A Face She Knew
Another of the operators nodded in agreement.
"We just need to go back to how we started. We're a social cafe in name only. It's not as if we actually prize camaraderie among the members. We must never forget that at our core, we are a netori gathering."
A handful of the operators sat in a private room of a quiet teahouse, their faces grave, speaking freely about the sensitive problems that had recently come to a head.
"Ah... hello..."
Hye-in's face was a portrait of dismay as she greeted the man who had opened the motel room door.
He nodded back at her.
"Awkward, isn't it. You know me, right?"
"Yes... I believe I've seen your face before."
"The new system's a real improvement. Meeting like this — booking a motel room, seeing each other in the middle of the day, completely sober — I like it. Before, it was all drinking and karaoke. That atmosphere was too chaotic. This used to be the proper way of doing things. Some of the members completely changed the vibe over the last few years."
"Yes..."
"How's Chairman Oh doing?"
"Yes..."
Color had flooded Hye-in's face all the way to her ears. Chairman Oh was the president of the association where she worked. She was in an impossible position. She had come out in the middle of the day to meet a member alone, to do her duty as a public sub — and the man who had shown up was someone she knew.
He was in his fifties, the secretary-general of another association that held a joint partnership with hers. Ko Dong-seok, who had since stepped away from the cafe, also held a director's seat at a community sports association separate from his own business. This man was in a similar situation — involved with a sports-related organization, serving as its secretary-general.
They had never spoken at any real length, but he had visited her association's office several times to meet with the chairman or the executives, and she knew his face well.
"Um... sir... I'm truly sorry, but... if you could keep it a secret... that I live this kind of life..."
Her face had gone completely scarlet. The secretary-general of the other association, a man in his late fifties, answered with a light smile.
"Come off it. If I went around talking about this, would you be the only one in trouble? I'd be in even worse shape. I've got a wife and kids of my own."
"I had a pretty good idea you were a public sub, you know. You've seen the photos they post on the public sub board, with the eyes mosaicked out, right?"
"Yes..."
"But if you look at the operators' board — the one public subs can't access — there are photos circulating with the faces completely uncovered. A few of them."
"..."
It was the first Hye-in had heard of any such thing. She stood there with nowhere to put herself.
"Anyway, whether it's the members or the operators, they all think of a public sub as a meat toilet, more or less. Me, though... I don't have many close friends among the members, so they don't really invite me to gatherings. Even when I put in a request, I just sit there waiting forever and a day. Do you know it took me almost a year to get a meeting with you?"
"A year ago I was barely doing any public sub work. I just had the title."
"I know. I heard about that too. Some netori guy went off the rails and took you out of the cafe, didn't he. Well — we can talk about that later. I've waited a long time for this meal. So introduce yourself properly. You know Yang Ji-hwa, right? The longest-serving public sub. That woman in her fifties."
"Yes..."
"I've seen her maybe fifteen times or more in the meantime. She's always a yes, whenever you want."
"..."
"Alright. Get started. I heard from the operators this is your first time doing it without drinking."
"I-it isn't actually the first time. Recently it's always been tied to drinking parties, that's all. Before that, I did it plenty of times without drinking."
"Wow. You're a sly one. Looking so innocent — and you've been getting that back door of yours thoroughly worked, haven't you."
Yang Gi-pal, secretary-general of the sports association, shook his head as if he couldn't quite believe it.
On top, Hye-in was wearing a perfectly ordinary beige short-sleeved blouse. Below, a cotton miniskirt that covered her only to mid-thigh. She sank to her knees at Yang Gi-pal's feet.
"Cafe public sub Hye-in presents her greetings once again. This is my first time serving Member Yang Gi-pal. Facials, oral, and creampies are all available. Swallowing semen is still insufficiently trained. I am also diligently preparing for anal. I fall short in many other respects, but I will serve you with all my heart. Please use me as you would a public toilet."
When Hye-in's self-introduction was finished, Secretary-General Yang Gi-pal opened his mouth.
"Hye-in. Since you're a public sub, I'll just call you Hye-in. Golden shower not on the table?"
The sudden question made Hye-in lower her face slightly as she answered.
"Ah... I haven't prepared for that yet."
"Wow. What kind of public sub has this many things she can't do? The other public sub — Yang Ji-hwa. You said you knew her. Did you know Yang Ji-hwa takes scat play with her mouth? If you're a real sub — a public toilet sub — shouldn't you be able to do at least that much? Learn from Yang Ji-hwa."
"I-I'll try my best."
"Gangbangs and threesomes are probably out of the question too, huh?"
"I-I'm sorry."
Hye-in hadn't had a drop to drink, and the humiliation of being degraded like this by someone she knew filled her with a crushing shame. But the more shame she felt, the wetter she became. The truth was that opening her nature, little by little, to people who knew her made her heart pound in a way she could not ignore.
"Hye-in. Take your clothes off."
"Yes..."
She stood and pulled off the short-sleeved blouse, then the small strapless bra — a scrap of a thing that covered only about half her breasts. Her tits, a size that sat nicely in the hand, were laid fully bare.
"Nipple piercings, and a big tattoo across those tits — that would be perfect. Your skin's so clean, and quite pale. A tattoo would look great on you. A real sub bitch ought to have at least that much to look the part."
"..."
Listening to those degrading words from someone she knew, Hye-in pushed the miniskirt down. All that remained was a pair of white thong panties. It was early summer, so she wasn't wearing stockings — only white ankle socks. She peeled the socks off, then hooked her thumbs into the thong and drew it down as well.
"Wow. When I saw you at the association office you looked so well-behaved and pretty. But this... you're a complete bitch in heat, ass wagging for anyone who'll have you. You really never know about people."
"Come here."
At Yang Gi-pal's gesture, Hye-in — not a thread on her — stepped forward until she stood directly in front of him where he sat on the edge of the bed. He pushed a finger into her pussy and began to work it around inside her.
"Ooh. Soaking wet, and hot. What were you thinking about to get this drenched?"
"..."
"Hey, Hye-in. Let me ask you one question. You're a cafe public sub, so you have to answer honestly. Of course, if you lie I have no way of knowing — but I'm curious, so I'll ask anyway."
"Yes... please ask."
"You. Your association's chairman. Chairman Oh — that old man. You slept with him, didn't you? You've been doing the clerical work there for a really long time, haven't you? Occupying that seat for years isn't a normal thing. Be honest. You slept with Chairman Oh, didn't you?"
"..."
Hye-in couldn't answer. Her ears were scarlet, and she hung her head.
Yang Gi-pal added a second finger alongside the first and began to thrust.
"Ahh..."
"Be honest, you whore. You gave your body to Chairman Oh, didn't you. That's why you've been stuck in that seat so long."
"Hahh... ah... that hurts..."
Two fingers of one hand were working inside her pussy; the other hand pinched her clit roughly. Hye-in answered with a pained look on her face.
"Talk and I'll go easy. What's a public toilet bitch got to hide anyway."
"I... I did. I slept with him. I slept with the chairman."
Hye-in got the words out with difficulty, her hips drawing back slightly in an awkward, half-retreating posture.
Secretary-General Yang Gi-pal was, honestly, quite surprised.
Fifty-six, Korean age. Frankly, an age at which a man has experienced just about everything this world has to offer. By fifty, whether firsthand or secondhand, a man has lived through enough of life's large and small experiences.
In his school days he had been a field hockey player — an unpopular sport — and had even entered university as a field hockey special admission. But after graduation, there was nothing more he could do with field hockey.