Can I Take a Peek at Yours for a Bit, Noona?

We returned to the private room.

Though the multi-room had an endless selection of snacks for sale at the counter, we only ordered a single drink each. We had already agreed to go out for a proper dinner in a little while.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Come in~"

Once the employee dropped off our drinks and slipped out, I took off my outer jacket. I was left in just a clean white short-sleeved shirt.

"Noona."

"Huh?"

"You can look. Really, it's fine."

Right now, the overhead lights in the room were turned up bright. Leehyun was visibly agonizing over trying not to sneak glances at my exposed arms and collarbones. Just because she harbored an intense foot fetish didn't mean she lacked conventional sexual desires.

"Ah, sorry. Did I make you uncomfortable? I'll be careful."

Ordinary men in this world felt an instinctual sense of shame and vulnerability whenever a woman looked at them with hunger. But I possessed no such biological revulsion. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I only knew intellectually that an ordinary boy in my position would be clutching his clothes in embarrassment.

"I really don't mind. If I were shy about it, I wouldn't have taken off my jacket in the first place."

"Still... I'm worried I might make a mistake. I want to be with you for a very, very long time, Jeongseo."

To be honest, I wanted to tease her. Watching her struggle to suppress her excitement stirred a strange competitive itch inside me. That novel thrill of playful dominance was surprisingly delightful.

"Except I really am fine with it. If I'm okay with it, shouldn't that be enough?"

"I just want to be cautious. You might think it's fine now, but when little things keep piling up, someone can suddenly lose all affection out of nowhere, you know?"

"Me? Toward you, Noona?"

"Yeah. If I do whatever I want just because you gave permission... eventually, that's how boundaries get crossed. Things like that happen all the time between people. You get too comfortable, you forget basic courtesy, and then..."

While I was busy amusing myself with petty emotional provocations, she was looking far into our future. When I tilted my head with an unconvinced look, Leehyun gently explained the reason behind her self-imposed restraint.

"Of course I want to stare at you, and of course I want to do this and that. I'm a woman, after all."

"Right."

"Right now, since you said it's okay, maybe it really wouldn't matter. But what if I start acting like that whenever I want, without thinking?"

Leehyun offered a hypothetical. It was the classic misunderstanding or friction that could happen in any romance, simply with the gender roles reversed.

"What if one day you're having an awful day, feeling down, and I completely fail to read the room and make a clumsy pass at you?"

"Couldn't we just talk things like that out?"

"Sure, some things can be talked through. But some things leave a bitter taste in your heart that talking can't fix. You've heard the slang jeong-ttuk-tteol, right? When all affection drops to zero in an instant."

She elaborated with earnest concern. Because I was telling her that everything was fine, she was deliberately being twice as cautious. She was on high alert against taking me for granted. Her desire to pace our intimacy slowly stemmed from the exact same logic—she was terrified that if her threshold of stimulation skyrocketed too fast, she might cross a line she could never walk back.

"Then until when? How much do you have to hold back, and for how long? There isn't an exact rulebook for that."

"I know. To be honest, I don't really know either... I've never dated any other man before you, Jeongseo."

"Mm... is that so."

Listening to her made me think of Yeo-eun. Yeo-eun, who knew nothing of moderation and simply charged forward like a bulldozer, versus Leehyun, who was cautious to a fault. I honestly couldn't tell which extreme was better.

"Etiquette, courtesy, personal boundaries... I'm clumsy with all of it. It's embarrassing to admit, but I basically learned about men from books."

"Is that really something to be embarrassed about?"

"I'm so much older than you, Jeongseo. I have way more experience living in society. That means I should be the one leading the relationship properly... I'm sorry."

"What are you apologizing for? We can just figure each other out step by step."

"Yeah, exactly. That's why I'm being careful. Because I want us to figure each other out properly, step by step."

We had looped right back to square one. Beneath her gentle exterior, she possessed an unexpected streak of stubbornness. Then again, I should have figured as much from the moment she held back her desires even while soaking through her clothes.

"I brought the whole mood down, didn't I?" she muttered, looking down.

"Not at all. I actually really like that you're opening up to me like this."

"Since we're already on the subject, can I say one more thing?"

"Go ahead."

Leehyun took a small sip of her beverage before looking into my eyes again.

"I'm not seeing you as some casual dating partner."

"Then?"

"I don't mean I dislike dating you. I mean... I can't do the kind of relationship where we just see how it goes and break up if we aren't a perfect match."

What followed would have sounded intensely suffocating to any normal person.

"Like I told you before, for me, it has to be you, Jeongseo. It might be hard for you to understand."

"Yes. It felt a little overwhelming at first, but I can understand it now."

"If you say so, that's a relief... That's why I want to adapt everything to you. From one to ten. I thought as long as I accommodated you completely, it would work out."

First she insisted on not burdening me and taking ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠things slow, and now she was stomping on the gas pedal with reckless abandon. Her complete lack of dating experience was showing in full force, displaying the kind of obsessive devotion that would send an ordinary partner running for the hills.

"I'll study you closely and put in all the effort. So please, just give me a little time."

Yet, as luck would have it, her heartfelt declaration was music to my ears. I had zero intention of letting go of her anyway. Perhaps this was what people called a match made in heaven.

"Ah, wait. That must have sounded so uncomfortable. Scratch that, cancel, cancel! Please don't feel pressured. I was just—"

Rustle.

Midway through her passionate confession, she seemed to realize she had crossed into creepy territory and frantically tried to walk it back. Before she could finish retracting her words, I threw my arms around her.

"Jeongseo...?"

"Don't cancel it."

"Huh?"

She was sitting cross-legged on the floor mat. I climbed right onto her lap, straddling her thighs, and wrapped my legs around her waist to pull her into an unyielding embrace.

"There's no need to take it back. Keep your word, Noona."

"Uh... yes! I'll definitely keep it."

"Then I'll pamper you and treat you sweetly too."

"Hehe... You're going to pamper me, Jeongseo? Thank you."

Leehyun had frozen stiff in place, visibly flustered by my sudden embrace. I shifted my hips against her lap, rubbing the soft bulge between my thighs against her lower belly. Because I wasn't erect, there was no hardness to it.

"Hold me. It's okay."

"Me?"

"Yes. Put your arms around me, Noona."

Only then did she carefully bring her arms up to encircle my back.

"Tighter."

"Okay."

Her cheek, pressed against the side of my face, was radiating feverish heat.

"I liked everything you said."

"I'm... so glad."

"We're both beginners at this, so I'll follow your lead like you asked."

"Yeah."

"Though I might still be a little selfish and do whatever I feel like sometimes."

"That's fine. You can do whatever your heart desires, Jeongseo."

It was an unpolished, clumsy confession, but its sheer sincerity tugged at my heart. Held tightly against me, Leehyun felt like the most exquisite feast on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠earth.

This is a rare delicacy... I need to savor it slowly.

Pique, amusement, deep satisfaction, and a dash of bashfulness. In barely two hours, she had whirled me through an entire emotional tempest. It seemed I had lost our little unspoken contest after all. Her words had ended up driving me crazy with longing instead.

It was a thoroughly satisfying defeat.

On her drive home after dropping Jeongseo off, Leehyun felt as though she were walking on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠air. Her heart was fluttering so violently that she had to force herself to take deep, measured breaths to avoid causing a traffic accident.

"Hehehe."

In the end, a foolish giggle escaped past her lips anyway. The moment she pictured that small, adorable boy, her lips curved into a smile she had no hope of suppressing.

Jeongseo's body was so soft...

Going to the multi-room had been the single best decision of her life. For reasons she couldn't even fathom, he had crawled onto her lap and held her so tightly. The sheer bliss hadn't stopped there, either.

And his scent... *sniff*. Ah, I want to smell it again. The shampoo in his hair.

Keeping her eyes on the road, Leehyun painstakingly revisited every single beat of their date. Every memory remained pristine and vivid. Never in her thirty-odd years of life had she felt so grateful to have been born with an exceptional memory.

His hands were so impossibly tender, too.

When they stepped out of the multi-room onto the busy university street, Jeongseo had been the first to reach out and take her hand. Later, on the escalator inside the department store where they went for dinner, he had stood one step above her, turned around, and wrapped his arms around her neck. And every time she stopped at a red light during the drive and glanced over at the passenger seat, he had met her eyes with the most dazzling, enchanting smile.

Today was just... pure madness.

She replayed every second in her head until she finally arrived at her apartment. When she sat down on the toilet and pulled down her panties, the fabric was drenched in slick arousal fluid. Wearing a pantyliner had proven completely useless against such a deluge. Suppressing the desperate urge to touch herself on the spot, Leehyun quickly stripped down and hopped into the shower. After all, she had the real prize waiting safely inside her handbag.

Wait, could that have been padded underwear?

Even under the warm stream of water, her mind revolved entirely around him. She recalled the weighty, solid mass that had pressed against her stomach when he straddled her in the multi-room. What on earth was that overwhelming presence nestling between his thighs?

Could it be... No, that's impossible. With his petite frame...?

Having grazed the truth, Leehyun quickly dismissed it. She reasoned that it must have been thick shapewear or fabric bunched up between them.

Size doesn't matter anyway... As long as I have Jeongseo's toes. And his scent. Just Jeongseo being himself is more than enough for me.

Her thoughts drifted to the forbidden fruit she had tried so hard to ignore: the stolen glimpses of his bare feet resting on the carpet.

"Hurry... I need to hurry."

Her skin burned with frantic need. Rushing through the rest of her shower, she threw herself onto her bed stark naked without even bothering to turn on the lights.

"Hehehehe."

Clutched tightly in her fingers was an object. As she slowly guided her hand downward—

Bzzzt. Bzzzzzt.

Poised to begin masturbating, Leehyun felt her soaring mood plummet into instantaneous irritation. The caller ID glowed on the screen. She tried to ignore it, but the persistent buzzing vibrated against the nightstand without pause.

"Haa... Hello."

—Cho-i~ Where are you?!

The moment she picked up, a gratingly cheerful voice pierced her ear.

"Home. What do you want?"

—What, you're at home on a gorgeous Saturday night like this?

"Yeah. I'm home. Why are you calling?"

—See, that's why I told you to come out!

Eom Chaerin rattled on in an obnoxiously upbeat tone, launching into stories about the men she had met at her elite social gathering. She dropped several names in succession, her voice thick with boastfulness disguised as playful teasing.

—You really have to come next time. Be honest, aren't you regretting staying in?

"No? Regretting what?"

—Oh, please. I bet you spent all day thinking about me, wishing you'd listened to my advice.

"Haa... Is that all you called to say?"

Leehyun had spent every waking second of her day consumed with thoughts of Jeongseo. Not once had a single thought of Eom Chaerin crossed her mind. And right now, she was exceedingly pissed off that her sacred private time had been interrupted.

—Huh? Wait a second, why does your voice sound kind of bright? Did something good happen to you?

"Whatever. If you have nothing else to say, I'm hanging up."

—Wait, hold on! The next gathering—

Leehyun ended the call without another word. She flipped her phone onto silent mode, tossed it aside, and lifted the object in her hand directly to her nose.

"*Sniff, sniff*. Haa... It's Jeongseo's scent, hehe. It's faded a little, but..."

What she pressed against her face was Jeongseo's handkerchief. The moment she buried her nose in the cloth, every ounce of lingering irritation dissolved into pure, intoxicating euphoria. Any memory of Eom Chaerin was instantly wiped from her consciousness.

"Jeongseo... Ahng. Jeongseo..."

Squelch, squelch.

Before long, breathless, desperate moans echoed through the pitch-black bedroom. With her eyes squeezed shut, Leehyun rubbed feverishly around her swollen clitoris. In that shadowed room, she was undeniably the happiest woman in the world.

"That fucking bitch! Again?! Right while I'm talking...!"

Eom Chaerin hurled her smartphone onto the plush sofa. In the lavishly decorated suite beneath a sparkling chandelier, the harsh lighting cast sharp shadows over her twisted, furious expression.

"Baaabe~ What's wrong? Did something bad happen?"

"You... Haa. Forget it. Just go home."

A younger man clung to her side, wheedling with an exaggerated nasal whine. Looking at his drunken, disheveled display, a wave of sheer revulsion washed over Chaerin. She couldn't stomach the sight of him for another second.

"Aww, why are you being like this again? You were enjoying it just a minute ago!"

"I said, just leave."

She hadn't enjoyed a single second of it. His equipment was laughably small, and because he couldn't even maintain an erection, they hadn't managed to get past foreplay. There were plenty of other things about him that got on her nerves, but she barely managed to suppress her rising temper.

"What? Leave right now? What about our trip to the department store tomorrow...?"

Chaerin yanked a thick stack of 50,000-won banknotes from her designer wallet and threw it directly into his chest. The young man cut off mid-sentence and scrambled across the carpet to gather the bills.

"Then when are we going to the department store...?"

"Seriously, just get the fuck out."

Once the door clicked shut behind him, Chaerin's thoughts immediately drifted back to Leehyun hanging up on her. Leehyun's voice had been cold and dismissive as usual, yet there had been an unmistakable undertone of bubbly happiness beneath it.

No... She had to have spent the whole day thinking about the club. She's just jealous.

Chaerin harbored a deep-seated inferiority complex toward Leehyun that stretched back to their youth. During their school days, no matter how desperately Chaerin studied, she could never beat her. Leehyun was the undisputed rank one for all three years of high school, leaving Chaerin permanently stuck in second place.

I'm prettier... And my figure is leagues better.

She had lost in family pedigree, too. The day she accidentally discovered the true status of Leehyun's parents, Chaerin had cursed the unfairness of the world. That was why she had become obsessed with her looks, deliberately keeping Leehyun at her side as an unattractive foil so their peers would compare their appearances.

Yet even now, Chaerin's insecurity remained an open, festering wound.

"Pick up... Pick up the damn phone."

Chaerin dialed Leehyun's number again. She felt like her chest would explode if she didn't needle Leehyun until she cracked. But the call rang out until the automated operator took over.

"Fuck! What the hell is she doing that she can't answer?!"

She tossed her phone aside once more in a fit of rage. That oddly breathless, cheerful lilt in Leehyun's voice lingered in her ears. She couldn't explain it, but her gut told her that something wonderful had happened to Leehyun.

"Does she get off on reading medical journals that much? Freaking pervert."

She desperately attached an absurd rationalization to the nauseating premonition knotting her stomach. Leehyun's unbothered, indifferent attitude drove her up the wall.

Picking her phone back up, Chaerin opened the camera app. She posed under the bright chandelier lights, angling the shot to capture the ultra-expensive luxury hotel suite. She took special care to ensure that a torn, open condom wrapper on the bedside table peeked into the corner of the frame.

"Sent... Go ahead and eat your heart out."

She hit send, forcing a smile onto her lips—a grotesque, twisted grimace. Yet her foul mood didn't improve in the slightest. Try as she might, she couldn't deceive her own heart.

Left entirely alone in the brilliantly lit, ostentatious room, the woman was not happy at all.