episode_0264

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The desire to defile a hero admired by everyone—to tarnish them unseen, as I please, to my heart’s content…

Lust.

Or perhaps it could be called thirst. Whatever it was, I was so breathlessly fixated on it that the women around me now resembled something like illegal structures.

Lee Hayoon and Lee Jiyoon knew about each other’s relationship.

Han Soo-ah and Yozora also knew about each other’s relationship.

As for Baek Seo-yeon, she at least knew something, even if only one-sidedly.

The only thing missing was a link between them.

To be precise, I hadn’t yet created one—though that would be a cleaner way to phrase it.

In any case, what mattered more was that there were still people who didn’t know about each other.

That’s why my private life couldn’t be exposed yet through someone else’s mouth, like Seol Da-bin’s.

Not divided into three categories, but merged into one.

I needed more time to muddy the waters between them further.

For example…

It might be awkward for Hayoon and Soo-ah to be together, but Jiyoon and Soo-ah? That was a picture I could somehow paint.

The same went for Yozora and Seo-yeon.

Seol Da-bin nearly interfered during that dangerous moment, and for a second, my vision spun… but thankfully, it somehow passed without incident.

Still.

“…”

The way Seol Da-bin kept glancing between me and Hayoon, as if sensing something off, lingered until the very end.

…What a headache.

If she says something strange to Hayoon before I do, things are going to get really messy.

Is there a way to smoothly deceive her?

Or maybe I should dig up some dirt on Seol Da-bin and hold it over her.

That way, at the very least, I could negotiate.

Of course, if I find something bigger than expected…

…I might end up using it for a slightly different purpose.

“…Counseling?”

“Eugh…”

In any case, if there’s someone who would know about such weaknesses, it would have to be someone close.

And among those close to her, it would be a close friend…

Like Hayoon right in front of me.

Surely, she must know something, right?

“Are you too embarrassed to say it yet?”

“Of course…! If we’d run into each other at some pretty date spot, fine, but a tteokbokki place…?!”

Hayoon hissed under her breath, reacting sharply to my teasing, trying to change the mood. Then, as if her throat was dry, she started gulping down the cold water in her stainless steel cup.

Ironically, the one who couldn’t reveal anything was me—a pretty trashy move.

Unintentionally reminded of Seo-yeon’s habit of muttering the word “trash,” I sighed lightly, refilled Hayoon’s cup, and continued.

“Is she your friend? That girl… No, should I call her sunbae?”

“Yeah… Da-bin. We’re in the same class.”

“Same class, huh…”

“Why? Does something about her bother you?”

“Well… It’d be rude to say outright since we just met.”

“What is it? It’s not like they’ll hear us from over there, so just say it.”

“…Her makeup, or her appearance, is a bit…”

“Ah, her looks.”

“Yeah.”

Her hair, dyed red and black with a faint artificial tint—unlike Jiyoon or Seo-yeon’s natural colors—and her ashen eyes.

Even that bizarre combination somehow suited her striking looks, making her an easy topic of conversation.

I framed my comment as “intriguing” rather than “interested,” and Hayoon laughed awkwardly, as if she’d heard this before.

“Flashy, right? To put it negatively, she looks like a high school delinquent… or a troublemaker? Like she’d sneak test papers out the back?”

“…Yeah.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. She just looks like that—she’s actually really sweet.”

“I see.”

“She said she used to get misunderstood a lot. I avoided her at first too… thought she looked scary.”

“So how’d you two get close?”

“Hmm… Dunno? Do people usually remember how they became friends with classmates? We just talked and got closer, I guess…”

“…”

“Anyway, if only she’d do something about that red hair. Black would suit her too, but she insists she doesn’t like it because she thinks she’s not pretty… Ugh…”

Maybe the adrenaline from narrowly avoiding disaster had slightly lifted her mood.

Steering the conversation toward Seol Da-bin, Hayoon rested her chin on her hand and began divulging bits about her friend.

Of course, so far, it was all trivial information I could’ve guessed myself.

Ah, except for one thing.

Given how she treated her boyfriend whenever I saw them, I’d assumed she had a nasty personality, but apparently, she’s kind.

Unlike Jiyoon, who wouldn’t even exchange a word with her fans, or Soo-ah, who’d greet them briefly before bolting, Da-bin at least shook hands and took photos with them.

There’s only so much you can fake with a “nice girl” mask.

She’s not an idol who has to endure for fans’ love—just a hero.

Confirming that this didn’t contradict what I already knew, I set down the freshly served tteokbokki and fried snacks and asked:

“You said she’s kind earlier. In what way?”

“In what way?”

“Yeah.”

“Well… Nothing specific comes to mind right now, but she’s just nice. Takes care of her friends, shares food a lot.”

“…Hmm.”

“Oh, right. We worked part-time together once, and she was really sweet then too. Covered for my mistakes since it was my first time.”

“Part-time?”

“Yeah. We coincidentally worked at the same place once. Front-of-house staff.”

Come to think of it, she’d once transferred me 100,000 won, saying it was a day’s part-time earnings.

At minimum wage, that would’ve taken quite a few hours—maybe there was something useful here?

“Front-of-house means serving, right?”

“Yep. Serving, hosting, cleaning up, dealing with insane customers’ nonsense…”

“Must’ve been tough. Seeing Jiyoon at her café job was exhausting too.”

“But if it’s just short-term, the hourly pay isn’t bad… Especially at places like BBQ joints, where people quit all the time, or where there’s no clear divide between front and back.”

“…Ah. The pay.”

“It’s all about the money. Money.”

“So that sunbae we saw earlier… was it for living expenses?”

“No? As far as I know, Da-bin gets an allowance from her parents.”

Then why bother working part-time so hard?

The answer came with Hayoon’s next words.

“Sometimes if she wants something expensive, she picks up shifts. Last time, she worked hard to save up for her boyfriend’s birthday gift. You saw him earlier, right? The guy next to her.”

Pointing with her chopsticks like a sniper in the bushes, Hayoon gestured vaguely.

Following her gaze, I spotted Seol Da-bin and her boyfriend seated at a distance.

Compared to Da-bin’s striking looks, the guy was painfully average.

Not handsome, not ugly.

Height-wise too—around 175 cm, maybe? Just under 180 cm, perfectly ordinary.

If I had to pick a defining trait, he looked like the type you’d describe as “well-behaved.”

The old saying about opposites attracting crossed my mind as Hayoon continued.

“He’s a year older, but they’ve known each other since they were kids—almost 10 years, I think? At this point, they’re practically family.”

“That’s a long time. Ten years.”

“Right? Their parents know each other too… Maybe that’s why. She said lately, she doesn’t feel the same spark, so she got him something expensive.”

After being together for so long, they’d hit a rut.

A gap to exploit was good news, but I couldn’t think of how to use it.

Besides, as far as “weaknesses” went, this was disappointingly bland.

Still, I exhaled and pressed further about the expensive gift.

“Expensive gift…?”

“Alcohol!”

“Alcohol?”

“Yeah. Wine, I think? I don’t know much about alcohol, so I forgot the name, but she said it costs hundreds of thousands per bottle.”

Hundreds of thousands for a bottle?

Kwon Nam-ho had a few bottles like that in his hideout, treating them like prized pets.

And I remember Yozora pulling all sorts of stunts to steal sips, saying “other people’s alcohol tastes better.”

…Back then, it was idiotic. Now, it’s almost nostalgic.

Distracted by the sudden alcohol talk, I picked up a fried snack and continued.

“Did it go well?”

“Ah, well… At the time, she said it didn’t…”

“…What happened?”

“It wasn’t for some weird reason…”

But all I got was:

“There was a small misunderstanding because of the expensive alcohol.”

“What misunderstanding?”

“She wouldn’t tell me, said it was a secret. But since they’re still together, it must’ve been resolved, right?”

“…Hmm.”

It was hardly a usable “weakness,” but it was all I had.

No matter how much I tried to spin it positively, my thoughts kept circling back to one possibility: Hayoon was secretly dating the school nurse.

Finishing my meal, I wiped my lips and stared at the corner where the two had been sitting.

Wanting to avoid friends while seeking counseling was plausible, but choosing a tteokbokki place was odd.

Running into a friend here and panicking? I could buy that. But blushing that hard? Counseling isn’t that embarrassing.

The only conclusion left was that Hayoon was meeting the nurse privately.

Either she misunderstood their relationship as romantic and dragged him to a distant tteokbokki place…

Or they were already dating and came here to avoid students.

Only two options.

“……”

If only it were just a secret romance.

Then I could’ve turned a blind eye today.

But of all people…

Of all people, it had to be the nurse.

And I know he had a girlfriend.

…Yet he’s messing with Hayoon?

That’s textbook two-timing.

Trash bastard.

“Sigh…”

Should I tell Hayoon right away?

Or wait and watch in case I’m wrong?

What if the blonde clinging to him wasn’t his girlfriend? A sister? Cousin? Something like that.

Lost in thought, I sighed and casually asked my clueless boyfriend:

“Hey. Baek Ji-ho. Remember when we went to Sinchon the other day?”

“Huh? Yeah.”

“That blonde girl behind the teacher—you said she was his girlfriend, right?”

“Uh… I don’t think I said that. She looked like it, though. Why?”

“…No reason.”

Even back when we hurriedly left, he was like this.

I knew he’d always been oblivious, but this oblivious?

No wonder last time, when I—never mind.

Anyway, even if the teacher never outright said “girlfriend,” if even this idiot assumed she was, then…

Watching him tilt his head, still clueless, I tossed my napkin and stood.

“I’ll go pay. Wait outside.”

“Nah, I got it. Da-bin.”

“With what? You said your allowance was almost gone after buying clothes yesterday.”

“But this is just snack money…”

“Pay me back later. Sound good?”

“…Fine.”

Don’t try anything funny with Hayoon. If you’ve got a conscience, back off before I expose everything.

That was the bare-minimum warning I could give.