The Elevator Ride That Changed Everything
The wait for the elevator felt longer than expected.
Ding—
“Oh my…”
Maybe that was why. The auntie who opened the shared entrance door and stepped inside widened her eyes at the sight of us pressed close together, then broke into a warm, pleased smile.
“…Girlfriend?”
“Ah, yes, yes.”
I smiled back and gave a small bow.
“You two look wonderful together. Such a handsome couple~.”
The auntie praised us like that before stepping into the elevator first. She even held the door-open button with her finger.
“Looks like someone’s hurt. Take your time getting on.”
“Thank you.”
“What floor?”
“Ah, I’m on the ninth floor.”
“Oh my, same as me.”
“Ah… haha.”
A-yeong seemed uncomfortable with the friendly auntie. She forced an awkward laugh and didn’t say another word. A brief silence followed.
With a low mechanical hum, the elevator climbed upward, its display flickering between floors one through nine until it reached its destination.
[Ninth floor.]
Just like when we boarded, the auntie stepped out first and held the door-open button for us. We bowed politely in thanks. She waved with a smile and headed toward the entrance on the opposite side of the hallway.
Beep beep beep beep—
The sound of the door lock password being entered.
Click—!
The sound of the lock disengaging.
Clunk—
The sound of the door opening and her stepping inside.
Soon, the only ones left in the corridor were the two of us.
“……”
“……”
According to the original plan, we should have said our goodbyes and gone our separate ways. Instead, we stood there in the hallway, staring blankly at the door lock.
“…A-yeong.”
In the end, I was the one who spoke first.
“Well, I should get going now…”
It was a farewell, but I had no intention of actually leaving like this. After all, A-yeong had been reluctant to part at the building entrance and had invited her boyfriend all the way to her door. I didn’t think she’d let me go so easily.
“H-Hajun.”
Just as I expected, she didn’t press in the passcode. After a moment of hesitation, she called my name.
I swallowed hard at the tremble in her voice and answered.
“…Yeah?”
In truth, there was no need to ask. When a girlfriend brings her boyfriend all the way to her front door and then hesitates to enter the passcode, what else could it mean?
Well, if I wanted to joke about it, maybe she just didn’t want me to see her password. But that wasn’t it.
“Thanks for walking me all the way here…”
What A-yeong said next was far from any joke.
“…Would you like to come in for a cool drink?”
Did she even realize what that implied?
Inviting her boyfriend inside and offering him a drink. It was an old-fashioned line, but the meaning was crystal clear.
“……”
I didn’t answer right away. I paused to think.
If I accepted her offer now, entered the passcode, and stepped inside, what would happen next was something anyone who’d ever dated would understand. The exact situation everyone imagines.
That was why I couldn’t decide so quickly.
The devil that had appeared before was spinning wildly in my head again, screaming at me to tear down those high walls, rush inside, and claim her completely. But my reason was far more calculated.
“…A-yeong.”
I slowly wrapped my arms around her waist from behind as she stood with her back to me.
I’d thought about this before…
I realized I enjoyed progressing step by step with A-yeong more than jumping straight into something wild and explicit. If I’d held her hand last time, this time I’d embrace her. If I’d embraced her before, this time I’d touch bare skin. If I’d touched bare skin already, this time I’d pull her close while holding her.
Rather than facing each other while hugging, it felt better to wrap my arms around her from behind, trapping her so she couldn’t escape, then bury my face in the nape of her neck where the scent of shampoo mixed with a faintly erotic trace of sweat.
“H-Hajun?”
A-yeong flinched in surprise, but I had no intention of letting her go this time.
She’d invited her boyfriend all the way inside her home, yet here she was getting embarrassed and trying to run away over something this small… It was time to properly educate her about that overly strict sense of chastity.
“A-yeong…”
I called her name again.
Perhaps because I was holding her so firmly, she answered in a strained voice.
“…W-what?”
I began the lesson slowly, one step at a time.
“Who told you to say such naughty things like that?”
A-yeong was visibly flustered by the blunt accusation.
“N-no, that’s not what I—”
“…Not what?”
“I just thought… maybe you were tired after everything today, so I wanted you to come in and have a cool drink before you left…”
I let out a small chuckle.
“A-yeong. Be honest.”
“……”
“Did you really plan to just give me a drink and send me on my way?”
She flinched, then slowly lowered her head.
“…I’m sorry.”
Just like when we first met, her speech had slipped back into polite form. I felt a strange sense of superiority at the change in her tone and pressed her further.
“…From the first time we met, you held my hand first.”
“…No.”
“…Then you hugged me.”
“……”
“…And now you’ve brought me all the way to your door and invited me inside?”
No matter how innocent a girl she was, she couldn’t possibly misunderstand what that meant.
“A-yeong, you really are such a pervert…”
At that, she panicked and shook her head violently.
“N-no, I’m not…”
I’d pushed her far enough. It was time to give her an escape route. To make her realize those words weren’t meant for just anyone, but only for her boyfriend.
“It’s okay, A-yeong.”
I gently loosened the strength in my arms and began soothing her softly.
“…You’re not like that with every guy. You’re only like this with me, right?”
“Hic… yeah.”
She’d been sniffling, thinking I was disappointed in her. Now she listened quietly.
“You won’t do it with other guys, will you?”
“…Of course not.”
“Not even holding hands?”
“…Only with you, Hajun.”
“Not even hugging?”
“…Yeah.”
“Then…”
I had meant to stop there. I’d only planned to teach her a gentle lesson and plant a healthy wariness toward other men.
But seeing A-yeong cry like that made the desire surging inside me impossible to suppress.
So I reached out. Still holding her from behind, I gently turned her body until our faces met, then pressed my lips to hers.
Chu—
The soft texture of her lips touched mine.
But I didn’t stop there.
A-yeong seemed startled by the sudden kiss, yet she showed no sign of resistance. She simply accepted my body with gentle warmth.
Chuu—
Maybe because it was her first time, she struggled to breathe through her nose.
“Haa…”
The brief kiss ended, leaving only a powerful impression behind.
“……”
“……”
A moment of silence.
Her face and neck were flushed bright red. With slightly bloodshot eyes, A-yeong looked up at me.
I stared blankly at the sight I had created, then continued.
“…From now on, you’ll only do things like this with me, right?”
“……”
Too embarrassed to answer right away, A-yeong covered her face with one hand for a moment. Then she let out a tiny sound.
“…Yeah.”
I really had done well by seducing her first.
The thought of someone else stealing such a kind, obedient A-yeong away from me…
“…Hajuuun.”
As if the thought had made her feel pitiful, A-yeong sniffled softly and hugged me again. I accepted her childish clinginess and comforted her gently.
“Sorry. I got too worked up.”
She shook her head, face still buried in my chest.
“…No. It was my fault too.”
In truth, A-yeong hadn’t really done anything wrong. Maybe she had been too quick to allow her boyfriend so many things? But since that boyfriend was me, it was fine.
“From now on, I’ll work hard to be a proper boyfriend, just like I promised…”
“…Yeah.”
“And A-yeong, just like you promised…”
“…Yeah. I won’t ever do that with any other guy.”
With that, the exclusive right to do naughty things with A-yeong now belonged only to me.
“Then… um…”
Now that we had made up, A-yeong seemed to want to go further.
Chu—
I firmly drew the line and gave her a light kiss on the forehead.
“Not today. What if you push yourself now and end up in a lot of pain later?”
“B-but…”
“I’ll come back once you’re fully healed.”
With those words, I gently pushed a hesitant A-yeong back inside her apartment.
…This should be enough for now.
There was no need to devour the delicious fruit all at once.
Promising myself the next time, I slowly began descending from A-yeong’s home.