The USB
I stared at the USB in my hand, sitting at my desk after returning to my room. Aside from the number “1” scrawled in what looked like a ballpoint pen, it was an utterly ordinary 8GB drive you could buy anywhere.
…What the hell is this?
Considering there was no original packaging and a number was written on it, it was definitely second-hand. The fact that there wasn’t even a small note made it feel like someone specifically wanted me to use it.
But still. There was no way I could just plug in a USB when I had no idea what was on it. Literally. Since I didn’t know what was inside, I had to be even more careful.
“…Mmm…”
Unable to suppress my unbearable curiosity, I clutched my head and agonized for a while. I tapped my desk rhythmically, searching for a solution, until—
“Ah!”
I suddenly remembered the laptop Mom had bought me. Since I hadn’t used it much, even if something went wrong, I could just wipe it clean and reset it, right?
…This is it!
Having found my answer, I shot up from my chair and walked over to the display cabinet I’d organized in the corner of the room. I took out the laptop I’d kept carefully stored in the center and returned to my desk.
Beep—
The familiar startup sound of the laptop after so long. While it booted up, I fiddled with the USB, wondering who could have sent it. Since it had been placed in the delivery box, it must have been someone who knew me…
…But who would send something like this?
When it came to people who knew where I lived, only a few names came to mind. Jihwan. Mom. The ‘friends.’ And maybe the chairman grandpa?
Out of all of them, the only ones crazy enough to send a suspicious USB like this were the deranged ‘friends.’ Those insane bitches who once sent low-quality trash as a “gift.” It made the most sense.
…So it really was from the ‘friends’?
As I narrowed down the suspects, the laptop finally finished loading and the desktop appeared on screen.
“….”
It was finally time to check the USB. Feeling strangely nervous, I bit the corner of my lip and slowly inserted the drive into the laptop.
A moment later, a small window popped up on the screen.
Removable Disk (F:)
It meant the USB had been recognized. I swallowed hard, then slowly moved the cursor and opened the drive.
Click—
The moment its contents were finally revealed…!
Inside the suspicious USB were…
Three videos with unknown titles. Each one had a massive file size, as if they’d crammed the entire 8GB full.
“…What… is this…?”
Because the titles were written with percentages whose meaning I couldn’t decipher, I had no way of guessing what the contents were. Which meant I had no choice but to open them.
…It couldn’t be anything weird, right?
Considering the high probability that the ‘friends’ had sent it, I could roughly imagine what kind of videos they were.
“….”
Still, I wouldn’t know until I actually played them. Feeling like I was doing something bad, I glanced around the room, then slowly moved the cursor and clicked on the first video labeled ‘100%.’
Click—
The video player filled the entire screen. Even after it started playing, only a pitch-black screen appeared, making me wonder if it had been sent by mistake… when suddenly the screen flipped to bright.
“…Huh?”
The background was some kind of house interior. The luxurious furniture and spacious room made it look like a high-end hotel. The angle didn’t move at all, so the camera must have been fixed in place. Since it was only showing the room with no other changes, I reached out to fast-forward—
Creak—
From the laptop speakers came the sound of a door opening. And then…
“Haa… haa…”
The rough breathing and lewd moans of a man and woman filled the air.
“…Eh?”
I clamped a hand over my mouth in shock. I could guess exactly what the video was about. It was exactly what I had suspected—an adult video.
I glanced around the room again, swallowed hard, and slowly began scrubbing through the footage.
Click. Click.
The further I skipped, the closer the two figures in the center of the screen came into view. After skipping once more, the image showed a completely naked man and woman entangled together.
Gulp…
The rough slapping sounds of flesh and the woman’s ecstatic moans that sounded like she was the happiest in the world. The man held her with gentle, loving touches as if she were precious, continuing their intimate act.
It looked like beasts driven purely by instinct, yet also like a passionate couple deeply in love. The sight was so intensely stimulating that my body twitched involuntarily.
“Chup… slurp… haa…”
They kept their lips locked the entire time, so their faces were barely visible. But when the man lightly smacked the woman’s butt and she changed positions, her face was finally revealed.
The moment both their faces were clearly caught on camera—
Click—
I hurriedly paused the video, leaned my face close to the laptop screen, and examined their features carefully.
“…Hmm?”
Something was off. Their faces looked like they had graphical glitches.
…What is this?
Feeling suspicious, I played the video again, and—
“Heuk… heuk…”
As if my eyes had been mistaken earlier, their clean, flawless faces were now clearly visible. The woman with her brown hair tied up had a beauty so striking she could pass for a model. The man with his light brown hair swept back looked like an incredibly handsome actor. They both had faces I felt like I’d seen on TV somewhere.
Their affectionate, loving intercourse continued for about ten minutes before the video finally ended. After the player stopped—
“….”
I quietly moved the cursor and played the next video, ‘90%.’
The background was the same luxurious room as before. This time, the man called the woman “Noona.”
“N-Noona…”
The woman who held the man lovingly against her chest. The second video was a little more stimulating and a little more vulgar than the first.
“…Ugh…”
Before I knew it, I was unconsciously rubbing my thighs together. The second video ended, and feeling slightly aroused, I hurriedly played the third one, ‘80%.’
Again, the same room. Maybe it was just my imagination, but their faces felt slightly different from the previous videos. Perhaps because I was so excited, I couldn’t focus properly.
“Heuk, heuk…! More, more…! Haang…”
The third video was far more stimulating and vulgar than the first, and even more so than the second. Completely worked up, I unconsciously turned my gaze toward the ‘gift’ sitting in the corner of the room.
“….”
Among the ‘gifts’ the friends had sent me, I recalled the pink object that looked like a toy.
On my way back home in a hurry, a sudden thought occurred to me.
Why was I heading to my wife’s house right now?
When I carefully considered the reason, nothing appropriate came to mind. It just felt natural to return to her side.
“….”
It wasn’t that I was thinking something wrong. A husband returning to his wife’s embrace wasn’t a mistake. But…
I had my own household too. I wasn’t particularly attached to that cramped little house, but it wouldn’t be good for me to settle down at my wife’s place. Even though she had said it was fine, I still thought it would be better if she and Soyeon combined households.
If the situation didn’t allow it, that was one thing, but right now my wife had returned, hadn’t she? Of course, if she and Soyeon started living together, I wouldn’t be able to see the two of them as freely as before… but it wasn’t like I wouldn’t be able to see them at all. For Soyeon’s sake, I could endure that much.
“….”
Having firmly made up my mind, I resolved to tell my wife my decision and continued walking.
And then…
“…What is this?”
The moment I returned to my wife’s house and was about to tell her I was leaving, I came face to face with the statement I had written earlier that day.
…Oh no, the text messages are going through…
Only then did I realize the secret behind the card my wife had given me. I subtly adjusted the way I was holding her as she sat on my lap and carefully spoke up.
“…Ah. I was going to tell you first… um…”
“…Hng?”
My wife let out a nasal sound that seemed to say, “Go on, try lying.” It looked like she had already seen through me.
At a loss for words, I gently kissed her forehead and slowly continued.
“It’s just… they’re still comrades who fought alongside us, right? They helped a lot this time, so I thought I should give them at least as much as they gave me! That’s why I just…”
“…Your tone is getting shorter, isn’t it?”
“…I, I gave them a little something…”
I shut my mouth and buried my face in the crook of her neck. She quietly wrapped her arms around my neck and whispered in my ear.
“…Do you want to die?”
…Oh crap.
A harsh tone had slipped out of my wife. From experience, that meant she was quite angry.
Slightly flustered, I hurriedly rubbed my face against her neck and acted cute.
“Noonaaa… why would I die… I just helped them out once… okay?”
But my wife had no intention of letting it slide. She tangled her fingers in my hair and whispered again.
“…Didn’t I tell you not to spend money recklessly on women?”
She had. She said women tended to misunderstand, so I shouldn’t give them material gifts. After receiving that thorough lesson, I had never once bought an expensive present.
But this time was different. How could I just stand by and watch a child abandoned by her parents cry so miserably in front of me? As a father with a daughter around the same age, and especially one who had gone through similar circumstances, I absolutely couldn’t ignore it.
If my wife had seen Gong Haeseon’s state, she would definitely have taken my side.
“It’s not like that… she just feels like a daughter to me. She seems to have some kind of story too… Anyway, she looked really pitiful… ma’am.”
“If she’s that pitiful, why don’t you just go live with her instead of this old lady?”
Deciding that making any more excuses would be dangerous, I carefully unwrapped her arms, turned to face her directly, and pulled her into a tight embrace. I whispered into her ear.
“Noona, I won’t do it again. I was wrong…”
“…Do you really know what you did wrong?”
“Yes… I think I let my emotions get the better of me. But I definitely drew a clear line. I told her I wasn’t giving it because I had feelings for her. Really!”
At that, my wife, who had been quietly stroking my back, bumped her head against my chest with a small thud as if to say she’d be watching, and spoke in a low voice.
“…I’ll trust you this time.”
It was a short phrase packed with many layers of meaning. I apologized to her once more and quietly held her in my arms.
How long had we been embracing like that…?
“…By the way, weren’t you about to say something earlier?”
“…No. I was just thinking you look especially pretty today.”
Having decided to stay at my wife’s house only for today, I quietly buried my original words.
How many hours had passed since Jihwan left?
The warmth that had filled the house had long since vanished, replaced by a chilling cold.
“….”
I stared blankly at the object Jihwan had left behind, then carefully reached out and placed my hand on it. It had grown ice-cold, with not a trace of warmth left, but inside my chest, something hot began to surge.
My face twitched on its own. My heart pounded so violently it felt like it would burst through my ears, shaking my entire body.
Happiness. Satisfaction. And an unbearable pleasure pounded against my brain, making my mind dizzy.
“Ugh…”
But the happy moment didn’t last long. As my brain woke from the pleasure, my mind gradually returned. The remnants of happiness drained out of me as if my whole body had been pierced with holes, leaving me completely empty.
A maddening sense of emptiness. I wished someone would grab me and pull me back up… but in this house, in this entire building, there wasn’t a single person who existed for me.
I could only swallow it down quietly inside.
“…Hic…”
Overwhelmed by piercing sorrow, tears began to flow.