No Condom? Condom? Choose
Hyeran and I walked out of the Liquor Market together.
Not a single word passed between us on the way home.
What would she even have to say?
I hadn't held a knife to her throat, no—but what I'd done was essentially armed robbery all the same. What could a person possibly say after pulling something like that?
Still, though….
The day had cost me a bit of money, but thanks to the ugly little scene, I'd walked away with an unexpected windfall. Not only had she dangled her influencer status around, she'd tried to strong-arm nearly premium liquor out of the store using her identity as leverage—practically highway robbery with extra steps.
And in exchange, I now held the perfect card to bend my sister-in-law—always so full of herself, always sneering down her nose at me—exactly to my liking.
"Sister-in-law. Were you actually going to take that liquor home to shoot SNS content? Or did you secretly just want to drink it yourself?"
"……."
"Staying silent, I see. You got wrapped up in all that mess and even had to pay for it, and still nothing to say…."
Tsk tsk—
Whenever I clicked my tongue like a nagging old man and she refused to answer, I clicked it louder, as if to say then just listen. And each time, Hyeran would look pointedly away, pretending not to hear, brow furrowing deeper.
Honestly, there wasn't a speck of remorse anywhere on her.
"Sigh. I wonder what happens when that guy finds out about today…. I don't think it'd end with just a little household meltdown…."
"N-no! You absolutely cannot tell him!"
I'd only muttered it aloud, deliberately, to myself—and the sister-in-law who'd been determined to keep her mouth shut until the end suddenly lunged at me. She grabbed my arm with both hands and pleaded, begged, that I must never breathe a word of today to her husband.
That expression is pretty delicious, actually.
Outwardly, I kept a stern face while she went pale and frantic in my grip; inwardly, I was grinning. How could I not enjoy watching this self-important, do-as-she-pleases woman clinging to me like this?
"I-I'll give you anything you want. Anything at all. So please… just don't tell him. I'm begging you…."
A moment ago she'd been yanking me with both hands, and now she'd gone and hugged my arm tight against her chest, wheedling and coaxing for all she was worth.
Wow. She's fully clothed and it's still this good?
Even that single glimpse of her naked body had been enough to make my mouth water. Now, with the overwhelming volume pressed against my arm through layers of fabric, I was reminded all over again.
A desire bloomed naturally—not to grab or grope her, not even to get a titjob, but simply to bury my face in there.
"Whoa there. You're not a kid—no need to get all lovey-dovey in broad daylight. Can't you see everyone walking past staring at us like we're freaks?"
I made a show of pushing her away with zero sincerity behind it. Truthfully, I wanted to savor that sensation a little longer, but this was the street—too many eyes. And I had no intention of settling for this much and calling it enough, so I decided to work through the process slowly, step by careful step.
"Besides, you're supposed to be an SNS person. If your fans saw you looking like this, what would they say?"
"……."
"…Fine. I won't tell him. Now get up."
"…!"
The eyes of the sister-in-law, who'd been hugging me tight with her head buried down, flashed to life.
Well, look at that.
The moment I said I wouldn't tell, she transformed. Not that I hadn't expected it—I had a decent read on what kind of person she was by now.
And it wasn't like I'd offered that out of the goodness of my heart, either.
"By the way. What was it you said earlier?"
"U-uh?"
"Hmm, what was it again…. If I remember correctly, you promised you'd give me anything I wanted…?"
"D-did I? A-aren't you misremembering…?"
Only moments ago she'd been pressed right up against me, and now she was slinking backward, inch by inch. Where did she learn the manners of clinging to someone herself and then bolting the second it suited her?
"Oh no you don't."
"You said it with your own mouth, so why are you playing innocent now?"
I caught her by the shoulders as she tried to escape and pulled her back in. Then, draping an arm around her like an old buddy, I leaned in and whispered into the ear of the fidgeting woman.
"Sex."
"……W-what?"
"I'm saying that if you let me have it just once, I'll gladly keep my mouth shut about everything that happened today."
"!!!"
Her face went even darker than it had when I'd threatened to tell her husband. I could feel a faint tremor running through the shoulder under my arm.
Naturally. She'd be terrified, horrified, and absolutely unwilling. Sinking into the arms of her husband's little brother meant one thing, plain and simple: adultery.
"Th-that's not happening! How can you make such a dis-disgusting, shameless demand!?"
"Then shall I tell him?"
"……!"
"And it's not just him—if today's little episode gets out to your SNS followers on top of everything, with your household already in the state it's in…. I don't think 'rock bottom' would even begin to cover it."
"Ah, aah…."
When I piled SNS on top of her husband, she stared at me with big, brimming eyes.
It's a fairly useful face, but isn't it about time she retired that trick?
I'd let it slide once. There would be no second time. Who exactly was she trying to wring sympathy from here?
"Originally I was thinking raw. But fine—out of the generosity of my heart, I'll allow a condom. Consider yourself grateful."
"……."
"You have two options, sister-in-law. Either this gets out to your husband and your SNS, or you come into my arms. There, I've even kindly laid out the direction for you—so hurry up and decide."
"Ugh…."
Hyeran, standing frozen, pressed her lips into a tight line. Her gaze fixed on the floor, her pupils trembling, unable to stay still in one place.
Trapped at a fork with only two paths, and for her, both were dead ends. But she couldn't refuse to choose either—and so she sat there, stuck between a rock and a hard place.
**
This is going to take her a good long while to agonize over.
None of it was one-sided blackmail—every bit of it was her own doing. If I had to put a finer point on it… well, maybe her fate was sealed the moment she moved into this house?
"So. What'll it be?"
"……Th-then. Just once, and that's it?"
"Yes."
"And you'll p-properly…. wear a condom, right…?"
"Haah, that's what I said, isn't it? Keep testing my patience and I might just change my mind and go with raw, creampied sex instead…?"
Good news: her heart had nearly tipped toward the latter. Bad news: even with the raw option dangled over her, watching her hem and haw like this was genuinely getting on my nerves.
What I really wanted was to skip the annoying rubber and go at it all night long….
"You use proper contraception, no pregnancy, we finish this cleanly, and nothing comes between us afterward. Isn't that the sensible outcome for everyone?"
"……."
"Haah, fine, then raw it—"
"O-okay! I-if you're properly using contraception…. I'll do as you say…!"
"Excellent choice."
And so it was settled: she would come into my arms. And yet some part of me couldn't help but grumble about it.
Raw would've been better.
She reacts intensely to raw sex. My plan was to keep using this leverage going forward, wrapping her in my arms again and again—but with her guard fortified this tight, honestly. If only there were some elegant way around that little problem….
…Hm?
Then suddenly, something flickered past like a life-flashing-before-your-eyes montage.
Among the videos in the trusty Jikbakguri Folder I occasionally turned to in my hour of need, there were certain titles—a certain genre—where sex was provided in exchange for equivalent compensation. Money, goods, that sort of arrangement.
Hmm.
Buying liquor I didn't even need, just to keep any pointless scandal from brewing at the Liquor Market and spare us both any ugly feelings. Living under the same roof, treating my eyes to all manner of views on the regular, while the stress-inducing incidents piled up by the day. On top of rent, food, clothes, everything else she had to think about—and then she'd go raiding the kitchen like it was her own personal pantry, anyway.
…Honestly, doesn't that look basically identical to what I just described?
Raw sex aside, a way to get even closer had just occurred to me. But the time wasn't ripe yet. The move wasn't to shove my way in bluntly—it was to slip through the cracks slowly, very leisurely. The initiative was mine; there was no need to rush.
"And if I'm feeling generous, I could gift you the liquor we bought today. You could keep showing your followers the same dignified, graceful image you always have…."
"……!"
"Who knows, I might even offer you a certain amount of support, within reason~?"
Crack the whip, then slyly dangle the carrot—and sure enough, the sister-in-law swallowed hard. Only moments ago she'd radiated disgust from every pore, but apparently her resolve was wavering now.
Of course it was. She'd lost her entire family and was all but out on the street; a life of plenty like she'd once enjoyed was no longer possible. Her heart had to waver.
And that bastard of hers is no different.
The number of times I'd caught him swallowing a covetous gulp of spit while I drank beer in passing was beyond counting. Pride wounded, thirst unquenched—hilarious, really.
"W-would you really? You'd really do all that for me?"
"Of course. I'm the type who keeps every promise I make."
"……."
"Hm? You seem rather tempted, for someone with your icy exterior. Support payments, free liquor, and the freedom to do things you haven't been able to do in ages…."
"…T-tempted!? It's not like that! It's just—really, the situation being what it is, I have no other choice…!"
"Well, this particular matter comes with its own separate conditions, so think it over carefully, why don't you."