The place Ruben brought me to had an interior even gloomier than the restaurant I’d already thought was full of black. It wasn’t an unfamiliar place to me. A place endlessly similar to the strip club ‘Manon’s Pleasure,’ yet even more bewildering.
“R-Ruben, this place is….”
“Don’t worry, Elbek. I know this place well.”
Ruben smiled like that and led me. It was too dark to gauge the size of the space well, but in the dim lighting where red and purple intersected, I could tell it was a much larger place than I’d thought.
‘I-I’m dizzy….’
As I was led by Ruben’s hand, I tried not to look at the scenery around me. Through the highly saturated lighting, the excessively loud music, the strong incense scent and smoke, between young people swaying and unable to control their bodies—what was visible was certainly table seating commonly seen in any club. However, there was definitely one difference.
‘The seats….’
Normally the seating should have been sofa-style surrounding tables, but the seats here were extremely wide. Wide enough to be called beds, and they looked fluffier than ordinary seats. And the people on them were almost lying down on the seats, caressing each other’s bodies.
‘…?!’
It was a common sight for people who caught each other’s eye in a club to touch each other, but I was horrified at the scene I saw while being led by Ruben’s hand. Through the gaps in the incense scent, the smell of completely unfamiliar alphas and omegas tormented me. In the gloomy space, what was happening on the seats that were no different from beds was one thing.
‘They’re… having sex, aren’t they…?’
Was the incense scent and the loud music all to cover that up? I turned my eyes away from the sight of the alpha and omega having sex publicly. But when I came to my senses again, similar things were happening at all the surrounding seats. Having nowhere to look and just watching the ground as I walked, I found myself sitting on a seat, led by Ruben’s hand.
“R-Ruben, th-this place is….”
“Elbek, want to drink this? It’s free here.”
As if what was happening around us was nothing special, Ruben smiled cleanly and handed me a glass. I took it reflexively. Looking around, between people having sex and people dancing, I could see several people holding trays loaded with drinks.
“Th-this is….”
“Moët & Chandon Rosé. Or, want to drink something else? You’d want to drink better alcohol than what they sell at the mart, right?”
“N-no, this is….”
Having sex was fine. If it was sex with Ruben, there was no way I’d refuse. But the problem was that this place was too public. Moreover, this wasn’t Saint Sophia Island—these people here had never been hypnotized by me.
Looking at the people around once more, those not having sex were watching the sex at the seats beside them, or even filming with their phones. No one stopping them…. There was no one.
‘I-I feel sick….’
While eating with Ruben, I might have mistakenly thought that my phobia of not being able to leave the island had been somewhat resolved. Because the time sitting across from him sharing food and continuing conversation was comfortable enough that I couldn’t even realize how long I’d been unable to leave this island.
I didn’t feel the wariness of unfamiliar places or the anxiety clinging to my toes. As if the boundary of the island itself had temporarily disappeared, my world had converged neatly onto the stable dining table.
The date earlier had been truly natural. I wasn’t suffocated, nor did I feel the urge to run away. The fact that I was sitting beside Ruben felt like it neutralized the space. So I might have really thought I’d gotten better, that I was okay now. The saying that fear isn’t overcome but becomes familiar sounded like truth at that moment.
But as soon as I entered this space, all my senses betrayed me. The air was excessively insolent, and the light was dazzling beyond necessity. The music was closer to vibration than rhythm, and I hated seeing people swaying and leaning on each other. Because somehow they didn’t look human. They felt like creatures moving without purpose or some other species reacting to light and sound, and an inexplicable unpleasantness welled up.
“What, what on earth… is this place?”
“Huh? Ah, that’s what you mean, it’s nothing. Just, a members-only club.”
Ruben spoke with a perfectly normal face as if he’d brought me to a wholesome and respectable golf club rather than a decadent club. There wasn’t a trace of apology or guilt on that face, making me feel like I’d asked a strange question.
“M-members-only?”
“Yeah, people who want to enter here have to prove a certain level of education and wealth. Accompanying guests are no exception, but….”
Ruben trailed off and picked up his champagne glass. He clinked it against the champagne glass I was holding and took a sip. Whether from the scent or not, my throat was parched so I also wet my throat with champagne. Ruben smiled at me proudly.
“I’m a VIP here, you see…. So, guests I vouch for can enter.”
Saying this, Ruben moved close to me. With his hand on my thigh, he slowly leaned toward me.
“R-Ruben….”
“Understand? Elbek…. This kind of opportunity, doesn’t come to just anyone….”
I’m dizzy. Everything made me dizzy. The scent. The intoxication. The interior like it was shrouded in fog. Ruben’s body scent approaching me. I felt Ruben sighing and burying his face in my neck, his hand naturally entering inside my shirt.
‘Th-this….’
I knew the correct answer. I knew the answer Ruben wanted.
Ruben probably wanted me to lie down on this bed-like seat as is, express gratitude for bringing me here, and have sex with him.
In this situation, I could know for certain. After dating him, I could know. What Ruben wanted from a lover was complete support, complete love, and at the same time, complete obedience. That this current situation was a kind of testing ground to verify that.
“A woman like you, is a first for me….”
“……”
“Because you’re special…. I’m doing this.”
I knew why Ruben spoke this way too.
Ruben didn’t love ‘me.’
Not the original me, Elbek, and not even Elbek as a woman. I wasn’t special to him. The reason he told me I was special was only because I said what he wanted to hear. Even if it wasn’t me, even if it was someone else, if they just said what he wanted, Ruben would show the same appearance.
“…Ruben….”
“Yeah, it’s okay, no one’s watching, right…?”
Ruben said that and brought his face close. If I just stayed still like this, Ruben would kiss me. I already knew how sweet that would be. Kissing the person I loved made me happy to the point of anguish.
Right now was just a fleeting moment. If I continued to cherish and support Ruben, he might change. I had decided to do that. That’s why I was making such efforts to play the role of his girlfriend. Because I believed that someday Ruben would truly reform.
But not now.
“…No, Ruben.”
At my single phrase, Ruben’s face hardened. When I thought the warmth was draining from his hand that had been affectionately touching my waist and stomach, Ruben’s face contorted.
“Why?”
“…We’re outside.”
“Inside or outside doesn’t matter. I told you no one’s watching?”
“…No. They’ll watch.”
They would watch. Just looking around a bit, I could tell there were spectators. Moreover, whether it was already known that Ruben was a VIP here, I could notice there were eyes watching this place since earlier.
If Ruben really had sex with me here, if I showed these people the sight of me swallowing my cock and my body jerking on top of me…. It would be irreversible. It would be fine if they were all the type who hypnotize easily, but I’d already experienced people who didn’t hypnotize easily.
In the worst case, these people wouldn’t forget that Ruben was an omega, and if these people really had wealth and education as Ruben said, they could use that fact to blackmail Ruben.
So I couldn’t have sex with him. Though it was said for Ruben’s sake, naturally it wasn’t received that way by Ruben.
“I said no one’s watching?”
“……”
“You, are you saying you can’t trust me?”
I kept silent. The fatigue I always felt whenever Ruben threw a tantrum was even stronger today. My body was heavy from intoxication.
“Huh? Say it! You can’t trust me? I’m your boyfriend! I brought you here, I said it was a good place!”
“…Ru,”
“Have I ever given you anything bad? I trusted you enough to let you into my house! Are you acting like this just because the place changed? Is your trust only this much?!”
“Stop….”
I opened my mouth intending to give a suggestion, but Ruben immediately stood up from his seat. This was strange. My body was heavy. Heavy enough to think it was excessively so.
“R-Ruben….”
“It was a mistake bringing you here.”
Ruben spoke coldly and quickly left his seat. I tried to get up and chase after him too, but it was really strange. My body was heavy. Among everything, my legs, my legs were too heavy…! I collapsed as soon as I stood up and fell onto the desk.
‘Ruben, what on earth… did you give me?!’
This was bad. Whether from the scent, the alcohol, or the champagne I drank last, I absolutely couldn’t get up. The anxiety and regret gouging my chest were the last emotions I felt before losing consciousness.
