episode_0294

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I’m well aware that what I’m doing isn’t exactly upright behavior.

I’m not some preschooler—there’s no way a full-grown adult wouldn’t know exactly what this kind of thing is.

Hiding my presence just enough to secretly trail after a woman I’m interested in…

From my perspective, I’d like to call it a form of expressing interest, but no matter how I spin it, it’s still stalking in the end.

I admit it. Me too.

But…

Alright, let’s lay it all out.

This isn’t exactly upright, but it’s nothing to be ashamed of, right?

For over a year, I’ve been making my intentions clear. That I want to sleep with you.

But you kept subtly brushing me off, so what choice did I have but to resort to this?

It’s not my fault.

If there were another guy in the picture, I might’ve changed my tune.

I probably would’ve thought, “Guess I’ll just steal her,” and gone for it.

But you kept leaving room for me.

If you’d outright called me out and told me to quit hassling you, I might’ve backed off.

If you’d had a hidden boyfriend, maybe then.

No—knowing me, I’d probably still have tried stealing you away. Unless you got caught in some lesbian affair or something.

But you left room.

So, in my own way, I did this to get your attention.

“What are you doing, Noona?”

“Huh? Oh, right.”

“Let’s go. It’s getting late.”

“…”

You really think this makes sense?

“Wait a second.”

A twenty-year-old health teacher trying to leave without a second thought.

And the student council president hesitantly walking after him.

When I spoke up from behind, both their gazes turned back to me.

Suppressing an exasperated sigh, I immediately stepped closer to Seo Woo-jin and spoke.

…With a slight upward tilt of my head to account for the height difference.

“I’m sacrificing my own time to help you here. Is there some issue with that?”

“An issue?”

“Come on, you know what I mean. Using shopping as an excuse… Maybe you actually wanted to be alone with your sunbae?”

I know.

That this guy supposedly has a girlfriend.

I’m not goldfish-brain stupid—I clearly remember hearing it straight from my sunbae’s mouth moments ago.

Which is why the words slipping off my tongue now aren’t conversation. They’re just venting.

They aren’t carefully chewed-over syllables born of rational thought.

They’re the kind of words that should’ve stayed in my head but accidentally leaked out.

Hell, even an animal could manage this much.

“……”

“……”

No surprise, then, that the pair looked at me like I was an animal.

The brat towering above me couldn’t hide his pity at all.

And the woman, closer to my eye level, wore a similar expression.

…If I had to sum it up, the feeling radiating off them was unmistakable: disgust.

“Like I said earlier, I have a girlfriend. She’s just a close Noona to me.”

“…Oh, right, right. Forgot for a second. Maybe I’m a little drunk.”

“That’s obvious. Just go back to your group.”

“…”

“I don’t need advice from anyone but Noona.”

I’m not entirely sure.

Maybe it’s just my paranoia talking.

But the way they exchanged glances before turning away—

“Then we’ll get going. Hope you and your friends enjoy the rest of your night.”

“…Yeah, yeah. You two… have fun.”

—felt like shared victory.

294

Shared victory.

That bitch is obsessed.

“Why are you overcomplicating this? The simplest and clearest thing is just to tell him to fuck off if you dislike it.”

“You think I haven’t tried that? Every single day. It just doesn’t work…”

“If you were as firm with him as you are with me, it’d probably stick. You’ve spoiled him too much because of your student council president image.”

“Excuse me? I’m way harsher on him than I am on you, Yu Si-woo?”

“Then maybe he’s a masochist. You should’ve adjusted your approach.”

“…And how do I adjust it? Play scared and trembling while saying I don’t want to date?”

“You know your stuff.”

“…Whatever. I could never pull that off.”

Emerging back onto the crowded main street, we fell into step while discussing what had just happened.

Questions like: Was that actual stalking or not? You look so normal, why go that far? How are you showing your face tomorrow? How did someone like you even become vice president—was there a popularity contest? Are you actually a gumiho emitting pheromones or something?

I gave half-hearted answers without much thought.

Normally, I’d ignore annoying topics like this, but… whatever. It’s only today.

This is the first time I’ve seen Yu Si-woo clearly pissed but trying so hard not to show it.

I’m in a good mood, so why not indulge him?

Along the way, we ran into two more familiar faces but parted without issue.

Since neither Seo Woo-jin nor I were dressed for anything resembling a date, the excuse “Helping him pick a gift for his girlfriend” seemed oddly believable.

…Not that spreading rumors matters anymore, given how blatantly I just showed Si-woo “I have a male friend closer to me than you.”

Still.

If someone spots us now and assumes we’re dating, spreading that rumor through the academy…

That’d complicate things too.

Consider this killing two birds with one stone.

“By the way, why are you mixing casual and formal speech again? You said you only drop honorifics during se—… treatment.”

“I already use casual speech with Yozora, so it’d be uneven if I didn’t with you too.”

“That’s such a lazy excuse…! Then why not just use honorifics with Yozora too?! She’s the same age as me!”

“She wants to be spoken down to. What can I do?”

“I’m not a weirdo like Yozora, so I don’t want to be lowered to that level! I’m even using honorifics with you, someone younger…!”

…Anyway.

With our first mission accomplished, our next destination wasn’t another store—just our respective homes.

So, as we headed toward the subway station, I naturally knocked on Woo-jin’s shoulder a few times, raising my voice.

Me, doing something like this with guy—one I’m not even particularly close to—who’d have thought?

Yozora would be stunned. Even my sisters back home would gawk.

“Not even foxlike when you’re supposed to be a gumiho—what the hell changed?”

To avoid that kind of annoying question, I should probably keep this behavior limited to Woo-jin.

…Thinking about it.

Other than him, there really aren’t any guys I’d feel comfortable casually touching like this.

“…Well, thanks. For helping me.”

“I barely did anything worth thanking.”

“I said thanks. However it happened, you still helped.”

A basic courtesy, yes—but saying it sober is still cringe.

Still, best to get the awkwardness out fast before it festers. I fake-coughed.

My voice might’ve wobbled a bit from nerves, but thankfully, Woo-jin isn’t enough of a demon to mock me for it.

Instead—

“H-Hey… Why…?”

Mid-step on the busy street,

he bent slightly closer,

until warmth suddenly brushed my ear as he whispered:

“I don’t remember hearing thanks any other time. Just now?”

“…”

“Even after ‘treating’ you, you dodged gratitude then too.”

“…”

Illogically

infuriating.

“Y-You’re saying I never thanked you before?”

“Not that I can recall.”

Obviously, I had to deny it—but looking back… he’s not wrong.

The first time he “treated” me, I basically fled afterward.

And after the motel incident, I was too mortified to speak the entire way back.

Wait, is he seriously petty enough to keep a mental tally of this?

Halting briefly in the bustling crowd, I grabbed his sleeve to stop him.

…This is multitasking.

Since I’m already cringing from gratitude, might as well get all the humiliation over with at once.

And let time bury the shame.

No excuses about not hearing me.

Rising slightly onto my tiptoes—

“Th… Thanks for… treating me……. Happy now?”

—I whispered.

Just like he had.

“Which treatment?”

“…You know.”

“Which one, exactly?”

“…When I was in heat…”

“How did I treat you?”

“…”

“How. Did I. Treat you?”

“…”

…Coaxing me to say that word is annoying,

but he did help.

Consider this a reward.

Just this once.

Lowering my voice further—

“……Thanks for the sex…. You perverted bastard.”

—I whispered.

“Pfft…”

“…”

Even if no one in this crowded street cares what we’re saying,

I still know exactly what I just uttered.

Drowning in shame, I wanted to disappear.

“…Satisfied?”

“Sort of?”

“…I hate you…”

Releasing his sleeve, I watched him smooth the wrinkles absentmindedly.

Staring at his profile, I scanned our surroundings before adding sarcastically—

—better to shift topics than dwell on that humiliation.

“…So, is that really fun enough to juggle five women?”

“Fun…? Not sure. But it does feel good.”

“If it’s just about feeling good, why not cut back? Five is… too many.”

“Relationships aren’t that simple. Think it’s easy pruning people?”

“…Start with the ones you dislike… Or…”

“Then I’d drop you first. Down to four.”

“……”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

This guy.

Impossible.

What kind of childhood warped his values like this?

If something feels good, does that justify anything, no matter how vile?

Staring into Woo-jin’s dark eyes, I briefly considered lecturing him as his elder—

just ten seconds of life advice—

before he suddenly thrust a paper bag at me.

“Take it.”

“…”

…I was planning to scold him.

Really.

“I said take it.”

“…Why? Arm tired?”

“For you. The perfume.”

“…Huh?”

He’s giving it to me?

Unable to resist his persistence, I accepted it—but I still didn’t get it.

Sure, our meetup today was about humiliating Si-woo, but that didn’t make the gift purely theatrical.

He does have a girlfriend.

So why not give it to her…?

…

Him giving it to me means…

“That girlfriend of yours… was that a lie?”

“She exists. But randomly gifting her like this…”

“…”

“…I’d rather take her to the store so she can pick a scent she likes.”

“…”

“Take it. You liked this one too, remember?”

…Oh.

Just leftovers.

No ulterior motive.

Just basic consideration for his girlfriend.

“…How kind of you.”

For some reason,

that really irritated me.

It’s not like he’s treating me like some spare drawer, but…

…I don’t get it.

Just.

Didn’t sit right.