episode_0054

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Nothing was particularly out of the ordinary.

CZ cleared the path with his violent aim, Jiyoon_0420 matched the tempo while keeping an eye on the newbie, and seowoojin123 used skills as instructed.

It was the same scenery as always.

The only difference was the slightly altered sound coming through the headset.

“Jiyoon.” “Yeah?” “Are we doing it again tomorrow? That thing?” “…Let’s talk later. There are other people here.”

A secret had formed between the two of them.

54

[Lee Jiyoon] —I’m taking tomorrow off.

About three minutes after turning off the computer.

Buzz. Jiyoon’s name appeared on the vibrating phone screen.

[Lee Jiyoon] —I always take Fridays off. —Next week is the start of the semester, so I’m quitting my part-time job too. —This might be the last day I get to rest.

So it’s Friday already. The week felt so long.

Not that it matters—I still have to stop by the academy on Saturday because of Lee Hayoon…

Anyway.

Next week, the semester finally begins.

With a sweet sense of anticipation, I gulped down water and replied.

[Seo Woojin] —So you’re saying we should do it again tomorrow? Sex practice?

[Lee Jiyoon] —Yeah. —You don’t want to?

[Seo Woojin] —I might not. —If I succeed in jumping you in the nurse’s office tomorrow, we won’t need to practice between us anymore. —Right?

[Lee Jiyoon] —Yeah. But since I know you’re too chicken to actually do it, just come straight to my place afterward. —I’ll teach you all the things I was too embarrassed to show you today.

So many excuses.

She just wants it too.

I should probably bring some condoms tomorrow, just in case.

More importantly, the semester’s starting soon…

After sending a half-hearted reply, I sat on the edge of my bed and checked the calendar.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday.

And Friday, February 28th, stuck at the end of my gaze.

Since I regressed on the 19th, a Wednesday, it’s been a little over a week now.

Thinking back, it doesn’t feel like much has happened.

Then again, I did manage to lay hands on three heroes and villains, so maybe a lot has happened…

“…….”

…Hmm.

Putting the calendar down, I flopped onto the bed and stared blankly at the ceiling.

Right now, I’ve accepted the regression and am happily living for my own desires.

But sometimes, right before falling asleep, I wonder—why did this happen to me?

It is weird, after all.

There’s no known record of time-related transcendents, so why was I the only one sent back ten years? There’s no proper explanation.

The most plausible guess I have is that my healing ability might’ve included a last-resort power to send me back before death… or something like that.

But who knows? I can’t exactly die again to test it.

It’s just a vague assumption.

“I should just sleep…”

My brain isn’t exactly sharp, so racking it won’t give me a clear answer anyway.

Pushing the messy thoughts into a corner of my mind, I turned off the light before they could float back up like stuffing from a torn plushie.

And so, instead of dwelling on the reason for my regression, I let my mind wander to the Miren-born hero I’d wanted to fuck.

Buzz.

My phone, placed by the bedside, vibrated again.

[Psycho Bitch] —Seo Woojin.

It was Yozora.

[Psycho Bitch] —Heard you ditched our company to become a Miren school nurse?

Seemed like Yozora had quietly investigated me over the past few days.

For a moment, I wondered if she was planning to blackmail me with my past.

Pulling the soft blanket up to my chin, I stared at the chat without much worry.

She’s just itching for me to rape her, after all.

She might pretend to leak my secrets to people around me, but she’d never go far enough to actually get abandoned by me.

If I just grab her one of these days and fuck her rough the way she likes, she’ll probably be satisfied and quiet down.

[Seo Woojin] —Yeah. —What about it? —Gonna blackmail me to delete the photos?

[Psycho Bitch] —You’ve already backed them all up anyway. —I just have something to tell you.

[Seo Woojin] —What?

[Psycho Bitch] —You and me. We’re meeting soon.

I rubbed my eyes, wondering if I’d misread, then looked at the screen again.

She said we’d meet soon—in context, that’s gotta be about the academy.

[Seo Woojin] —At the academy?

[Psycho Bitch] —Yeah.

Yozora even confirmed it outright, driving the point home.

What the hell is going on?

Ugh… I muttered softly, staring at the phone screen.

It’s not uncommon for large villain alliances to infiltrate academies for intel, so villains meeting there isn’t strange.

But.

Even before considering the scale of our “company,” the enrollment period is long over.

And if she’s coming as a teacher, Yozora has no hero experience.

That leaves only one way for her to enter the academy.

Breaking in.

Just one.

But that’s probably not it.

Because it’d be suicide.

“I hate this world that abandoned me.”

“Heroes’ hypocrisy disgusts me.”

“Evil faction, rise up. Feels badass.”

Even the craziest bastards in Most Wanted—each with their own deranged reasons—never stormed the academy crawling with heroes.

At least they knew where to draw the line.

And Yozora’s a tier below them.

“Ugh…”

Enrolling as a student.

Getting hired as a teacher.

Psycho Bitch, enters the stage!

If not that, then how the hell is she planning to get in…?

As I rolled my rock-like brain, the chat scrolled up with new messages.

[Psycho Bitch] —So I have a favor to ask.

[Seo Woojin] —A favor?

[Psycho Bitch] —You can use my body however you want, no matter how disgusting. —Just keep my identity a secret from others.

So that’s the main point.

At least this part was easy to understand.

It just meant, Fuck me as much as you want.

I sent an acknowledgment and asked what I was curious about.

[Seo Woojin] —Why are you coming to the academy?

Yozora’s typing was slow, her Korean still clumsy.

Then, abruptly, from her fingertips—

[Psycho Bitch] —Got a job. —There’s a first-year girl named Han Soo-ah starting this semester. —They asked me to ruin her life.

A familiar name popped up.

For some reason, Friday morning felt different.

Buried deep under the blankets, Lee Jiyoon slowly opened her eyes to sunlight streaming through the curtains.

On Fridays, she usually stayed up all night gaming and crashed hard.

How long had it been since she woke up like this, well-rested?

Counting on her fingers—one, two—Jiyoon stretched with a groan and got up.

The spicy smell of kimchi stew wafted through the door crack.

“Huh? You cooking?”

Click. The moment she opened the door, her sister’s voice came from the kitchen.

Well, it was called a kitchen, but it was more like an extension of the living room. Her sister stood just four steps away.

Close enough.

Jiyoon could stare at her sister’s long ponytail.

…Yesterday, I had my hair tied up like that.

With Woojin.

In her room.

Pretending to be her.

…Hm.

“Y-Yeah. Breakfast…”

“Will there even be rice left? I didn’t make much yesterday, so it might be short if we take out the lunch portions.”

“There’s instant rice, right?”

“If not, we’ll just eat that.”

Now I get why criminals return to the scene of the crime.

The drool I spilled all over her bed yesterday while sucking dick.

Would there still be a smell?

I moved all the cum-stained tissues from her trash can, but—

Would there still be a trace?

I messed up her room the way I remembered, but—

Did she notice anything off?

I ran the vacuum and flushed anything suspicious down the toilet, but—

What if something was left behind?

The urge to sneak into her room and check was driving her crazy.

Jiyoon peeked into the rice cooker.

“…Only one serving left. Where’s the instant rice?”

“On the shelf I’m touching with my toes.”

“…Gross, move.”

“Excuse you? I’m wearing socks. What’s gross?”

“Just move…”

“You just woke up—you’re dirtier than me. Just heat it up.”

Hayoon lightly kicked Jiyoon’s shin, her sweet shampoo scent drifting in the air.

Jiyoon took the kicks silently and sighed in relief.

Her sister’s reaction was normal, so she probably hadn’t noticed.

If she had, the air would’ve been awkward, not like this.

Jiyoon crouched beside her sister and pulled out an instant rice pack from the shelf under the stove.

Two minutes in the microwave.

“…….” “…….”

Between the hum of the microwave and the bubbling stew,

Jiyoon hid the sound of her own heartbeat.

…Only now does it really hit me—thank god I didn’t run into her yesterday.

Even now, just seeing her sister’s hair makes my ears burn.

If I’d seen her yesterday…

Ughhh…

“Oh, right…”

“Eek…!”

“…? What? Jiyoon?”

“N-Nothing, just…”

“Anyway, I noticed one of my pants was missing last night. Must’ve ended up in your closet.”

“…Pants?”

Thud.

She clutched her falling heart and swallowed hard.

“The black dolphin shorts. Yours are all gray, right?”

“O-Oh. Those. I saw them in my closet last time, so I wore them for a bit and tossed them in the laundry.”

“Really? In high school, you refused to share clothes with me…”

“…….”

“Then again, black dolphin shorts are cuter. Right?”

“D-Dunno…”

“If they weren’t cute, you wouldn’t have even tried them on—let alone left them on my bed.”

“…….”

Did it sound natural?

Or awkward?

Jiyoon, lips sealed, stole glances at Hayoon’s back and steadied her breathing.

Her sister’s calm reaction suggested she’d bought it, but this was the first time in her 20 years she’d lied like this—her fingertips trembled.

The biggest lie she’d ever told before was, I only gamed for two hours today.

…How do I even say it?

That I gave her boyfriend a blowjob.

That I even swallowed.

“You want some too?”

“No. …Just got mixed up while doing laundry.”

Ding. The microwave beeped.

At the same time, a faint vibration came from Jiyoon’s room.

A quick glance confirmed Hayoon hadn’t heard, busy with the stew.

Scratching her tangled hair, Jiyoon returned to her room and unplugged her phone.

Then—

[Seo Woojin] —About today’s practice. —Can’t we just do it in your room or mine?

Her cheeks burned red.

[Lee Jiyoon] —Are you fucking— —Are you insane? What kind of nonsense is that?

[Seo Woojin] —After yesterday, I don’t think we need to replicate Hayoon-noona’s bed anymore. —It just adds unnecessary stress. —So if we change that one thing, we can focus better on practice. —What do you think?

“…….”

Words starting with F—.

Words starting with Are you out of your—.

Words starting with That makes—.

Words starting with Bull—.

Words starting with Did you figure—.

All of them were typed and erased.

After a glance at her sister in the kitchen,

[Lee Jiyoon] —My room. —Save yours for when you fuck Hayoon-noona later.

She sent it, then peeked at her trash can.

…The tissues I used to wipe Woojin’s cum yesterday.

Gotta tie them up and throw them out before she notices.