episode_0014

It was a summer day, just before the first vacation of the year.

Yoochan, who had gone out for the first time in a long while to prepare for his trip to the United States, was deeply asleep, unaware of everything around him.

Beside him, Yeonseo lay still like a corpse…

Swoosh. Suddenly, her eyes gently opened.

“……”

She had been waiting for Yoochan to fall asleep all along.

Gently, she confirmed that Yoochan’s breathing was steady and slowly sat up.

Seeing no signs of restlessness, it seemed he wouldn’t wake up until morning.

“…Adorable.”

Softly planting a kiss on Yoochan’s forehead, Yeonseo carefully slipped out from under the covers.

Then, she gathered her and Yoochan’s phones from the charging station and went to the living room…

[Draw the unlock pattern.]

Yeonseo was blocked by the lock screen on Yoochan’s phone.

“……”

Of course, that wouldn’t stop her.

Swoosh. Swoosh. In an instant, Yeonseo bypassed the lock and installed something on Yoochan’s phone.

It was the surveillance app she had used before.

[Installation complete.]

Having committed the perfect crime and erased all traces, Yeonseo secretly returned Yoochan’s phone to its original state and came back to the living room.

Now, it was time to comfortably peek into his private life.

“It’s all your fault anyway.”

If he hadn’t made her so anxious in the first place, none of this would have happened.

He didn’t drop out when their schools were separated, and he didn’t stubbornly refuse to answer his phone, did he?

And yet, after all that, he managed to get a worn-out, second-hand phone.

Yeonseo thought she should be grateful that she endured it.

“Where should I look?”

As she calmly scrolled through the call log, she suddenly paused at a strangely familiar name.

“…?”

Yeonseo hesitated for a moment at the unfamiliar name that appeared frequently.

“Han Ryowon?”

Even after giving it a hundred chances, it didn’t seem like a name a man would have.

“……”

Lost in thought for a moment, Yeonseo immediately turned on the messenger to find Han Ryowon.

Sure enough, there were recent conversations with a woman…

“…Hmm….”

With a cold expression, Yeonseo glanced into the bedroom where Yoochan was sleeping and focused intently on the records with Hanyerwon.

Soon, she discovered several astonishing facts.

Hanyerwon: “Is your phone okay? Not glitching or anything?”

Me: “Yeah, it’s fine. It showed signs of being used carefully.”

Hanyerwon: “I did use it with care haha.”

The previous owner of the used phone that Kang Yoochan separately acquired turned out to be none other than Hanyerwon.

Hanyerwon: “What are you doing?”

Me: “Lying down and using my phone.”

Hanyerwon: “I’m bored, can I call you?”

Me: “At this hour?”

Hanyerwon: “If you don’t want to… sniff… ”

Me: “Haha, go ahead.”

Moreover, from the day the phone was switched until today, they had been in contact almost every day.

Ironically, Yeonseo had never even heard the name ‘Hanyerwon’ once.

“…Kang Yoochan….”

Realizing that Yoochan had been hiding Hanyerwon’s identity, Yeonseo clenched her teeth in frustration.

For a moment, she felt overwhelmed by a sense of betrayal, even wanting to storm into the room and confront him until she regained her composure.

Soon, she shifted her thoughts to a new target of anger.

Why did Kang Yoochan feel the need to conceal Hanyerwon’s existence?

According to their recent messages, ‘Hanyerwon’ knew about ‘Mayeonseo.’

Hanyerwon: “Are things okay with your girlfriend these days?”

Me: “Same as always.”

In short, despite knowing that Kang Yoochan had someone else, she continued to stay in touch.

This alone was enough to feel betrayed, but she went further, subtly tarnishing Yeonseo’s reputation.

Hanyerwon: “Constantly trying to solve everything with money is a bit much. You have no idea what’s in her heart.”

Hanyerwon: “Wow… that’s gaslighting.”

Hanyerwon: “I’m telling you as a friend, seriously wake up. Don’t get hurt later.”

It felt like she was just waiting for them to break up.

‘This bastard…’

Yeonseo could easily tell that Hanyerwon had a liking for Yoochan, especially considering the frequency of their communication. Nineteen times out of twenty, Hanyerwon initiated the messages, and she overwhelmingly made the calls.

Openly wagging her tail, Yoochan, who knew nothing, was foolishly accepting everything!

‘I should have forced a change back then.’

Yeonseo regretted her compliance with Yoochan’s flattery and bit her lip tightly.

The only relief was that Yoochan still seemed to have no feelings for Ryewon beyond friendship.

Literally, that was the only relief. If it had gone that far…

“…Sigh…”

Placing her hand on her forehead, Yeonseo acknowledged that she had been too careless.

She should have followed the advice she received before, either attaching someone to him or preventing him from attending school altogether.

“…I’m done being lenient now.”

Determined, Yeonseo felt it was necessary to firmly impress upon Yoochan at least once.

The person suited for him was…

None other than Ma Yeonseo.

*

It was a weekend with only a little vacation time left.

After spending the entire weekend with Ma Yeonseo from Friday night, I had returned home to rest before going back to school.

“That guy. Is he actually like an incubus?”

For some reason, she had been more fiercely persistent than usual.

As if she were an angry person, rough and violent.

Thanks to her, my energy was completely drained, and I felt powerless to even lift a finger.

“I should go to bed early today…”

As I sunk into lethargy, trying to regain my strength.

Ring… Ring…

Suddenly, a message came through.

“Who is it?”

I reached out to check my phone.

“Han Ryewon?”

Since she often contacted me unexpectedly, I absentmindedly opened the messenger…

“?!”

In an instant, I was taken aback by the two photos that appeared on the screen.

She had sent selfies taken in front of a mirror.

Not just any selfies…

They were full-body pictures of her in a bikini.

Han Ryewon: “Which one looks better?”

Turned out, she was asking which of the two pictures looked prettier.

“Is she crazy?”

My face started to heat up, and I quickly sent a reply.

Me: “Geez, you scared me.”

Then, it seemed she had also opened the messenger, as a new message immediately popped up.

Han Ryewon: “ㅋㅋ”

Han Lyowon: “So, which one looks better? I want to return the less pretty one.”

Me: “Why are you asking me?”

Han Lyowon: “You’re the only one who will help me ㅠㅠ”

For a moment, I was speechless and sent an emoji with a question mark.

Han Lyowon: “ㅋㅋ Anyway, hurry up and choose. Do I need to return this now?”

Me: “Just return both. What’s the point of a bikini? Wear a cute rash guard instead.”

Han Lyowon: “But rash guards aren’t pretty.”

That’s not entirely wrong.

Rather than a rash guard…

“No, that’s not it.”

I suddenly came to my senses and firmly said,

Me: “Stop talking nonsense and buy a rash guard.”

After that, there was no response for a while, and I thought she had quietly given up.

Han Lyowon: “I want to attract guys too!”

She talked about being pretty, but in the end, that was the real reason.

Me: “This guy. Finally showing your true colors.”

Han Lyowon: “Please help me… I don’t understand men’s tastes because I’m single ㅠㅠ”

Feeling sorry for her situation, I reluctantly agreed to help this time and calmly compared the photos.

“Men’s tastes…”

The first was a plain beige bikini.

Even though it was slightly less revealing than Mayanso, it still accentuated the body in a way that rivaled most models.

In contrast, the second one…

“…Isn’t this just underwear?”

Even a quick glance made it very awkward.

Not only did it cover much less area, but the color was so intense that all attention would be drawn to specific areas.

My preference is the second one, but no matter how I think about it, the first one was the right choice.

Me: “The first beige one.”

Han Lyowon: “The second one isn’t good?”

Me: “Too much.”

Han Lyowon: “Is it too much….”

Me: “Yeah, definitely beige.”

After some contemplation, Han Lyowon soon expressed her gratitude.

Having gone through this, I hoped her dating business would go well.

Han Lyowon: “Ah. I’ll give you the picture as a gift ㅎㅎ”

…I probably don’t need that.

*

Finally, the weekday arrived.

“Yoochan! Let’s go together!”

“I don’t mind. What about your friends?”

“Oh… they went ahead.”

“Is that so?”

Today, I decided to walk home with Hanyerwon again.

I vaguely felt that she wanted to go with me on purpose, but I didn’t refuse just to be polite.

Walking home with a friend is not a big deal.

“But what do guys usually do on dates?”

“Well, I usually go along with whatever my girlfriend wants.”

“Oh, I see. A considerate guy?”

“Considerate? Nah. It’s just what I got used to.”

Since helping her choose a bikini, Hanyerwon suddenly started showing interest in dating.

When she was younger, she wasn’t interested, and when she was a trainee, it was too tough to even think about it. But now that she has some free time, does she want to give it a try?

It wasn’t anything strange, but as someone who was watching from the side, I felt a bit frustrated.

It’s because she’s busy rejecting every guy who approaches her.

“I don’t like him because of this. I don’t like him because of that. I even dislike him for being too good-looking.” She kept finding reasons to postpone dating.

It’s really annoying.

“Does she even like anyone?”

In my 100% accurate judgment, there’s a high chance she likes someone… If she really wants to, she should make a move herself.

“She’ll handle it herself.”

Just like any other time, we chatted as we headed towards the school gate.

“Hey, there’s a ridiculously pretty girl in front of the gate.”

Suddenly, the chatter from a group of passing male students caught my ear.

“How pretty is she?”

“Tall, great body. They say she looks like a celebrity.”

“Really?”

“But they also say she looks really scary.”

“Huh?”

Of course, Hanyerwon heard it too.

“Is she from another school?”

“Maybe she came to see her boyfriend.”

“Wow! Could she be your girlfriend?!”

“No way. Why would she come here?”

We continued on our way to the gate, chatting casually.

“Yoo, Yoochan. That person over there, could it be…”

“…Huh?”

And soon enough, we spotted the rumored female student.

“!”

Mayeonseo. She was indeed standing in front of the gate.

“Why is she here?”

As we were shocked to spot her, she also glanced in our direction.

Without a doubt. Exactly. She was looking at me.

“Busted.”

Next to me, I belatedly realized Han Lyewon was there and hastily tried to send her away.

“Hey, Lyewon. Sorry, but I need to… ”

At that moment,

“…!!”

Yeonseo suddenly appeared right in front of us.

Her face was so fierce it was startling.

“Yeonseo! What brings you here?”

I subtly positioned myself to naturally shield Lyewon with my body.

“You were definitely at school earlier…”

However, without looking away from behind my shoulder, Yeonseo glanced at Lyewon.

“So it’s you. Our Yoochan’s little ragamuffin.”

“What?”

“Yeonseo! That’s not it…!”

With a swift motion, she approached and forcefully swung her hand without warning.