A Gift for Empathy

Could it really be this easy?

"Team Leader... Jihyun is right there...!" Eunmi whispered to me in a panic.

"Relax. She's facing away — she can't see a thing."

"No..."

"I'm telling you, it's fine. It's just a quick feel, that's all."

"Still..."

Her words scolded me, but the arms looped around my neck showed no intention whatsoever of moving. Somewhere deep inside her body, I was willing to bet, my hands were already telling her there was no reason to refuse.

I kneaded Eunmi's firm, springy ass shamelessly through her skirt. The thin fabric of her summer suit skirt did nothing to mute the feel of bare skin beneath it, and her makeup, her perfume, and the faint tang of her sweat mingled in my nose, all of it going straight to my cock.

The Genie rasped inside my head as if to prove he knew exactly where my excitement was pooling. Did this bastard really have to tease me every single time?

Fair enough — the Genie carrying on like this was hardly a day-old habit... I blocked out his voice and kept working Eunmi's ass with my hand. While one palm kneaded her cheek, the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠other stroked up and down her back; Eunmi had a quiet little sweet spot near where her spine met her tailbone.

When I traced it lazily with my fingertips, she nuzzled her face into my chest and pressed her whole body closer. The feel of her full breasts flattening against me was delicious.

The hand on her ass slid lower, following the crease of her cheeks, and over the skirt I rubbed my middle finger slowly along that line.

"Mmm... Team Leader, you're such a tease..."

Worked up little by little under my touch, Eunmi whispered into my ear with a nasal little hum. How a creature this shameless had ever passed herself off as the ice queen of the office, I would never understand.

Emboldened by her voice, I took hold of the hem of her skirt and eased it upward, inch by inch.

Jihyun's Mariah Carey number had ended, but another song was already playing — she must have queued them back to back. I couldn't have named it, but a pop ballad, the kind written for lovers, filled the room through Jihyun's lovely voice. Hers was the kind of voice that made you feel like you were drifting above the clouds.

Maybe it was that voice, but I lost all track ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of reality and hauled the back of Eunmi's skirt up, baring half her ass to the room.

Her cheeks were damp and glistening. No... was that really sweat?

I let my hand sink lower and touched bare skin directly. Between the creases of her ass I felt a slickness that had nothing to do with sweat. Eunmi was, without question, enjoying this. Baring her ass and soaking her pussy right where our junior coworker might catch us at any moment!

My cock had swelled until it was jabbing at Eunmi's body with every pulse. I raised my head, smiling at the thought of how lucky I'd been to taste this filthy side of Eunmi before anyone else.

That was when the entrance window of the noraebang, clouded with frosted film on the outside, slid into my field of view. And then...

There it was — the Genie's needling, starting up again...

In the glass of the entrance window, Jihyun's face was reflected, looking straight at us.

All this time I'd simply assumed Jihyun was singing with her eyes glued to the karaoke machine's screen. But she'd been looking our way. No — to be precise, she was watching my reflection and Eunmi's in that window. I couldn't say how long it had been going on, but one thing was certain: right now, Jihyun could see everything — Eunmi's bared ass, and my hand stroking between her cheeks.

And yet Jihyun's reaction was... off. Anyone else would have gasped and torn their eyes away, or let out a shriek. Instead, she simply kept staring at us through the glass. And though I couldn't be certain from a mere reflection, her expression looked flushed — drunk on pleasure.

Come to think of it, there was a tremor running through her singing voice too. I'd taken it for vocal technique at first, but listening closely, it didn't sound like technique at all. Her gaze was unmistakably locked on my hand as it probed between Eunmi's cheeks toward her pussy.

Wasn't the normal reaction to cry out or panic? And yet she just... watched...

Then a memory of Jihyun's own words flashed through my head.

"Hehe, I get really absorbed in other people's feelings, you know? Even when I'm hanging out with friends, I get swept up in their mood before I know it."

No way... was Jihyun, right now, losing herself in Eunmi's arousal?!

Genie! Genie! Is that even possible??

The Genie sulked again, making a show of disinterest. Damn it...

While I was busy guessing at what went on inside Jihyun's head, the song came to an end. When the last bars of accompaniment died away and that familiar fanfare announced the score, Eunmi and I sprang apart, each scurrying back to our own seat.

Eunmi hastily smoothed down her rolled-up skirt, and Jihyun whipped her head toward the monitor as if she'd been staring at it all along. Not a word from her, either; she silently set down her microphone and made room for Eunmi to sit.

An awkward silence settled over the three of us. Both women's faces glowed with a flush neither could explain.

"I'm, um... gonna go to the restroom real quick..."

Eunmi grabbed her handbag and rose from her seat. No doubt she was headed off to deal with the juices running from her pussy.

With Eunmi gone, Jihyun and I sat there dodging each other's eyes, doing nothing but sipping our beer.

Bzzzz.

In that heavy silence, my phone shivered against my thigh. Grateful for any excuse to escape the awkwardness, I snatched it up and checked my KakaoTalk.

It was Eunmi.

"Who's it from?"

Jihyun asked, showing sudden interest in my phone as if the messages were her one chance to break the silence.

I plastered on an easy smile and answered as though it were nothing.

"Just my manager. Telling me to get ready for tomorrow morning's meeting."

Having brushed her off, I fired back a quick reply of my own. I had no way of knowing exactly what was churning inside Jihyun's chest — her stolen glances earlier, the tremor in her voice, this silence between us now — but I decided to take the gamble.

A childish bit of strong-arming, maybe — but against Eunmi in her current state, it was the one threat guaranteed to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠land.

Sure enough, the moment my message went through, her reply came flying back.

Her answer nearly wrung a snort out of me. This girl... she was completely in my clutches now — no, wrapped around my cock.

"Oh... this one's from Eunmi."

I kept a straight face, acting as if this were the first message she'd ever sent me.

"Why? What does Eunmi-unni say?"

"She says she's beat and heading home first. Told us to keep having fun, just the two of us."

"Oh... then maybe we should head out too..."

"What do you say? We've still got beer left, and about half an hour on the room — let's stay a little longer."

I cut Jihyun off before she could get the words out. Just like that, the moment for her to suggest we all head home slipped through her fingers. And then I buried her under fresh praise for her singing until saying goodbye became outright impossible.

"That pop song you sang earlier — the best one tonight, hands down. I honestly felt like I was floating on a cloud. I half expected the real Mariah Carey to walk into our noraebang any second."

"Team Leader, you're too much..."

Having lost her opening to call it a night, Jihyun could only smile and go along with my praise. And in that smile of hers, I could finally see it clearly — the flush that only comes after arousal.

The red blooming across her face had nothing to do with the alcohol or the dancing. It was the flush that rises when a man's hands roam over a woman's body and set her nerves on fire. Jihyun had gotten worked up watching me fondle Eunmi through that window.

For her, it had to have been more than a stolen glimpse of someone else's sex. If she meant what she said — if she truly lost herself in other people's emotions — then watching Eunmi and me, she might well have slipped into Eunmi's skin and felt everything she felt.

Honestly, even to me it sounded like an absurd hypothesis, but it was worth testing. Besides — a woman who hadn't made a sound even while I was locked in heavy petting with Eunmi right in front of her would surely bend one way or another.

Now, then. Time to get creative, and take the plunge.