He stopped talking, and the rest trailed off. Looking at his empty rice bowl, I spoke again.
“If possible, I’d like to work under someone like you, Team Leader.”
“Lee Seodan.”
“Since Team Leader said joining your team is not an option, then perhaps working under someone like you in another company…”
Even as the words left my mouth, I realized it was an empty and vague proposition. Initially, I only learned about Han Team Leader’s name because he was such a prominent figure within the company. Where could I go to find someone similar? The silence emanating from across the dining table grew uneasy, and by the time he broke it, his voice had sunk low.
“Lee Seodan, do you want to work in consulting, or do you want to work under me?”
“… Both.”
I couldn’t bring myself to look up. This was his home, and even though I was wearing only his shirt without any underwear, I was afraid that the surrounding space might transform into the chilly atmosphere of a corporate office.
After a prolonged silence, Han Team Leader let out a short sigh. It felt like that sigh conveyed the accumulated fatigue caused by me, and I shrank inward.
“Why, Lee Seodan?”
He paused in his speech. I looked up, observing a subtle expression on his face.
“I don’t understand why Lee Seodan considers me a good superior in the first place. It’s not wise to judge solely based on hearsay.”
“…After working under you.”
“TF is different from regular departments.”
He replied without raising an eyebrow.
“In TF, I can choose competent people to bring in, assign interesting tasks as I please, and manage things according to my own preferences. But in regular departments, things don’t always go the way I want. Consulting has more than one team, and I can’t make all decisions on how things are done. I can’t provide the ideal environment you want, nor can I unconditionally protect you. Of course, you might be better off than with the former director, Lee Seodan.”
“That’s obvious…”
“Why is that obvious? A superior who tolerates workplace harassment and a superior who lured an applicant to the rooftop for sexual favors to integrate them into the team – aren’t they on the same level when you think about it? The latter is even more malicious.”
It was a calm statement without emphasis. I forgot all the words I had planned, feeling like I had received a blow to the back of my head. Han Team Leader, who held an empty bowl and chopsticks, got up from the dining table.
“It’s getting late. Finish eating and bring over the dishes. I need to go to work.”
“Team Leader.”
Holding the rice bowl, I followed him to the kitchen. I watched him put the bowl in the sink and prepare water without looking back.
“Let’s talk about this later.”
Without turning around, he spoke in a tired voice.
“Lee Seodan, you need to clarify what you want. Take some time this week to think it over. I’ll send you a file summarizing the options I mentioned, so investigate on your own.”
I followed him back to the living room. I watched him enter the study and open the door to the dressing room. In the dim room, I took a moment to catch my breath. Contrary to his words, what I wanted was crystal clear. It had been the same since I joined, continued privately knowing him, and remained unchanged even now working under him. Whether it was admiration leading to an interest in consulting or simply wanting to work under him because I enjoyed what he did, the result was the same.
I turned on the light and looked down. The bag was not in its place from yesterday. Glancing around, my clothes were neatly hung on one side of the dressing room.
A prickly thorn seemed to pierce my chest. Leaning against the wall, I closed my eyes.
***
When I came out with my bag, Han Team Leader was sitting on the sofa, waiting. I checked the clock in the living room while putting my phone in my pocket. It was later than I thought.
“Is it okay if I leave now?”
I felt uneasy, perhaps because I usually spent the time before rushing to work in a more leisurely manner. Han Team Leader, covering the documents he had been looking at, neatly put them in the bag and replied.
“You seem to have forgotten; the office is not that far from here.”
“…Yes.”
“Today, you’ll be joining the morning meeting.”
I remembered the forgotten tasks upon hearing those words, and my heart raced. I wanted to check them at least once before the meeting. As I headed to the entrance with my coat, Han Team Leader grabbed my arm.
“No need to rush. We still have some time.”
“…”
“On this rare good morning, let’s go after a light spanking.”
His voice was refreshing. It took me a couple of blinks to understand his words. He pulled me towards him, holding my arm like an embrace, gently sweeping over my buttocks with his hands, pulling them up over the pants and squeezing on both sides. The warmth of our chests touching was comforting. My heart started beating faster.
“What did I… do wrong…”
“If wanting to spank you is reason enough, do you have any complaints?”
“No.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Then come here.”
Zs kglra kjr ugjyyfv. Cr P ybkfv ws tfjv, agslcu ab mjiw ws ecrafjvs ygfjat, Ljc Kfjw Ofjvfg ijlv wf vbkc bc atf rboj. Zs yeaabmxr tecu bnfg atf fvuf ktfgf tf rja. Lf ecyeaabcfv ws qjcar, qeiifv atfw vbkc jibcu klat ws ecvfgkfjg, jcv ufcais mjgfrrfv atf fzqbrfv yjgf yeaabmxr.
“Lee Seodan’s buttocks suit my handprint much better.”
“…”
“I’ll give you twenty smacks. No need to count.”
A faint hint of laughter lingered in his crisp tone. I didn’t respond and closed my eyes. I tensed, gripping the back of the sofa tightly. The tension rose along my spine. His warm hand caressed my buttocks and withdrew.
“I’ll dye it pretty in pink before going to work, so hold your position.”
I clutched the sofa’s backrest tightly. The shame I felt for presenting my buttocks while fully dressed for work, combined with the humiliation of having grown numb overnight, bubbled up inside me.
Thwack. His palm struck again. I tensed my body, but the pain wasn’t unbearable. A strange heat caused my body to respond oddly. He continued ruthlessly, spreading a tingling sensation.
I didn’t feel the pain until it passed fifteen strikes. The stinging, peculiar heat made my body react strangely. The last few hits were merciless, almost stealing my breath away. The throbbing pain didn’t disappear but seeped in deep with a tingling sensation.
While silently catching my breath, he pressed his lips onto my swollen and uneven buttocks and then pulled away. On the opposite side, a light kiss also landed.
“Whether at work or anywhere else, you’ll probably think of me every time you sit down.”
“…If you’re done, may I get up?”
“Why is your voice like that? Crying from the morning?”
Though my eyelids fluttered, I stood up without responding and awkwardly pulled up the pants that were down to my knees. The trapped buttocks tingled and hurt. As he mentioned, they were vividly marked in pink. He watched me compose myself with a smiling face.
“Let’s do this twenty times every morning. I like the feel of it.”
“…I’ll leave first.”
Without waiting, I turned my back. I picked up my bag without looking back.
As I put on shoes at the entrance, he suddenly grabbed my wrist. Following me, he snatched my bag and coat, throwing them aside while pushing my back against the shoe rack.
Instinctively, I flinched as if I would be hit, but what touched me was the warmth as if about to swallow my lips.
“…Ugh…”
“You have to open your mouth for me to put my tongue in.”
He whispered as he licked my lower lip. The rough breath mixed with unclear pronunciation. While calming my torn lip, his tongue stirred up my mouth, wet and warm, creating a squishy sound. Grasping my buttocks with one hand, he briefly separated our lips and brought them back together. His fingertips touched the heated skin around my reddened eyes.
After the long kiss, he hugged me as I remained passive. His firm arms tightened around my back.
Echoing like a heartbeat from our touching chests, I closed my eyes and held my breath quietly.
***
It had been a week since I couldn’t go home. Sitting in the passenger seat of his car on the way home, I vaguely recalled having a banana at home. Even though it wasn’t summer yet, it might have turned completely black with fruit flies buzzing around. I felt unfamiliar and anxious about leaving my home for such a long time. Though in reality, it wasn’t that long, and there was no reason for my mailbox to be bursting with bills or for dust to accumulate on the floor like an abandoned house.
It had been a long time since I ran out of fresh underwear and socks. Two days ago, when I cautiously asked if I could use the washing machine, Han Team Leader raised his eyebrows as if surprised by the question. After observing me for a while, he chuckled as if finding it amusing. Lately, that had become my favorite expression.
I sat hunched over for a while, watching through the round transparent window of the drum washing machine as our clothes intermingled and spun. Even though the machine would handle it perfectly well, my steps seemed to lag.
“…Lee Seodan.”
At the calling voice, my eyes sparkled. It was inside his car. The ignition was already off, and the parking lot lights cast a yellow glow on the windshield. After gazing at me closely, Han Team Leader, who seemed amused, fastened my seatbelt for me.
“Get off, we’ve arrived.”
“…Yes.”
As I got off the car, I almost stumbled. Crossing the parking lot behind him, I blinked my eyes hard to wake myself up. The digital clock hanging next to the elevator showed that it was already past midnight. Yesterday, I left work at one, and the day before was similar. It seemed like the pattern of working late into the night would continue until the presentation deadline in a week.
Han Team Leader, who looked much more composed than me, took my coat as we entered the building.
“Wash up. If you’re hungry, you can eat first and then wash.”
He placed two white bags he was carrying onto the table and went into the study. Glancing inside, one bag had two packs of enticing strawberries, and the other had a styrofoam box with an octopus wearing a hat drawn on it. The box neatly contained round bread resembling an egg carton. I picked up one of the round buns with a skewer and put it in my mouth. The inside of the octopus bread was still warm.
Taking another bite of the octopus bread, I went upstairs to wash. When I took off my clothes and looked in the mirror, my face with sauce-stained lips suddenly felt unfamiliar. If my face wasn’t swollen, it seemed like my cheeks had gained some weight.
After washing, I descended and found Han Team Leader seated on the sofa, working on documents with papers spread on both sides. He pointed his chin towards the side with the dish of transferred octopus bread and a glass bowl piled high with strawberries.
To avoid disturbing him, I quietly pulled myself towards the table and sat down. Just as I picked up a strawberry and put it in my mouth, he asked from behind.
“Did you dry your hair too?”
“Yes.”
“Good job.”
His voice was slow, as if he was concentrating on something else. His arm reached out, and he absentmindedly stroked my hair, which had become slightly tousled. I slightly cringed my neck but remained still until his hand dropped.
I ate the cold octopus bread one by one, while in the meantime, I went to his kitchen and brought a blue cup full of barley tea from the refrigerator. There was a dry sound of papers passing from behind.
Turning the bun skewered with a stick, contemplating, I eventually turned my head.
“Aren’t you having any, Team Leader?”
“…I had dinner, it’s fine. Eat a lot.”
The response was delayed. His eyes were busily moving between the clear file and tablet. I had dinner too, but swallowing any further words, I sat down, bending my knees. As my stomach was full, my eyelids felt heavy again, and my head gradually lowered.
Suddenly, the top clear file from the precarious stack of files on the sofa slipped and fell, making a dry sliding sound. I was startled and turned my body, trying to support the tottering tower that was about to collapse. Han Team Leader, who moved the files, preventing further collapse, said,
“Let go. It’s okay.”
I wasn’t really okay. Feeling the weight of the densely piled files, I was overwhelmed.
“Are you going to sleep after looking at all of these?”
The question popped out involuntarily. Han Team Leader raised his eyes only then.
“I never told you to wait. If you’ve finished eating, go upstairs.”
“It’s just… You seem to be working too much.”
After saying it, as it seemed like a meaningless exclamation, I added, “If there’s anything I can help with…”
Normally, he would have sharply cut me off, but he looked at me and sighed. Putting down the tablet pen, he slowly ran his hand over his closed eyes. The sleeves were unbuttoned up to his elbows.
Recently, working overtime and being chased by work applied to both me and the team members, but in Han Team Leader’s case, it was severe. Watching closely every day, I could finally feel the extent of his workload. When I woke up in his bed in the early morning, he wasn’t there, and the dim light from the living room seeped through the crack under the door. I couldn’t tell when he slept at all.
Leaning back slowly against the sofa backrest, he covered his face with one arm and showed no further movement. It seemed like he had fallen asleep in the meantime.
“…”
I placed my hand on the stack of files and looked down at him up close. Closed lips and a slightly dulled sharp jaw caught my eye. The documents that were on his thigh were scattered. His hand, spread over them, lacked strength.
At that moment, I thought he might not wake up like this. It was an overwhelming fantasy that came with certainty.
Suppressing the desire to shake him awake, I clenched my dry lips. Leaning against the sofa, I scanned him with my eyes. Now, I could see that the slightly unbuttoned chest was slowly and subtly rising and falling.
However, I couldn’t be completely relieved. I held the hand reaching toward his shoulder, pushed it down, and sat back, letting out a sigh.
I had never seen Han Team Leader in such a defenseless state. It felt like fine cracks were appearing on a surface that seemed flawless, and things unseen before were peering through. I had peeked through the crack, and what I saw was either an unexpected appearance or a more typical one; there was no way to know.
Suddenly, I felt resentment towards my team members. They had no way of knowing this side of Han Team Leader, so they brought even small matters to him for confirmation and relied on him. They vented their frustration about constant overtime to him and left, saying they had a child waiting at home. In any case, the aftermath was Han Team Leader’s responsibility, and the responsibility for the results of the presentation was ultimately his. The stress and pressure that had accumulated on him without him showing it suddenly seemed vivid. Even though it wasn’t my burden, I felt suffocated by the weight.
After watching him sit still for a while as he slept, I stood up. I carefully moved my steps to avoid making any noise. My toes dug into the soft fur of the rug.
“Where are you going?”
Before reaching the center of the living room, a locked voice from behind caught my ankle. I stood frozen in place as if caught doing something wrong.
“Trying to go upstairs?”
“…I thought you were sleeping, so I was going to turn off the lights.”
“…Lights are fine. If you’re not going to sleep right away, can you make me a cup of coffee?”
It was a rare request. Turning around, the face I met seemed to have no energy left for anything other than work. Even now, it felt like he wouldn’t mind even if I pushed my buttocks forward, and there seemed to be no room for teasing or malicious remarks.
The indifferent gaze, without any sexual intention, was strangely unfamiliar. Awkwardly twisting my body, I nodded.
“Is it okay if I make it strong?”
“I think a stronger one would be better.”
“Please,” he added in his still locked voice. I headed towards the kitchen, but turned back to look at him once more. His profile, turned towards the window, was visible.
He had taught me how to use the espresso machine before, and we had engaged in silent struggles. Carrying the completed coffee cup back to the living room, the sofa was empty, and the scattered files were neatly organized to one side. The lights in the bathroom and the study were off. Then, there was the sound of the balcony door opening. As he entered, taking off his slippers, the scent of the wind and a faint smell of tobacco wafted from him.
Relief washed over me at the return of color to his face. I extended the cup towards him with both hands.
“It might be a bit too strong….”
He accepted it without saying anything, took a sip, and slowly lowered the cup with the hand that held it. His expression was subtle, as if he tasted something bitter.
“It seems like it will be effective in waking me up.”
“Shall I bring some snacks or something?”
“No, thank you.”
He took another sip of coffee, furrowed his brow slightly, and placed the cup on the table. As he inserted the tablet pen into its slot and covered it, he glanced up at me.
“I’m going to work in the study. If you don’t need anything, go ahead and sleep first.”
“…Sure. Please call me if you need anything.”
“You can turn off the living room light when you go up.”
Nodding, I watched him gather the files, tablet, and coffee before heading into the study. After the door closed neatly, I was left alone in the brightly lit living room.
Following his instructions, I went to the entrance and pressed the light switch. Other than the yellow light seeping from under the study door, the living room was plunged into darkness.
Instead of going straight up to the second floor, I sat quietly on the sofa where he had been sitting. Pulling down the shirt that had dried up to my thighs, I turned my head towards the glass window he had been looking out of.
The damp and serene darkness penetrated the glass and clung to my body like moisture. The balcony table’s ashtray still emitted a faint wisp of smoke.
***
It was dawn. Consciousness slowly floated above the surface of sleep in response to the gentle shaking of my shoulders. I hadn’t slept deeply, so it didn’t take long for me to fully wake up.
“…What time is it now…?”
Looking up with a groggy voice, I asked, and Han Team Leader, who was sitting on top of me unbuttoning his shirt, answered indifferently.
“It’s around four in the morning.”
“…Even if you didn’t sleep well… Are you okay?”
I absentmindedly raised my arms to help him undress me. Wearing only a shirt turned into a uniform, there was nothing to remove underneath. He laughed faintly as he gripped both ankles widely spread out in his hands.
“It doesn’t seem like the time to worry about me.”
“Ugh…”
“I’ll finish quickly, so hold on tight and don’t let go.”
“Ugh…”
As I gradually regained my senses, the tension that crept in made my body stiff. Han Team Leader bent me in half, spreading my ankles widely, and handed them over to my hands. I leaned my cheek against the pillow and breathed slowly. I tried to relax my body, but it was futile. Through the wide gap in the air, he inserted the finger coated with gel.
“Ugh, ugh! Ugh, it hurts…”
“Apply more force.”
The thick finger pushed in all the way to the root. Looking closely at the folds swollen from days of repeated sex, he bent his finger like a hook and stirred the inside. A stinging and tingling pain spread along the spine.
I blinked my eyes, trying to hold back the warmth in my eyes. The number of fingers stirring inside increased quickly. He teased the entrance, pulling and stretching it as if checking if it had expanded enough.
“Uh! Ah, ugh…”
After a few strokes against the convulsing inner walls, he withdrew. As the wet entrance was exposed to the open air, it felt like a chilly breeze was flowing through the wide gap. Twisting my body, I closed my eyes. The sound of the zipper going down sounded faintly, and suddenly, the thick glans pushed through the wet buttocks. Dodging around the open hole, as he teased the perineum, I endured my unstable breathing.
“Hold onto the legs properly.”
He spoke softly while handing me the misplaced ankle back into my hands. The swollen glans, spread apart tightly, bit into the back again. Slowly gliding over the not-yet-closed entrance, he exerted force on the hand gripping my hip, pushing all the way inside in one go.
“Ugh!”
My body convulsed as if it were being struck from the inside. I groped my ankles with sweaty hands, trying to fix them, ensuring that he could move easily.
The piston-like movement, unforgiving and relentless, became rougher. It was at a terrifying speed, making me feel as if I were suffocating. The sound of buttocks flesh colliding was loud. The sensation of the zipper scraping over the sensitive skin between the buttocks was sharp. While deeply thrusting, he bent his upper body, forcefully twisting my breasts as if molding them.
“Ugh! Uck, ah- it hurts…”
“It has to be tighter. If you complain after squeezing it a bit, how will it be when the inside becomes loose?”
“Ah, uck, huh…”
“Even if I wake you up at night and ask you to spread your legs, you shouldn’t grimace.”
My vision blurred. Once again, he lifted my ankle wandering in the air. Gliding his palm over the sweaty skin, he gently caressed the trembling inner calf with his warm lips.
“Is it because it’s me, or is it Seodan’s personality?”
“Ugh, uh…”
“If you happened to like someone else, would you have behaved the same way with them?”
“…Ah, huh…”
His face, seen through the haze, was frozen as if in a grimace. I closed my mouth, unable to speak. The ceiling beyond his shaking back was stained with shadows. The hot and thick pillar relentlessly stirred within the heated body. My chest tingled and ached. Even though the most intimate part of my body was intensely being rubbed, he seemed infinitely distant as I looked up.
Wiping away the frozen tears, I lifted my head with great effort. I lightly kissed his tightly closed lips.
Then, thud, the merciless thrusting into the inside stopped abruptly. Gasping for breath, when I looked up, Han Team Leader was gazing deeply into my eyes.
“Is it too difficult for you?”
