Iseol's Collarbone
"You couldn't get the contract?"
"No."
"I figured it was a lock since Ms. Lee Mikyeong introduced her…"
"Well. That's how it turned out."
Of course, I hadn't given up on Han Seoyeon. To seize the upper hand in any contract with her, I needed Seoyeon to be the one who reached out first.
I said what I said to put Choi Wonjae at ease. He was still hemming and hawing over whether to lean on his ace or leave me alone.
"Don't worry, Director. Today was a miss, but she'll call again soon."
"Yeah? How can you be so sure?"
"Gut feeling."
"Gut feeling?"
Wonjae stared at me like I'd lost my mind, then some thought seemed to cross his face. He shrugged and grinned.
"Fine. If I can't trust Junhyun, who am I supposed to trust? Kid walks in and becomes the ace in a few days flat."
"Haha… Ace? Please. I'm nowhere near that."
"Sorry to interrupt, but this conversation seems to be running long, so if I could just…"
Shin Iseol cut in from the side. Wonjae waved her on, perfectly happy about it.
"Yeah. Go ahead, Manager Iseol."
"Ah—no… I actually needed Junhyun for something."
"Ah… I see… Haha… Fewer and fewer people looking for me these days~"
"That's because Junhyun's doing such a good job, right?"
"Complaints have plummeted too. Weird~ Must be that new-hire magic~"
Wonjae beamed with pure contentment, clapped my shoulder a couple of times, and headed into the break room.
Iseol cleared her throat, then turned to me.
"Do you know someone named Gu Somin?"
"Ah, yes… I do."
"She asked me to book her an appointment, so I did. Your schedule was pretty open today anyway."
"Ah, thank you. Perfect."
"Where exactly are you pulling all these women from?"
Iseol's eyes narrowed with suspicion.
"What do you mean?"
"You know. There are people like that. They bring over regulars from their old shop and pass them off like brand-new clients. Not that it's evil or anything, but the other place might start talking later. And there's no law that says our staff wouldn't do the same."
"This is my first job."
"Well. If you say so, I guess that's that."
Whenever Iseol had something else she actually wanted to say, she always threw out some forced line like that first.
I knew her well enough by now, so I decided to poke at her.
"Is there something you want to ask me?"
"Wh—what? What do you…?"
"When you brought up Gu Somin earlier, you really hammered the part about my schedule being empty. I figured you were asking me to make time for you."
"Haha! Hahaha! Why would I need time with you, Junhyun?"
"My whole afternoon's free. Want me to work on your shoulders at least?"
"Yes."
The answer slipped out before she could stop it. Then Iseol shook her head hard, like she'd short-circuited. Her face went scarlet.
"N-no! That's not—! J-Junhyun, you're just really skilled, so…"
"Got it. I'll do it."
"Huh? Ah—ahem. Okay. Then… I'll ask Yeondo to watch the counter for a bit. And… thank you."
"For what?"
"Yeondo and I used to be so awkward around each other. But after what happened last time, we've gotten a lot closer. We talk easily now, and she greets me properly every time she sees me."
So that was what she really wanted to say.
I looked at Iseol again—this woman who had to circle all the way around just to spit out a shy thank-you.
A little cute, even.
Lee Yeondo came out of the break room at the call and spotted me, waving with a bright smile.
"Junhyun, you're a little late today."
The second I saw that beaming face, the "cute" thought I'd just had about Iseol melted clean away. Purely on looks, was there a woman prettier than Yeondo? Seoyeon was beautiful too, but age is a tyrant.
"Haha, had something to take care of."
"Manager, you called for me~"
Yeondo addressed Iseol in a voice softer than before. Iseol answered cheerfully.
"Yes. I'm going to get a quick massage from Junhyun—could you watch the counter for a minute?"
"…From Junhyun?"
"Yes."
"…Understood."
The moment the request landed, Yeondo's face crumpled. Or rather—she managed her expression well enough that only someone with sharp eyes would catch how far it had fallen.
Whether Iseol was dense or just oblivious, she didn't sense a thing wrong. She stepped out from behind the counter and beckoned me.
"VIP room."
I nodded, then glanced toward Yeondo. She stood at the counter staring into empty air. To my eyes, it looked exactly like she was trying not to meet my gaze.
Are we about to get friction between these two again? Yeondo's clearly jealous over me… but Iseol's real feelings? Hard to say.
Cute, Yeondo. That hollow look on her face. Is she actually jealous over me? A woman that gorgeous? My chest gave a sharp little flutter.
I'd felt it before—Yeondo hit me with full girlfriend vibes. Even on our date it had been the same. Being with her brought up this thick, fresh rush of feeling. And we seemed pretty compatible in bed, too.
In the VIP room, Iseol perched lightly on the edge of the bed.
"Just a light shoulder rub like last time?"
"Ah, well… or… is there something else you can do?"
"Where would you like me to work?"
"Honestly, this collarbone area on this side has been tingling and aching for a few days. I was worried something might be wrong."
"If something's wrong, you came to the right place. That's kind of my specialty."
"Ah, right! Exactly! It's weird…"
Iseol suddenly started babbling.
"Sorry?"
"It's true, isn't it! This is your first job, so where did you even get the experience… I heard from the director that you help people with all kinds of things… that if something's wrong you fix it on the spot! Where did you learn all that?"
"Ah…"
I hesitated over what to say, then went with this:
"Self-taught."
"Self-taught? That works?"
"Apparently it does."
"Haa… This is like asking a Seoul National University student how to study well."
Is it really on that level? I felt quietly pleased.
One thing was certain: Iseol knew absolutely nothing about muscle treatment technique.
Which meant… no matter where I touched her, she wouldn't understand the basis for any of it.
"Then let's take a look right away. Could you just… here…"
I pointed toward my own chest. Iseol went "Ah!" and flushed. Then she half-turned her head and, with a single index finger, stretched her T-shirt out to show me her collarbone.
Collarbone, sure—but pull it that far and all you have to do is lift your chin a little and the whole inside is on display.
But what was this.
Fuller than expected.
The inside was surprisingly substantial—I was genuinely startled. Maybe the bra was a little tight, but her cleavage was distinct, and soft flesh was trying to spill out over the cups.
But the important part wasn't her chest. Exactly as she'd said, the lower front of her collarbone was glowing a faint bluish color.
It sat so close to her breast that it called to mind the dazzling multicolored light I'd seen at Han Seoyeon's groin. The spot straddled the boundary so ambiguously that massaging it would require my hand to go deep inside.
"Could you lie down?"
"Ah, would that be more comfortable?"
"It's the collarbone, so yes. But…"
I pointed at Iseol's clumsy index finger.
"Are you going to hold that the whole time I'm massaging?"
At first she didn't get it—then she looked down at her own chest and nearly jumped out of her skin.
"Ah… r-right! Th-then what should I do?"
"Manager."
"Yes?"
"Do I look like a man to you?"
"N-no… what kind of…!"
"I don't see you as a woman either, so just take the T-shirt off. I checked the condition with my own eyes—if we don't treat this right now, it could get a little dangerous."
"F-for real? It was that bad… O-okay. I-I'll take it off. Whatever! It's not like Junhyun could possibly look like a man to me."
But Iseol was mistaken about one thing.
I had no idea how I looked to her—but if you've got two tits and no dick between your legs, you look like a woman to me.
She yanked the shirt off without a second thought.
The breasts I'd been peeking at a moment ago were now fully on display, and somehow the thrill drained right out of it. Stolen glances had been more appetizing. Another lesson for the day.
Man… if only Han Seoyeon were this easy. Take it off when I say take it off, sign when I say sign. Life would be so much simpler.
I laid Iseol down on the bed and started by rubbing the upper part of her collarbone. A few red spots were scattered there too—working them out would probably feel good.
"Hngh…?"
Sure enough, the second my hands touched her, the reaction came. Last time I'd worked her shoulders, she'd made those strange little sounds and her whole upper body had gone soft and melted.
"Your body's incredibly sensitive."
"Nngh… i-isn't that a little rude?"
"It's basically the most basic thing a masseur can say."
"Ah… r-right… yeah…"
Iseol was stammering more than usual today.
Reading her carefully, I shifted my hands little by little toward the lower edge of her collarbone. She wasn't a client—no need to waste time.
"Here, right?"
I threw in a question here and there for good measure.
"I think I need to go a little lower and press. That okay?"
"Ah, yes…"
The moment she gave permission, I dropped a little further and crossed the boundary between collarbone and breast.
Even at a B-cup, this zone already counted as chest. And Iseol wasn't completely flat—there was real volume under my hands.
Soft. Quietly plush. The kind of texture that made you want to grab on and knead freely.
Not flawless like Han Seoyeon's skin, but so pale and white it felt like stepping onto fresh, untrodden snow.
Ah, so soft.
Clearing every blue spot took less than three seconds.
The way they vanished with the lightest brush of my fingertips, like wiping something off, told me the collarbone pain hadn't been that severe to begin with.
Even so, I didn't want to take my hand off Iseol's chest.
While I was at it, I decided to go a little lower.
"I think I know the cause."
"What is it?"
"Something a few women would relate to. The ones with a bit more size, especially."
"Ah…"
"How is it now? No discomfort left in the collarbone at all, right?"
"Huh? You're right. It was still tingling a second ago, but now I can move my neck and feel nothing."
"Then…"
I said it as I lowered my hand further.
"I'll remove the most important cause."