Episode 30: Park Ha-ru Is Acting? (Is It Real Acting?)
Episode 30: Park Ha-ru Is Acting? (Is It Real Acting?)
"I'm off."
"Okay."
"Bye~"
After a light kiss and a quick goodbye with my two noonas, I left the house. The weekend had been a bit of a letdown.
When Eunhwi-noona gave me some relief with that blowjob in the office, I had planned to split my weekend time and spend some cozy moments with them.
"Ugh, my legs..."
Even just pressing the brake or accelerator while driving sent little jolts of pain through me.
I don't know how much exercise she put me through, but just walking yesterday made my legs tremble. Still, it wasn't all bad. The exhaustion had thoroughly pushed Park Haru's situation from my mind.
I sat down in my office, kicked off my sneakers, and changed into slippers.
"Ugh..."
Normally, my feet don't bother me much, so I rarely change shoes.
But today they felt so suffocated I couldn't keep the sneakers on.
I wanted to change my clothes too, but I wasn't alone in the building, so that wasn't an option.
"Yes, come in."
"Manager Choi."
"Ah, Haru."
Park Haru walked in with a different air about her than usual.
"Are you busy?"
"No."
I had wrapped up most of my work last week and left, so there was a bit of breathing room until a new task arrived.
"I was wondering if..."
"Yes."
Park Haru let out a heavy sigh and opened her mouth.
"I..."
"Speak freely. Would you like to sit down?"
Was it something serious? Park Haru's eyes were glistening a bit. I tensed up and swallowed dryly.
"Please, help me."
"Huh? Oh, sure."
Fortunately, it wasn't anything gravely serious or another one of her sudden outbursts. I let out an internal sigh of relief.
It wasn't a huge crisis, but it was definitely a big job.
"Whoa, what is all this?"
"Professor Choi Sijung said he's using them for the second semester..."
Down at the parcel storage where Park Haru led me, there were stacks of books piled as high as my shoulders.
Professor Choi Sijung's love of books is famous. He preaches the gospel of reading so much that there's a story about a middle-aged actor who once shot a scene with him and bluntly told him to shut the hell up.
But because he doesn't force anyone to buy them and just buys them himself to hand out in class, nobody can really complain.
"But why did these arrive now?"
"Right...?"
The light in Park Haru's eyes died as she stared at the pile of books. It was the first time I had ever seen that spark vanish from her gaze.
"Whoa!"
"What the he..."
As a bonus, we were treated to the shocked faces of other people who walked in to pick up their own parcels.
"Thank you, everyone."
"At least have some of this."
"Oh, thank you so much."
Fortunately, the security team and other people at the storage area, having heard there was a massive load, pitched in to help, so we finished quickly. I hurriedly ordered drinks and snacks from the cafe to treat everyone who had assisted.
After sending the others off, I sat in the TA office to catch my breath.
"Ugh... that was rough..."
"Yeah..."
Park Haru, her spark still extinguished, sat in a chair and stared blankly at the ceiling.
"I'm going to go wash up a bit..."
"Me too..."
"Ah, Manager Choi."
"Yes?"
"Do you happen to have a spare t-shirt... or something?"
"Ah... just a moment."
I checked the closet in my office, but all I had was a somewhat thick hoodie.
"This is a bit thick. Will you be okay?"
"Yes... there's no fleece lining, so it's fine."
We both spaced out for a moment, each grabbed our clothes, and dispersed to the shower rooms.
I was sitting there blankly after my shower when the office alarm buzzed.
"Come in."
Park Haru came in wearing my hoodie.
"Would you like some of this?"
We sat side by side on the sofa and ate the sandwiches Park Haru had brought.
"Haru."
"Yes?"
"Do you like sandwiches?"
This was already the third time Park Haru had brought sandwiches to my office.
"Yes."
Park Haru answered after gulping down the bite she had in her mouth.
"They're good for dieting... and this one is whole wheat—no, rye bread..."
Just like when I used to extol the virtues of meat to Eunhwi-noona, Park Haru launched into a passionate spiel about sandwiches.
It was the first time I'd seen Park Haru talk so fast, at such length, and so earnestly. I couldn't help but stare at her.
"And so that!... Do I have something on my face?"
She must have felt my gaze because she stopped talking.
"No, I just... um... thought it was cute."
"Ah.. uh.. uh.."
Her face flushed bright red.
"Hoo..."
She gulped down some water and fanned her face to cool herself down.
"Manager Choi."
"Yes."
"I'm sorry, but..."
"Yes?"
"Do you have any pants..."
"Huh? Don't tell me..."
Half-expecting what I'd find, I lowered my gaze, and Park Haru hastily tugged her clothes downward.
"...You don't mean underwear too?"
"That's not it. I still feel gross, though..."
"Wait... you put those back on?"
"I didn't have a choice..."
"Haa... wait here a minute."
I left Park Haru in my office and walked over to Eunhwi-noona's office, calling her on the way.
"Hello."
- Yeah, Sijun-ah.
Eunhwi-noona answered the phone in a voice heavy with sleep.
"Noona, were you sleeping? Sorry."
- It's fine. What's up?
I gave her a rough rundown of the day's events, and she burst out laughing.
- Haru-seonsaeng is surprisingly scatterbrained. Now I see why Uncle Sijung worries about her. Hehe.
"Oh, really?"
I listened to some things I hadn't known about Park Haru as I arrived at Noona's office.
- Can you open the one on the right?
Following her directions, I grabbed some sports underwear and a tracksuit from her closet.
"Thanks. But will they fit?"
- Well, Haru-seonsaeng and I are about the same height, so I think it'll be fine? I don't know about the chest, though.
"Well... I'll just tell her to try them on."
- Okay, hang in there.
"Yeah, rest up."
I brought the clothes back to my office. Park Haru was sitting on the sofa, dozing off.
"Haru."
"Haru."
"Mmm, yes?"
"Try these on. They're Professor Eunhwi's — I mean, Eunhwi-noona's, but I'm not sure they'll fit."
"Ah... thank you."
"Where are you going?"
I stopped her as she was about to walk out with the clothes. She looked at me with a slightly puzzled expression.
"Change in here. What if someone sees you carrying that out of here? I'll clean these up and hit the restroom for a bit."
"Thank you..."
When I came back from the restroom, she had changed completely and was sitting on the sofa, still dozing off from exhaustion.
"Ugh... Haru, the lounge is... ah."
I was about to tell her to go sleep comfortably in the lounge, but then I remembered the internal memo I'd seen that morning. The lounge's air conditioner was scheduled for cleaning and wouldn't be operational until next week.
I carefully laid Park Haru on her side and covered her with a blanket.
"No point... unfolding it. I have to leave soon anyway."
Since quitting time wasn't far off, I didn't bother pulling out the sofa bed. And so, the first day back at work during the vacation came to an end.
---
"Man, it's quiet."
Going from Department 4 to Department 5 a few days later, I couldn't believe how quiet it was here.
It wasn't simply a matter of music or noise. The students there were so sociable, they kept asking me to join them in things, and it was a problem.
Some students wanted me to check their dancing or singing, and some even said they were short a person for a board game and asked me to play with them.
For a moment, I genuinely couldn't tell if this was a university or a high school.
I practically fled from Department 4, claiming I had urgent work.
"Yes, come in."
"Manager Choi."
"Ah, Haru."
"Here. I wore them well."
Park Haru brought back the clothes of Eunhwi-noona's that she had worn a few days ago.
"Ah, right. Did they fit? The, uh..."
"Ah, the chest?"
"Yes..."
I have no shame talking about this stuff with my noonas, but trying to say it to someone else, the words didn't come out as easily as I thought.
"Eunhwi-noona was curious."
Eunhwi-noona was actually curious, but I admit I tacked that on partly as an excuse for myself.
"Ah. It was a little big."
Not knowing what else to say at that point, I just accepted the shopping bag she handed over with both hands.
"D-do you want to see?"
"Hweh?"
There it was again. Another sudden outburst from Park Haru that caught me off guard.
"It's okay if it's you, Manager Choi... no, if it's you, Oppa."
I couldn't tell if she was flustered and blurting things out, or if she was doing this on purpose.
"Haru, we agreed to take things slow..."
"Ah! Ah... I'm sorry."
She took a few slow steps backward, as if to leave the office, then turned her head.
"D-do you really not want to see?"
'Really don't want to see? When she's practically serving it to me on a platter?'
'We agreed to get to know each other. Hold back a little.'
'Hold back from what? I've held back plenty.'
"Oppa."
While my impulses and my reason were duking it out, she approached me and placed a hand on my chest.
"Do you really not want to see?"
With her other hand, she gently tugged the neckline of her blouse, showing the swell of her cleavage.
"You can touch, too."
When I stayed still, Park Haru took my hand and guided it toward her chest.
"Haru..."
"If it's you, Oppa, it's fine..."
Overwhelmed by Park Haru's intensity, as if she'd become a different person, my hand involuntarily reached out.
"Ah!"
— And I snapped back to my senses.
Collecting myself, I looked at her carefully. There was a familiar vibe to her that I'd felt somewhere before.
'This feels a lot like when Eunhwi-noona's switch is flipped on...'
When the poised and elegant Eunhwi-noona gets her switch flipped and turns into a succubus, this is exactly the atmosphere.
"Haru, don't push yourself too hard."
I slowly took Park Haru's hand, pulled her in, and gave her a light hug.
"Hicc!"
Startled by my action, she ended up hiccuping instead.
Unlike Eunhwi-noona, whose face barely changes color when her switch is flipped, Park Haru had tried to seduce me using her acting skills, but her ears blazing bright red gave her away.
Seeing her try so hard, even if it was an act, I gathered a little courage of my own and gave her an answer.
"I really do want to touch you. But this is a workplace, so later... I'll touch you nice and hard."
I slowly stroked the back of the still-hiccuping girl, waiting for the hiccups to stop and for her flushed body temperature to cool down a bit.
"And... don't forget our date tomorrow... Manager Choi!"
She slipped out of my arms, reverting to the original Park Haru, and left the office. I slumped into my chair and buried my head in my hands.
"You crazy bastard. Just drop dead, Choi Sijun."