Nothing Is Ever Easy
I let out a long sigh, staring at the whiteboard in front of me.
Mission: Participant Kim Hanbin must take at least 7 photos of Participant Seo Jian. Faces do not need to be visible, but each photo must feature a unique clothing combination. Examples of combinations: top, bottom, panties, bra.
Time Limit: 2 hours
Bonus Mission: ???
The bonus mission will be revealed upon clearing the main mission.
Clear Reward: Kim Hanbin — Alleviation of Kim Taehyung’s chronic kidney disease symptoms. Seo Jian — Increase in Kim Yujin’s store sales.
Penalty: Synchronization of physical sensations between participants.
Participants: Kim Hanbin, Seo Jian
“This is, uh… well.”
“Ah, Grandma. Please. Ha….”
Seo Jian couldn’t bring herself to curse at her grandmother, so she just kept letting out these heavy sighs while banging her forehead against the desk. I was just as flustered as she was. Who the hell were we supposed to blame for this ridiculous situation?
The grandmother who had suddenly walked in, closed the door, and left? Sure, we could blame her, but it wouldn’t change a damn thing.
At first, Jian had quietly answered my questions back in the reading room. But no matter how few people were around, you couldn’t ignore the noise rules in there. Most of the time it was just the two of us using the reading room, but it wasn’t always like that. It was just that people “rarely” came by.
So coming back to the rest area had felt like the natural next step. Even if the whiteboard made us nervous, as long as we kept the door propped open, there shouldn’t have been any problem. And for the past two weeks, we had been using this rest area without any incidents.
Who could’ve guessed the grandmother would suddenly slam the door shut like that?
“Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhh….”
Jian’s condition didn’t look good at all. If I carelessly stepped up right now and said something like “Should we try the mission?” I had no idea what kind of reaction I’d get. It would sound like I’d been waiting for exactly this kind of situation. So for now, the right move was to stay quiet and wait until Jian pulled herself together mentally.
In the meantime, I decided to think about the mission that had just appeared.
Like always, the mission was brutally straightforward. Take photos. But the real problem came after that. The instruction to avoid duplicate clothing combinations, and the examples given—top, bottom, panties, bra. That meant a full outfit of top, bottom, bra, and panties counted as one photo. A picture with just the top removed while wearing the rest would count as another.
…Just how many possible combinations were there?
I glanced sideways. Jian still had her head down on the desk, the top of her head completely visible. It didn’t look like she’d recover anytime soon. I started scribbling on the corner of a practice test sheet, covering my work with my hand as I listed out the possibilities one by one.
Case 1) Top + Bottom + Bra + Panties
Case 2) Bottom + Bra + Panties
Case 3) Bra + Panties
Case 4) Panties
Case 5) ???
Case 6) Top + Bra + Panties
Case 7) Top + Bra
Case 8) Top
Case 9) Top + Bottom + Bra
Case 10) Bottom + Bra
Case 11) Bottom
Case 12) Top + Bottom + Panties
Case 13) Top + Panties
Case 14) Top + Bottom
Case 15) Bra
Case 16) Bottom + Panties
“…….”
I was losing my mind. Even as I wrote them down, I kept wondering if this was really necessary. If Jian ever found out I’d actually sat here counting all this stuff for the mission, she might break every bone in my body… Fuck. I need to erase this fast.
But the moment I reached for the eraser, a hand full of pent-up energy snatched the test sheet away. I looked up in a panic. Just as my ominous premonition had predicted, Jian was staring down at the corner of the paper I’d written on, her eyes narrowed into sharp slits.
“I kept wondering what you were scribbling with your mechanical pencil that was so distracting… and you were writing this kind of shit by yourself?”
“Hey, wait a second—”
“Case 4. Panties. Case 9. Top, bottom, bra. Case 15. Bra. So what the hell do these three question marks in Case 5 mean?”
“No, listen. I was just organizing how to approach the mission. I wasn’t thinking anything weird, I swear—”
“I don’t care. Just explain properly what those three question marks are supposed to mean.”
Tap. Tap. Tap. The sound of the mechanical pencil hitting the test sheet. It seemed to be getting louder and louder. Or maybe that was just my imagination. The words got stuck in my throat.
The case where none of the four options—top, bottom, panties, or bra—were worn. In other words, complete nudity. There was no way I could say that straight out.
“It’s… when all four options are marked as X.”
“…You really know how to sugarcoat things. Ha, seriously.”
The tapping on the table with the pencil continued. After it went on for a while, Jian finally spoke first.
“So basically, we have to take seven photos using the combinations listed here. Right?”
“Y-yeah, I guess?”
“Ha… fuck….”
Jian clutched her hair and let out a deep sigh.
===
Jian had no choice but to steel herself. The reason had appeared the moment she got trapped in this room with Kim Hanbin. If they failed to clear this mission, it would count as a failure, and she didn’t even want to think about what that penalty—synchronization of physical sensations—would feel like. Just sharing vision had been that bad. The thought of sharing senses made her want to vomit.
‘We have to succeed no matter what…’
The one silver lining was the clear reward written on the board. Kim Taehyung was Hanbin’s father. If his friend’s dad got healthier, that was a good thing in its own way. And an increase in her mother’s store sales. She didn’t know how much it would go up, but… compared to herself, who still had about 350,000 won left in her account, it was obviously better for her mother’s shop to do well.
In any case, this whiteboard was offering the two of them exactly what they needed as rewards.
Jian spoke first.
“I’ll choose which photos we take.”
Hanbin looked at her with an expression that asked if she was sure.
“What are you looking at me like that for? If you weigh it rationally on a scale, it’s the obvious conclusion. You think I want this? I’m only doing it because sharing senses sounds way more horrifying than taking photos. Do I really need to know every time you go home and jerk off….”
“Why the hell did that come up here?” Hanbin answered, startled.
“So you’re saying you don’t do it at home?”
“…….”
Hanbin subtly avoided Jian’s piercing gaze. Of course he did it. There was no way he didn’t. Jian laughed inwardly and shook her head.
She steeled herself again and tried to look at the cases that pervert had organized, starting from the top, when Kim Hanbin spoke up.
“If we’re doing this, I’ll close my eyes and take the pictures. So pick the easiest seven.”
“…What?”
“We just need to take the photos, right? So closing my eyes should be fine. That way it’ll be a little less uncomfortable for you too.”
“What the… You can actually think sometimes.”
Jian let out a small chuckle, genuinely surprised. That settled it. All that remained was deciding which combinations to photograph. Since the list was already organized, they just had to choose.
Obviously Case 1 was mandatory. But from there on, no matter what she took off, it was going to be embarrassing. She had to pick the least humiliating ones that still met the requirements.
From Jian’s perspective, showing her bra felt more embarrassing than showing her panties. But on the other hand, taking off her panties felt more embarrassing than taking off her bra. It was a weird standard, but that’s how it was.
And after filtering through that logic, the final selection was as follows.
Case 1) Top + Bottom + Bra + Panties
Case 6) Top + Bra + Panties
Case 9) Top + Bottom + Bra
Case 10) Bottom + Bra
Case 12) Top + Bottom + Panties
Case 13) Top + Panties
Case 14) Top + Bottom
These were the seven she had chosen. Honestly, the moment she included Case 10 she would be showing her bra, but everything else was so much worse that she had no choice.
“…This is the best we can do.”
“…….”
Kim Hanbin remained silent. It seemed like he had decided to just keep his mouth shut and follow Jian’s instructions this time. On the other hand, Jian felt secretly relieved. She obviously hated the idea of standing in front of him in just her panties, but since he was going to close his eyes anyway, it looked like she wouldn’t have to take off her underwear like she had feared.
“Let’s start with the easiest one.”
Nod. Nod.
Hanbin reached into his pocket to take out his phone. But Jian shook her head.
“Take the photos with my phone. You know what I mean, right?”
“…….”
Nod. Nod.
“Answer with words.”
“…Okay.”
Hanbin turned on the camera app on the smartphone Jian handed him. Then he pointed the lens at her.
The first photo was Case 1. It should have been fine just like this… but the moment Jian stood in front of the lens, her mouth went completely dry. She didn’t know where to put her arms—first crossing them awkwardly, then putting her hands behind her back, then fidgeting again. In the middle of all that, Hanbin pressed the shutter.
Click!
A plain gray hoodie and black sweatpants. The same outfit she always wore, though her face was flushed red. At the same time, the exact same photo appeared on the whiteboard, and text formed beneath it.
1/7 Completed
“Whew. So that’s how it works.”
“Should I take the next one right away?”
“…I don’t know. Just close your eyes and wait for a bit.”
No matter how much she told herself it was fine, that he wouldn’t be able to see if his eyes were closed, embarrassment was still embarrassment. Jian’s voice was trembling.
The next photo was Case 6. All she had to do was take off her pants from her current outfit. After confirming that Hanbin had closed his eyes, she grabbed the waistband and slowly pulled them down.
Sliiide… She moved so slowly that even the sound was barely audible. The sweatpants slid past her hips, down her thighs, over her knees, and finally reached her ankles. She stepped out of them one leg at a time. In an instant, she was standing in front of Kim Hanbin in nothing but her panties.
Even though his eyes were closed.
“…….”
“…Hey, are you keeping them closed?”
“They’re closed. Tell me when you’re ready.”
“I’m ready… so take it.”
Jian kept tugging the hem of her hoodie down, trying pointlessly to cover her panties. She had no idea if the camera was capturing that exact motion, but Hanbin pressed the shutter anyway.
Click—!
“…….”
“…….”
Once again, the photo that had just been taken appeared on the whiteboard.
“…What?”
Jian spoke without thinking. That was because, if everything had gone as expected, it should have said 2/7 Completed. Instead, the whiteboard displayed this:
2/7 — Judgment Impossible
On top of that, the photo was absolutely terrible. It was out of focus and cropped in a weird place like part of her body had been cut off. Of course the result was a failure.