Broad Daylight

Approaching with a faint spark of interest and curiosity, I edged closer just as the man bit the work glove free with his teeth and began tapping at the screen. Standing side by side and peering at the display, I noticed a thin crack running across the glass. Wondering if it had shattered when he fell, I gave it a cursory once-over—only for him to spit the glove onto the ground with a wet ptoo.

“It was already cracked.”

“…….”

I hadn’t asked, yet I simply nodded and kept staring at the screen.

The thumb that opened the gallery was thick and large. Not just the fingers—his entire hand was so big the phone looked almost toy-like in it. Scars from cuts marked it here and there, dirt clung to the skin, and the tendons stood out in rough ridges, yet purely in shape it was a well-formed, almost handsome hand.

The exterior, at least, seemed surprisingly free of any sharp edges.

“See? Number one was right.”

He pulled up a list of videos as he spoke. Wondering what he meant, I turned—and found us closer than I’d realized. I nearly planted my nose against his shoulder.

I eased back a fraction and lifted my gaze; he jerked his chin toward the phone. From a distance where the slightest shift would press our forearms together, I looked down at the screen.

“Uh…?”

On the display sat a sedan identical to my own. Beneath a sky already melting into sunset, the car sat sideways amid heavy machinery, shovels, and sandbags; behind it lay piles of cut timber and pipes.

I leaned in, eyes wide with surprise, and he pressed play.

A soft thunk. Inside the phone the car began to rock, small and insistent.

“…….”

It had been filmed from a distance, and the side windows were heavily tinted, hiding the interior completely. Circumstance left little doubt what was happening inside that violently shaking vehicle, yet a sliver of possibility remained.

“It might not… necessarily be that. And the license plate isn’t even visible—how can you be sure it’s my car?”

The instant the words left my mouth he swiped sideways. Another video began at once.

Thunk. Thunk.

This one had been shot from the rear.

“Ah…”

The plate fixed to the bumper was unmistakably mine, and through the lighter rear glass Driver Kim’s body was thrashing in frantic motion.

Driver Kim was actually having sex. Even seeing it with my own eyes, I could scarcely believe it.

The suit he always wore so neatly was completely disheveled down the front; the once-dignified face twisted into a grotesque mask of pleasure. The relentless slam of his hips looked exactly like a beast in heat. Thought, restraint—everything had fled; only instinct remained.

I had never watched other people couple before. And this was someone I knew. No—it felt as though I were looking at an entirely different man.

So even the most proper people panted like dogs when they fucked. My heart gave an odd, hard thud. Was it because Driver Kim suddenly felt like a stranger—that same jittery tension of confronting someone unknown?

Then the car stilled. Driver Kim squeezed his eyes shut and flung his head back; at the same moment a low sigh slipped from my own lips.

And the video ended.

What was this feeling? Caught in the strangeness of it, I stared blankly at the frozen frame until the phone slowly drifted out of my line of sight. As if entranced, my face followed. My gaze cut diagonally through empty air and landed on the man, whose expression had turned peculiar.

“…….”

With a lazy spin the phone turned once in his palm. Even then he never looked away from me.

“What is it.”

He tilted his body and brought his eyes level with mine. The already narrow gap shrank further; our bare forearms brushed.

Both our sleeves were short, so the contact of his skin against mine felt startlingly hot.

Of course—he had been working under the sun; his body temperature ran high, and the skin was even sticky with sweat. Whether from the strange nervous thrill or the heat of the touch itself, my own body flushed and my lips went bone-dry.

I stared at the joined arms and wet my lips with the tip of my tongue. The audible gulp of saliva made me look up; one of his eyebrows shot high.

“Hey, princess.”

“…….”

“It’s broad daylight.”

Only then did I manage to step sideways. The peel of skin from skin sent a strange little jolt through me.

“Normally if someone pulls this shit with my car, feeling pissed is the normal reaction, isn’t it?”

He stood the phone upright and tapped it lightly against my forehead. Startled, I lifted my eyes just as the pressure pushed my head back.

“Go splash some cold water on your face.”

“…….”

“And don’t drag me into whatever this is.”

His long arm stretched fully; before I knew it I had been shoved a full step away. He set me at a safe distance, then climbed the ladder. Fixed firmly to the ground now, it felt far sturdier than before.

Phone pocketed, he scratched hard at his forearm and began snipping again. I watched the falling branches for a moment, then fumbled myself around. For now… the business was finished.

All the way back to the house my heart hammered. Breath felt a little short; my lips stayed dry. I kept wetting them as I stepped into the living room, where Heeyeon unnie was rearranging the shelves.

“What were you doing outsi—”

The sound of my hurried entrance made her turn; the rest of the sentence died.

I climbed the stairs to the second floor without a word. With every step on the polished wood, heat surged up from deep in my belly. Deciding cold water was exactly what I needed, I went straight into the bathroom—only to meet my own eyes in the mirror and freeze in dismay.

I had never seen this face on myself before.

My eyes were sharper, brows lifted, both cheeks flushed scarlet; even the color of my lips looked deeper than usual. I stared at the parted mouth, then met the hazy pupils again.

I pressed a hand over the still-smoldering belly. Lower than the navel, I cupped the flat plane of my lower stomach and slid a little farther down.

Beneath the thin homewear dress I felt the soft mound of my sex. The heat lived inside that place—and it was damp.

Now I understood why he had said those things. Using my car like a motel should have made me angry; part of me did feel unclean. Yet absurdly, something else had overtaken the disgust.

Is it really that good? Shameless enough to do it in someone else’s car… to that degree?

“…….”

A splash of water on the face would not be enough. Intent on a shower, I stripped, unhooked my bra—and a sudden question surfaced.

Why had the man been there at that moment?

But the thought lasted only a second; my attention shifted to the panties. I stared awkwardly at the round wet mark, and without meaning to my forearm burned hot. The exact place that had touched him.

Sticky, scorching, hard—the sensation still floated on my skin. I scratched absently at the arm, then quickly tossed the panties into the laundry basket.

I had intended to let Driver Kim’s little adventure slide.

There were several reasons.

Whether that day had been the first time or an ongoing habit, the fact that I had never noticed until I saw the video meant he cleaned up after himself thoroughly. I had no desire to speak of another person’s private life with my own mouth, and any complaint about the driver would have to go through Father—conversation I preferred to avoid.

Above all, starting next week I needed to go to Do Ha-jin’s house, which meant I needed a driver. Firing Driver Kim now would force me into a car with a stranger at the wheel, and that was something I refused.

As long as I pretended ignorance, Driver Kim would never know I had seen his sex life. Silence seemed simplest.

“Driver Kim says he wants to quit.”

Yet at dinner Father dropped the unexpected news.

“Factory work seems to suit him better, so I’m thinking of transferring him there.”

“…….”

The question of who would drive my car rose as far as my throat, but I swallowed it. I usually ate alone; today Father had come home early and joined the table, making the meal thoroughly uncomfortable.

Father, who had started later than I, set his spoon down with a sharp tak. He was an impatient man, and he ate at the same ruthless pace. Mother and I had once tried to match him; after several bouts of indigestion we gave up.

“Fortunately he already lined up a replacement, so just keep that in mind.”

Another stranger. Appetite vanished; I was about to lower my own spoon when he continued.

“Director Park says he just brought in a young guy. That one will take the driving.”

My eyes flew wide.

“We’ll bump his gardener’s wages a little and have him do both. You barely leave the house anyway, so keeping a separate driver felt wasteful. Worked out nicely.”

“…….”

“Answer me. Talking to a wall gets old after a day or two.”

“…….”

“Honestly—company or home, there’s not a single comfortable place.”

Muttering in irritation, Father gave me a displeased look and left the dining room.

Only once I was alone at the table did my breath finally loosen. I was unusually sensitive today; something unpleasant must have happened at the office.

“Come to the villa.”

Father’s voice drifted in from outside, mid-call. Guessing the other party required no effort. The suburban villa was the secret meeting place for Father and his secretary. Mother had once walked in on them there with her own eyes.

Unbidden, Driver Kim’s video surfaced again. Did Father pant like that atop Secretary Sung? I entertained the thought for a second and then abandoned it. Appetite would only sink further.

Still—so that man would be driving me as well.

Better a face I had already spoken with than a complete stranger, yet he could never be as comfortable as Driver Kim. And he was prickly with me, wasn’t he?

“…….”

I had no intention of arguing against a decision already made. I picked up my spoon and resumed the meal.