The Favor (1)
"I don't get it. What do you mean by 'take care of her'?"
"Ahem, well, what I mean is…"
"Why? What did Seoyeoni say? The vibe was good back then, and it was just fun."
I'd tried to bring it up carefully, but I'd beaten around the bush too much. Hyeonwoo stared at me with a baffled look on his face.
"No, I mean exactly… seduce her."
"Seduce her? What? Seoyeoni?"
"…"
This was the conclusion I'd reached after agonizing over it for days on end. I knew I was out of my mind. I'd replayed all those times I'd gotten excited, all those moments of arousal, those twisted emotions over and over. And the more I thought about it, the clearer it became. I got turned on imagining Seoyeoni and Hyeonwoo together. Not just some innocent flirting, but picturing her stolen by him… yeah, that cranked it up even more. So in the end, it was netorare. NTR tendencies.
Even those netorare porn videos I'd watched just to get off came back to me, and I'd looked up the exact meaning online. Netorare. A sexual fetish where you get aroused by the idea of your loved one being stolen away—sometimes even developing a sexual relationship. No, more precisely, it was netorase. Inducing the act of giving away someone precious, getting off on handing them over yourself. That perverse kink.
I'd banged my head against the wall, tried convincing myself it was better suited to SM play or something while watching those videos… but no matter how much I thought about it, wrestled with it, all it did was make my tendencies crystal clear. Turns out I was into inviting a bull. What complete insanity.
Calling a bull for Seoyeoni? And then watching? Waiting? Getting hard from it? Hell, even letting her fuck another guy was wrong from the start. Sure, I could get horny just fantasizing, but I didn't actually want that. From what I'd read, there were milder forms of netorase too. Like setting up non-sexual meetings, no intercourse. Sending them on a date alone and then hearing the recap afterward…
Of course, even that twisted my guts and made me want to puke, but looking back, it had excited me too. And in all my dark fantasies, Hyeonwoo was always the star. If this was my kink, if that was the only solution, then the only guy I could ask was Hyeonwoo. Asking Seoyeoni directly would be pure madness.
"Minjun hyung, is that what I think it is?"
"Yeah. Seduce Seoyeoni."
"…What the hell? Did you two break up?"
"No, we're still together…"
"Then what the…?"
Hyeonwoo gawked at me like I'd lost it. I got why. Your buddy suddenly asking you to hit on his girlfriend? If it were me, I'd probably snap, "What kind of bullshit is this?"
I'd wanted to keep it secret, but no choice now. I had to explain how serious this was, how fucked up I felt. I let out a deep sigh and spilled everything about me and Seoyeoni. The string of failures in the past. That weirdly arousing drinking session and my solo fantasies. Thinking it was getting better, only to fail again. How she'd crumbled, and how I'd crumbled too.
It sounded ridiculous even to me, but bless him, Hyeonwoo listened with a straight face, seriously.
"…So that's it? That's how you landed on this? You want me to meet up with Seoyeoni?"
"Yeah."
"Not just meet—seduce her, right?"
I nodded again. Nodding that it was true, even as I wondered what the fuck I was doing. I'd only said the words, so why was I already getting hard…
"Hyung, this is that thing from before, right? Netorare?"
"…Yeah, it is. But this is the mild version…"
"Ha…"
Hyeonwoo sighed, ruffling his hair with a troubled look. I swallowed hard for no reason.
"Does it get stronger? Like hardcore netorare?"
"…"
I hadn't even considered that far—it was pure solo delusion territory. I just sat there like an idiot, blank-faced, and he sighed again.
"Fine, let's say. Mild netorare. I get the gist… but what if she falls for it?"
"Huh?"
"What if Seoyeoni says she likes me? Then what?"
"…"
Hadn't thought that far either. Did I just assume she'd only ever love me? I'd only pictured them grabbing dinner, watching a movie—nothing after that… What a moron.
"Uh…"
I trailed off, hesitating, and Hyeonwoo let out a disbelieving chuckle.
"Wow, hyung. You know this is straight-up fucked up, right?"
"I know, I know…"
My head drooped automatically. What the hell was wrong with me, begging for this? Couldn't even satisfy my girlfriend like a man. Hell, couldn't even fuck her properly. Reduced to asking my bro to seduce her like a pathetic loser. Utterly worthless. Fuck… tears were pricking my eyes from the shame.
"…Hyung, you crying?"
"No…"
I clenched my fists, trembling, and he eyed me carefully. Pathetic. Miserable. Embarrassing. Total fucking idiot.
"Haa… I don't know. I get how desperate you must be to ask this."
"…"
"You talked to Seoyeoni about it?"
"No way. Can't tell her. It's a secret."
"…You sure you want this? Me seducing Seoyeoni. Like, dinners, dates, that kinda thing."
"Yeah…"
Hyeonwoo hesitated forever before speaking up again.
"Alright, alright. It's batshit crazy, but I'll play along. You know it's crazy, right?"
"Yeah… Sorry to drag you into this."
"No need to apologize. I'll just think it's 'cause you trust me and see me in a good light."
All my mixed emotions soured with guilt, slumping me further, and he cracked a grin with a joke.
"But girls like Seoyeoni aren't really my type."
"Really…?"
"Kidding, kidding. Can't even joke anymore. Where else you gonna find a girl like her? Pretty face, killer body, full of aegyo."
Yeah, I knew that. So why the hell… It just made me more bitter. I sat there speechless, and he cleared his throat.
"Anyway, how do we start? Easier if we were strangers, but we've met. You introduced me as your close bro."
True. They'd already been introduced as bro and girlfriend—getting them alone from the jump would be weird. If it was tough for two, start with three naturally…
"Can't be just the two of you at first, obviously."
"Right."
"How about we all grab drinks? I'll keep stepping out…"
"Ah… Yeah, that could work. Haha. Suddenly you're all gung-ho."
"…"
Ideas kept popping up weirdly. Fake a stomachache and hit the bathroom nonstop. Bail for a "sudden errand." Pretend to pass out drunk. Drink at my place and crash first. Then I could eavesdrop on their talk… Ha. Totally lost my mind.
"Cool, pick a day."
"Yeah… I'll text."
"Hyung, one thing."
"Yeah?"
"I'll do it, but… you look so wrecked, so don't push if it's too much. I ain't into it, and Seoyeoni won't like it either. Got it?"
On the way home after drinks, Seoyeoni looked up at me worriedly.
"Oppa… How's your stomach? Better?"
"Yeah, getting there."
"Told you to head out early. Why be so stubborn…"
Leaving them alone felt too suspicious, so I'd faked stomach issues and bounced to the bathroom repeatedly. What would they talk about? How would Hyeonwoo try to seduce her? What face would she make, what reactions? I'd handed it all to him, holed up imagining it all. My dick had been throbbing like crazy, leaking precum. Self-loathing hit hard confirming my gross kink, but the arousal drowned it out. Had I ever been this turned on in my life?
Back at the table, I'd scanned their faces for subtle shifts. Hyeonwoo's expression suggested good vibes. What was Seoyeoni thinking now?
"How was it today? Fun?"
"Huh? Nah, whatever… You kept hitting the bathroom."
"Still, you two must've talked a lot."
"Mm… Yeah."
"About what?"
My heart pounded.
"Oh, just random stuff. But Hyeonwoo oppa was kinda weird today."
"Why?"
"He kept calling me pretty, y'know?"
"…Ain't that a compliment?"
"Once or twice, sure! But I'm your girlfriend—keeps saying it like that? Felt like he was hitting on me."
Seoyeoni pouted her lips.
"No idea what he's thinking… But any girl would've fallen for it with him going on like that."
"Really…? What'd he do?"
"Well, his face is decent. Drops his voice all smooth—some girls would melt."
I didn't get the exact vibe, but sounds like Hyeonwoo had worked some magic.
"And you…?"
"Me? Pfft, no way in hell! I got you, oppa! Just gave me the creeps."
She snorted and hooked her arm in mine.
"You saw him doing it too."
"Me? I missed it…"
"…Right? Only when you were in the bathroom? Wow."
Seoyeoni huffed like she was steaming up.
"Thought he was cool, but nope! Thinking back, he was totally trying to seduce me. Eww!"
"…"
"He's your close bro, right? How's he hit on your girlfriend? That's disrespecting you!"
"Uh… ahem, maybe just a vibe?"
"No way! I'm done seeing that oppa. Hitting on a girl with a boyfriend? Ridiculous."