episode_0291

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Being sulky alone after being humiliated is third-rate.

Grinding your teeth while waiting for revenge after being humiliated is second-rate.

Finding a way to turn that humiliation into something positive—that’s first-rate.

After catching my breath (and nearly choking on it instead), I flicked the fingers I’d been poking Seo Woojin with and headed downstairs.

Male friend.

A guy who’s just a friend.

Some argue that true “friendship” between opposite sexes can’t exist, but let’s set that aside for now.

Haven’t you heard the saying, “Use barbarians to control barbarians”?

This situation was eerily similar.

Defeating one enemy by using another—without expending my own strength.

In other words, to shake off Yoo Si-woo, who’s been a nuisance for over a year, leveraging a guy like Seo Woojin might be a huge help.

“Haah…”

Woojin wouldn’t like it either.

Another guy around me… existing.

Even I, who feel nothing for him, get uncomfortable seeing him with other girls—so Woojin would be no different.

No, given that he’s a pervert, he’d probably react even worse.

Hell, he might even dislike the few guys in the student council room.

Well, since this much was predictable, getting Woojin’s “consent” didn’t require much persuasion.

We even discussed how to act in front of Si-woo afterward—a rough plan, at least.

Metaphorically speaking, using the excuse of being close friends to go this far is OK.

Anything beyond that would naturally be unacceptable—not to mention mortifying—so NO.

Something like that.

So now, if I just use Woojin appropriately to sever Si-woo’s unpleasant attention…

And then, pay Woojin a suitable fee for his help……

…

…M-my spy work might become a little easier than it is now.

Yeah.

“…”

Snapping out of my daze, I hastily wiped away the lingering delusion, pressed the back of my hand to my cheek, and headed to the student council room.

Most of the paperwork for the external vendors coming for the upcoming festival was already sorted, but a few budget-related documents remained.

And though the context was different, there was one other thing—or rather, person—left behind.

“Ah, sunbae.”

“…”

Because Yoo Si-woo, oddly cooperative today, was also still in the student council room.

“I skimmed through these while you were on break. These aren’t urgent, but these ones need your review.”

“…I’ll go. Just a sec.”

After dividing the documents into two piles on the desk, Si-woo tapped the stack with the back of his pen and smiled.

Staring blankly at his inscrutable grin, I tugged my sweater tighter and walked to my seat.

As I approached the desk, Si-woo pushed his chair back to make space.

…Thanks to that, I could step into the spot where he’d been sitting.

But.

It felt… awkward.

Honestly, I just didn’t like it.

Pretending Si-woo was still in his seat, I picked up the stack of documents.

“Not urgent. This one isn’t either…”

“No, sunbae. Why are you checking the non-urgent ones first? I sorted them while you were on break to save you time.”

“I don’t trust you.”

“What kind of person says that to someone’s face…? That’s just sad.”

“Then maybe you should’ve acted more trustworthy until now.”

“At least I’m not hiding sinister intentions like other guys, right?”

“You should’ve hidden them. Your ‘kindness’ is too much for me.”

“Hmm. Single-minded devotion is nice and all, but I guess it can be a bit… overwhelming?”

“Single-minded devotion…? You think I’m deaf to rumors or something?”

“That’s all in the past. I’ve reformed because of you. Reformed.”

“…Got it. Now go lie down and play games or something. Good job.”

Surprisingly, his sorting wasn’t bad.

…Well, it’s not like he’s stupid—he just avoids work.

Maybe it’s because of his reputation that I doubted him first…

Sighing, I checked a few random pages from the front, middle, and back before returning to my seat.

With most third-years absent due to career prep and second-years busy with midterms, the student council room was empty except for me and Si-woo.

So I planned to finish the remaining work quickly before he could start his nonsense, but—

“…”

Squeak.

Instead of the sound of him lying on the couch, the rolling of chair wheels reached my ears, making me put down my pen in under five seconds.

“Sunbae. Sunbae.”

“…I want to go home soon, so don’t bother me.”

“I’ve been quiet all day today. I just have something I’m curious about.”

He wasn’t wrong.

Since our encounter at the shower room earlier, he’d been oddly subdued.

…Honestly, I assumed he was just exhausted from having sex with some random girl.

But I couldn’t say that outright…

Figuring it was better to get it over with, I humored him briefly.

“What do you want to know?”

“Why are you in gym clothes today instead of your uniform?”

“…”

Because I was having sex in the next room until the last minute, and my uniform got sweaty and gross.

Obviously, I couldn’t say that.

Luckily, I’d prepared an excuse for this exact question, so I sighed lightly and answered.

“I spilled something on my uniform during lunch.”

“What did you eat?”

“Cup rice.”

“Cup rice? You eat that?”

“What’s wrong with cup rice?”

“No, but last time I asked you to eat together, you said you were allergic to it.”

Because in front of you, I’m allergic to breathing too.

No need to say that, though.

Si-woo probably already knew.

So I picked up my pen again and said,

“If your curiosity’s satisfied, stop distracting me and stay quiet. I want to finish quickly.”

“Ah, one more thing. Are you free today?”

“No.”

“Did you even think before answering? That was too fast.”

“I’m saying no because I’m not free.”

“…Hmm. Well, do you have other plans?”

“…”

Plans.

I didn’t have any, but—

Casually.

Naturally.

As if it were nothing.

“I’m meeting a friend.”

“What friend?”

“I have one. Someone you don’t know.”

“A friend I don’t know…? Who? Wait, sunbae, you don’t have many close friends you’d make time for, right?”

“…I do. One. …No, two.”

“Two people? …How come I’ve never heard of them?”

“Is it weird that you don’t know?”

“I’ve been by your side for a year and never saw them. Are they imaginary friends?”

“…You never considered that we might’ve met separately?”

“Well, if you’re making time for them, it’s probably a girl, right?”

“…It’s a guy.”

“Huh?”

“Someone you know, too. …That, uh, healing type.”

Unlike Si-woo, who asked as if joking,

I just—

Nonchalantly.

Since this was a spur-of-the-moment lie to shake off the vice president, I didn’t need to create an actual plan…

But it’s always better to be thorough.

Aside from my claim of meeting Woojin separately, having witnesses among other students would make it even more convincing, right?

Of course, I’d rather die than be misunderstood as dating Woojin, so I’d have to add an excuse like helping him pick a gift for his girlfriend…

“…”

After school, all I had to do was organize reports and my usual cardio routine, so I had plenty of time.

So on my way home, I tapped away on my phone.

Again, this was just to make things more solid—by setting up an actual meeting.

Hanging out with that trashy womanizer is just as unpleasant as meeting the vice president.

Anyway, the gist of my message to Woojin was:

Let’s pretend we had plans from the start…

If you’re busy now, even a late meetup in a crowded place is fine…

I didn’t want to do this on the first day, but Si-woo kept bothering me, so I had no choice…

This was practically forcing him to make time, but at least I was being minimally polite.

Besides, even if it was for treatment, I let him use my body… freely.

Isn’t it fair to ask for this much in return?

“Haah…”

…Right?

Or not?

Maybe Woojin’s shamelessness is rubbing off on me after spending so much time together…

Lost in self-deprecating thoughts while waiting for the traffic light, I noticed the [1] next to my message disappear.

“…”

…Somehow, just that made me strangely tense—a faint, ticklish feeling.

But before that ambiguous feeling could fade, a reply arrived.

[Seo Woojin] – What do I do? – I’m with my girlfriend right now.

…This time, it was…

A little irritating.

Probably because my plan was slightly derailed.

Was “girlfriend” Han Soo-ah?

Or that girl from Hongdae—the one Yozora wanted info on?

Gripping my phone, I hesitated briefly before exhaling and staring at the distant traffic light.

…Whoever that pervert’s girlfriend is,

Even if the meeting gets delayed because he’s busy now,

Whatever.

I already knew Woojin was a trashy guy who dated multiple women at once.

And as I’d explained earlier, a slight delay wasn’t a big deal.

No reason to be upset.

Really.

So I replied that even a late meetup was fine.

Just walking around a busy area would still count as “plans.”

Since he’d been reading, the [1] didn’t even appear this time.

But.

“…?”

Strangely, the reply was delayed.

He’d responded instantly with those two short lines earlier.

…Only now.

“…Are you leaving me on read?”

I figured he must have a reason—

Maybe his girlfriend saw the message and he had to turn off his screen…

[Seo Woojin] – Sent a photo.

Defending him made me feel like an idiot.

[Seo Woojin] – Got midterms tomorrow, so I can’t keep this up. – Should be free by evening. – Wanna meet then?

What Woojin sent—

Was a photo of him having sex.

Pinning some girl against the wall, gripping her hips, and thrusting into her—

A photo that strongly reminded me of someone from a few hours ago.

[Baek Seo-yeon] – Then let’s meet then. – I’ll adjust my schedule, so text me the time later.

I acted calm in my reply, but—

…On a crowded street with people passing by,

Instead of quickly turning off my screen,

I thought about solving this alone instead of relying on Woojin—

Or wondered if I’d looked like that during sex in the motel—

And before I knew it,

Next to the recently created 30-minute video file,

I quietly saved—

A new photo.

Guess I wasn’t much better either.