The Neighbor’s Secret Arrangement

Cold sweat began to trickle down my back. I knew the newlyweds next door hadn't been married very long, so hearing that name pop up here so suddenly was a shock.

I couldn't help but know who she was. After all, they’d dropped off rice cakes at my place just three months ago!

Those sirutteok were delicious, and the two of them had seemed so lovey-dovey. To think they’d end up in a situation like this? Was this for real? It didn't seem like a coincidence of having the same name.

Wondering what on earth was going on, I tilted my head and took a closer look at the app. The location was a cafe about an hour's walk away. It wasn't that far from my place.

Just in case, I tapped through the app and found that it had some rather detailed rules. Was this what you’d call a verification feature?

Isn't touching someone who hasn't been verified just sexual harassment? It felt incredibly thorough, yet terrifyingly bizarre. After all, netorase implies that the partner already has a significant other.

So, this means they used this app to create "fap material" by mutual agreement, and he uploaded his own girlfriend?

These guys are completely out of their minds.

I let out a dry laugh. It was a process that was not only thorough but truly chilling.

Gulp. I swallowed hard and strode toward the cafe indicated by the app.

In the sweltering heat of summer, I felt like I was melting, walking with a sluggish, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dragging gait. It was too awkward to take the bus... and with it being this hot, I honestly doubted anyone would actually show up.

Well, if it was just a scam app, I could just delete it. My face and social security number might have been sold off, but that had been leaked to the Chinese hackers ages ago. It was too late to worry about that now.

I let out a small sigh, soaking in the stifling August weather, until I finally arrived at the cafe.

"..."

The moment I saw what was inside through the cafe door, I froze in place.

Visible through the window was a woman sitting quietly in a chair, her legs crossed.

Her figure was terrifyingly beautiful, covered only by a sleeveless shirt and tight hot ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pants. She was all too familiar.

There was no way I could forget someone with long, flowing black hair and pink fashion contact lenses. Those kinds of lenses are hard to miss, after all.

Yes, it was Lee Haneul, the woman who lived right next door.

She was sipping an iced Americano through a straw, glancing around nervously. It looked suspicious no matter how you sliced it. It felt as if she were afraid of being caught by someone, yet at the same time, she was waiting for that very person.

I slipped through the door and stepped inside. She turned her head toward me and flashed a smile.

"Oh...? Isn't that Suhyuk? What a coincidence to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠see you in a place like this!"

Her bright smile was enough to dispel the fear I’d felt just a moment ago. Since she lived next door and I was her landlord, we were, after all, people who knew each other.

Seeing me, she seemed to let her guard down.

Gulp. I swallowed my breath and pulled out my phone.

"Suhyuk-ssi?"

She looked confused, tilting her head. I approached her, opened the app, and held it out.

"..."

Silence. Did I get it wrong? Did I pick the wrong person? Wait, isn't this a situation where I could get arrested for sexual harassment?

Damn it, what do I do... If Haneul reports me, I’m going straight to jail. I must have confused her with someone else with the same name, but how on earth was I supposed to fix this?

No, "same name" my foot. In the first place, there’s no way an app like this is real. Unless I’d lost my mind, it was definitely a scam, and I’d essentially walked right into a noose.

"U-um... Haneul-ssi? This is, well—it’s just a joke, you see? You don’t need to be so flustered—"

I was desperately trying to come up with an excuse to keep her from reporting me as a sex offender when she suddenly pulled out her phone. She opened the app and held it up to mine.

'Huh? Uh...?'

How much time passed? It hadn't even been a minute, but it felt like a lifetime had gone by as I shivered. Then, with a cheerful ding, a notification window popped up on both our screens.

"..."

We didn't say a word to each other, just hung our heads, looking completely at a loss. I had no idea how to even bring this up.

"S-so... H-Haneul-ssi? How on earth did you..."

"My husband asked me to come. Don't get the wrong idea; I'm not doing this because I want to."

Her voice, which sounded almost like a growl, now felt quite chilling. But why did it sound more like she was harboring a strange sense of anticipation rather than resentment?

"You’re not doing this because you want to, yet you downloaded the app yourself and came all the way here?"

"..."

No answer. She just looked away from me, keeping her head bowed.

Ding.

"..."

The notification window on our phones offering to book us a room was, frankly, baffling. I didn't know if the app was just oblivious or doing this on purpose.

"If... if you don't want to, you can say so. I’ll just back off—"

"What?! You’re a man, and you’re just going to surrender now? What are you doing? Am I really that bad?"

No, no, why is she like this?

I said I’d back off, and suddenly she was screeching at me in anger. From my perspective, I couldn't help but be bewildered. She said she came here because her husband asked her to, so if she didn't like me, couldn't she just find someone else?

But wait... now that I look at her, this is strange. Why is she scanning my body up and down?

She was looking me over thoroughly from head to toe, her cheeks slightly flushed. She looked so suspicious that I started to wonder if she really hated this as much as she claimed.

"I mean, it's not that you're bad... but if you say you don't want to, I have no choice but to back off. I don't want to get reported, either."

"I won't report you. I came here because my husband wanted me to, it’s just absurd that I’m being rejected by someone like you."

"Someone like me"? I’ll have you know I work out...

It’s not common to find a jobless guy who has mixed heritage, a tall frame, a decent body, and actually works out. No, really.

The only reason I’m jobless is that the monthly rent income from the inheritance my parents left me is astronomical. It’s enough to live on for the rest of my life.

I’m basically a rich bum. Isn't that a decent catch for a lover?

Well, she’s already taken, so it doesn't matter. But if I’m here because of her husband's request, that changes things quite a bit.

"Your husband... he knows, right?"

"He knows. Everything about coming here is because of his request. But he doesn't know who it is."

Handing his wife over to a stranger to make her "fap material" just so he can get off... I don't know how to explain this.

She was a woman so beautiful that anyone would look twice. He married such a woman, yet he came here and begged her to do this just to use her as material.

And the person who received that request happened to be his landlord.

It’s all so strangely erotic...

He even sent his wife to me without knowing that I was the one on the other end.

I was tilting my head, wondering if this was really happening, when Haneul, who had been keeping her head down, finally spoke.

"My husband has a request. He said... don't take pictures of your face. He thinks it'll be much hotter if he doesn't know who it is."

"Uh, well..."

To make such a request to his own wife so openly. Seeing that, I couldn't help but worry.

"Is he... is he okay?"

"He's perfectly fine! So you don't need to worry. My husband is on a different level than someone like you. He’s just... a little weird!"

That doesn't sound like "a little weird." I suppressed the urge to make a snide comment. Honestly, he deserved to be insulted, because making a request like this openly isn't something a sane person would do.

I almost blurted out that he seemed insane. I let out a small sigh, nodded, and reached out my hand to her.

"Let's get going. How about we talk more on the way? There are people watching here."

At that, Haneul nodded.

In reality, there was only one employee there. It was almost pathetic how hard she was trying to pretend everything was normal.

Come to think of it, am I not exactly sane either...?

Yeah, I don't know. I felt like maybe it was better not to know.