Leaning Into Sleep
“Hoo, I barely made it here on time.”
I’d been planning to take my time getting ready with some slack to spare, but the hours had slipped away faster than I expected, and I’d only just managed to make it by the appointed time.
“Then how about we go watch it at a DVD Room?”
Maybe she thought home wasn’t quite right after all, because Ha-young came up with a new suggestion, and the two of us made plans to meet in front of the DVD Room near the school.
“A DVD Room… yeah, I guess so. Back then, they were all the rage.”
DVD Rooms were harder to find these days, but when I’d been in college, you could spot them all over the place without much trouble.
I recalled the things that had happened in DVD Rooms from time to time, and imagined what it might be like with Ha-young.
I did approach her with this in mind from the start, but…
When I pictured Ha-young’s innocent face, I felt a little sick, as if I’d turned into a real bastard. But then I saw her waving from far away, and it felt like she was telling me there was no point in turning back now.
“You got here fast.”
Ha-young, dressed just as she always was, greeted me while absently touching her hair, which had been rolled up in thick coils.
We’d exchanged plenty of messages in the meantime, but after only a few days of seeing each other face to face, there was still a faint awkwardness hanging between us.
“S-so… should we go in?”
“Ah, right. Let’s go in. So… it’s on the third floor.”
We started up the narrow stairs side by side, one above the other, ascending together.
Following behind Ha-young, I glanced upward on impulse, but her thick, long track pants left no room for peeking.
“Damn…”
“Hm? What is it? Something wrong?”
I nearly buried my face in Ha-young’s ass when she suddenly stopped walking.
“N-no. Nothing.”
It wasn’t exactly something I could say out loud: I’m disappointed because I can’t see your underwear.
When we opened the door and stepped inside, the desk area greeted us with a darkness so deep it was hard to tell what time of day it was.
“Welcome.”
A middle-aged man with a belly, who’d been reclining in his chair and watching a monitor, straightened up to receive us.
I almost laughed when he heard the title of the theatrical anime film and flusteredly reacted.
After rummaging through the stacked DVDs, the man dusted off the pile and led us to a room.
He finished the quick explanation, then even as he headed back out, he kept tilting his head in confusion.
There probably aren’t many people who come all the way here just to watch this.
Ha-young, completely unaware of the situation, simply chirped beside me with a bright expression.
“Hehe, this is my first time watching something with someone else, so I’m a little nervous. All right, should we start?”
A short while later, the intro passed, a familiar character appeared, and the story began.
When I looked over at Ha-young, she was already so focused that she looked ready to be sucked right into the screen, as if she’d forgotten I was sitting beside her.
By the time the not-so-long screening ended, Ha-young was looking at me with eyes full of anticipation.
I’d genuinely enjoyed it, so I told her exactly what I thought.
“Right? Right? Exactly, that part was the best climax.”
Watching her go on excitedly made me feel even more guilty about approaching her with an ulterior motive in the first place.
Yeah… it’s not like I’m short on partners right now either… Maybe it’d be fine to just stay close to Ha-young as a good friend like this…
After talking my ear off for quite a while, Ha-young asked, “But I kind of only did things I like, huh? What kind of stuff do you like, Shin-woo?”
“Me? Hmm… let’s see….”
I told her a few things.
“Lately, I’ve been pretty into more artistic films….”
Without meaning to, I’d let slip the taste of Shin-woo in his thirties, not the twenty-year-old Shin-woo.
“Heeey… Shin-woo, you’ve got a pretty mature side to you. I don’t really know much about that kind of thing….”
I felt bad, as if I’d unintentionally knocked her confidence down a notch.
“No, no, don’t think of it as something so difficult. For example… well, why don’t you watch one of the movies I recommend?”
When I went up to the desk and gave the man the title, he flashed a knowing grin.
“What’s that supposed to mean…?”
Then the movie started, and around the middle, I finally figured out what that smile had meant.
Right… I’d forgotten because it’s been so long. This movie was famous for having a steamy scene in the middle…
I squeezed my eyes shut, but there was nothing I could do. I could only hope the scene would end quickly.
I glanced at Ha-young.
And there she was, asleep.
“Huh…?”
I didn’t know when it had happened, but she’d leaned her head over and fallen asleep.
Come to think of it…
I suddenly remembered her mentioning that she’d watched anime late into the night yesterday.
“Phew… I guess that’s a relief… or maybe not?”
The time I’d spent suffering alone, not knowing what was going on, suddenly felt ridiculous.
As I slowly looked over Ha-young’s face, nodding in her sleep, I noticed things I hadn’t realized before.
Her eyelashes are that long…
Then her head slipped gently to the side, coming to rest against my shoulder.
My heart suddenly began pounding like a mad thing.
I took a quiet breath, trying not to wake her with the sound of it, but it was useless.
This excitement was different from when I’d been with Yu-mi and Se-ran.
And then, just as I lowered my gaze, my eyes flew wide open.
Through the slightly parted front of her shirt, Ha-young’s chest came into view.
Swallowing hard, I started moving carefully.
The vow I’d made to protect Ha-young had long since vanished from memory.
I kept shifting my angle little by little, searching for the best view, trying to see as much of her chest as possible, until I finally found the optimal position.
Even with my neck starting to cramp painfully, I held myself perfectly still and stared at that one spot with all my concentration.
“Mmm…”
Ha-young stirred, and I jolted, snapping my face forward again.
A few seconds later, I looked back at her, only to find that she was still asleep, her posture even sloppier than before.
And through the shirt, now parted even more than before, I could see the bra covering her chest.
I ignored my cock’s reaction and subtly shifted again, trying to catch even more.
“Hk.”
I barely managed to swallow back the exclamation that nearly burst out of me.
T-that… that’s… right, isn’t it?
Between her snow-white skin and the dark tan of her underwear, a patch of red blossomed into view.
I didn’t miss the glimpse of Ha-young’s nipple peeking through the tiny gap.
But then, at last, I shook her awake.
“Ha-young, wake up. The movie’s over.”
Ha-young blinked blearily at me, still half-asleep, then realized what had happened and turned bright red with embarrassment.
“Eh…? I fell asleep…? Sorry.”
“It happens. Let’s go get something to eat.”
Even as we headed out for a meal, she kept apologizing, and I tried to soothe her while thinking to myself, For some reason, it felt like I shouldn’t keep going any further.
“I’m really sorry about today. I’ll treat you to something delicious next time, okay?”
Even as she kept apologizing while we went inside, I smiled brightly and waved her off.
Back home, my mind in knots, I took a quick shower, lay down on the bed, and checked my smartphone.
“Hm? Senior Su-ji?”
Only then did I notice a message from Su-ji that had come in earlier that evening.
“Tomorrow… ah, right. That was tomorrow, wasn’t it? I’d completely forgotten.”
I’d been exercising with Su-ji whenever our schedules lined up, but she must’ve thought that wasn’t enough, because she’d planned an early-morning workout with me.
Knowing how much pain Su-ji had gone through, it was hard for me to refuse her plan.
“Hoo… I’d better go to bed early tonight.”
Then, when morning came, I dragged myself to the club room like a zombie.
“Just getting up at this hour already feels like a workout….”
Smack.
At the sharp sting of a hand striking my back, my body snapped upright.
“Ow.”
“Why are you hunching over like that? Come on, let’s get fired up.”
Su-ji, who had somehow appeared behind me, seemed to have energy to spare.
Is that what happens when you keep exercising regularly? Fine, then. I’ll give it my all too, just for today!
After stretching once long and hard, I steeled myself as well.
“All right, then. Just like always, we’ll start with stretching.”
Su-ji always emphasized the basics. That was probably one of the things the other members found irritating about her.
“Maybe it’s because it’s so early, but my body’s not loosening up like usual….”
When I grumbled, Su-ji walked over to me.
“Then why don’t you lie down here for a bit? I’ll give you a massage.”
“Huh? A m-massage?”
“Yep. I actually have a massage certification, believe it or not. It’ll be better than trying to work it out on your own. Come on, we don’t have time. Lie down over here.”
Su-ji spread out a wide mat and had me lie down on it.
After shuffling over and inspecting the space, I flopped down, and Su-ji began feeling around my body here and there.
“I noticed this last time too… should I call this natural talent?”
“S-senior? Is this what massage is?”
“Ah! I was just checking your condition for a second!”
Watching Su-ji get flustered was actually kind of fun.
“What hurts the most?”
“Hmm….”
I closed my eyes and let my awareness spread through every corner of my body.
“Probably my legs….”
“Good. Then lie on your back first, okay?”
I obediently followed her instructions, and when I turned over, I could feel Su-ji’s hands touching my calves.
“You really are tense down here… stuff like this has to be worked out right away.”
“Oh… so the thing about having a certification wasn’t a lie after all….”
The hands moving over me with my eyes closed were surprisingly skillful.
“Agh, ahh.”
“Bear with it. It has to hurt a little.”
I could feel the blood rushing back into the sore places she’d worked over.
“Wow, oh… this really feels good….”
But as they say, with good fortune comes misfortune.
I ran into an unexpected crisis.
The hand kneading my calves slowly moved upward and began massaging my thighs and butt.
“S-senior…?”
“Just stay still. This is the most important area. If I don’t loosen this properly, lower-body exercise gets a lot harder.”
Su-ji carried on with the massage, completely unfazed.
This is bad….
Every time Su-ji’s hands touched me, my dick started twitching.