Reunion (2)
My head burned like molten lava, but my hands were colder than ice.
SwordEmpress: What?
He's selling his body??
Are you fucking kidding me?
Midori: No no, that's not what I meant—calm down first…
SwordEmpress: Calm down?
My boyfriend just got called a male prostitute and you want me to calm down?!
SwordEmpress: You're calling my man a cumrag and you expect me to stay calm?? Fuck this shit!
DayChang: SwordEmpress, we didn't mean it like that. Just chill for a second.
SwordEmpress: Then what the hell did you mean?!
Why the fuck would our Jihwan be selling his body?!!!!!!!
RareNick: Please calm down!!! There's a reason for this!!!
I had a reason too…! I had proof that Jihwan was still pure. He'd only been working this part-time job for a few weeks. If he really was selling his body, he never would've passed the unicorn test.
SwordEmpress: I saw him pass the unicorn test with my own eyes and you're still calling him a cumrag?!!!!!!!
Choco1: What if it's actually true though lol…
DayChang: Choco, will you shut up and help me calm her down already!!!
These so-called 'friends' of mine all thought our Jihwan was some dirty whore who sold his body. How could they? How…?
No matter how broke he was, Jihwan wasn't the kind of guy who'd just throw himself away like that. He'd never once brought up money in front of me. He was always the one who paid for everything, even buying me clothes with his own money. And they were saying… what? That he's selling his body?
“…Haa…”
The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I was about to tear into them when—
RareNick: We all think this for a reason!! Just hear us out and you'll understand 100%!!!
'RareNick' started trying to convince me again. The others chimed in, agreeing with her and trying to talk me down. After going back and forth for a while, I finally agreed to at least listen to their reasoning.
If it didn't make sense, I'd flip the table on them.
But then…
RareNick: Minor, no parents, living off government subsidies, lives alone so does all the housework and cooking well (fact), suddenly starts a part-time job after taking good care of you, suddenly brings home suspiciously large amounts of money (fact), never misses work no matter what (fact)
RareNick: Everything correct so far?
She'd organized it surprisingly well. I glared at the screen, desperately looking for any flaw, but every single point was accurate. It felt like I was being backed into a corner…
I had no choice but to type . Then RareNick started listing the suspicious parts.
RareNick: Nature of the job is unclear (fact)
Employer is a rich, much older woman (fact)
A minor earning 50 per day of work? Unless you're a hunter, that's not something you can legally make (fact)
RareNick: Right?
“Ugh…”
I really didn't want to admit it, but every single thing she said was true.
RareNick: And on top of that, he's handsome and kind?
If I were his employer, I definitely wouldn't let him go.
Midori: Fr, I'd beat him with stacks of cash and make him eat rice mouth-to-mouth
Choco1: With tongue?
Midori: You think I'd stop at just tongue lololol
DayChang: Suddenly I'm so fucking jealous 1
“…What the hell are you guys even saying…”
In the end, it all came down to them claiming Jihwan was selling his body.
SwordEmpress: So you're saying Jihwan sold himself for money? You wanna die?
Then my friends started pouring their frustration onto me, as if I was the one being unreasonable.
Choco1: Why else would he sell his body? Your boyfriend did it so he could buy you clothes and feed you nice things!!!!!
RareNick: Look at you not even realizing how loved you are. You'd deserve to lose him at this point.
DayChang: Your stomach must be so full lol…
Midori: Go fill someone else's stomach, ugh…
“…Huh?”
I let out a dumb sound as I stared at the monitor. The chat window was flooded with messages. Every single one of them claimed that Jihwan had sold his body for me.
…No way…
J-Jihwan… for me…?
*
While Min Soyeon was deep in conversation with her friends, at a luxury hotel somewhere in Seoul.
“…You said we were going to look at furniture.”
“Isn't this sofa pretty?”
My wife stroked the sofa with a seductive glint in her eyes as she looked at me.
“…Well, it is pretty, but…”
Who in the world goes to a hotel to look at furniture…?
She ignored my gaze, settled onto the sofa, crossed her legs elegantly, and spoke in a suggestive tone.
“…Why don't you sit down first? You need to try it to know.”
I let out a short sigh at her words and obediently followed her suggestion. But then…
“…Were we so distant that you had to sit all the way over there?”
Just because I sat across from her, I got scolded.
She'd dressed so provocatively and now she wanted me to sit next to her? Even in the car on the way here, she'd been touching me without restraint, which had been incredibly awkward. I had school tomorrow and training with Soyeon too. Once she got started, she wouldn't stop until she was exhausted. No matter how much I loved her, I really wanted to rest tonight.
“…Your clothes are too revealing. I don't want to sit next to you.”
She let out a small, adorable laugh and wiggled her foot.
The bright red heels on her feet looked like they were beckoning me to come over.
“We're going to do it anyway, so I don't know why you're acting like this. Do I have to beg my husband to come see me before you'll listen?”
Again… again…
This was basically habitual blackmail at this point. I knew exactly why she'd called me here, but I wasn't going to let it slide today.
“Not today. I promised to train with Soyeon tomorrow.”
When I refused more firmly, my wife sighed as if she had no choice.
“…Fine…. If you hate it that much, I can't force you…. Who would want to sleep with an old lady like me? What's the point of putting on makeup like this if I'm just going to lose to my own daughter and get nothing… Haa… Honey, I'll be right back…”
Then, without hesitation, she grabbed her own throat and started making choking sounds.
This woman is actually…!
Startled, I rushed over and grabbed her wrist. The moment my hand touched her, her grip went limp. She really had been applying force—her neck was bright red.
“…Haa… haa…”
Seeing her breathing heavily, I felt a twinge of worry. I gently stroked her back and spoke in a soothing voice.
“Please don't do that…. We're going to do it all day this weekend anyway…. Just hold back for one day. Okay?”
She suddenly whipped her head around, shoved her face right up to mine, and stared into my eyes. The scent of her perfume and her natural body odor filled my nose. She whispered,
“That's then. This is now.”
Then she pulled back slightly and draped her leg over mine.
“Huu… Can you take these off for me? It's been a while since I wore heels, and my feet hurt.”
Seeing that she'd recovered so quickly, I relaxed. I quietly took hold of her leg and slipped the heel off.
And then…
“…”
Her toes, painted with bright red pedicure, wiggled playfully as if greeting me.
The pedicure. It was the 'signal' my wife and I had agreed on.
At that moment, she leaned in close and whispered softly into my ear.
“I didn't paint the other side.”
Five times. And on a weekday?
I carefully set down the leg I was holding and shouted,
“Absolutely not!”
*
The tears wouldn't stop.
“Hic… khh…”
It felt like someone had placed a stone on my heart. It was so heavy, and my heart was pounding so loudly in my ears.
J-Jihwan… Jihwan was selling his body for me… and to some old lady at that…
“Khhuk…”
The fact that he was spending every hard-earned penny—money he'd earned by selling his body—on me made my chest feel like it was being torn apart.
The endless stream of tears.
It was shocking that Jihwan had been held by another woman, but what hurt even more was that he'd done something so dirty for my sake.
Sniff—
While I was hurting like this, my so-called 'friends' were seriously arguing about how to keep Jihwan, completely unaware of my feelings.
Midori: Ugh this is so frustrating. Just give him one raw session and he'll come crawling back, don't you know the 74 two-line strategy?!!!
RareNick: If you start practicing your throat technique now, you'll be able to use it in real situations.
Choco1: This is definitely a * situation;; Guys love that
DayChang: Pure love… Only pure love can save you… Vanilla is the best flavor for ice cream too…
Fucking bitches…
They set my heart on fire and then happily chat about it?
Tap… tap tap…
SwordEmpress: All of you, get lost.
They completely ignored me and kept seriously discussing whether they should buy practice tools or not.
…Sniff…
My eyes were so swollen from crying. I sniffled, picked up the phone that had been lying on the desk, and checked the time.
11 p.m.
If it was a normal part-time job, he should've been done a while ago.
…I could just call him and ask. Tell him I was worried and wanted to know if everything was okay.
“…”
But I didn't have the courage. What if I called and he thought I was being weird? What if he thought I didn't trust him? What if he thought I was being clingy… or annoying…?
“…”
After agonizing over it for a long time while clutching my phone, I decided to send a message instead. My throat was tight and I was afraid I'd make weird noises, and I didn't have the confidence to ask without sounding like I was crying.
I curled up in my chair, desperately trying to steady my trembling hands as I slowly typed out the message.
Tap—
[ ]
Tap tap—
[ What ]
Tap tap… tap…
[ are you doing? ]
…This should be fine, right…?
I checked it several times just to be sure. The sender was definitely Yu Jihwan, and there were no typos. I sniffled and carefully pressed [Send]. With a swoosh sound, the message went through.
My words appeared in the chat window. Next to them, the number 1 remained.
It hadn't even been ten seconds since I sent it, but my heart started pounding like crazy.
…Please.
Please. Please. Please…!
I was staring at my phone with trembling hands when the number 1 disappeared. Gulp— A reply came back.
[I'm resting at home. Why?]
Home. Yu Jihwan was resting at home right now. Alone…!
The message had come quickly, and the content was perfectly normal.
“Heh… hehe…”
If it had been that suspicious job, he would've been rolling around with some old lady right now. Some rich, old, loose woman with nothing but money.
But he replied like this.
“Hehe… hehe…”
[No, just rest well. See you tomorrow.]
I quickly sent a reply, giggling as I threw myself onto the bed.
“…Heh, hehe…”
…Thank god…