The Small Box (1)
The room was eerily quiet, unnaturally so. I rubbed my eyes and massaged my pounding head as I looked around. I was lying in bed—I had no idea when I'd passed out—and Seoyeoni and Hyeonwoo were nowhere to be seen. The blinding sunlight told me it was already the next day. A glance at the clock showed it was past 11 a.m. This was the "tomorrow" Seoyeoni had promised Hyeonwoo. That tomorrow had become today, and they'd left before I even woke up. Like they'd been waiting for it...
It made me feel like I was going insane. I couldn't shake the sense that Seoyeoni had abandoned me. My stomach churned painfully. It felt like I was going to puke. The brutal hangover only made it worse.
"Ah..."
Desperate to quench my burning thirst, I reached for water and spotted something odd. A mug covered in plastic wrap. It was the rabbit mug Seoyeoni had given me as a gift once, filled with honey water. And it wasn't just that. On the low table, a meal was laid out. Some side dishes we had at home, instant rice, even bean sprout soup I didn't remember seeing before... All neatly plated and wrapped.
An overwhelming wave of emotion crashed over me. There was only one person who would do this for me. I quickly checked my phone. Sure enough, there were texts from Seoyeoni.
"Ugh."
I slammed my head against the bed. I had no idea what to say. How could I have a girlfriend like this and still be such a pathetic mess? Flashes of Seoyeoni's shocked, disappointed face crossed my mind—the way her expression crumbled, tears streaming down. It was all because of me, this idiot. I'd only disappointed her, yet here she was, doing all this for me. Such a beautiful girlfriend... the Seoyeoni who was only mine... and I'd treated her like that. It was the worst. Utterly pathetic.
"..."
I wiped my eyes and sat down at the meal. I chugged the honey water and shoveled in the rice. Spooned up some bean sprout soup. Even eating felt pathetic. Normally, I'd be sitting side by side with Seoyeoni, all lovey-dovey. But she wasn't here now. I'd started this mess, and I'd pushed her away. My eyes were welling up again for no reason. If I stopped now, could we go back to how things were? I had no clue how far we'd gone. It felt like we'd come too far already. I should've set an end to it, but I didn't. That short-lived promise I'd barely kept—I'd broken it first anyway.
Let's talk about yesterday tomorrow.
Even in the text, I could feel Seoyeoni's emotions. She was disappointed in me. Maybe even falling out of love. All for that brief thrill, I'd done something I absolutely shouldn't have. Fucked it all up like an idiot and now here I was, regretting it alone.
-Beep beep.
"Hm? You're eating already?"
Suddenly, Hyeonwoo walked in. I looked up at him with a dumb expression. Seoyeoni, who should be with him, wasn't there—he'd come alone.
"Gotta grab some water before I go."
"What the... Where's Seoyeoni?"
"She's at home, dummy. Forgot something, so I came to get it. Thought about sending her, but I came instead."
Afraid he'd notice I'd been crying, I quickly rubbed my face dry. Hyeonwoo plopped onto the bed and smirked at me.
"How's your stomach? Feeling okay?"
"Uh..."
"You drank the honey water? Tasty, right? Seoyeoni makes it really well."
"You... you had some too?"
"Begged her even though she didn't want to give it. I drank a ton too, you know."
"..."
"Wanted the bean sprout soup too, but she wouldn't even let me taste it. Said it was for you."
Hyeonwoo glanced at my meal and said,
"Those bean sprouts? I brought them this morning. Sorry. She set it aside and wouldn't let me have any."
"Ah..."
"Haha, didn't wanna tell you 'cause I'd be jealous. Anyway, Seoyeoni threw such a fit when I said let's go."
"..."
"Treat Seoyeoni right, hyung. If she were mine, I'd worship the ground she walks on."
Hyeonwoo wagged his crossed leg as he scolded me. Hearing what happened while I was out made my chest tighten even more.
"Ugh, anyway, one thing 'cause it's frustrating."
"Huh?"
"She's crazy about you, and you're disappointing her? Get your shit together~"
"Ah..."
"Condoms were part of the deal, right? And you just toss that out?"
"What? No, that was because you..."
"No matter what I say, you should've said no! She's your girlfriend—can't you even do that?"
"..."
"Pathetic. Is netorare always like this?"
Here I was, getting called pathetic by Hyeonwoo over Seoyeoni. It was miserable, but everything he said hit home—I had nothing to say.
"I know. From now on..."
"Once it's broken, what's the point? Might as well let us kiss now."
"Hey...!! That's..."
"Do whatever. I'll go with whatever Seoyeoni wants."
"..."
"If she says no condom, no condom. If she wants a kiss, I'll kiss her. You know I'm not forcing it, right?"
Hyeonwoo shrugged.
"I get the netorase masochist thing~ I'm just doing whatever feels good. If it goes too far, you have to stop it, hyung."
"..."
"Lately, I wonder if you're even the Minjun hyung I knew. Seeing you so horny, maybe this is the real you."
I didn't even know myself anymore. No idea what I really wanted or how far.
"Anyway, gotta go. Where's Seoyeoni's box?"
"B-box?"
"The little box. Right, if you don't say anything, I keep going? It's been fine so far, yeah?"
"Uh...?"
"You heard from Seoyeoni, right?"
"Haven't heard..."
Hyeonwoo looked baffled at my reaction.
"She didn't tell you? I explained everything last week."
"Uh... no."
There had been something last week. After coming back from Hyeonwoo's, she'd fiddled with the box for a while before stashing it in the closet. We'd agreed I wouldn't look, so I'd played dumb.
"Haha, Seoyeoni's hopeless. Lying now too."
"Lying...?"
"She has it."
He stood up and asked where it was again. I pointed to the closet, and he grabbed the box, peeking inside.
"Disappointing one, hiding from the other. Total chaos? I'm the bad guy in the middle."
"..."
"Hm~ Anyway, I'm out. Seoyeoni might crash there."
"Yeah..."
"Rest up. See you later."
I couldn't even ask him to send her today. I just stared dumbly at the front door after he left.
Time passed like that. Late that evening, a text from Seoyeoni came.
Seoyeoni had told me to text before arriving at Hyeonwoo's. I sent her a message.
Wondering what that was about, I waited for a reply, and Seoyeoni came out. I immediately understood why she'd asked.
"S-Seoyeoni...?"
"Y-Yeah... you're here?"
Words wouldn't come out. Her face flushed bright red, Seoyeoni fidgeting awkwardly. She was wearing a dog collar. She tried to hide the tag that read "Seoyeoni," tugging at her hem nonstop. Inside what looked like Hyeonwoo's white t-shirt, she wore nothing. No bra, no panties. It felt like she'd been naked and just thrown on the shirt in a hurry.
"Wh-what..."
"I'll explain everything...!"
As my gaze went to the dog collar, she pulled me into a desperate hug.
"I was gonna tell you everything, okay? But somehow... Ah, no. Anyway, don't freak out too much...?"
"..."
"Th-this is... from the box... Me and Hyeonwoo oppa do it sometimes, like really rarely."
Seoyeoni floundered, not knowing what to do.
"It's just, y'know, role play... Yeah! Think of it as role play!"
"Role play...?"
"Not exactly play, but... anyway. I didn't hide it on purpose... Ah! I mean, it's not real. Like role play!"
She anxiously watched my face, rambling incoherently. But I got the gist. The box wasn't meant to tease my imagination or mess with me. Seoyeoni and Hyeonwoo were actually doing SM play.
"I-I call Hyeonwoo oppa weird stuff sometimes, okay? But don't misunderstand...? It's not for real..."
"Uh..."
"I'll explain more! Everything, I promise—just don't misunderstand today... Trust me?"
Hyeonwoo's words echoed: I'm not forcing her. Then why was Seoyeoni doing this? Did she want it herself...? Wearing a dog collar like this, using the stuff in that box—did Seoyeoni want it? It was unbelievable. It made way more sense if Hyeonwoo was blackmailing or forcing her somehow.
"We'll talk later. About yesterday, today, everything..."
"..."
"Ah! Kiss... I wanna kiss you, oppa...!"
Her arms around my neck, Seoyeoni kissed me. It was different from our usual sweet, gentle ones—more desperate, urgent. After our lips parted, she kissed me once more.
"Really don't misunderstand...? No disappointment..."
She was trembling so much, it hurt me to see. I decided to think it over later.
"I won't. Yeah, explain later."
"Yeah... promise."
"Promise."
We pinky-swore, and she calmed just a little.
"Sh-should we... go in...?"
"..."
I followed Seoyeoni inside. Wondering where Hyeonwoo was since he wasn't visible, he emerged from the bedroom.
"M-Master...! O-Oppa... no! Boyfriend's here..."
My heart sank. I'd braced myself, but it wasn't easy. Seoyeoni calling Hyeonwoo "Master." And me? Just "boyfriend"—distant, formal.
"You're here?"
"..."
Hyeonwoo sat on the sofa like it was normal, gesturing for me to sit on the side one.
"What were you two talking about out there?"
And Seoyeoni... she took off the t-shirt, back to naked. She didn't come to me, of course. She knelt by Hyeonwoo, hands neatly folded. It was clear she'd been trained. Staring blankly at her, I noticed something off. Her thighs hid it mostly, but it was noticeable. Between Seoyeoni's thighs. Her pussy looked strangely red. Maybe even a bit swollen.