I'm Going to Inspect Your Pussy
The phone stayed silent all through Monday afternoon.
I ran through a few possibilities. Maybe the exams had really worn her out and she had collapsed into sleep. Maybe she was still with her boyfriend. Or maybe the destructive intensity of what we had been doing had finally frightened her into trying to run.
Whatever the truth was, I found myself curious—and at the same time irritated that any of those scenarios would put her outside my control. It wasn’t pure obsession. There was genuine curiosity mixed in, a thread of worry, and above all a stifling frustration at the lack of information. Still, like a fisherman who has cast his line and waits for the surface to ripple, I stayed quiet and simply watched the phone.
Only when evening had nearly settled did a short message finally arrive.
The wording was brief and carried a clear distance. I called her, but the line rang a few flat, empty times before cutting off. Was she truly planning to rest, or was this her way of drawing a line? Was she actually exhausted, or was she still with that guy? Suspicion bloomed silently, like poisonous mushrooms in damp shade.
Hiding a cold streak of possessiveness behind the respectable excuse of worry, I picked up my car keys. I would drive near her place, try contacting her again, and if I got lucky and she answered, ask her to step outside for just a moment so I could see her face. If not, so be it—or so I told myself, keeping the thought deliberately light as I headed toward the area around Na-yeon’s studio apartment.
I parked in the alley by the entrance of the building I had dropped her off at before and, throat dry, stepped into the nearby convenience store. I was standing in front of the refrigerator choosing a drink when a familiar voice rose behind me.
It was Na-yeon. Beside her stood a girl I had never seen before, holding a shopping basket. The instant Na-yeon spotted me, the bag of snacks in her hand slipped and hit the floor with a soft thud that cracked the quiet. Her eyes shook as if an earthquake had struck. I walked over with unhurried ease, wearing a warm, welcoming smile.
“Oh? Na-yeon. Running into you here of all places?”
“Ah… Ahjussi…”
Her voice trembled. Whatever lively conversation she had been sharing with her friend only moments earlier evaporated at once, replaced by unmistakable fluster and fear. When the girl beside her looked me over with open curiosity, I nodded naturally and offered a greeting.
“Hello. I’m an uncle Na-yeon knows. I knew she lived around here, but I never expected to bump into her at a convenience store on my way home from work.”
Na-yeon took a step back under the weight of my casual performance.
“Ah… Um, Ahjussi. This is my roommate, Ji-eun.”
“Nice to meet you. Have you eaten yet?”
“We just finished our exams a little while ago and were about to grab something simple,” Ji-eun said, lifting the basket to show me.
“Then how about I treat you to something better? I need dinner myself, and I’d been meaning to buy Na-yeon a meal anyway. Perfect timing.”
Na-yeon waved her hands in panic.
“No, Ahjussi! We already bought a lot. Really, it’s fine.”
“You worked hard on those exams and now you’ve got the break. You ought to eat something decent. Convenience-store food?”
Whether she was terrified our relationship would be exposed or simply uncomfortable sitting across from the man she had been avoiding, Na-yeon kept trying to refuse. But Ji-eun, oblivious, lit up with excitement.
“Wait, for real? You’ll buy us whatever we want?”
“Of course. I can show off a little to Na-yeon’s father too. What are you craving? Shall we go for meat?”
“Meat? Oh my god, yes!”
Ji-eun’s eyes sparkled. Na-yeon shot her a resentful glare and jabbed her with an elbow, but under the combined pressure from Ji-eun and me she finally lowered her head in defeat.
The restaurant was pure chaos. With the liberation of finished finals hanging in the air, the meat place near the university was packed with noise and the smoke of grilling meat.
Because of the five-person gathering ban, the large group tables had been broken up; smaller parties of three or four sat crammed into every available seat. Transparent acrylic partitions between the tables only heightened the surreal atmosphere of the COVID era.
In the middle of that clamor, Na-yeon alone sat isolated like an island. She poked at raw onion with the tip of her chopsticks and kept her gaze fixed on the floor. Ji-eun, by contrast, seemed to be enjoying every second; she studied the menu and asked me,
“Ahjussi, the raw meat here is seriously good. Can we start with three portions?”
“Of course. Order whatever you like, Ji-eun. Should we get some drinks too? Beer-and-soju is the only way to go, right?”
“Wow, you get it! Office workers really are different. Na-yeon, soju-and-beer okay with you?”
Na-yeon gave the barest reluctant nod. I rang the bell with practiced ease and ordered soju and beer.
“You can speak casually. But Ahjussi, what kind of work do you do? There aren’t many companies around here.”
“Foreign firm, IT project manager—does that ring a bell? I’m here on assignment because we’re setting something up at the data center nearby.”
That should put any suspicion to rest. Ji-eun’s eyes widened.
“Oh! The big data center they’ve been talking about building! I’d only heard rumors. That’s so cool. I’m a computer-science major, you know.”
“How’s it treating you? Your major?”
“I’m still a freshman so it’s mostly general-education classes, but I think I’m going to pull A’s in everything this semester. Coding feels like it might actually suit me. I’m the diligent type.”
“Good for you. I’ve always liked people who are pretty, smart, and hardworking. Just like Na-yeon.”
My gaze lingered on the flushed tips of Na-yeon’s ears. She pretended not to hear and kept her eyes locked on the grill. Ji-eun, however, fired off questions the moment I finished speaking.
“Um… are you by any chance hiring summer interns? I’m really interested.”
“Summer interns are already filled, and our company doesn’t take freshmen anyway.”
At my firm reply Ji-eun made a pouty face and gave my arm a light tap, half-begging.
“Come on, Ahjussi. Can’t you at least let me do cleaning or something? I’m confident I’d be great at the grunt work. Please? Otherwise I have to go back to my parents’ place this summer. My goal is to find a part-time job and stay here. Isn’t there any way? I’ll listen really well!”
“Well, that’s not something I can decide. Personnel has the authority.”
I smiled easily and refilled the soju-and-beer glasses. Ji-eun still looked disappointed, but she quickly recovered and clinked her glass against mine. “Then if a spot opens up later, you have to tell me!”
Unlike Na-yeon, Ji-eun was bright and forward. The more her energy and my practiced responses fed each other, the warmer the atmosphere grew—while Na-yeon’s face steadily turned the color of earth.
The noisy restaurant felt almost like a protective wall around our three-person conversation. Under the table I stretched out a foot and lightly tapped the tip of Na-yeon’s shoe. She jerked in surprise and lifted her head, but the moment her eyes met Ji-eun’s she hastily downed her drink.
“Na-yeon, why are you so quiet today? You said the exams went well. You should be celebrating.”
“Ah… yeah. I’m just a little tired.”
“Hey, Ahjussi came all the way here—that’s not polite! Ahjussi, when you come to a place like this you’ve got to play at least one drinking game, right? You know the apartment game? Even you must know that one.”
Ji-eun’s voice had already climbed an octave. The heat of her alcohol-tinged breath drifted across the narrow table.
“Apartment? Sure. Do kids still play that these days?”
“Of course! It’s the simplest and gets you drunk the fastest. Come on, hands in!”
Ji-eun started the chant. “A~partment, apartment, a~partment, apartment!”
We stacked our hands in the middle of the table. I deliberately placed mine directly over Na-yeon’s small one. The faint tremor in her cold skin traveled straight into my warm palm. She flinched and tried to pull away, but she was already caught in the rhythm of the game.
“Okay, I’ll call the number. Fifteenth floor!”
At Ji-eun’s shout the hands at the bottom began slipping free one by one and climbing to the top. Eight, nine, ten… As the count rose, Na-yeon’s eyes darted, lost. The fourteenth hand pulled free, and the moment the hand beneath mine—Na-yeon’s—landed on the fifteenth floor,
“Oh! Lee Na-yeon wins! Drink up, drink up, the alcohol’s going down!”
Under Ji-eun’s loud cheering Na-yeon stared at her glass in misery. She had already been caught several times and emptied her glass under Ji-eun’s scolding not to kill the mood. Her alcohol tolerance was low; the rims of her eyes were already raw and red. I smoothly intercepted the glass.
“Na-yeon really does look exhausted today. Ahjussi will drink it for her.”
“Wow, Ahjussi, you’re so cool! Black-knight wish gets granted by Na-yeon later, right?”
Ji-eun clapped and laughed. Her face, flushed with drink, was full of mischief. Na-yeon looked thoroughly flustered and kept her head down, fidgeting with her fingers. Finding that reaction amusing, Ji-eun pressed harder.
“Hey, Na-yeon! If a black knight saves you, the rule is you grant one wish. Ahjussi, hurry up and say it! Even if it’s unreasonable, you have to grant it right now. Right, Ahjussi?”
Na-yeon’s face flushed in an instant. She glanced at me, at a complete loss. I watched her steadily for a moment, then turned a relaxed smile on Ji-eun.
“Well, it’s a little embarrassing to say in front of other people. Could I just whisper it to Na-yeon?”
“Oh my god, what is it? I’m dying of curiosity! Na-yeon, lean in!”
At Ji-eun’s urging Na-yeon slowly drew closer, eyes wide with fear. She was near enough that I could feel her sweet breath—alcohol, terror, and a strange heat rising from below all mixed together. I pressed my lips right against her ear and spoke in a low, cool voice that only she could hear.
“…I’m going to inspect your pussy.”
In that instant Na-yeon’s body went visibly rigid. From the pale nape of her neck upward, her entire face flooded with a red so deep it looked ready to burst. The shameful surrender she had been trained into all weekend in the hotel room was being replayed right under Ji-eun’s nose, and something between her legs seemed to heat up all over again. She stared at me in disbelief, but I simply refilled my glass as if nothing had happened and answered Ji-eun.
“It’s a secret. Just between Na-yeon and me.”
“Ah, Ahjussi, that’s so unfair! Na-yeon, what was the wish? Why is your face so red? Was it something dirty?”
Ji-eun grinned wickedly and slapped Na-yeon’s shoulder, but Na-yeon only bit her lip and couldn’t answer. The longer Ji-eun’s questions continued, the more wildly Na-yeon’s eyes darted, with nowhere left to hide.
It was already 9:50. Under COVID regulations every restaurant had to close by ten, so staff were hurrying from table to table clearing dishes. Ji-eun’s intoxication had climbed to her scalp; her voice was loud. She grabbed my arm and made a bombshell declaration.
“Ahjussi, I can’t leave it like this—it’s too disappointing! Outdoor drinking and parasol crackdowns are super strict these days, so we can’t drink outside. Let’s just go to our place for one more round! We’ll raid the convenience store!”
Na-yeon’s eyes shook hard. Swept along by the atmosphere Ji-eun was driving, already completely captured in her mind, she no longer had the strength to refuse. Supporting her unsteady, alcohol-heavy body, the three of us left the restaurant together.
