A Slightly Twisted Calathea and the Forced...
The Hunter Association building in Seoul buzzed with quiet efficiency as the vice president delivered his report.
“Association President, we’ve received confirmation that the prisoner unit has arrived at the destination.”
“Hmm… Good. It seems they didn’t slip away through some side route after all.”
At the exact moment Seong Yohan and the prisoner unit reached the orphanage for their volunteer work, this private briefing was taking place.
The documents spread across the president’s desk contained detailed surveillance logs from the day Yohan had taken Calathea and Audrey out. Photographs captured their every movement—from leaving their quarters to heading to the movie theater, the infamous meat restaurant incident, and all the way to the hotel.
“…….”
The president took a slow sip of green tea while reviewing the files, then rose from his plush leather chair. He approached the massive floor-to-ceiling window that dominated one entire wall and gazed down at the gray concrete jungle below with indifferent eyes.
“…Continue monitoring the prisoner unit closely. Don’t miss even the smallest detail of their movements.”
“Understood, Mr. President.”
The secretive report in the sealed room concluded quietly, never reaching anyone else’s ears.
“This building you see here is the orphanage’s main facility, and over there are the playground structures—”
After a brief tour of the modestly sized grounds guided by a kind female teacher, we were each handed a pink apron and briefed on our upcoming duties.
“So we just have to play with the kids?”
Our assigned role was essentially children’s play supervisor.
“Yes. The Association sent an official cooperation notice specifying that, and it’s also what the children enjoy the most.”
Had the president deliberately arranged for us to take on the most photogenic role for publicity materials? He really does his job well, our esteemed Association President.
“But… are you planning to work in those outfits?”
“Why? Should we have worn nun habits instead?”
“N-no! That’s not what I meant…”
“…I’ll make sure to remind them not to remove their aprons in front of the children.”
Calathea stood there in a white crop top that fully exposed her smooth midriff, paired with hot pants so tiny they might as well have been underwear. Beside her was Audrey, dressed in a perfectly respectable and modest suit with not a single flaw. I, too, put on one of the pink aprons and began the volunteer work alongside them.
Of course, I was the cameraman.
“Manager, that’s so unfair! You begged us to come here, but now you’re the only one trying to slip away?”
“Did you forget why we’re here today? We came to take photos of you two, not me.”
“…Couldn’t we just ask one of the teachers over there to do it?”
“If someone has to hold the camera, it’s better that I do it for the kids’ sake rather than a teacher. Don’t you agree?”
When I thoroughly dismantled their complaints with cold logic, both Calathea and Audrey pressed their lips together and stared at me in unison. As if that would change anything.
“…Sigh. I should’ve negotiated for two kisses a day.”
“I should have asked for two Wish Coupons.”
“We’re in front of children, so try to look a little less miserable. Please?”
“This is exactly because we’re in front of children.”
It didn’t seem like their heads had gone completely haywire to the point of hating kids, but strangely enough, both women appeared genuinely reluctant to play with the little ones. Audrey at least didn’t try to run away, but Calathea looked like she might bolt at any second.
“…Hey, you already received an advance payment. So do your job properly.”
“You know, Manager…♡ Can’t we just treat that as a deposit and have you give me another kiss?”
“Rules are rules.”
“Tsk, how boring.”
As if anyone in the world kissed purely for fun except her. …Well, maybe there were a few.
Anyway, after I kept hovering nearby, giving them pointed looks and prodding them along, the two eventually dragged themselves toward the children—if only to avoid listening to more nagging.
Then they were immediately swarmed by separate groups of girls and boys who had spotted fresh prey, and each was dragged off in different directions.
Alright, who should I photograph first…
“Hello! You must be here for volunteer work!”
“Ah, yes… Nice to meet you.”
A voice suddenly called out from behind me. When I turned, I saw a young man with a friendly face wearing the same pink apron.
I’d assumed our group was the only one volunteering today. Apparently there were others.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone as handsome and tall as you doing volunteer work here before. Is this your first time at Doyul Orphanage?”
“Yes, it is my first visit…”
“I see. Oh, if you need any guidance around the orphanage, I’d be happy to help.”
“Ah, um… I’m sorry, but I have my group with me and we’re quite busy. Really, I apologize.”
I quickly escaped the overly friendly stranger who kept trying to strike up conversation and hurried toward Calathea with my camera. It was better to avoid getting tangled up with civilians and risking another incident. Besides, something about him felt strangely off. How should I put it… his smiling face seemed a little weird?
Maybe after seeing Calathea’s smiles every day, my internal standard for a “normal smile” had become slightly distorted.
“So where the hell is she— Ah, found her.”
I arrived at the playground area where Calathea and the children were supposed to be, doing my best to shake off the memory of that strange man’s gaze.
There, behind the play structures…
“Miss, what tint are you wearing? Which shade?”
“You’re so pretty… Is the blonde hair dyed?”
“Are you a celebrity, miss? Or a hunter?”
Calathea stood frozen in the middle of a circle of children who wouldn’t stop talking to her. She wore an utterly blank expression—one so eerie it was almost disturbing. This was nothing like the Calathea who always kept a smile on her face for the sake of entertainment, even when she wasn’t enjoying herself.
…Did she really dislike children that much?
Maybe I should have looked for a different volunteer activity. Feeling a twinge of guilt, I watched her—until our eyes suddenly met. The moment she noticed me, her previously corpse-like face bloomed into a radiant smile in an instant.
“So are you—”
“…Big sis will tell you an interesting story. Big sis actually has a cute boyfriend, you know?”
Calathea suddenly crouched down to the children’s eye level and began spinning some tale. Definitely not about me.
“He’s such a dense idiot. Even when I ask for a kiss, he refuses to listen. Can you believe that?”
“No way!”
“That oppa sounds weird!”
“Right? You all think so too, don’t you? Anyway, after I begged and begged pitifully, he finally allowed me one kiss a day.”
Yep, definitely not about me. That had to be the protagonist from one of Calathea’s novels.
‘That aside…’
Unlike before I’d shown up, she now looked incredibly warm and playful as she chatted with the children, thanks to her mischievous attitude and cheeky expressions. I quickly snapped photos of the perfect publicity shots.
“Wow… That’s so mean. If I were your boyfriend, I’d kiss you all the time.”
“Right? Right?”
“But listening to this, he sounds like a total loser. Why don’t you just find a cooler, better oppa who’s actually worthy of you?”
“……Hey, brat. Don’t talk about my man like that.”
“U-uh… S-sorry…”
The smile that had been plastered on Calathea’s face vanished in an instant. She glared at the child with sharp, axe-like eyes as if ready to strike—only relaxing her expression once the terrified kid frantically apologized.
Then she glanced up at me, flashing a bright smile that seemed to say, ‘I did well, didn’t I?♡’
Standing in front of that smile, I unconsciously pressed the shutter and captured it.
It really came out beautifully.
…For a smile that came right after threatening a child.
“Anyway, what do you think I should do?”
“I saw it on the internet. In that case, you should just let him touch your chest.”
“Or do a kiss gal!”
What exactly are kids watching these days? To protect the last shred of innocence left in my heart, I decided to pretend I hadn’t heard any of that.
“Hmm, kiss gal, huh… Well, that was somewhat helpful, you little brats.”
“You’re welcome!”
Surrounded by the adoring, worshipful gazes of the young girls, Calathea suddenly sprang to her feet and strode straight toward me with purposeful steps.
I instinctively took a step back from the sheer force of her presence, but she caught me anyway.
“Hey, what are you— W-wait…!”
She began pushing me toward the wooded area. Once we left the paved playground where the children were and slipped several steps into the shadowy forest, I found myself pinned tightly between a wide tree trunk and Calathea’s body.
“Manager, you heard them, right? I wasn’t planning to do this, but since the cute little kids you like so much gave me this advice…”
“What exactly do you mean by ‘this’…?”
“Letting you touch my chest and then doing a kiss gal on you♡”
Calathea tucked the strap of her apron deep into her cleavage to hold it in place, causing her already prominent breasts to jut out even more dramatically. She boldly thrust them toward me.
Looking up at me with a provocative smile, her crimson lips parted.
“Go on, Manager? Instead of just staring, you can touch them however you want…”
The pair of large, emphasized mounds kept trying to steal my gaze.
“You can grab them with those big hands of yours and knead them like delicious, chewy rice cakes? Or maybe you prefer squeezing them like a cow…♪”
…Damn it. She was deliberately teasing me with every word.
Calathea leaned in closer to my face, deliberately breathing warm, seductive puffs of air against my neck.
“While you enjoy playing with my chest however you like, let’s do lots of nice, wet chu-chu kisses♡?”
Her contact was overwhelming, one-sided, and relentless—impossible to escape from above or below. The moment I realized the inevitable contact that was about to happen, my concern wasn’t for my own safety. Instead, I worried about the children playing on the grounds not far from here.
Watching a woman pin a man down and forcibly kiss him definitely wasn’t good for their education.
I briefly looked away from Calathea to check on the kids—
“…Manager, what are you doing right now? Hmm?”
“U-ugh…!?”
The instant she noticed my wandering attention, the sparkle of delight in Calathea’s eyes flipped into something dangerous. Her hand, reinforced with mana until it was as hard as steel, seized my face and forcibly turned it back toward her.
“When you’re kissing me, there’s no one else in this world except you and me, Manager… Your funny expressions, your trembling gaze, the way your throat moves when you swallow, the nervous twitch of your hands that want to touch me—every single one of those tiny reactions… they all belong to my enjoyment. Do you understand?”
Wearing a chilling smile unlike any I had seen from her before, Calathea tightened her grip on the arm restraining me.
“If that’s not possible, then I’ll just have to make it so.”
She crushed her lips against mine by force.