episode_0388

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A bustling festival is just that—a festival.

For students who’ve experienced what it feels like to be chosen by others, keeping up with their studies still takes precedence.

To them, the joyful sounds outside are nothing more than noise, like the buzzing of cicadas.

This is especially true for second-year students, who are starting to see their future paths take shape, and third-years, who can’t help but compare themselves with their peers.

Among them, the only ones who can thoughtlessly enjoy the festival are those with either the highest or the absolute lowest grades.

So the middling students—those stuck in the ambiguous middle—are sweating bullets right now, striving for their futures…

And in that regard, I’m not much different from Ha-yoon, who hesitated this morning when I asked her to spar.

“Wait—hold on, Da-bin. Let’s stop here.” “…Oh, okay.” “Ugh… My legs are numb after going at it all morning… You okay?” “I’m tired too… Want me to grab you some water, Ha-yoon?” “Mmm…”

Of course, I’m luckier than most—my talent puts me in a better position than those fighting tooth and nail in the mid-tier ranks.

After all, over the break, I confirmed that my skills place me solidly in the upper-mid tier, brushing against the upper echelon.

But my written scores are still inconsistent, and against Ha-yoon—who’s grown frighteningly adept at controlling her strength—I can clearly feel the gap.

And above all, the fact that I’m drenched in cold sweat right now means I’m not that different from them.

…This headache is killing me.

“Thanks… Ugh, this is exhausting…” “….”

I pause to tuck my disheveled hair behind my ear, mussed from sparring with Ha-yoon.

Then, deciding to just re-tie it altogether, I let my hair down and flicked my fingers, shooting a glance at Ha-yoon sprawled beside me.

Last night, I saw that.

Well, more accurately, heard it.

The sound of Ha-yoon having sex with Seo Woo-jin—and her younger sister.

If I were some rigid, close-minded person, holding a normal conversation with Ha-yoon would’ve been impossible. Thankfully, I’m not that uptight.

To put it into perspective, it’s like finding out a friend is gay by accident?

When a female underclassman I used to be close with confessed to me, I was about this flustered too.

…Back then, I brushed it off by saying I had a boyfriend and comforting her, but this isn’t about me—it’s someone else’s business.

I know blurting out something like, “Doing that with your sister? Are you insane?” would just make me a nosy outsider.

And honestly, from what I overheard, the three of them seemed to be getting along just fine.

So really, the only thing left to say is: Don’t get caught.

I did consider phrasing it in some roundabout way so even this clueless dunce Ha-yoon would get it…

But unfortunately, I’m hopeless when it comes to subtlety.

With my boyfriend, with my friends—I’ve always been blunt. That’s just how I am.

I can’t change my personality.

So in the end, the only option is to do what I thought about yesterday: march up to Seo Woo-jin and say something like, “Stop fucking around in public.”

But I can’t just text him and call it a day.

When the hell would even be a good time to bring this up?

How do I naturally get Woo-jin alone…?

“…….”

One vague idea comes to mind.

Should I try it?

Just… test the waters.

“…Oww. I think I sprained my finger…? Or strained it…? Ow…” “Huh? Seriously? You okay?”

Ugh, damn it. …My acting is so awkward.

The moment I said it, I could feel my ears burning red, but luckily, Ha-yoon didn’t seem to notice.

She’d been lying sprawled on the floor, catching her breath, but shot up in alarm when I mentioned getting hurt.

Guilt pricked at me for the blatant lie, but it’s all for Ha-yoon’s sake in the end.

I swallowed it down and kept going.

“I’m fine. This kind of thing happens all the time.” “But you barely ever get hurt, Da-bin… Let me take a look. Left hand?” “H-Here… My right.” “Right? But you’re right-handed… We should get you to Woo—I mean, the infirmary…” “It’s just a little strain, so it doesn’t hurt that much…”

If I’d said I sprained my ankle, Ha-yoon might’ve helped me there herself.

A severe enough injury, and she’d accompany me all the way to the infirmary.

What I needed was something painful enough to warrant a visit, but not so bad Ha-yoon had to come along.

So I went with a finger sprain—playing along as the situation unfolded, flashing an awkward smile.

For now, I had to reassure Ha-yoon.

“You should still hurry. What if it gets worse?” “Well, lunch is coming up… Maybe I should go quickly?” “Obviously! Should I call Woo-jin? Ask him to come here real quick?” “No-no-no! I’d feel bad bothering him… I’ll just go. You go shower first, okay? I-I don’t need help walking or anything.” “Hmm… Maybe…? It’s almost lunch anyway…” “Yeah. Get cleaned up. This’ll get sorted fast anyway, right?” “…Okay. I’ll be showering, so hurry back, yeah?”

Nod-nod.

Putting on my best smile, I nodded and left the training hall under Ha-yoon’s worried gaze.

“…Haah…….”

…Yeah.

Lying is hard.

Especially to someone you care about.

Past the training center and the fountain, I soon reached the main building.

A finger sprain? Please. Wiggling my perfectly fine fingers, I stepped into the first-floor hallway.

The principal—some once-famous hero—must’ve dumped serious money into this place. It’s so pristine, I hesitate to walk in with even slightly dirty shoes.

No wonder someone rare like Seo Woo-jin, a healing-type Transcendent, is stuck in a role as trivial as school nurse (relative to his abilities, of course).

Probably lured here by an insane salary or something.

Like that Saintess girl.

For a second, I recalled the news—some other young healing-type whose value was tossed around in billions, even trillions, with pundits arguing she couldn’t just vanish into some U.S. office like last time—GDP-level numbers thrown around casually.

Clearing my throat, I stopped in front of the infirmary door.

It’s tucked away in a more secluded spot than I remembered from my few visits.

“Come in.”

A knock later, a familiar voice called from inside.

A low, languid tone layered with deliberate politeness.

If this guy were half as famously pure-hearted as that kid, I wouldn’t even be here.

With idle thoughts, I twisted the doorknob.

Luckily, Woo-jin was alone.

Shouldn’t be hard to get this over with.

“What brings you here?” “Mind if lock the door for a sec?” “…Huh?” “…?”

Huh? Really?

I frowned at his odd reaction when Woo-jin belatedly continued.

“Why do you suddenly want to lock the door?” “…….”

Getting ahead of myself and skipping steps—an old habit.

Right, right.

So, as if nothing happened, I ahem-ed twice, resetting the mood, before sitting on a patient’s chair and speaking up.

(Oh, and I locked the door—just in case—without waiting for permission.)

“So, remember when we met over the weekend?” “…We did, yes?”

Woo-jin glanced away, as if recalling, before offering a pleasant smile.

I stared at him, fiddling with my gym jacket, then cleared my throat again.

If I blurted out, “I heard you guys having sex,” the next question would be, “How?”

Because he would’ve been careful—ensuring no one noticed his little escapade.

Which would mean admitting I’d been stalking all three of them.

Eavesdropping while clinging to a building’s exterior isn’t exactly normal, and the last thing I want is this pervert thinking I’m some creepy voyeur.

(Not that I’d ever say that out loud.)

So I settled on this:

Repackage what I know from last night as something I figured out through observation.

Something like:

Last time we met, I heard a buzzing sound from Ha-yoon—was that a vibrator or something?

You’d use that in front of her sister? What’s your deal with Ji-yoon?

Are you three in some kind of… arrangement?

If even I noticed, you should be more careful.

There might be minor logical gaps, but if I say it confidently, he’ll probably let it slide.

Besides, I’m not here to blackmail him—just to warn him. No reason for him to nitpick.

“I was going to bring this up that day, but… Sigh…” “…Is something wrong?”

Is something wrong?

That slight condescension made “You’re a fucking degenerate who sleeps with sisters” rise to my throat, but I swallowed it.

He has to know why I’m bringing this up—yet he’s still playing dumb.

Annoying.

Should I call it slippery or snake-like…?

Part of me wants to drag him to the training hall and kick him around until he gets it, but I cooled my temper for Ha-yoon’s sake.

“Are you really asking because you don’t know?” “…I’m not sure what you’re referring to.” “It hasn’t even been a month.” “I’m the type who forgets what I ate for dinner last night. Did I… do something wrong back then?”

Now that he mentions it, I don’t remember last night’s dinner either.

…No, no. Can’t let his nonsense derail me.

Hmm…

My gut says he’s deflecting on purpose…

“Not wrong, just…”

…Ugh, whatever.

If this drags on, Ha-yoon might get suspicious. Time to just say it.

“…You did something weird. In front of me and Ji-yoon. With Ha-yoon… Something weird.” “…….”

At this point, he has to get it.

Unless he does this daily, that day in the shopping district—activating Ha-yoon’s toy—would’ve been memorable.

And thankfully, Woo-jin seemed to finally catch on.

The smile faded as he stared at me. …Yeah, definitely.

“…You knew?” “Not knowing would make you an idiot… No, a moron. Who wouldn’t notice a weird toy like—” “Stop, stop. Someone might hear… Sigh…” “…….”

He moved to cover my mouth but stopped, likely realizing how rude that’d be.

I watched his flustered expression—uncharacteristic—as he scratched the back of his neck with a sigh. Then, I drummed my fist on the desk.

“I debated saying anything, but if I didn’t, you’d probably pull this crap in front of others too.” “…” “…First, answer this. What’s your relationship with Ji-yoon?” “…” “…Keeping quiet doesn’t change anything. You were literally using a vibrator on Ha-yoon in front of her. You think I’d buy ‘nothing’s going on’?” “…Haah… Fine, I’ll explain. Just…”

To summarize Woo-jin’s ensuing explanation:

A successful love triangle.

Exactly what I’d guessed—100%.

Ji-yoon and Ha-yoon both have feelings for Woo-jin, both gave permission for this arrangement, and Woo-jin—being the irredeemable pervert he is—naturally agreed.

Sure. These things happen.

I get it.

Doesn’t mean I approve, though.

“Can we keep this between us…?” “That’s the plan. Did you miss the part where I said I came here so you wouldn’t do this in public? If I wanted to expose you, I’d have told Ha-yoon about your other partner first… Just stop. It’s obvious.”

Anyway.

This’ll do.

Frustrating that he was this oblivious, but at least I said my piece.

He won’t pull this in public again.

Satisfied, I was about to leave when—

“…….”

…Now that I think about it.

I’m giving all and getting nothing.

Feels… unsatisfying.

“…Hey. Seo Woo-jin.” “Yes?” “Since we’re here… I’d like something in return.”

Honestly, as someone in a decade-long relationship, this is embarrassing—

“…Can I ask you something?” “Of course. Anything I can answer…” “Anything, you said.” “Yes.” “Then don’t laugh.” “…Okay.”

It’s just the two of us here.

And Woo-jin—with his experience—should know more about this stuff.

So, calmly.

Like it’s no big deal, I asked:

“…What do most guys…” “Yes. Guys.” “…want their girlfriends to do for them?” “…Huh?” “Well, more precisely… What counts as ‘couple-like behavior’?” “‘Couple-like behavior’…” “You and Ha-yoon seem really close. I wanted to… learn a thing or two.” “…This might be rude, but did you fight with your boyfriend recently?” “No. Not a fight… Well, we bicker daily, but nothing serious… More like… a rut. That kind of thing.” “…” “Ah, keep this from Baek Ji-ho, okay? …It’s embarrassing.”