Adultery Prevention Department (2)

"Haa..."

Seong Eun-young let out a short sigh as she saw her daughter off to the academy and turned to head back home. Her current life wasn't bad at all. She'd met her husband in college, gotten pregnant midway through dating, and married him. She'd dropped out of school, but he'd landed a solid job at a big corporation and become the family's breadwinner. When their daughter was born, she'd been truly happy—and so had he. Life with their growing daughter even now was fulfilling.

...But it had been three years since her husband had been posted abroad to an overseas branch. Was it inevitable that loneliness crept in whenever she was alone in the empty house? He made it back to Korea whenever he could to spend time with them, but even that was only once every one or two months. No matter how she looked at it, it wasn't enough.

"Haa..."

That made two sighs. If only she had a job, things might be different. But with their comfortable finances, she couldn't justify leaving her daughter unattended just to work. She'd already discussed it with her husband, and he wanted her to focus on their child rather than taking a job. He was the one grinding away overseas, after all—complaining about it would just make her feel guilty.

"Excuse me, do you have a moment?"

"Y-yes!?"

She had no idea when he'd approached. Startled by the man's sudden voice from beside her, Seong Eun-young found herself stammering without thinking. Sure, she'd been spacing out, but still.

"I just need to run a quick survey."

"...A survey?"

"Yes. Something like a basic household census."

"Ah, okay."

Seong Eun-young nodded ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and answered without realizing it. He looked to be in his early to mid-twenties at most. Just going by his face, he was pretty handsome. He was dressed casually in jeans and a T-shirt, nothing else particularly stood out. And yet, for some reason, this stranger who'd come up out of nowhere didn't trigger any sense of caution in her.

"What's your current family situation?"

"I have a husband and a daughter."

"Are you dual-income?"

"No, just my husband works..."

"So you're a housewife."

"Yes."

The man gave a small nod at Seong Eun-young's response. Had he just smirked? Must be her imagination.

"Any particular inconveniences in your daily life?"

"...Nothing comes to mind."

This time, she hesitated a bit before answering. No need to spill everything truthfully, right? Besides, hardly anyone would bare their family secrets in a random street survey like this.

"What do you think your husband's feelings are?"

"He must be... a little lonely. He's working overseas, so he doesn't get to see me or our daughter often."

She'd lied about her own feelings, but she couldn't bring herself to say her husband's situation overseas was no big deal. He was smart enough to adapt well, but living apart from his family in a foreign land couldn't be easy.

Seong Eun-young felt a pang of bittersweet affection for her husband, which soured her mood—and made her miss the faint smile that crossed the man's face again.

"I see. That must be tough."

"No, it's my husband who's doing the hard part."

I'm fine. There's nothing wrong with me. Seong Eun-young resolved to think that way ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as much as possible. Otherwise, she'd just sink deeper into melancholy.

*

"Talk about good luck."

I muttered in satisfaction, watching Seong Eun-young's retreating figure from afar. If she'd had a job, timing it would have been tricky. If her husband were around, I'd have had to dodge him, making things messy. But Seong Eun-young was a full-time housewife who rarely left home except for grocery runs, and her husband was overseas—practically impossible to spot. It was practically a free pass, like robbing an empty house. How could I not be pleased?

"Now to plan this out."

I had plenty of Vital Energy, but hitting a married woman with demands for a fuck buddy or sugar daddy relationship right off the bat? No way she'd bite. Just look at how she'd talked about her husband earlier—she clearly still cared for him, even if they were apart.

"See that?"

It wasn't even "you already have a sex friend" or "you'll make one"—just implanting the desire, and it still cost this much. I'd just burned 20,000 points hypnotizing her with [You won't feel wary or suspicious toward the man in front of you unless he does something or asks something that provokes caution first], leaving me with just over 700,000. Frontal assault was out of the question.

"Gotta do it like with Min-ah."

Not make her want sex—make a situation where she has to have it. Open her body first, then break down her mind.

"I'll head back and brainstorm."

First things first, a few rounds with Seo-yeon to recharge while I think.

*

Daughter was at kindergarten, husband overseas on assignment—no one home. Housework was just dishes and laundry for two, plus daily cleaning, all done by mid-morning. For Seong Eun-young, who had no real hobbies, the rest of the time was just blank staring into space. She'd watch TV sometimes, read a book, scroll YouTube on her phone—but time crawled endlessly. Lately, something was off; her libido had been surging, making it even harder.

"Hng... ah... haang... honeyyy..."

She lay alone on the vast marital bed, too big for solo sleep, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠comforting herself. It had started as "just once," but now it was daily routine.

Squelch... squelch... squelch...

"Haaaang..."

With her daughter at kindergarten, no one around to hear—but the guilt of sin made Seong Eun-young desperately muffle her voice as she worked her fingers.

"Aang...! Ang...! Haaaang...!"

Her body shuddered...!

"Haaa..."

Climaxing from her own fingers, Seong Eun-young slumped, burying herself in the bed.

"...I did it again."

Every time, she swore it was the last. She'd resolve to quit, but the next day her body heated up again, succumbing to desire.

"They say libido spikes in your thirties... is that it?"

Her recent melancholy might be fueling it. Either way, the daily creeping lust was impossible to ignore.

"I miss you..."

Sex with her husband was still satisfying. But once every one or two months? Obviously not enough. Still, nothing to be done. She had to endure. That was her mindset—until an utterly unexpected guest arrived.

Choi Min-seok from the Adultery Prevention Department. That's how the man introduced himself. Early to mid-twenties, by the look of him. Not a total stud, but handsome enough. Had she seen him somewhere? The thought flickered, but nothing came to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mind—probably just imagination.

"Adultery Prevention Department...?"

"Yes. Have you heard of us?"

"Well..."

She had—a couple years back, something about the Ministry of Gender Equality creating it. But figuring it had nothing to do with her, she'd forgotten all about it. Why would they come here? The name alone made their purpose obvious.

"O-our marriage is fine, though."

"That's exactly why I'm here. If there were already issues, it wouldn't be 'prevention' anymore."

"Ah..."

It was a bit odd, but it made sense when she thought about it.

"So, what brings you...?"

"From what I understand, your husband is posted overseas, correct?"

"...Yes."

"That's the trigger. We can't check every household—that'd waste manpower—so we prioritize high-risk cases for affairs."

"But we really don't..."

"My apologies for the misunderstanding. 'High-risk households' refers purely to circumstances. Statistically, homes where spouses live together have lower affair rates than those living apart, right?"

"Well..."

True enough. Purely environmental factors, ignoring emotional bonds—separated couples were obviously more vulnerable.

"No need to worry. Our work is highly confidential; it won't leak to neighbors. No records kept either."

His natural, friendly demeanor eased her tension a bit.

"Let's start with a basic check."

With that, he pulled a sheet from his bag—like a questionnaire with a few items—and handed it over.

"Simple test. If you pass, your household gets a 'safe' rating, and we're done. But if we catch any lies, it could be seen as intent to commit adultery, and we might notify your husband—so please be honest."

"A-alright!"

No real affair plans anyway. Her fleeting thought of fudging answers for a good result vanished. Her husband would believe her, but best avoid any whiff of scandal reaching him.

"Shall we begin?"

She took the paper. Standard multiple-choice format she'd seen plenty of times.