Chapter 2: Meeting(1)

But my mind soon cleared.
This was an opportunity.
Kyunghee admitted she had no choice but to wait for me to decide when to use her.
In other words, it meant I’d bought some time.
At least, that’s how I understood it.

“………………”

She’d probably come out after changing on her own.
For now, it seemed best to make some food for Kyunghee, who likely hadn’t eaten anything.
I didn’t have a proper dining table, just a small one, but it’d do.
Honestly, I was anxious.
This apartment was set up for me living alone.
The furniture arrangement, the utensils, everything.
It wasn’t designed with the assumption of someone else living here.
The only silver lining was that I had enough ingredients.

“Come out when you’re dressed. I’ll make some food.”

I spoke as firmly as I could and organized my thoughts on what to do.
I was starting to feel hungry myself.
So, something we could both eat, and since it’s late, something light…

‘Nothing really comes to mind.’

Thinking about my pathetic cooking skills—decent for a bachelor but nothing more—made me sigh.
Maybe some eggs, ham, or nuggets would do.
I slowly opened the gas valve and took out a frying pan.
I grabbed five or six frozen chicken nuggets from the fridge, heated the pan, warmed some soybean oil, and took out two eggs.
Then I oiled the pan, washed the eggs, cracked them, and started frying.

“………………”

While cooking, I glanced outside and saw Kyunghee getting dressed.
She tossed her soaked underwear into the bathroom, pulled up some pants, and put on a T-shirt.
She didn’t seem to be doing anything strange, so I focused on cooking.

I fried the chicken nuggets, plated the cooked eggs, and grilled some ham.
I took out a bowl of pre-sliced kimchi and hurriedly set the table.
After turning off the gas and serving a generous portion of rice, the table looked decent enough.
Thankfully, it seemed just enough for both of us to eat together.
If either of us were any bigger, we’d have had to eat separately.
What a relief.

I unfolded the small folding table in the corner, set out the dishes, and placed utensils.
Thinking she might be thirsty, I poured water into a cup and handed it to her.
Kyunghee, with a hollow expression, watched me set the table and cautiously approached.

“You must be hungry, right?”
“……Th-thank you, I’ll eat well.”

Even though I made space for her to join me, Kyunghee took only her rice and moved away from the table.
She seemed to know I’d made enough side dishes for two, which was odd.
It was like she was eating her rice alone on the floor, looking pitiful, as if worried about something.

“Hey, you can eat with me. Have some side dishes.”
“……I-I’m fine.”

She clearly wasn’t fine.
Forcing a smile, Kyunghee chewed and swallowed her rice one bite at a time.
But her pace was strangely fast.
Like she was used to eating quickly.
It felt like she was desperately chewing small bites and repeating the process.

Whatever the reason, watching her made me feel like I was choking up, so I slightly lifted the table and placed it in front of her.
With no way to escape, Kyunghee finally chose to eat with me.

“I made it for you to eat. It’s okay.”
“Th-thank you… I’ll eat well…”
“What are you doing?”
“Is… is it okay to eat…?”
“I gave it to you to eat.”

Thinking she might be worried about poison or something, I ate a chicken nugget with some rice in front of her.
Only then did she seem to relax, starting to eat cautiously.
There were plenty of side dishes, so she could eat as much as she wanted, but she strictly ate only a third of them.
She didn’t even touch the eggs, which were hard to divide.

Saying more might backfire, so I kept a smile, ate the remaining side dishes, and finished the meal.
Kyunghee looked at me with anxious eyes, then chugged two glasses of water in a row.
And as if that wasn’t enough, she drank a third. Watching her, I felt…

Pity.

No matter how you looked at it, she was an unidentified person now.
It seemed she’d already developed a distrust of people.
You could tell from the fact that she’d been abandoned by all her acquaintances and came to me, an internet acquaintance.

“If you’re hungry, just say—”
“I-I’m fine.”

Kyunghee forced a smile and nodded.
She didn’t look fine at all, but it seemed like she was saying it to avoid being a burden.
Her reaction made me think she’d been broken for a long time.
And that was messing with my plans.

Originally, I’d planned to have her do some chores to make her feel like she was earning her keep.
Like, I’d cover the living expenses and rent, but she’d handle the housework.
But with her so guarded, I couldn’t imagine asking her to do anything.
She’d probably worry about messing up and ruin things because of it.
She knew that, which is probably why she offered her body instead.

I rubbed my eyes.
For now, cleaning up the dishes and organizing my thoughts seemed best.
I stacked the dishes, put them in the sink, and looked at Kyunghee.
She was sitting quietly in her spot.
Our eyes met by chance, and she gave an awkward smile before looking away.
Her trembling suggested she was misunderstanding something.
I didn’t know exactly what had happened to her, but… I could guess.

“Kyunghee.”
“……Yeah.”
“Maybe, I mean… never mind.”

I swallowed the words, Because of your parents, right?

Kyunghee and I used to chat about various things.
Not too deeply, but once, she asked for help.
She said her parents had set conditions for her independence, and she didn’t know what to do.
To be honest, those conditions were garbage.
First, she had to get into a top-tier Seoul university.
Anything less, and independence was out of the question.
On top of that, tuition, living expenses, food, transportation, and miscellaneous school costs—
She was required to pay it all back.

That wasn’t all.
While working part-time, if she lived at home, she had to hand over her entire paycheck.
If she got her own place, she’d pay half the rent, and her parents would cover the other half.
But that half of the rent would also be added to her debt.

This brutal debt was something a fresh graduate had to start paying off immediately after getting a decent job.
It was practically a scam, just without interest.
But I remember Kyunghee texting me that she thought the deal was okay.
Growing up under parents like that, she wouldn’t see normal things as normal.
The way she seemed like she’d break earlier.
The extreme caution to avoid being a burden to me now.
It all came from thinking she’s shamelessly mooching without paying a price.
Thinking she had to live with such unnatural thoughts…

I couldn’t send her away.

It’s not just that the apartment is small; I’m not short on living expenses.
If I put up with a bit of inconvenience, I could support someone like Kyunghee.
And it felt like the right thing to do.
Telling her to leave now would be like telling her to die.
If I hadn’t shown her kindness, it might’ve been different, but since I did, I had to take responsibility.

“You can stay as long as you need.”
“………………”
“It may not look like it, but I’m not short on money. If you’re hungry, I’ll make food anytime.”
“………………”
“With my condition lately, I’m home half the week, so I can keep an eye on you.”

Kyunghee slowly raised her head and smiled.
I felt good thinking she was finally smiling, but I was wrong.
Her mouth was smiling, but her eyes were dead.
The deep despair in her eyes made my breath catch, and I instinctively took a step back.
Seeing me retreat, Kyunghee started speaking.

“I’m twenty-two. But I can’t do anything. Unlike you.”
“………………”
“I don’t have any talents. I failed my exams twice. Studying? I’m barely at a 4th or 5th grade level, not exactly skilled.”
“………………”
“I don’t have money or anything. Even the clothes I’m wearing don’t fit; I just grabbed them.”
“But…”
“It’ll cost more to buy women’s products for me than anything I can give you. Food expenses will double too.”
“It’s fine, I can handle—”

Kyunghee gave a twisted smile, as if driving in a wedge.

“That’s more money, isn’t it? Saying you can handle it doesn’t make it go away.”
“………………”
“I’m… I’m a burden. I said you could use me, but I don’t even know what this body can do.”
“Still…?”
“What should I do? Or just tell me what you want to take from me… or…”

Kyunghee cried silently.
Then, as if she’d made up her mind, she said,

“I don’t think I can ever go back to being a normal woman. If that’s the case, just do whatever you want with me.”
“That……”
“My father was right. I’m a useless woman who can’t even study, so selling my body to survive is only natural.”
“That’s not true.”
“……Hands or mouth? Thighs or armpits are fine too. My chest is small, but it might do.”
“……Just hug me.”

That was all I could say.
But it felt like the right choice.
Kyunghee, who’d been sobbing weakly in my arms, fell asleep from exhaustion in less than twenty minutes.
Seeing her asleep drained all my energy, so I laid her on the bed, then collapsed on the living room floor to sleep.
My schedule tomorrow was wide open, so sleeping in wouldn’t be an issue.
And right now, all I wanted was to sleep deeply.