door, and stepped outside—only to lock eyes with a few women passing on the street. They stared at me, eyes gone perfectly round, and when I offered them a quiet nod their faces flushed in an instant. I flipped the sign to Open as if it were nothing, slipped back behind the counter, and greeted the woman who drifted in after me as though spellbound.
"Welcome."
"Hnn—?! Mmph! Hnnngh!"
Ju Hayeong jolted as if she'd been shocked, a moan bursting out of her at the sound of my greeting. She clearly hadn't believed I would actually open the shop. When I said I would do something, I did it.
"Ah…… um, excuse me……"
"Yes?"
"Y-you don't come in on weekends, I thought……"
She must have been by a few times. Looking closer, I recognized her. I dipped my head and slid my hands into the pockets of my apron.
"Oh—we've met, haven't we. I was so set on getting to work that I didn't recognize you. I'm sorry."
"N-no, it's fine…… Is the owner……?"
I nudged the Womanizer up a notch, and Hayeong's moan exploded out of her. A laugh slipped from me before I could stop it. The woman in front of me must have misread it; she dropped her eyes and swallowed hard. Just in case, I reached under the counter, turned the receiver up a little, and answered—easing the Womanizer back down as I did.
"Hnnn…… hup…… hnnngh……"
"She said she had to step out. Call it weekend overtime. We're only open until nine."
"O-oh. I see…… Then just one iced Americano, please……"
"For here?"
"……Yes……"
"All right. Have a seat and I'll bring it over."
"……Um. Excuse me."
"Yes?"
I had been about to turn toward the espresso machine when she spoke again. She hesitated, then asked, carefully.
"Are you…… really a Multimale……?"
I nearly clicked my tongue. Anyone paying attention to this café seemed to know by now. Not that there was any putting the milk back in the bottle.
"Word travels fast, I see. Yeah. I am."
"……Th-then isn't a night shift like this dangerous……?"
"It's fine. The owner will be back any minute. And besides—"
I moved my fingers again, and in my ear Hayeong's moan burst out like a soprano's aria.
"Hnnngh?! Hup! Haaang! Mmph! Hnnngh!"
"……I'll have someone like you looking out for me."
"……Ah……"
Apparently I had caused a head-on collision. Color flooded her face all at once, and she stared at me with her eyes gone soft and unfocused. I had gotten carried away playing with Hayeong and slipped. Catching myself, I put on a small smile and switched the machine on to pull her Americano.
Get a grip. I went overboard without even noticing.
I set the coffee down in front of the woman sitting dazed in the corner, still watching me, and headed back to the counter—never quite noticing that she had taken out her phone.
Slow business, my ass.
Out of pure spite, I cranked the Womanizer all the way up.
"Ahhh…… ahhng?! Ehk! Heuuk! Please! Stop! Stop! Ahhk!"
Somewhere along the way Hayeong had spit out the panties she had been biting down on, and her words had turned sharp and clear. The thought of tormenting her with that just once more nearly had me humming. It was better for me too, of course. I could hear her that much more clearly now.
"……Ah……"
"All finished? You can just leave it there."
"……Y-yes……"
"Are you closing?"
"An Americano to go, I can still do. Everything else is already shut down."
"Oh, perfect. One iced Americano, then."
"Sure."
Before I knew it the café was not merely busy. It was packed. Strangers were even sharing tables. I had never seen that in a café in my life. At least closing time was nearly here.
"M-Master! I-I'm scared! Hauk! Heuk! I'm gonna—I'm gonna come—ahhnnng!"
Even her pronunciation had collapsed, and the mic caught every bit of it. Korean-made really was the best. It picked up the smallest breath so clearly that I had to work not to let anyone notice what was happening under my apron. The apron helped, and once the rush hit, people started fetching their own coffee, so I barely had to leave the counter. Small mercies.
It's almost nine. I really wish they'd start leaving.
I had not expected them to sit through until closing. At this rate I was genuinely worried Hayeong might pass out. I had checked on her between orders, yes—but I could hardly throw the customers out. That was when it happened.
The woman who had come in first glanced at the clock and suddenly clapped. Every gaze that had been fixed on me swung to her. She looked slowly around the room and murmured.
"He needs to get ready to close. You all remember the agreement, right?"
"……Oh. Already……"
"They're usually open till ten……"
"Shinwoo needs rest too. I heard he wasn't even supposed to be working today."
"……Fine. But then who's going to see him home?"
"We'll sort that out outside. Argue in here and it'll turn into a fight. Let's clear out so he can clean."
"Should we help a little?"
"Don't. If he feels burdened and quits, are you going to take responsibility?"
"R-right…… God, though, that was so nice. Sunday evenings always get me down."
"……I know. I don't want to leave. I wish he'd smile at us one more time."
Grumbling rose from every corner, but as if they had been waiting for the signal, they all stood, gathered their bags, pushed in the chairs, cleared the tables, and even wiped them down with tissues. The drill-perfect order of it overwhelmed me for a second. I just stood there watching them.
……Do they all know each other?
Scratching my cheek, I traded goodbyes with the customers rising from their tables and coming toward me.
"Take care. I'll come again tomorrow."
"Thank you. Please understand—it's Sunday."
"O-of course…… See you tomorrow!"
"Goodbye."
"Get home safe. Oh, and you don't need to wait. The owner said she was coming."
"……Ah. E-even so. Please don't mind us……"
"Th-that's right. We're doing this because we want to……"
They spoke to me one by one, almost as if taking turns, and then left the shop. I scratched my cheek through the last goodbye, and just as the door was swinging shut a snatch of conversation drifted in and pulled a snort of laughter out of me.
"Hey, didn't you hear some weird sound in there?"
"What sound?"
"L-like moaning……"
"……You've been properly possessed by a lust demon. What were you going to do if Shinwoo heard you?"
"R-right? It's just been a while since I had any happy time, I guess."
"Didn't ask, dumbass."
"Heeng! Heuung! Heu! Ahhnng! Ahhhnnng!"
Hayeong's moans, climbing to a peak, snapped me back to myself. After the last customer was gone I waved once more at the ones still lingering outside, then flipped the sign to Closed, drew the blinds, and killed the breaker for the sign.
"Haaang…… uhnnng……"
Still listening to the moans spilling through my earphones, I started closing up at an easy pace. Closing never amounted to much—but making it amount to something was simple. All I had to do was turn the remote up.
"Ahhk?! Please! Please, gentler! Master! Ahng! Ahhnng! Huk! Uhhnnk!"
I whistled along to Hayeong's moans while I finished off the receipts spilling from the register. Then I glanced at the totals, and I couldn't help clicking my tongue.
……Weekend numbers like these.
If I hadn't been the one running the place for those two hours, it would have been ugly. And she had played it perfectly cool in front of me. A sigh came on its own. Sunday or not, the neighborhood was hardly made up of nothing but office workers. It was enough to worry me—especially since the week after next I would have to leave the shop empty for a full week.
Nothing I can do that would actually help.
I didn't have a free hour left. Giving up my weekends wasn't realistic either. This one had already been packed, and next weekend Hyunji had a performance. On top of that, I had been planning to set weekends aside as date time. There was a limit to holding a relationship together on sex alone. Whenever I came in, I was going to have to take the business more seriously.
"Ahhnng! Heuk! Ehk! Nngh! Nnnngh! Ahhhnnng!"
Damn.
I had left the intensity up without realizing it. I lowered the Womanizer and gave the place a rough once-over, then pulled the wireless earbud from my ear and set it on the counter. Slowly, untying my apron as I went, I walked to the back and opened the office door.
……Yeah. This.
A thrill shot up from my waist, and I swallowed before I could stop myself—because of the wreck Ju Hayeong had become in the middle of the office. She was slumped back in the chair, trembling in fits and starts. Her face was already a mess of tears, snot, and spit, and her skin had flushed so red it looked ready to split if I so much as touched it. The white thighs twitching at her crotch, and the chair beneath her dripping, made a sight that was honestly perfect.
I stared for a moment, then lifted my phone and took the picture exactly as she was. I had sworn I would quit this habit of keeping evidence, but surely a photo or two could pass as a hobby. None of them seemed to mind much anyway.
"Haaang…… Master…… I'm gonna die…… I-I'm dying……"
She was so far gone she hadn't even heard the door. Only the shutter snapped her back, and she immediately started begging. I stepped in close and whispered at her ear.
"Not enough yet?"
"Enough, it's enough…… Please spare me…… I'm really gonna die……"
One look told me she was already past her limit. She couldn't even get her tongue back in her mouth. The muscles at the root of it seemed to have given out entirely. There was satisfaction in that, and a question alongside it. Enduring this far was no small thing. Lasting two hours on her first abandonment play was impressive on its own. Hard to chalk it all up to inclination—she had been afraid even of me leaving the office.
"Then why didn't you use the safeword?"
"Haa…… because it would end…… because then it would be over……"
"What would?"
"When it ends…… haa…… Master…… you'd have to go back……"
Her gasping voice moved me a little, too. I swallowed once and answered without letting it show. This couldn't go on; I had to give her an out. And I was starting to have trouble holding back myself.
"……Then let's stay at the shop all night."
"Ah…… ahaang?! Hauk?! Huk! Please! It's too—too strong! Ahng!"
"And you were the one who told me to come home. Like having all the fun to yourself?"
"Ahut?! Hnnk, huk, Toto! Toto! Please! I'm gonna come—I'm gonna come again—ahhhhnnk!"
She must have understood, because the safeword came out of her at once. The moment I heard Toto's name, I dropped the intensity. There were three remotes, though—and of course I had saved the Womanizer's power for last on purpose. I watched her hips jerk as she climbed into a spectacular climax, and stepped in close.
"You did well."
"Haaang, huk, h-honey…… huk…… haang……"
"Was it good?"
"T-too much…… I thought I was going to lose my mind…… haa……"
I unhooked her bra slowly. The eyes it revealed were blown wide. I stroked her cheek—ruined with tears and snot and spit—and pressed my lips lightly to hers.
"Mm…… haa…… huung…… I like it……"
"You held out well. I was sure you'd make me stop halfway."
"……H-how long…… do you know how long I've been waiting……"
"I'll untie you. Just a second."
"……Mm…… haa……"
The moment I freed her arms, they dropped limp, as if they had been waiting. I took in the sight of her pale legs, soaked and ruined with her own slick, and as I worked loose the knot at her ankle, I asked—