The Contract

Meanwhile, Seo Jian was no different in her inability to focus on studying. The characters on the nonfiction page wriggled like earthworms, and nothing stuck in her head—it all went in one ear and out the other.

Haa… I’m losing my mind. For real.

Her anxious heart showed in the way she unconsciously tapped her mechanical pencil against the desk. Kim Hanbin. A classmate from their third year of high school. She’d thought they’d never see each other again after graduation, yet here he was, now her only friend. And after four absurd missions with that friend, the two of them now shared a secret they could never tell anyone else.

Even though she wasn’t consciously aware of it, some instinctive conditioning had taken root. Just as people say it’s hard for men and women to stay friends, their bodies had begun to notice each other whether they wanted it or not. That was true even though Seo Jian still hadn’t fully accepted herself as a woman.

“Haa.”

So annoying. In her inexplicable impatience and irritation, she scratched harsh underlines across the innocent workbook. It was literally just doodling. You couldn’t sell a used book with doodles on it. Crap! Realizing it too late, she scrubbed at it furiously with an eraser… and riip, the page tore.

“……”

Jian stared at the ripped page with a hollow expression and bit her lip hard. This was all because of that insane whiteboard. She blamed it and stewed in silence. She’d thought she’d managed to forget about it somehow over the past two weeks. She should forget it quickly and focus on studying. That was obviously what she needed to do. Yet the photos she still hadn’t deleted were proof of her lingering attachment.

The reason was simple: money. But it wasn’t just about a few hundred thousand won. If the board could produce a miracle that restored Hanbin’s father’s health, maybe even greater rewards were possible. That thought had suddenly occurred to her. Maybe her mom could become far more comfortable, too.

Even though she’d come to the reading room that morning intending to study like always, Jian set her mechanical pencil down and quietly rose from her seat. She moved on silent steps toward Hanbin’s spot on the opposite side of the reading room. It wasn’t completely empty—there was a man who looked to be in his mid-twenties studying in the far corner opposite them since early that morning.

So Jian crept up behind Hanbin like a shadow.

“…Hey.”

She whispered. Since studying was impossible, she reached for his shoulder to suggest they get some air. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠But she stopped her hand just before it touched him. If he was listening to a lecture, interrupting the flow would be rude. With that in mind, she glanced at the phone screen he was so focused on.

“……?”

Her eyes flew wide. What the hell was this? She’d wondered why he was glued to the desk in such an uncomfortable posture, watching something so intently—and he was watching porn with earphones plugged in right there in the reading room?

She considered smacking the back of his head but decided to stay behind him and keep watching instead. She’d grown curious exactly how long he planned to keep at it. To her, it was nothing particularly special. As a healthy teenager, she had naturally watched porn before. It was just that since turning into this body, she simply hadn’t felt the urge to look any up.

That woman. Her breasts are enormous.

Her gaze was drawn automatically to the woman’s bouncing chest, jiggling in time with the man’s thrusting on the screen. And suddenly her little sister’s words from that morning flashed through her mind.

—Sis, your chest is huge.

Crazy. What the hell was she thinking? Jian immediately shook her head. In the meantime, the man in the video finished by unloading across the woman’s pure-white back. The sight of an enormous load of semen splattered across her skin was so obscene it made the photo of her own breasts from that morning look tame by comparison.

And then Hanbin stopped the video.

Not watching it all the way through is something, at least. Jian laughed to herself. It was only natural that when he turned around immediately afterward, their eyes met. His pupils were shaking like an earthquake had hit. He was probably thinking he was completely screwed.

Jian jerked her chin toward the door and walked out of the reading room. Up until she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠left, that was everything Seo Jian had seen.

===

A dumb look crossed my face. “What are you talking about?”

I honestly thought Seo Jian was going to chew me out. That I was pathetic for doing something like that in the reading room. We were both self-studying repeat examinees, so studying was a solitary thing, but from her perspective it must have looked utterly ridiculous.

But what she brought up was something else entirely.

“A contract is a contract.”

“So what kind of contract…?”

“That is—”

It was just past nine in the morning. The whine of a motorcycle engine echoed past. Rush hour was over, so there were almost no people around. Through the convenience store’s glass window across the street, the part-timer sat hunched over, staring at his phone like he was trying to burn a hole through it.

In the middle of that, Seo Jian leaned crookedly against the stairwell door and spoke hesitantly.

“…The truth is, I couldn’t focus on studying either, so I came over to you to get some air. That’s when I saw what you were watching.”

“……”

“Seriously. If you were going to do that, you should’ve jerked off at home this morning. What the hell are you watching porn in the reading room for? For real. Did you suddenly get horny while studying or something? How did you even…”

She cut herself off mid-sentence, then started rambling in embarrassment.

“No, um. What I mean is—”

I jumped in while I had the chance.

“Jian, hold on. I seriously want to die right now, so can you at least tell me what this contract thing is first?”

“…If you knew it was embarrassing, you shouldn’t have done it in the first place. You could’ve gone to the bathroom at least. Ah, but if you had, it probably wouldn’t have ended with just watching porn.”

As she spoke, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠she made a gesture with her right hand, gripping something imaginary and pumping it up and down.

Hah, I’m going ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠crazy.

Seo Jian seemed completely unaware of how she looked. Even that gesture just now. But I had no intention of telling her what thought had just crossed my mind.

…Because we’re friends.

I wish she’d at least recognize the effort I’m making here. It might sound stupid, but I was trying to erase the memory by watching porn. Seo Jian must have realized her action had been over the top, because she cleared her throat and shoved her hand into the front pocket of her hoodie.

“Anyway. You.”

“…Yeah.”

“You didn’t have any weird thoughts about me, right?”

“W-what are you even saying? I know you!”

“Right? Yeah, of course. Having weird thoughts would be the weird thing. We’re friends, after all.”

That’s what Seo Jian said.

Yes. Friends.

Jian and I had become friends. If we kept repeating like this together, we might even stay in touch after getting into college. But since our grades were quite different, we probably wouldn’t end up at the same school. We’d definitely attend different universities and live different college lives.

And maybe—even if it sounded like a dream—I might start dating someone in college. Would Jian do the same? She was a good person. She was struggling right now, but she’d adapt quickly and live well. That’s what I believed.

At the same time, an inexplicable discomfort stirred inside me. The reason? I wasn’t sure. Maybe it was the thought that if either of us got a lover, it would become hard to keep in touch. That had to be it. No other reason made sense.

“So, about that.”

What on earth was she trying to say that she had to drag it out this much? Seo Jian kept twisting her legs this way and that. She looked extremely anxious. She tapped the floor with her toes, and whenever our eyes met she awkwardly looked away. Staring at the ground, she finally spoke.

“There’s no chance of any feelings developing between us, right?”

“What do you mean…”

“So. What I’m saying is, let’s do a few more of those missions together. We found out this time, didn’t we? That whiteboard is like a miracle. Your father’s test results. How were they?”

“T-that’s…”

“Yeah?”

“…They said he’s gotten better again. The doctor apparently told them it was amazing how suddenly improved like this.”

Yesterday my parents had looked incredibly happy. Mom kept saying we should maintain this improvement, that she’d pay more attention to his diet and try to get him to exercise a little.

“See? That’s why I’m saying this. I’ll bear all the embarrassing stuff anyway. Getting a few photos taken and some hugging is totally doable, right? It benefits me and it benefits you.”

“……”

Did Seo Jian even realize what she was saying right now? She was right that the whiteboard was a miraculous object. No doctor on earth could save kidneys that were already failing. But there was no guarantee the missions would keep being easy…

“It’s not that simple. We have no idea what the next mission will be.”

Before I could finish, Seo Jian stepped forward abruptly and cut me off. She grabbed my shoulder tightly and looked straight into my eyes. This time she didn’t avoid my gaze at all.

“Answer me honestly. You. We’re friends, right?”

“…Yeah.”

“There’s no way you’d develop feelings for me.”

“That’s obviously…”

“Then we’re good. There’s no way I’d develop feelings for you either. So let’s just do the missions. Whatever happens in that room stays in that room. When we leave, forget it completely. And only think about the rewards we can get.”

“…You really think that’s possible?”

I thought of her as a friend, and I told myself the erotic thoughts I’d been having lately were just unavoidable physiological reactions, but… just how far could I go with a friend?

Seo Jian looked at me with eyes full of certainty.

“Why wouldn’t it be? We’re friends. And if we make a contract, it’ll be even cleaner. Don’t you think? If we set the rules in advance, there won’t be anything complicated to worry about.”

“…I’m Party A?”

“I wrote it that way because it’s at my request. Hey, that doesn’t mean you’re actually in charge or anything, got it?”

The range of the wishes wasn’t specified at all, and the whole thing was sloppy in every way, but Seo Jian looked satisfied.

“Then how far can the wish go?”

“…How about we just say buying a meal counts? You weren’t thinking of anything weird, right? A meal is enough, what more do you want!”

Seo Jian smiled brightly.