episode_0312

.

“I-I’m going to the restroom!”

To be honest, I didn’t actually need to go.

I just needed an excuse to get out of there immediately.

If saying I was going to the restroom had sounded awkward, I might’ve said I was going to order some food instead.

Or maybe that I’d go borrow another manga.

…Now that I think about it, the manga excuse would’ve been the best.

That way, even if I stayed out for a while, it wouldn’t seem strange.

But either way, once the words were out, there was no taking them back.

Pushing aside the curtain and stepping out, I began wandering around, searching for the universally recognized pink restroom pictogram since I couldn’t remember what “restroom” was in Korean.

Luckily, I spotted the pictogram in the far corner of the hallway.

No reason to hesitate.

Cough, cough. For some reason, I cleared my throat and walked toward the restroom, leaving the private room behind.

“…Ugh.”

Maybe because the path was narrow. As I turned sideways, my hip bumped into something.

I wasn’t sure what, but it was probably a bookshelf.

I get that it’s part of the decor, but in such a tight space, they could’ve at least moved it aside.

Rubbing the sore spot as I walked, I bumped into something again.

But unlike before, this time it was soft. It didn’t even hurt.

When I looked, there was a girl in a school uniform standing in front of me.

Her makeup was heavy—if I had to describe it in Korean, it was similar to what they call an “iljin” (delinquent).

But calling her a “gyaru” (gal) didn’t quite fit since she didn’t have that sleazy, promiscuous vibe.

Being around the same height as a girl in a school uniform—no, slightly shorter—was humiliating, but I bowed slightly and apologized anyway.

This kind of etiquette is practically ingrained in a Japanese person’s DNA, so I could do it effortlessly, regardless of the humiliation.

That said, I cursed a little in my head.

Where did she even come from?

Was she walking toward me from the other side?

Then why didn’t I see her?

It’s all because Seo Jin said those weird things earlier…

If only he hadn’t said that.

If only he hadn’t hugged me from behind.

Then I wouldn’t have had to run out like this… and so on.

The silent complaints didn’t last long.

Maybe she thought it was her fault too, because she apologized to me, and that was the end of it.

Not a bad kid, I guess.

Letting out an unnecessary sigh, I glanced at the sunset through the café window before stepping into the restroom.

“……”

Checking the time, I realized I’d have to part ways with Seo Jin soon.

Lost in thought, I turned the faucet handle upward.

Hanging out like this normally is… kind of fun, in its own way.

Lost in thought, I ran my pale fingers under the clear stream of water.

That thing pressing against my butt earlier… It was so hard.

Lost in thought, I let the water that had wet my hands drain down the sink.

…He said he likes a somewhat lively personality.

What did he mean by that?

Lost in thought, I rinsed my wet hands again.

Was there ever a girl like that around Seo Jin?

Su-chan is quieter than she looks.

Seo-yeon is just irritable all the time—not exactly what you’d call lively.

And Ji-yoon, that girl just sleeps all day—hardly seems bright and cheerful.

If I exclude all of them, the only one left is…

Rummaging through my memories, I turned the faucet off.

“……Haa…”

The face reflected in the mirror.

Embarrassed by my own expression.

I shook my head side to side.

312

“…Huh? Where’d he go?”

After roughly drying my hands on my pants and returning, the person who should’ve been there was gone.

The blanket we’d been sharing was pushed to one side.

The cushion we’d been using as a pillow was crumpled in a way that made it obvious someone had been lying there.

Only one thing was missing.

Seo Jin.

The pervert who only cares about girls—the one who just said something weird to me.

Whispering his name like I was calling a dog, I took a few cautious steps back and scanned the café.

But everyone was just enjoying their own cheerful atmospheres—no sign of Seo Jin, or even anyone who looked like him.

Did he run off while I was gone?

Or maybe, like the excuse I’d thought of earlier, he went to order a quick snack.

Surely he didn’t go looking for manga.

As I looked around, something caught my eye.

None other than a modern-day essential—a smartphone.

…Well, at least this means he probably didn’t run away.

Spotting Seo Jin’s phone placed near the wall, I crawled on all fours toward it.

The soft blanket that had been haphazardly tossed aside pressed firmly under my hands and knees.

“……”

And then, a tiny spark of curiosity.

Tapping the black screen with just a clock displayed, a notification predictably popped up, asking for a fingerprint.

Just in case, I tried mine—of course, it didn’t work.

Just in case, I tried entering my birthday as the password—of course, it didn’t work.

…Not like I expected it to.

But still, when the obvious happened, I felt…

A little.

Just a little disappointed.

Whatever.

It’s only natural.

No way my birthday would be his password.

He probably doesn’t even know when my birthday is.

If it were Seo Jin, it’d be something simple like 0000 or…

“…Huh?”

It unlocked.

Stunned by how easily the lock gave way, I instinctively knelt properly in place.

Okay, think calmly.

Seo Jin will probably be back soon.

If I mess with it now, I’ll get caught and scolded, right?

So maybe I should just keep this little secret for now and use it another time when a similar situation comes up?

“…”

The logical train of thought stopped right there and backtracked slightly.

If I mess with it now, I’ll get caught.

Then Seo Jin might scold me…

…But getting scolded by him…

I really like that…

Besides, it’s partly his fault for leaving his phone here in the first place…

Earlier, when Seo Jin hugged me.

The thing pressing against my butt was so hard, like he was full of thoughts about sex.

It wasn’t a dream.

It was really…

So hard.

Honestly,

It was like…

…he was in heat.

“…”

So…

Just a little.

Really, just a little…

I took a moment to get some air.

Not literally—I didn’t go outside.

Just walking through the paper-scented aisles to calm my mind.

Unlike the cozy “café” area, the deeper section was filled with tall bookshelves, making it feel like stepping into a small library or forest.

Glancing at the categories hanging from the ceiling, I headed toward the section labeled “romance manga” without much thought.

Along the way, a girl who looked about a first-year in high school hesitated to pass by, so I carefully stepped aside.

Too much had collapsed because of Yozora’s actions earlier.

Cognitive dissonance, or something like that.

That must be the reason.

The Yozora I knew was like this.

She was supposed to be like this.

But now, she kept doing things differently, making it hard to keep up.

Even if she’d changed a bit from the past, if it was something I could understand, it wouldn’t have mattered.

That she had a rape fetish was easy to accept—it didn’t bother me.

That one explanation made it possible to understand all the bullying she’d done over the past ten years.

Even when I enjoyed her body, I didn’t think much of it.

If she just kept her mouth shut, Yozora’s looks were exactly my type, and she happened to want me too.

There were no complicated emotions tangled up in it.

Unlike the girls I had to slowly break down by pretending to be kind, this was more like instant food—something we both agreed on.

But now, with unfamiliar romantic feelings mixed in…

I don’t know how to treat her anymore.

Maybe like Han Sua.

Or Lee Ha-yoon or Lee Ji-yoon.

…Putting aside the awkwardness of dating someone who used to feel like a little sister.

If I treat her that kindly,

Will Yozora—with her rape fetish—

Actually like it?

Doubt after doubt spiraled in my head.

So many that I couldn’t keep track—some fading, some resurfacing.

Endlessly.

“Sigh…”

Never thought I’d be agonizing over Yozora like this.

Just in case, I skimmed through a few embarrassingly cheesy manga before putting them all back and returning to the private room.

Seeing the borrowed slippers placed outside the entrance, it seemed Yozora had already come back.

Maybe she did the same thing I did in the restroom.

With that brief thought, I slid the curtain aside.

There, kneeling quietly with her back to me, was a figure that—

If not for the kimono—would’ve fit right in at a tea ceremony or calligraphy class.

An unexpectedly un-Yozora-like sight.

“…What are you doing, Yozora?”

“Eeek…?!”

“Hey, what the—”

As I lifted the curtain slightly with the back of my hand and spoke, the composed Yozora let out a shriek like she’d been startled.

Every eye in the café turned toward us.

Thankfully, after I mouthed a quick “sorry” and bowed slightly, people soon lost interest and went back to their own business.

Letting out a deep sigh at the sudden embarrassment,

I slid the curtain aside again and looked at Yozora.

“Why’d you scream all of a sudden?”

“Ah, um, well… It’s nothing…”

Clearly, it was something.

So when I glanced around her, I spotted a smartphone with its screen off lying in front of her.

None other than my phone.

Now I had a rough idea of what happened.

Was it 1111 or 0000?

The thought crossed my mind that my backup password for when the fingerprint scanner failed was just four repeating digits.

“So you were snooping through my phone while I was gone.”

“N-no, I wasn’t…”

“Whatever. If you admit it now, I won’t say anything. It’s not even worth scolding over.”

“……”

“Were you?”

“……”

Yozora kept glancing at me without answering.

From my perspective, I was trying to lighten the mood—like it wasn’t a big deal—but her overly serious expression was kind of funny.

Like a cat that just knocked over a stack of dishes.

Not like there’d be anything interesting in my phone anyway—it’s basically just a KakaoTalk machine.

If there’d been some funny search history, I could’ve teased her with it, but I don’t really use my phone for that stuff.

So I took off my slippers and reached to pick up the phone—

“…?”

“…”

Yozora, still kneeling, cautiously grabbed my arm.

“…Hey, um…”

“What?”

“…That kind of mark you leave behind… Do you like it?”

“……”

Now I definitely knew what she’d been looking at.