Problem Child-5

Using what little bit of her feminine wiles she had, Shin Jeonga attempted to seduce Inho, but Maria’s solemn face flashed through his mind.

[Saint, lewd behavior is not allowed.]

He had the illusion that he could hear Maria’s voice from somewhere.

But, come to think of it, wasn’t Maria in no position to say such things?

As he was having useless thoughts, his head cleared.

He stared at Shin Jeonga, who was under him, expecting something.

“Kiss me.”

She slowly closed her eyes.

Over her youthful face, several faces flashed by.

“Get out.”

He got up and moved away from her.

“…What?”

Shin Jeonga seemed to doubt her ears.

“You heard me right. Get out.”

His voice turned cold as he pointed to the door with his finger.

“Hey, don’t joke around.”

As he moved away from the bed, she got up and approached him.

She habitually tried to grab his arm, but he twisted his body to avoid her hand.

“……..”

Shin Jeonga’s eyes wavered, seemingly shocked by the blatant rejection.

“Why are you suddenly like this? You’re weird.”

A face half-filled with worry and half with annoyance turned to him.

He took a deep breath and let it out, slumping his shoulders.

“Like you said, the medicine must not have agreed with me. I’m tired. I also have to do my tutoring homework.”

There was no need to argue.

“I’m not feeling well today, so let’s see each other next time.”

He roughly made an excuse, grabbed her shoulders, and pushed her.

She was pushed out of the room by his strength.

“Hey, seriously… why are you really like this today?”

Shin Jeonga didn’t stop talking even as she was pushed by him and went down to the first floor.

“I’m sorry. Let’s see each other later. I’ll contact you.”

“No, why are you suddenly doing this…”

Her resistance didn’t last long.

He forcibly moved her to the front door, and she realized that his mind wouldn’t change. She glared at him as she nervously put on her shoes.

“…Then I’ll be hanging out with Kim Jin-tae, so contact me if you change your mind.”

“Okay. Bye.”

He sent her out the front door, and as soon as she stepped out, he slammed the iron door shut.

He could feel her presence standing blankly outside the gate, but he went straight back into the house.

The first thing he did after sending Shin Jeonga away was, ironically, exploring his KakaoTalk.

He had to memorize who he usually hung out with, what their names were, and what kind of relationships he had with them.

…In the long term, it seems right to cut off all the relationships I have now.

If I continue to hang out with bad people, the hardships that will come anyway will surely double.

After exploring KakaoTalk for several hours, he learned about the friends he usually hung out with.

First, Shin Jeonga.

The girl who visited this house. She was saved as [Jeonga♡] in his KakaoTalk.

He wondered if she was his girlfriend, but after looking through various records, it felt like the girl was the one making the moves.

But from the way they talked, it seemed like they had already slept together even though they weren’t dating.

Did the girl have feelings, but the guy didn’t?

It wasn’t something he did, but he felt uncomfortable.

Next is Kim Jin-tae.

He doesn’t have much of a stake in the group chat, but judging from the fact that he has a strangely strong voice, he seems to be the second-in-command, not the center of the group.

Who’s the center, you ask? It’s me.

I decide the topic of conversation, and I make the final decisions.

Me… I might have been doing pretty well?

Anyway, judging from the fact that they call each other “this bastard” and “that bastard,” Kim Jin-tae and I don’t seem to have a bad relationship.

Then there’s Seong Yunho.

He has the most shares in the group chat. But he only says things that are not very nutritious, and the other kids don’t really react to him.

Okay, you’re the lowest in the hierarchy.

In addition, there are girls named Jeong Ah and Lee Mi-jeong, but they don’t seem to have much of a voice.

Shin Jeonga seems to be the central figure on the girls’ side.

After a KakaoTalk asking each other’s location, saying they were playing in a karaoke, no more conversations were uploaded to the KakaoTalk room.

I guess they’re meeting up, drinking, and having fun.

“Well… the surrounding area is roughly figured out…”

After lying on the bed and wasting time blankly for a few minutes, his stomach growled.

“There’s nothing to eat at home.”

Perhaps because he was always out and about, there was nothing to eat at home.

I should go to the convenience store and buy a simple cup ramen.

“Hey, are you angry about something?”

As Shin Jeonga frowned at the loud accompaniment coming from the karaoke machine, the man drinking next to her moved closer to her and asked.

Shin Jeonga, who had briefly glanced at Seong Yunho and Jeong Ah holding the microphone, drank her alcohol without saying a word.

“Did something happen?”

The man’s question continued again, cutting through the noise.

As it was difficult to keep pretending not to hear, she finished drinking the beer in the can and looked at the man sitting to her right.

“Inho…”

“What? I can’t hear you.”

Her small voice couldn’t cut through the noise.

At the man’s words, Shin Jeonga raised her voice a little.

“Inho tells me to get out of the house. Like he’s treating me like a stranger.”

Shin Jeonga sniffled repeatedly as if she was sad about that.

At the expression that looked like she was about to cry, the man’s face slightly distorted.

The man drank his alcohol again and then moved even closer to her.

“Hey, Kang In-ho isn’t here right now. Why are you thinking about that bastard when you came here to have fun?”

“But…”

“Forget about him for now, you haven’t even sung a song since you came here today. What do you want to sing?”

The man, Kim Jin-tae, forcibly handed her the karaoke remote control.

“Hey, think about it while drinking.”

Kim Jin-tae kept pushing alcohol down his throat, grinning.

“……..”

Shin Jeonga stared blankly at the karaoke remote control placed on her hand.

After a while, Seong Yunho’s unpleasant voice announced the end of the song, and Shin Jeonga drank the beer on the table again.

After feeling the bitter and tangy taste of the beer going down her throat, Shin Jeonga wiped the alcohol remaining on her lips with her hand.

Then, she put strength into her fingers and started pressing the buttons on the remote control.

‘Okay, let’s just have fun.’

That’s what she thought.

The cell phone placed on the cafe table lights up for a moment.

A call came.

Yoon Sia’s gaze, who was preparing for school assignments and tutoring, turned to her cell phone.

“……..”

Her brow furrowed slightly as she checked the caller’s name.

Yoon Sia took a deep breath and picked up her cell phone.

“Hello.”

[Oh, yeah. It’s me.]

“Yes, is there something wrong? I sent the money.”

Yoon Sia suddenly talked about money.

[Do you only call me when I need money?]

The other person spoke as if they were upset, and Yoon Sia unknowingly let out a burst of laughter.

“Then, what’s wrong?”

[That’s…]

Yoon Sia’s intuition rang. They would be asking for more money than usual.

Because that’s always the case when her mother trails off.

“It’s money after all.”

Yoon Sia gave a self-deprecating laugh.

[Because of your dad’s medical bills…]

I know. Her parents weren’t bad people…

Yoon Sia understood that fact in her head, but she felt uncomfortable.

Her father, who was physically ill, her mother, who was lethargic, and her younger brother, who had run away from home a long time ago and whose life or death was unknown.

They were the shackles tied to her feet.

Yoon Sia tried to shake off the feeling of sinking into a bottomless swamp and spoke in a seemingly bright voice.

“How much more do I need to send?”