Dad's Angry Face Turns Me On
Time slipped by faster than I expected, and before I knew it, it was the small hours of Wednesday morning.
"Dad!! I'm late!! Just throw the emergency meds in my bag!! I'm gonna wash up!"
My daughter oversleeping and running late — that hadn't happened since she was little. It caught me off guard.
Is she more nervous about this than I thought?
The emergency pouch. I'd always packed one whenever the two of us went anywhere. It had come in handy more than once — especially that trip when she'd gotten sick.
After that, she'd started packing emergency medicine herself. Which meant the travel pouch was always stocked and waiting. Whenever we came home from a trip, I refilled whatever she'd used.
Where did I put that pouch, anyway?
Ah. Right. I'd stashed it in my own suitcase.
I went into my room and locked the door. The fact that I was going anywhere at all was a secret from my daughter. I flipped the suitcase open, grabbed the pouch, and shoved the bag back into the closet.
The doorknob rattled from the other side.
"Huh? What?"
Her voice, confused, when the door wouldn't give.
"Dad? What are you doing??"
She'd bolted into the bathroom saying she was in a rush — and she was already out? Luckily the suitcase was closed and buried in the wardrobe. I turned the lock.
"Dad, why'd you lock the door?"
"Must've hit it by accident. Anyway — here."
I held the pouch out to her. The tightness in her face melted all at once.
"Yes, yes! This is it!"
She unzipped it and pulled out a disposable alcohol swab and a tube of ointment.
"This is what I needed! I got a pimple on my chin — I was gonna disinfect it and put something on it!"
"Ah."
"Okay, I'm gonna finish getting ready!"
And just like that she dove back into her scramble. Then everything was done.
Baggy jeans. A long-sleeved oversized tee. A puffer jacket. She'd declared her wardrobe a free country, but what she'd actually put on was the same thing she always wore. Even dressed that plainly, she shone. She stood in the entryway with her suitcase, looking neat and put together.
"How do I look, Dad? Am I okay?"
"Okay? You're beautiful."
A faint flush crept into her cheeks.
"Have a good trip, sweetheart."
"I'll be back, Dad."
She came into my arms. Soft. The scent of shampoo from her freshly washed hair hit me all at once and took over everything.
"Kiss me. Come on, Dad."
She tipped her mouth up toward me.
"Mm... okay."
I leaned in toward her lips.
My heart was hammering. Hammering. What was this? Why... why was I hesitating?
My mouth stopped just short of hers. It would have been the first kiss on the lips since she'd become an adult. That was all it was. The deepest kind of affection a father and daughter were allowed. The same thing we'd always done. So why was I freezing up now?
A peck. Something hot and wet touched my mouth.
"What... Dad, why won't you kiss me?"
Min-ah looked sulky. That was it, then. While I'd sat there second-guessing myself, I'd disappointed her. A goodbye that had never been awkward in its life — and the one who'd made it strange was me.
"I-I'm sorry, sweetheart. I was thinking about something."
"You were thinking about something else with these beautiful lips right in front of you?"
Her eyes thinned. She was in a mood.
"Th-that's not the kind of something else I—"
"With lips this delicious sitting right here?"
Min-ah dragged her index finger slowly across her own mouth, then flicked her tongue over it. Bewitching. Provocative. The words leapt up in my head and left me flustered.
"Min-ah!!"
"I'm kidding. Kidding."
I shouted it with my face gone scarlet, and she laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world. Up until recently she'd been such a good girl. She still was, at the foundation. But something else had started showing through in little flashes — not the kind of devil that killed people. The little kind. The kind that liked to tease.
When had she started changing like this?
"Anyway, I'll be off."
"R-right. Have a good time. Listen to your seniors... and don't load your schedule to the breaking point from day one."
"Okay. Don't worry so much, Dad."
She picked up her little suitcase and stood in front of the door.
"Oh — and just because I'm gone doesn't mean you get to go playing around with other women, okay?"
"...!!"
"Why do you look so shocked?"
"I-it's not—!! Min-ah, what's with you today? That one went too far!!"
A woman's intuition? Had she sensed I was going somewhere with someone? It wasn't a lovers' trip, so even if she found out it wouldn't have been the end of the world. And yet the thought of telling her sat wrong in me. She hated, to a strange degree, the idea of any woman near me. Exactly like this.
"Ehh, I'm kidding, Dad. Why are you getting so sensitive about it?"
There was a barb in the joke.
"Don't you know? I've always done whatever my daughter wanted. You can't trust a father like that, so that's why you're suspicious?"
Her eyes narrowed into slits again.
"...I guess I was on edge because of orientation today."
"Fine. Still — that hurt, hearing you say it."
"I'm sorry, Dad."
She put her arms around me again. But maybe it was only a feeling — the warmth from before wasn't there. There was no reason to say so and sour her mood. I told myself I'd just been overly sensitive. The hug itself was the same as earlier, after all.
"I'll be back."
"Yeah. Be careful."
The door clicked shut.
Why was that? Today, of all days, the distance between me and my daughter felt unusually wide.
The odd feeling had been there since morning, and it was because of the way she'd been acting. Blatant, even. But it was too soon to put a name to it. The idea itself was absurd. So I decided to forget it.
"Alright, alright — today's the day I have to cheer Dr. Baek up, and here I am drooping around like this!"
I smacked both palms against my cheeks. That usually did it — snapped the mood around, got my head on straight.
Three hours from now, I would be meeting Baek Ah-rin at the airport.
I ended up in a taxi. I was supposed to take the airport bus. What the hell was this? Time kept passing and it never came.
"At this rate... I'm going to be late."
I opened the taxi app in a panic. Of all days, not a single cab listed was heading to the airport.
"Taxi!"
I flagged one down off the street. The driver didn't want to go to the airport; I offered a surcharge and barely talked my way in. Double the fare, and he finally let me sit down.
I'm going to be late.
Dr. Baek Ah-rin was the type who kept her word. She also had a habit of running just a little behind — five minutes past, give or take.
Right. That was always her excuse — she was trying to hit the time on the nose. And I was always the one scolding her for it. Don't try to land on the minute. Come early. I'd chewed my junior out for that exact thing, and now if I showed up later than she did...
"Augh... it's going to be so embarrassing if I'm later than her..."
"That much of a hurry, are ya?"
The elderly driver glanced at me fidgeting in the back seat.
"A little... yeah. Haha..."
He held up five fingers.
"Slip me just this much extra and I can get you there a whole lot faster."
Illegal, strictly speaking. Demanding a surcharge was illegal. Speeding was illegal. But I was in no position to be picky. You can't ride the bus every time. When you're in a hurry, you take a bullet cab.
I opened my wallet and passed him fifty thousand won.
"I'm counting on you."
"Alright. Leave it to me."
I shut the taxi door and let out a long breath.
"I... I almost died."
I was not kidding. He'd looked so gentle. Turns out he had a circuit racer living in his chest. He'd asked if he could put on some music; I'd said sure. Then he'd queued up a blast of high-tempo eurobeat and put the accelerator through the floor. It was something else. Cutting through traffic was the baseline. When the road jammed, he took the shoulder without a second thought. We got there twenty minutes earlier than I'd dared hope.
"Well... at least I won't have to be embarrassed."
I wiped the cooling sweat off my forehead and went inside. Ticketing was painless — biggest airline in the country, closest counters. By the time I was done with everything, it was the appointed hour.
"So she'll be here in five minutes, I suppose?"
......
"Senior!!"
A voice called me from behind. Baek Ah-rin.
"Oh, you ca—"
I froze.
"Senior... hah... hah... I'm not... late, am I... hah..."
She had clearly been running. Her breath tore in and out of her; her whole body was trembling from the effort.
"You... what is this."
"I... ran here, Senior. Hah..."
"No — I mean what are you wearing."
Because Dr. Baek Ah-rin's outfit had nothing whatsoever to do with going somewhere to relax. Not even close. She hadn't even put on a coat, as if the cold didn't apply to her. A white button-up blouse. A miniskirt that clung to her and rode more than halfway up her thighs. And the heels — how high were those things? The fact that she'd sprinted in them was a small miracle.
"Hey... we're going on a trip."
"Ah... don't people... dress like this when they go out to have fun?"
"Augh..."
On top of that, her makeup was heavy. That was not how she did her own face. She'd had it done somewhere — a professional shop, and not a cheap one. Fine. A woman going all-out for a blind date might walk out the door looking like this. But this was a trip. Light clothes. Light makeup. That was the whole idea. How was she supposed to wander around in those heels?
Sweat was already beading on her foundation, making a mockery of whatever she'd paid for it. And that blouse — what was she doing in something that thin in the middle of winter? The fabric was going translucent where she'd perspired. A black bra started to show through.
The memory hit me all at once. Dangerous.
"Oh, for crying out loud!!"
I pulled off the cardigan I was wearing. I'd layered up today, luckily.
"Ah... w-why are you doing this, Senior?!"
"It's all showing through. Hey. Look down."
Her eyes followed mine.
"A-ah!!"
Her face went scarlet. The wet blouse had plastered itself to her, black bra and all, clinging along the line of her cleavage.
"...Boarding's soon. Let's buy you something to wear once we get to Jeju."
"Hah... I'm... I'm so sorry... Senior..."
"It's fine."
I almost said it — Do I have to dictate the dress code for you too? — and swallowed it. Baek Ah-rin had never been on a proper trip in her life. Same story at orientation. Same story at the overnight retreats. If you looked close enough, it was because she hadn't had the money. Snarking at someone like that was how you left a scar. This trip was supposed to be for healing hers.
"It's just more fun to actually enjoy yourself in clothes you can move in. That okay?"
I let my face ease and smiled, and only then did she unclench.
"Yes...! Senior!"
"Then shall we go catch our plane? You brought your ID, right?"
"Yes! You told me to, so I packed it three times, sir!"
"Great! Let's go!"
"Yes, Senior!"
A wet, rhythmic sound. Slick. Slick.
Eun-hyeok's Apartment. A stairwell a little below the twentieth floor. The sound of water echoed off the concrete — except it wasn't water. It was the sound coming from a valley made of flesh against flesh, and it dripped with something filthy.
A suitcase. An unzipped fly. A long, slender hand had slipped down inside Min-ah's black panties.
"Hah... ah... nngh..."
Beneath the pad, her clitoris was swollen thick, and she worked it back and forth. Every time she hit the right rhythm, her juices soaked into the pad the way a stream soaks into the earth. Min-ah was in the stairwell, masturbating.
"Dad... Dad, you're so mean... How could you... yell at me like that?"
She pressed down. Harder. The wet sounds quickened, filthy and shameless in the empty shaft of the stairs.
"But... ah... why... why does this turn me on? Why? Why the hell does it? Nngh!!"
There was plenty of time before she had to be at orientation. Plenty of time to do this. Min-ah lost herself in it, calling up Eun-hyeok's angry face over and over, riding the image until she was shaking.
A forty-story building. Around the eighteenth floor, a stairwell nobody ever used. She could take her time. No one was coming.