Following the instructions, I changed and followed the guide. A bed and the doctor were waiting for me.

“Lie on your side on the bed. Curl up like a baby. You know the fetal position, right?”

The nurse was gentle, but having to lie like that in front of a woman made shame surge straight through the top of my head. I clenched my fists and took the position. The doctor immediately flipped up the piece of fabric covering my ass. I flinched with a sharp gasp, and he patted my butt like he was soothing a child.

“Hey, it won’t hurt. I’ll be gentle.”

I really should’ve looked up what kind of exam this was before coming. I’d come thinking I’d just get some pills and be done with it, and now I regretted being so naive. But after coming this far, I couldn’t just flip out and leave either.

I was so tense my face went pale. Wondering what the hell he was doing, I turned my head—and saw the old man, wearing latex gloves, scooping up a handful of lubricant and slathering it generously over a long rod.

“W-what are you going to do with that?”

“Gotta press the button and see if it works. Don’t be surprised—say ‘ah.’”

He chuckled as he spoke. I hesitated, then went “ah—” and opened my mouth.

“Ah...... ah—!”

Without any warning, the rod forced its way inside, and I screamed.

I hurriedly clapped both hands over my mouth. When I squirmed in shock, the nurse grabbed my shoulder and told me to stay still.

“It’ll be over soon.”

The old man muttered that I was making a fuss over nothing, gave my ass a couple of pats, and started rummaging around inside. Maybe his hands were shaky, because the rod had a vibration function too. It went in deep and pressed hard on one specific spot. There was no hesitation. He was so skilled it felt like he was showing off the experience of having poked through thousands of assholes.

“Hngh!”

Even with my mouth covered, an embarrassing moan slipped out. My dick, which had shriveled up from shock, shot upright in an instant and pfsh—spurted out thick, dark semen. My mouth fell open at the pleasure of ejaculation I hadn’t felt in a while, and then the hard, sturdy rod in the old man’s hand slid right back out.

“Not time to close the coffin yet. You’re healthy.”

The pleasure vanished in an instant, leaving only discomfort. Between my cheeks was slick, the hole that’d been forced open throbbed, and my clothes were sticky with semen. If no one had been watching, I would’ve buried my face in my hands and bawled. Barely hiding my eyes reddened with humiliation, I followed the nurse and changed clothes.

The doctor’s opinion was simple. If you’re under severe stress, erections can temporarily fail—so take the meds and watch how it goes.

If he was going to give a diagnosis anyone could make, why the hell did he shove a rod into someone’s innocent asshole? I’d bet my dinner burger that that old bastard had a hobby of poking around in other people’s asses.

So much for being “miraculous.”

I stormed out of the hospital, fuming, clutching the medicine I’d gotten from the pharmacy on the first floor like it was precious.

* * *

—Are you fucking serious, you really didn’t know?

When I called Yohan and told him about the exam, asking if he knew, his laughter came roaring through the phone like it was about to break. He laughed so hard he was choking, and only after I muttered through clenched teeth for him to stop did he finally clear his throat and calm down.

—Cha Haejun finally lost his ass virginity. Congrats, man.

“Want to die?”

—So what were the results?

“They say it’s stress. Charged me a fucking fortune for that.”

—The meds’ll probably fix it. If not, get surgery. Or switch directions.

“Switch directions?”

—Gotta sell your ass if there’s no other choice.

“Are you insane? Just tell me to die instead.”

Using just my mouth and selling a hole were worlds apart. Just imagining someone pinning me down sent chills up the back of my neck. Born with a dick, you’re supposed to use it as such. An ass wasn’t a place to put things.

That said, even I had put my own thing in there once. A customer with unusual tastes had demanded it. When a customer tells you to do something, even if they tell you to hold a knife by the blade, you do it—so I hadn’t refused. Yeah. By that logic, an ass was sometimes a hole something went into.

Leaving Yohan cackling evilly behind, I got ready for work. No matter how depressed my dick was, I still had to clock in.

I didn’t tell anyone else about my problem. It was embarrassing enough, but more than that, if the boss found out, he wouldn’t pity me—he’d just say I wasn’t making money anymore and shove me into something even rougher. Like what Yohan said, using my ass instead of my dick.

But I had the meds now. It’d be fine. Groomed like a sparrow taking a dust bath, I went into the bar. I was a little late because of the hospital, and the guys were already lined up. I hurriedly slipped into line too.

When it was time, the customers entered. It’s not like “erectile dysfunction” was written on my forehead, but I kept getting passed over anyway. I pouted, tapping at my phone, fiddling with the pills hidden in my pocket—

When the door opened.

The bell rang, and the hyenas who still hadn’t been chosen bent at the waist, greeting eagerly. The woman who entered gracefully in sunglasses swept her gaze over the line, then pointed straight at me with one finger.

I gasped and shoved my phone into my pocket. It was Han Yeonghwa.

“Come talk to me.”

She whispered as she stepped right up to me. I hesitated. It hadn’t even been a month since I’d sucked that man’s dick. I’d survived, sure—but getting tangled up with Han Yeonghwa meant risking something like that again. Suffocating, hot, obscene—

I shuddered and erased the last thought from my head. Obscene my ass—I’d almost suffocated with my throat blocked.

Yeah. This time, I might really die. There was no way it’d end with just sucking dick.

“Ma’am, I have to work right now—”

“Work, my ass!”

Han Yeonghwa ripped off her sunglasses with one hand and shouted viciously. Her sharp yell made my shoulders shrink.

“Now, now, let’s not do this here.”

The boss, who’d been watching from afar, came over and gently placed both hands on her shoulders to mediate. She shrugged him off. With eyes blazing, she glared straight at me.

“I’m picking him. Get us a room.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

The boss, who’d been testing the waters on when to kick her out, flipped sides instantly and bowed like he was turning a pancake. From there, everything moved at lightning speed.

I sat awkwardly beside her, unable even to greet properly, just bobbing my head. When she put a cigarette to her lips, I lit it for her out of habit.

“Hajin.”

She exhaled a long plume of smoke.

“Help me.”

I rolled my eyes to the side. Getting involved with her again raised the odds of meeting that man. Hadn’t I knelt and begged with both hands clasped, swearing I’d never go near him again? Even if the customer was king, my life came first.

“Ma’am. Of course I want to help. But I need to live too. I’m really, really sorry I ran away from the hotel last time. I shouldn’t have done that, but the guy who showed up looked so scary...... I’m a coward. I can’t even watch horror movies.”

I knew I sounded pathetic, but persuading her came first. I dampened my eyes and put on the most pitiful expression I could. Eight times out of ten, people fell for it. According to Yohan, I looked like a puppy showered with love by its owner, or like an abandoned dog soaked through by a downpour. When I asked if that made me a matchstick girl, he’d smacked his knee and said, “Exactly!” 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

“Hajin......!”

But Han Yeonghwa wasn’t easy either. She suddenly threw herself into my arms. Her eyes were full of tears as she looked up at me.

“It’s nothing big. Just meet him and say we were nothing. We really were nothing, weren’t we? We didn’t even sleep together at the hotel.”

“.......”

“I was just lonely for a moment. He doesn’t care about me at all...... but I can’t live without him. Hajin...... ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) please help me.”

At last, a tear rolled down her cheek. She was good. Compared to her, I didn’t even come close.

A beautiful woman tearfully begging made my heart waver. Still—wasn’t she someone who’d once tried to seduce me with all that fire and emotion?

But I’d already told the man that the two of them were nothing, blank as a sheet of paper. I tilted my head and muttered,

“I already explained.......”

She pressed even closer, wrapping her arms around my waist, tears spilling from her other eye.

“Could you just do it one more time?”

I had to refuse. My life mattered more. I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to regain my cold reason.

“I can’t.”