episode_0292

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Just in case, I deleted the risqué photos left in our chat before letting some time pass.

I’d already told him meeting up right away would be difficult, but pestering him like a child to hurry up wasn’t an option either.

Either way, the most important thing about this meeting with Seo Woo-jin was “not creating unnecessary rumors.”

You know, the kind like—Student Council President, I saw you wandering around with the school nurse last night~

Honestly, the idea of pretending to be close with that trash didn’t sit well with me.

But if I wanted to drive Yoo Si-woo out easily… this was the simplest and most certain method, so I had no choice.

Besides, I could handle things up to this point on my own, so I couldn’t be bothered to think of another way.

Rumors like—

We were secretly dating behind the scenes,

or We’re occasional hookup partners,

—would definitely help drive Yoo Si-woo away, but there’d be no way to clean up the aftermath.

But if we stuck to the story that Woo-jin was picking out a gift for his girlfriend, and I was just helping him…

It’d solidify the image of us being “close friends” and end there.

A slightly closer-than-usual opposite-sex friend.

To ordinary people, that’s all it would seem like—not even worth a small scandal. But for Yoo Si-woo, it’d be a pretty big blow.

…That stalker bastard knows better than anyone that I’ve never had any male friends.

The position of being my opposite-sex friend—

It’s a place Yoo Si-woo has never been able to reach.

He’d probably feel just the right amount of disillusionment.

Chew on it just enough.

And then lose interest.

After all, there are countless girls at the academy with looks on par with mine.

And Yoo Si-woo… Well, he’s got plenty of girls following him around just for his face anyway.

“…Ah, maybe a hat too, just in case.”

8 PM.

A little past dinner time—an utterly exhausting hour.

After making sure my outfit didn’t look overly put together, I pressed down my bucket hat and left the house.

292

The meeting spot was, unavoidably, a bustling downtown area swarming with people.

I hated places like this, reeking of alcohol and body odor, but if I wanted to be seen by others, there was no better location.

Pressing my bucket hat down even tighter, I moved to the side of the street to avoid the crowd and fiddled with my phone.

Not that there was much to do on it—I just kept turning Woo-jin’s “I’ll be there soon” message on and off.

If I didn’t even do this, all I’d be left with was blankly watching the crowd…

[Seo Woo-jin] – Where are you?

“Ugh…”

While mindlessly tapping and swiping back, a new message popped up at the bottom.

“…”

It arrived right as I was staring at the screen, so the unread notification probably didn’t even appear.

It’s just… It felt like I’d been waiting for his message the whole time, which was embarrassing, but I steadied myself with a few throat-clearing coughs.

…It’s not like he’d say anything about it anyway.

The one who cares loses.

[Baek Seo-yeon] – The entrance to the PC bang, like it says.

[Seo Woo-jin] – How am I supposed to know where that is? There’s more than one PC bang here.

[Baek Seo-yeon] – It’s right next to Exit 9, but…

[Seo Woo-jin] – Then don’t stay there. Come to the exit. I’ll head there too.

Now that I heard it, he was absolutely right—I had no rebuttal.

After scratching the back of my neck, I sighed and headed toward the subway exit.

Luckily, spotting him wasn’t hard.

My gaze naturally landed right where Seo Woo-jin happened to be.

A gray hoodie under a dark denim jacket.

And those generic pants guys always wear… the kind I don’t know the name of.

Seemed like he just threw on whatever was handy—nothing too deliberate. That was a relief.

I wasn’t dressed up either, after all.

“How am I supposed to find you with directions like that? There are so many PC bangs around here.”

“…That many?”

“Even I know of at least three just from passing by, and I don’t even go to PC bangs.”

“…That is a lot.”

It wasn’t like we were meeting as lovers—just as friends. Dressing up too much would’ve been weird.

Maybe I was overthinking others’ perceptions, but that’s how I felt.

So my outfit wasn’t much different from what I’d wear for cardio by the Han River.

…Well, the details were different, but it was similar to what I wore the first time I went to Woo-jin’s place.

With the hat on top, I was even further from the word “dressed up.”

So.

No one would mistake this for a date.

…Definitely.

“Anyway, we’re doing what we talked about in chat, right?”

“For now… yeah.”

“Helping you pick out a gift for your girlfriend… right?”

“……”

“Her birthday’s still far off, but there’s an anniversary coming up soon.”

Woo-jin walked a step ahead, his scent—a slightly feminine body wash that felt odd on a guy—lingering in the air.

Right before my imagination could run wild, I shook my head lightly and followed behind him.

…But then.

The sweet, distinctly feminine fragrance kept bothering me.

On second thought, it wasn’t that it bothered me…

…I just didn’t want to keep smelling the same scent.

And following behind like a lost puppy felt weird too.

Reluctantly, I moved to walk beside him.

“Hey, your girlfriend… Is it Han Su-ah? Or… Yozora?”

“No. Someone else.”

“…”

If it’s “someone else,” does that mean the ponytailed girl from before?

While rationally piecing it together, his shameless, unbothered attitude rubbed me the wrong way. I frowned and glared at him.

Like before, I wasn’t about to lecture him about how normal people don’t juggle multiple partners.

I’d long given up hoping this trash would think like a decent person, so I didn’t want to waste energy on it.

But still…

Han Su-ah.

Yozora.

That… Hayoon, was it? Her.

And now me, who’s “just helping out”—

That’s already four.

If you add the girls I don’t know about, just how many are there?

You trashy bastard.

Not that I care, since we’re not that close.

…But some of the other girls would probably feel pretty bad.

Do you have no conscience?

“If you have a girlfriend, just how many girls are you seeing…?”

“Including you… five.”

“Why are you including me—! …Wait, five?”

“That’s the count.”

“Not four, but five… Ugh… Must be hard memorizing all those names, birthdays, and hobbies.”

“It’s manageable once you get used to it.”

“That was sarcasm? …And do you even know my birthday or hobbies?”

“No. And didn’t you just say not to include you?”

“…I’m never telling you.”

“Wasn’t planning to ask—”

“Huh? Sunbae?”

Just as I was debating whether to jab Woo-jin’s shin with my toe, we turned a corner and ran into a familiar face.

Luckily, it was a female underclassman from student council—someone I’d seen often enough over the past year to recognize, but not quite close to.

And next to her was…

“Hello.”

“…Ah, yeah.”

Judging by their vibe and distance, probably her boyfriend.

It’d be rude to say outright, but he looked kinda like a punk.

His style—the clothes, tattoos, earrings—made it easy to stereotype him at first glance.

…And the way he eyed me up and down while standing next to his girl was seriously gross.

“…”

But I stopped dwelling on it.

I just looked around aimlessly or pretended to be distracted.

If I had to guess why…

It was probably because Woo-jin had gone quiet beside me.

Without making an issue of it, I spoke up.

“Didn’t expect to see you here.”

“I didn’t expect to see you here either, Sunbae… And with the school nurse…”

The underclassman’s gaze shifted from me to the side—no, not just the side, but diagonally upward, subtly drawn toward Woo-jin.

Then, belatedly, she greeted him with a “Nice to meet you” and a cute smile.

…Was I being treated like a background character?

Her behavior irked me slightly, but I let it slide without comment.

Even if I couldn’t help feeling petty, I didn’t want to look like that kind of person.

“Ah, what brings you two here?”

“…He’s buying a gift for his girlfriend and asked for my help.”

“Girlfriend? Really? You have a girlfriend, Teacher? First I’ve heard of it.”

“Yeah. I wasn’t hiding it… Just not something worth announcing to everyone.”

“Aah…”

As he finished explaining calmly, the underclassman—who’d seemed more enthusiastic than she ever was in student council—let out a small sigh.

…Honestly, Woo-jin was sticking to the script we’d agreed on, so I was fine with that.

But why was she acting like this?

Did she have a crush on him?

If so, why did she have a boyfriend?

Was it just the disappointment of seeing a good-looking guy taken?

I couldn’t figure it out, so I cautiously asked:

“Are you… in his fan club or something?”

“Huh?”

“…You’ve got a boyfriend right there, but your reaction is…”

“Wha—?! This jerk’s just my oppa! My real brother! How could I date this chimp-looking bastard?!”

“Hey, you little— Who paid for your academy fees…?”

“Ah… You don’t look much alike, so…”

“See, Sunbae? Adults keep saying we look alike… Ugh…”

“You do look alike. Just cut your hair short, and you’ve got my face.”

“Shut up…!”

Ah. Siblings.

The misunderstanding was cleared up, but it wasn’t exactly crucial info.

All I learned was that my underclassman viewed Woo-jin somewhat favorably.

And that she was slightly disappointed to hear he had a girlfriend.

And seeing that…

I felt just a little.

Better.

If more girls flocked to Woo-jin, the chances of not being able to meet him when needed would only grow.

…The fewer girls around him, the better.

No, best.

“Anyway, Sunbae, I didn’t know you and the school nurse were this close. I had no idea…”

“…Mutual friends. Friends of friends… That kind of thing.”

“Ah, I get it. Friends of friends… But isn’t that usually kinda awkward?”

“We see each other often, so…”

“Huh? Often?”

“…You see him at the infirmary, don’t you? This guy.”

“But Sunbae, you don’t have a reason to go there, right? You’re a third-year—you barely have classes…?”

“…We run into each other when meeting other friends too. That’s all. Why are you twisting it?”

“Huh? I-I wasn’t trying to… Ahaha…”

…Well. This is fine.

After this much conversation, she’d definitely remember that Woo-jin and I are somewhat close.

Cutting it short before it dragged on, I made an excuse about hating crowds and wanting to leave soon, then said goodbye.

After that, we headed deeper downtown—

To a few offline stores I’d scouted in advance, selling things like necklaces, jewelry, or perfume.

“…”

…If I just pretended to help him pick a gift and called it a day,

That persistent, eerie presence that had been tailing us since earlier

Might find a way to latch onto us.