Becoming Aware
There are people in this world who, for some strange reason, never seem to perceive anything truly terrifying. On the flip side, those who see it clearly often scoff and wonder what could possibly be so scary. But beyond getting startled by crude directing and predictable jump scares, there are those who can't even look at the screen properly, hearts pounding like they're about to explode, even shedding tears. Seo Jian was one of them.
“...Aaaah! They're totally playing this on purpose to screw with me! Why am I the only one suffering? Kim Hanbin, why do you always get the easy missions?!”
Seo Jian slumped into her chair, frantically clutching at her hair as she shouted.
“Hey, even if you're complaining, don't take it out on me...”
From my perspective, it felt unfair. Honestly, the scene just now wasn't even that scary. It was just a jump scare that anyone could see coming from a mile away.
“I can't. I just can't do this.”
Only a few minutes earlier she'd been brimming with determination, claiming she'd handle anything. But while Seo Jian curled up trying to escape reality, the whiteboard paused the video and displayed a new message.
Will you give up on the mission?
I tapped Jian on the shoulder as she huddled there.
“Hey, it's asking if you're going to give up.”
“......”
She stayed completely still, face down for about ten seconds. Then, as if she'd finished thinking it over, she slowly raised her head.
Seo Jian let out a long sigh.
“Haa. That's just talk. When have I ever actually given up?”
She fixed her crooked chair and sat up straight, spine rigid.
Yeah, it was just a horror movie. Compared to all the weird crap we'd done so far, what was there that she couldn't handle? When I thought about how she'd stripped off her panties and bra right in front of me, this was barely worth complaining about. From Jian's perspective, the reward of slightly better memory was pretty vague, but 'It'll help Kim Hanbin at least.' She steadied herself with that thought.
She figured once this mission was over, she'd have to make me buy her dinner to feel better about it.
“You. Don't look at me.”
“You say that every time, so I already know without you telling me.”
“And stop sneaking glances at my face.”
“Fine, just don't scream like before. I thought my eardrums were going to burst.”
“...Maybe I'll just scream directly into your ear.”
She threw out empty threats to save face. She seemed secretly embarrassed about not being able to handle even this level of horror.
This time she'd endure it. Seo Jian fixed her eyes on the whiteboard, clenching both fists tightly on her knees.
The message asking if she'd give up on the mission naturally vanished, and the video began playing again. But instead of continuing, it restarted from the beginning.
“...This might take a while.”
“I'm going to hold out this time, okay? For real!”
The mission started over like that.
Seo Jian actually held up better than I expected. She'd scream right into my ear or let out weird noises like “Uwaa, uwaaa!” and clearly looked like she was struggling, but as long as she didn't get up from her seat it was fine. Jian had definitely told me not to look at her, but how could I not peek? The whole time I kept sneaking glances, and she was even crying.
...I decided I wouldn't tease her about it after the mission ended. I made that promise to myself.
But the problem didn't stop there.
“Kyaaaaah!”
“Whoa, shit. You scared me.”
“Hey, hey, hey... when the hell is this going to end...?”
“...Who knows?”
“What do you mean you don't know?!”
Seo Jian blamed me, but there was nothing I could do. The video playing now was basically a compilation. Just when I thought one clip had ended, another started right away. It felt like they'd edited together all the scariest scenes from everywhere. Some pretty famous movies popped up too.
“Ha, fuck.”
“By the way...”
“What, what...?”
“Are you going to keep holding onto my arm like that?”
“...I don't know! Mind your own business!”
The real problem was that Seo Jian wouldn't let go of my arm. She was pressed right up against my side, practically rubbing her shoulder against me while linking arms. Her chest kept touching me...?
Honestly, this was pure torture. Even if we were friends, if a female friend was pressing her breasts against your arm and rubbing them like that, who could possibly not be conscious of it? Of course, I'd never had that kind of experience before. Maybe that was why. I had zero immunity. The pleasant scent of her shampoo kept drifting over, and every little sensation against my arm demanded attention.
Jian probably didn't have the luxury of noticing any of that. But the one actually experiencing it was me...
“Uwa, kyaaah!”
“......”
Seo Jian pinched my arm lightly and said,
“Hey, aren't you scared at all? I feel like I've lost days off my lifespan...”
“I'm going through the same thing, you know?”
She grinned and looked at me.
“What? You've been acting all tough like you handle scary stuff so well, but deep down you're scared too, huh?”
“...If only it were just fear. That'd be great, really.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
Seo Jian had been going on about “We're friends!” the whole time, and I'd agreed. But I wished she'd realize, biologically speaking, that she was a woman. From a guy's perspective, she should know exactly how she looked. It was awkward to point it out myself. Because even now, my pants were feeling uncomfortably tight.
“Whoa! The atmosphere says something's about to come out, right? This is definitely it. Isn't it? Right?!”
“When they turn that corner, a ghost will probably pop out.”
“I'll close my eyes for just one second, okay? After one second, shake my shoulder. I'll open them right away...!”
“Oh, it might come out now.”
“S-suddenly?!”
It was actually still a bit away. Despite the prank, Seo Jian clung to my arm even harder, pulling it down and hugging it tightly. The whiteboard didn't seem to nitpick about closing her eyes for one or two seconds. Maybe the movie choice had been intended to encourage this kind of skinship from the start.
By the way, the reason I'm rambling on with all this unnecessary situational analysis is simply to stop myself from being conscious of Seo Jian. A moment ago my arm had even gotten wedged between her breasts.
“Could you... move away a bit now?”
“...Who do you think is doing this because they like it? I'm gritting my teeth trying to improve your memory, you know? You should be thanking me. Got it?”
“Yeah. Thanks for so many things, really.”
It felt like I was cramming in experiences I'd never had before all at once. Seo Jian snorted and slapped my arm.
It felt like twenty minutes had passed like this. I really wished it would end soon. If Seo Jian noticed I was hard, that would be a total disaster. Even the way she slapped my arm just now felt stimulating. Of course, I wasn't a masochist. My nerves had simply become too sensitive...
And as if my prayers had finally been answered, the screen didn't continue to another compilation clip but faded completely to black. Seo Jian spoke the expected line.
“...Is it over?”
As if it had been waiting for those words, another video started playing immediately. But this video was...?
“What is this?”
“...Uh, this looks like porn?”
“It's not like porn, it is porn?!”
Seo Jian shrieked. And for good reason—the man and woman on screen were completely naked, without a single thread covering them.
After the horror movie came dirty videos. Seo Jian cursed inwardly with every swear word she knew. She'd only ever called Hanbin an idiot or a bastard to his face, but she actually knew plenty more. Calling him a bastard was practically cute by comparison.
Still, it was better than the horror movie. Even though she was watching porn with Kim Hanbin, aside from how fucked up the situation was, at least she didn't have to scream and freak out like before.
“Hey, Kim Hanbin.”
“...Yeah.”
“Do you usually watch stuff like this?”
Hanbin answered defensively.
“No? I'm not really into Western stuff.”
Just as he said, a Western porn video was playing on screen. Pure power sex. Sex, sex. Puhaha.
“Who asked about your tastes?”
“You literally just asked if I watch this kind of thing?”
“......”
When she thought about it, he was right, so Seo Jian shut her mouth. The two of them stayed silent, focusing on the screen for a while. Even if they didn't want to watch, the mission forced them to.
But that's the thing about porn. Even if it's not particularly interesting, you end up focusing on certain areas. There are many places your eyes are drawn to. If the woman is pretty, you look at her face. If she has big breasts, your eyes go to her chest. If she has a big ass, you stare at her butt. And if the male actor's dick is insanely huge, your eyes go there whether you want them to or not.
It was as thick as Seo Jian's forearm. That massive cock was thrusting deep into the woman's pussy with wet, squelching sounds. The camera angle was positioned below, looking up from behind at the two people having doggystyle sex. The woman was on all fours while the man gripped her waist like handles. His balls, looking like some kind of dangling pouch, slapped against her with loud smacking sounds every time he thrust. That was just extra.
Seo Jian swallowed hard. When she'd watched porn before, it had always been from the man's point of view, but now she couldn't help imagining herself in the woman's place. If she were to have sex, would it be like that...?
Of course, Jian thought that would never happen. But at the same time, another thought crossed her mind.
'Just how far will these missions go?'
She'd boldly signed the contract, but deep down she knew. That eventually missions with much higher stakes might appear. That she might end up doing far lewder things with Kim Hanbin than simply taking off her panties or bra.
Could friends really do something like that?
The moment that thought hit her, Seo Jian shook her head.
'I don't know. For now, I'll squeeze out as many doable missions as possible and think about it later. It's not like an impossible mission will come up right away anyway.'
Watching porn together was something she could handle. Thinking that, Jian glanced sideways.
Kim Hanbin right now...
“Hey.”
She called out to him with a frown.
“W-what?”
“...Never mind. Forget it. Don't worry about it. And don't look this way.”
The massive bulge straining against his tracksuit pants. Kim Hanbin, this guy. He'd gotten hard again, and it was way too obvious this time.