Between Love and Stalking 2
It wasn't that I was trying to hit it and quit it. The sex with Jeup-serin had been so intensely passionate that, in that moment, I was convinced nothing could be better than spending the rest of my life with this woman. Yet in reality, the woman whose real name was Do Je-ni didn't click with lawyer Suk Ho-pil at all. Talking to her somehow left him feeling empty inside.
"I was so scared at the police station. Babe, I want sushi."
"There's an omakase place nearby. Want to go?"
"They have omakase in this neighborhood?"
"Have you ever tried omakase before, Jenny?"
"Of course I have. The passionate chairman oppas take me all the time. We used to eat at the Shilla Hotel a lot."
"You've got quite the refined palate. It's not exactly high-end, but the omakase around here is expensive and delicious."
"Let's go, let's go. Oppa, I'm starving."
Jeup-serin had already pocketed eleven million won just for filing the complaint. Suk Ho-pil ran the numbers in his head. On top of that, he expected to squeeze a hundred million won in settlement money out of the stalker female high-school teacher for the rape case. Taking his twenty-percent success fee would bring in another twenty million. He was treating Jeup-serin strictly as a client. Last night's sex had been nothing more than a one-time happening.
"Irasshaimase!"
"We didn't make a reservation. Can we still get dinner?"
"Yes, of course."
Thanks to the legal industry being frozen solid, even the most expensive omakase restaurant in Seocho-dong had walk-in seating for dinner. The sushi chef's insides were probably melting. High rent, luxurious interiors, and premium ingredients flown in daily, yet the cheapskate lawyers hesitated to open their wallets. It had gotten so bad that ordinary attorneys found themselves envying the bonuses given to semiconductor company employees.
"Hmm… Oppa, can I take a picture?"
"Of course. Why are you even asking?"
Suk Ho-pil handled her with gentle care. One wrong move and he'd end up in the same position as the female high-school teacher currently in custody awaiting trial.
He gulped down each piece of sushi the chef placed in front of him. No matter how much they explained, he could only recognize tuna otoro, engawa (flounder fin), and sea-urchin roe. Everything else he simply ate.
But Jeup-serin was on another level.
"Hmm, the shari is a little under-seasoned."
"What's shari?"
"You're a lawyer and you don't even know that?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about. And is it really okay to say that in front of the chef?"
"Chef oppa, the shari seasoning seems a tiny bit weak~"
Suk Ho-pil nearly choked. She was openly critiquing the food.
"Hahaha! Well, well. You have quite the discerning palate, miss. My apologies."
"Then how about a free cup of dokkuri!"
All eyes in the sushi counter turned toward them. From the beginning, the men who had come as couples had been hyper-aware of Jeup-serin. The thin straps of her tank top were barely holding on, and one had slipped down, exposing the full swell of her large, snow-white breasts.
The women accompanying those men sent Serin looks of open contempt, their faces screaming judgment.
She's got that "I'm nothing like a whore like you" expression.
They were probably lawyers' wives, fiancées, or girlfriends. They might be empty-headed too, but they clearly prided themselves on being at least a step above an internet broadcast BJ.
You're all the same. Just a bunch of bitches trying to ride successful lawyers for money.
"Ta-da! One cup of dokkuri, on the house!"
"I'm fine, really."
"Our regular gentleman farmer here comes often, so it's on us."
"Ah, thank you, chef."
"Oppa, who do you usually come with?"
It seemed Serin was more curious about Suk Ho-pil's usual dining companions than about expressing gratitude.
"Friends, obviously. Sometimes a client treats me."
The chef right in front of them gave Ho-pil a sly, raccoon-eyed look, as if he understood everything perfectly.
"I see. I thought maybe you brought a woman."
"Serin, shouldn't you thank the chef?"
He phrased the reminder as a gentle question, trying not to bruise her ego.
"Oh, right. Thank you, oppa."
"Hahaha, it's nothing. Honestly, if the shari is seasoned too strongly we get complaints the other way. These days so many foodies visit omakase restaurants that it's hard to suit everyone's taste."
The chef was subtly roasting the idiots who posted sushi photos on internet communities.
"I'm fine with it. Maybe I just have an elementary-school palate."
At that moment, a haggard-looking woman in her mid-thirties sitting diagonally across spoke up unprompted.
The other women at the counter all nodded in agreement.
"Oh dear, this is my mistake."
The chef broke into a cold sweat and ended up giving every customer a free cup of dokkuri. Even so, the cost was only ten thousand won apiece, and with customers paying two hundred fifty thousand won per person, he wasn't losing money. Still, Suk Ho-pil felt embarrassed.
Jeup-serin acted as if this kind of situation was completely normal and didn't frown once. The other female customers, mostly in their thirties and forties, smiled while waging a silent battle of nerves.
What the fuck? Since when did Korean men start walking on eggshells around women? Are you all slaves to your dicks!!!
He screamed inside his head. It hadn't been like this before. Korean women used to be modest and devoted to their husbands. After Japan colonized the Confucian nation of Joseon, the feminine influence of Japanese women mixed in, and Korean women became obedient to men.
This is basically the same as the fucking 86 generation ruining everything.
Young men in their twenties and thirties felt unfairly blamed. In truth, the generation that had sex-selective abortions was now in their fifties and sixties as of 2024. The resulting gender imbalance had forced men into brutal competition. They had no choice but to lower themselves. China, with its one-child policy, supposedly had thirty million extra single men. On top of that, it was the 50s and 60s generation that committed sexual harassment and molestation in public while raising their own daughters like princesses. He genuinely didn't understand why the young men had to be the scapegoats for the mess their elders had created.
The 2030s are the children of the 5060s. Go curse your own parents.
Of course, the younger generation had learned certain behaviors from their elders. But they weren't the true beneficiaries. Born in 1989, Suk Ho-pil decided not to criticize the young men. He knew very well that he didn't belong to the MZ generation himself.
"Thank you. It was delicious."
"I'm glad to hear it. Please come again."
As they stepped outside, Suk Ho-pil asked, "Serin—no, Je-ni. Don't you feel even a little sorry?"
"Sorry about what?"
Jeup-serin genuinely seemed unable to grasp what she should apologize for.
"A cup of dokkuri isn't cheap. How could you ask for it as a freebie?"
"That's why I called the old man 'oppa.' I did, didn't I!!"
She suddenly accelerated into full rage mode.
"I'm not angry or anything."
"Fuck, why are you starting a fight? Are you saying I'm wrong?"
"No, no. I'm not saying you're wrong."
"Then why won't you take my side? Why didn't you take my side? Sob sob sob."
She started crying. The sudden tears left him completely flustered.
"Don't cry, Serin. I mean, Jenny. Come on, let's go."
Naturally, he ended up taking her to a motel. Somehow that's just how things turned out.
"Wait, let's take a taxi to my place instead."
"Sure, why not."
"I need to start my broadcast."
Jeup-serin was a true professional. No matter how wildly her emotions swung, she still had to stream if she wanted to get paid.
"Do I have to come too??"
"Obviously. Why? You planning to meet another woman?"
This bitch is completely insane.
"No, I have work. I'm a lawyer, remember."
"You don't even have any new cases."
"I do, I do. I took on a school violence case."
"Can't Han Seo-rin handle that?"
This girl really understands how the legal industry works.
"I still need to supervise."
"That doesn't even make sense. Then why were you trying to drag me to a motel?"
Suk Ho-pil kept his mouth shut. He couldn't dodge any longer and had no choice but to share a taxi with her to her hideout in Seongsu-dong.
"Incheon Ganseok-dong Man-nim, thank you for the donation! Thank you for the donation, super strong grandpa!"
Today's outfit was a qipao. It looked like it could have been an anime character costume. Truthfully, even though Suk Ho-pil was in his mid-thirties, the reason he couldn't call himself part of the MZ generation was that he had zero young sensibility. She shook her butt energetically, squeezing every last drop of "broth" out of her viewers. The pathetic suckers enjoyed being milked. They knew it themselves. They couldn't help donating whenever they had money because they wanted to see Jeup-serin's reaction as she drained them.
Unlike those men lost in their fantasy romances, the PD and Suk Ho-pil were enjoying the real-life, unfiltered version of Jeup-serin from behind the camera.
"Serin told me to head out first, so I'll leave before the broadcast ends."
"Yes, PD-nim. Are the other staff members leaving as well?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Is Jeup-serin basically a big company at this point?"
"Her follower count has exploded lately. Serin treats us well because so much money comes in. A big company… yeah, you could definitely call it that now."
The PD sister introduced herself as a veteran of the internet broadcasting scene. In an industry where women were rare, she mainly managed the difficult female BJs.
"Do you get sponsorship offers or anything like that from people around her?"
"Oh my, I'm not really sure about that…"
She clearly knew everything.
"I see."
"Instead, we get tons of collab requests. Broadcasting together makes both sides blow up."
"That's impressive."
After they bowed and the PD left, Jeup-serin calmly finished her broadcast without even glancing their way.
"I went to the police station today so I'm super tired. See you all on Monday! Bye-bye!!!"
She wrapped up the stream with her usual aegyo.
She definitely checked whether the camera was off, waving her hand through the air a few times.
"Oppa, come here. Hurry."
"Huh? Why?"
Suk Ho-pil approached without suspicion. Maybe she needed help moving something. He was looking around when she stood up and pointed at the chair.
"You're sure the camera's off, right?"
When he sat down with a slightly worried heart, she slipped under the desk.
"I'll suck you first. You suck mine too."
It wasn't her broadcasting voice or face. With a dry, businesslike attitude, Jeup-serin pulled down Suk Ho-pil's pants.
"Serin…"
Suk Ho-pil was stunned. All he could do was watch what she was doing.