The Autograph Session
Gulp. Unable to resist that blatant temptation, I swallowed. It was nothing new, but as I'd told the monster, I was not a righteous or moral man. If I were truly the upstanding, decent sort of person the world pretended to admire, I would never have dated a monster in the first place. I would have chosen to be killed at our very first meeting. And even if I'd begged for my life, I should have told Seong-ha's parents the truth afterward — that their daughter was nothing but a monster, disguised and transformed. For the sake of humanity, I should have exposed the monster's existence to that organization she spoke of, the one that hunted her kind down. I did none of it. So when the monster called me a good person, I couldn't feel even a flicker of agreement.
"I don't know about the rest of you… but your cock seems pretty honest, Oppa?" Slipping back into Seong-ha's voice, the monster smiled slyly and began toying with the bulge that had grown beneath my pants. The thought that I could do whatever I wanted with the celebrity I adored — the girl they called the Nation's Little Sister — had hardened me without my noticing. Come to think of it… Ha-neul was underage until just yesterday, wasn't she…?
"N-no, it's fine… but… since we're here anyway, at least an autograph… ahem, I guess something like that would be okay to accept." "Mmm… whatever you'd like, Oppa?" At my answer, Seong-ha narrowed her eyes and curled the corners of her mouth into a smile like a fox.
Heart pounding, I stepped back into the room and found Ha-neul sitting obediently in her chair, just as I'd asked. She had been beautiful before, but now, in full stage makeup and costume, I felt something hot pooling low in my stomach. …No. Calm down. Nation's Little Sister? Underage until yesterday… no, but as of today she's legally an adult, right…?
Torn between a guilty conscience and the dizzying awareness that I was face to face with my favorite celebrity, I managed an awkward greeting. "Sorry to keep you… waiting? Haha, my bad — a few things came up." "Oh, I see. Did you… manage to sort it all out…?" With those adorable eyes full of concern, Ha-neul looked like an angel descended upon the earth. "Yes, thank you… oh right, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Kim Hyun-ok." "……?" She tilted her head slightly, puzzled by my self-introduction, and I couldn't make sense of her reaction. Wait… Ha-neul had known my name from the start, hadn't she? We've never met before, so how could she… oh…
"Pfft! Why are you being so formal all of a sudden? You're my longtime fan, Hyun-ok Oppa." Ha-neul covered her mouth politely with her hand and laughed, saying it as though it were the most obvious thing in the world — and I realized the monster had pre-written a certain amount of my identity into her memory.
"Ah, r-right, of course, haha… silly me." I let out the exact foolish laugh I'd described, not knowing what else to do, and an uncomfortable silence settled over the room. Oblivious to the awkward atmosphere, Ha-neul spoke up first. "Um, Oppa…? Is there anything you'd like from me?" Something I'd like… Her question, cautious yet probing straight into my heart, sent a dozen thoughts scattering through my head.
"First of all, I want to watch you dance, right in front of me. And singing too… would that be okay?" "Of course it's okay! For Hyun-ok Oppa, something like that is nothing at all!" When I honestly voiced one of my wishes, Ha-neul answered with such vigor you'd think I'd said something absurd. "Ah, but, since I'll be playing the song off my phone, I might not be able to give you a perfect stage performance. I'm sorry." "No, no, don't apologize." When Ha-neul looked almost contrite, I thrust out both hands and waved them frantically. Having her dance and sing for me alone was already an honor; wanting more would be greed. Actually, what would a single performance like the one I was about to see be worth in money?
[In the end I couldn't say it, and I simply waited for you in my memories~]
I was sitting side by side with the monster on the bed, doing this worldly bit of arithmetic, when "Run to Memories," one of Ha-neul's signature dance tracks, filled the room. "Wow…" Snapping back to my senses, I watched Ha-neul begin dancing with practiced ease to the music and couldn't hold back a short sigh of awe. She was radiant. It looked as if an angel had descended before my very eyes, and I almost imagined light spilling out around her. At the same time, I couldn't believe this reality — that the idol I'd idolized was dancing right in front of me, for me alone.
"Words I may never hear again~ I love you~"
The moment my dazed viewing of the dance ended, another instrumental began, and her signature song, "Happy Day," rang out. Considering we were in a motel room, the pitch was a little lower than her original recordings — but it was more than enough. "Hhk…! I could die right now with no regrets." Clutching my chest, I looked ready to burst into tears on the spot from sheer emotion.
"You must not die, Hyun-ok. I will stop that wicked song tormenting you at once." At my words, the monster flinched visibly and glared at Ha-neul with terrifying intensity. "No, no! That's just an expression! A figure of speech!" "Is that so… thank goodness. If you truly died, I would have been very sad. Sad enough, perhaps, to follow you…" I'd blurted it out quickly because her gaze was too frightening, and only then did the monster soften into a faint smile mixing relief and sorrow. More than that — die along with me? That was a joke, right?
"Besides, Hyun-ok, I'm glad you like her. Seeing you smile as you watch her and be happy, I feel I chose well." The monster turned her head toward me and studied my face, beaming with quiet pride. I'd been against the idea at first, but everything up to now had been a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so I couldn't help but approve of what she'd done. "Yes… thank you…" "There is no need for such words. Your smile and your happiness are my happiness. Seeing that expression on your face is more than enough reward for me." When I offered my somewhat sheepish thanks, the monster answered, threading gentleness through her blunt words. Every time, I was struck by it — her devotion was more human than any human's, and I felt grateful for it.
"Whew, whew… oh boy… whew." Clap clap! When Ha-neul finished the song after the dance and heaved for breath, I applauded loud enough to rattle the motel room, cheering wildly. "Bravo! Amazing! Lee Ha-neul is the best! I love you, Lee Ha-neul!!" "Whew… thank you, Oppa!" Like a performer answering the crowd below the stage, Ha-neul raised her hand high and waved it back and forth.
"May I rest for just a moment?" When Ha-neul came up to me and asked so sweetly, I didn't have the courage to tell her no to her face. "Of course!" "Hehe, thank you, Hyun-ok Oppa." Sitting down beside me, Ha-neul placed her hand demurely over her chest and took one last deep breath. "Ah, I've caught my breath now. So then… shall we begin the autograph session?" Autograph? "Oh, yes… hmm, but I don't have anything to sign on." I looked around, disappointed that there wasn't a single scrap of paper to write on. "I'm… sorry? Do you need paper for an autograph?" "Huh?" "What?" When I looked confused, Ha-neul looked equally confused. Some wires had crossed between us, and neither of us could figure out the other, so we just stared at each other and blinked. Uh… had the way people got autographs changed lately without me knowing…?
Seeing my bewilderment, Ha-neul gave a resigned little laugh. "Sex, Oppa. When it comes to autographs, sex is the basics." …What? "No… wha—!?" While I stood there dumbfounded, unable to comprehend, Ha-neul suddenly rose from her seat and began peeling off her stage costume, layer by layer. I jerked my head away in shock, and Ha-neul tilted her own, puzzled. "What's wrong, Oppa? You can look. It's just an autograph, so what does it matter? Oh, wait… I just did something strange, didn't I?" For a heartbeat I felt relief at that correction — and then it detonated on the spot. "Sorry, I wasn't reading the room. It's embarrassing to admit, but… this is my first time having sex. I sweated from dancing just now, so having sex like this would be rude to a fan… I'm sorry, I'll go wash up." "No, it's fine!" "What? …Oh… or does Oppa prefer doing it while I'm still sweaty?" I tried urgently to rein her in as she glanced this way and that, hunting for the bathroom, but Ha-neul interpreted my words differently.
"I think I like it just the way it is?" The monster, who had been listening silently beside us, added that as though to fan the flames of the whole situation. When I shot her a look of alarm and reproach, she slyly averted her eyes and feigned innocence. "Is that so? All right then. Well, they do say some men get excited by the smell of a woman's sweat." Ha-neul began undressing again, and I was stuck in limbo — unable to stop her, unable to egg her on. After boasting so grandly to the monster, I found myself sneaking glances at Ha-neul as she undressed. The monster watched me in silence, looking amused — or delighted.
"Hyun-ok Oppa, I have a favor to ask." "Uh, yeah?" Now dressed only in frilled white lingerie, Ha-neul suddenly drew close and showed me her back at chest level. "My bra is hard to unclasp. Sorry to ask… but could you undo the hooks for me?" Looking at the idol's porcelain-white back thrust out so deliberately, I felt my excitement climbing.
"Pfft, you really are shy for a man getting an autograph. If it embarrasses you that much, just think of it as fan service." When I faltered and hesitated, Ha-neul laughed politely and said it like it was nothing. After a long struggle, I seemed to make up my mind and, with trembling fingers, fumbled my way to Ha-neul's bra hooks and undid them. Sshk… pop. A single scrap of cloth slid across her bare skin and dropped to the floor, revealing plump B-cup breasts tipped with pink nipples. "Panties too, please. Would you pull them down for me, Oppa?" In a seductive pose utterly different from her cute image just moments before, Ha-neul asked in a whispering, sensual voice. Yielding to that request, I gripped the edges of her panties with both hands and slowly drew them down, baring her flawless forbidden territory in all its glory, until Ha-neul stood completely naked.
"For the record, Oppa, I'm a virgin. Come to think of it, this will be my first time signing for someone here too. Well then, Oppa… I'll begin the autograph session now. I look forward to serving you." Was I imagining it, or was there a strange lack of focus in Ha-neul's eyes as she smiled at me, bare and unashamed, turning her body shamelessly toward me? Either way, watching the small tentacle that had slipped out from the tip of her ear and wriggled there, I could tell that at the very least, someone had warped her common sense and values beyond repair.