Assuming the Debt
“Haaah… haaah… Please stop, I’m begging you… please…”
Seo Haeun was crouched down, drenched in sweat and panting as she pleaded with me.
The way she gasped for breath, the sweat-soaked strands of hair clinging to her skin—exactly my type.
The only thing missing was the outfit. Leggings instead of sweats would’ve shown off her figure even better.
I’d have to pick out clothes for her next time and bring her back properly dressed. A trainer would probably love seeing her like that too.
“Can’t do any more?”
“I can’t…”
“Alright. We’re done here. Let’s head home.”
Seo Haeun looked ready to collapse, which was incredibly hot, but we hadn’t actually done anything sexual. I’d just spent an hour teaching her proper warm-up form and then made her do a few sets of bodyweight squats. Aside from pressing down on her with my fingers during stretches, I hadn’t touched her at all.
The stretching had been intense, though. For someone who claimed to have trained for years, her stamina and strength were surprisingly lacking.
Then again, after how hard she came yesterday, it made sense she was already gasping like this.
This was enough for now. The goal had been to drain her energy anyway.
“Don’t touch me…!”
“Can you even stand up on your own?”
“I can, so just…”
“Then can you shower and walk home by yourself?”
“I’ll handle it myself…”
“I’m asking if you can actually manage alone. If you’re fine, I’ll just leave like this.”
“…”
Seo Haeun glared at me with a frustrated expression, still struggling to catch her breath.
…Yeah. This was the Seo Haeun I remembered. That sharp, rude look had always been her default.
That was why I’d disliked her. Why I’d sometimes searched for actresses with similar eyes.
Of course, once I actually stripped her, her chest didn’t match any of them.
“Stop talking nonsense and let’s go rest. You came in wearing those clothes, right?”
“Yeah, but—ah, I said don’t touch me…!”
I slid my hand under her armpit, right against that vulgar chest, and forced her upright. I tried to hook her arm around my neck, but the height difference meant she’d just end up dangling in the air. Instead, I wrapped my arm around her waist, grabbed our bags, and led her out of the gym.
“I… I need to shower…”
“Do it at home.”
Because I was openly clinging to her as we walked out, I got to enjoy the way her face flushed under all the stares.
Supporting her sweat-drenched body, I walked slowly down the street. Even after giving her water from the tumbler in my bag, her heart was still pounding. Feeling a little sorry for how poorly conditioned she was despite that body, I stopped by the convenience store we’d visited yesterday.
“Kang Juhyuk… why the convenience store…?”
“You look exhausted. Thought I’d buy you a drink.”
The part-timer glanced up from his phone, caught a whiff of her sweat even from the counter, and gave us a complicated look as we passed. I grabbed two cans of drinks anyway.
It was a different guy from yesterday, but still male. He looked more normal than the shady night-shift worker, which somehow made showing her off even more satisfying.
“Hey, hey! Let go, Kang Juhyuk…!”
“Don’t you need a drink? You look thirsty.”
“I do, but just let go first…!”
She tried to shake me off, but with her strength gone she could only mutter weak curses. I tightened my arm around her waist and pulled her close. Too exhausted to resist properly, Seo Haeun had no choice but to hang onto me with her head bowed.
“Oh, right. I forgot my wallet. Do you have yours in your bag?”
“I swear, I’m going to kill you…”
“If you don’t, then whatever.”
Grinning, I pulled out my phone instead and paid, then walked out of the store with my arm still around her waist. The part-timer shot us a disgusted look—probably because of the smell—but I didn’t mind at all. If anything, I liked it.
“Here. Drink. Then let’s sit on that bench over there. People are staring.”
“You… seriously…”
I opened a can and handed it to her, putting on my most hypocritical expression as I guided her to the bench. It was a weekend afternoon, so the streets were packed. Plenty of people were openly watching the tall couple walking so closely together. I didn’t mind the attention one bit—especially when I had a sexy woman pressed against my side.
“Hey, why are you so weak? You said you go to the gym regularly.”
“You… you said you wouldn’t touch me, you bastard…”
“Don’t swear out loud in the middle of the day. And I didn’t touch you. I just helped you warm up.”
“Bullshit. You grabbed my waist! And my chest too…”
“You couldn’t get up, so I helped you stand.”
Embarrassed by all the stares, Seo Haeun kept her head down while whispering curses. She looked incredibly erotic like that. No matter what she wore, bending forward always made her chest stand out. Even in those sloppy sweats, those tits made it work. Though a dress with side slits would’ve been even better. I’d save that for later.
“If you really can’t walk, want me to carry you?”
“No thanks… haa… Just ten minutes. Ten minutes of rest.”
Even after all that touching, she still couldn’t do anything to stop me. We’d grown a little closer. Last time, just holding hands had led straight to sex. This time I’d touched her waist—how far could I push it next?
Without alcohol, it’d be hard to take her again today. But I was confident I could have her on all fours within six months.
This woman seemed to hate her own sister even more than I did.
Why? Because her sister was doing better?
**
“Good work, everyone~”
Glittering stage lights. The noisy bustle of the set. They always said green was easy on the eyes, but the chroma key screen only ever made me tired. I wasn’t a student anymore, yet I still had to wear this school uniform for who knows how many more shoots. I wanted nothing more than to change into normal clothes and get out of this loud, chaotic place as fast as possible.
“…Good work.”
“Ah, Jia. Good job~”
After nearly a week of filming, it was only natural to feel completely drained. There were still plenty of loose ends to tie up, but from the perspective of the MV shoot as a whole, the main schedule was finished. The problem was that things would only get busier from here.
“Yes. You too, unnie.”
“Hey, we’ve known each other for years. Why are you still so formal? You can speak casually~”
“…I’m just not used to it. I even use formal speech with my real sister.”
Thinking about how much busier things would get suddenly brought my sister to mind—the one I’d been trying to forget.
…Yesterday had been something else, unnie. When she called me over in such a rush, I thought she’d brought home some pathetic guy. But it turned out to be real.
“Really? Ah, well. I can’t really picture you acting cute with your sister anyway.”
“Well… yeah.”
“An idol with no aegyo? …I’d say that, but you’re way too popular, so I can’t. If you started acting cute, you’d overtake Hinami’s popularity, and we can’t have that.”
“If acting cute like Hinami would make me more popular, I would’ve done it ages ago. That’s just who she is. This style suits me better, so I stuck with it.”
I’d barely managed to forget that man’s naked body from yesterday, but the musky smell in the bedroom and the wrecked state of the room wouldn’t leave my mind.
…I was sure my sister had never been with a man before. How had she gotten involved with him?
I’d had my doubts, but it was definitely him. Kang Juhyuk. The man I’d gotten fired in her place.
“Jia, when you talk like that you sound really smart. It’s nice. Can you make that expression again? I’ll take a picture.”
“I probably look completely pathetic right now. Don’t I?”
“Exactly! That’s what I like about it. Do it one more time. Your fans will go crazy if they see it.”
“…Well, if it’s fan service.”
Because unnie hated him so much, I’d thought getting rid of him would solve everything. In the end it had turned out rather unfortunate, but that wasn’t something I could control. Still, when she suddenly asked for his autograph while complaining about how much she hated him, I’d wondered if she’d lost her mind. Yesterday had turned that suspicion into certainty.
…I’d probably confirm it for sure when I saw her today.
What are you doing, unnie? I told you not to cause trouble.
“Great. Taking it now?”
“…Yes.”
I let out all the sighs and exasperation I’d been saving for when I saw her, then looked at the phone the coordinator held up and made the expression my fans would love.
I hadn’t even been asked to pose, but after years in the industry, I’d developed the habit of striking a natural pose the moment a camera came near.
…Back when I debuted, I used to get nervous. Now I was too used to it.
“Wow… As expected of an idol. Our Jia. Ah, but we’ll have to crop the thighs. It’s too sexy.”
“Who’s ‘our Jia’? Please stop treating me like I belong to you.”
No matter how many times I saw photos of myself, I was always surprised. Even as I worried I was becoming narcissistic, I couldn’t help feeling confident in my appearance.
No—I had to be confident.
I was beautiful.
“So prickly. Then whose are you, Jia?”
“Well… that’s…”
Seo Yeeun might be one thing, but the person known as Seo Jia was someone extraordinary—more than anyone else.
“The fans’, obviously.”
“…Now I get why you’re so popular.”
Because I was an idol who existed only for her fans. Whether their feelings were admiration, something like a parasocial romance, appreciation for my voice and dance as art, or even raw desire for my body—it didn’t matter. They were all fans.
“Anyway, what are you doing after schedule today?”
“…I’ll probably have to meet my sister. I have plans.”
…I’d wanted to handle things nicely if possible, but it seemed I’d have to say something to my sister before she completely fell apart.
“What? If you didn’t have plans I was going to ask you out.”
“I already have a prior engagement, so I must politely decline.”
“Would you have said yes if you didn’t?”
“Still no. I was planning to go home and rest properly.”
“If you keep this up I won’t send you the photo.”
“Ah, you can’t do that. The fans will love it.”
She should stop posting on Instagram. I didn’t know what she might do, and it made me anxious. If the media found out we weren’t on good terms, it would be a headache. I needed to keep a tighter leash on her. I’d thought holding her by the purse strings would be enough to keep her out of trouble. Did she really think opening a secret account would go unnoticed?
She was free to badmouth me to her friends there if she wanted, but I wished she wouldn’t cause problems when she was already incompetent and in debt.
“Seriously, everything’s about fans with you. You talk a good game.”
“If an idol doesn’t think about her fans, who will?”
“Fine. I’ll send it, so make sure you credit me as the one who took it on Instagram, okay?”
“Yes.”
If she got caught by some strange man and lost control of the leash, that would be an even bigger problem. Anyone else might be fine, but that man was dangerous. I’d seen too many times in this ugly world how far someone who’d suffered injustice could fall into malice.
You really had to fall for the one man who holds a grudge against you, unnie. Couldn’t you have found some decent guy instead of one who only looks good on the outside? With that face and those breasts, plenty of better men would’ve lined up.
…Idiot. Seriously.