episode_0426

.

“Come to think of it, Yozora, even the 160 cm you mentioned was a bit of an exaggeration, wasn’t it?”

“Ughhh… Why bring that up now…?”

“Just did. Kept looking at you and remembered.”

“When I’m in good condition, …ugh…, I do reach 160 cm…”

“So on average, you barely scrape by at 157 or 158 cm?”

“Uuu… Shut up, shut up… Come measure me in the morning if you’re so curious…”

“Sigh… …Ah, Seo Woojin, you didn’t know either?”

“How wouldn’t I? She’s got good proportions, but she’s obviously short.”

“Oh, so her proportions are good?”

“Hey, wait… You almost made me drop my glass.”

When only a few days remained before summer vacation ended,

I made time to drink a little with Yozora and Baek Seo-yeon.

The location was Yozora’s house.

A place filled with memories—mostly of carrying her drunk, passed-out self home—since I’d rarely visited just to drink like this.

Of course, it wasn’t a drinking session I’d initiated.

Yozora kept asking what I was up to today, so when I casually replied that I was free, she dragged me here.

Well, since we were at it, and she seemed to be following my past advice about drinking moderately… I went ahead and picked something I knew she’d like.

Which, of course, was alcohol.

After ten years of taking care of her, there’s no way I’d forget her drinking preferences or favorite snacks.

Thanks to her self-imposed sobriety until now, the effect was surprisingly strong.

Normally, she’d need crates of alcohol to get properly wasted, given how she’s always half-drunk. But today, she was already tipsy on just half that amount.

In this state, even if I dragged her to bed and undressed her, it’d take her at least ten seconds to realize what was happening.

Maybe, instead of her usual sly demeanor, I’d get to see her flustered or embarrassed for once.

Anyway, after pushing away Yozora, who had clung to me for no reason, I took a breath and emptied my glass—just as my eyes met the woman sitting across from me.

Baek Seo-yeon.

For some reason, she was already here when I arrived at Yozora’s place.

…And for some reason, she was now glaring at me.

“Why the look? Did I do something wrong?”

“…Your very existence is the problem, for starters.”

“It’s not like I deliberately approached you to rile you up.”

“I know. That’s why I’m tolerating your presence… If you’d actually tried anything, I’d have already carved out your liver and carried it around.”

“Enough with the creepy talk. What were you staring at me for?”

“…I was just curious about how that thing from last time turned out.”

“That thing?”

I didn’t follow, so I poured myself another drink and asked for clarification. Seo-yeon cleared her throat and continued.

“Seol Da-bin. …You said you even had sex with her last time.”

“Huh? At the café, you said nothing major happened yet. When? …Wait, did you pounce on her after we left? That day?”

“…How do you two think the exact same way?”

Probably because that’s the image I give off.

Muttering in a dry tone, I added, “Well, we did make a bit more progress,” before taking a sip.

The rest of the story, naturally, was about what happened between Seol Da-bin and me.

How I saw her buying a dildo.

How it happened to look eerily similar to mine.

How I used that as leverage to… well, you know.

How, a few days ago, we had sex while she was on the phone with her boyfriend.

And how, despite having done something similar with Lee Ji-yoon before, this time was surprisingly good too.

Yozora’s reaction was nothing but laughter, while Seo-yeon remained indifferent, occasionally downing her drink without snacks.

No idea why she even asked, but maybe she just wanted to confirm the facts.

I took another sip without overthinking it.

“Hey, hey, her boyfriend really didn’t notice? If she was moaning during the call, he’d obviously catch on.”

“Well, I mostly used my fingers or moved slowly… Plus, it’d been a while for her. Guess he didn’t pick up on it.”

“Or maybe he noticed and just pretended not to? Like, a kink or something? There were tons of guys like that in Japan~… Enough to have its own genre.”

“Unless he’s a masochist, that’s just nonsense. Who’d enjoy their girlfriend being taken right in front of them? Why even date in the first place?”

“Nooo~… Some guys get off on that…? Like, seeing their girlfriend’s expressions they’d never get to see, easily shown to another guy… That kinda vibe…?”

“…I don’t get it.”

“Inferiority, cuckoldry, blah blah… Anyway, that stuff exists~… They’d pop up next to you every time you tried to watch porn… Pffft…”

“…….”

It’s not entirely impossible, but nothing’s confirmed yet.

Best to just file it away and forget about it for now.

Grabbing a piece of butter-grilled squid from the distance, I poured Yozora another drink.

426

Before I knew it, the sweltering heat of midsummer had eased slightly by September.

Tearing off the August calendar marked with countless X’s, I found myself at the tail end of summer pretending to be autumn.

A season where the scorching midday sun coexisted with cool night breezes—annoying, to say the least.

Though compared to the murderous heat of midsummer, it was practically paradise.

For most Koreans, that’s all there was to September, but for a certain generation, the month held one more defining feature.

The start of a new semester.

A day that began with boisterous reunions with faces missed over break, separate from the exhaustion of classes…

…Or so it should’ve been.

Unfortunately, this year, the best we got was a murmur of subdued energy.

The pitter-patter of rain tapping against the windows.

Because from the very first day of September, a dreary downpour had begun.

“Sigh…”

Passing through the main gate, Seol Da-bin folded her rain-soaked umbrella and let out a sigh.

It wasn’t out of reluctance for vacation to end or anything like that.

If anything, it was because during her internship, she’d had to endure old-timers griping about how “heroes these days” had no interest in costumes, how the fundamentals were dead, how they were no different from plainclothes cops—all of which was more exhausting to brush off than the work itself.

In reality, they just wanted to ogle young men and women’s bodies.

But her sigh now was for a completely different reason.

Even after arriving at the 2nd-year Class A door, Da-bin scratched her cheek hesitantly before finally steadying her expression and stepping inside.

A few friends noticed her and greeted her, saying it’d been a while.

The obligatory compliments about how she’d gotten prettier and how her skin looked better were just extras.

Waving back warmly, she scanned the room for a familiar desk.

…She’d expected it, but sure enough, there it was.

Ha-yoon.

But why was she slumped over with her arms folded first thing in the morning…?

Something tiring happen?

“…Oh, hey. Ha-yoon.”

“Uuugh…”

A pained groan answered her cautious greeting.

Or more accurately, it sounded like an exhausted puppy after running around all day.

Then again, someone as social as Ha-yoon had probably already exchanged a ton of greetings with friends…

And with the rain pouring since morning, she must’ve been drained.

Or maybe… she’d gone all out with Seo Woojin last night.

Either way, thankfully, Ha-yoon didn’t seem to know anything about what happened between me and Woojin.

Letting out a quiet breath to ease her lingering anxiety, Da-bin took her seat.

Of course, Woojin wouldn’t have confessed to his girlfriend about cheating, but it never hurt to be cautious. Mhm.

It’s not like I’d smell like him or anything.

As she absentmindedly sniffed her collar while recalling their encounter days ago—

“Da-bin?”

“Huh?”

A friend poked her shoulder, making her jump slightly, though they didn’t seem to notice.

“Some upperclassman was asking if you were here earlier…”

“…An upperclassman? For me?”

“Yeah.”

What? Did I piss someone off like in middle school?

The thought crossed her mind, but she quickly dismissed it.

Back then, it was just some delinquent-looking guys picking fights over her “tough” appearance, but now? Adults didn’t bother with that childish crap. Even in high school, the worst she got were some baseless rumors.

Maybe some guy didn’t like seeing her get close to someone? But nothing came to mind.

Everyone knew she was dating Baek Ji-ho.

Why would anyone—

…Oh.

Baek Ji-ho dropped out this time.

Maybe it’s about that?

Settling on a plausible reason, Da-bin tapped her desk and stood.

“What did the upperclassman look like?”

“Seo-yeon sunbaenim… The student council president. Remember her?”

“Oh, her.”

She had a general idea.

Most people wouldn’t remember who the student council president was, but this one stood out for being strikingly pretty.

And if the student council president herself was asking… That lent more weight to her earlier guess.

Nodding, Da-bin pointed to the back door.

“Should I head to the student council room?”

“Uh, maybe? She was waiting near the back door earlier, but I don’t see her now.”

Guess I’ll go check.

After a quick once-over of her outfit (not that it mattered), Da-bin headed straight for the student council room.

From what she recalled, it was on the 4th floor of the main building.

But the moment she stepped out the back door toward the connecting bridge—

“…….”

“…….”

The upperclassman in question was leaning against the hallway wall, as if waiting.

She’d entered through the front door earlier, but this spot was visible from there too.

Bad timing, maybe? She might’ve gone to the restroom.

“Hello, sunbaenim. You were looking for me…”

“…Ah, right.”

The voice that responded was as pretty as the few times she’d heard it in the auditorium.

Pretty face, pretty voice. Da-bin studied her curiously until the upperclassman—expression unreadable—twirled a strand of hair around her finger and spoke.

(…Wait, did she just check me out too?)

Their gazes kept overlapping, so maybe she imagined it.

Shaking off the thought (and the idle observation that she’d look even prettier if she smiled), Da-bin listened.

“A third-year student dropped out during break, but I haven’t heard the reason. I thought asking him directly might be rude, so I came to you—his girlfriend, right?”

“Uh… Yeah… I am his girlfriend, but…”

“If there was an issue with academy life, I’d like to address it before I step down next month.”

Her concern was understandable, but she was way off.

Baek Ji-ho just sucked at academics and found another path.

Explaining wasn’t hard.

No issues with academy life.

Just bad grades.

Lately, he’d befriended some construction workers in Paju, etc.

As Da-bin relayed what she knew, the upperclassman nodded quickly.

Seemed she’d been worried about bullying or violence.

“Got it. Just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing anything… Thanks for your time, Da-bin.”

“No problem. It’s nothing…”

“…If I have more questions later, I’ll come find you again.”

“Sure. Anytime.”

And with that, the impromptu conversation ended.

Watching Baek Seo-yeon walk away, Da-bin exhaled slowly to ease her nerves.

“…….”

Come to think of it, that hair color…

I found a strand just like it in Woojin’s closet last time.

But it couldn’t be her, right?

Plenty of people have bluish-white hair.

And their looks are on completely different levels…

…Well, actually, looks-wise, it’s not that far…

Whatever.

She brushed it off just like that.

One thing. I checked something.

Nothing major—just hugged Da-bin tightly once.

Maybe because it was summer, our clothes were thin.

Da-bin patted my back as she hugged me, so we ended up pressed closer than expected.

Meaning, I could feel the shape of her chest somewhat.

Her scratchy bra got in the way, but the soft, squishy sensation in my arms was unmistakable.

She must’ve just showered—her shampoo and body wash smelled nice too.

For a moment, I felt a flicker of pride that this girl was my girlfriend, even if no one was around to see.

And yet, the result was…

Pathetic.

“……Sigh…”

Rather than recalling how Da-bin felt in my arms…

Rather than dragging her to my room right after and groping her…

Thinking about her stifling moans over the phone while working out—

And then adding the most goddamn,

Disgustingly depraved fantasies on top of it—

Was more…

“…….”

…Ah.

………Fuck.

Air. I need air first…

Ah, shit… It’s raining…