Three Girls' Cum-Service Play (3)
…Back to the present. Looking down at Jihyun nestled in my arms with her eyes squeezed shut, I spoke.
"No… I'm sorry. We're not on the same side."
At my quiet, matter-of-fact words, Jihyun flinched.
Then she lifted her tear-streaked face and looked at me for a moment.
At last she slowly pulled away from me, lowered her eyes, and said softly,
"…Yeah… I know… I've done things to you, too…"
"That's not what I'm talking about."
I cut her off flatly. Jihyun raised her eyes to me again.
"…We've never been on the same side. Not then, and not now. You just thought we were. You were mistaken."
"……Is that so?"
Jihyun let out a bitter laugh, then hung her head and muttered,
"…I understand… I'm sorry."
And as she started to leave with unsteady steps, I grabbed her shoulder.
"Wait a second."
"…What."
Jihyun brushed my hand off curtly and snapped. But I held on stubbornly.
Looking at her as she glared at me, I spoke from the heart.
"…I hate it when people say they're on my side. I've heard that way too often since I was a kid."
"…So what do you want me to do about it."
Jihyun shot back coldly, but I pressed on undeterred.
"Everyone is alone. There's no one in this world who's truly on my side. That's nothing but an illusion. If you fail to realize that and go around believing someone is on your side, that feeling only leads to foolish obsession. I learned that through you."
"……"
Jihyun frowned and glared at me. Resting my hand on her shoulder, I continued calmly.
"…But we have something called friends. A friend doesn't have to be on the same side—anyone can be one. And friends can help each other."
"Jihyun, I think of you as a good friend. Even though you're materialistic and selfish and sometimes so pitifully weak that I truly hated and despised you—"
"Despite all that, you're still my friend."
"And you know me—I'm a busybody. I'm not the kind of person who can just stand by when a friend ends up like this."
"So tell me. Who did this to you?"
Jihyun's eyes went wide as she stared at me intently. She seemed deeply shaken by what I'd said.
How should I put it—spouting my personal half-baked philosophy like some grand speech made me flush with belated embarrassment, but it was something I had to say.
Because after everything I'd been through lately, after looking hard at myself, this was the careful conclusion I'd reached.
Neither Yumin nor Jihyun—no one had ever truly been on my side. That was just a word used to dress up twisted obsession.
We had simply been good friends. Mistaking that fact for something more was how tragedies like Yumin's happened.
As a friend, I wanted to help Jihyun. That was my honest feeling, with no ulterior motives mixed in.
Jihyun hemmed and hawed as if unsure how to begin, then finally opened her mouth in a small voice.
"…Th… that is…"
About two hours later.
Evening, the world outside the window growing dark.
Seehun had dropped his new girlfriend off at her place and was humming cheerfully on his way home.
Then his cheek gave a slight sting. He absently touched it, and the memory of what had happened with Jihyun earlier made him scowl.
…Fuck. That bitch slapped me so damn hard… Still stings.
Muttering curses under his breath, Seehun swaggered home.
He suddenly remembered he still hadn't changed the front door password and hesitated—but soon decided there was no real need.
…Knowing Shin Jihyun's personality, her pride alone will keep her from ever coming back to my place… Besides, changing it would just be a pain to remember. Might as well leave it.
With that thought, he stepped into the dim apartment, tossed his coat onto the sofa, and threw open the door to his room.
"Whew… Huh? What, did I leave this on?"
The computer screen inside was lit up bright, and Seehun tilted his head in confusion.
Right then—
Someone seized his forearm and twisted it hard behind his back.
"Aaagh! A-aah! What the fuck, who are you…!"
Terrified, Seehun couldn't even scream properly—he just trembled and cried out.
Then the massive man behind him whispered in a low voice.
"…Hey. I was just browsing your computer until a minute ago. Pretty interesting stuff. Exactly how many women did you film in secret?"
"Wh-what…!"
Seehun's face went pale as he thrashed and shouted.
"Bullshit! Those are all videos I shot with the girls' consent—there's nothing illegal about them…"
"Oh yeah? There were shots of them showering and pissing, too. Those were consensual? They sure didn't look like they knew anything about it."
Seehun broke out in a cold sweat and clenched his teeth.
He could try to claim even those had been consensual, but he'd taken so many hidden-camera videos that it was pointless anyway.
Narrowing his eyes, he glared at the stranger behind him and whispered,
"…Who the hell are you? How did you get into my house? What do you have to do with me?"
The stranger, as if he had nothing to say on that subject, yanked Seehun's arm higher.
"Gyaaah…! Aaagh, I'm sorry! No—I'm sorry! Please, just let me off this once… Ugh…"
"This isn't the time for those questions, is it? 'What do you want?' would be the smarter one, don't you think?"
Biting his lip white to endure the pain, Seehun trembled and asked,
"…Wh-what do you want…"
The man behind him pulled out a USB drive and held it up.
"Delete every single video you've uploaded online. And transfer five million won to Shin Jihyun. Right now, while I watch."
"Or I'll take this USB straight to the cops. You know how hard they come down on this stuff these days, right?"
"…Sh-Shin Jihyun…?"
Seehun mumbled stupidly, then suddenly shouted as if something had clicked.
"…D-did Shin Jihyun put you up to this? Did she pay you to do this?"
The stranger snorted as if it were funny—then mercilessly wrenched Seehun's shoulder.
Crack!
"GYAAAAH…!!! AAAAH! AAAH!"
"…I told you not to ask about me. And you're wrong on every count anyway. Now do what I said. Fast."
"Ugh… F-fine…"
Seehun had no choice but to stagger to his feet and sit at the computer.
The man behind him rested both massive hands near his neck as if about to give him a friendly shoulder rub—so even if Seehun had wanted to try something, he couldn't.
Reluctantly, Seehun transferred the promised five million won to Jihyun and deleted every last video under the stranger's watch.
…Doesn't matter. I can recover them anyway… Fuck. The second this bastard leaves, I'm restoring every single one…
Seehun was smiling to himself at that thought when—
The moment he finished deleting the last video, the man behind him yanked the power plug from the computer tower, then picked the whole thing up and hurled it out the window.
"Aah…!! No…!"
The sound of the tower shattering to pieces on the flower bed below the officetel building rang out.
As Seehun stared blankly out the window in despair, the stranger muttered from behind him.
"…Don't forget. I've got the USB. Try anything stupid and I go straight to the cops."
"…I-if you do that, you'll get arrested for breaking and entering too."
Seehun squeezed out a last bit of resistance, but the man just shrugged as if he didn't care.
"…Then which of us spends longer in prison? Think carefully before you act."
With that, the man left Seehun's apartment without a backward glance.
Having lost every precious hidden-camera video he'd collected in an instant, Seehun collapsed where he stood, pressed a hand to his forehead, and groaned in utter desolation.
"Noona, thank you! Thanks to you, everything worked out. I'll really, really pay you back for this one! Sales this month have been pretty decent, so…"
"Forget it. I don't need that money, so just get your head on straight and don't run the place into the ground."
"If you come asking me for money again, you're really dead. Got it?"
"Y-yeah! Of course! Noona, I'll buy you a meal next month—come hang out…"
"Ugh… You, buying me a meal in your situation? Forget it. Noona's busy. I'm hanging up."
With that, Jihyun hung up and stared blankly up at the sky.
She still couldn't quite understand how that arrogant Seehun had sent her five million won without a word of protest.
Truthfully, she didn't particularly want to know. She and Seehun were strangers now—forever.
And maybe… she and Jihoon were, too.
"…I lost an ally."
Jihyun murmured to herself with a bitter smile.
She hadn't realized it until now, but looking back, she had been leaning on Jihoon more than she'd thought.
Not on the same side—but a friend all the same… What a ridiculous thing to say. That's why I like it.
Jihyun smiled, fiddled with her phone for a moment, then suddenly stood up.
Walking toward her vanity, she thought,
…I should redo my makeup before I go to Jihoon's place.