episode_0177

177.

“….”

“….”

“….”

For a moment, silence fell between the kids.

An uncomfortable silence pressed down on the in-laws.

Soyeon’s unexpected confession seemed to leave everyone stunned.

But Soyeon, unfazed by the kids’ reactions, just smiled brightly and held onto my arm a little tighter, as if asserting our relationship more firmly.

“Can you all congratulate us?”

Out of the blue, Soyeon glanced at the girls and lifted the corners of her mouth slightly before speaking.

Her demeanor seemed almost provocative.

As she did, there was a slight sound of the chopsticks held by Yoo Seolhyun trembling and bending.

Oh, hmm.

“Oh my. Are you two back together?”

“Yes. We are.”

“That’s great, isn’t it?”

Yoo Seolhyun chuckled.

She smiled as if congratulating us, but her eyes were as cold as the northern wind.

It sent a slight shiver down my spine.

“Should we congratulate the reunion?”

Yoo Seolhyun placed the bent chopsticks on the table.

“But Soyeon. Do you know something?”

“What?”

“Couples who reunite usually end up breaking up again, you know?”

“Oh. Is that so?”

Even with Yoo Seolhyun’s teasing, Soyeon shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.

“Really.”

Soyeon’s golden eyes flashed for a moment.

“Thanks for worrying about me, Seolhyun.”

“Haha. No problem. What for.”

Haha, Soyeon and Yoo Seolhyun were laughing.

Women’s fights are scary.

Anyway.

I didn’t want to interfere with those two, so I turned my gaze towards the other kids.

Then Lee Siwoon approached and congratulated me in a cool voice.

“Congratulations, Jinhyeok. You two are back together.”

“Oh, well, it just happened to end up like this.”

I scratched the back of my head awkwardly.

Lee Siwoon once had a crush on Soyeon.

Although he seemed to have sorted out his feelings for Soyeon now, hearing that we were dating might still trouble him in various ways.

But looking at Lee Siwoon’s face, he seemed quite composed.

Has he completely washed away his feelings for Soyeon now?

Lee Siwoon patted my shoulder quietly and smiled subtly.

“When did you two start dating?”

“Uh, really?”

“Soyeon has always had feelings for you from the beginning.”

“Uh-huh.”

“You always seemed awkward whenever you talked to other girls.”

Lee Siwoon chuckled bitterly.

“What’s this? You two are back together after all? Well, good for you. Hmm.”

Kang Daehan, who was munching on his food, looked at me and awkwardly congratulated me.

Unlike the original story, Kang Daehan hadn’t built a strong friendship with Soyeon, so he seemed a bit awkward.

But he seemed to have some liking for Soyeon.

“So, Jinsuyeon decided to date you? Huh.”

Ju Jiyeon smiled slyly.

As she had considered Soyeon as a rival, our reunion seemed sweet to her.

“Congratulations, Jinhyeok.”

“Oh.”

Rok Sanne, who had been sitting quietly beside us, smiled softly.

But for some reason, there seemed to be a shadow on Rok Sanne’s face.

Hmm. Am I mistaken?

“I’ll pray for God’s grace to be with you two in the future.”

“Thank you for your kind words, Sister Candidate.”

“But Jinhyeok.”

“Yes?”

Rok Sanne glanced around cautiously and hesitantly pursed her lips.

“Um, living with Soyeon without a guardian… hmm. No, it’s nothing.”

?

Rocksan closed her lips in the middle of saying something, waving her hands as if to say it was nothing.

Something seemed a bit off, but she didn’t bother to ask.

“By the way, the food looks delicious. Let’s start eating…”

“Oh, wait a moment, Jinhyeok.”

Just as she was about to start eating, Soyeon picked up a side dish with her chopsticks and extended it towards me.

“Ah~ Try it. Ah~”

“….”

“Ah~ You’re not going to try it?”

“….What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”

Why is she acting like this today?

I felt a bit puzzled by Soyeon’s sudden affectionate gesture.

What’s with the blatant display of affection?

Is it because of Yuseolhyun?

Judging by the way she kept glancing at Yuseolhyun, it seemed like it was indeed because of Yuseolhyun.

But we’re in the academy cafeteria right now.

The trainees are secretly watching our foolish behavior. Aren’t you embarrassed?

“No, still…”

I hesitated to refuse out of embarrassment, but Soyeon shrugged her shoulders and pouted her lips as if to say she was disappointed.

“….Embarrassed? You’re embarrassed to do this with your girlfriend? I see. Jinhyeok, you’re embarrassed to do this with me.”

“Hey, hey.”

Now she’s sulking and pretending to be depressed.

“Wow. Jinhyeok is jealous of the Academy Goddess doing that. I need a sword, a sword.”

“Wow. Jinhyeok is trash. Wow.”

Some of the classmates who were in the same class as me in the first year were laughing and exaggerating our actions.

“Okay, just eat, eat… sigh.”

“Is it delicious?”

“Delicious.”

Well, it can’t be anything but delicious.

The quality of the academy cafeteria is top-notch in South Korea.

“It tastes even better because it’s from your girlfriend, right?”

“….Can you stop imitating a lovey-dovey couple? Honestly, it’s a bit awkward, hey.”

“What’s wrong with a little bit between us? I just wanted to try this once.”

After glancing at Yuseolhyun, Soyeon chuckled and Yuseolhyun’s eyebrows twitched and trembled.

From my perspective, it was a bit awkward to keep teasing Yuseolhyun like this.

After all, I’ve also received a confession from Yuseolhyun.

It seemed that Soyeon’s playful imitation of a lovey-dovey couple was probably meant to provoke or tease Yuseolhyun.

Even though I couldn’t know for sure that Yuseolhyun had confessed to me, I could sense the subtle change in the atmosphere between me and Yuseolhyun recently.

“Okay, then this time, ah~.”

Soyeon suddenly opened her small lips.

“?”

“Why are you acting like you don’t know?”

“No, what’s all this sudden…”

“This time, you have to feed me.”

“Hey, are you really going to do this?”

I’ve never done this kind of affectionate gesture even in my past life.

“…Sigh. You’re really just fooling around.”

Watching this silently, Yang-gallae-haired girl, Seonari, spat out curses with a disgusted expression.

From her perspective, it must have seemed like unnecessary affection.

“Isn’t that right, Seolhyun?”

“Hehe. Why? It looks good.”

“Oh, uh, okay?”

“Then~.”

Although she was saying it looked good, Yuseolhyun’s gaze was sharper than ever.

“Very good or not.”

Seonari swallowed her dry saliva and quietly chewed her food, only glancing at Yuseolhyun.

“Oh, there, don’t fight, you two…”

Roksanne seemed busy trying to dissuade Soyeon and Yuseolhyun, while Isiwoon and Kang Daehan continued their meal.

And Baek Yurin…

“Today is also bustling as usual…”

As usual, with a calm expression, she looked at us and the water just calmly swayed back and forth.

“Sigh… Well, it seems like things will get noisier from now on…”

***

“Sigh… What’s up with Jin Soyeon, that annoying girl.”

Returning to her home, Yoo Seolhyun angrily threw her bag on the floor, erasing the smile she had shown at the academy.

The expensive bag hit the wall with a thud!

And then fell weakly to the floor.

“Annoying, so annoying.”

Jin Soyeon was blatantly provoking her.

Her behavior, like a cocky couple, was just outrageous.

Continuously chuckling, she lightly scratched Yoo Seolhyun with her annoying actions, subtly getting on her nerves.

“What about Lee Jinhyuk?”

Choosing Jin Soyeon over Yoo Seolhyun, ignoring her confession, stirred up annoyance in various ways.

Did she feel like she was being overshadowed by Jin Soyeon?

No, she was overshadowed.

By that strong-willed girl.

It was quite infuriating to be completely overshadowed by Jin Soyeon, who seemed unremarkable except for her face and strength.

Yoo Seolhyun was a person with a strong sense of pride.

And as strong as her pride was, she could only react more fiercely when it was damaged.

“Ha… Seriously…”

After expressing her annoyance for a while, Yoo Seolhyun suddenly lost her energy and collapsed on the bed.

Turning her body, she gazed up at the ceiling.

“…It was my first confession.”

It was a lie, a complete lie.

Being overshadowed by Jin Soyeon and being rejected by Lee Jinhyuk.

In many ways, her pride was damaged.

And perhaps… she felt a bit hurt.

“…It was my first rejection.”

Confession and rejection.

As it was her first experience, Yoo Seolhyun felt uneasy in many ways. To be honest, she didn’t feel good. Not at all.

“Should I give up?”

Seeing Jin Soyeon’s attitude, she felt like she wouldn’t let go of Lee Jinhyuk again.

The way she clung to him so persistently was not at all pleasing.

“Give up, give up…”

She wanted him.

Really.

Thinking that he had been handed over to someone else made her desire for him even stronger.

At the same time, she was angry.

It felt like he had been taken away from her.

Since she was young, Yoo Seolhyun had a personality that needed to have what she wanted.

And Lee Jinhyuk was someone she definitely wanted.

But to be taken away so easily, it felt so fleeting.

Huh?

Taken away?

Was she taken away?

“Taken… away? Ugh. Yeah, he was taken away.”

Jin Soyeon, that annoying girl.

Thinking about breaking up now after all this time.

Isn’t it a bit shameless? She had been bothering Lee Jinhyuk with her man problems and shamelessly pretending to be his girlfriend.

And also.

Thinking that he belonged to someone else now, it was a bit annoying but at the same time, a bit stimulating, wasn’t it?

“Yeah, Yoo Seolhyun. Since when did you give up so easily? That’s not like you, right?”

You have to have what you want.

Whether it’s a person or an object.

Whether it belongs to someone else or not.

It doesn’t matter, right, Yoo Seolhyun?

“….And Jin Soyeon’s expression when she took him away might be quite interesting to see.”

Yoo Seolhyun chuckled to herself.

Ah, maybe I feel a little better thinking like this?

Yeah, Yoo Seol-hyun. Let’s not pretend to be clean for no reason. You’re not that kind of person. Once you get what you want, it’s all good.

“There are many reasons why couples who seem like they’ll never break up end up breaking up.”

Yoo Seol-hyun smiled brightly.

Her true role is the villainess, Yeong-ae.

Although her wicked nature has diminished a lot now, it was a moment when the dormant villainess Yeong-ae within her stirred once again.