Before the Meeting
The decision I'd made in the middle of the night had been pretty intense, hadn't it? Once I'd set my mind to something, it didn't waver even after I sobered up. If anything, it only grew stronger and more unbreakable.
I started planning carefully how to meet the person face-to-face.
I couldn't just barge in blindly. Of course, just because I wanted to see them didn't mean they'd agree to meet right away. I needed some kind of excuse for us to be face-to-face.
And the excuse I had came up with this.
**[Hala: Hey, I don't quite understand the commission you requested.]** **[Hala: I'd like a more detailed explanation. Do you think we could meet in person to talk?]**
Basically, it was asking them to explain the commission in person because I couldn't grasp it from the text. In general, delivery was more effective the closer we got. Talking directly was faster than just reading lines, and adding gestures made communication even better.
So, meeting up was necessary. That was my excuse.
In reality, the commission **"RapeLegalization"** had sent this time was a bit more complex than usual. Probably because they'd dumped a ton of imagination onto the prompt, imagining some evening vibe with lots of heady thoughts, the description had run longer.
The content... It was something about a guy forcibly stripping a female character and pinning her down.
Just looking at the situation, that was what it sounded like. But the order didn't end there.
The surroundings were a crowded back alley with no foot traffic. The woman's clothes were torn in places.
The black stockings that had hugged her thighs had laddered in spots, and the bra straps that were supposed to cover her large breasts were long since snapped and hanging loose.
Her outfit was a mess, and her skin was flushed red in several places from whatever rough handling she'd endured.
Her legs, which had been trying to hold themselves up, had given way, and there she was, collapsed on the ground with the guy's thick cock right between them, about to plunge in.
It was exactly the kind of creepy request that fit the nickname **"RapeLegalization"**, and I loved the sleaze of it.
Thanks to her request being longer than ever before, I could play dumb and ask for a clearer explanation.
*"Actually, I could draw it right now."*
What the hell, who cares.
The important part was the excuse. The reason that would make the other person understand.
At this exact moment, truth or lies didn't matter at all. What mattered was that I'd managed to grab something believable enough to persuade them.
**[RapeLegalization: ?]** **[RapeLegalization: Meeting up is kind of annoying though;]** **[RapeLegalization: If it's hard to understand, I'll explain again.]**
Of course, once I had the excuse, she didn't immediately accept. Opening a new connection was always hard. It took guts to meet someone and the ability to lead a conversation.
Especially since we'd met anonymously in the first place in a slightly creepy situation. Why would she have to deal with the hassle of meeting face-to-face?
From here on, my long-winded sales pitch began.
I threw every possible reason at her to convince her. No matter how many times I explained, she still didn't get it.
It was easier to understand if we met in person instead of reading words on a screen. Normally, when someone commissioned an artist, they met up and talked a lot.
Of course, everything I said was bullshit.
If I could turn my chat into a dog's barking, it would be nothing but barking right now.
But barking can be made to sound reasonable.
Even nonsense can be spun into a professional speech if you dress it up well. The key to sounding reasonable is just... positioning.
As a yaoi artist, when I talked about this industry, my reasons had to sound legitimate.
**[RapeLegalization: Hmm...]** **[RapeLegalization: Then shall we meet up?]** **[RapeLegalization: I was curious about your face anyway.]**
"Got it!"
The message made me grin with satisfaction. It looked like my trip to that area was valid after all.
Probably the initial refusal was purely because of the hassle. Meeting a stranger didn't seem to bother her that much.
After that, we lightly set the time and place.
When were they free? Where exactly? What cafe was good?
The lucky part was that **"RapeLegalization"** lived pretty close by.
*If it were abroad, I would have worried.*
They lived thirty minutes away. That was why the world felt small.
A person I'd met online could live thirty minutes away.
Of course, considering Korea's small size and how most people clustered around the capital, the odds weren't that slim... but for me, it was great news.
**[Hala: What time works for you?]** **[RapeLegalization: I'm not working on Wednesdays though...]** **[Hala: Then Wednesday it is.]** **[RapeLegalization: Is that okay?]** **[Hala: Yeah.]**
The time was Wednesday at six in the afternoon. I just had to go to the cafe they'd picked.
Six in the afternoon was the perfect time. Wednesdays only had morning classes anyway, so I had plenty of time to get ready slowly.
Thus, the day I would meet **"RapeLegalization"** was set. How annoying it was to schedule even one meeting like this.
Meeting someone was this difficult.
*"Honestly, if I'd just revealed my gender, it would have been easier..."*
The keyword "opposite sex" had a strange power even in anonymity. If I'd told them first that I was male, maybe I wouldn't have had to deliver all this long-winded nonsense.
But I hadn't.
*"That's no fun."*
No need to spoil this entertaining event in advance, right? Judging by how they were thinking of me as a thorough "woman," I was dying to see their reaction.
*"Ah, still, I should ask."*
Just thinking about it made me laugh. Suddenly I remembered something I had to check.
I still needed to ask if they were open to it.
If I slipped up, **"RapeLegalization"** might actually get raped.
**[Hala: Hey.]** **[Hala: If some random guy suddenly tried to pin you down...]** **[Hala: How would you feel about that?]** **[RapeLegalization: Oh, is this a material suggestion? lol lol lol]** **[RapeLegalization: What does the guy look like? Handsome?]** **[Hala: Um... average.]** **[RapeLegalization: lol lol lol]** **[RapeLegalization: If something like that happened, I'd resist and get eaten instead.]**
"Uh-huh."
That was a satisfying reply.
*
The weather was clear.
Birds were chirping, flowers were blooming.
On days like this, I always felt like teasing the person I'd just met online.
5:44 PM.
I stepped off the subway and checked my phone.
**[RapeLegalization: Where are you?]** **[RapeLegalization: I'm already here and sitting at the cafe.]** **[RapeLegalization: Right end side.]** **[Hala: Almost there.]**
Just the messages we'd exchanged moments ago.
They were already at the cafe waiting.
Since they lived nearby, they'd probably come early and prepared.
I took a step toward the cafe.
My chest was oddly fluttering.
Right now my heart was split exactly in half—anticipation and worry.
The excitement of meeting a new person and the anxiety that came with it.
The unknown always stirred up worry.
We'd only talked through the phone barrier, after all. In reality, we knew nothing about each other.
People were surprisingly petty animals. Even the smallest things could quickly turn into disappointment.
If their personality didn't match mine, or if their appearance didn't live up to what I'd imagined...
These negative thoughts slipped out unconsciously. Especially before meeting someone, worries tended to swell until they tormented you.
**[RapeLegalization: A lol; actually meeting up is making me nervous.]** **[RapeLegalization: You're not some weird person, are you?]** **[Hala: Do you seriously ask that ten minutes before the time?]**
They were sending the same anxious messages, too. Probably feeling the same unease.
After all, we were both the kind of weird people who commissioned yaoi art in the first place.
A chuckle escaped me.
After walking for a while, I finally reached the cafe.
It was a high-end cafe with floor-to-ceiling windows and a sophisticated feel.
Instead of ordinary chairs, there were plush sofas everywhere, and several potted plants adorned the windowsill.
*"Right end side, right..."*
Before entering, I peeked through the glass to check inside.
The clear walls made it easy to see from outside.
On the left end, a woman sitting alone kept lifting and setting down her coffee, looking out of place.
Seeing her made the worries I'd been carrying suddenly vanish.
A soft laugh came out.
*"She's pretty."*
A young woman with short hair and an adorable face. Aside from the faint dark circles under her eyes, she looked like a pure, unblemished lady.
Just seeing her made me feel a strange sense of dissonance with the fact that she was **"RapeLegalization"**.
But the feeling wasn't bad.
I wondered what kind of reaction I would get from the other person.
Still thinking about it, I stepped inside the cafe.
**[Hala: I'm here.]**