IF. How to Subjugate Her, Broken (7)

The first one to open my eyes was me.

The winter morning, after the rain had stopped, was brighter than expected, and colder than expected.

Still, thanks to sleeping snuggled up together under the same blanket on the narrow single bed, the winter night wasn’t cold.

…Instead, I got a pretty severe, significant erection first thing in the morning, though.

“……”

The slightly unpleasant, musty studio apartment.

Mixed with the post-coital body odor, the air in the room was quite stuffy, despite it being tidy.

If it were my room, I would have immediately opened the blinds and aired it out, but unfortunately, I figured the woman I slept with would get cold, so I put it off for a while.

Instead, so she wouldn’t be flustered when she woke up, I washed myself first and then picked up my scattered clothes to put them on.

I took out a new toothbrush from the drawer and borrowed it, but since I bought her a meal, she probably won’t complain about this much.

…Besides, I plan on coming here often anyway.

Anyway, now clean but wearing musty clothes, I rummaged through the refrigerator to see if I could make breakfast.

But to my dismay, there was nothing particularly edible inside the refrigerator.

At best, there was some kimchi, but not even a single egg.

I was hoping to at least make egg drop soup, even if I couldn’t make dried pollack soup, but this is a bit problematic.

Still, I figured there must be ramen at home, so I checked the cupboards, only to find a couple of packs of stir-fried ramen left, and no soup ramen at all.

…Should I just leave the door slightly ajar and go buy some instant seaweed soup?

No, leaving a woman who fell asleep half-naked alone is a bit much.

Deciding it would be better to wake her up to order food or go out and buy some, I flung open the window and let the pleasant morning air in.

“Mmm….”

As the cold air poured into the stuffy room, she, clutching the blanket, curled into a ball and shivered intensely.

Instead of waking Haeun right away, I picked up a blanket that had fallen on the floor and covered her with it.

At the same time, I brushed aside the hair stuck to her cheek, and she, smacking her lips and feeling something was off, opened her eyes slightly and froze blankly for about 5 seconds.

“……”

“Huk.”

Only after recognizing my presence during those 5 seconds did Seo Haeun gasp in shock, tremble as if her whole body convulsed, and scramble upright.

Thanks to that, the blanket and the throw slipped down, revealing her soft breasts quite clearly. Realizing she was naked due to the cold, she hastily pulled the blanket back over herself, too shocked to even scream.

“Are you awake?”

“……”

I tried speaking to her, huddled under the blanket like a turtle, but received no reply.

…She doesn’t need to be this embarrassed.

She’s really cute.

If I’d known this would happen, maybe I should have just stayed asleep next to her without waking up.

If I had acted a bit more slyly, I feel like she would have forgiven anything I did.

“……What time is it?”

“9 AM.”

“Ah…, that’s a relief….”

However, separate from my fantasies, she looked relieved that the time wasn’t that late.

Well, she probably has her part-time job.

It would have been more of a headache if she had shown hostility towards me, so from my perspective, it wasn’t entirely bad.

“Haeun-ssi, do you have to go to work?”

“…Yes. I have my cafe… part-time job. Starting at 12 PM.”

“It’s not too late yet, so you can sleep more. Ah, by any chance, what’s the PIN for the door lock here?”

“Huh?”

“You need to eat breakfast. I was going to make something, but there’s nothing really to eat, so I’ll go out and buy something.”

“……I’ll open it for you when you get back, so please step out for a moment…, no. You can just leave….”

“Then, is there anything you want to eat?”

“Anything, …I’ll eat the same thing as Joo-hyuk-ssi. For now… um. Please leave the room….”

“Got it.”

I tried speaking to her as kindly as possible, but Seo Haeun, still mumbling from under the covers, tried her best to chase me out.

It seems she’s still too embarrassed to come out naked again.

Well, if a woman who hasn’t dated a single guy by this age were nonchalant in this situation, that would be even weirder.

Anyway, after bowing to her, who wouldn’t even show her face, I quietly left the room, leaving my number on a Post-it note just in case.

Eating yukgaejang or spicy hangover soup first thing in the morning with a girl I’m potentially dating feels a bit much, so porridge seems like a safer bet.

Plus, her place is close to mine. I stopped by my own apartment to change clothes, shave cleanly, bought the porridge, and then quickly walked back to her place.

Then, as I climbed the stairs and knocked on the front door.

“Excuse me.”

“…Me?”

…A slim woman with short black hair, wearing a tank top and dolphin shorts, came out from the next door apartment and spoke to me with a disheveled face.

I wasn’t sure of her age, but probably younger than me.

Maybe a college student… this woman.

But,

…why does her face look somewhat familiar?

“Haaam…. It was really noisy yesterday. Maybe from the next room-, Hieek.”

She, clearly exhausted and yawning, glanced at me with half-closed eyes, then suddenly startled, her eyes widening.

…Thanks to that, I immediately realized who the woman popping out from the next apartment was.

This kid,

She’s the niece of a close senior colleague.

“Is your uncle Hwang-“

“Ah, uh. Um, Joo-hyuk oppa…?”

“…Soo-ah. …It’s been a while.”

“Ah, yes…”

…Hwang Soo-ah.

She’s the niece of a senior colleague I was really close with back when I was a pro player, so I met her once privately and gave her an autograph.

She was a high school student back then.

She’s really… grown up well.

I didn’t expect to run into her at a time like this-

“Ah, sorry. Joo-hyuk-ssi. I was drying my hair-“

“……”

…And of all times.

Haeun crawled out of her room at this awkward moment.

…No, well, it’s not really a problem.

It’s just really awkward.

Yesterday… we were a bit loud.

“Uh…, um. Hey, Soo-ah. Let’s grab a meal sometime with your uncle later.”

“Yes, yes…”

“And…, umm. Yeah.”

I tried to say something to break the extreme awkwardness, but I couldn’t find the right words.

In the end, I blurted out the cheat code of ‘let’s grab a meal sometime,’ then scratched my neck vigorously and dragged the frozen Haeun back inside the apartment.

…We weren’t close, but still, it feels a bit weird getting caught in a compromising situation with a girl by someone I know personally.

“…Do you know that woman?”

“Well…, yes. She… used to be a fan. I’ve met her before.”

“….”

…Seo Haeun-ssi seems really awkward too.

Ah, shit. I had finally managed to ease the mood a bit.

And now it’s awkward again.

I was planning to try again after breakfast.

…Of course, it’s not impossible even now.

**

We shared the porridge in silence, and I sat quietly on the floor, accepting the coffee she made.

Haeun was dressed very neatly in a black t-shirt and jeans, unlike last night, but the outfit didn’t hide her figure.

…I mean, I’ve already touched her, how could I not imagine what’s underneath, no matter what she wears?

I already know the taste.

“…Are you going to the cafe later?”

“Huh? Ah…, yes. I have to go to work… soon.”

“What time does your part-time job end?”

“…Why?”

“I feel a bit sorry about staying over, and if it’s okay with you, I was thinking of treating you to a meal.”

“No, no, I’m fine….”

“No, no, I feel sorry too….”

The suffocating atmosphere.

Considering how we were making out so intensely last night, we were being far too polite to each other.

But it couldn’t be helped.

If it were up to me, I’d just hug her and forcefully push her down.

But… there’s a time and place for that.

If I wanted to do that, I should have done it the moment she woke up this morning.

I fucking regret it now, but did I know it would turn out like this?

“…Um, Joo-hyuk-ssi.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Are you… close with the person living in the next room…?”

“No, well. Actually, she’s the niece of a close senior colleague, so I gave her an autograph a few years ago.”

“Ah…”

Fortunately, though, she was the one who braved the awkwardness and asked about my relationship with the woman next door.

Truthfully, we don’t have much of a relationship.

Perhaps my intentional vagueness earlier bothered her.

But the fact that she bothered to ask about it is significant in itself.

“She’s just a fan, that’s all. We’re not that close. I haven’t seen her in a long time.”

“….”

“Unlike you, Haeun-ssi… well. We’re not like that.”

“Wait, what relationship do you and Joo-hyuk-ssi have-“

“Who knows. …At least not a fan and player, right? Nor are we like an older brother-younger sister type of relationship.”

“No, no, please don’t talk like we’re something…”

Teasing Haeun as she vehemently denied it, I took a sip of the steaming coffee and chuckled.

…Telling me not to talk like we’re something.

After losing her virginity to me, isn’t it even more ridiculous to say we’re nothing?

“…Why, why are you laughing.”

“Ah, no. …It’s just a little funny seeing you suddenly using formal language after what happened yesterday.”

“….”

“Let’s just drop the formalities, shall we? We’re the same age anyway.”

“…Yes.”

“Not ‘Yes,’ but Haeun-ah. I said let’s drop the formalities.”

“Ah, um, um…”

Shedding the pretense and politeness, I flashed a sly grin like yesterday and casually dropped informal language, causing her to panic and lean back.

Geez. Anyone would think I was about to devour her.

…Though I do intend to devour her.

She let me in thinking she’d be devoured, so it’s a bit disappointing she’s backing out now.

“You were swearing just fine yesterday, why are you acting like this all of a sudden? You were the one being loud, causing the next room to complain.”

“Swore, I swore…?”

“Yeah? Don’t you remember?”

“Ah, ugh…”

Perhaps her memory was hazier than I thought; hearing my words, her face flushed bright red, and she covered it with both hands, clamping her lips shut.

…Is this woman more embarrassed about swearing than about being fucked by me?

Or is it that the image of her swearing slightly irritably is her true nature, something she desperately wants to hide?

Well, either way, she’s fucking adorable, so I walked behind her, slid my hands under her armpits, and lifted her up.

“Ah, wait a momeeent…!”

“Stop acting cute. …You’re twenty-six, what are you so flustered about? You know pretty much everything, don’t you?”

“….”

“…Even without much experience with men, you know how I feel about you, right?”

“……”

She no longer covered her face, but still didn’t open her mouth, instead answering with slight nods of her head.

“I want to keep in touch from now on… You don’t want that, do you, Haeun-ah?”

“….”

This time, she shook her head.

…Does that mean she dislikes it, or doesn’t dislike it?

The interpretation was up to me.

“Kyaaak…!”

“Don’t scream so loud. …The neighbors might complain again.”

…Seeing as she didn’t get angry when I picked her up like a princess.

It seems my interpretation was correct.