Chapter 1 — Her Invitation

My stomach was churning all morning, my head clouded. Must’ve been from the soju I’d downed the day before—two whole bottles back-to-back on Sunday.

I’d started drinking early in life, and my body just took to alcohol easily, so over the years I’d always drunk more than most people.

But now that I’m getting older, and maybe because of all the drinking I’ve done, my body’s gotten weaker. Lately, if I drink even a little too much, I feel awful afterward.

Especially when I start with soju—once I do, I always end up overdoing it. Beer I can handle better, keep somewhat under control.

Even if the nausea after drinking is unavoidable, it still makes me wonder sometimes—am I really living like this?

On Sunday morning, after breakfast, I stopped by the public bathhouse, then swung by a self-service car wash because my car was filthy. By the time I got to the office, it was already eleven.

I didn’t really have to come in, but staying home wasn’t any fun either.

Lately I’d been getting into a certain online forum, posting my own stories and reading others’. Plus, I had a lunch date lined up with her, so I decided to head to the office.

If I stayed home, I’d have to come out around lunchtime, and I’d need a decent excuse. So a little after one in the afternoon, I called her.

“It’s me.”

“Ah… yes!”

“Are you at home now?”

“Yes.”

“Are you alone?”

“Yes! I’m alone. You’re at the office, aren’t you?”

She must’ve seen my number on her phone.

“Yeah, I’m at the office.”

“Have you eaten yet?”

“No… we were supposed to eat together, weren’t we?”

“Why don’t you come over? I don’t have much prepared, but let’s eat here.”

Wait—what? Is she inviting me to her house?

Back when we’d first started seeing each other, I’d half-jokingly, half-seriously said I wanted to visit her place, that I wanted to eat a meal she’d made. Had she actually remembered?

“I’d love to! You’re really alone at home? It’s Sunday—no one else coming over?”

“No! No one’s coming.”

“Then I’ll head over right now.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

I drove toward her apartment, heart pounding.

Is this really going to be okay? After about thirty minutes, I pulled into the parking lot of her building.

I’d met her here before—escorted her to her door, walked her back after dates—but I’d never actually stepped inside her apartment. Today, finally, I was going in.

As I passed other residents and the building staff, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

I took the elevator up and finally pressed the doorbell.

The door opened, and there she stood—wearing a sleeveless top and shorts.

She looked a little flustered too. After all, she’d just invited a man from outside into her home.

As I stepped inside, I pulled her into a tight embrace.

“I was just getting lunch ready… you’ll have to wait a bit.”

“Take your time. It’s my first time visiting you—wanted to bring something, but couldn’t think of what.”

“You did fine! If you’d brought something, I’d have had to figure out where to put it…”

“Is your husband out?”

“He went to Daegu for a relative’s wedding. He said he’d be late coming back.”

“Mind if I take a look around?”

I’d heard her apartment was about twenty-two pyeong, but it felt smaller. Then again, it was plenty big for a couple.

“You got any photo albums?”

“Why?”

“I’d like to see pictures of you when you were younger…”

“What would you do with that?”

“Isn’t it natural? I want to know everything about someone I care about.”

“Not today.”

“Why not?”

“Just… not today. The old photos are somewhere—I’d have to look. Right now, the albums only have pictures of the kids.”

“I’d really like to see them once.”

“I’ll find them and keep them ready. Then you can come see.”

“Can I come again?”

“We’ll see. Lunch is ready—come sit at the table.”

I walked over and sat down. She brought over kimchi stew and side dishes, then scooped rice from the pot and set it in front of me.

“I didn’t prepare much… don’t think badly of it.”

“Think badly? Are you kidding? It’s an honor just to eat a meal you made. Aren’t you eating too?”

“I ate earlier with my husband. You eat plenty. Want some drinks with your meal?”

“Sure.”

She pulled a bottle of soju from the fridge and sat across from me, pouring me a glass.

“Have one with me.”

I poured her a glass too.

“Is the food good?”

“Oh, it’s perfect! The taste, the seasoning—everything suits me exactly.”

“When we’ve eaten out before, I noticed we have similar tastes. That’s why I finally got the courage today to invite you here.”

I finished all the rice—more than I usually eat. We used the leftover kimchi stew as a side dish and drank together.

“David Park… I invited you today, but my heart’s been racing since you called. I could tell I was flustering the moment you walked in.

You’ve said a few times you wanted to come here, so I finally decided…”

“I was nervous too when I came. I’ve wanted to be here so badly—but now that you actually invited me, I’m trembling. Here—let’s drink.”

We kept talking, drinking. How many bottles did we finish? I must’ve downed nearly two, and she about one.

Normally I wouldn’t drink this much, but the place—the thrill of being here—made me lose control.

After finishing the soju, she cleared the table. I lay back on the fold-out sofa in the living room, flipping through TV channels.

She came over with two cups of tea, having finished the dishes.

“You okay? You drank quite a bit—feeling drunk?”

“A little. You?”

“I’m pretty drunk too.”

We sipped tea. I slid my arm around her shoulder and kissed her.

“Wait… let me lock the door.”

She got up, locked the front door, then pulled down the plastic curtain over the sliding door to the terrace before sitting back beside me.

I started undressing her. Her loose sleeveless top and shorts came off easily. I quickly stripped too, then laid her down on the sofa.

Naked, we clung to each other. Kissing. My hands groping her breasts. My mouth exploring her pussy.

“Ahh… hnngh! David Park… I can’t… understand…”

She was especially aroused today. Broad daylight. In her own apartment’s living room. We were lost in each other, completely reckless.

What if someone who knew her showed up unannounced? What if a family member came by?

The door was locked—but still, what then?

Drunk on two bottles of soju and overwhelmed with excitement, I thrust into her with no thought for consequences.

But the narrow sofa must’ve been uncomfortable.

“David… Park… let’s go to my room…”

“Should we?”

Still naked, I took her hand and followed her into her bedroom.

Lately, she told me, she hadn’t been sleeping with her husband. He’d had some issues with his performance, so they’d started sleeping in separate rooms.

She lay down on the bed she slept in, and I climbed on top.

I pushed my cock into her pussy and started twisting it side to side.

She’d told me once—she got far more excited this way than just from thrusting.

“Ahh… hah… hah! I’m… dying…”

She moaned beneath me, writhing as if she were dying.

I kept going for about ten minutes. Drunk, my head spinning, I couldn’t come no matter how long I thrust. This was probably the longest I’d ever gone with her.

But she was close—I could feel it. She pulled me tightly against her.

“Ahh!!!”

Her arms, wrapped around me, suddenly went slack. Her body went limp.

I hadn’t come yet, but I stayed inside her, motionless, holding her tightly.

“David Park… you didn’t?”

“Couldn’t.”

“Because you’re nervous being in my house?”

“No… not that. Maybe I just drank too much.”

We took a shower together, got dressed, and returned to the living room, sitting side by side on the sofa.

She spoke first.

“I think… I must’ve been possessed today. Inviting you here like this…”

“Must’ve been because you love me too much…”

I pulled her close. She leaned into me, burying herself in my arms. Then she whispered:

“You know… lately I can’t believe how lucky I am…”

“What do you mean?”

“I stopped loving my husband a long time ago—but I stayed for the kids.

As the years passed, I kept wondering if I had to live like this. Every day felt suffocating.

But since I met you, life’s become joyful. It finally feels like living. And because I feel guilty, I’ve even started treating my husband better…”

“I feel the same. Thanks to you, I’ve been able to keep my family peaceful, stable…”

“I’m even more grateful that you feel that way. Maybe that’s why I pushed myself today, inviting you here. I just… wanted to thank you.”

I drank the coffee she made, then left her apartment.