BOREDOM 9

‘…Does it hurt?’

I writhed in agony from the foreign object prodding the inside of my stomach. Something was moving in and out between my tightly spread legs.

‘I asked if it hurts.’

When I nodded at the repeated question, a warm hand came to rest on my lower abdomen. I lifted my sticky eyelids, heavy with tears, and looked down to see long, straight, and firm fingers caressing the bulging spot. Soon, as he pressed down on it, the thing inside squirmed as if it were masturbating.

‘Hold on, it’ll get better soon.’

I raised my gaze and sobbed loudly.

‘Liar.’

I saw his lips curve into a smile at my petulant words.

‘It’s not a lie.’

The hand that had been stroking my side moved to my back, and a sturdy arm lifted my body. I clung to the body pressed against mine and curled up. Just by doing that, the penis inside me shifted its angle and pierced deeper.

‘If you don’t like the pain, try to like me.’

I mumbled something about how I could possibly like someone I didn’t even like. As if ignoring my words, he stroked my back and whispered.

‘It’s easy to like me.’

‘Ah!’

‘It’s disliking me that’s hard.’

He nudged a certain spot, and a sharp thrill shot through the depths of my body, making my fingers and toes curl. At the same time, an electrifying tension spread like wildfire, and my stomach clenched tightly. Holding me close, he rocked my body up and down as if handling a baby. Each time, the pleasure that had been pounding—thump, thump, thump—against my lower abdomen instantly spread throughout my entire body.

My eyes flew open.

“Ah…!”

A familiar ceiling came into view. It was the ceiling with a light fixture where a few gnats had crawled in and died. After staring intently at it, I hesitantly raised my arm and threw off the covers. Lifting my head to look down, it seemed my rather unwelcome premonition was a reality.

“…”

Realizing I’d had a wet dream for the first time in a very long time, I let my head fall back with a thud and let out a sigh. I hadn’t touched myself at all since being scared witless by Kwon Taeshin. It seemed the desires I hadn’t been conscious of had piled up because of that.

This was all Kwon Taeshin’s fault. I had a weird dream because I met him last night and heard him say strange things. I had clearly refused him when he said he wanted to sleep with me just one more time, so why did I have a dream like this?

It was a dream that felt like I was re-experiencing something that had happened in the past. But no matter how much I searched my memories, I had never had a conversation like that with him while having sex. Kwon Taeshin had never told me to try to like him, as if we were in the beginning stages of a romance…….

The body that had held me, entered me, and shaken me, the scent, the body heat, and the passion were all so vivid that my face suddenly flushed red. In reality, I had almost died from the pain, but in my dream, I had been so aroused that I had ejaculated without even touching my front. Why did I do that? I kicked off the covers, grabbed my damp and cooling groin, and hobbled to the bathroom.

It was a huge relief that my daily routine was different from my younger brothers’. If they had been home at this hour, it would have been quite awkward. But since I worked at night and slept during the day, my brothers were all at school, and the house was empty. Even so, I locked the bathroom door securely and pulled down the sweatpants and boxer briefs I wore instead of pajamas all at once.

“…It’s a flood, a real flood.”

Muttering to myself, I pulled out the heavy boxer briefs, gave them a pre-wash, and then threw them into the washing machine. I put the pants I’d taken off and the T-shirt I’d been wearing in as well and took a shower first. I could save time by running the washing machine while I showered, but since the hot water was unreliable, I couldn’t run the machine unless I was prepared to wash with cold water.

After a quick 10-minute shower, I started the washing machine. The new machine operated with almost no noise, which made me marvel. I watched the washing machine run for a good while before remembering that I had bought it with the money Kwon Taeshin gave me, and I turned away.

Since I had woken up earlier than intended, I had plenty of time before work. I opened all the windows in the house and started cleaning. I tackled the mountain of dirty dishes and pushed the vacuum cleaner around. With three people living in a small house, there was a lot of stuff, so there were many obstacles to vacuuming. My youngest brother’s room, in particular, was a mess, with clothes piled up like a den. I wanted to pull everything out and organize it, but my brother hated people touching his things, so I had no choice but to leave it alone.

By the time I finished cleaning, the laundry was done. I took out the laundry, carrying it and balancing it on my head, and went up to the rooftop. The place I lived in was a semi-basement in a multi-family housing unit, so the laundry wouldn’t dry well unless it was on the rooftop. When there was a lot of laundry, I would sometimes just go to a laundromat and use the dryer, but nothing beat direct sunlight for drying clothes.

After briskly shaking out the laundry and hanging it on the drying rack, I went out for a bit to get groceries. Since money was tight, I only bought a few side dishes from the traditional market and a pack of instant noodles. I was about to head straight home when I saw a basket of apples for ten thousand won and hesitated.

Apples were unusually expensive last year, so I hadn’t eaten them even once. They didn’t seem cheap this year either, but they weren’t so expensive that I couldn’t afford them. My second brother needs his vitamins, and the youngest likes fruit too, so should I buy a basket? As I hesitated for a long time, I remembered what Kwon Taeshin had said yesterday about ten million won.

If I had accepted that offer, wouldn’t I be buying apples without a second thought right now? I didn’t know. It was already in the past, so it was too late for regrets. I opened my mouth.

“I’ll have the apples, please.”

Once back home, I transferred the side dishes into containers and washed the apples before putting them in the refrigerator’s crisper drawer. I put the instant noodles in the cupboard and wrote ‘Eat the apples.’ on the mini-board on the front of the fridge that we used as a family message board. Then, after a simple meal, I brushed my teeth, grabbed my uniform, and headed out for work.

The days had gotten noticeably shorter, and the sky was dark even at 6 p.m. As the day darkened earlier, the cold also arrived sooner. Because of that, I couldn’t take off my jacket, even though its lack of stretchiness was uncomfortable. I layered my tattered lightweight padded vest over the jacket and started preparing for opening time along with the other employees who were arriving one by one.

The first thing the parking staff did upon arriving was to clean up the cigarette butts and flyers around the building. This also included cleaning up spots where people had urinated on the street or thrown up. The traces of someone having vomited heavily in the back alley last night were obvious, so I brought a bucket of water, splashed it over the area, and scrubbed it hard with a broom.

Cleaning the outdoor restroom was also our job. After mopping the floor, spraying detergent to clean the toilets, and wiping down the mirrors and sinks, it was almost opening time. Before that, we were given a short break; some smoked cigarettes, and some had snacks.

I joined the snack group and chewed on a rice cracker that had gone soggy from the humidity. As I was swallowing the soft, rubbery rice cracker, the topic of Kwon Taeshin inevitably came up again.

“I heard Kwon Taeshin’s been changing partners every day lately.”

“Guess he can’t find anyone he likes enough to want to sleep with twice.”

“Well, how many people could possibly meet Kwon Taeshin’s standards?”

“He’s probably already slept with everyone worth sleeping with.”

Someone next to me grabbed several rice crackers, and when I looked, it was Jaeyoung. Seemingly unable to give up even after being rejected by Kwon Taeshin, he said jokingly, “So, is it my turn now?” In response, everyone chided Jaeyoung, telling him to know his place. Seeing Jaeyoung get worked up over it made me feel guilty for some reason.

“It’s 10 minutes to 8, everyone back to your positions!”

At the manager’s stern command, I swallowed the rest of the rice cracker in my mouth and went out to the parking lot. The parking staff, including myself, stood in a line along the road leading to the club and bowed our heads in unison to greet the customers who began arriving right at opening time.

“Welcome!”

When I lifted my head after bowing, a large SUV was parked in front of me. The tall vehicle, with wheels that came up to my waist, was Kwon Taeshin’s car, the one I had driven for him as a designated driver last night.

He usually didn’t show up here until around midnight, so 8 o’clock was extremely early. My thought of what could possibly bring him here so early was brief. Kwon Taeshin got out of the driver’s seat and revealed himself.

For some reason, today he had his long hair styled and tucked behind his ears. He was also dressed in a suit that highlighted his lean and solid inverted-triangle physique. The ankles peeking out from beneath the perfectly tailored trouser cuffs were still bare, but the brand-new-looking white leather sneakers were intact at the heels.

“Welcome, right this way, sir.”

A waiter who came out to greet him extended his hand to take the car key. But instead of handing it to the waiter, he looked at me, standing there with my head bowed. As his gaze fixed on the spot between my eyebrows, I felt a cold sweat run down my back, but he didn’t speak to me personally. Instead, he tossed the car key in my direction.

Quickly reaching out my hand to snatch it, I stared at him with wide, surprised eyes. He had already turned and was following the waiter into the club. Since he didn’t show any other sign, I let out a sigh of relief, phew, and got into his car. I then parked it safely in the parking lot and put the key in the security post’s safe.

Fortunately, it seemed Kwon Taeshin didn’t hold a grudge against me for rejecting the offer he made yesterday. He might be dissatisfied that I didn’t do as he wished, but he wasn’t the type to cling to someone who said no. Even refusing the money might have looked like a ploy to him, so it was unlikely he would make the same offer to me again.

Putting my mixed feelings of relief and disappointment behind me, I ran here and there greeting the steady stream of customers. After rushing around like that for a while, I heard the parking supervisor call me.

“Hey! Lee Wonwoo!”

“Yes?”

At his urgent voice, I ran over to the parking supervisor, who was holding a walkie-talkie. He gestured frantically toward the club.

“You need to go inside.”

“Why?”

“The manager’s looking for you.”

“The manager is?”

Why is the manager looking for me? Did I cause some kind of trouble? Feeling nervous, I entered the club through the back emergency exit. I passed through the kitchen, which was as hectic as a marketplace, and wandered through the hallway where waiters were rushing back and forth, until the manager appeared from around a corner.

The moment he spotted me, he grabbed my arm. Then he pushed me toward the stairs leading to the upper floor where the private rooms were clustered and said.

“If you’ve caused any trouble, tell me now.”

“Sir?”

“Do you have anything to tell me? This is your last chance.”

The manager was glaring at me so fiercely that I almost confessed what had happened with Kwon Taeshin. But I couldn’t be sure that was what the manager was interrogating me about. If I spoke rashly, I’d be shooting myself in the foot, so I kept my mouth tightly shut and shook my head.

The manager sighed with a complicated expression and then pulled me the rest of the way up the stairs. Not just one flight, but two.

Unlike the second floor, which was packed with rooms, the rooms on the third floor were spaced out. They were VIP rooms, equipped with huge display screens and shower rooms with their own sinks and toilets.

It was a place that lacked nothing for entertaining high-paying customers, but the most thorough feature was the soundproofing. No matter what happened inside, not a single sound leaked out.

Recalling the various rumors that originated from these rooms, I tensed my toes. When the manager looked back, I stuck my butt out and asked in a slightly frightened tone.

“I’m just a parking attendant, why am I here….”

“You would know, wouldn’t you.”

Perhaps because I wasn’t saying anything, the manager’s expression turned cold. He practically dragged me to the door of the room at the very end and knocked. He soon pushed me inside and followed, then forcibly pressed the back of my head down to make me bow.

“Sir, I’ve brought the employee you asked for.”

The manager then grabbed me by the scruff of my neck, pulled me up so my face was visible to the person ensconced in the room, and asked.

“Is this the employee you were looking for?”

The person sitting inside was Kwon Taeshin. The moment our eyes met, I bit my lip, feeling a pang in a corner of my chest. I thought everything was fine since he hadn’t said anything when we ran into each other earlier, but I guess not. I chided myself for letting my guard down, as he, who had been leaning deep into the sofa, looked at me with seemingly dark eyes and nodded.

“Yes, that’s him.”

“Well then… have a good time.”

I had no idea what kind of good time he meant, but the manager bowed his head once more and went outside. Suddenly left alone in what was no different from a tiger’s den, I was seized by the impulse to turn around and pound on the door. I didn’t know if the manager had locked the door or not, but if I ignored Kwon Taeshin and ran out of here, getting fired was a foregone conclusion.

A job where I could earn 3.8 million a month plus extras wasn’t common. It was even less so for someone like me, with only a middle school diploma, a driver’s license, and a forklift license to my name. Although it had the drawbacks of working nights and not having weekends off, I had to stick with it until I could send my second brother to medical school.

With an anxious feeling, I turned my gaze from the door and looked directly at Kwon Taeshin. He was staring intently at what I was doing. Feeling embarrassed, I pulled down the hem of my worn-out lightweight padded vest and opened my mouth.

“What… business do you have with me?”