episode_0009

#Chapter 9. First Branch

I was meeting an unexpected person at a cafe on campus. It was Joo Chaerin.

“I didn’t know you got into this school. …What’s your major?”

“Theater and Film. You?”

“Media Studies.”

This university boasts one of the highest admission cutoffs in Korea.

I never would have thought that Joo Chaerin, who spent her school days playing around, would get into the same school as me…

“Haa… You just doubted me, didn’t you? You didn’t think someone like me would be at a school like this. Something like that.”

“Doubt me?… I’m not that kind of person. Uh… Anyway, it’s good to see you again.”

She crossed her arms and glared at me for a moment. Joo Chaerin was wearing a sheer knit top, and crossing her arms further accentuated her chest.

She seemed not to care about my gaze at all and continued speaking.

“I also just joined the Media Club you’re in. I joined without thinking much, but then I saw your name on the list? Looks like we’ll be seeing a lot of each other from now on.”

“Y-yeah, I guess so. Hahaha…”

It felt like I was sitting on a bed of thorns.

Thinking about it, Joo Chaerin wasn’t like this in middle school. No, to be precise, she wasn’t like this ‘only with me’.

“…Right. We’re not close enough to speak so bluntly yet. Give me your phone number. We’re in the same club now, so we should have it.”

“U-uh, okay.”

Just as we finished exchanging numbers, Joo Chaerin asked.

“How are things with Baek Jiyeon? Still hot?”

Joo Chaerin had just said we weren’t close enough to speak bluntly, but she immediately threw a direct question.

“You’re asking something like that in a cafe… Of course, we’re a couple.”

She narrowed her eyes and picked up her coffee. Then she stirred the ice inside with a straw and took a long drink of the coffee.

“…Really?”

Why on earth is she asking something like this? Is she trying to test me or something?

Joo Chaerin’s sharp gaze seemed to constrict me.

“Joo Chaerin, I don’t know what you want to know—”

“No, I already know everything. If you have any concerns, feel free to contact me. …And call me more comfortably. From now on, drop my last name when you call me. Got it?”

“Got it.”

She brushed her hair back and stood up from her chair. Only after Joo Chaerin left could I sit quietly and fall into thought.

While we were talking, I secretly looked at her 《Character Information》.

《Character Information》 1. Name: Joo Chaerin 2. Age: 19 3. Gender: Female 4. Hobbies: Attending movie premieres, browsing social media 5. Height: 171cm 6. Three Sizes: B87 / W55 / H88 7. Fate Resistance: 91% 8. Sexual Orientation: – …[Currently unavailable items]

There was nothing particularly special. Except that her Fate Resistance was 91%, unlike Jiyeon’s.

Though I had forgotten it for a while, I still hadn’t figured out anything about this item. What Fate Resistance was, what caused the value to change, or what happened when it reached 0%.

―――――――――――――――

Before I knew it, it was midterm exam week.

Having finished my exams early and come home, I ran into my older sister, Doha, coming out of my room.

“Noona? Are you looking for something?”

“Huh?! Oh… no, um… My exercise equipment! I thought it might be in your room…”

“All the unused stuff is in the storage room.”

It seemed she had just finished an intense workout, as her body was drenched in sweat.

“Right! It was! But you came home early today.”

“It’s just for today. From tomorrow, I’ll be coming home late again because of studying.”

“Alright, I’m going. Rest up~.”

Noona waddled and ran off to the bathroom, as if she’d been holding her pee for a long time. It looked like sweat was dripping between her legs, but I decided to just ignore it.

“…Why is she suddenly like that?”

While tidying my room for a moment, I stepped on some mysterious ‘moisture’ at the edge of the floor.

It must have been Noona spilling water. She should have cleaned it up, but she just ran away…

By the way, isn’t Noona going to school today? Or has she already been?

Anyway, it doesn’t matter. What I noticed first, however, was that when I ran into her in front of my room, Noona’s 《Character Information》 was blinking.

As if to let me know that the information had been updated.

However, since I had decided not to check information about family members, I didn’t bother opening it.

―――――――――――――――

After the midterm exams, I arranged to meet Dohyeok Sunbae in the club room.

Entering the club room, I found my mom checking the filming equipment with Sunbae.

“Mom? What are you doing at school?”

Mom seemed a little flustered when she saw me. But she soon smiled and explained why she was at school.

“I came to school for work. The broadcasting station decided to support this university’s Media Club… By the way, are you in this club too, Doyun?”

“Yes. I joined at Dohyeok Sunbae’s recommendation.”

“Oh my, that’s great. While you’re in the club, listen well to Sunbae-nim, Doyun-ah. He’s a very capable student.”

“Hahaha, that’s embarrassing. I never would have thought Doyun and Sunbae-nim were mother and son. You don’t need to worry about Doyun. I’ll take good care of him.”

“Thank you. I’ll make sure to visit often too.”

Mom extended her hand for a handshake first as a sign of gratitude, and Dohyeok Sunbae politely accepted the handshake. From their conversation, it seemed Mom already knew Dohyeok Sunbae. Perhaps they were quite close.

Mom slowly looked around the club room, left a compliment on the good condition of the equipment, and then left.

“Since midterms are over, I’ll tell you in advance. This is about the club project during the vacation.”

“A project?”

“Yes. Our club will begin full-fledged activities in groups of four during the vacation. But this semester, you and Chaerin are the only new members. So I’ll be directly in charge of the two of you, and we’ll find the remaining person later.”

The outline is as follows.

Broadcasting Station A, where Mom works, put forward various measures to devise programs that would be more appealing to viewers. One of them was collaboration support for university-related clubs.

Therefore, the club had the obligation to actively participate in program planning and filming during the vacation.

Although it was sudden for me, I strongly agreed because such external activities would be very meaningful in the future.

Above all, I felt good thinking Mom would like it.

“Meet with Chaerin whenever you have time, and discuss what kind of video content would be good to create. That’s all for today.”

“Understood. I’ll contact you if I have any ideas.”

Meeting Joo Chaerin… no, Chaerin, continuously was a torment, but I decided not to care about such minor things now.

I really wanted to plan a good work since joining the club, but I didn’t expect the opportunity to come so soon.

―――――――――――――――

About another month passed, living a routine life no different from usual.

Jiyeon continued her fitting model work while balancing her studies. We continued to meet, go on dates, and share our love.

There wasn’t much change regarding ejaculation control. It seemed there had been some progress in holding back, but I still couldn’t satisfy her during foreplay.

However, she never blamed me once. So, I decided to put off telling her about my anxiety and concerns again.

After sex, when I fell asleep, Jiyeon would stroke my head and talk on the phone with someone.

“…nim, today… came to the tel… so… did as told.”

“-Was it effective?…”

“Well… it seemed to be? But I… went.”

“-Come to the stu… tomorrow. While catching up on… let’s have a drink…”

“Understood. I’ll hang up.”

A woman’s voice came from beyond the phone.

…Is that President Joo Chaebin? Ah… are they talking about work?

Even though I couldn’t hear the details in my sleep, if it was President Joo Chaebin, I wasn’t particularly worried.

At some point, I realized that Jiyeon’s ‘Fate Resistance’ item had decreased to 95%. I wondered why, but since I didn’t know the meaning of the item, there was no way to find out, just like before.

At some point, I started to feel that the clothes Jiyeon wore had become a little bolder. Should I say her resistance to revealing her figure had lessened somewhat?

The day she entered the classroom wearing a crop top, all the male students’ gazes focused on Jiyeon.

Gradually, more and more men asked Jiyeon for her phone number when she was alone.

Of course, she always politely refused, saying she had a boyfriend. Jiyeon said that refusing each one was quite bothersome.

“Oh, and lately my filming days have increased a bit. I’m not doing other types of filming. I definitely refused that SNS model job I mentioned before. It’s just that the president wants to see me more often…”

“Really? Did she take a liking to you…? Anyway, it’s work, so you don’t have to worry about me.”

“Thanks, Doyun-ah. …I’ll work hard.”

…………

I occasionally chatted briefly with Chaerin. While we talked, I learned a lot about her.

Chaerin, in order to atone for her past misdeeds from middle school, said she went to high school attending acting academies and only studied repeatedly. Naturally, I had also forgotten about her, but she said she was very surprised to see me again at the studio.

Still, wouldn’t this be considered turning over a new leaf? In the past, when I dated Jiyeon, it was Joo Chaerin who shoved her worn stockings and socks into my bag.

Since we’d be doing the project together from now on, I thought I should also open my heart to some extent.

Chaerin would ask an unusual amount about my relationship with Jiyeon. I wondered if she still harbored the same feelings as before.

But it seemed she was thinking about something else. And with an incredibly serious expression at that.

Not stopping there, she also pressed me about how I met President Joo Chaebin, and who else was involved besides me.

Feeling somewhat uneasy, I didn’t answer honestly.

I emphasized that my presence at the studio that day was coincidental, and that there was nothing to do with it. Of course, I didn’t talk about Jiyeon either.

I didn’t understand why Chaerin wanted to interfere with my and Jiyeon’s affairs in the first place.

…Joo Chaerin. Aren’t you taking this too seriously by yourself?

…………

Mom seemed busy preparing for work, going back and forth between school and the company. Her quitting time became later because of it, but it wasn’t a problem since my sister and I were used to such things.

Lately, it seemed Mom was starting to get stressed again, as she increasingly came out to the living room in the early morning and drank beer alone.

Whenever that happened, I would stealthily go to the sofa and sit next to Mom.

“What’s wrong? Why are you always alone…? Ugh.”

“Doyun? …It’s really nothing. You don’t have to worry.”

I was sometimes surprised by Mom’s unguarded attire. Mom had unbuttoned all the buttons of her thin silk pajamas, practically making her nude.

“Mom. Stop drinking. You’re not even good at it. And put your clothes on properly, quickly.”

“No, it’s tight around my chest. I only show this side to my son. How thorough I usually am…”

“Don’t show it to your son either. You’re not that kind of person, Mom. Now, please go in for today…”

I roughly knew what Mom’s worries were. It was probably stress about the program’s viewership ratings.

Even so, there wasn’t much I could do. All I could do was listen to her incomprehensible ramblings, hug her, and accept her kisses.

…I wished Mom could be happier.

…………

Lastly, Doha Noona suddenly started going out alone at night and coming back frequently. At some point, she also stopped exercising with me.

I wondered if she had a boyfriend… but she had said from way back that she wouldn’t date a man weaker than herself.

And in reality, it seemed she still didn’t have a boyfriend.

It’s clear she must be doing separate workouts late at night. I’ve never worried about Doha Noona since I was little. And it’s the same now.

Hmm… But now that I think about it, it seems Noona came into my room while I was sleeping at night. She definitely seemed to have done something to me…

That thought briefly crossed my mind.

…………

Finally, summer began. I was looking forward to my first university vacation.

Final exams were uneventful, and I easily received an academic scholarship at the university as well.

Dreaming of the summer vacation I’d spend with Jiyeon, and the successful completion of the club project, I fell asleep.