Adultery Prevention Department (4)
"You don't seem to realize it yourself, but the warning signs are already there. You believe your sexual desire is perfectly normal, but your masturbation frequency exceeds fifteen times a week... That's unambiguously beyond ordinary levels."
As the man's words continued, her face grew so hot it was nearly unbearable, burning fiercely. She had no idea how often other people masturbated, but even to her own ears, fifteen or more times a week sounded excessively high.
"The silver lining is that the focus of your masturbation is your husband, and you do it while recalling your usual sex life with him. There are some concerns, but it's a problem that should resolve itself as soon as he returns to your side."
"..Then what happens in the end?"
Seong Eun-young's face was scorching so intensely that she slowly lifted her deeply bowed head to ask. The evaluations kept flipping between positive and negative in rapid succession, leaving her utterly confused about how to respond.
"Let's start by confirming a few things. You only get to see your husband once or twice a month. You must realize by now that it's not nearly enough. Are you planning to join him abroad, or is his overseas assignment coming to an end?"
"No.."
Her daughter, not yet old enough for elementary school, would struggle to adapt to life abroad where communication would be a barrier. Her husband felt the same longing to be together, but work circumstances made returning home difficult.
"That's not good. Regardless of your own intentions, Seong Eun-young, your sexual desire is already flashing red alert, and masturbation is no longer sufficient to relieve it."
"I-it's not that serious.."
"First, you need to accept your current situation. Your desire boils every single day; one masturbation session isn't enough, so you do it twice... or even more frequently on your own. And yet, even that's insufficient—you're at the point where you crave actual sex."
The man's tone was resolute. Honestly, the content was so bluntly explicit that it was hard to react, and deep down, she already knew he was right. In the end, she could only purse her lips without a word.
"No need to worry too much. For starters, Seong Eun-young, you have absolutely no intention of committing adultery, do you?"
"Y-yes!"
She blurted it out in a louder voice than intended, flinching as she shrugged her shoulders slightly and glanced at the man's expression. At any rate, she had no desire to cheat. That was the crucial fact. And the man before her seemed to understand that much, at least.
"But your condition isn't good, that's a fact. Even if you have no such intentions right now, if your desire keeps building up without a proper outlet, who knows what might happen later. People who end up cheating didn't set out to do so from the day they got married."
It was frustrating. So what was she supposed to do? She felt like the most unjust victim in this situation. Still, she held back any irritation and waited for the man to continue.
"I've taken too long with the preamble. In any case, your current state is something like: 'No intention to commit adultery, but sexual desire has built up so severely that anything could happen.' The solution is simple."
Simple? At his casual remark, Seong Eun-young racked her brain for a solution, but nothing remotely viable came to mind.
"Release your sexual desire."
"That's.."
What kind of solution was that? That was the very problem she couldn't solve, leading to this mess. This time, she couldn't hold back and let an incredulous expression slip onto her face. But the man nodded as if he understood, adding an explanation.
"Our department's job is to prevent adultery. It's not just about the examination—we have a full manual prepared for proper prevention measures."
"I-is that so?"
"Yes. There's a prevention program tailored to your case. Just follow it properly."
"What does it involve?"
"Sex."
"..Pardon?"
The word slipped out as casually as a greeting, leaving Seong Eun-young momentarily stunned, blinking in confusion.
"I'll periodically relieve your sexual desire."
"W-wait a minute! That sounds too strange, doesn't it!?"
"Please stay calm and hear me out. When you masturbate, do you feel guilt toward your husband? Do you think of it as cheating?"
"Of course that's different! Masturbation is something you do alone.. what you're suggesting is.."
"It's the same. Let me give you an example. Suppose you're no longer satisfied with using your hand and switch to a sex toy. Would that be adultery?"
"That's a completely different case..!"
"It's exactly the same. What if you used a robot that looks just like a real person to relieve yourself? Would that count as adultery? Just think of me as a robot. I'm only engaging in relations as part of my job—there's no emotion involved. And likewise, even if you use me to satisfy your desires, you won't develop any adulterous feelings toward me."
Her head was spinning. No, theoretically, his logic made sense... she thought. But the instinctive revulsion at the idea of having sex with a man other than her husband was something she couldn't shake.
"Isn't there any other solution..?"
"Unfortunately, no. This method is merely preventive at best. Until your husband returns, it won't address the root cause."
"Even so, doing it with another man.."
"If you refuse this program, we'll have to notify your husband that you've rejected the adultery prevention program. That will include the survey you filled out yourself, along with our diagnosis—that you have no immediate intention to cheat, but your pent-up desire is so extreme that the future is uncertain."
"No, that can't happen..!"
Seong Eun-young cried out in a desperate voice once more. Anything but that—her husband mustn't find out. He was already suffering abroad for the sake of their family; how agonizing would it be if he learned his wife might cheat due to built-up lust? Even if it wasn't true, she didn't want to inflict that kind of wound.
In the end, she had only one choice.
"..I'll do it."
"Thank you for making such a difficult decision. As I've emphasized several times, there's no need to worry. This is purely professional on my end, and secrecy is guaranteed."
"Yes.."
There wouldn't be any issues. She had no choice but to believe those words.
"First, let's check your schedule. As a housewife, your routine is probably fairly fixed, so mark down any empty slots of at least two hours."
The new sheet he pulled out was neatly organized by day of the week, with hourly slots for checking availability.
"Haaa.."
Seong Eun-young let out a deep sigh as she took the paper. Time was not just abundant—it overflowed. On weekdays, her daughter's entire kindergarten hours were free, and even after picking her up and dropping her at piano lessons for three hours, there was still empty time. Weekends involved morning lessons, so they weren't entirely free, but factoring in outings, evenings were available too.
"Weekdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., then 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Weekends 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Busy after that?"
"My daughter's home. We go out a lot, but it's unpredictable.."
"Understood. We'll leave those slots flexible for now. That leaves weekdays... Mornings are tough for me due to other duties, so how about 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.?"
It was finally over. No, the real ordeal started now, but for the moment, the relief of it ending drained her energy completely. Barely thirty minutes had passed, yet she felt exhausted enough to collapse and sleep immediately. Of course, it wasn't truly over—it was just beginning.
"Shall we start right now, then?"
"..Pardon?"
His utterly natural demeanor caught her off guard; she responded with a dazed echo. Right now? Immediately? She hadn't even mentally prepared! Shouldn't he at least give her time to sort her thoughts? A whirlwind of ideas surged and receded in her mind.
As if reading her thoughts, the man quickly added an explanation.
"It's Saturday, 10:30 a.m., and you have two and a half hours free ahead, right? Better to rip off the band-aid. When you're this anxious, it's best to get the first experience over with quickly and process it afterward."
"Even so.."
"Which way is the bedroom?"
"W-we're doing it at my house!?"
"It's the option that avoids prying eyes the most."
He answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. But to Seong Eun-young, it was anything but.
"N-no, not at home.."
No matter that it wasn't adultery, no matter that her husband wasn't there—the mere thought of bringing another man into their marital bedroom and having sex filled her with guilt toward her husband. She simply couldn't do it. What if he refused even this? He was an official here on duty, after all. If he insisted it had to be here...
Unbeknownst to herself, her face had twisted into one on the verge of tears as she gauged his reaction.
Thankfully, he accepted her request.
"No helping it, then. There's a slight risk of being seen, but we'll handle it at a nearby motel. Can't use just anywhere, so I'll find a suitable one and contact you later today. We'll start the sessions tomorrow. That work?"
"Y-yes.."
Relief washed over her. True relief. Seong Eun-young murmured it inwardly as she replied.
"Then I'll head out for today. Thank you for your cooperation."
"Yes.."
With that, he left without hesitation. Left alone in the living room, Seong Eun-young stared blankly at the front door he'd exited through.
"I'm so tired.."
She dragged herself to the bedroom, collapsed onto the bed, and closed her eyes. So much had happened in such a short span that her mind refused to function properly. For now, she just wanted to sleep, anything to escape.