Daedamjji Destiny
The pension's living room was modern and spotless. Yet the spread laid out on the table was anything but light. Several bottles of thirty-year-old Ballantine's and an extravagant array of appetizers. Sujung and I had barely shaken off the strange tension we'd felt at the entrance when the lavish hospitality before us made us hesitate.
"Ah... Hyungnim, isn't this a bit much? Between us, there's no need for this kind of liquor..."
As I asked in flustered surprise, Jian noona, who had been arranging the ice bucket beside us, let out a bright laugh and wrapped an arm around Sujung's shoulders.
"Junseok, Sujung-ah! Don't feel burdened. Seunghun oppa is treating us properly tonight. His Hynix stocks that he's been holding since three years ago have gone absolutely crazy lately. If you saw the returns, your jaw would drop. So this isn't even a big deal for him. Just enjoy it!"
"Wow... Hyungnim, that's really incredible. Congratulations!"
I let out a genuinely admiring remark. At thirty-four, even another man could envy that kind of financial ease. Sujung also offered a polite greeting. "Hyungbu, congratulations. We'll eat well tonight." The clear justification of a stock windfall eased our couple's sense of burden, and the drinking session began in a warm, celebratory atmosphere.
Yet throughout the ordinary drinking session, what refused to leave my mind was the confession Sujung had whispered earlier.
Mesh panties, of all things...
Sujung, seated on the sofa, looked as demure as ever. She kept her knees pressed tightly together, almost compulsively, as if worried the two-piece skirt might part. To anyone else she would have seemed like a modest younger brother's wife, but to my eyes that rigid posture looked like someone desperately trying to hide her own shameful secret. With her knees clamped shut like that, the sensation of the mesh strings digging into her must have felt even more vivid. Even as she brought her glass to her lips, she kept fussing with the hem of her skirt.
The drinking had progressed to a comfortable stage, the warmth of the whiskey beginning to heat our bodies, when it happened.
"Really? Oh my, that's hilarious!"
Jian noona laughed loudly and shook her body, accidentally dropping the fork in her hand beneath the table. The sharp clatter against the marble floor broke the quiet.
"Aigoo, I'll get it."
As she moved to bend down, Seunghun hyungnim, seated beside her, naturally pressed down on her shoulder.
"No, Jian-ah. I'll pick it up. You just drink." It was the usual gentlemanly manner he showed at drinking parties. Without hesitation, hyungnim ducked his head under the table. For the first five seconds or so, nothing seemed amiss. But after ten seconds, and nearing fifteen, there was still no sign of him emerging.
In that moment, Sujung's body visibly stiffened.
It seemed she had sensed another's presence suddenly intruding into the unguarded space between her own unconsciously parted legs. She gasped sharply, a tiny "hup," and immediately snapped her knees shut as if they might break. The pale skin of her neck flushed crimson in an instant. She pretended to listen to Jian noona, but her eyes had already lost focus, wandering through empty space. Most of all, I could clearly see the fine tremors running along her neck and collarbone.
Fifteen seconds. In that brief yet endless stretch of time, what exactly was happening beneath the table? Was hyungnim's hand, pretending to search for the fork, plunging straight into the gap between Sujung's whiskey-loosened knees? Or had he, having watched the unusual sway of her walk earlier, confidently confirmed the forbidden mesh string digging into the flesh of her inner thigh?
"Oppa? Is it stuck somewhere hard to reach?"
Jian noona tilted her head curiously and asked. Only after hearing her voice did a rustling sound come from under the table, and soon Seunghun hyungnim straightened up.
"Ah... yeah, it was wedged in pretty deep. Got it now."
Hyungnim handed over the fork, feigning nonchalance, but his face was already flushed red. It was a deep flush mixed with thick excitement and certainty, different from mere alcohol. He let out a short breath, glanced at Sujung, and downed his whiskey in one go with an unreadable smile on his lips.
I looked at Sujung again. She now had her knees pressed together so tightly they must have hurt, her head bowed low. Her face was burning crimson, and the hands resting on her knees clutched the skirt hem so hard her knuckles had gone white. It was as if her body both rejected and vividly remembered the filthy, heated incident that had just occurred beneath the table.
Did hyungnim... touch her? Or did he actually see the panties?
Though shame should have dominated, what ruled my entire body was a vicious erection. The fact that my demure wife had been carelessly exposed to another man's touch while tipsy, and was now trembling with humiliation to hide it. The contrast between hyungnim's flushed face after retrieving the fork and Sujung's face, unable to even lift her head after snapping her legs shut, made the air at the table unbearably thick with tension.
"Oh my, Sujung-ah. Why is your face so red? Did the alcohol suddenly hit you hard?" At Jian noona's sharp question, Sujung could only nod without answering. Her trembling fingertips barely held the glass, but her mind seemed already trapped in that fifteen-second space beneath the table.
Watching the scene, I felt a strange thrill. My head was already in chaos. Hyungnim's flushed face and Sujung's abnormal heat. Hyungnim had surely parted Sujung's knees while pretending to pick up the fork. Or perhaps he had even dragged his palm across the rough texture of that mesh. Had my wife, startled by the intrusion yet unable to reject the secret violation happening right in front of her husband, grown wet?
As the twisted fantasy reached its peak, an unbearable impulse seized me. I wanted to shatter this taut tension in one go. But before I could open my mouth, the one who shook the board first was Jian noona, fiddling with her whiskey glass.
"Junseok, what have you been staring at so intently? You and Sujung must be getting along well these days, huh. Hehe, your face is just as red."
At Jian noona's playful question, I downed a sip of whiskey to hide my fluster. Sujung, whether because of those fifteen seconds under the table or because of noona's sharp insight, kept her head down and only toyed with her glass. The air in the living room had grown as thick and sticky as the aroma of the fine whiskey.
Just then, Seunghun hyungnim, leaning back leisurely with a smile, slapped his knee.
"Hey, the mood's good—how about we play some drinking games like last time? We came all the way to the pension; just drinking feels a bit boring."
Hyungnim's suggestion became an irresistible excuse for all of us caught in our own awkwardness and strange tension. I wanted to hide this explosive erection behind the pretext of a game, and Sujung seemed to want to escape the suffocating silence as she gave a small nod.
While everyone agreed and began clearing the table, Jian noona offered a suggestion with a suggestive smile.
"Then how about we pair up? Two versus two... and to make the teams fair, we decide randomly with daedamjji. Hehe."
At noona's proposal, Seunghun hyungnim exclaimed, "Oh, that's fair and good!" and eagerly held out his hand. Sujung glanced at me anxiously, but under noona's lead, the four of us had already crossed hands in the air.
"Daedamjji!"
With the short chant, the result was astonishing. Noona and I showed the backs of our hands, while hyungnim and Sujung showed their palms. The most dangerous and thrilling pairing had been completed—couples split, each matched with someone else's spouse.
"Oh my, so I'm on Junseok's team? Please take good care of me, Junseok."
The moment she finished speaking, Jian noona stood up and came to sit right beside me. Before Sujung could even react, noona gave my elbow a playful nudge with her usual boldness and settled in. A faint scent of perfume mixed with the sharp tang of whiskey wafted over from her warmth.
Sujung rose without hiding her bewilderment. She hesitated, then headed toward the seat Jian noona had vacated—right beside Seunghun hyungnim.
"Come on, sister-in-law. I'll escort you over here. Our team needs to flatten Junseok's nose today."
Seunghun hyungnim, ever the social butterfly, pulled out the chair beside him with a gentle, gentlemanly gesture. Sujung smoothed her skirt hem and sat down with extreme caution. Whether because of those fifteen seconds under the table, her movements were far stiffer and more careful than usual.
Once everyone was settled, a peculiar formation took shape. To my left sat Jian noona, pleasantly close, while directly across from me was Sujung, knees pressed together in tension beside Seunghun hyungnim.
"Alright, now that the teams are set, let's get started properly. Sister-in-law, don't be too nervous. I know how fox-like Jian is at these games, so I'll block everything for you."
The moment Sujung sat down, Seunghun hyungnim naturally refilled her glass and spoke with easy charm. Rather than overt physical contact, he leaned back comfortably in his chair, elbows on the table, body slightly tilted toward her. That single motion alone seemed to make Sujung feel trapped within his territory. Whenever hyungnim smiled and spoke to her, she answered shyly, "Ah... yes, hyungbu," but the hands beneath the table still clutched her skirt hem tightly.
"Junseok, what are you spacing out at? Hehe, focus on me if you want our team to win! Aja!"
Jian noona whispered playfully near my ear. She didn't link arms, but during conversation she naturally touched my arm or leaned closer, heightening the atmosphere. The soft presence of her body through the thin summer blouse began to whiten my thoughts.
My wife smiling nervously under another man's lead, while I was bound by the camaraderie of "our team" with that man's wife—this bizarre situation.
"Alright, the rules are simple. The losing team gets a penalty... Since we've come to the pension, let's make it a bit more 'adult.' The winning team gives the orders, and you have to do whatever they say! How about it, Jian-ah? You said you had lots of penalties you wanted to give Sujung, right? We really need to win."
Seunghun hyungnim took the lead with his usual cheerful tone, provoking Jian noona. She shook my arm lightly and burst into laughter.
"Of course! Today I'm going to show perfect chemistry with Junseok and give Sujung a really hot penalty. Sujung-ah, if you lose you have to do it, okay?"
Instead of answering, Sujung swallowed dryly and stayed silent. Her face was still flushed, and her breathing seemed slightly quickened, perhaps from the tension of sitting beside Seunghun hyungnim's relaxed aura.
Wow... this is really driving me crazy.
Though colorful appetizers were scattered across the marble table, my nerves were entirely focused on the subtle currents happening across from me. When Seunghun hyungnim lightly clinked glasses with Sujung and cheered, she carefully raised hers as well. Hyungnim enjoyed her flustered reaction, maintaining a proper distance while his gaze persistently met hers.
Accepting Jian noona's pleasant closeness, I simultaneously observed my wife gradually disarming under Seunghun hyungnim's lead.
"Alright, first round starts now! No complaining since it's the fate we drew with daedamjji, right?"
With hyungnim's refreshing declaration, the first game's glasses were filled.
"Let's start light... how about everyone says the same thing together?"
With Seunghun hyungnim's cheerful smile, the real game began...