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Episode 30: Building Korean-style camaraderie activities (5)

Busy labor and leisurely labor.

If one were to choose between the two, naturally, they would choose the latter.

Let’s change the conditions for once.

Continuously working for 6 hours and standing still for 6 hours.

The pay is the same, but the styles are completely different.

At first glance, one might choose the latter, but…

Anyone who has tried simple labor even once would know.

How boring and painful the latter can be.

This was Kang Hyun-ah’s perspective.

Having a smartphone provided some comfort at least.

A path behind the mountain.

As the sun sets, the air filled with the scent of trees was refreshing.

Even though she had her smartphone, she didn’t feel like looking at it.

It was a place where no one came.

If one had taken the normal route, they wouldn’t have ended up here.

It felt like being a security guard in reality.

However, cynically gazing at the night sky, Kang Hyun-ah turned around at a presence.

A woman emerging from the darkness.

She seemed familiar at first, but upon recognizing the face, doubts arose.

In hindsight, it wasn’t that strange.

Han Se-in and Jung A-yeong.

As the first people to enter, it made sense for them to come here.

However, the issue was Jung A-yeong’s slightly odd state.

Flushed cheeks.

Thick, sticky breath hanging heavily.

Her dazed gaze met Kang Hyun-ah’s.

She scanned Jung A-yeong from top to bottom.

The more she looked, the stranger it seemed.

While flushed cheeks could be explained, the water trickling down her thighs reflected in the light.

Twisting.

Thoughts intertwining.

With each clue from the situation, Kang Hyun-ah’s mind grew more complex.

“Han Se-in?”

“…Sitting over there.”

She voiced the first question that came to mind.

Why? Why did you come alone?

Their relationship wasn’t that comfortable.

Not tied by a friendship-like bond.

Perpetrator and victim.

However, Jung A-yeong seemed different from usual.

A series of questions.

Kang Hyun-ah repeated her inquiries with a rising voice.

“Why did you come alone?”

“…To fetch something.”

“Damn it. Stop beating around the bush.”

“Mind your own business.”

Kang Hyun-ah growled.

Jung A-yeong’s complex expression.

Normally timid, she now met Kang Hyun-ah’s gaze head-on.

Her face showed a mix of emotions, but Kang Hyun-ah couldn’t discern much.

Given the sudden change in circumstances, confusion prevailed.

They didn’t continue the conversation.

Jung A-yeong had things to do, and Kang Hyun-ah needed to stay put.

They passed each other like ships in the night.

“….”

Twisting.

Kang Hyun-ah’s expression contorted.

What is this feeling?

Could it be anger?

An emotion she had never experienced before.

Hence, Kang Hyun-ah found her own feelings confusing.

Like worms crawling in her brain.

Unpleasant and unsettling, it kept bothering her.

A twisted feeling in her heart?

Jung A-yeong walked away leaving Han Se-in behind.

Flushed cheeks, heavy breathing, and… fluid running down her thighs.

Two emotions surfaced deep within her.

One was anxiety.

And the other was anger.

She had blamed herself for not being worthy.

But her emotions were honest and eventually distorted her rationality.

Jung A-yeong.

What did you do with Han Se-in?

Kang Hyun-ah didn’t look back.

More important than the bothersome woman was the man she cared about.

She wanted to confirm his well-being immediately.

Despite knowing that worrying about him in their unworthy relationship would be futile.

Feeling her heart pounding, Kang Hyun-ah took steps forward.

Kang Hyun was engrossed in reading a novel.

Not a literary novel.

A stimulating web novel for entertainment.

It was a common story.

Back then, everything was fun, so she read whatever came her way.

As a result, she noticed the patterns but still immersed herself in exploring the world through the protagonist’s eyes.

It was a typical hero story.

Recruiting party members to defeat the demon king and overcoming crises, a typical cliché.

Among them, there was a memorable episode.

The female warrior protagonist accidentally saw the naked body of the saint heroine.

It was an onsen episode, if memory serves correctly.

Startled by the unexpected sight of nudity, the protagonist apologized and hurriedly fled the scene.

Kang Hyun’s comment on that episode was as follows:

[If it were me, I would have devoured her right away.]

She wasn’t a rapist.

She wasn’t a lustful person unable to control sexual impulses towards men.

She was just an ordinary reader who happened to overhear a sound while immersed in the novel.

Isn’t that obvious?

It wasn’t like they hadn’t built a narrative.

There was mutual affection, they weren’t lovers yet.

It was a relationship that might develop someday.

She remembered all the comments on that chapter being similar.

And then,

That’s when Kang Hyun, for the first time, understood the protagonist.

“Ah…?”

The dimly lit lamp.

Was it because it was a back alley?

The poorly maintained light was quite faint.

However,

It was enough to illuminate a man’s inner turmoil.

The bewildered eyes of a young man.

They seemed to tremble as if in disbelief, filled with fear and unease.

Yes.

Perhaps they were familiar eyes.

Because that’s how the children faced Kang Hyun.

However,

Whenever the young man had such eyes, Kang Hyun always had to confront guilt.

When a loved one looks at you with such eyes?

It felt suffocating in the heart.

It was a complex emotion.

Not just wavering and struggling.

The visuals the young man presented were quite deadly to Kang Hyun.

His top was no different from usual.

He was wearing a school uniform.

The issue started when his gaze lowered.

Being nighttime made his skin even more enticing, akin to fresh white fruit.

The smooth legs and the exposed nudity without a single piece of underwear.

How embarrassed must he have been?

In an instant, without even thinking of covering himself with both hands, he just stared at Kang Hyun with a frozen expression.

Less than three seconds.

It took him that long to react properly.

That amount of time was enough for Kang Hyun to look at the young man’s belongings.

The oversized shirt was trying to cover that area, but its length was ambiguous, rather tickling women’s minds.

Moist and gleaming, that place was much prettier than what she had seen in media.

And above all…

There was no hair.

“Don’t, don’t look!”

“S-Sorry…”

The young man regained his senses.

Belatedly trying to cover that area with both hands, but he couldn’t hide his face full of shame.

“P-Please… P-please don’t look…”

“…Okay.”

How embarrassing must it have been?

Only then did Kang Hyun bow deeply.

At that moment,

The scent wafting from her nose.

It was an unmistakable smell of a woman.

A scent that couldn’t be ignored, stimulating instincts and mixed with pheromones, a force that mesmerizes the opposite sex.

It was the fragrance exuding from that liquid.

Only then could Kang Hyun assess the dizzying situation.

The liquid on the ground turned out to be semen.

The panties held in one hand and the pants lying on the bench.

Swallowing hard, saliva went down her throat.

Here, the risk of getting caught was minimal.

But.

Kang Hyun watched the protagonist in the novel.

Just like she was teased and insulted by someone.

She turned her body around and spoke up.

“Sorry. Take it slow.”

If silence could be an answer, was it?

With quick steps, Kang Hyun left that place.

Her heart pounding.

Escaping from the surreal situation allowed her to think clearly.

Kang Hyun, who had walked back to where she had been waiting.

The emotions that were writhing and trembling.

Gradually began to take shape.

The revealed situations and reality.

And relationships.

Confusing situations brought together pieces of a puzzle.

Jung Ah Young heading somewhere alone.

Han Se In staying behind to change clothes.

Frustration.

Frustration.

It leaned towards unpleasant thoughts.

Even though she knew she had no right to have such thoughts.

Kang Hyun delved deep within herself.

Feelings of liking someone.

Feelings of loving someone.

Controlling that was difficult.

Especially if it was first love, even more challenging.

Feeling like sinking into a deep swamp.

What brought her out of that was a sign.

“…”

A black envelope and wet wipes containing something.

Jung Ah Young appeared before Kang Hyun.

Facing her, the spark in Kang Hyun’s heart flared up even more.

Jealousy?

Yes, it must be jealousy.

Kang Hyun wanted to somehow alleviate the suffocating confusion.

To remove even a tiny bit of the tormenting entity lodged in her chest.

So maybe unknowingly.

Approaching Jung Ah Young emotionally unlike usual.

Starting to wield ‘violence’ filled with emotion for the first time.

“What were you doing with Han Se In?”

“…”

It was silence.

What further provoked Kang Hyun was Jung Ah Young’s reaction.

It wasn’t the usual fidgeting.

Nor the trembling in fear as usual.

A cornered mouse.

Challenging a cat for the first time.

“Back off.”

“What the hell… did you say?”

Kang Hyun approached Jung Ah Young.

Normally, bowing deeply and apologizing wouldn’t be enough.

But in Jung Ah Young’s mind, Han Se In had taken his place.

He said he would come back.

Safely retrieved the requested item.

Had to go to him.

A punch came straight at her.

Same spot as usual.

But this time, increased pain followed, and Jung Ah Young hesitated on the ground.

However.

The mouse pushed its teeth in.

Though small, the sharp teeth inflicted a wound on the cat.

“Ugh, cough, you… hit me?”

“What…?”

“If you’re done hitting, move aside.”

The mouse’s attack didn’t kill the cat.

But it was enough to startle the predator and freeze it.

Jung Ah Young passed by, ignoring Kang Hyun.

Her retreating figure seemed to say this.

You are exactly that kind of person.

Someone who inflicts pain on others by throwing punches.

By her side is the only person she can approach.

Jung Ah Young’s back seemed to be saying that.