Chapter 1: Prologue
In a night illuminated by neon signs, Hyun-seok looked at the woman in front of him with an expression of annoyance.
“I mean, come on. I know it’s impossible, but just you are so pretty in my eyes.”
“Don’t say that. It’s embarrassing…”
The woman hit Hyun-seok’s arm and looked down shyly, but didn’t seem to be feeling bad about it.
“It’s not a problem to be embarrassed. The problem is that you’re too pretty.”
Hyun-seok spoke in a tone of annoyance, but his eyes were very gentle. At least that’s how the woman perceived it.
‘I’m tired of doing this.’
But Hyun-seok’s sincerity was not there. He couldn’t even remember the woman’s name, although he heard it earlier. Was it Su-hee?
In fact, it had been about four years since Hyun-seok started this behavior – to hunt for and seduce women he found attractive on the street or in bars, get their contact information, gain their favor, and eventually take them to bed. At first, it was fun to seduce women and make love, but now he didn’t feel that kind of enjoyment anymore.
“So, don’t smile so beautifully like that. Look at me, everyone is staring at you.”
“No, it’s not like that at all. Please lower your voice. Geez.”
After talking to the woman for a few moments, Hyun-seok could roughly guess her personality. Depending on her actions, the method of seduction, using more polite and gentle words, was almost the same. Only the details of the conversation changed.
“But it’s really hot. Do you want to watch a movie comfortably with the air conditioning on at my place?”
“At your place?”
“Yeah. It’s hot here and comfortable there.”
The pattern was almost the same. If it’s cold, let’s watch a movie on the electric heating pad to stay warm. If it’s hot, let’s turn on the air conditioning and watch a movie. It was a ridiculous excuse in his opinion, but surprisingly, it was a way to win over women with a 90% success rate if he had built up some likability beforehand. If the woman hesitated, he would just add a few more words. Facial expression was also very important. If he showed a light and playful expression and laughter as if it was nothing, then that was enough.
“I won’t do anything.”
“Who said I thought you would?”
That day, Hyun-seok succeeded in hunting and slept with a girl whose name he couldn’t even remember. These days, he didn’t get excited easily, so his enjoyment didn’t last long. He did it not because he enjoyed it like before, but because it was a habit. So, it wasn’t really good, but not doing it made him feel empty.
Hyun-seok was also a very enthusiastic exerciser and had a great body that women found very attractive. He had a moderate body shape with good proportions, not too big or too thin. His face was small, his shoulders were broad, and his lower body was much longer than his upper body. He was quite handsome if judged solely on his appearance.
He hugged the girl, who was probably named Su-hee, and lay her down on the bed, gently stroking her hair. Then he leaned in and whispered.
“A kiss.”
There was a sound of a smack. Usually, after reaching the bed, women would feel a strong liking towards Hyun-seok. Exercising hard was a great merit in bed. Hyun-seok laughs when he sees people saying ‘I’m the mess on the bed’ or ‘Low night’ without exercising properly.
It’s because a man’s strength, thigh strength, the strength of the trained spinal erector muscles, and the range of motion itself make a big difference between someone who exercises diligently and someone who doesn’t.
Hyun-seok looked at her with a gaze that was like looking at a beloved pet, and smiled slightly. It was more of a habit than sincerity. Women liked this kind of behavior very much.
Hyun-seok protruded his lips again and smiled as he said, “Kiss.”
Once again, there was a sound of disapproval. In fact, it was not new to Hyun-seok. To him, women felt like programmed organisms. If he did this, he would get that reaction, and if he did that, he would get this reaction. Aside from other things, at least the process of taking them to bed for the first time and gaining their deep affection was almost the same.
The woman was babbling something, but Hyun-seok did not listen carefully. He just repeated the last word or added an exclamation like “Wow, really?” or occasionally empathized with the woman’s emotions by saying, “Wow, that’s really bad,” and other meaningless comments. He knew there was nothing important to listen to, and since this situation was repeated so often, it didn’t show on the surface, but inside he was just thinking about something else.
‘Something… bothersome.’
At first, he secretly took pictures of the woman’s panties, shoes in the entranceway, and stockings thrown aside next to the bed and even sent them to his friends as “proof.” His friends were very jealous, and Hyun-seok felt a sense of superiority at that time.
But that doesn’t mean that Hyun-seok was only passionate about hunting and making love. He showed talent and made efforts in all areas. But to put it differently, it means that he was moderately good at many things, and that he didn’t excel in anything in particular. He was also moderately good at studying and exercising. He thought he could play the piano well enough to show off in front of others, and he could also sing to some extent.
‘Boring.’
As a result, rather than delving deeply into everything, he had experienced various things without being passionate or dedicated to anything, now at the age of 29. In his student days, he had a goal of getting a job and lived fiercely. He had no time to feel bored. So, he studied hard and obtained qualifications as an electrical contractor, and he got a job at KEPCO, which was the best among public corporations, with excellent grades in his major interview. That was good. It was good to have a stable job, and it was also good to have a translation part-time job that provided a decent income.
As life became stable and his financial situation improved, everything became peaceful and comfortable. However, he no longer had the same intensity as before. He was just a little better off and a man who lived day by day without a goal.
Hyun-seok stroked the woman’s hair and brushed her bangs aside, looking into her eyes and speaking in a gentle voice.
“You’re pretty.”
Like a programmed machine, he skillfully continued the conversation and made her feel loved, even though it might be an illusion. It was something he was very familiar with and natural at. It was like breathing to him. Even the process of breaking up was very easy for him.
By gradually doing things that she disliked, delaying contact little by little, and slowly making her dislike him, he could make her hate him completely. From a woman’s perspective, it was a completely despicable thing to do, but in reality, it was not so. The woman did not feel shocked or sad in the process of breaking up with Hyun-seok. In that regard, Hyun-seok had talent and had practiced a lot. The way to break up naturally and not contact was as easy for him as the way to seduce a woman.
‘This is really boring.’
However, now that familiarity and naturalness had become tedium.
And then, from that day.
Hyun-seok’s everyday life was completely shattered.
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