Defective Banana - Chapter 2

It had been so long since Seohyuk felt anything like this — heat bubbling up from deep inside him, all because of the woman next door. The slick slide of his hand up and down made his lips tremble with raw pleasure.

“Haah…”

His c0ck pulsing painfully hard in his grip, he headed straight for the bathroom. He stepped under the cold shower spray, breath ragged, his hand moving faster and faster.

“Haah… Hngh… Fvck…”

A jolt of ecstasy slammed through his tense body, making his chest tighten and his c0ck swell even thicker in his hand, flushed and angry red. He’d never once focused on someone’s face like this while getting himself off, and the sheer rush was so wild it blurred out every other thought.

He pictured her eyes glaring at him, her flushed lips brushing his skin. Just imagining rubbing himself against her mouth made his breath catch in his throat. He was helpless under the wave crashing over him, rough moans spilling out raw and broken. His fist pumped harder, faster, until finally he spilled hot and thick onto the cold bathroom floor.

“Fvck…”

He gasped for air, chest heaving as if he’d been hit by a tidal wave. Every muscle that had tensed so hard was trembling now. Seohyuk stood there for a moment, eyes half-lidded, lips curving up into a dazed grin.

What the hell just happened?

He’d gotten off thinking about the woman next door. He’d never lost himself so helplessly to something purely instinctive before. Even now, his heart wouldn’t calm down — it slammed against his ribs like it might break free. He stayed under the shower for a long while, letting the water wash over his overheated body, trying to cool off the buzz still tingling under his skin.

***

When he finally dragged himself out of the bathroom, Seohyuk grabbed his phone off the bedside table and called the number saved under Kim Yeosa — Mom. A cheesy new idol group song played as the ringtone for a moment before his mom’s familiar voice answered.

— “Hey, son.”

“Kim Yeosa. Where are you right now?”

— “Why?”

“There was a woman next door rummaging around in our fridge.”

— “Oh, the soy crab! I asked her to put it in the fridge for me. What, you’re home?”

“I came last night.”

Donghee’s voice blasted through the speaker, so loud he had to pull the phone away from his ear.

— “WHAT? Last night?”

Holding the phone at arm’s length, Seohyuk let out a dramatic sigh.

“You didn’t even make dinner for your precious son. Where the hell did you run off to?”

— “You should’ve told me you were coming — or that you were here! I went to Gangwon with my friend! How was I supposed to know?”

“Gangwon? When are you coming back?”

— “Tomorrow night, probably. Why? When are you leaving?”

“I’ll stay a few days. But Kim Yeosa, are you really okay with the neighbor lady just wandering in and out of our place?”

— “Yeah, why not? You’re never around! Have you ever thought about how lonely your poor mother is? If it wasn’t for the woman next door last year, I’d probably be dead in this house alone by now — you know that?”

“I told you, just pack up and move in with me.”

— “Don’t start. I like my own house.”

Last winter, Donghee had locked herself in the bathroom without her phone and nearly froze and starved for a whole day. By pure chance, Ara had found her and rescued her — since then, Donghee treated Ara like a lifesaver. She even shared her house code.

“You can’t just give someone the code to the house, you know.”

— “It’s my house, not yours. If you’re gonna nag, come live here. Anyway, feed yourself, don’t make a mess. Bye.”

Before he could get another word in, she hung up. Seohyuk stood in the kitchen, staring at the huge soy crab box Ara had left, then glanced at the fridge. He rubbed his temple, sighing. Then he pulled out his phone and called again.

“Kim Yeosa. There’s no space in the fridge for this thing.”

— “What? Just make it fit.”

Through the phone, he could hear the tick-tick of her car’s turn signal.

“I can get one box in, but there’s no room for the other one.”

— “Both are still there? Oh, Ara must’ve forgotten to take hers.”

“Ara?”

— “Yeah! Take one over to her. Right now.”

“You want me to deliver it to her?”

— “Yup. I’m driving, so you do it. Bye!”

“Kim Yeosa, wait—”

Click.

The line went dead. Seohyuk stared at the crab box at his feet, resting a hand on his hip.

“…Hmmm.”

On second thought, maybe this was good. Maybe this was his chance. A chance to figure out what exactly about that woman made him react like this — maybe even fix what he’d believed was broken for good.

Since his school days, if a woman tried to get close, he’d shut it down immediately. What do they even know about me? They were all the same — girls who chased him for his looks, girls with presents and confessions, girls who cried and begged. He’d turned them all away.

Even when negotiating with his agency, the first clause he insisted on was that he’d choose his own projects — no forced roles. If the role paired him with a female lead? He’d reject it without a glance.

That’s how he’d ended up carving out his niche in dark thrillers and noir action films. He spent his days drenched in fake bl00d, surrounded by explosions, showered in cheers from fans — but when he came home, it was just him, the emptiness crawling in again like a ghost.

He’d been praised for his work, surrounded by adoration — but there was always something missing. Something raw and real that made his heart pound for real. Maybe that missing piece was exactly what he’d just felt — maybe it was this mess called love.

The fact that he’d gotten hard for a real woman — that she had done this to him — was both humiliating and strangely thrilling. Maybe he could fix himself through her. The feeling, the heat, the insane rush when he’d gotten himself off thinking of her — it was too vivid to ignore.

He had to see her again. Figure out what about Baek Ara turned him inside out like this. Maybe it was her scent.

Decision made, Seohyuk tugged on a black cap and pulled it low to hide his face, tucked the crab box under his arm, and slipped his feet into slippers. Then he stepped outside and walked the short ten steps to her door.

Ding dong.

The doorbell rang. A moment later, her clear voice came through the tiny speaker.

— “Yes? Who is it?”

Seohyuk cleared his throat.

“It’s… the guy next door.”

A short silence. Then her voice, cool and flat, came back.

— “What is it?”

“Ahem… Kim Yeosa… I mean, my mom asked me to bring you this soy crab.” He lifted the box right in front of the door camera for emphasis.

Ara’s reply was dry as ever.

— “Just leave it at the door.”

Seohyuk bit his lip under the brim of his cap, thinking fast. He couldn’t just dump it and leave — he had to see her face-to-face again. He needed any excuse.

“Uh… the ground’s kind of dirty. Would you mind coming out and taking it yourself?”

— “…Fine. Just a sec.”

A moment later, Ara cracked the door open, wearing a gray hoodie zipped up over her tank top. She glanced up at him with that same guarded look.

“Thanks. Tell your mom I appreciate it.”

She grabbed the box with both hands, ready to shut the door in his face, but Seohyuk quickly slapped his palm against it, holding it open.