episode_0330

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[Seol Da-bin]

– Hey.

– You and Ha-yoon.

– Weren’t you two secretly dating?

Just a while ago, I had sent Lee Ha-yoon a text saying that hiding our relationship any longer would be too difficult.

The excuse I used was none other than Yozora.

The gist of it was that rather than letting someone cling to her so intimately like Yozora did, wouldn’t it be better to just say we were dating?

At first, given Ha-yoon’s personality, she hesitated out of embarrassment, but after a little more persuasion, she relented easily—and that was the end of that conversation.

So, my initial plan was to catch Seol Da-bin’s attention by openly showing how close Ha-yoon and I were from now on… or so I thought.

Judging by the text I just received, simply admitting we were dating already seems to have had quite the effect.

I hadn’t expected her to bite this quickly.

[Seo Woo-jin]

– Did I ever say we were secretly dating?

– I just hid it because you said you were too embarrassed to tell anyone.

The drowsy afternoon hours from lunchtime until dismissal.

With a new source of entertainment to liven up the otherwise tedious time, I leaned back comfortably in my chair until it creaked.

The rusty squeaking of old metal blended with the cicadas’ cries drifting in from outside, filling the infirmary.

[Seol Da-bin]

– Then you know you have to be more careful now, right?

– Since all of Ha-yoon’s friends know you two are dating.

[Seo Woo-jin]

– Careful about what?

– You want me to memorize her friends’ faces or something?

[Seol Da-bin]

– Don’t play dumb.

– You.

– Have a partner.

– Don’t you?

– Even while dating Ha-yoon.

Staring at the halting, fragmented texts, I wiped my lips and exhaled.

Back then, I thought I had defused the situation by saying I’d focus entirely on Ha-yoon.

Is Seol Da-bin still suspecting I’m seeing someone behind her back?

It wasn’t exactly a lie, so I didn’t feel wronged, but acting too carefree might seem suspicious, so I put on a moderately serious act.

Not quite angry, but enough to seem stern.

[Seo Woo-jin]

– I’m not seeing anyone else anymore.

– Didn’t I tell you that last time?

[Seol Da-bin]

– You never know.

– You might be hiding it extra carefully now to avoid getting caught.

– If you’re really innocent, can you show me your phone?

– Let me check your messages or gallery?

[Seo Woo-jin]

– I’ll show you, so come down and see for yourself.

[Seol Da-bin]

– Never mind.

– Even if I went now, you’d have already deleted everything. What’s the point?

Then why did you even ask—

I erased the half-typed sentence.

As I glared at her message, already anticipating my response, another text arrived before I could reply.

Now that I think about it, she types pretty fast.

[Seol Da-bin]

– Hey.

– Since we’re past formalities, I’ll be honest.

[Seo Woo-jin]

– Okay.

[Seol Da-bin]

– I’ve kept everything a secret from Ha-yoon so far, you know?

– I heard this is her first relationship, and I didn’t want her getting hurt by some pervert like you.

– But if I just stay quiet without saying anything…

– I don’t think that’s right.

This isn’t good.

From the first message until now, nothing but negativity has come from her. There’s no way anything good would follow.

Maybe she’s planning to subtly push me and Ha-yoon to break up behind the scenes.

Or maybe she’ll try to force us apart, even if it’s unnatural.

…If Ha-yoon and I had a normal relationship, I’d have told her to mind her own business and get lost.

But since I don’t have that option, I quickly pondered what to say to keep Seol Da-bin from spiraling further.

[Seol Da-bin]

– So, meet me for a bit today.

– Around 6 or 7.

– Are you free?

– If not, we can meet another day.

The new message under her name was a suggestion that stoked unnecessary imagination.

[Seo Woo-jin]

– You want to meet me?

[Seol Da-bin]

– Yeah. Later.

I swallowed the honest desire to say, “So you’re suggesting we do something bad behind Ha-yoon and your boyfriend’s backs?” and tapped my phone screen instead.

To ask what she planned to do when we met.

But before I could, another message popped up, drawing my attention.

[Seol Da-bin]

– There are things to check. Things to teach you.

– Oh, and things to control.

[Seo Woo-jin]

– I’ll let the rest slide, but what do you mean by ‘control’?

[Seol Da-bin]

– I’ll tell you when we meet.

– If I tell you now, you might not come.

– Anyway, are you free?

[Seo Woo-jin]

– If you put it like that, I can’t refuse, can I?

– Besides, you said it yourself—you’d keep an eye on me for now.

[Seol Da-bin]

– I was keeping an eye on you, but I can’t take the anxiety anymore, so here we are.

– And right now, I’m the one with something explosive to drop.

– Ha-yoon’s right next to me, by the way.

…There’s something suspicious about this, but—

I couldn’t throw away the chance to meet and talk with Seol Da-bin over something so trivial.

In the end, half-coerced, I agreed to the meeting and turned off my phone.

After that, nothing else happened.

Baek Seo-yeon, who had promised to explain things after school, had disappeared somewhere, but that was it.

I went home without incident, rested for a bit, and then hurried to the meeting spot to avoid being late.

As a result, I arrived at the subway station in a certain downtown area—our meeting place—just before 7:15 PM.

Stepping onto the escalator, I tapped the rubber handrail with my index finger and turned on my phone.

I had already cleaned up most of the traces inside at home.

All suspicious chat logs were deleted.

The numerous videos Han Su-a sent were stored on my computer.

Same with the photos Yozora had taken herself.

I double-checked to make sure I hadn’t missed anything, but nothing stood out.

At this point, even if Seol Da-bin forcibly took my phone and combed through it, she wouldn’t find anything strange.

Taking a slow breath, I slipped my phone into my crossbody bag.

“Haa…”

Seol Da-bin.

At first, I was just interested because she was pretty, but now, it’s more like stubborn determination.

Part of me wants to see just how far she’ll go to be a pain in the ass.

What would it feel like to break a girl so righteous?

What would it feel like if she ended up just like the person she despises so much?

I have some dark desires I’d never admit to, after all.

Besides, Seol Da-bin is one of the heroes who becomes fairly famous later—not quite at Lee Ji-yoon or Han Su-a’s level, but still notable.

Even if there’s a chance I might lose her, I still want to try.

Lost in thought, I reached the end of the escalator.

Stepping out into the cool evening breeze, I looked around for the meeting spot Seol Da-bin had mentioned.

Something about a weird art piece in front of a hamburger franchise.

Assuming it was the thing I saw nearby, I strode forward—and soon spotted a familiar face among the ordinary crowd.

A girl with crimson-red hair, looking rude as she stared at her phone with her hands stuffed in her pockets.

Maybe it’s because I’ve seen Yozora so much lately, but she seems taller than I expected.

Probably slightly over 170 cm.

With her naturally good figure, I could practically feel the glances from the guys around her.

Well, not like I’m any different, honestly.

I’d love to gouge out their eyes one by one, but I don’t have the power for that.

Settling for imaginary retribution, I walked toward her.

Until our long evening shadows lightly touched.

“Where’s your boyfriend?”

“…Huh? You’re here already?”

“Better early than late.”

“Hmm…”

Shrugging lightly, I spoke, and Seol Da-bin looked up at me with an indecipherable noise.

At first, I thought she was complimenting me for arriving early, but it didn’t seem like that.

Her gaze was more… intrigued that I’d come at all.

Like she’d expected me to be late.

Well, that’s an unavoidable assessment, so I took it in stride.

“He’s at home. I couldn’t bring him here when he doesn’t know anything.”

“You said you’d keep it a secret, but I guess that includes your boyfriend too.”

“If word got out by accident, it’d be bad… Anyway, good job not being late.”

Seol Da-bin nodded a few times in satisfaction.

“Anyway, let me see your phone first.”

“Earlier, you said there was no point since I’d have deleted everything.”

“Seeing it with my own eyes still means something.”

“…”

“I’m not trying to invade your privacy. I’ll just check if you’re messaging other girls. Still don’t like it?”

“…Here.”

I expected this much.

Sighing as if troubled, I handed over my phone, and Seol Da-bin muttered, “I’ll just look at the names,” as she scrolled with her thumb.

Too bad.

No matter how hard she looks now, all she’ll find are texts from a few teachers and Lee Ha-yoon.

“Can I have it back when you’re done?”

“…Here. You really aren’t messaging anyone. …I honestly doubted you.”

“So all your suspicions are gone now?”

“…That, well, I’ll have to keep checking. You might’ve just deleted everything.”

“…”

“Anyway, take it. Why do you use such a heavy phone…?”

Though she still seemed suspicious, her tone was oddly polite as she held out my phone.

Taking it back, I continued.

“I assume the ‘things to check’ were this. What about the rest?”

She mentioned things to teach me and things to control.

At my question, Seol Da-bin’s gray eyes flicked toward me.

Followed by a small cough.

“…The ‘control’ part, well, since nothing came up on your phone, I’ll let it slide.”

“Okay.”

“The remaining thing was, uh, teaching you, right?”

“Probably.”

After clearing her throat a few more times, Seol Da-bin gestured somewhere in the downtown area with her eyes and pursed her lips.

“I’ll tell you what Ha-yoon likes when she hangs out with friends, so follow me.”

“…”

“Y-You can use it for dates. To make Ha-yoon happy. Don’t you get it?”

For some reason, it reminded me of a topic I’d asked someone about months ago.