Can I Take a Peek at Yours?
Ihyeon Noona sat frozen, clutching her phone with both hands and stammering incoherently. After squeezing her eyes tightly shut for a fleeting moment, she finally set the device down onto the cafe table.
What's with her? Is she nervous? Anxious?
Her shifting expressions and frantic reactions were impossible to misread. Every ounce of her inner turmoil was splayed across her face for anyone to see, which only baffled me more. Was walking me through how to use Inbyeol truly such a daunting task?
Tap.
While I turned the thought over in my mind, she unlocked the screen with agonizing slowness. A meticulously organized home screen greeted her touch.
"Noona, don't be so nervous. Really, I'm fine."
"Huh? A-are you sure?"
"Yeah. It's just hard for you to explain things to people, right?"
I had known someone like that in my past life—a brilliant mind who would stumble over their words and break out into cold sweats whenever forced to explain something to another person. Perhaps Ihyeon Noona belonged to the same camp.
"Huh? Ah... phew. No, it's not that."
"It's not? Then what is it?"
"The truth is, well..." Ihyeon Noona let out a long, trembling sigh. Just as she seemed on the verge of confessing whatever had wound her up so tight, the phone on the table cut in.
Bzzzzzt— Bzzzzzt—
The screen flared to life, vibrating violently against the wood.
"Oh! Ah, this..."
"Go ahead and take it. It's fine."
"Right, sorry. I'll just step out and take this real quick."
Scooping up her phone, she hurried to her feet and descended all the way to the first floor. Through the glass, I caught sight of her back as she stepped onto the sidewalk. She took the call directly beneath the second-story window where our table was situated.
'Obnoxious Bitch?'
I felt a brief flicker of curiosity about who could warrant such a contact label, but I quickly brushed it aside. Tapping open the newly installed Inbyeol app, I breezed through the account registration and promptly pulled up MeTube. If she was occupied on the phone, I might as well teach myself.
Outside the cafe, Jo Ihyeon held the receiver to her ear. If merely sharing the same age and knowing someone since childhood qualified someone as a friend, then the woman on the other end would be considered one. Their relationship, however, was far from amicable.
"What."
—"Joy~ You're coming today, right?"
Ihyeon offered no pleasantries, her voice dropping into a frigid register. The voice echoing through the speaker, by contrast, overflowed with false cheer, playfully tossing out the hated nickname from their school days.
"I'm not going. And I told you to stop calling me that."
—"Aww, why~? It's cute! Sounds like you grip real tight down there, don't you think?"
"If you don't have anything real to say, I'm hanging up."
Eom Chaerin. A middle and high school classmate who had gone on to become a doctor just like her. Unlike everyone else, Chaerin deliberately stressed the first syllable of Ihyeon's surname, twisting it into a lewd pun that grated on Ihyeon's last nerve.
—"Wait, wait. You're seriously not coming?"
"No. I'm not."
—"There are quite a few boys coming today, you know? You're running pretty late as it is."
"Late for what?"
—"Hehe. Wonder what you could possibly be late for~"
Without fail, Chaerin was being obnoxious. As far back as Ihyeon could remember, this was simply who she was: masking her true intentions, prodding and fishing for reactions, and weaponizing people's insecurities while pretending to be entirely harmless.
Throughout their school years, Ihyeon had genuinely considered her a companion. Only after growing into adulthood had she recognized the truth—she had been thoroughly deceived by Chaerin's calculated innocence and rehearsed facade. Chaerin had kept Ihyeon close for one purpose alone: to make herself shine brighter by contrast. Like a fool, Ihyeon had remained oblivious the entire time, only realizing in hindsight that she had been treated as nothing more than a convenient, plain sidekick.
—"At your age, if you haven't even gotten laid once, you've got serious issues."
"That's your opinion."
—"You have a perfectly respectable medical career, so why live like a monk? Come on, you need to show your face at these gatherings."
The 'gathering' Chaerin referenced was a secretive, members-only social circle where sordid arrangements were brokered under the table. Young, attractive boys were invited as overnight playthings, and patron arrangements changed hands like business contracts.
—"You might as well reap the benefits of having wealthy parents. Come out. I even have a boy I've been playing with lately—I'll introduce him to you."
"I'm hanging up."
—"Hey! It's not like you have anything better to do than rot away in your lab—"
Ihyeon terminated the call with a scowl, a bitter taste lingering in her mouth. Chaerin clearly still thought she could look down on her.
In Ihyeon's past, Eom Chaerin had seemed like a woman who possessed every worldly advantage. Tall, academically brilliant, athletically gifted—the very definition of an elite golden daughter. Most critically of all, Chaerin had an impeccably flat chest. The circumference beneath her bust and above it were virtually identical, cementing her as an AAAA-cup. Had the sizing chart gone any further, she would have effortlessly qualified for an AAAAA.
Standing next to her, Ihyeon had always been subjected to harsh comparisons. Compared to Chaerin, Ihyeon was noticeably shorter, while her chest and hips were vastly fuller—traits society deemed excessive and clumsy. Ihyeon's naturally cool, sharp features set against Chaerin's soft, approachable elegance had only heightened the contrast.
'And I never even noticed back then. Ugh, what an idiot I was.'
Letting out an exasperated sigh, Ihyeon immediately opened the Inbyeol app. She had no bandwidth to waste brooding over Eom Chaerin right now. Having escaped under the pretense of taking a call, she needed to purge her search history before returning upstairs.
'Ugh... why does this keep showing up?!'
To her horror, even after scrubbing every trace of her search logs, the feed remained cluttered with photos of men. For the most part, they featured young, strikingly handsome foreign models—all possessing slender, delicate builds remarkably reminiscent of Jeongseo's. Worse still, several of the images bordered on scandalous.
'Not interested... Not interested... I said I'm not interested!'
She tapped furiously in frustration. She barely even used the platform, nor had she ever gone out of her way to seek out lewd thirst traps. Yet somehow, Inbyeol's recommendation algorithm had seized hold of her subconscious desires with the grip of an iron vice.
A few short tutorial videos on MeTube were all it took to grasp the basics of Inbyeol. Right as the last video wound down, Ihyeon Noona wrapped up her phone call outside. But instead of returning immediately, she froze in place on the pavement.
She lingered by the curb, frantically tapping away at her phone. From my vantage point on the second floor, her screen remained out of view.
'What is she doing out there? Texting someone?'
After standing stock-still for nearly five minutes, she finally headed back inside. Judging by the way she was violently rumpling her own hair, whatever she had been attempting hadn't gone according to plan.
Her footsteps dragged heavily as she slumped back into the chair across from me.
"Are you alright, Noona?"
"Huh? Y-yeah... I'm fine. So, um, Jeongseo... about showing you Inbyeol..."
"Oh, don't worry about it. I looked up a few guides on my own while waiting for you."
"Wait, really?"
The woman who had looked like a condemned calf being led to the slaughterhouse suddenly beamed with unadulterated relief.
"Though I still think it'd be much better if you walked me through it yourself," I added, extending a hand toward her phone.
Her expression instantly plunged back into despair.
"Mind if we take a look at yours together?"
"Uh... well, um... sure."
At this point, it was impossible to miss. She was hiding something from me, and desperately so.
"Actually, never mind," I said smoothly, pulling my hand back. "Why don't we just use mine? I can try uploading a photo."
"S-should we?"
I couldn't help but find her lack of subtlety endearing. If someone intended to conceal a secret, learning to control their facial expressions should have been step one.
"By the way, Noona, what's this magnifying glass icon for?"
"Oh? Ah, that's the Explore tab. It shows recommended posts and trending tags."
"I see. Mine only shows this kind of content right now. What shows up on yours?"
"Mine? Oh, just, you know... normal stuff..." Her voice trailed off into an evasive mumble.
I fixed my gaze on her shifting eyes. "Noona."
"Yeah...?"
"Shall we head out? You finished your coffee, right?"
I stood up casually from the table. Ihyeon Noona trailed behind me with a sheepish, guilty hunch to her shoulders. Cornering her was thoroughly entertaining, but I decided to show some mercy for the time being.
"Are we heading to watch that movie now?"
"Yeah. There's this place nearby called a Multi-Room."
Relief washed over her features as she took the lead. The venue she had scouted turned out to be just a short walk from the cafe.
"You can watch movies, play console games together, and they even have karaoke machines," she explained eagerly.
"Wow, that sounds great."
"Right? That anime you mentioned watching in theaters the other day? I'm pretty sure we can pull up the prequel movie there."
The closer we drew to the commercial building housing the Multi-Room, the more Ihyeon Noona's demeanor shifted once again. This time, the tension wasn't fueled by panic, but rather by an unmistakable, simmering anticipation.
"I didn't expect the weather to be this pleasant today," I remarked casually.
"I know, right? It's really warm out."
"Honestly, hanging out outdoors wouldn't have been bad either."
The shy excitement that had begun to blossom on her face instantly crumbled. Her transparent, ulterior motives were practically stamped on her forehead.
"W-well... should we do that instead? We could head to the Han River, or maybe a nearby park..."
A quiet chuckle escaped me. At the same time, I found it remarkably sweet that she was so ready to surrender her own desires just to accommodate my passing whim.
"No, let's save that for next time... when you're wearing sneakers, Noona."
"I really wouldn't have minded... hehe. But you'll have fun here too, I promise!"
Her smile returned in full force. As we stepped into the lobby to wait for the elevator, I took another look at her attire. She wore a tasteful one-piece dress paired with a soft cardigan, a handbag slung over her shoulder, and low-heeled dress shoes. True to her unpretentious nature, she wore virtually no accessories—not even a pair of simple earrings.
"They have a huge selection of drinks and snacks up there too!"
"Oh, really? Sounds like you've visited these places a lot."
"What?! No, definitely not! It's my first time too, I just looked it up beforehand!"
"Hmm. Sure."
"Really! I swear! It's the absolute truth... Jeongseo?"
"Pfft. Alright, alright. I'll believe it's your first time."
The elevator carried us up to the Multi-Room. The interior was impeccably maintained, smelling clean and fresh. As we slipped off our shoes at the entrance, a bold notice caught my eye: Minors Strictly Prohibited.
"I'll need to check your ID, please."
The middle-aged woman at the front counter locked her eyes squarely onto me. Naturally, I was the sole party subjected to an age verification check before we were finally ushered down the hall.
Click.
"Whoa... what is this? It's completely sealed off, isn't it?"
"Mm-hmm. Exactly... I just thought a place like this would be much more comfortable for the two of us to hang out."
I surveyed the compact room from where I stood. Ihyeon Noona immediately launched into a rambling justification, explaining that because my appearance drew so much public attention, a secluded space would spare me the discomfort of wandering under everyone's gaze.
"You're right about that. People do stare a lot when I walk around outside."
"Right?! So don't feel awkward at all... shall we sit down?"
"Sure. But is this room soundproof?"
Ihyeon Noona, who was in the middle of gathering cushions and a blanket, gave a startled flinch at the question.
"I'm... not entirely sure. Why do you ask?"
"Well, when I watched that anime in the theater, it got pretty loud."
"Ah. Right! It should be totally fine, then."
Against the far wall rested a floor sofa—a bit narrow for two adults to share comfortably, yet undeniably cozy. Ihyeon Noona settled in first. As she took her seat, the airy fabric of her skirt rode up slightly, laying bare a generous expanse of smooth, pale thigh.
"What about snacks? Is there anything you'd like to eat?"
"I'm good for now. Maybe a little later."
"Okay. Let's see here... I think this is how you turn it on."
Despite her earlier enthusiasm, it was painfully clear this truly was her first visit. Her stiff posture and hesitant fumbling with the remote betrayed her inexperience—though having me pressed snugly right beside her probably didn't help her composure.
"This was the one you wanted to watch, right?"
"Yes, that's the one."
She successfully navigated the streaming platform to the theatrical anime feature. It was the prequel installment to the film I had watched with Yeo-eun Noona. And more importantly, I had only ever mentioned wanting to see it during Yeo-eun Noona's live stream.
"By the way, Noona."
"Hmm?"
"How did you know I wanted to watch this?"
"Well, because you mentioned it before? Wait—" She froze mid-sentence, her eyes widening as realization struck like a thunderbolt.
"I thought we were going to a regular cinema today. I never told you about this movie, did I?"
Ihyeon Noona swallowed hard, utterly incapable of conjuring a rebuttal.
I had intended to let her off the hook with a bit of plausible deniability. But gazing down at her utterly flustered expression, I couldn't resist dropping one more quiet observation.
"And this door locks from the inside, doesn't it? With no windows for anyone to peek in."
Really, she had brought this entirely upon herself. Teasing her was simply too much fun to pass up.