episode_0013

It was certainly a clearly different attitude from usual. What was the big deal about pressing the accept button that it needed to take so long?

“Ugh, seriously.” However, she had been thinking quite deeply about Lee Hyunjin, the very person on the other end, just moments before. So, she couldn’t help but feel an inexplicable surge of embarrassment. Then she paused again for a moment. The smartphone was still ringing loudly, but Cheon Soyul tilted her head without touching the screen immediately. Why, she wondered, was she hesitating like this when dealing with someone like Lee Hyunjin?

“…Hmm…” A sudden question arose. A question that was only natural, if anything. Why hesitate? There was absolutely no need to make it difficult. Because, after all, the person on the other end was Lee Hyunjin. It was him, of all people. He wasn’t the kind of person she wanted to complicate her thoughts over before answering a call. Cheon Soyul simply decided to answer the phone.

“Hello?” […Why did you answer so late? Are you busy?] What immediately reached her ear was a somewhat gruff voice. He seemed annoyed that she had answered late. Listening to that familiar voice, the inexplicable tension she had felt eased in an instant. Cheon Soyul let out a wry chuckle. Shifting her lying posture to a more comfortable position, she immediately retorted.

“What, do I have to pick up your calls immediately and without fail? Are you my boyfriend?” They were teasing words, tossed out playfully as usual. Cheon Soyul had expected a sharp, sensitive reaction from Lee Hyunjin, but.

[…No. You’re right about that.] “…” The reply was merely a single word, calmly acknowledging her statement. Cheon Soyul’s expression, which had been smiling just moments before, scrunched up. Why would he agree so readily? And in such a low voice too. A different reaction than usual came back to a joke thrown out as usual. It was only natural for Cheon Soyul’s mood to sink instantly.

“…Whatever, fine. So why did you call?” Annoyed, she asked a little testily. There was a clear implication that she wasn’t particularly interested, but since he’d called, she’d ask his business. It was intentional. Of course, that too was a starkly different way of speaking from her usual self.

[Hmm… I don’t really have a reason to call.] Just as expected, Lee Hyunjin, who was already feeling a slight sense of debt towards Cheon Soyul, mumbled in a strangely timid voice. From his perspective, he had called because he was concerned about Cheon Soyul due to the incident with Kim Jiwoo, but there was no way he could just say that directly. Naturally, his voice became awkward. And just as naturally, Cheon Soyul was not one to miss such overt strangeness.

She narrowed her eyes slightly and asked. “What’s wrong with you?” […What do you mean?] “Did you do something wrong to me? Why are you acting so strangely, it’s suspicious.” […] Cheon Soyul felt Lee Hyunjin’s silence echo through the smartphone. Not that silence has a sound, but still.

Still, they were two people who had bickered and gone through a lot together for a year. Their understanding of each other and their perceptiveness were simply astounding. “You…” [What? No, I mean.] “…Confess quickly and honestly. What did you do? If you tell me now, I might even reduce your sentence a little.” [I didn’t do anything. I’m innocent.] Lee Hyunjin quickly put up a wall and declared his innocence, but Cheon Soyul’s suspicion wasn’t dispelled. She growled lowly.

“Really? Are you sure? If you get caught later, the punishment will be heavier, are you okay with that?” From Lee Hyunjin’s perspective, it was both awkward and absurd. Awkward because he really had done something wrong, and absurd because her manner of speaking was, of course, rather overbearing. He sighed deeply, annoyed.

[No, are you my parent or something? Or my teacher? Stop talking nonsense. Seriously. I just called because I had nothing to do and wondered what you were up to.] “…Really?” But he wouldn’t have known. He wouldn’t have known that his exasperated words actually quelled Cheon Soyul’s suspicions. Cheon Soyul, who had paused for a moment by herself, idly twirled a strand of her hair.

“Ahem. So you just called because you were curious about what I was doing, is that it?” [That’s what I said. Stop it already.] “…Hmm, hmph.” Lee Hyunjin answered dismissively, as if getting annoyed. Cheon Soyul felt a little better.

Letting her body fall back against the bed’s springiness, she straightened her posture in one go, then carelessly swung her legs, hitting the mattress. Thump thump. Unlike earlier, when she had angrily tormented the innocent bed, this time her foot movements were softer. She even had a rhythm.

“I wasn’t doing anything special. Just lying down.” [Are you going to sleep already?] “No way. I’m just rolling around because I have nothing to do.” The conversation continued smoothly. After exchanging a few words, Lee Hyunjin, who had inexplicably chuckled, retorted mockingly.

[Well, if you were the type to go to bed early, your height wouldn’t be like that.] “…Do you want to die?” Cheon Soyul instinctively clutched her smartphone tightly. Failing to control her emotions, tiny sparks of electricity flickered around her eyes. Forcing down her anger, she pressed her brows together and responded with a feigned adult demeanor.

“It seems our Hyunjin already misses the taste of my lightning. Summer vacation is still a long way off, but should Noona come up early and play with you?” […Noona, my ass.] However, the response that came back was quite, no. It was rather violent. Lee Hyunjin made a disgusted sound, as if having a fit. While Cheon Soyul blinked in surprise, Lee Hyunjin continued with a sigh.

[You too, don’t do that. As if… ] “As if…?” […Hmm.] “As if what? Why are you cutting yourself off?” Lee Hyunjin quickly shut his mouth. He realized that if he said anything carelessly, Kim Jiwoo’s name might accidentally come out. Of course, that didn’t make Cheon Soyul back down. She raised an eyebrow.

“You’re an only child, aren’t you? Is there anyone else around you who occasionally talks about ‘Noona’ besides me?” [No. Absolutely not.] “…You’re really suspicious today…?” Suspicion crept into Cheon Soyul’s voice, while Lee Hyunjin’s voice, conversely, seemed to betray a hint of cold sweat.

[It’s just, I’ve been a bit erratic lately. I guess I’m getting weird from being alone all the time.] Ultimately, Lee Hyunjin chose a straightforward approach. It was a clumsy excuse with weak reasoning, but what else could he do by saying this? He was about to sigh inwardly, thinking he shouldn’t have called at all.

“Hmm.” Cheon Soyul let out a short sound of contemplation, then spoke in a somewhat worried voice. “Does that mean you’re bored?” […What?] “You said you feel like you’re getting weird from being alone. That means you’re lonely.” [Ah. Oh, um.] “…Should I come up a little earlier?”

Lee Hyunjin, who had been dazed for a moment, was startled by Cheon Soyul’s hesitant words and quickly shook his head. It wasn’t a video call, but some kind of sound suggesting that movement was transmitted.

[No, what are you talking about? I’m not lonely at all, and even if I were, it wouldn’t be a problem. Am I some kind of rabbit?] Rabbits are animals with the superstition that ‘they die if they’re lonely.’ Cheon Soyul, who hadn’t expected such a remark to come from Lee Hyunjin, let out a small laugh. And then paused for a moment.

Then she recalled the events of that night. “…Right. He wasn’t a rabbit.” She murmured softly, her complexion slightly flushed as if replaying something in her mind. Cheon Soyul covered her mouth with her hand.

[What?] “…No, nothing.” After vaguely brushing off Lee Hyunjin’s questioning retort, Cheon Soyul stretched briefly. Then she checked the clock. 11 PM. Perfect. It was early, but not too early to go to bed.

“If you’re fine, then that’s that. If you have nothing else to say, let’s hang up. Since you rejected my kindness, we’ll just see each other after vacation.” [What? Hey, wait—] Cheon Soyul, having rattled off everything she wanted to say at a rapid pace, immediately tossed her smartphone onto the bedside table. And then she quickly lay down herself.

Burying the back of her head deep into the pillow, she unwittingly let out a hot breath. Haaa. …Suddenly, she started to heat up. Her body felt hot. Especially hot were her belly, waist, and between her thighs.

Cheon Soyul, who felt a strange twitching sensation in her waist and lifted it significantly, bouncing once, didn’t drag out the moment. Her body was heating up. The cause, naturally, was lust. It was sudden. But the thought of ‘wanting to’ often comes so capriciously.

Cheon Soyul carefully extended a slender hand, and after a brief hesitation, lifted her panties and slipped her finger inside. Tap. She touched her slightly wet vulva.

“Ha-ugh.” She had already thrown off the light pants she wore at home. Barefoot and with bare legs fully exposed, Cheon Soyul, relying only on a single piece of underwear, began her youthful act of self-pleasure.

“…Hah, hngh, haaa, mm.” Someone might call this sight truly promiscuous, but girls of this age were inherently like this. At least Cheon Soyul was a ‘girl’ who put forth such excuses for herself. What was wrong with it anyway? This was her home, and her private room.

All adolescents go through such a process. So, she wasn’t strange either. Rather, she was healthy and normal.

“Ha-ugh, heh-hngh…” Cheon Soyul continued to mumble such excuses in her head, but surely, immediately stripping off her lower clothes after a short call with a friend wasn’t the ‘norm’ for all adolescents. Although there was an inner Cheon Soyul in her mind who was already aware that she was quite lewd, the main Cheon Soyul controlling her body stubbornly shook her head.

No, that’s not it. This pleasure is bad. This good feeling is too unfair. Therefore, I’m not at fault at all.

“—?!” A climax, significantly earlier than usual, arrived at that moment. The cold winter air swept over Cheon Soyul’s thighs, and the soft bed cover gently embraced her pelvis. Cheon Soyul thrust her hips up once, letting out a silent moan with a distorted expression. It was thanks to quickly covering her mouth.

Soon, having managed to suppress the loud moan, she exhaled the breath she had been holding. “…Gasp, pant. Haaah…” The fluid that had leaked out by the time she reached climax soiled the blanket. Immersed in the afterglow, Cheon Soyul decided not to bother with that fact.

She simply trembled her lower body, wholly enjoying the cool sensation.

[Ahem…] “…” [Hm, hm hm.] It was tens of seconds later that she realized something was amiss.

“?” Suddenly, there was a voice. Or rather, was it an electronic sound?

“???” Cheon Soyul, with multiple question marks floating above her head, soon shivered. This was because she had a sudden ominous premonition. Ignoring the trembling of her body and disregarding her depleted energy, she simply turned her head sharply, a sense of urgency washing over her.

There lay her smartphone. …Still displaying the call screen. Through the speaker, Lee Hyunjin’s very awkward and embarrassed voice could be heard.

[Uh… I don’t know if you’ve enjoyed yourself enough…] “…Huh? What?” [You, you’re really a habitual offender. I want to believe you’re not deliberately showing me and letting me hear, like, all that—] Crash!!

Lee Hyunjin’s voice couldn’t continue to the end. Cheon Soyul’s fist, which had come down like lightning, immediately shattered her smartphone. And then, silence. A practically brief silence, yet it felt like an eternal silence, settled.

“Ah.” Thus, a dying gasp echoed. The owner of the voice was Cheon Soyul.

Her face utterly pale, she immediately began to look for a rope. It was to hang herself.