Chapter 11: I Rushed Over Thinking It Was Dangerous, But the Employee Was Masturbating
Continuing our conversation, Chae-ah suddenly asked me this.
“Unni, have you come out to your whole family?”
“Come out?”
I took a sip of my drink and tossed out an answer.
“Yeah, I have.”
“When?”
“When? Well, it felt like they already knew before I even said anything.”
“Really?”
I'd realized I liked girls at age sixteen.
And I'd hidden it from my family for three years without saying a word.
I came out in the living room, all of us huddled together to ring in the New Year.
I'd never heard my parents' thoughts on same-sex attraction, so I was pretty nervous, but there wasn't any special reaction.
Just something like, “We figured as much.”
“Yeah, we kinda thought so.”
“Hmm…”
“What's up?”
“Well, unni does kinda look like a lesbian.”
Was I supposed to take that as a compliment or an insult? It was so ambiguous.
“What about you, Chae-ah? Have you come out to your family?”
“Yeah, I did. Back in middle school, I just told my mom, ‘Mom, I like girls!’”
“That's impressive.”
“You think so?”
“It took me three years to say it. I was a little scared.”
Comparing her to my past self—who'd agonized over how my parents' gaze might change—made Chae-ah seem incredibly bold.
“I guess that makes sense. I didn't really think about it.”
“How'd your parents react?”
“They said I was still too young, but I stubbornly insisted I wasn't.”
“That's impressive too.”
Standing firm against words like that from her parents without getting discouraged was something worth admiring.
“Are you an only child, unni?”
“Yeah, only child. You?”
“I have a little sister. She's in her senior year of high school now.”
“Senior year? That's crunch time.”
“I guess so? I dropped out, so I can't really relate.”
Her sister being a high school senior brought back memories of that time.
When I was a sophomore, my parents naturally opposed my decision to skip college and go straight into working.
But I didn't back down—I laid out my entire plan and showed it to them.
And by sticking to it without fail, I earned their approval.
“My parents are super protective of my sister.”
“What about you?”
“They just wanted me to grow up healthy from a young age.”
“You get along well with your parents?”
“Yeah, we talk every day. I even told them I started working at an adult toy store.”
For the record, my parents still think I work at an office.
It's not embarrassment—I've just never found the right moment to tell them.
Once I became independent and got buried in work life, our interactions naturally dwindled, making it awkward to reach out first or visit home.
“Haah! Mmm, Dubai Chewy Cookie is so gooood~.”
“You've already had three.”
“It's too delicious.”
“Those things are crazy high in calories each.”
“Huh…”
I'd tossed it out casually, but Chae-ah wiped the cocoa powder from her mouth and narrowed her eyes.
“I… work out consistently to manage it…”
Her sudden reaction caught me off guard.
“Oh, yeah. Just saying.”
“Really? Phew, good.”
“What did you think I meant by it?”
“That I'd gain weight or something, teasing me.”
I watched her beam innocently again while munching on another Dubai Chewy Cookie, then poked her side.
“Eek!”
“Pfft! What kind of sound was that?”
“I-I got startled…”
“Just messing with you.”
“Ugh, I don't have any side fat. Nothing to poke.”
As if to prove her point about no side fat, she wrapped one arm around her waist.
In this everyday atmosphere, everything about Chae-ah's words and actions oozed cuteness.
That cuteness softened my defenses, drawing a small smile from me.
“Chae-ah, you've got a KakaoTalk.”
“Huh? Oh, it's Mom.”
Her phone screen lit up with a notification—our selfie from earlier set as the wallpaper.
“When did you change it to that?”
“Hehe, it's such a great pic. Can't I?”
“You're already using it and now asking if it's okay? Do whatever.”
“Thanks, unni.”
While Chae-ah chatted on KakaoTalk, I sprawled on the sofa, letting my exhausted body rest.
Even with a guest over, there was a limit to how long I could hold out.
“Ah, I'm dying…”
“You that tired, unni?”
“Tired, yeah, but my body hurts all over.”
No matter how many times I compared her current face to last night's, I couldn't find any similarities.
It was so astonishing—she'd overwhelmed me so much, I wondered if it was even the same person.
Come to think of it, how many times did we go last night?
“Unni, why are you suddenly counting on your fingers?”
“…Six times.”
“What?”
“Never mind.”
My remaining shred of pride wouldn't let me explain what I was counting.
“You don't remember any of it?”
“Nope, nothing.”
“Not even when you said how many times you masturbate a day while drinking?”
“D-Did I say that?!”
Bringing up what I'd heard at the drinking session made her face flush beet red in an instant.
Her eyes darted around lost, and she started fanning herself with both hands.
“Yeah, you said on days you're super horny, you do it six times a day.”
“Hic…!”
“I thought it was impressive. Guess youth really is the best.”
“Ughhh… I'm all dried up!”
She curled up in a hurry, wailing that all the good men were taken.
From her reaction, she really didn't remember.
“Only I know, right?”
“Yeah, got it. My lips are sealed.”
“So… you have to take responsibility, unni. I wanna marry you.”
How did things flow into this?
“What're you saying.”
“That's mean! You know all my secrets!”
“Who asked you to tell? You spilled everything when you were drunk.”
“Ugh… so embarrassing… Um, unni does that much when she's horny too, right?”
“Even at my horniest, three times a day max.”
Thud!
I drew a firm line saying no way, and she slammed her head against the floor.
“Sniff… I wanna go home…”
“You leaving?”
“You hurt my feelings…”
“Uh… sorry. Wasn't trying to say it like that.”
“Pip! Just kidding. Mom says she brought side dishes, so I gotta go.”
“Oh, okay. See you tomorrow.”
“Yeah, unni! Love you.”
She winked with that “love you,” like she was shooting a heart my way.
I pretended to swat away the invisible heart and waved goodbye.
“Bye-bye.”
After seeing Chae-ah off, as I rested in the now-quiet apartment—
Bzzz! Bzzz!
My phone kept vibrating nonstop.
Wondering what was up, I checked—it was Chae-ah hearting every single one of my Instagram posts.
“She really has zero intention of hiding it.”
I wondered how long this flirting-at-the-wall vibe would go on.
*
The next morning, I woke up, grabbed my phone from beside me, and checked the time.
“What the— the time!”
It was 9 a.m. I bolted up and started scrambling to get ready for work.
We open at 10 a.m., so my routine was always arriving by 9.
I'd told Chae-ah the same, but here I was, the boss, showing up late.
“No wonder I felt so refreshed waking up.”
There's that saying, right?
If you wake up feeling great, something's seriously wrong.
By the time I'd finished getting ready and checked my phone, the message from Chae-ah was there.
Acting like this on her second day made me lose face as the boss.
“Gotta hurry.”
I threw on whatever clothes were handy and bolted straight to the store.
Even as my breath hitched up to my throat and I panted hard, I couldn't stop my racing legs.
I might not make it exactly at 9, but I couldn't be later than my employee.
“Huff… haah… damn, this sucks. Maybe I should start exercising again…”
Unfortunately, my stamina couldn't keep up with my urgency.
Just two minutes in, I slowed to a stumbling walk, gasping raggedly.
I missed the days from high school through early work life, when consistent training kept my endurance bottomless.
“Huff… haah… fast walk it is.”
In the end, I gave up running after two minutes and opted for a brisk stride.
Arriving at the store, I opened the door—but Chae-ah was nowhere in sight.
“Huh… it's spotless.”
Unlike what I'd expected after leaving it empty for a day—dust everywhere—the interior gleamed noticeably clean.
“Chae-ah must've cleaned.”
Considering the time from when I got up to now, it lined up with her cleaning schedule.
“Gotta buy her lunch and dinner today.”
That was when I decided to show gratitude to the employee who'd arrived first and prepped diligently—
“Kyaaah!”
A scream from the staff room.
“Chae-ah?!”
Worried she'd hurt herself lifting something heavy in there, I rushed over and flung the door open.
“Chae-ah! What hap— oh.”
My worried shout started strong but trailed off weakly.
Along with it came the realization that my concern was unfounded.
Because there was Chae-ah in the staff room—
“Hnggyaaah♥ Th-this thing… is insane…♡ Pounding so hard♥ Hehngguuuh♥”
—Masturbating so furiously her hand gripping the dildo was a blur.
“Hngguuht♥ Hngyaaaang♥ G-gonna cum, gonna cuuum… Huugyaaaaang♥”
Pssshhh!
Whew, if this were outside, it'd make a rainbow.