episode_0024

Upon arriving, Hye-hyun glanced briefly at Ye-ji’s outfit.

Every time Ye-ji moved her head, her ponytail swayed gracefully. Despite only wearing simple makeup, her very pretty face especially suited the ponytail. She was dressed in a form-fitting crop top with a pleated mini skirt (tennis skirt) and flat shoes with almost no heels.

Although she drew attention like a celebrity, Hye-hyun frowned as if she didn’t approve. Ye-ji’s appearance was quite different from the instructions she had given.

A few days ago, she had whispered to Ye-ji on the rooftop about today’s outfit:

– Tie your hair in twin tails.

– Apply makeup heavily.

– Wear flat shoes or slippers if you don’t have any heels.

– Dress nicely, but no underwear.

“But…”

Her hair and makeup were the same as usual, and seeing the outline of a bra through the crop top suggested she might be wearing a bra. If so, she probably had on panties as well.

As Hye-hyun scanned her, Ye-ji shrunk in on herself like a child caught doing something wrong. Just by not following Hye-hyun’s orders, she seemed to feel guilty. Seeing Hye-hyun’s displeased expression, Ye-ji started to make excuses even though no one had asked her to.

“Well, that’s… I’ve never tried that kind of makeup, and you said not to wear underwear, so…”

“Come with me.”

Interrupting Ye-ji’s excuses, Hye-hyun ignored her and started to lead her somewhere.

Taking Hye-hyun and Ye-ji to a nearby multi-room, she thought, ‘Did she really call us to have fun together?’

Seeing Ye-ji’s confused expression, she suddenly lifted Ye-ji’s skirt. Startled by the sudden action, Ye-ji pushed her skirt back down and shouted at Hye-hyun.

“W-What are you doing! Are you crazy?”

She had already shown herself wearing only panties to Hye-hyun before. However, the atmosphere was different now, and the location was indoors, which made her feel more uncomfortable.

“Are you the crazy one here? Are you going to ignore what I said?”

“What? I came out as you told me to!”

Pretending not to understand, Ye-ji stubbornly refused to back down. She still believed that she was doing Hye-hyun a favor.

Hye-hyun didn’t like that. By taking Ye-ji out today, she intended to firmly establish her dominance. She also planned to outshine Ye-ji externally. She thought that even if the original was excellent, if she messed it up, she would stand out more.

But Ye-ji’s pride didn’t seem to be completely broken yet.

“Well, if you come out like that, I can’t help it. I was trying to keep my promise.”

“You, you can’t be serious…!”

Hye-hyun took out her phone, made a few adjustments, and showed Ye-ji the screen. In the phone screen were scenes of her and Ah-yeon being affectionate, along with a video declaration of submission to Hye-hyun, ready to be sent to dozens of people as attachments.

‘It’s a gamble.’

If this was sent, it would be the end for her as well, but Hye-hyun, who had caused a big mess, couldn’t just let it go. If she had just wanted to expose her, she would have done it sooner. It seemed like there was a purpose behind constantly tormenting her.

The value of a hostage while alive came to mind. Therefore, releasing the video was Hye-hyun’s last resort. After that, she wouldn’t have any means of control.

If she played her cards right, she could turn the tables. If not, she might at least have room for negotiation.

She had to be strong here.

Caught off guard, Ye-ji, who had thought it through somewhat calmly, didn’t back down.

Seeing the prediction, Hye-hyun narrowed her eyes and touched her phone in front of Ye-ji, and the transmission process began on the phone.

– Uploading attachment (10%)

– Estimated time 1 minute 58 seconds

Due to the video format, the file was not sent immediately due to its large size. The remaining time started at 2 minutes, but due to fast communication, the countdown was decreasing by a few seconds every second.

As the situation turned out to be the opposite of what Ye-ji had predicted, she desperately grabbed Hye-hyun’s leg and started begging.

“Hye-hyun, I really messed up, I must have lost my mind for a moment. You can’t let that leak out, okay? I made a mistake, so please forgive me just this once. I promise to listen to you from now on! Please cancel it, please. Hye-hyun, please just once…”

Ye-ji’s desperate and fast-paced pleading was pitiful. Her eyes were on the verge of tears, and her facial expression was so desperate that she looked almost pitiful. Ye-ji clinging to her leg and begging no longer seemed intimidating.

Watching the scene play out amusingly, Hye-hyun hesitantly pressed the cancel button.

Upon confirming the cancellation, Ye-ji let out a sigh and began to regain her composure. She had needlessly started a psychological battle and only brought the most pathetic outcome she had ever shown.

Ye-ji was overwhelmed with shame and couldn’t lift her head.

Hye-hyun had never intended to make the video public. She had expected Ye-ji to rebel at some point. Showing weakness first would put her at a disadvantage.

If such a situation arose, she planned to show Ye-ji the actual transmission scene and cancel it again. Just showing the transmission would make Ye-ji retreat on her own. With a large attachment file, there was enough time for cancellation, and she was confident in doing so.

But what if the transmission actually went through?

She had a plan for that as well. The transmission recipient list shown to Ye-ji was all fake. Sending an email to a non-existent domain would initially go through, but since the address didn’t exist, no actual recipient would receive it.

Ye-ji thought they were in a stalemate, but in reality, it was a condition that only applied to her. From the start, it was a fight Ye-ji couldn’t win.

Now, with the anxiety that the video could be made public at any time, Ye-ji wouldn’t be able to rebel against Hye-hyun.

“Do you remember what I ordered?”

In the multi-room, Ye-ji was being scolded by Hye-hyun alone.

“You’re smart, right? Then why aren’t you listening? I almost made the video public, you b*tch.”

Ye-ji remained silent, bowing her head. She couldn’t understand why she was being scolded. Trying to sort out her confused thoughts, Ye-ji, who had just experienced a near-hellish experience, couldn’t easily regain her composure.

‘Why am I being scolded…?’

‘What did I do wrong? What did I do wrong?’

‘But why am I being scolded by someone my age? Why am I being scolded by Hye-hyun?’

“Hey, Baek Ye-ji!”

Lost in her own thoughts, Ye-ji flinched at the sound of her name being called and looked at Hye-hyun.

“Are you ignoring me? Why didn’t you follow my instructions! Did I seem easy because I said I would just scold you with words? Are you trying to piss me off on purpose? Huh? Huh?”

Seeing Ye-ji persistently avoiding giving a reason, Hye-hyun continued to press her for an answer.

‘I’ll get into trouble if I answer wrong…’

Rapidly thinking, Ye-ji cautiously spoke up, as if she had a good idea.

“I… I forgot what you said, Hye-hyun… I’m so stupid, I’m sorry!!”

Apologizing and belittling herself, Yeji’s face turned red with embarrassment. Even though she was unemployed, she had been competing for the top spot in the whole school, while Hyehyun’s grades were only around 20th place.

Yeji’s response seemed somewhat satisfactory, but still lacking, as she replied with a somewhat confused expression.

“Hmm~ You are naturally stupid. But isn’t this a bit too stupid? And if you forgot, couldn’t you just ask? Not knowing and not asking makes you a stubborn idiot, right?”

‘Ugh…’

The physical humiliation was too embarrassing, but the mental humiliation was just as shameful. However, Yeji couldn’t afford to offend Hyehyun’s feelings right now. It was too pitiful, but she had to endure it.

“Sorry, Hyehyun! I forgot that I’m a stubborn idiot with an IQ of one. I should have asked if I didn’t know, I’m really sorry for not asking. Can you forgive me, smart one? Hehe.”

As expected, Yeji was clever.

Trying to please Hyehyun as much as possible, Yeji belittled herself and lifted Hyehyun up. Even her pathetic smile at the end was perfect.

It didn’t matter who was wrong and why the apology was being made. Today, she had to admit that she was wrong and let go of her pride.

“Yes, I should understand the slightly inferior one, being the smart one.”

Satisfied with Yeji’s response, Hyehyun nodded with an expression of resignation and said, “Shall we start checking the outfits now?”