The Call Girl

Diary 1: Entry 5

After two weeks of knowing each other, Jiu and I settled into a rhythm. During the week, we worked. I tutored Jiu relentlessly and refused to let her give up. During the weekend, we played. A lot. As the time went by, I fell more and more in love with it all.

We kept this up for a solid month. I was in a haze of golden bliss. That is, until I saw something I wish I hadn't.

Spring was turning to summer. I sat outside a cafe, beneath the building's overhang, sipping an iced coffee with Siyeon and Sua. Rain pelted from the sky, smattering the ground with wet, heavy slaps.

We hid together, close enough to admire the atmosphere, but far enough to stay dry.

"We barely see you anymore," Sua pouted. "You should come hang out on Friday. We'll get the maths girls over too and make a night of it."

I shook my head. "I can't. I'm seeing Jiu that day."

Sua slapped the table. "Come on, you've been hiding your head between her legs for the last month now! It's like you've forgotten us."

I smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry. I really am. It's just..." I sighed, my shoulders slumping. "I don't have a good excuse, honestly. I know I haven't been the best friend lately."

"She's still in the honeymoon phase," Siyeon murmured to Sua, who nodded in agreement.

Sua cleared her throat. "Still. That doesn't mean she can keep ignoring us." She looked at me. "Come on Friday."

I shook my head. "I'm sorry."

Sua rolled her eyes and began replying, but my attention was drawn elsewhere.

Passing by the café was none other than Jiu herself, with all the radiance of a sweet cherry blossom.

She strode arm in arm with a tall young man who bore Jiu's red lipstick on his cheek in the form of a kiss mark.

The floor dropped out beneath me. I was choking. Who was that man? Why was she with him?

And like a bolt of lighting, a realisation shot through me - she's a call girl, so he must be her client. I had been fooling myself. I was also just a client. Nothing more.

My stomach churned and honey turned to acid in my mouth as images flashed through my head. Her and him, entwined. Him inside her, filling her with his...ugh.

I almost threw up. I couldn't think anymore.

Sua frowned. "Yoohyeon? Are you even listening to me?"

"Sorry, I have to go." I slapped some money on the table. "The bill is on me." Then I stood and hurried after Jiu, ignoring Sua's yelling voice.

I tailed the pair to the university car park. The man opened the car door for Jiu. My fists clenched. That should be me doing that. The man got into the driver's side and started the car.

Panic rose in my throat. What was I going to do? What could I do? Follow them all the way back to the man's place and watch them have sex? Disgusting.

No, I needed a plan. Sure, I was a client. But I wasn't just any client - I was Jiu's English tutor. That meant two things.

First, that I stood out from the crowd. I was special. I wasn't like the others.

And second, she needed me, which meant that I had a card to play.

As I stood there in the car park, sopping wet in the torrential grey, I decided it was high time I use it.

For the first time in my life, I had felt alive. Hell, I had felt something. And it was all because of Jiu. If I could win her heart and make her mine, everything would be perfect.

I made my way back to the café, possessed by purpose. Just to be sure, I texted Siyeon to check if they were still there. Luckily, they were.

When I arrived, I ignored Sua's baleful glare and sat down. "Forget Friday. We're going out dancing on Saturday. You two, me, and Jiu. We're going to have a double date to put the last one to shame," I said.

Sua's eyes softened slightly, but her body remained tense. She glanced at Siyeon, who shrugged. "We'd love to," said Sua, "but why the sudden change of heart?"

"Not that we're complaining," Siyeon interjected.

I smiled. "Because you're right. I haven't been spending as much time with you guys as I should have. But I don't see why I can't do that and have fun with Jiu."

"Getting a bit greedy, aren't you? Three girls all to yourself?" Siyeon said, smirking.

Again I felt my anxiety in my mind. I felt its tendrils seeping through my body, threatening my hands to shake.

But I also felt my heart. It flared with desire. I thought of Jiu. Her cherry red lips and a smile like summer sun. What I had ached for on all those long and lonely nights was finally reachable. My anxiety stood no chance. I pushed forward.

My lips quirked into a smirk of their own. "I don't see why not. I'm woman enough for all of you."

Siyeon slapped the table and crowed. "Woah, look out - here comes Yoohyeon the pussyslayer!"

Sua smiled too, but she continued eyeing me. I could see the gears turning. What was she thinking?

In the end, she let it slide. But something had changed between us. I wasn't sure what it was.

The summer's humid warmth hugged me, and I shivered.