165. Reversal (4)

The pension looked spooky from the outside.

However, the inside was a perfectly fine and comfortable space, unlike its exterior.

It was the kind of detached villa you could relax and chill in if you came alone, but there was just one problem.

“I bought mostly things that won’t make you gain weight, so don’t worry and eat up.”

“Yes, Oppa.”

…It felt awkward enough just being here alone with Hinami, but then that guy came back too.

No matter how I looked at it, it seemed less like he brought us here to rest and more like he dragged me along to facilitate Hinami and Kang Joo-hyuk’s secret rendezvous.

Seriously, what disgusting taste.

Is he doing this so I can watch him play around with my friend right next to me?

“What are you doing, drink too. I have to drive tomorrow, so I can’t drink for you.”

“….”

That pissed me off, so I grabbed the beer can sitting right in front of me, popped it open, and chugged it down.

As long as Hinami was here, that guy would try to touch Hinami before me anyway.

…Besides, if he was planning on touching anyone, it was obvious he wouldn’t care if I was drunk or not.

“Alright then, you two drink up and clean up. I’m sleepy, so I’m going to bed first.”

“…What?”

“What do you mean ‘what’? I told you I have to drive tomorrow. I need to sleep and then go home.”

But shattering that obvious assumption, Kang Joo-hyuk calmly stated he was going home right after waking up.

…There’s no way that guy would do that.

The Kang Joo-hyuk I know would never just drop off women like Hinami and me in a private space like this and quietly leave.

“Ah, I’ll drive you home early the morning after next, so don’t worry. I heard your schedule roughly from Hinami.”

“Honestly, I don’t really have a schedule these days… Heh heh. Aren’t you busier, Oppa?”

“…If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be this busy.”

Just eavesdropping on their conversation alone made it clear he wouldn’t leave.

It would be the same for any other guy, not just Kang Joo-hyuk, and even if I were Kang Joo-hyuk, I wouldn’t have just left.

I could enjoy a woman who couldn’t resist because she was leashed, and a woman begging to be leashed, all day long.

And he’s just going to give that up?

…If he were that kind of person, he wouldn’t have messed with me in the first place.

“Anyway, eat well, chat well, and have fun. I’m going to sleep.”

However, Kang Joo-hyuk hid those dark intentions deep inside, even yawning, and left the space without a second thought.

…What kind of trap is he trying to spring on me this time?

He can’t possibly think I don’t know they’ll be having sex after I fall asleep, right?

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand Kang Joo-hyuk’s intentions, so I took another swig of beer and picked up a piece of tofu cracker from the table.

“…He’s gone, Oppa.”

Just as I was slightly worried about the taste, which seemed like it would make me gain weight no matter how I tried it, Hinami, who had also taken a sip of beer, let out a deep sigh and looked across at me, speaking in a low voice.

…A topic that hadn’t come up when we were alone for a while surfaced, and I couldn’t find the words to respond, so all I could do was munch on my snack.

“Haa. I thought he’d pounce. What a waste.”

“Hey.”

“Why? …We’re sex friends, right? It’s natural to expect something, isn’t it?”

“Hinami.”

However, now that she had started saying such things so openly, I couldn’t just listen passively.

If they were just a couple, I might have understood, and even if they were sex friends as she claimed, I could barely overlook it now.

But considering the other person was my sister’s boyfriend and the rapist who tried to assault me, I couldn’t openly acknowledge it.

…I knew she wouldn’t listen to anything I said.

At the very least, I had to show my displeasure so I wouldn’t get caught between them.

“Ah, Jia, you hated Oppa, didn’t you? Sorry… I guess I was only thinking about myself.”

“….”

“But I like Oppa… Last week, Unnie was mad, so we couldn’t have sex. This week we were both busy. I’m struggling too.”

However, Hinami poured out her feelings, saying she liked Kang Joo-hyuk, several times more intensely than I could show my dislike, grumbling at me.

…Even I couldn’t bring myself to ask why she was telling me this.

Because I was the only friend she had to confide in.

It was the same for me.

“So, if possible, I wanted to come here and hang out with Haeun unnie and Oppa, all three of us… But I had to quit because of someone.”

“What?”

“Some kid who was half-assing her idol career and trying to quit caught my eye, so I gave up my precious weekend to bring her here… You know?”

…The only person who noticed I had grown tired of everything.

Was just one.

“…I don’t want to hear that from you.”

“Ah, of course, I’ve had similar thoughts. I don’t have the right to say this, but… Jia, you’ve always been professional, right? Unlike someone like me who lives recklessly.”

“You used to work hard too.”

“That wasn’t working hard, it was struggling to survive. If I failed, I’d have to go back to Japan, and my only hope was becoming a gravure actress, or else an AV actress.”

She took another sip of beer with a face that showed no signs of intoxication, then spoke clearly without even putting the snack in her mouth.

Her serious expression was completely unlike Hinami, which felt awkward, but her serious demeanor reminded me of Hinami when she was younger, so it felt familiar.

Which is why, even more so,

I found the words coming from my friend’s mouth infuriating.

“…What’s the difference between you and an AV actress right now?”

“Wow, that’s harsh…”

“You sent me explicit photos last time. You went into a guy’s place right in front of me. Now you’ve lured me to a pension… You even filmed explicit videos? What’s the difference?”

“…I only sleep with one person.”

“How long do you think that’ll last?”

Whether it’s her preference, her libido, or stress.

How long could feelings that had completely gone off the rails, falling head over heels for one guy, possibly last?

It wasn’t simply because I disliked or hated Kang Joo-hyuk.

Even normal love struggles to last beyond two or three years.

How long could a relationship dependent on dopamine-fueled pleasure possibly last?

She knew how much she had sacrificed for it.

“…How long it lasts is my decision, not yours, Jia.”

“Right, it’s not my decision… It’s Kang Joo-hyuk’s decision.”

“Hey.”

“Do you know why I’m barely practicing without motivation? Because if that person says the wrong thing, everything collapses, making it all pointless. You’ll retire after being lectured by everyone on the podium, and our group will fall apart without you. So why should I work hard?”

“….”

Hinami’s attitude, trying to lecture me after causing an incident that could crumble the castle I’d built with a single move from an outsider, was utterly galling.

…If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t even be here.

If you hadn’t been messing around with Kang Joo-hyuk, I wouldn’t have ended up being swayed by him, having my weaknesses exposed, and having to run whenever he called.

“I could maybe understand if he were at least a decent person. You know what kind of man he is, right? …Seeing as you openly ordered him to bring me here, you must have heard too? About what he did to me. …Knowing all that, don’t you think it’s shameless to deliberately put me and that man in the same place?”

“Jia.”

“Shut up. Do you know how annoyed I’ve been because of you? You kept smoking e-cigarettes even when I told you not to. You kept drinking even when I told you not to. You always bragged about how you never gained weight no matter what you ate. And you danced way better than me even when you barely practiced.”

“Seo Ye-eun.”

“And that kind of person, whining every day about not wanting to be an idol, then getting excited because she met some guy and talking about fans – it makes me sick? You don’t even like your fans, do you? To you, fans are just something to mock Kang Joo-hyuk with during sex, aren’t they?”

…Me.

I would never have revealed the things I’d kept bottled up for years, right to her face.

Because the moment I spoke them, I could never take them back, and we could never go back to how things were.

But the moment that annoying, disobedient bitch started lecturing me, I couldn’t hold back anymore.

If it were people like the team leader, higher-ups, stylists, or trainers who helped me, maybe.

…Even a crazy stalker who had a cult-like devotion to me, like my old manager, would probably just let it go in one ear and out the other.

But I definitely didn’t want to hear it from her.

Because 90% of the reason I ended up like this was because of you.

“…Ye-eun.”

“Shut up. Don’t call me by my real name. Why are you acting familiar?”

“….”

As I spewed out the sticky, foul-smelling lump of emotions haphazardly, Hinami, who had been watching me with a serious expression, blinked in surprise.

She uttered my real name, which she hadn’t used since our trainee days.

She shot up from her seat, chugged the remaining beer, wiped her lips with the back of her hand.

Then, letting out a sigh that reeked of alcohol,

“…Do you think I haven’t been annoyed too?”

“….”

Tuk,

Tuk.

One by one, she began unbuttoning her pristine white pajamas from the top.

“He’s damn tall, sings well… His chest is way bigger than mine too. Even without acting cute, female fans scream and love him. Do you think I haven’t hated you?”

Revealing her chest, hidden by a cute bra,

She stomped over to my side.

“…Still, because you, Jia, told me to work hard, I’ve been trying my best. If it weren’t for Oppa, I would have died long ago? You stopped me from smoking, stopped me from drinking. You nagged me even when I just ate candy.”

“….”

“You blocked me from escaping that fucking place, so why are you trying to run away first? …If that’s the case, you should have just let me quit together from the start.”

With her small frame.

She glared down at me, sitting there, with hateful eyes.