episode_0178

I heard that wounds are like badges of honor for men.

But getting hurt in a situation like this would be more shameful than honorable.

So, while it was fortunate that I wasn’t wounded, I thought it might be better to wear a cast or something after leaving the hospital.

“I feel like I’ll run into them if I pass by.”

The three of us were still not over it.

It’s scary to think about confronting them, but I found myself eager to meet the three of them.

Is this how much a person can change when they are honest with themselves?

In many ways, it’s growth.

No, it’s more like evolution.

But it might be a dark evolution.

“Oh, where am I?”

As I stepped outside, I was greeted by a completely unfamiliar scenery.

I already found the hospital unfamiliar, but it seemed like they had taken me to a hospital near the pension.

“They just left me here like this?”

I checked my phone in a panic.

None of the three had left me a message, but Yoonji had sent a text.

– Yoonji: Woojin, give me a call when you wake up.

“Oh.”

I remembered that Yoonji had said she would come pick me up after the MT.

We had declared to part ways yesterday, but asking for a ride today, even as a man, didn’t seem right or humane.

– Kim Woojin: Where am I? I’m scared.

But my fingers were already sending an SOS to Yoonji.

Hmm.

I’m not very humane, am I?

Thinking back, confessing my love to three people at the same time seems like a trashy confession now.

“Main characters in harem stories in comics and novels seem to do it well.”

Reality is really tough, so I turned on a webtoon for now.

I had seen some modern webtoons with harem elements.

“I’ve made up my mind.”

I should take this seriously, shouldn’t I?

“But applying webtoons to reality is a bit much.”

Besides, adult webtoons often have content that involves submitting with the body, which is ambiguous.

Using hypnosis or superpowers is of course out of the question.

Before I knew it, I was just enjoying reading the webtoon.

Ding dong!

“Woojin.”

Yoonji, driving a red sports car, called out to me.

I felt a bit embarrassed seeing her face like this, but I got into the passenger seat and Yoonji stepped on the accelerator.

“You just need to drop me off at the dorm, right?”

“…Yeah, thanks.”

I replied cautiously while stealing glances at her.

Yoonji held the steering wheel with one hand and rested her chin on the window with the other, focusing on driving.

She didn’t say anything else.

Does she know why I was hospitalized?

Nervously, I opened my mouth.

“Um, aren’t you busy? I thought you were busy.”

“I am. But I’m going back to school from the second semester, so I can spare some time to hire employees.”

Right.

She was a classmate I used to hang out with on the same level in the first semester of freshman year.

But now, Yoonji, as the CEO of a company, was even managing employees, which felt surprisingly strange.

“Is Popo doing well?”

“Yeah, she’s doing well. Let’s have a meal together sometime. I’m really grateful to you.”

“Sure, call me when you have time.”

Since the three of us hadn’t talked about me separately, I let out a sigh of relief.

I may have become a bit more mature after going through the storms of life now, but back then, I had a tendency to be like a bulldozer.

If my old personality comes out now, I might not be able to get out of the car safely.

“They say you grow up quickly when you’re young.”

“Out of the blue?”

“Yeah, that’s why. I haven’t seen you in just six months, but how did you become so courageous?”

The prelude to the conversation.

The flow of it was subtle.

As the car came to a stop at a red light, Yoonji glanced at me and asked, “How did you even think about confessing to three girls?”

Ah, she said it.

“Especially the day after I said let’s break up? Is this some kind of transfer relationship?”

Listen to the tone of your voice rising.

Old habits die hard.

It was a sign that she was starting to get excited.

“If we’re being technical, it’s been a while since we broke up. Transitory relationships-.”

Thud!

Yoonji slammed the steering wheel with her fist.

Her fiery eyes warned me not to speak out of turn.

“Oh, sorry.”

Just a moment ago, she had vowed to walk with the dignity of a giant, but now she seemed like she was about to lose her cool.

“Ugh, you’re such an idiot. Do you know how hard it was for me to accept your breakup proposal? Fool.”

The blue light flickered again.

Yoonji, who had been driving forward, eventually pulled over to the side, resting her forehead on the steering wheel.

Suddenly, she turned to me with a flushed face.

“If it were back then, I would have taken you straight to my place.”

I understood the meaning behind her words without her having to explain.

Back then, we had shared our love so deeply that Seo Yerin had even told me to go away.

We didn’t just enjoy sex; we enjoyed sharing love with each other.

The memories of our emotional exchange still lingered vividly.

“Isn’t it funny to think back on those times?”

“What do you mean?”

“No matter what I did, whether I was cute or annoying, it always ended the same way.”

“….”

“In the end, the results were always the same.”

Of course, depending on the atmosphere of the day, there was always someone who took the lead, but the outcome was always similar.

“Yeah.”

Ooyoonji chuckled in agreement, shaking her head in disbelief.

“Remember when I came in late and you scolded me?”

“Wasn’t that only once or twice?”

“When I couldn’t answer the phone because my battery died.”

“Oh.”

Ooyoonji suddenly turned her head as if she remembered something.

“In reality, I came on time, but you deliberately set the clock back in your room, making me think I was an hour late.”

I recalled the embarrassing plays I had to make to apologize for that.

It was dizzying at the time, but now it was just a memory that could be laughed off.

“…I guess we just needed an excuse back then.”

Yoonji, with a slight smile on her lips, murmured softly.

“Just. I just needed an excuse to be with you.”

I felt the same way.

We spent time together by forcing reasons.

Looking back on the past, I could laugh.

The time with Yoonji was a good memory.

She must have thought the same, as she slowly took hold of the steering wheel again, and we were able to return to the dormitory after reminiscing about the past.

Before I knew it, we arrived at the dormitory.

“Woojin.”

Although it was past lunchtime, Yoonji was busy and had to go.

She called out to me while still sitting in the driver’s seat.

“It was nice. It reminded me of the old days.”

Yoonji, with a content smile on her face.

After hesitating for a moment, I just nodded my head slightly and went into the dormitory.

* * *

After breaking up with Yoonji, I entered the dormitory.

My room was filled with the luggage I had taken during the MT, most likely brought by the first-year students living in the dormitory.

I thought about contacting one of the three of them.

I decided to call Seo Yerin first.

The reason I chose Seo Yerin was simple.

“She’s the least hurt out of the three.”

Seo Yerin’s hits hurt less compared to the other two.

When I called, Seo Yerin answered quickly.

– Hello.

Her voice was low and laid-back.

It was an awkward act that was clearly trying to intimidate me.

“Ahem, hello? What are you doing right now?”

I pretended to ignore the awkwardness.

Is this how an aspiring actor does their acting?

– What about you?

“I’m in the dormitory. Are you at home? Can I see you for a moment?”

– …….

“Why aren’t you answering?”

Wondering about something, I asked hesitantly.

A voice of the real Seo Ye-rin came from the phone.

– Ah, Mom! Why did you answer someone else’s phone so casually!

Mom?

Seo Ye-rin’s mother?

‘Oh, damn.’

I had told her after the festival that I would end things with Seo Ye-rin.

It might seem strange that I called her now.

“Can you come for a moment? The friends from the MT trip want to have an afterparty.”

I pretended not to hear Seo Ye-rin’s voice on purpose and smoothly transitioned to a different topic.

– Just stay put. Is this Mr. Woo-jin I hear?

Finally, I understood the awkward tone in her voice.

“Yes, Mrs. Ye-rin? Hello.”

I had to be confident.

Well, I shouldn’t be confident in this situation, but I needed to act that way for now.

– Yes, Mr. Woo-jin. Do you also have afterparties after MT these days?

“Oh, yes. The friends like to gather. Seo Ye-rin is also popular.”

– …Mr. Woo-jin, could we meet separately sometime in the future?

“Suddenly?”

I was puzzled by her sudden request, but her mother didn’t back down.

– Yes, I have a favor to ask. When you have time later, I will send you a message separately.

“Alright.”

* * *

I didn’t intend to, but I ended up having an afterparty for the MT trip.

I came out without calling anyone separately, just to provide an alibi for Seo Ye-rin.

‘I wonder what this is about.’

I have some time before a confirmed meeting, but I want to know in advance why her mother wanted to see me.

Seo Ye-rin probably knows by now.

Since I wasn’t in the mood for drinking or eating meat, the compromise was a PC bang.

I could have taken a seat inside, but just in case, I was waiting outside while continuing to read the webtoon I was reading earlier.

‘Realistic harem, huh.’

It was supposed to be a romance, but it was more like an affair and a tragedy.

The woman even stabbed the man with a knife in the end.

Normally, I would have complained about the character dying, but now I strangely empathized with it, sending shivers down my spine.

– Yu Arin: Haven’t heard from you?

A text came at that moment.

I chuckled slightly and immediately replied.

– Kim Woo-jin: I’ve been busy. It hasn’t been long since I arrived at the dorm.

– Yu Arin: Go away. Don’t talk to me.

– Kim Woo-jin: …You sent a text first.

– Yu Arin: I was checking if you were alive. I didn’t want to go to the police station for no reason.

– Kim Woo-jin: You’re stubborn until the end.

I ended up fainting.

– Yu Arin: You should be thankful to me. Otherwise, you would have died.

Huh?

– Kim Woo-jin: What do you mean by ‘died’?

– Yu Arin: Shut up. Seo Ye-rin went crazy back then. She brought scissors and said she would cut yours off.

– Kim Woo-jin: …Seo Ye-rin?

– Yu Arin: Don’t meet Ye-rin for a while. She might kill you.

Life is sometimes more fictional than dramas.

“Woo-jin!”

As Seo Ye-rin approached, waving her hand.

I immediately turned my body and started running away.

The one I thought was the gentlest turned out to be the most dangerous, a common cliche.