I'm Going to Check Your Pussy
My phone remained silent well into Monday afternoon.
I came up with several theories. Maybe she had truly been crushed by the exam and fallen asleep, maybe she was still with her boyfriend, or maybe she had grown frightened of the destructive stimulus our relationship carried with it and was trying to run.
I wondered which it was, but either way, anything that slipped beyond my control irritated me. It wasn’t exactly obsession; I was curious, yes, and a little worried, but more than anything I was frustrated by the absence of information. Still, like an angler who casts out bait and waits for the surface to ripple, I stayed perfectly still and watched my phone in silence.
In the end, not until evening was almost over did a short message arrive.
"Sir, I did well on the exam. But I’m really tired, so I’m just going to rest today... Sorry. I’ll contact you tomorrow."
It was terse, and distant. I called her, but after a few dull rings, the line went dead. Did she mean she was resting, or was she telling me she was drawing a line here? Was she really tired, or was she still with that bastard? My suspicion swelled quietly, like poisonous mushrooms blooming in a damp corner.
Hiding a cold possessiveness behind the pleasantly acceptable excuse of concern, I picked up my car keys. I decided to head near her place first, try contacting her again, and if I got lucky and reached her, I’d ask her to come out for a minute so I could at least see her face. If not, then so be it. I set off for Nayeon’s apartment with a lightness I was pretending was casual.
I parked in the alley by the building entrance where I had dropped her off before, then went into a nearby convenience store because my throat was dry. I was choosing a drink from the refrigerator when an all too familiar voice came from behind me.
It was Nayeon. Beside her stood a girl I had never seen before, holding a shopping basket. The moment Nayeon spotted me, she dropped the bag of snacks she was holding. It hit the floor with a soft thud that shattered the silence. Her pupils trembled violently, as if an earthquake had just struck. I approached with an easy smile, acting pleased to see her.
"Well, look at that, Nayeon. Running into you here."
"Ah... sir..."
Nayeon’s voice was trembling badly. The liveliness she had been showing just moments ago while laughing with her friend evaporated in an instant, replaced by naked alarm and fear. When the friend beside her looked at me with curious eyes, I nodded politely and greeted her as if nothing were unusual.
"Hello. I’m an uncle Nayeon knows. I knew she lived around here, but I didn’t expect to bump into her at a convenience store on my way home from work like this."
Nayeon instinctively backed away from my calm performance.
"Ah... sir. This is my roommate, Jieun."
"Nice to meet you. Have you had dinner yet?"
"We just finished our exams a little while ago, so we were about to grab something simple."
Jieun lifted the basket in her hands as she spoke.
"Then should I buy you something delicious? I need to eat dinner anyway, and I was planning to buy Nayeon a meal sometime, so this works out perfectly."
Nayeon frantically waved her hands in refusal, flustered beyond reason.
"No, sir! We already bought a lot of food. Really, it’s fine."
"You worked hard taking your exams, and now that break’s started, you should eat something good. Convenience store food? No way."
Whether she was worried I’d be exposed as more than just some older man she knew, or simply uncomfortable sitting down across from me after dodging my calls, she kept trying to refuse. But Jieun, unaware of Nayeon’s inner panic, looked delighted and asked brightly,
"Wow, really? Then you’ll buy whatever we want?"
"Of course. I’ll even do some face-saving in front of Nayeon’s father. What do you want to eat? Should we go get meat?"
"Meat? Wow, seriously?"
Jieun’s eyes lit up. Nayeon shot her a resentful look and poked at her repeatedly with her eyes, but under the pressure of both Jieun and me, she had no choice but to lower her head.
The restaurant was pure chaos. Freed by the end of final exams, the barbecue place near the university was packed with noise and the thick smoke of grilling meat.
Because of the ban on gatherings of five or more, the large group tables had been split up and filled with small parties of three or four, leaving no empty seats to be seen. Transparent acrylic partitions stood between the tables, lending the whole place the absurd air of the COVID era.
Amid all that racket, Nayeon alone felt isolated, like an island. She poked at raw onion with the tip of her chopsticks and stared down at her lap. Jieun, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying herself immensely as she studied the menu and asked me,
"Sir, the fresh pork here is seriously good, you know? We can start with three servings, right?"
"Of course. Order as much as you want, Jieun. Should I get some alcohol too? Soju and beer is the classic, right?"
"Wow, so thoughtful! You really are different from students. Nayeon, soju and beer is okay, right?"
At Jieun’s question, Nayeon gave the slightest reluctant nod. I pressed the call button with practiced ease and ordered soju and beer.
"You can talk casually. But sir, what do you do? I don’t think there are many companies around here."
"If I say I’m a PM in the IT department of a foreign company, would that make sense? I’m out here on assignment because we’re setting up something at the data center in this area."
That should be enough to keep suspicion at bay. At my answer, Jieun’s eyes widened.
"Oh, that huge data center they’re building? I’ve only heard rumors, but wow, that’s so cool. I’m a computer science major."
"How is it? What year are you?"
"I’m still a freshman, so I have a lot of general education classes, but I think I’ll get A’s in all my courses this semester. Coding seems like it suits me pretty well too. I’m the diligent type, you know."
"Good girl. I like pretty girls who are smart and diligent. Just like Nayeon."
My gaze lingered on the red at Nayeon’s ears. She kept her eyes fixed on the grill as if she hadn’t heard me. But Jieun had barely let my answer land before she started firing off questions again.
"By any chance... are you hiring summer interns this year? I’m really interested."
"Summer internships are probably already filled by now. And anyway, our company doesn’t take freshmen."
At my firm answer, Jieun pouted and nudged my arm as if protesting.
"Aw, come on, sir. Couldn’t you at least let me clean or something? I’m seriously good at menial work. Please, because otherwise I have to go back to my parents’ house this summer. My goal was to find part-time work and stay here, so can’t you do anything? I really do listen well!"
"Well, that’s not something I can decide. That’s up to HR."
I smiled lazily and topped off our soju-and-beer glasses. Jieun stuck out her lips in disappointment, but soon recovered and clinked her glass against mine. "Then if a spot opens up later, you have to tell me!"
Unlike Nayeon, Jieun was bright and energetic, the sort of girl who threw herself into things without hesitation. As her energy and my practiced responses kept feeding one another, the mood at the table warmed steadily, but Nayeon’s complexion only grew more and more sallow.
The noisy restaurant felt like a wall, shielding our conversation from everyone else. I slipped my foot out under the table and lightly tapped the tip of Nayeon’s shoe. She jerked in shock and looked up, but when her eyes met Jieun’s, she hurriedly took a drink.
"Nayeon, why are you so quiet today? You said you did well on the exam. Come on, lighten up."
"Ah... yeah. I’m just tired, that’s all."
"Hey, it’s rude when the sir came all the way out here! Sir, when you go somewhere like this, you’re supposed to play at least one drinking game. You know the apartment game, right? You know that one."
Jieun’s voice had already risen by an octave. Through the narrow gap between tables, the heat of her alcohol-soaked breath seemed to wash over us.
"Apartment? Of course I know it. But do kids still play that these days?"
"Of course! It’s the simplest and fastest way to get drunk. Okay, everyone put your hands in!"
Jieun took the lead. "A-pa-teu, a-pa-teu, a-pa-teu, a-pa-teu!"
We stacked our hands in the middle of the table. I deliberately placed my hand directly on top of Nayeon’s small one. The tiny tremor running through the back of her cold hand passed straight into my hot palm. Nayeon flinched and tried to pull away, but by then she was already caught in the rhythm of the game.
"Okay, I’ll call the number. Fifteenth floor!"
At Jieun’s cry, the hands from the bottom began to peel away one by one and rise upward. Eight, nine, ten... the higher the count climbed, the more Nayeon’s eyes lost their focus and drifted. The fourteenth hand came away, and just as Nayeon’s hand, trapped beneath mine, reached the fifteenth floor—
"Oh! Nayeon wins! Drink, drink, the liquor goes down!"
With Jieun’s raucous cheer, Nayeon stared at the glass with a miserable expression. She had already been caught in the game several times and forced to empty drinks while getting scolded by Jieun for "killing the mood." Her eyes, weak to alcohol, were already rimmed red. I naturally took the glass from her.
"Nayeon looks really tired today. I’ll drink for her."
"Wow, sir, that’s so cool! Then should Nayeon grant your black knight wish later?"
Jieun laughed and clapped. Her face, flushed from the alcohol, was full of mischief. Nayeon lowered her head, visibly flustered, and twisted her fingers together. Jieun found her reaction amusing and pressed on mercilessly.
"Hey, Nayeon! If someone uses a black knight, the rule is they get one wish. Sir, hurry up and say your wish! Even if it’s unreasonable, we have to let it slide tonight. Right, sir?"
Nayeon’s face turned crimson in an instant. She looked at me for cues, helpless and unsure what to do. I stared at her for a moment, then gave Jieun an easy smile.
"Well, it’s a little embarrassing to say it in front of everyone. Can I whisper it only to Nayeon?"
"Oh my God, what is it? I’m dying of curiosity! Nayeon, lean in here!"
Under Jieun’s prodding, Nayeon slowly leaned toward me with frightened eyes. She was so close that I could smell the sweet, mingled breath of alcohol, fear, and the strange heat rising from somewhere deep below. I brought my lips right up to her ear and whispered in a low, cold voice no one but Jieun would hear.
"...I’m going to check your pussy."
At that instant, Nayeon’s body stiffened visibly. From her white neck all the way up to her face, every inch of her flushed red as if it might burst. The shameful surrender she had learned all weekend in the hotel room came flooding back at Jieun’s feet, and it looked as though the heat between her legs ignited again all on its own. She stared at me in disbelief, but I acted as though nothing had happened, refilling my glass and answering Jieun.
"It’s a secret. Just something Nayeon and I know."
"Ugh, sir, that’s so unfair! Nayeon, what did you wish for? Why are you so red? Was it something really dirty?"
Jieun laughed teasingly and smacked Nayeon on the shoulder, but Nayeon could not even answer. She only bit her lip, and the more Jieun kept questioning her, the more wildly her eyes lost their place and shook.
It was already 9:50 p.m. Because COVID regulations required the restaurant to close at 10 sharp, the staff were moving busily around the place, clearing tables. Jieun was so drunk by then that her voice had grown loud enough to carry across the room. She grabbed my arm and made a dramatic announcement.
"Sir, this is too disappointing to end like this! These days even the outdoor street-drinking spots and parasol setups are being strictly cracked down on, so we can’t drink outside. Let’s go to our apartment and have just one more drink! We’ll raid the convenience store!"
Nayeon’s eyes shook violently. Swept along by the mood Jieun had set, she was already completely captured psychologically, and she no longer had the strength left to refuse. We got to our feet, swaying under the alcohol, and left the restaurant together.
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