"...So you're telling me that it was Bang fucking Chan you slept with?" Ae Ra gasped, "Soojin, are you sure?"

"Of course! It was him. I saw his face for real!" Soojin emphasized, "How could I not recognise hin before? Those hands, that voice, and those eyes..."

"But that's not the point," Ae Ra shook her head, as if clearing her head off any other thought, "He's never coming back here again, huh?"

"Yeah..." Soojin frowned, "I probably embarrassed him."

"Hey, hey," Ae Ra placed her hands on the other's shoulder reassuringly, "It's not your fault. This wasn't something you started. If anything, it's his fault for coming here."

"Biased or unbiased, I don't want to put the blame on him."

"You're clearly biased right now."

"That's the thing!" Soojin cried, "I don't want to blame him. He's still... I still love him — even as a fan."

"Soojin, you're not just a fan anymore. He's slept with you."

She bit her lip in thought; was that the case now? She sure had slept with Bang Chan, but the greater question remained — was that a demotion from the level of a fan? Or a level higher?

After all, she was just an escort.

Nonetheless, she couldn't forget that powerful, dominant stare of Bang Chan; those beautiful, veiny hands of his traveling all over her body, touching her on the places where she was the most sensitive; that voice, albeit deeper than usual, calling out her name and those sweet nicknames he probably didn't mean; and that godly body, sculpted so delicately and carefully to give him the perfect proportions and only add to his glory.

She just couldn't get his grunts and moans out of her head.

"Earth to, miss?" Ae Ra waved a hand in front of her, snapping her out of her unholy little zone.

"Y-Yeah?" Soojin spoke, alarmed.

"What are you gonna do about it?"

"About what? It's not like he's gonna meet me ever again."

Ae Ra pursed her lips, eyes roaming around randomly as she went deep into thought, and Soojin yawned. It had been quite an eventful day. She just wanted to rest and sleep away the myriad of emotions raging inside her. Maybe, if she slept, the encounter with Bang Chan would be labelled as a beautiful dream. She wouldn't have to think about it again. Her idol, her dearly loved man, had paid her to sleep with him, and even though that arrangement wasn't the most appropriate, it had happened. Bang Chan had fucked her senseless and left without a trace.

Perhaps some sleep would help that memory become a forlorn tale she no longer wanted to associate with.

"I have an idea."

Soojin turned to look at Ae Ra, who had just suggested the idea. Upon getting her attention, Ae Ra grinned, "Do you wanna date him?"

"What?" Soojin asked, bewildered.

"I have just the idea that would let you both date!" Ae Ra exclaimed, and the other girl didn't have a good feeling about it.

"What is it?"

"It might sound, er, toxic," Ae Ra air-quoted the word 'toxic', "But what if... just what if you, like, persuaded him into dating you?"

"I still don't understand where you're going with this," Soojin sighed.

"Trust me with this, okay?" Ae Ra kept a hand on her best friend's hands, "You wanna date Chan, right? Who wouldn't wanna?"

"Yeah, but... what do you have in mind?" Soojin was wary of her friend.

"I might have to blackmail him into-"

"No, Ae Ra! We're not doing this!"

"But-"

"No!" Soojin was firm with her decision. To say the least, her moral compass was still intact.

"Soojin!" Ae Ra snapped, "Aren't you sick of being here? Trapped in the world of human trafficking? Getting fucked by nasty men? Do you like it?"

"..."

"No, you don't! And neither do I!" Ae Ra breathed in and out, calming herself down, "Listen, Soojin. This is the only chance to get out of this hellhole. I'm not telling you to keep dating him. Just blackmail him, get some money, and run away with me. We'll start a new life somewhere, open a bakery, and maybe adopt a cat? Just like we'd always talked about? We'll lead respectful lives. We won't have to face those disgusting stares again. Just this once, Soojin. Please?"

Soojin sighed — the thought of starting anew tempted her. Leading a respectful, normal life was something she had been craving for years. And, now that the chance was here, why was she tentative to grab it?

She wasn't going to trouble Bang Chan much. Just some money, and she'd never show him her face again.

"Okay. Let's do this."

(a/n: oooh update!! Thank you so much for the continued support, guys!!

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