Just a Joke

I lay in bed beside her, kneading her breasts, drinking in that heavy, spent languor.

"Nnhhh..."

Lee Dahye had given her body over to me completely, her breath coming rough and deep. I thought I finally understood why kings ruined themselves over women — why the honey trap had existed since the beginning of time. You couldn't not get addicted to this.

Most of the upperclassmen and older guys had gone off for student reserve training. That left campus populated almost entirely by people like me who hadn't enlisted yet, and by girls.

"So, did you make the PPT?"

"Yeah, I'm working on it. Why?"

They'd never given me the time of day, but the moment grades were on the line they hounded me like I owed them money. When I answered with a sullen look, the girls stared at me like I was something they'd scraped off their shoe. Shin Yena, timid as ever, just stood quietly in the back.

"I'll handle it, so how about you all start handing over your materials."

"Just show us what you've got first."

"..."

I frowned and opened my mouth.

"Wait."

I pulled a USB drive from my bag and plugged it into the laptop one of them was holding. I opened the PowerPoint I'd made with Lee Dahye the day before. Calling it something we'd made "together" was a little embarrassing, all things considered.

"Huh...?"

"Oh."

It was surprisingly well put together, and they all looked startled. Shin Yena's face, in particular, was written over with shock. She'd probably assumed I'd make a complete mess of it, given the flippant, lightweight impression I gave off. Thank god Lee Dahye was a professional.

"It's... actually clean."

I frowned.

"Exactly. So hurry up, organize your materials, and bring them over."

I'd already finished my part, so they had no grounds to argue.

"Fine. Just give us a minute."

"...Ahem."

They turned and left, coughing as if the whole thing had made them awkward. Only Shin Yena stayed behind, and she asked me,

"This... could you teach me, too?"

"Huh? Teach you what."

"How to make a PPT."

I furrowed my brow.

"And why would I do that?"

"Ah? Uh... um... I just... I want to get better at it..."

Timid as always, she stumbled over every word.

"Haa. Why are you so shy? Sit down."

"...Huh? Okay..."

Her face flushed at being called timid so bluntly. Shin Yena sat in the seat in front of me. I had a free period anyway — time to kill. I figured I could use the review myself, so I taught her exactly the way Lee Dahye had taught me the day before.

"You add a video like this, and if it doesn't play, just say the laptop lagged and run it off the USB. Pro tip."

I passed on Lee Dahye's lessons word for word.

"Pft."

Apparently it was funny; a small smile tugged at the corner of Shin Yena's mouth. I crossed my arms at the sight of it.

"Something funny?"

"Huh? I-I mean..."

A girl this timid had actually come and asked me to teach her. I wondered how much she'd had to steel herself just to do that.

"Yena! What are you doing!"

"Ah? Just a second~!"

Shin Yena hurriedly gathered her things.

"Th-thank you for teaching me!"

"We're in the same group."

"R-right!"

She packed up and ran off to join her friends. I watched their retreating backs with the same sullen look as before. It's all fake anyway. Some of them didn't even bother hiding how much they hated me.

"I'm going to fuck every last one of them."

I muttered it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to myself as I packed my bag.

Weekends were usually quiet. Weekend evenings even more so. The only people you'd run into were the library's resident ghosts, or kids stumbling back to the dorms after drinking.

I rested my chin in my hand and watched Lee So-eun.

"What? Something up?"

She asked it over the clatter of dishes as she organized the cupboard.

"No, nothing."

Lee So-eun shrugged.

"Then how about you clean a little?"

"Yeees~."

I took my hands off the mop I'd been leaning on and started scrubbing the floor, watching her the whole time. She was older than Lee Dahye, and she looked it — more mature. Marriage would do that. The simple fact that she was a married woman made her seem several times more grown-up. On top of that, she was wearing jeans and a white shirt with the cafe apron tied over them, and between that plush ass, the unguarded line of her neck, the curve of her chest — all of it, the careless exposure of a married woman — it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was painfully hot. And more than anything, the fact that she was another man's wife was what made it so fucking hot.

I mopped the whole floor, then wrung the mop out in the bathroom. Dirty water streamed down the tiles.

"Why is this bathroom so tiny~."

The moment I started complaining, Lee So-eun came in carrying a rag and punched me in the back. Thwack.

"Then chip in some money and renovate it yourself!"

"Ugh! You slave-driver~."

"Who are you calling a slave-driver."

The hypnosis had helped, but we'd gotten pretty close besides. Once the cleaning was done, I enjoyed a rare day that actually felt like a day off. When the last of the handful of customers ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠finally left, I picked up my phone.

"Manager, take a look at this."

"......?"

The screen showed a candle flame. Lee So-eun frowned.

"This is another one of your pranks, isn't it?"

"Pffh! No it's not! Just look!"

"Hmmm..."

She looked at the candle with an expression that said, Fine, I'll play along.

She had no idea she was falling into the pit. Her expression went slack. A timer surfaced in my vision — two minutes. Only two suggestions left that I could still plant in her.

"So-eun. What am I to you?"

"...A close... cherished little brother..."

I crossed my arms, a smirk tugging at the corner of my mouth. The first hypnotic suggestion had already made me the little brother she doted on, so maybe that answer was only natural. My heart was pounding. There was nothing quite like it — the sadism of watching an attractive woman hang on my every word.

"That's right. I'm the closest, most cherished little brother you have."

"...Yes..."

I said it again, and the answer came back like a murmur. I had already decided on the second suggestion.

"That's why, no matter what kind of joke I pull, you don't find it strange at all."

"...Yes..."

"Even a mean joke. Even a sexual one. You just smile and take it."

"...Yes..."

I poured similar words into her without stopping. There was no focus in Lee So-eun's eyes as she stared at the candle.

"Even if I touch you, it doesn't feel particularly strange."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"...Yes..."

This was the experiment.

I talked for two full minutes without stopping, laying down similar sentences the way you'd spread a mind map through someone's head. Each one similar, and each one a little off-kilter from the last. Taken apart, they were distinctly different suggestions — but spoken without pause, one after another, they would fuse into a single chain inside her head. No matter how absolute the app's power was, the one using it was still human, and the one receiving it was human too.

The moment the timer hit zero, life flooded back into those unfocused eyes.

"Ah! You pranked me again, didn't you?"

She grabbed her head, dizzy, and scolded me — not a serious scolding, though. There was playfulness mixed in. I steadied my pounding heart and reached out, cupping her cheek in my hand.

"Hm? What are you doing?"

"Huh?"

I yanked my hand back, startled. Lee So-eun looked at me like I'd grown a second head.

"What was that, all of a sudden."

"Just a joke~."

I said it with a grin and tried the physical contact again. I pulled her into a hug as she sat on the swivel chair. A soft warmth pressed against me, and the scent of her skin hit my nose at the same time. I got hard. Even after going at it with Lee Dahye several times the day before, my cock showed no interest in resting.

"What are you doing~. Don't mess around~."

She was treating it as nothing more than a joke. Another experiment had just presented itself. Of course I'd wanted to grope her breasts and kiss her from the start, but in the early stages a suggestion's hold was very weak. I'd already learned that with Lee Dahye.

I looked at Lee So-eun at my leisure. Soon enough, she'd be pinned beneath me, moaning. I felt a little sorry for her husband, but my dick mattered more than doing the right thing.

"What is that~! That creepy smile!"

"Huh? I was imagining going on a date with you, Manager."

"Ehh? Ugh~, no thanks~."

"Wow~ you don't have to hate the idea that much~."

A smile lingered at the corner of Lee So-eun's mouth; she was taking it as nothing but banter.

"Oh, right. I'm not even on the weekend part-time schedule, and I still came in to help... no reward or anything?"

"A reward? Where would I get one of those~!"

"Wow, so mean~. At least kiss me on the cheek~!"

"Ugh! No!"

Firm enough to be decisive. I chuckled.

"You're so cruel~."

"Cruel, nothing!"

A shame, but time would take care of it.

The weekend passed in a blink. I sat in the lecture hall grinning to myself, already thinking about having sex with Lee So-eun.

"Ah, hi~."

Shin Yena greeted me as she passed by. It was so quiet I almost missed it. I gave her a halfhearted wave, too lazy to do more, and went back to imagining sex with Lee So-eun.