episode_0177

.

Hmm.

So you finally did it.

Declaring war on Jiyoon.

…Honestly, it felt less like a declaration of war and more like a small dog yapping at a thief.

“Haaah…”

Even if I borrowed a bit of courage from alcohol, wasn’t I too blunt?

As I neatly scooped white rice into a bowl, I let out a sigh.

If we were just strangers, fine—but Jiyoon and I are family.

We see each other every day, so maybe I should’ve been a little more roundabout.

For example… well.

Casually asking if she really just went to the PC bang with Woojin last time?

If I’d interrogated her just enough and then stopped, Jiyoon probably would’ve gotten the hint.

Ah.

So unnie noticed.

That kind of thing.

“…”

Should I not serve Jiyoon rice?

Would that make me look too petty?

…No.

Given the circumstances, Jiyoon was the one who first made unreasonable requests to my boyfriend.

As his girlfriend, I’m allowed to be a little upset, right?

After agonizing with an empty rice bowl in hand, I ended up serving her rice and setting the table as usual.

The reason is the same as before.

Because, in the end, we have to see each other every morning.

It’d be a problem if the atmosphere turned completely sour.

I don’t like that she secretly met Woojin and made unreasonable requests…

But if you ask whether I’m that angry, well—it’s not like I don’t understand Jiyoon’s feelings, so it’s not that bad.

Close friends.

A guy best friend. A girl best friend.

As long as they keep it at that level, I don’t really plan to make a big deal out of it.

But no matter how much I compromise, s…x is really crossing the line.

As long as it doesn’t go that far…

Even if they play games together…

“…Ah, hmm.”

“…”

As I untied my apron, tangled in complicated emotions I couldn’t articulate, click—Jiyoon’s door opened.

From her signature everything’s-a-pain expression to her neatly worn academy uniform.

Aside from looking exhausted, as if she hadn’t slept well, my little sister stepped out looking no different than usual.

Well, more accurately, it was the usual after she started harboring unspeakable feelings for Woojin… but still.

“Y-you… eating?”

“…You told me to.”

“Huh?”

“Eat before leaving. You said that, unnie.”

Right.

I did say that.

But you know that’s not what I mean right now.

…Ugh.

Does she not care at all after what happened yesterday?

Or is she, like me, pretending nothing’s wrong because she hates ruining the mood…?

Scratching my cheek, I sat down. Jiyoon hung up her coat and took the seat across from me.

“…”

“…”

And so, we continued breakfast in silence.

The only sound was the faint clinking of utensils.

I wanted to scold Jiyoon for blatantly picking at her food but let it go.

I wanted to ask if she was okay when she rubbed her tired eyes after dropping a piece of meat with her chopsticks, but I let it go.

I even wanted to talk a little about what happened yesterday, but bringing it up now would probably make both of us sick, so I let it go.

As for saying something like, You’ll find a good guy someday too—

That just felt wrong, so I swallowed it down with a bite of seasoned anchovies.

To her, Woojin is that “good guy.”

She’s suppressing her feelings as much as she can just because I’m already dating him.

So how could I tell her she’ll find someone better than Woojin?

That’s not encouragement.

That’s not forgiveness.

That’s just psychopathic.

“…”

“…”

Letting it go,

swallowing it down,

wondering if this much would be okay to say—

After cycling through those thoughts countless times,

we finished the meal without another word.

…Probably

the first time in my 21 years of life.

—

177

100,000 won.

To some, it’s a small amount. To others, it’s a lot.

But it’s definitely too much to pay for laundry.

Unless I had a habit of buying expensive clothes—which I don’t—I rarely swipe my card unless absolutely necessary.

So if I ever run into Seol Dabin again, it’d be better to return at least some of it.

Of course, if I tried to return all of it, she’d probably refuse. So maybe I’d say half is too much, get her account number, and then transfer the full 100,000 won anyway…

Something like that.

Ah, not that I’m doing this out of pure goodwill.

That’s, like, 5% of the reason?

The other 95% has a different motive.

Seol Dabin.

Seeing her in person, she’s actually pretty good-looking.

That’s the 95%.

“If I remember correctly…”

She had a pretty solid fanbase too.

Muttering to myself, I typed her name into the search bar before tsk-ing and closing the tab.

Of course, there’s nothing now, but in a few years, Seol Dabin would’ve been a hero whose life you could piece together with a simple search.

To put it in perspective, she was just below Lee Jiyoon and Han Sua back then.

Lee Jiyoon avoided conversations altogether,

Han Sua’s awkward acting made it feel like she treated fans as business transactions,

while Seol Dabin—despite her delinquent looks—was surprisingly kind to fans. I even saw a few posts from guys saying she was the first girl they’d ever shaken hands with.

Because of that, there were tons of eyewitness accounts and photos with her, enough to roughly narrow down where she lived…

Well, that was until I heard she had a childhood sweetheart she’d been dating for years. After that, I figured a virgin was better than a worn-out non-virgin, so I moved her to the back burner.

“…”

Rumor had it her fanbase shrank a bit after news about her boyfriend, like how I lost interest.

But honestly, those were just the self-proclaimed “fans” with romantic delusions.

Let’s be real—how “platonic” can “fan love” really be?

Normal fans wouldn’t completely turn their backs just because she’d been dating her childhood sweetheart for over a decade.

Some might even root for her because of the pure love story.

…But,

if other, stranger rumors started circulating…

And even her supporters went, “Ah, this is too much,” and turned away…

That’d be pretty fun, don’t you think?

“…Hmm.”

Anyway, the current Seol Dabin is still dating her childhood sweetheart, so to wedge myself in, I’d need a decent “justification.”

Laundry money alone is far from enough.

This is more like a lucky ticket I picked up off the ground.

To keep meeting Seol Dabin… I’d need to save her life,

or her current boyfriend’s—Baek… whatever-his-name-is—

At the very least, I’d need to create a debt of that level, right?

…But,

how?

Do I just wait around until one of them gets hurt?

“H-hello?”

“…Ah.”

Still too early for students to crowd the halls.

While backspacing the first idea I’d typed in my notepad, the infirmary door creaked open, and a voice called out.

Even if it’s early, could you at least knock before barging into the infirmary?

Were they hoping I wouldn’t be here?

Suppressing the sudden irritation, I forced a soft smile.

“Yes. Come in… Oh, it’s you, noona.”

“‘Oh, it’s you’? You didn’t recognize my voice?”

“Normally I would, but through a door and with formal speech? Threw me off a bit.”

“I thought there might be other students… Should I announce, ‘Lee Hayoon entering!’ next time?”

“Do whatever you want. The embarrassment is yours to bear.”

“…Jerk.”

No wonder the voice sounded familiar.

Peeking through the door was none other than Lee Hayoon, her hands stuffed into the pockets of the fleece jacket over her uniform as she stepped closer.

“…”

…But,

the fact that she came looking for me this early—

It’s obvious.

“…Hey, Woojin.”

“Yes.”

“About yesterday… What I said…”

“…You mean about Jiyoon?”

As expected, Hayoon nodded and quietly took the seat across from me.

If the topic is Lee Jiyoon—especially now that her sister suspects something—this isn’t a conversation to have half-heartedly.

Jealousy is a useful emotion, but one misstep, and it could twist into betrayal aimed at me.

She might even demand I prove my loyalty by getting intimate with her right in front of her sister.

Worst case, she could develop a possessive streak and try to control me 24/7.

Between those, I’d prefer the former.

Rather than being dragged around by Hayoon,

I’d much rather watch her and her sister compete to please me.

“…Ah, noona. Want this?”

“…Thanks.”

Opening a drawer, I handed her a small orange candy I’d bought a while back.

The conversation is what matters, but Hayoon loves sweets—desserts especially.

It might not help much, but it’s better than nothing.

As she popped the candy into her mouth, Hayoon spoke.

“I, uh… yesterday…”

“…”

Her voice was cautious.

I didn’t have a good feeling about this.

“I told you not to get too close to Jiyoon… right?”

“You did.”

“I was a little drunk, so I don’t remember everything clearly, but… anyway.”

“…”

“…Just—to keep it short, gaming together is fine. Yeah.”

“Gaming is fine.”

Instead of taking her words at face value, let’s dissect them:

I know you two are up to something behind my back.

But I don’t know exactly what yet.

It pisses me off, but I’ll let it slide—for now.

Don’t you dare do it again.

If I catch you, I’ll beat the crap out of you.

“Just gaming… Got it.”

Playing along, I nodded with a deliberately apologetic look.

Acting like nothing’s different would’ve been suspicious.

Hayoon isn’t making baseless accusations—she suspects something.

So it’s better to… partially admit and move on.

As I nodded with a subdued expression, her face brightened slightly.

She must’ve thought the mood was too heavy after just one sentence.

“Y-you don’t have to act awkward around Jiyoon, though!”

“…”

“…Ugh… Just… if she asks for anything weird, shut it down, okay?”

“Weird requests?”

“You know. Like… uh… this.”

“…?”

Wondering what she meant by “weird,” Hayoon suddenly raised her hand in demonstration.

Curling her fingers into a ring,

“…Don’t do this with Jiyoon. Ever.”

she slowly,

thrust-thrust.

pushed two fingers in and out.

“…”

“…”

…No matter how you spin it, that’s sex.

With another girl.

Her sister, no less.

The most damning evidence of cheating.

Even if she punched my shoulder right now,

even if she screamed “I hate men like you!” in rage,

I’d have no defense.

“Y-you listening?”

“…Yes.”

“You won’t do it again, right? With Jiyoon…?”

“…”

But the words that followed carried no sharpness.

And Hayoon’s phrasing—”weird requests from my sister”—lingered in my mind.

I could guess what Hayoon thought about me and Jiyoon,

whose fault she believed this was,

what it meant when Jiyoon begged me to kiss her last night,

what it meant when she came to my house to cling to me.

After a brief pause,

I swallowed back an involuntary laugh

and feigned hesitation.

“…I don’t know.”

Clack.

I rolled the dice.

A rigged die,

with zeroes on five faces.