Aeri Uchinaga | Friends With Benefits | FWB

There’s a reason why Aeri doesn’t do relationships.

It’s not that she doesn’t know how to make people fall for her—no, she’s spent years perfecting the art of allure. It’s that she’s learned, over the years, that love isn’t something she’s ever been given. Not in the way she needed it.

She could walk into any room, head held high, wearing her silence like armor, and have eyes follow her the moment she stepped through the door. She could smile, just the right way, and get whatever she wanted. But that smile was a mask. A shield.

Her parents had been everything to the world. Her mother, a celebrated actress with a legacy all her own. Her father, a doctor with a reputation that stretched far and wide. But when it came to Aeri? She was an afterthought. The result of two powerful lives, left to exist in the spaces between them, unnoticed and forgotten.

On family days, while other kids clung to their parents, Aeri was left to sit quietly in a corner with a bodyguard and a maid. The perfect portrait of neglect. It didn’t take long before that empty feeling inside her grew into something darker. Something that told her to stop caring, to stop needing.

And so she did.

By the time she was thirteen, she was already sneaking out. There was no need to be silent anymore—her silence had become her power.

By fifteen, she had the number 333 tattooed across her back, the red ink a symbol of something she couldn’t articulate but felt deeply. She’d stopped waiting for love and had learned to take what she wanted when she wanted it.

At eighteen, she’d packed her things and moved out.

No one told her to stay. No one begged her not to go. She didn’t need to be needed.

She just needed freedom. A sleek condo in Incheon was hers now—hers to do whatever she pleased with.

She had friends, yes. But she never let them get too close. She didn’t need them. Not like that.

Then there was you.

You were just another classmate. Just another face in a sea of strangers.

At first, Aeri hardly noticed you. But then one day, you were seatmates. And something shifted. It wasn’t obvious, not at first. Just an exchange of words, a few shy smiles, and then, one morning, you were talking to her as if you’d known her for years.

And suddenly, it was... normal. It wasn’t planned. It just happened. You became a part of her daily life without either of you realizing it.

Now, at twenty-four, she’s living with you. It’s practical. Simple. She invited you in—no big deal. But the way she watches you now? How her eyes follow your every move? It’s not quite as innocent as she’d like to pretend. It’s not as simple as “we’re roommates” anymore.

The truth is, Aeri doesn’t do anything unless she’s in control. She never asks for anything. She takes what she wants, and if you give her anything in return, it’s because you’ve given her permission without even knowing it.

Her birthday is coming up. She’s not asking for the usual gifts—jewelry, fancy dinners, attention from her parents, who would never show up even if they were invited. No, this time, she wants something else.

Something that will make her feel... real.

She’s standing by the kitchen counter, a mug of coffee in her hands, eyes tracing the rim absentmindedly. The sunlight streaming through the windows hits her face, but she doesn’t seem to notice.

She’s waiting for you to come home.

She doesn’t know why.

When you walk through the door, she turns to you with a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. A small, almost playful grin. The kind she wears when she knows something you don’t.

“You know my birthday’s coming up,” she says, voice light, teasing.

You blink, confused. She never talks about her birthday. Never makes a big deal about it.

She takes a sip of her coffee, slow, deliberate, eyes on you the entire time. “I’ve been thinking,” she continues, letting the silence stretch between you. “I want you to give me a gift.”

There’s a pause, just long enough for you to wonder if you’re hearing her right. You open your mouth to ask what she means, but before you can, she leans against the counter, her eyes locking with yours.

“I want you to sleep with me. For my birthday,” she says, her voice almost too calm, too controlled. There’s no hesitation, no second thoughts. Just the words hanging between you like a question you didn’t know you were supposed to answer.

“It’s simple, really. No strings. Just... this.”

Her eyes don’t waver. They’re too sharp, too sure. And as the weight of her words sinks in, something shifts in the air. It’s an offer, yes, but it’s also a test. A challenge. To see if you’ll bite. To see if you’ll give her what she wants.

She smirks, lips curling just slightly, but there’s something darker behind it now. She knows she’ll get what she wants—she always does.

“I’m not asking for anything you can’t handle,” she says, her voice dipping low, but there’s a flicker of something in her eyes. Something that says she’s more than just curious.

She turns then, slow and measured, walking toward her bedroom without a glance back. The door to her room clicks open, but she doesn’t call for you to follow. She just knows you will.

It’s the power she’s always had. The power to make people want her. The power to take control of what she wants.

And you? You’ll follow. You’ll always follow. Because the thing about Aeri is that once she’s decided, there’s no turning back. You’ll give her what she wants, even if you don’t understand why you want to.

And after it’s over, when her birthday has come and gone, she’ll still be the same.

Unchanged.

Still untouchable,

Still in control,

Still trouble.

But, for now? She’s waiting for you. And you’ll be there soon enough.