episode_0041

41

The date was enjoyable.

“If unnie offers to split the bill first, just playfully refuse once. ‘I’ll cover it all… or something?’”

“‘Refuse once?’ Isn’t it better to just go along with it?”

“You never know. Maybe deep down, she likes it when the younger one takes the lead.”

“Hmm…”

From the start, it was unclear whether she was uncomfortable being alone with me, given how hard Ji-Yoon was trying to keep the conversation going.

“Ah, but don’t go overboard with the money flex. Unnie hates careless spending, so just keep it at an appropriate level.”

Surprisingly, she even gave some serious advice.

“Should we practice? …Ahem, ahem.”

There was the awkwardness of her—who still couldn’t drop formal speech—forcing herself to call me “Woojin-ah” while pretending to be her own older sister.

When I played along warmly, she curled up in embarrassment, fists clenched, muttering that she couldn’t do it and gave up.

When we arrived at a tteokbokki stand and I suggested grabbing a quick meal, her footsteps hastily pivoted as if thinking, Where else is he planning to take me?

Even walking half a step apart through the bustling downtown bathed in the crimson glow of dusk.

And then—

“…….”

“…….”

The brief moment when we stood side by side at an empty crosswalk.

…The way we both stared silently at our phone clocks.

The sight of her, too conscious of me beside her, bolting across the street the second the light turned green.

“This is the closest to my house. Not too hard to find, right?”

“I didn’t even know this place existed around here.”

Even now, walking along a secluded path in the neighborhood park with Ji-Yoon, who tightens her khaki jacket against the chill.

Because through all this, I caught glimpses of small, unknown sides of Ji-Yoon—things I hadn’t seen before the regression.

“Unless you live nearby, you wouldn’t know. I only found it because it’s the fastest route to work.”

Ji-Yoon—the hero who never acknowledged her fans’ one-sided love.

The Ji-Yoon before me now was just a little softer than that.

Simply Ji-Yoon, a soon-to-be hero who had just graduated high school a few days ago.

She could talk to a man.

She could exaggerate reactions to cringey moments and get flustered.

…A side of Ji-Yoon even her fans, who screeched over her giant camera-like presence, had never seen.

And the fact that I was the only one privy to it all kept threatening to make me smile.

Even if, for now, we were still stiffly using formal speech,

if I kept at it, wouldn’t the day come when that calm voice called my name over and over?

Beneath me.

On the bed.

Whispering.

Behind unnie’s back.

With unnie.

“Unnie likes walking, so she’d probably enjoy strolling together like this too.”

“…I hate walking, though. Guess I’ll have to adjust for noona.”

“Normal people don’t like walking, you know? You’re the sane one here. Ha-Yoon’s the weirdo. Seriously, like some kind of puppy…”

Ji-Yoon grumbled lightly, throwing shade at her sister.

Just like back at the café, it wasn’t out of hatred or spite—just bluntly pointing out what annoyed her.

It didn’t seem like they were super close,

but it didn’t feel like they had a bad relationship either. Just that ambiguous vibe most siblings have.

Like, Only I get to talk shit about them, you know?

Anyway.

Whether they were close or not didn’t matter to me.

The approach might differ, but that wasn’t important.

Was it hot?

Yeah.

If the sisters were close, the idea of doing something shady behind the other’s back was hot.

If they weren’t, it was still hot.

A jealous little sister seducing her older sister’s boyfriend behind her back and taking it all the way?

Super hot.

Of course, the chance of this Ji-Yoon doing it out of jealousy was practically nonexistent—hell, it was negative.

But the emotion I needed to deepen my bond with her wasn’t jealousy.

Ji-Yoon didn’t have a bad relationship with her sister, and that road was too long.

The gap I needed to slip into was something else entirely.

Namely—

“Hmm… Still, isn’t walking a healthier hobby than just gaming?”

“Huh? What?”

Ji-Yoon’s hobby. Gaming.

A topic neither Ha-Yoon nor Ji-Yoon had ever brought up between themselves.

So I deliberately nudged at it.

The promised 30 minutes were almost up, anyway…

And just as Ha-Yoon had said, this was the one thing guaranteed to make Ji-Yoon—a self-proclaimed game addict—jump to attention.

“Just kidding. I remembered seeing you with a headset last time I dropped by your place.”

“So… what’s your hobby, Sujin-ssi?”

“Mine?”

“Yeah. It’s something way healthier than something as lame as gaming, right? Golf? Horseback riding?”

Even with my belated “just kidding,” her flustered reaction gave away how irritated she was.

I hadn’t expected her to be so emotionally transparent. Was it just games that brought this out?

As I watched her pouting face break its usual poker expression, I delivered the answer I’d prepared.

“Hmm… Watching the news? Movies?”

“Eugh… Are you an old man or something?”

“I don’t really have anything else I’d call a hobby.”

“You don’t game at all? Most guys love games. Everything they talk about is either game streamers or games.”

Perfect.

Here it comes.

“I play sometimes. Not well, though.”

“What kind of games?”

“Mostly FPS… you know, shooters.”

“Eh, really?”

“Nothing beats them for quick sessions.”

“Which one? Valorant? CS? Wait, no—those take too long per match… Overwatch? Apex?”

“The last one.”

“Huh? Wait, huh?”

All I did was repeat what Ha-Yoon had told me, but Ji-Yoon reacted like I’d just been absolved of the crime of disrespecting games.

Beneath her jet-black snapback, her faint smile and eyes locked onto mine.

“Seriously? What’s your rank? What level are you? Did you buy the battle pass? This season’s skins are sort of—”

“My level’s too low for ranked.”

“Ah… So you’re a newbie. Well, you did say you only play occasionally…”

I didn’t need to be good at games.

I didn’t even need to play often.

All I needed was just enough to hold a simple conversation with Ji-Yoon.

The bare minimum of information.

…Which is why

I skimmed a few popular wikis and YouTube videos beforehand.

I had plenty of time—school hadn’t started yet.

“…Newbies don’t have much fun, though. The game’s pretty stagnant now.”

“It’s alright. I’m not winning, but it’s playable.”

“Hmm… What legend do you usually play? Newbies should stick to the tanky ones.”

“Oh? I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Mousepads matter more than mice, by the way. Change yours first if anything. And focus on fundamentals over flashy plays…”

“Ah, got it.”

“Also… um…”

Ji-Yoon’s words came out three times faster than when she was giving “date advice” earlier.

As I gave her dazed replies, her bright expression stalled momentarily.

“S-Sorry. I got carried away…”

“No, it was interesting.”

“It’s just… since it’s pretty much a dead game… whenever I see a newbie, I get excited and want to explain everything…”

“Don’t worry. Everything you said was helpful.”

“…Really?”

“I liked mobile legends, so I stuck with slippery ones. Next time, I’ll try a tank. I’ll get that #1 eventually.”

“Okay… then…”

Scratching the back of her neck awkwardly, Ji-Yoon fished out her phone and typed something quickly before shoving it at me.

“This is my main IGN. If you have questions, just add me and ask.”

Did that mean she even had an alt account?

Swallowing the sudden curiosity, I looked at her screen.

Jiyoon_0420

Some girls deliberately choose masculine usernames, but it didn’t seem like she cared.

Then again, even guys sometimes use Ji-Yoon as a name.

“I’ll hit you up if I ever play.”

“Ask me anything, seriously. Consider it thanks for fixing my arm…”

Well, now I actually had to play.

I didn’t even have an account, let alone the game downloaded.

But whatever. It was an investment for Ji-Yoon.

Shoving her hands into her jacket pockets, Ji-Yoon took the lead again.

I followed, exchanging about 30 more minutes of conversation before parting ways.

Of course, that conversation was entirely about games.

“Do your damn job, you useless bitch.”

“……Mm.”

“Stop just nodding and actually listen. If you want your damn sugar daddy to keep paying up, you better shape up. This isn’t the first time you’ve backed out of a job saying it’s ‘too hard.’”

“……Mm.”

“For fuck’s sake—! Fine, I picked out a few things you can handle…”

“…….”

“At least pretend to pay attention?!”

“……Mm.”

Yozora, sprawled on an elongated sofa she treated as a bed, stared obsessively at her phone screen.

She wished Sujin would message her just once more.

Their conversation had ended in a frustratingly ambiguous place.

[Sujin] —Don’t come to my house until I call for you.

That was it.

Honestly, it was nothing like the master she’d fantasized about back in middle and high school.

She’d assumed a perverted, sadistic bastard would rape her at least five times a day—what happened to that?

Did he not like her body?

But he’d already come so much from just a single facesitting session that she couldn’t even swallow it all, her throat sticky and clogged. Glug glug.

So Yozora agonized.

She wanted to defy his orders, show up uninvited, and make him furious…

But what if she lost the first perfect man she’d found in years over it?

Ugh…

So tricky.

Still, if she waited obediently for two or three days, wouldn’t he summon her with blackmail photos?

She just had to endure a little longer. Stay positive.

If she let him rail her as hard as possible then, he’d keep using her after that, right?

“You’re still hung up on that Sujin kid?”

Nam-Ho’s voice came from the other side of the sofa.

Yozora, hugging her phone to her chest, responded halfheartedly.

“Nope~… I gave up~… What can I do if he hates me~…?”

“Good. About time you quit. Heard he got hooked up with the hero side recently.”

“……?”

What did that mean?

Sliding upright, Yozora’s gaze locked onto Nam-Ho.

“Hero…?”

“Apparently, he’s at Mirren Academy now. As a health teacher.”

“……Eh?”

“You know that Most Wanted girl enrolled there, right? The one you know. She said some regenerative transcendent named Sujin joined the staff.”

“…….”

“Anyway, get to work. I’ll split a drink with you for old times’ sake.”

“Ohhh, really~?”

“Hibiki’s off-limits.”

“…Hmph~…”

A hero.

A hero.

…So if she just let Sujin fuck her without protest now…

would that make her a villain getting dominated by a hero?

Humiliated by lewd pictures, too ashamed to even resist, just taking it squelch squelch—

…Hehe.

“Here. Wrote down jobs you can handle. Read it.”

“Yeah, yeah~… You promised me a drink~… Where…?”

Flopping back onto the sofa, she unfolded the crinkled paper lazily.

As she shifted, her gaze briefly flicked toward her phone wedged in the corner—until one entry on the list caught her eye.

“…Who requested this one…?”

“Hah? How the hell am I supposed to know just from that?”

“This one… third from the bottom…”

“Oh, that.”

[Request: Isolation] Duration: Until graduation from Mirren Academy. Method: Anything goes, as long as the target has minimal contact with other students. Forged documents & legal issues will be handled by the client.

“Some rich brat from a metals conglomerate. Second son, I think.”

“…….”

“They call it ‘isolation,’ but really, the guy and his bitch daughter pissed them off, so they want her ruined. Pay’s decent.”

“…….”

“What? You in?”

“……Mm.”