episode_0379

.

“Yeah, yeah. You were born pretty for once, so you should dress up a bit. Now you’re finally worth looking at. What should I say… fitting for a gumiho, maybe?”

“…This isn’t it. Something else.”

“Huh? What do you mean ‘isn’t it’? You look gorgeous.”

“…You can see through it.”

“That’s how you’re supposed to wear it. Never seen a sheer shirt before? Like this… with just enough bra showing for the vibe.”

“You’re not a rag, so why…”

“Ah, you look so good…! Or at least wear a cami— Hey, Baek Seo-yeon…!”

It definitely felt like we’d stepped out in broad daylight, but it was already evening.

Glancing briefly at the pitch-black sky outside the store, I sighed and picked up another outfit.

The weird clothes I’d just tried on in the fitting room were hastily handed off to Yozora.

Today was a golden weekend, so under normal circumstances, I’d be working out or relaxing at home by now.

But thanks to getting dragged around all day by this drunkard next to me, my head was pounding to the point of splitting.

…Sigh. Is she doing this because she’s bored too?

I didn’t mind much that we ended up sleeping together yesterday because she said she was tired,

but instead of going home, she’s just been recommending weird outfits nonstop…

If I hadn’t gotten caught up in Yozora’s mess with Seo Woo-jin, I wouldn’t have been dragged to this annoying place in the first place.

Vaguely recalling yesterday’s embarrassing events, I finally hung the clothes back up and turned to leave.

“Let’s go. I think we’ve picked out everything worth buying.”

“Seo-yeon, you’ve got money to spare, so don’t be stingy. Just one more—”

Ignoring Yozora’s grumbling behind me, I headed to the checkout.

I didn’t even know the details of the card I used—just that it was given to me by someone higher up—but I finished the payment and turned toward home.

“…….”

…Or at least, I tried to.

“What? What are you looking at?”

“…I don’t like it, but since you’ve had a rough day, I thought I’d at least buy you that.”

“‘That’ being… a dining bar?”

“It’s a place that sells expensive alcohol. Over there.”

Was it pity? Or just because she’s my friend…?

Not really sure myself, I pointed at the building next to us. Yozora, who had followed me out, started grinning playfully.

“Nah, I’m good. It’s not even a liquor store… Besides!”

“…Besides what?”

“I quit drinking, remember? Did I not tell you?”

If one of the unnis from the organization said they quit smoking, I’d at least try to believe them somehow.

But hearing those words from Yozora made even that effort feel stupid.

So I turned my whole body toward her and asked,

“You? Quit drinking? Since when?”

“Ah~ Well, I heard alcohol’s bad for the baby.”

“…….”

I already knew alcohol wasn’t good for babies.

Something about blood vessels constricting and nutrients not being delivered properly.

I think I heard that somewhere before.

But coming from Yozora, it just felt… off. For a moment, countless thoughts scattered like dandelion seeds in the wind.

…But for now, since it was Yozora saying it—

If it were anyone else, maybe not. But because it’s Yozora.

Because even now, she’s wearing that same playful smirk.

Rubbing my throbbing temples, I pressed further.

“…Are you pregnant?”

“Huh? With what?”

“…You know what I’m talking about.”

“Hmm~ What could you mean… Oh. A baby?”

“….”

“…What do you think?”

“Of course not. You love messing around with stuff like this.”

“Hmm~”

Was my reaction amusing to her? Yozora crossed her arms under her chest and toyed with her lips.

Just watching her made irritation creep up my spine.

…At this point, maybe I should just smack her a few times to get a straight answer.

But just as I was about to act on that thought—

“Sadly, not yet!”

“…….”

That short answer left me with too much to unpack.

But I held back, closing my eyes and exhaling slowly.

“Then why bring up a baby?”

“Because Woo-jin told me to cut back on drinking!”

“…What does that have to do with a baby?”

“It has everything to do with it! If Seo Woo-jin said that, doesn’t it mean he’s planning to knock me up soon and wants me to be ready?”

“…I’m an idiot for taking you seriously.”

“Pffft…”

Conversations with Yozora were always like this.

The moment I showed even the slightest interest, she’d just laugh and mess around.

So this time, too, I was only slightly—just slightly—worried. 99% of me didn’t believe her.

But this felt a bit excessive, so I added one last thing.

“…Just in case, let me say this. Until you graduate—no, until you get kicked out—don’t even think about it.”

“Why? You wanna be like those devoted gumiho wives too? Guarding your ‘husband’?”

“People will look at you weird if your belly starts showing, so don’t.”

“Hmph… I know that much. I’ve been taking my pills regularly.”

“…….”

“Stop looking at me like that. I hate being abandoned after doing whatever I want even more, okay? Because of my record?”

“…….”

“Ugh, damn it…! I’m on birth control…! Why are you staring at me like I’m some dumb mutt…!”

…How much of that should I even believe?

I really don’t know.

…Ah, fuck.

This is Baek Seo-yeon.

It’s definitely her.

Not just the tone, but the—

The way she clears her throat, the little pauses when she’s annoyed in the student council room.

This voice in the recording is a dead ringer for hers.

“Fucking slut, sex partner… doing shit like this…”

When I’m nice, she acts like she couldn’t care less.

When I’m an asshole, she acts like I’m disgusting.

Just how much time has she spent with the health teacher…

…And now there’s another sex partner added to the mix.

How the hell—

How the hell can she let out such a vulgar voice like this?

…Judging by how blatantly this was recorded,

it seems Baek Seo-yeon, that stupid bitch, doesn’t even realize she’s being recorded.

Thud, thud—mixed with the sounds in the background, it’s probably from being railed hard from behind…

Picking up the phone without permission, pressing record.

Holding her hips tight.

Cumming, fucking—

“…Fuck…”

Acting all high and mighty, but she’s just a dumb whore.

Just imagining the scene from the sounds coming through the phone made my legs tremble, and I ended up spilling again.

It’s not that I get off on Baek Seo-yeon getting fucked by someone else.

Of course, the fact that he took her first pisses me off beyond belief.

…But, how should I put it?

Both of them—that bastard and that bitch—are so fucking disgusting.

I just want to kill them.

…But.

Ah,

fuck, I don’t even know.

The more I try to think it through, the more I feel like a pathetic loser.

A total fucking idiot.

“Hah… Ugh…”

Maybe it’s because I’ve jerked off at least ten times today, from lunchtime till night, to nothing but Baek Seo-yeon’s voice.

Pounding my chest with a fist to calm my lungs and heart, which feel like they’re about to explode, I collapsed onto the bed without even pulling up my underwear.

Baek Seo-yeon.mp3

I never thought this recording, sent from an unknown KakaoTalk account, would actually arrive.

When I called Baek Seo-yeon, she hung up immediately, so I thought she was ignoring me.

…But she sent it.

I was so pissed I almost spread it everywhere.

But the timing’s not right.

“…….”

Anyway, this is… a deal, I guess?

If I just keep my mouth shut,

the health teacher will send me stuff like this occasionally.

That’s the gist of it.

…He even said he might send videos later if I’m interested.

I doubted it at first, but seeing how easily he sent the audio…

Maybe he wasn’t just bluffing…

“…….”

I know, logically.

Instead of this bullshit, I’d be better off finding some girl who’s into me and fooling around.

I know, logically.

Instead of this bullshit, I’d be better off finding a girl as pretty as Baek Seo-yeon and making a move.

I know, logically.

Being hung up on a girl who’s already been fucked by another guy is the epitome of loser behavior.

Unless I’m some idiot who can’t even do basic math, I’m not this clueless.

“…Ah, I should shower… Ugh…”

…I don’t know.

Whatever.

I’ve already wasted the whole day like this.

Maybe there’s something novel about it, but

I don’t know.

And I don’t want to admit it.

To dryly describe my current state:

A loser who got the girl he liked stolen by some other guy’s sex partner, then spent the whole day jerking off to a recording that bastard sent.

…And who’s about to shove earbuds back in, turn the volume up, and jerk off to that recording again.

That’s me.

About a week had passed since Ha-yun revealed her relationship with the health teacher.

During that time, I’d been on edge—waiting for some bad rumor about Seo Woo-jin to surface or for something unfortunate to happen to Ha-yun. But nothing came of it.

Of course, they were just a normal couple.

When they crossed paths in the hallway, Ha-yun’s friends would excitedly call the teacher over before she could react, or they’d drag her to him themselves. That kind of thing.

Eventually, even mundane sightings trickled in—like the two of them sitting side by side on a bench, talking.

By now, the news that “the health teacher has a girlfriend” had probably spread to other grades, but that didn’t concern me.

All I wanted was for Ha-yun, who was experiencing her first love, to continue her relationship with Seo Woo-jin without trouble.

…And if I’m being a little greedy, I also hope that from now on, Seo Woo-jin will truly devote himself to Ha-yun alone.

That they won’t end up like me and Baek Ji-ho—a married couple whose sparks have long since fizzled out.

In that sense, I’d been living my academy life lately like an extra watching the male and female leads of a romance novel experience their first love.

“Ah, now that I think about it, isn’t it coming up soon? It’s almost the end of May.”

“What is?”

While playing with the ever-adorable Ha-yun as usual,

the voices of my friends chatting at their desks reached me.

“The festival. I think it was around this time last year too.”

“Ah~ Maybe? I don’t really pay attention to that stuff.”

“Ugh, you never leave your house…! Every time I tell you to get some sun, you’ve got a new excuse—Netflix, YouTube, Watcha…!”

“They’re all fun, what can I do…? Oh, speaking of, I heard there’s a good new anime on Netflix…”

Now that you mention it, it’s about that time again.

…The festival.

Last year was pretty fun.

Since it’s the academy, there were a lot of unique events.

“Speaking of, they’ve got boyfriends now, so they probably won’t hang with us. And now even Ha-yun’s betrayed us…”

“…Ahaha…”

…Will this year be fun too?