The Cushion and the Lingering Touch
There... there?
For a moment, it felt like I'd blacked out.
When I opened my eyes, I was lying on the floor with two women's shadows looming over me.
One of them was the Fortune Girl who'd just kicked me across the room.
Next to her sat a woman I'd never seen before.
It had to be Miss Poem, the one I'd seen in the profile earlier.
She had long black hair and wore thin-rimmed glasses.
She was petite, shoulders slightly hunched, hands neatly folded in her lap.
Her calm demeanor stood in stark contrast to the woman beside her.
My gaze drifted downward.
Right over my lower body.
A black something was bulging upward.
What the hell?
A cushion?
Someone had placed a small, cute cushion exactly over that area, as if trying to hide something indecent.
Goddamn it.
I shot up, careful not to let the cushion slip out of place.
Then I bolted behind the partition.
After a quick glance back, I hurled the cushion away.
Shit.
It bounced once, rolled across the floor, and came to a stop with the printed cat face staring straight at me.
Its tongue stuck out like it was mocking me.
God, how annoying.
The fact that something that small and cute had completely covered everything... even that hurt my pride.
Why the hell did I get hit?
Oh.
Because I was in my underwear.
Still, couldn't they have at least called first?
This was supposed to be my place now.
Then a voice I didn't recognize came from behind the partition.
"Are you all right?"
It was probably Miss Poem, the one who'd been sitting next to Fortune Girl.
Which meant I didn't look all right.
I quickly pulled on my pants and checked the mirror.
A dark bruise had formed on my left cheek and around my eye.
Damn it.
I was someone's precious son too, you know.
I couldn't just let this slide.
I stepped out from behind the partition again, now wearing pants.
I walked out with as much dignity as I could muster.
"This is assault and battery! Who did this? It was you, Fortune Girl, wasn't it?"
I pointed at the left side of my face, voice raised.
Fortune Girl waved her hand dismissively.
"Well, who told you to barge into someone else's office? And in your underwear, no less."
What?
This was ridiculous.
"This is my lodging now. Can't a man walk around his own home in his underwear?"
Fortune Girl crossed her arms and turned to Miss Poem.
"Inseo, did you really get a message?"
"Ah... yes. There's a text here. Look."
The two of them huddled over the phone, murmuring back and forth.
Suddenly Fortune Girl raised her voice again.
"Why didn't this unnie send it to me?!"
She started furiously tapping at her phone, making a call.
"Hello? Hyeryun unnie! What is this? Who's this guy? He says this is his house now. Did you hire a man as part of the lodging arrangement?"
She kept glancing at me while talking. The person on the other end was clearly Jang Hyeryun.
I was a legitimate employee.
See? I was right.
I lifted my chin and glared at Fortune Girl.
She glared right back, then stormed out the door.
From outside, I could hear her arguing loudly.
"Why do you get to decide that alone? I said I'd find someone! We have a tradition here."
Being a man was a crime now? What kind of tradition was that?
And how could a woman's voice be that loud?
Tsk.
While the shouting continued outside, Miss Poem and I sat awkwardly at the table.
Whenever our eyes met, we quickly looked away.
Ugh.
This was painfully awkward.
Especially with all the noise coming from outside.
I should at least say hello.
"Hello. I'm Kang Jiwoo. I just started as the new operator."
Miss Poem's face suddenly turned bright red.
Huh? Why?
She jumped to her feet and bowed.
"Ah, hello. Nice to meet you. I'm Kim Inseo. M-Miss Poem. Please take care of me."
"Ah, uh."
I stood up too.
It was our first meeting. I couldn't be rude.
I'd probably gotten too used to dealing with that strange woman outside.
"Yes, of course. I'm the one who should be asking you to take care of me. Really..."
"No, I'm the one who should be asking."
"Ah. Yes... yes."
"......"
Dead silence.
We both slowly sat back down.
God, this was awkward.
The arguing outside was still going strong.
Miss Poem, who had been staring at the table, slowly lifted her head.
"Um... your face is really swollen. Are you sure you're okay? I could do some first aid..."
She stood up again.
I quickly waved my hands.
"No, no. I'm fine. It's nothing."
To prove it, I slapped my own cheek.
Smack.
"Ow!"
That hurt like hell.
Tears welled up in my eyes.
Miss Poem hesitated, then disappeared behind the partition.
Thud. Rattle. Clack.
She came back carrying what looked like a first-aid kit.
"Could you turn your face this way?"
She sat across from me and gently touched my chin with her fingertips, turning my face toward her.
A jolt ran through me.
I felt every nerve in my body stand on end.
Calm down, body.
It was just a fingertip. Why was I reacting like this?
Haha.
"Ah. Yes, then... I won't refuse."
She dropped disinfectant onto a piece of gauze, picked it up with tweezers, and began dabbing at my swollen cheek.
"Ow ow ow..."
Her hand paused.
"It's fine. I can handle it."
"Okay. I'll be careful."
Her hand moved again.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Then she started applying ointment with a cotton swab.
Her eyes were focused entirely on my cheek.
Which meant I could look at her as much as I wanted.
Stare openly, even.
At her.
First came the scent of her, stronger than the disinfectant.
Sniff sniff.
Soap? Fabric softener?
Opportunities to examine a woman this closely from this distance didn't come often.
At least not for me.
My luck had been pretty good these past two days.
Heh.
Let's continue.
The thin but large metal-framed glasses caught my eye first.
Behind them was her face, now clearly visible up close.
Her skin was fairer than I'd expected.
Beneath the light makeup, her eyes, nose, and mouth were delicately balanced.
She didn't have a flashy, striking appearance.
Instead, the more you looked, the more details emerged.
Rather than a classic beauty, she was the type men tended to like.
Including me, of course.
Time to check again.
Her gaze.
Her eyes behind the glasses were focused on the injury.
Her eyelashes occasionally fluttered down and up.
Good.
Continue.
Her black hair gleamed even under the office's dim lighting.
A few strands had fallen against her cheek and swayed slightly whenever she moved her hand.
Her pink lips were slightly pursed in concentration, then relaxed again.
Watching her lips move, I found my own lips unconsciously mimicking the motion.
What am I doing?
Still...
What a reward this was.
Maybe getting hit somewhere else would've been better.
Just then—
Thud. The sound of the door closing shattered my pink daydream.
In its place appeared the dark silhouette of Fortune Girl in my peripheral vision.
"What are you doing, Inseo? Why are you putting that on him?"
Hah.
I hadn't even gotten to enjoy the moment.
At least don't interrupt.
At the same time, the pain I'd forgotten came rushing back.
"Ow ow ow..."
Miss Poem's hand stopped again.
Fortune Girl's sharp voice rang out at the same time.
"What's a guy doing whining about something like this? Tsk tsk."
God, that woman.
Of course, there was nothing I could do.
I was the weaker one here.
Still, it pissed me off.
Without realizing it, I was glaring at her with narrowed eyes.
She reacted immediately.
"What? What are you looking at? Unnie told me to wait, so just wait."
Wait for what?
Just as I was about to say something—
Miss Poem's voice cut in.
"Huh? Didn't Hyeryun unnie already leave work? You asked her to come back? Why would you..."
Exactly. Why would she?
I agreed one hundred percent.
She was just making trouble for no reason.
Beep beep beep beep.
The sound of someone entering the door code.
Was it Hyeryun noona already?
We all turned toward the door.
"Oh? Everyone's here?"
A blonde girl?
Who was that?
Hmm.
Ah!
If I pictured the butterfly eye patch back on that somewhat empty-looking face and changed the color of her jumper to purple—
Yeah.
Popup Girl.
The one I'd seen on the screen earlier.
I'd heard she was barely twenty.
Seeing her in person felt a hundred times more real than watching her on a small screen.
In a good way, of course.
"Oh, Hoeun. I heard you did great on your mission today."
"Yes, unnie. I had so much fun. Hehe."
Hoeun approached the central table while speaking.
She lightly touched the empty chair next to Miss Poem.
After a brief hesitation, she looked straight at me.
The corner of her mouth lifted.
Then she spun around, pulled out the chair next to me, and sat down.
It looked like a drift.
A pretty drift.
"Are you the operator oppa I only heard through the voice earlier?"
"Ah, yes. Nice to meet you. I'm Kang Jiwoo."
She immediately extended her hand for a handshake.
But before it could reach mine, her hand went straight to my face.
Pat.
Her slender hand cupped my cheek.
"Ah, ow..."
"Eh? What's wrong? Your face? Did you get hit somewhere? Should I go scold them for you, oppa?"
As expected.
Everyone in this office was an angel except for that one woman.
My eyes drifted toward the non-angel.
Look at her.
Still standing there with her arms crossed, leaning against the wall and pretending not to care.
As if she wasn't the one who caused this.
Instead, Miss Poem answered Hoeun's question.
"There was... an accident. And since I already applied ointment, don't touch it with your bare hands. Are you hurt anywhere?"
Hoeun squinted one eye, then removed her hand from my cheek.
She rubbed the white ointment that had gotten on her fingers and brought it to her nose.
Sniff sniff.
Then she applied it to her own neck and grinned at me.
Hup.
What was that?
Flirting?
Ointment flirting?
"I'm fine. I'm tough as nails. And thanks to our operator here, I made it back safely."
She rubbed her neck and winked at me.
My own neck felt a little warm for no reason.
Hah.
Just then, Fortune Girl pushed off the wall and raised her voice.
"What do you mean 'operator oppa'? I was the one who hit him. When I came in, there was some random guy standing around in his underwear!"
There she went again.
"Ah~ So that's what happened. Why was Jiwoo oppa like that? Unnie does tend to kick first, doesn't she? Hehe."
Argh. I can't even wear underwear in my own lodging now?
If even Hoeun was saying that, I felt wronged.
I had to explain my innocence again.
"That's not it—"
Beep beep beep beep.
Clunk.
Just as I was about to speak, someone else arrived.
"Huff huff. Seriously, Juyeong! You're driving me crazy!"
This time it was Hyeryun noona, who'd rushed over after getting the call on her way home from work.
She scolded Popup Girl as she entered, then looked at my face.
Our eyes met.
I pointed at my swollen cheek with my hand.
As much as possible.
As much as possible.
I made the most pitiful, miserable expression I could.
Whine.
Noona.
Hyeryun noona immediately threw her bag onto the table and marched straight toward Fortune Girl, who was still standing alone by the wall.
"Juyeong! Are you a gangster? Why did you hit him?!"
"Oh my, unnie! I just reacted instinctively because I felt threatened!"
"What kind of bullshit reaction is that? Did Jiwoo even try to punch you?"
"No, that's not it. I didn't know, so I reacted. When I came in and saw a strange man in the office, of course I— Wait, why didn't you tell me about this?"
"I already told you earlier. I said I posted it in the group chat."
"You should've sent a personal message too! I left the group chat because I was annoyed at the time... ahem."
"That's your fault, not mine. If something doesn't go your way, you just leave? Are you a child? Hoeun doesn't do that!"
Everyone's gaze turned to Hoeun.
She slowly grinned and made a V-sign above her eye with her hand.
Hee.
I witnessed that V-sign up close.
Cute.
Our attention returned to the two arguing women.
They bickered a bit more.
Fortune Girl's conclusion was this:
"I absolutely cannot accept this. Of course, I was wrong to hit him first. But work is different. We have a tradition here. Fire that person right now."
She emphasized every syllable of "fire."
Hyeryun noona strode over, grabbed a piece of paper, and shoved it in Fortune Girl's face.
"Do you think the employment contract is made of water? Look. He already signed it! It's done!"
"I don't care, I don't care! Do you know how shocked I was earlier? I didn't want to say this, but—"
What now?
Everyone's attention focused on Fortune Girl.
Slowly, her mouth opened.
"During the last Euljiro dispatch, I accidentally... touched his... down there. I made a mistake back then, you know?"
When she said "touch," Fortune Girl raised her hand and made a squeezing motion.
Her mouth was turned down.
Like it had been absolutely disgusting.
She made a squishing gesture with her hand.
Slowly, everyone's gaze turned again.
This time toward my face.
Then downward.
Fortunately, the table blocked their view.
"So when he showed up again, I thought he'd come looking for me. I thought he had other intentions... Especially since I'm a hero and a public figure."
Fortune Girl's testimony continued.
Her voice trembled slightly, like a victim's interview.
What?
Damn it.
She thought I was a pervert?
Strictly speaking, I was the one who got touched back then!
"And there were weird video sounds coming from the office too, so..."
Goddamn it.
How did it get twisted like this?
The atmosphere in the office turned icy.
What could I even say?
How was I supposed to prove my innocence?
Should I delete my phone's playback history?
Before I could even organize my thoughts—
Like a bomb had gone off, everyone threw a question at me at once.
Hoeun's eyes sparkled as she looked at me.
"Eeh? Oppa, what? You two already met? And you even did an experienced touch?"
Hyeryun noona's eyes and mouth widened as she looked back and forth between me and Fortune Girl.
"What? You two have something going on? Did you already know each other?"
Miss Poem lowered her head and muttered.
"I'm sorry. I'm not very good at understanding these kinds of things all at once..."
What?
"So... down there... is that the 'there' you meant...?"
Shit.
Goddamn it.