Chapter 9. This is why you shouldn't jump the gun
We arrived at the famous bone haejangguk restaurant and each ordered a bowl of bone hangover soup, settling in to wait.
In the meantime, we picked up the conversation we'd been too frantic to finish earlier.
"What do you want to do today, Chae-ah? It's your day off."
"Hmm, yeah. I finished all my freelance work, so I don't have anything to do."
"How about meeting up with some friends?"
The words slipped out without a second thought, and a warning bell rang in my head that I'd made a mistake.
"Friends... I don't have any..."
"Uh... I mean, you said you have friends you met online through SNS."
"Those friends all live out in the provinces, super far away..."
"W-well, then..."
I never imagined she'd cling so desperately to the fact that her only "friends" were people she'd met online.
Chae-ah sipped her water with a gloomy expression, letting out a deep sigh, and with every reaction like that, a heavier weight pressed down on my shoulders.
"Guess I'll just draw at home. Alone."
She emphasized the "alone" part like it was a big deal. Was I imagining it?
"Then... wanna hang out with me?"
That's when I blurted it out, thinking I'd poked at something I shouldn't have.
"Really?! For real?!"
Chae-ah's face lit up instantly, her reaction explosive.
"You... that was acting, right?"
"Huh? No, it wasn't. Why would I act like that? Hehe."
It was too drastic a switch to believe it wasn't an act, making me suspicious.
"That's weird."
"It's real! So, what are we gonna do, unni?"
"Good question."
If my body weren't wrecked, I'd take her somewhere fun, but right now, that was impossible.
The only way to spend time with her while taking care of myself...
"Wanna come to my place?"
"Y-y-y-your... for real?!"
"Why are you so shocked? Thought it was an earthquake."
At the suggestion of coming over, Chae-ah started stammering hard, her body trembling.
The water in her glass nearly spilled over onto the table.
"G-going to unni's house... sounds good!"
She slammed her glass down and suddenly grabbed both my hands.
Her eyes sparkled as she nodded vigorously over and over, and I couldn't help but chuckle.
"You don't even try to hide it, do you?"
"Why hide it? You already know everything. So, not a joke? For real?"
"Yeah. My body's not up for going out anyway. Let's just chill at home."
Chae-ah let go of my hands and sat back down properly.
Just when I thought she'd calmed down, she muttered to herself seriously under her breath.
Curious, I leaned in to listen.
"What to do at unni's house. Kiss? That's too soon. No, we've already had sex, so... Ah, what underwear did I wear today? Doesn't matter anyway. Unni's seen it all."
For several reasons, I wondered if bringing this girl home was a good idea.
"Excuse me, Chae-ah."
"Yes?"
"You act like inviting you over is a marriage proposal."
"Would you say yes if I proposed?"
"As if."
"Kyaa! Shot down right away! It's fine. I'll propose a million times even if you reject me every time."
Usually, doesn't the confession come first?
"Your bone haejangguk is here."
As we chatted, our orders arrived on the table.
"I-I'm trying bone haejangguk for the first time."
"First time?"
"Yeah, come to think of it, I've shared two 'firsts' with unni alone now."
"Keep saying stuff like that, and you won't come over."
"Eek... Take it back! Like this, right?"
"Just eat already."
Chae-ah, tasting bone haejangguk for the first time, widened her eyes in awe, unable to stop marveling.
She complained it was unfair she'd only tried it now and added that it felt like last night's booze was completely washing away.
We finished our hangover cure and walked home, chatting the whole way.
"Do you have a car, unni?"
"Yeah, I do. But since it's close to home, I walk to work."
"I see. So, besides today, have you ever closed the store?"
"First time."
"First time? In three years?"
"Yeah, three years."
Chae-ah was shocked at the first closure in three years and fell deep into thought.
It must be confusing from her perspective.
But considering it's a self-run adult toy store, running it nonstop for three years without a break isn't that unusual.
One closure can hit business hard.
"You're amazing, unni."
"Just the basics."
"So why close today?"
"It's Wednesday."
"Right, it is."
I explained in a way she'd understand.
"On Mondays, people come to comfort themselves because it's Monday."
"Aha."
"Tuesdays, because it's still Tuesday."
"What about Thursday and Friday?"
"Thursday because Friday's close, Friday because the weekend's next and they can masturbate all they want."
"So Wednesday's the slowest day."
Even when I had an office job, Wednesdays were resignation day.
That's why adult toy stores never do well on Wednesdays, no matter what.
Plus, I'd slept till afternoon, so it was the perfect setup for my first closure.
"Here we are."
"Wooow! The place looks amazing!"
"It's just a loft officetel."
"I live in a studio. Ah, here—I'll give you my address."
"Don't go sharing your address like that."
"Then why'd you bring me to your place, unni?"
Her sharp jab made me freeze for a second.
It was awkward to admit that seeing her mope was my first thought.
She reacts emotionally to everything I say—she might get depressed thinking it was such a trivial reason.
"Just... I was bored too."
"Hehe, same as me."
Why was I caring so much about this girl's feelings anyway?
"Yeah. Come on in."
I led Chae-ah, who seemed thrilled we were in the same boat, into the house.
"Whoa! It's a loft! Three rooms! Awesome!"
"Big reaction."
"Unni, show me around! Room tour!"
"Nothing special. This is the living room, that's the bathroom, and this is my bedroom."
I opened the door to my room, and Chae-ah started breathing in deeply and exhaling repeatedly.
"What are you doing?"
"Sniffing unni's scent. Haa, it smells so good."
"Wow, now I really want to kick you out."
"Aaaah! I won't! Don't kick me out..."
She waved her hands frantically, pretending nothing happened, then started looking around like she was searching for something.
"Looking for something?"
"No adult toys? I thought there'd be tons."
"You can't just leave them out. What if something happens?"
To satisfy her curiosity, I stepped inside and opened the small built-in closet, revealing the contents.
It was packed with toys I'd used so far and ones I'd received as samples but never tried.
You could call it my collection.
"Whoaaa! Nothing compared to what I have. There's even a Womanizer."
"No Womanizer?"
"It's expensive, so I'm saving up."
"Yeah, Womanizers are pricey."
As Chae-ah browsed my collection, even my outdoor clothes started feeling oppressively heavy on my body.
I needed to change into something comfy right now to feel even a bit better.
That's all I was thinking as I started undressing.
"Unni, this one... Oops..."
"Hm? Oh, right."
I dropped the panties I'd pulled from the drawer and bent down to pick them up, glancing at Chae-ah, when I realized I'd acted without thinking.
"If unni's doing that... me too..."
"N-no, that's not it!"
Chae-ah, who'd seen my naked back, tossed off her outer clothes and started lifting her top.
I rushed over and grabbed her hands.
"It's not?"
"My body's so stiff, I just thought I needed to change."
"Not in the mood for sex?"
"Do I look like I am?!"
"Hing, too bad. I thought we could do it sober."
It was my fault, so I couldn't blame her much.
That said, why was she staring at my chest like that?
"Unni's breasts... so pretty..."
"What're you saying..."
I hurriedly covered my chest with my arms, slipped on the panties, and changed into comfy loungewear.
The whole time, I felt her hot gaze from behind.
"Unni, you get waxed?"
"Yeah. A friend recommended it a while back, and it's been so convenient since, so I do it regularly."
"Doesn't it hurt?"
"Eh, I'm used to it now. My hair's gotten thinner too."
Wait a sec...
"You saw that in the meantime?!"
Even with clothes on, I quickly covered between my legs with both hands.
"Too smooth not to notice."
Come to think of it, we'd showered together naked.
If she'd only noticed now, what the hell had she been looking at then? A tiny question bubbled up.
"They say you have to do that cat pose or something. For real?"
"Yeah, if you want it clean."
"Isn't that super embarrassing?"
"It was at first, but now it's fine. Just scroll on your phone and it's over."
"Euaah... I couldn't."
As we chatted about waxing, I remembered she'd called me like she had something to ask.
"Didn't you call me over for something?"
"Oh, right. Unni, do you do anal masturbation too?"
With that question, she was holding a Aneros in her hand.
"Yeah, I do."
"Eek... you do?"
"Why?"
"You say it so casually..."
"Why wouldn't I? As someone selling adult toys, I have to try them all to sell properly."
"I've never tried, so I asked."
Maybe because I was so nonchalant, Chae-ah blushed and stared down at the one in her hand.
"This... one you used, right?"
"Yeah, I disinfect after every use, so it's clean."
"Then..."
A sudden wave of unease hit me as she started to continue.
"Hey hey hey!"
"Nyeng?"
"No."
"What?"
"I don't know what, but no."
I rushed over, snatched the Aneros from her, shook my head, and stated firmly.
Chae-ah gave a small smile.
Seeing that smile, I realized I'd made a huge mistake.
"Hehe, unni's a perv. What were you thinking?!"
"Haa... total wipeout."