episode_0243

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A chilly night.

After sending what Yozora had asked for, I was curled up tightly under the blankets, trying to continue sleeping, when—

A loud ringtone sounded right next to my pillow, jolting me awake in a daze.

…Waking up in the middle of sleep must be why my head hurts.

What time is it…?

Judging by how dark it still is outside the window, it doesn’t seem like morning yet.

“…”

Peeking just my eyes out from under the blanket, I pull the smartphone with its glaringly bright screen right up to my face.

…11:10.

There’s no way it’s 11 in the morning.

I probably buried myself under the covers just before 11.

Did I really sleep for a full 24 hours?

Or did I just doze off for about 10 minutes before waking up again?

As my drowsy thoughts tumbled on, I frowned at the conclusion that if I had slept all day, my phone would’ve been flooded with missed calls.

[ Yozora ]

“…”

Maybe it’s because I only slept for 10 minutes, but—

More likely, it’s because of the sender’s name boldly displayed in the middle of the screen.

If I had to assign percentages,

the latter would account for about 90%.

“Why is she calling again…?”

Swallowing the sigh that reflexively threatened to escape, I glared at the phone with a low groan.

Was there a problem with the materials I sent her?

It was just a copy, so there shouldn’t be any issues, right?

If not that, then the only other reason she’d call me is…

Drunken nonsense.

She must’ve gotten drunk and called again.

Exhaling the sigh I’d been holding back at this now-predictable behavior, I rubbed the call button while leaving the phone on the pillow.

Sure, I’m sleepy and annoyed, but—

She’s still… something like a friend.

If I just give her the bare minimum responses and stay quiet, she’ll eventually talk herself out and hang up satisfied.

“…Hello.”

—Moshi moshi~…

“You usually speak Korean just fine, so why are you—”

—Isn’t this cuter…? Like, it feels all soft and squishy in the words…

“What does ‘soft and squishy’ even mean?”

—Eh? Do pure-blooded Koreans not use expressions like this~…?

Yep, she’s drunk.

Since there’s no background noise, she must be drinking at home.

Listening to Yozora’s syrupy, drawn-out voice, I tugged the blanket up a little more.

In cases like this, Yozora’s patterns generally fall into three categories.

One.

Despite not being a sommelier, she’ll either complain or rave about whatever alcohol she’s drinking.

Two.

She’ll say some sleazy guys hit on her while drinking, so she half-killed them, and now she needs help covering it up before her boss finds out.

Three.

This one’s a newer pattern, only appearing this year… but—stories about men.

…Looking back now, she was probably just editing her stories about Seo Woojin.

Anyway, those three.

Since she’s likely drinking at home and can’t possibly be talking about Woojin again, it’s probably just alcohol talk.

Imagining myself stuffing earplugs in, I nuzzled my cheek into the pillow with a rustle.

—Anyway, Seo-yeon chaaan…

“Just call me normally. Stop adding weird stuff.”

—Seo-yeon-aaah… Remember what I told you last time?

“You’ve told me so many things. How am I supposed to know which one you mean?”

—Y’know, that thing… the red string of fate.

“…”

But today was different.

The red string of fate…

I vaguely remember hearing about it before,

but I wasn’t interested, so I mostly tuned it out.

—Remember what I said about the red string of fate?

“You’ve brought that up at least five times.”

—It was only twice! …Or was it three? Either way, not five. My memory’s better than you think~… I even went to a pretty high-ranking high school—

“…The point is, you’ve said it multiple times.”

—Twice and five times are not the same. Even with onaholes, that much difference in number would—

“Enough. What do you want? Hurry up. I’m sleepy.”

—Nyeh~… It’s only 11, and you’re already sleepy? Are you a kindergartener…?

“What’s it to you? ……On weekdays, I sleep early. Gotta get proper rest so I’m not tired tomorrow.”

—…Ugh. Fine, whatever. Anyway, the reason I called is—

Onaholes? Really? At least make your analogies make sense. You’re embarrassing me just listening.

When she finally circled back to why she called, a glug-glug sound came through the phone.

100% alcohol.

And probably something strong, too.

Even if I told her to drink in moderation out of concern, it’d go in one ear and out the other.

I’ve spent two years telling her, and she’s still like this.

—Actually, I called Woojin earlier~… Around 7? 8? Something like that?

“…”

—I hid my number ‘cause I thought he’d yell at me~… But it still rang.

“…”

—So the conclusion is…! Basically…! I’m not blocked~… Yay~…

“…”

But when it comes to men—

Would it be so bad to tell her to find a good man for once?

Biting back the Are you stupid? on the tip of my tongue, I pursed my lips at the giggling voice on the other end, overjoyed at something as trivial as not being blocked.

Not that I’m saying Woojin is a bad guy.

In fact, I think he’s one of the better ones out there.

If you ignore the whole they were fuck buddies before breaking up backstory,

he’s not even that close to me—not someone I need to be close to—yet he still made time to come treat me on a weekend.

If he’d been as handsy as the vice student council president, sure, I’d think poorly of him. But he wasn’t.

Plus, listening to the female student council officers, he’s apparently very kind.

…And yet, he’s only ever cold to me, even acting like I’m a bother…

It’s a little frustrating,

but not enough to hate him.

If anything, you could say—

he treats me differently from other girls…

“…”

…Anyway.

Look, instead of chasing after guys with big dicks who are good in bed, find someone who genuinely cares about you.

Find someone who isn’t obsessed with sex.

Would saying something like that be so bad?

The sound of liquor pouring (glug-glug) paused briefly.

Wriggling closer to the phone, I carefully spoke up.

“…Yozora.”

—Hmm?

“You said earlier… about giving up.”

—Yeah.

“Do you… still want to see Woojin? Like, in a chasing-after-him way.”

—If it’s possible~?

“…I get the drinking, but I just don’t want you to ruin your life over a guy.”

—……

“…Yozora?”

—Pfft… Puhahaha!

When she suddenly went quiet, I worried she took my meddling the wrong way—

But from the other end of the phone came Yozora’s laughter, so loud it sounded like she was rolling around clutching her stomach.

…I don’t think I said anything that funny.

If anything, it was a perfectly normal thing to say.

But her reaction made my cheeks heat up instead.

“Wh-Why are you laughing?”

—Hehehe… O-kawaii koto…

“…What does that mean? Kawaii means cute… right…?”

—It’s a line from an anime Sua-chan made me watch. And yeah, kawaii is cute~… But that’s not the point right now~…

Still giggling, Yozora cleared her throat (ahem) before letting out a thoughtful Hmm~…

…The fact she didn’t deny it means she did call me cute.

But no matter how much I rack my brain, I can’t figure out what was cute about what I said.

Honestly, her laughing like this feels off—if anything, her usual Ew, you sound like an old hag would’ve been more in character.

—Excuse me, Ms. Seo-yeon…

“…Why are you talking like that? Is that from an anime too?”

—I already knew you were a virgin, Ms. Seo-yeon, but… have you ever even masturbated~?

“…”

…That’s.

That’s too familiar all of a sudden.

—Have you ever… y’know, put your fingers in and pushed? Like, inside your… y’know? Or rubbed your clit~…?

“…”

—Helloo~… Can you hear me~…

“I-I’ve done it. …Didn’t feel good, so I stopped.”

—Wait, really…?

“…Why would I lie about that? …We’re both adults.”

No need to panic.

She’s just drunker than usual, so she’s crossing lines she normally wouldn’t.

…And it’s not like I have to hide my answer.

It didn’t feel good.

Except that one time… when I was in heat. But otherwise, never.

It’s not like Yozora knows about that, so there’s nothing to latch onto.

…Or so I thought.

I tried not to let my fluster show, but—

—So that’s why… Hmm…

“…?”

—How is seeing Woojin again ruining my life? If anything, it’d be a success. Materialistic as it sounds, he’s loaded and a healer.

“…I’m saying you should look for more than just… sexual compatibility.”

—More than that?

“…Like if he’s kind, or studious. Or… if he doesn’t just try to get you naked, but actually cares about you. Or if he’s diligent enough to drag his tired self out on dates even on his days off…”

—…Sigh. Sigh. Sigh.

“…Wh-Why are you sighing while I’m talking?”

—Seo-yeon. Just fuck Woojin once, okay~?

“Wh-What?”

The words coming from the other end of the phone

were something no normal person could comprehend.

—I’d even let you have him a few times if you want~… He likes pretty girls with big boobs too…

“I’m not doing that. Why would I do something so cheap with him—”

—You sound like a middle schooler with a purity complex. Why?

“…”

—Actually, scratch that. Most middle schoolers these days have already lost theirs unless they’re really sheltered…

“…”

—…But even then, sex might be too much~… Maybe we should start with teaching you how to masturbate properly~…

“…?”

—Should I come over? I have a dildo I bought as a Woojin substitute~… Barely used it ‘cause I didn’t like it, so it’s basically brand-new~…

“St-Stop the crazy talk and go to sleep…! …You’ve been spouting nonsense since you called drunk…”

—Ehh~… I’m serious~… It’s a little longer than my handspan, but if you don’t put it all the way in—

“…Shut up! I’m going to bed, so don’t call again…!”

—Seo-yeon…

…Only a pervert on Yozora’s level

could say things like this and expect to be understood.

11:10.

Factoring in the time it’d take to get there, I’m undeniably late.

…I’ll text Hayoon and Lee Ji-yoon to apologize and say I’m too tired to come.

If it were the weekend tomorrow, maybe, but oversleeping would just cause problems for everyone.

“I can dry your hair even better this time.”

“Don’t bother. I’ll do it myself.”

“No. It’s my house, so I’ll do what I want…”

Maybe because she’d been moaning nonstop earlier, Han Sua’s voice was slightly hoarse.

After healing the faint marks left by the collar on her neck, she draped herself over me, drying my hair.

Honestly? Still clumsy and uncomfortable, but—

Whatever.

If I refuse any further, she’ll just sulk and bottle it up.

“…Was the collar enough?”

“…Can I be honest?”

“You were disappointed, huh.”

“…A little.”

“What part?”

“I could’ve handled it rougher… But Master—no, Teacher—was gentler than I expected…?”

“…How much rougher do you want it, then?”

“Ehehe…”

“Don’t try to laugh it off. You just copied that collar thing from the internet, didn’t you?”

“……Ehehe…”

By the time we finished our little back-and-forth, the blow-drying was done.

After a quick stop in the bedroom to grab my clothes, I headed to the living room with Han Sua, who was still grinning awkwardly beside me.

A room drenched in lust might make even someone else’s saliva smell sweet,

but staying in a room reeking of semen and arousal after getting it all out?

Not exactly pleasant.

“Ah, are you thirsty? I was about to get some water.”

“Yeah. A little.”

“Then get dressed first. I’ll bring it.”

Guess it’s time to…

Think about what to do with Seol Da-bin, too.

Aside from her, there aren’t any other notable girls left in Miren Academy.

If I were the type to eat anything, sure, but famous male heroes don’t interest me.

But Seol Da-bin and I barely have any connection beyond recognizing each other’s faces…

If I want to make progress, the easiest way would be to have her boyfriend get seriously hurt and owe me.

But asking Ji-yoon, Hayoon, or Sua to do that is out of the question.

They might be a little sex-crazed, but they’d never agree to hurt someone just because they decided to become heroes.

And there’s no good excuse for hurting someone anyway.

So then, another method…

She works part-time on weekends, so maybe if I spend some money…

Or make it impossible not to compare me to her boyfriend…

“Um, Teacher.”

“Yeah, what?”

As I was racking my stiff brain for ideas, Han Sua returned with a glass of water and spoke up.

“…About you and Yozora breaking up…”

“…”

A name steeped in the scent of alcohol—

and ten years and four months of history.