Defective Banana - Chapter 13

There was something feral about the way Seohyuk looked at her—eyes burning with sticky, raw desire. Like a predator savoring the moment before a kill. Ara’s lips trembled slightly, parted just enough to draw in breath, and it truly felt like this man could pounce at any second, sink his teeth deep into her like a wild beast.

Then, he did reach out. His large hand wrapped around the nape of her neck, firm but careful.

Hot breath brushed her cheek as he tilted his head and asked in a low, cracking voice,

“Should we kiss?”

It sounded like something straight out of a melodrama, the atmosphere drenched in tension.

Ara’s eyes widened. “No! Are you crazy?!”

She shoved at him with both hands, panic rising in her voice.

But Seohyuk didn’t budge. His chest was solid as stone, and instead of moving away, he leaned in closer, eyes darker, body buzzing with something electric.

“Hah… I think I really have lost it,” he muttered, flushed with excitement. “Right now, I want to kiss you. I want to have s3x with you. Just a little… how about car s3x?”

Ara gasped, scandalized. “What the hell? Just a little car s3x? Weren’t you the same perv who couldn’t even unzip properly last time?!”

She smacked him hard—shoving and punching with all her might.

But Seohyuk just laughed, his lower half practically throbbing with arousal.

“Hah… I really think we’re meant to be, Ara.”

He even flashed those deep dimples as he smiled, which only made her pause mid-punch.

He looked at her—bruised and happy—and there was something about the tilt of his smile and the sparkle in his eyes that stopped her in her tracks. It was beautiful. Fresh. Ridiculously charming.

Ara had always had a weakness for beautiful things. Delicate wildflowers on the sidewalk. Stray kittens. The distant sound of piano on a quiet evening. Puffy white clouds drifting across a summer sky. And now, apparently, even this dumb man smiling up at her like she was the most precious thing in the world.

There was something annoyingly disarming about him.

“Hmph. You better be careful from now on,” she muttered, brushing down her messy hair and outfit. “If you pull crap like that again, I won’t go easy on you.”

She turned to open the car door, but Seohyuk grabbed her wrist again, fumbling in his jacket for his phone.

“Wait, at least give me your number.”

As he held out his phone, her eyes dropped—accidentally—toward his half-open dress pants… and the very obvious, very hard erection straining inside.

She raised an eyebrow, lips twitching as she struggled to hold in a laugh.

“Well, look at you. Guess you’re not as useless as I thought.”

Seohyuk flushed scarlet, scrambling to zip up and fix his pants.

“A-Ah… That’s… all thanks to you, Ara.”

“All thanks to me?”

It was secretly thrilling. Watching his body respond to her like that. Like squishing warm slime between your fingers—oddly satisfying and impossible to stop once you start.

Still, she couldn’t just give in so easily, so her tone turned cold again.

“Just so you know, giving you my number doesn’t mean you can show up uninvited. And don’t blow up my phone either.”

“I have a tight schedule,” he said, “but I’ll make time. Once in the morning, once at night.”

“Oh my god. You’re doing it again.”

“If you need to say something, text me. I’ll call if I feel like it.”

“Yes, ma’am! Got it!”

He answered like an obedient little schoolboy, and Ara couldn’t believe how well-trained he suddenly seemed. And damn it, why did he have to look so good while doing it?

***

Back home, Ara collapsed onto her bed like a puppet with cut strings.

She lay there staring at the ceiling, waiting for her drained battery of a soul to recharge. Eventually, she grabbed her phone and started typing in the one name that had been stuck in her head. Kang Seohyuk.

[Actor Kang Seohyuk]

He was a big deal. Apparently won an award for a crime noir film at Cannes last year. His name pulled up tons of hits—old photoshoots, red carpet events, fan edits.

She couldn’t believe she hadn’t recognized him. Had she really been that detached from the world?

One of the video clips was from the movie her friend Donghee had once invited her to go see. Curiously, she tapped play.

Wow.

Shirtless, swinging a knife, Seohyuk took down a horde of attackers with nothing but raw strength and fast hands. It was cinematic, sure—but more than that, he was genuinely incredible. Every movement precise, powerful, almost too perfect to be real.

And now that man had practically begged her for a relationship. Pleaded with puppy-dog eyes. Drooled over the thought of kissing her in a car.

Is this how men usually confess? How would she know? She hadn’t been around guys much.

After elementary school, it was all girls’ schools—middle school, high school, even college. No one had ever taught her about men. She’d been an outsider then too.

So, she decided to learn. Like researching a new alien species, she typed away.

[What men want]

[What men like]

[How to date a man]

“Ugh, seriously? Why is everything about s3x?”

No matter what she searched, it all ended in the same place—men’s desires, emotional needs, and eventually… s3x.

Even Seohyuk had said it. That he wanted to kiss her. Sleep with her. In his car, no less.

“Pervert,” she muttered.

But the image came back—the one from earlier. That big, twitching thing in his pants. She remembered the way it felt under her hand, hot and heavy, the sound of his breath in her ear.

Could something that big even fit inside her?

As her thoughts drifted lower, something stirred inside. Something she hadn’t felt in a long time—if ever. Her own curiosity, hunger, need.

With cheeks flushed and heart thumping, she pulled the blanket up over herself and clutched her phone tightly like it was a deep, shameful secret.

Then, she searched for it.

[Men and women. Erotic video.]

One hour passed. Then two. She sat there like a student cramming for exams, eyes locked onto the screen, watching everything—different styles, positions, even hardcore stuff she didn’t know existed.

It was like opening a door to a world she never imagined.

She touched herself, slowly and carefully, in places she only touched while showering. Every motion is new, uncertain. It was terrifying—and kind of magical.

A mix of fear and curiosity. A rush of sensations she didn’t know her body could feel.

And it hit her—how stupid she’d been, how little she’d known.

Over the next few days, she kept at it. Learning. Exploring. Watching videos ranging from beginner to full-on kink. She devoured it all like she was starving for it.

Meanwhile, like clockwork, every morning at 9 and every evening at 6, Seohyuk sent her messages.

[Miss Ara, are you free for a call?]

[Can I come see you? Just for a minute.]

[Are you very busy? Why haven’t I heard from you?]

[Is this not Baek Ara’s number?]

But she had no time for his clinginess.

She was far too busy discovering an entirely new universe.

***

A week later, Ara stood in front of her newly displayed artwork, hands folded neatly in front of her, offering the camera a quiet, graceful smile.

Click—a commemorative photo.

Then she joined the gallery manager at a small table nearby and sipped iced tea while they chatted.

“How’s your new work coming along, Ara?” the manager asked.

“Mm, I’m trying. Doing my best…”

In reality, she hadn’t painted a thing in days. Most of her time was now spent comparing adult film actors’ sizes to Seohyuk’s.

“We’re expecting big things this year.”

“Yeah… really big,” she murmured without thinking.

“Sorry?”

Ara blinked, flustered, and quickly corrected herself.

“Ah, I mean, yes. I’m just determined to meet those big expectations. Haha. Thank you for all your support.”

She bowed her head politely, but out of the corner of her eye, she caught a man standing alone at the edge of the gallery.

A black bucket hat. Face mask. Quietly staring at her work.

Hands in his pockets, standing on one leg like a statue carved out of expensive marble.

Even as the manager kept talking beside her, Ara couldn’t stop stealing glances at him. He wore a loose button-down, but his tall, athletic frame radiated elegance even through the fabric.

“Ara, it’s so hard to see you these days. You should come by more often.”

“Oh… I’ll try.”

She smiled politely, then turned her gaze back toward the mysterious man.

And at that very moment, his eyes met hers—calm and unwavering.

Is he… looking at me?