The Garden
"Like this, do you really think we can stay together today?"
"......Ah, I—I can, gulp...... I can...... I want to stay with you, Shinwoo. Haah."
"......Nothing hurts, does it?"
"Mm...... haah......"
The moment I loosened the knots of the harness, Ju Hayeong let out a long, full sigh. The breath was so cool and clean that the relief seemed to pass straight into me.
"......I still can't tell......"
"Feels like it's still buzzing, doesn't it?"
"......Mm...... haah...... I-I'm fine......"
No wonder. Pleasure and excitement still seemed to fill her to the brim. A faint red lingered at her ankles, and the skin where the harness straps had bitten in had flushed as well. The finish was decent enough that it hadn't broken the skin, though a bruise or two might still bloom later. Marks left by this kind of play were a reward to Hayeong more than anything. Once the harness came off, it looked as if red cords were still wrapped around her body.
"You can't even put weight on your legs."
"No, if I just rest a little—just a little—I'll be fine...... nnh......"
I stroked her legs, and her thighs began to tremble with pleasure. I wanted nothing more than to bury myself between them and take my fill, but I couldn't forget what she had come for.
"Then rest a bit. Change, too. I'll be cleaning."
"......Ah. I-I'll do it tomorrow...... Just stay beside me......"
She caught my T-shirt and tugged, pleading. I stroked her cheek and nodded.
"All right. Tomorrow morning's going to be busy, though."
The office floor was a wreck, so I sat down against the wall. Hayeong hauled herself up from the chair and dragged her shaking legs over to settle beside me. Then, as if she had been waiting for it, she collapsed against me and let out a heated breath.
"You're warm......"
"Were you satisfied?"
"Mm...... Too much. You were really cold."
"When?"
"When you left the office. You walked out without hesitating at all. It actually scared me."
"If it gets too hard next time, say the safe word."
"......I can t-take it. Today was so good, too......"
"I'm not stopping until you do. I mean that."
"......Mm...... I trust you......"
I drew her shoulders in and patted her, slow and quiet. She wrapped herself around me and pressed closer still, and for a few wordless minutes we simply felt each other's warmth and breath, lingering in the afterglow.
"Shall we head out?"
"......Are you really sure? I......"
"About to bring up your age again?"
"Aah......"
I stroked her chest, and she shivered, accepting the touch. I leaned in and whispered at her ear.
"I don't think I can hold back much longer."
"......Ah...... D-do you want to do it here......?"
"You said it would be your first time. You want that to be at the shop?"
Leaning on my arm, she rubbed her cheek against me, hugged it close, and whispered.
"......Thank you......"
"Don't thank me."
Even so, a first time in a place like this was a bit much. Stimulating, no question—but there was such a thing as basic decency. The play was over, and grinding at her in ordinary life felt wrong. Worse, I had no good way to look after her once she was too dazed to think straight afterward. Car or not, hauling someone over my shoulder through the streets at night was a perfect way to get reported. Leaving her behind never once crossed my mind.
"Let's save the shop for later. Something to look forward to."
"......Ah......"
She was short on confidence, so I said it on purpose—another promise of a next time. Tears welled in her eyes again. I wiped them away and stood.
"Get dressed and come out. I'll finish closing up."
"......Mm. I-I'll be right there......"
"Take your time. We have to stop by my place, too."
"Ah, right...... S-sorry. I'll pull myself together."
"I said it's fine."
I left her bracing herself on the wall and stepped out of the office. I finished only what I hadn't managed to tidy, just enough that we could open first thing in the morning. Hayeong appeared a moment later, fidgeting in the doorway, and I took off my apron and hung it beneath the counter.
"Let's go."
"Y-yeah......"
"What, nervous?"
"......A little......"
She kept opening and closing her grip on the handle of a thick shoulder bag, squirming where she stood. It was pretty cute.
"If you're scared, we can do it later."
"No! No, it's not that. I just... I'm looking forward to it, that's all...... I'd given up on ever having this......"
She rushed to deny it. I stepped closer and quietly took her hand.
"Ah......"
"We've got time. It's not urgent. I like it better when you're honest with me."
"......I mean it...... I want to hold you, too, Shinwoo......"
I looked into her eyes for a moment, and then we made our way slowly toward the shop's back door. I felt bad for the few customers who might be waiting out front, but Hayeong suddenly appearing from inside would look strange to anyone. And her face was still flushed enough to make even me swallow.
"Just a second."
"I told you, take your time."
"Still......"
I watched her secure the back door, then got into the car. The soft sound of her swallowing as she climbed into the passenger seat was signal enough. I pulled out.
"There's a bag in the back seat. Empty it out and go into the bedroom...... The password is......"
"Mm, got it."
"I'm counting on you."
After I explained where the clothes were, my eyes swept the alleys as we passed, quick and thorough.
......A few of them are gone.
One person still had a DSLR the size of a cannon, and maybe two were loitering in front of the villa. I really hadn't needed to be that afraid. Social norms still existed, after all. Not every woman was a potential criminal. If they were, this world would have collapsed a long time ago.
"Then please. I'll be waiting by that utility pole—the one where I met Toto last time."
"Okay."
"Can you walk?"
"......D-don't worry. I'm fine......"
She answered with her face red all over again and got out. I watched her climb toward the villa as if it were the most natural thing in the world, then drove back to the cafe and came up the alley once more. Turning the car around back there might have looked awkward—though I wondered if I was being too careful. When I reached the alley with the pole, Hayeong was already waiting, my sports bag in her hands.
"You got here fast."
"Y-yeah......"
"What's wrong? Ah—the underwear?"
"......Th-that's......"
She sat in the passenger seat, fiddling with the bag. I watched her hands and let out a short laugh. I was curious what she'd picked, but my underwear was all more or less the same.
"Where are we going?"
"This way......"
I drove as she directed. It had been a while since I'd taken these alleys, and I was a little tense, but luckily nothing came the other way.
"Here."
"......Here?"
I had just been thinking she lived pretty far when her voice turned my eyes to the window—and I startled. A detached house with its own garage and, small as it was, a garden besides. I knew a few standalone houses still remained in this area, but among them this was a fairly stylish new two-story.
"......The rent on this must be brutal. Long-term lease?"
"Ah, no. It's my house......"
"......What. I worried for nothing."
"Hm?"
"Nothing. I can park out front, right?"
"Yeah. I'll leave the door open......"
"Okay."
Living costs in the neighborhood ran cheap, but the land was no joke. Eighteen million won a pyeong at the low end—no, they'd be asking twenty million by now—and a lot this size was big enough to put up a whole building of studios.
......The land alone had to be two billion won, easy.
I'd heard Ju Hayeong was a successful cafe owner, but this much? Worrying over the sales figures suddenly felt foolish. Land didn't pay living expenses or operating costs, of course, but I probably didn't need to fret. I was a little excited, too. If she had done the cafe office up like that, what on earth was the house like? Maybe I was the one who ought to be nervous.
"Why are you waiting?"
"I-I wanted to go in together......"
I got out and went to her. She had left the door open and was standing there, hesitating. Only then did she start walking. Past the gate, a well-kept yard opened up. The house itself didn't look old, but the garden trees, the stones in the yard, and the lights all carried a fair bit of age and elegance. They must have kept the original plantings.
"This must be hard to look after."
"It's fun, in its way. Before my mother passed, she said she wanted a garden, so we bought this together and combined it."
"I see. Jeju might have been nice, too."
"She was afraid of the water."
I nodded and drew a deep breath of the cool freshness rising off the garden. At the sight of me, Hayeong let out a relieved sigh and asked, carefully.
"Where's your mother, Shinwoo?"
"She passed away, too."
"......Ah. I'm sorry."
"It's all right. I'm better now."
Even so, she kept glancing at me, reading my mood, so I quietly took her hand. The garden was small, and we reached the door in no time, though I was still looking around. Between the high wall, the big trees, and the landscaping, it didn't look easy to see in from outside.
"......We could make use of the garden, you know."
"......Ah, sh-should we......?"
"Yeah. You're interested, aren't you?"
"......Mm......"
I didn't have to say what kind of play I meant. She understood well enough, blushing as she gave a small nod. She entered the code and opened the door, and the smell from inside came out to greet me—her sweet skin mingled with the bitter edge of coffee grounds. It felt cozy.
"Smells good."
"Ah, d-do I smell?"
"Yeah. Like you."
"......I-I'll spray some freshener right away."
"I said I like it."
"......C-come in......"
And in that instant a ball of pure white fluff came bounding over, tail wagging behind a dog pen.
"Aigoo, you're awake?"
Hayeong gathered Toto up and opened the pen. I stepped closer and gave him a light wave, and she held him out to me. As if he had been waiting, he licked my nose and my lips.
"Huff, huff!"
"He must like you."
"......I heard licking your face means get this out of my sight right now."
She had been smiling brightly. Now she cooed at Toto as she answered.
"No way. It's because you're handsome."
Watching her pet him, that soft smile on her face, she looked almost holy. I gazed at it and whispered.
"Seeing you like this, it's like you're raising a child."
"......Ah, y-yeah...... Did that bother you......?"
"Of course not. Somehow I think a child would suit you. In your arms."
"......Ah......"
At the whisper she flushed and swallowed. But for just a moment a small shadow passed over her face, and I didn't miss it. Toto seemed to feel her mood dip as well. He stopped paying me any mind and started licking her chin.
"Th-then, want to sit for a bit......?"
I looked at her face without a word, then slowly reached out. I took Toto from her, set him down on the floor, and answered.
"I already told you I couldn't hold back."
"Ah......"
"Can you, Hayeong?"
"......I-I can't either...... Not anymore......"
"Shall we go?"
I whispered it while I watched her. The eyes that had been looking up at me grew hazy, little by little. She swallowed, took my hand, and led me toward the bedroom door. The stylish living room, the dolls and photographs set among the decor, every neat and lovely little detail of the house—all of it vanished from my head before I knew it.
"Th-then......"
We weren't devouring each other. Even so, the tension between us, the air itself, was warming by degrees—like something slipped into a sous-vide bath, slowly beginning to cook. I watched her face redden all over again and slowly took off my coat.