Even If I'm Just a Little Nice to Them
My commute had grown longer once more.
Even if it meant taking extra steps, I chose to stick to the main thoroughfares.
Patter, patter, patter.
"Hey! Hurry up!"
A female student in a high school uniform dashed past my side. Halting just ahead of me, she spun around and beckoned behind her. "We're going to be late!"
Though her hands were waving at her friends, her eyes were busy sweeping over me. For a brief instant, our gazes collided. She darted her eyes away in an instant, but the intention was unmistakable.
A moment later, a flock of girls dressed in the identical uniform rushed by in a pack, casting sidelong glances in my direction. It was far too early for students to be running late. I knew their school's schedule well enough, considering students wearing that very uniform frequently dropped by the cafe. No, these girls, having come to school early for whatever reason, were merely putting on an awkward little performance because they wanted a glimpse of my face. The fact that they abruptly slowed their pace the moment they overtook me made it practically a certainty.
Why didn't I notice this sooner?
Slowing my stride, I surveyed my surroundings. My eyes locked with a woman walking briskly toward me from the opposite side. Then with the woman walking behind her. All the way until I reached the cafe, I spent the walk observing the people around me.
There were far too many lingering glances to dismiss as mere coincidence. The moment I became conscious of it, I could see that nearly every woman I passed on the street turned to look at me, even if only for a fraction of a second.
Is it an instinctual thing?
It couldn't be purely because of my face, given that I always wore a mask outdoors. In this world, they seemed to stare simply because I was a man. Adding a touch of personal interpretation, it was probably because I was a young man. My physique or clothing might have played a role, though I couldn't say for sure, since my outward build was hardly imposing.
Ting-a-ling.
"Boss, I'm here."
"Jeongseo! You're early today too!"
As I stepped inside with a greeting, the cafe owner welcomed me in a bright, delighted tone. Then her eyes flicked down and swept over my entire body in a flash. Her gaze, too, had shifted entirely on autopilot.
It was then that I came to understand the women's stares as nothing more than an instinct. It wasn't an attempt to pry for weaknesses, nor was there any malice intended to provoke discomfort. It was simply the mournful instinct of a female population perpetually starving for men.
Yet, alongside those passive, instinctual glances came deliberate advances laden with unmistakable intent. Just this morning alone, two high schoolers had asked for my phone number.
"Two of them asked you today?"
"Yes."
"They ought to focus on their studies instead of... Hnaaaah! Hahk!"
"Why? Are you jealous?"
As I gave a sharp upward buck of my hips, the cafe boss straddling me let slip a breathless moan. I was seated in the chair while she crouched atop me, her feet planted on either side of my thighs and her hands gripping the chair's backrest for leverage.
"It's not that... Kids who never even set foot in the cafe before keep doing it. Ngh..."
"Tell me the truth."
"I'll... nghh... do the work. Just stay still."
Mounted in the cowgirl position, she was grinding her hips rhythmically, driving the movement entirely with the power of her thighs. Even on the narrow seat, she pounded down with remarkable finesse. She had always boasted about never skipping lower-body workouts, and it showed; she didn't seem to tire in the slightest.
"It's not jealousy, I just worry that Jeongseo might feel overwhelmed, haaah... That's all. I was just a little concerned."
"Concerned about what?"
"What if all these women push you too far and you quit your part-time job?"
It was a reasonable concern on the surface, especially with the cafe's revenue skyrocketing entirely thanks to my presence. An ordinary man in this world would easily succumb to stress under the relentless, uninvited advances of predatory women.
"Hold on, stop for a second."
"Mmh? Huh?"
I fixed my gaze steadily on her half-lidded, glazed eyes. Her gaze flickered away, avoiding mine. Somehow, the fear of me quitting didn't feel like the real reason she had brought this up.
"Is that really all there is to it?"
"Huh? Wh-what else would there be?"
"Choose your words carefully. I don't associate with people who lie to me."
She swallowed dryly, her throat bobbing. Then, lowering her head, she finally laid bare what was hidden underneath.
"Actually... I was scared that if Jeongseo gets a girlfriend, you won't come to me anymore. You're so popular, it makes me anxious..."
"Hmm."
"Worrying that you might quit wasn't a lie either! I swear it wasn't!"
The terror of being discarded. Her trembling answer thoroughly stroked my sense of possessiveness. It was an admission that the reins of this relationship were held entirely in my hands.
"You don't need to worry about that so much."
"Huh?"
Difficult though it was, there were instances in this society where a single man kept several wives or romantic partners. It required stringent conditions, and the arrangements varied widely. In the pages of history, there were rare figures blessed with extraordinary virility who took multiple women beneath their wing. (Unofficial records hinted they were treated more like community dildos than masters, but that was beside the point.)
I intended to meet more women moving forward. I would seek out women who stirred genuine emotion in me, and I would make sure every last one of them looked only at me. It wasn't an impossible feat; it all depended on how I played my hand. And to achieve that, maintaining absolute initiative in the relationship was paramount.
"Hnaaaangh! All of a sudden? You told me to stop!"
"Changed my mind."
With her snatch hovering just above my lap, barely engulfing the head of my cock, I snapped my hips upward with sudden force. It was a shallow motion, but packed with deliberate strength.
"Boss."
"Hngh... yes?"
"You taste delicious, Boss."
"Huh? Ahh... yes. Thank you."
"So drop the unnecessary worries and speak what's truly on your mind."
Her eyes expanded slightly, realization dawning that I had caught onto the lingering words she had kept tucked away.
"Huh?"
"The other day, you started to say something and swallowed it back down. Haven't you sorted through your thoughts by now?"
"Ah... so you weren't pretending not to notice after all."
Boss wasn't someone who ignited deep romantic turmoil within me. Since the topic was breached, I might as well nail it down firmly. Depending on the answer she gave, I would decide how I would treat her from here on out.
"If I get greedy for Jeongseo... that really would just be selfish greed on my part."
Resuming the hip motion she had paused, she began to grind against me at a slow, agonizing crawl.
"That's why I tried to be careful. Tried not to become obsessed with Jeongseo... told myself over and over that I shouldn't fall for you."
Looking down at me with an expression that seemed on the verge of tears, she pleaded silently. I made an effort to rein in the possessiveness surging in my chest. If she was forcing herself to treat me purely as a convenient sex partner, then I ought to view her strictly as an outlet for my impulses as well, just as I had originally mapped out.
"But I guess I'm too late. Jeongseo treats me far too well... You even tell me that I'm pretty."
"Pardon?"
"Sorry... I'm so sorry. Dropping something like this on you out of nowhere..."
"No, don't apologize. I'm the one who told you to speak."
I hadn't done anything extraordinary for her—or so I had thought.
"I love it so much when Jeongseo smiles at me. It's the first time in my life I've ever had a man pack a lunchbox for me."
"Yes."
"And whenever you touch my body, the look in your eyes is so tender. At work, you never complain once, always giving your best."
Actions I considered nothing more than common courtesy tumbled from her lips one after another, framed as monumental gestures. Every single one of them was trivial.
"That's why I feel so pathetic. I'm the older one by far... yet I couldn't even keep my own feelings in check."
"What does that mean?"
"Ah, well... I won't ever dream of being your official girlfriend."
"Then?"
"If you just let me have your child... no, forget that. Even without that, I'm fine."
"Excuse me?"
Just when I assumed I shouldn't indulge my possessiveness over her, her next words completely shattered that calculation.
"I won't ask for marriage, and I won't ask to be your girlfriend. We haven't known each other very long, but I'm certain now."
"Yes."
"Even if it's only once in a while... just seeing me every now and then is more than enough for me."
This went beyond merely yielding the upper hand; she was declaring unconditional, absolute surrender.
"If you could just do that much, I'd be content... Or is even that asking for too much?"
"So what you're saying is, even if I date another woman and eventually marry someone else in the future, you wouldn't care?"
"Yeah... I'm already in my thirties... What right do I have to be greedy for more?"
"Are you confident you won't regret saying that?"
"I am. I mean every word. It doesn't matter what you think of me, Jeongseo. I'll make sure never to become a burden."
Her voice rang out with unyielding conviction.
"Whenever I fall for something, I lose my head completely. But I've never felt this way toward a person before..."
"And you're sure this isn't just about the sex?"
"Of course the sex is incredible, but... like I just said. Jeongseo is the very first person I've poured my whole heart into, and there will never be another man in my life."
What would she do if I harbored sinister intentions? She was laying bare the deepest, most vulnerable core of her psyche without a shred of defense.
"That's why I'm begging you like this. If you just promise to see me once in a while, I'll do anything and everything I can for you. Whatever position you put me in, I don't care... I just want to stay as Jeongseo's woman."
It wasn't only Boss who was like this. Yeo-eun noona, and Leehyun noona as well.
Women in this world were peculiar. Offer them even the faintest shred of genuine kindness, and they acted ready to carve out their own livers and kidneys to hand them over to me on a platter.
"Then that means you can never be with another man for the rest of your life. And this pussy of yours can only ever be fucked by me. Are you truly prepared for that?"
"Huh?"
Her declaration effectively licensed me to claim her as my personal property. My brand of possessiveness never tolerated another soul laying a finger on what belonged to me. If someone else tainted it, I would rather smash it to pieces.
"You belong to me now, Boss. There's no taking it back."
A radiant, uncontainable beam split across her face.
"If I ever catch you straying, you're dead. I'm not joking; I mean it literally."
"Yes! Yes! I'm completely fine with that! I understand!"
Her sluggish rhythm suddenly ignited, accelerating with wild abandon. An ecstatic delirium of pure arousal took over her features as her system flooded with an intoxicating rush of hormones.
"I'll do so well for you, I swear. Jeongseo said you love having sex, so... like this. Hngh!"
Spreading her knees wide to either side, she pulled her adductors taut. Instantly, the hydraulic clamping force inside her cunt skyrocketed.
"Hnnnngh! How is it? Jeongseo, tell me, how is it? Does my pussy feel good?"
"Yes. It's incredible. How about you, Boss?"
"Jeongseo feels so good too. Haaah. It's the absolute best."
Throwing her head back toward the ceiling, she slammed her pelvis down with wet, slapping impacts that echoed through the room. She was tumbling through multiple orgasms in rapid succession, lost in the act like someone plunged into a hypnotic trance.
"Hnaaaangh! It's so good. I'm losing my mind. Jeongseo's cock... tastes so heavenly! I'll be good... I promise I'll be so good to you..."
She wailed her breathless cries without a care for who might hear. Watching her writhe in sheer bliss, a wry suspicion flitted through my mind: were all those emotional virtues she praised earlier merely secondary dressing? Could it be that what she really craved above all else was simply my dick and my stamina? Seeing her this helplessly intoxicated, the thought surfaced half as an amused jest.
Slap, slap, slap, slap, slap.
Well, what did it matter? Deciding to meet her enthusiasm, I gripped the curve of her waist and bucked my hips upward to match her tempo.
"Hnaaaaargh!"
With an animalistic shriek torn straight from her lungs, Boss erupted into a breathtaking climax. Catching the crest of her wave, I buried myself deep inside the vice-grip of her pulsing walls and emptied my seed with force.
"Haaah... haaah... haaah... hnnngh..."
The strength finally drained from her thighs, and she slumped limp against my chest. Her soft, heavy breasts pressed down upon my torso. Boss was mine now.
We lingered in the chair for a quiet stretch, wrapped in each other's arms. Boss diligently took my cock into her mouth and licked it spotless once again.
"Jeongseo... can I ask you just one thing?"
"Yes."
"So that means... I'm really allowed to like you now, right?"
"Of course."
Receiving my explicit confirmation, she lit up with palpable joy.
"Um, by any chance, how many other women are you seeing right now..."
"Don't pry into that."
"Ah, okay. I'm sorry."
When a man juggled multiple women in this society, the most prevalent dynamic was that of a predatory gigolo. Such men exploited their scarce gender status to manipulate women's wealth and devotion, stringing them along while refusing to provide the physical intimacy they desperately craved. Even while cursing them behind their backs, countless women found themselves helplessly manipulated by such parasites.
However, the bond I shared with my women bore no resemblance to that pathetic charade. I didn't toy with people's hearts, and I certainly never shied away from the bed.
"I have no intention of taking an official girlfriend or marrying anyone for the time being."
"Yeah, yeah. I know. Jeongseo leads a very busy life."
"And I've never once entertained the thought of exploiting you to live an easy life either."
"Of course. I know that."
"I can't make grand guarantees about the distant future, but I will make you this one promise." Cuddled in her embrace, I looked up into her face. The gaze she returned was brimming with pure devotion. "No matter what happens, I will never abandon you. So you can put your mind at ease."
I knew she had asked about other women out of deep-seated insecurity. She felt profoundly inadequate compared to what she thought I deserved, and that gnawing inferiority kept her anxious. For her sake, I offered a sweeping assurance that wasn't quite like my usual reserved self. Boss was, after all, the first woman who had surrendered the relationship's upper hand to me in its entirety. Even in a world so starved of men, that was no small feat.
"Even if you happen to break your promise to me, I won't abandon you. We'll simply both end up dead."
"Jeongseo... Yes! Don't you worry about that for a second! I won't let another man's fingertips so much as brush past mine."
"Pfft. Come on now... When you're running a business, fingertips are bound to graze by accident."
Having spoken with grave solemnity, I chuckled softly to melt the tension. Boss let out a breathy laugh alongside me.
"Um, but... what about masturbating by myself? Can't you look the other way for my own fingers?"
"I thought you said you'd only ask one thing."
"I'm sorry. Really, this is the very last one. Just this... Since I've finally done the deed with Jeongseo... I kind of want to try penetrative masturbation now."
Putting on a stern face, I slipped out from her embrace without a single word. The warm, affectionate atmosphere instantly froze solid. As I quietly began gathering my clothes to put them back on, Boss fidgeted beside me in a state of sheer panic.
"No, wait! I won't do it! I'll just touch my clit like I always did before..."
Truth be told, I was caught completely off guard. To have her desires sated so thoroughly moments ago, only to immediately bring up self-pleasure, was utterly baffling. She had taken my earlier quip—that only my dick would ever be permitted inside her—with literal, unbending gravity.
Yet on the other hand, the realization that she obeyed even my most passing remarks so faithfully was undeniably endearing.
"Boss. Was what we just did not enough for you?"
"No! It's not that at all! It's just... sex is sex, and chap-chapi is chap-chapi..."
If men had their solitary sessions, women in this world had their chap-chapi. She was asking for my blessing to finally experience the act in its true, penetrative form. It was absurd, but somehow oddly understandable.
"Fine. Your fingers are permitted."
"Huh? Really?"
"Yes. But on one condition: you report to me every single time you do it. Let's see just how often you indulge yourself."
I had never truly intended to police her private habits. But seeing her so meekly lower her head to ask for permission was genuinely cute. Did she have any idea that behaving like this only made me want to tease her all the more?
"Yes! Thank you so much! Every time... every single time? You really want me to report all of them?"
Her crestfallen expression vanished in an instant, replaced by a radiant, childlike grin.
"No. Heheh. I'm teasing. You don't have to report anything."
A sudden foreboding hit me that she would literally text me updates every single day, so I quickly walked the order back. Curiously, however, Boss didn't give me her usual compliant reply.