episode_0571

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Saturday and Sunday—two full days.

Though combined, it was a very long 48 hours, spending all of it solely on sex was, of course, impossible.

So, the thoroughly embarrassing time was limited to Saturday.

By Sunday, when the sun rose again, we weren’t completely absorbed in sex.

Instead, slightly more intellectual conversations took center stage.

“…How did you and Seo Woojin end up in this kind of relationship?”

“Well, I thought you wouldn’t really be interested in this sort of thing, sunbae…”

In the kitchen, where the bubbling kimchi jjigae made delicious sounds as it simmered, my sunbae—who had been lightly tasting the broth with a ladle and a small plate—paused briefly before continuing.

“Just because.”

“Huh?”

“Call it the red string of fate, or something like that. Would that sound better?”

“Umm…”

“Not that I’m blindly believing in it or anything… but… it just happened this way.”

Was she talking about the kind of thing you see in manga or novels?

At any rate, it was probably best to take it as love at first sight.

Honestly, whether it was Seo Woojin—who was currently finishing up his shower—or my sunbae—wearing an adorably mismatched apron—they were both such good-looking people…

It was a scenario with a high probability of happening.

No need to overthink it.

Still, it wasn’t a perfect answer—more like a slightly off-kilter 70-point response.

So, I asked about the part that felt off.

“Sunbae, then… have you always been interested in men… or something like that?”

“Men?”

“I mean, like… …… what we just did earlier.”

“…Ah, you’re asking if I’ve always been very interested in sex, or something like that.”

“……”

Hearing the word “sex” from my sunbae’s mouth—I still wasn’t used to it.

Honestly, if I exaggerated a bit, it felt like watching a clean-cut celebrity on TV suddenly spewing vulgar language right in front of me.

But my sunbae didn’t seem to care about my reaction at all and answered plainly.

“I was interested. I just never felt the necessity to do it.”

“……Hmm.”

So, in other words, she was only interested in sex for the sake of maintaining the continuity of the species?

To pass on genetic traits and contribute to biological preservation?

Was that the kind of meaning she was implying?

“……”

…But earlier, during sex, she seemed to be enjoying herself a lot.

And when Seo Woojin tried to have sex with me, she seemed a little… jealous.

It really, really didn’t seem like she lacked necessity.

The events from about two hours ago flashed in my mind, but I didn’t bring it up.

It seemed more like she had never felt the need until one day, after experiencing it with Seo Woojin, she became completely hooked.

So, I just nodded along, pretending to understand…

“…Then, sunbae, there’s one last thing I want to ask…”

“What is it?”

Seo Woojin still hadn’t come out of the bathroom.

Conscious of him, I hesitated before asking.

“You’ve had a lot of juniors who really admired you, right?”

“…It’s a bit awkward for me to say this myself, but yes, there were some.”

“That’s why I’m asking… how did you get close to them? Your juniors, I mean.”

“How… Hmm…”

“……”

“Now that I think about it, I’ve never really made an effort to get close to anyone first, so I’m not sure. But if I had to give advice, I’d say just be kind to your juniors…?”

“O-Oh, is that so…”

“But why do you ask? Is there a junior you want to get close to?”

571

There is one.

One I want to get close to.

One I need to get close to.

“Sunbae Da-bin, you worked hard.”

Lunch break.

While resting on the office sofa with a cup of coffee, the word “sunbae,” which I had been muttering all weekend, was suddenly directed back at me.

Glancing to the side, I saw a girl with snow-white hair.

At a glance, she faintly resembled Hayoon, but her personality was the complete opposite.

…And she was also the girl I had made almost no progress with, even after nearly a week.

“Ah, Jiyoon. You worked hard too.”

“Not at all. Compared to seniors like you who have to take the lead, I’m just waiting in the back—I don’t have it as hard.”

“Thanks to you, I didn’t have to work too hard today… Anyway, want to sit here?”

At the very least, I had managed to start a conversation.

But how was I supposed to get closer to Jiyoon?

I awkwardly smiled and patted the seat right next to me.

When I asked Seo Woojin over the weekend, he said that if I brought up FPS games in front of Jiyoon, I’d instantly become her favorite sunbae.

But I’d have to know something about those games to talk about them.

And I’m just not into games.

Sigh…

Bringing up Seo Woojin’s name right away wasn’t an option either.

Honestly, how was I supposed to casually drop something like, “Oh, by the way, I’m in a sexual relationship with your sister’s boyfriend”?

If that had been possible, I wouldn’t have had to agonize over how to get closer to Jiyoon—I’d have just blurted it out.

Even if Jiyoon supposedly had some perverse tendencies, this was a bit…

“Come to think of it, the director hasn’t been around today.”

So, what came out of my mouth instead was the usual small talk.

Proverbs like “Many a little makes a mickle” or “Hitting a rock with an egg” flashed through my mind, but I ignored them and met Jiyoon’s gaze.

“I asked the others earlier, and they said you can usually find him at the café on the first floor.”

“First floor, huh?”

“Maybe? Or maybe the director just really likes cafés…”

“Umm…”

“……”

“……”

Truthfully, I wasn’t particularly curious about where the director was.

I just needed something to talk about with Jiyoon.

But since I wasn’t interested, there wasn’t much to say about the director.

After just a few words, an uncomfortable silence began to settle.

Last time, I think we managed at least five or ten more exchanges before it got quiet.

This was a new record.

Realizing this wasn’t working, I forced myself to keep the conversation going by bringing up the director again.

“Since the director’s from the magic side, he always seems to take good care of you. How is it?”

“…I appreciate the attention, but honestly, it’s a little overwhelming.”

“Pfft. I could tell just from watching. Especially on the first day—that was intense.”

“So it wasn’t just me…?”

“I noticed too. Though it got a bit better after that.”

“……”

“…Come to think of it, why did it get better?”

“…Ah, that…”

But forcing the conversation like this made it feel like we were gossiping about the director.

So I considered wrapping it up and maybe talking about some good restaurants my friends had recommended instead—

“Sunbae, do you remember… what happened on our first day of training?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. The day we destroyed the department store’s emergency stairs, right? The first time in my life I made it on the news—how could I forget?”

Jiyoon, who had been glancing around nervously, suddenly brought this up.

I nodded a few times in response.

“T-That’s not what I meant. After that.”

“After that…?”

Was there more?

I couldn’t quite remember.

…Oh, right. I do remember the director being in a good mood.

Because of the will-o’-the-wisps, the office’s name was plastered all over the news, and he was thrilled.

That’s why he let us leave early… And then…

“……”

But no matter how much I thought about it, that was it.

I couldn’t recall anything else happening at the office.

As if sensing my thoughts, Jiyoon—who had been hesitating—cleared her throat lightly and spoke.

“When we were about to go home, someone came to pick us up, remember?”

“Ah… the health teacher.”

“Yeah… Haaaah……”

I barely managed to swallow the informal “Seo Woojin.”

Instead, I used a title that couldn’t possibly be misunderstood.

At the same time, a sigh so heavy it could’ve sunk the earth escaped Jiyoon’s lips.

“That idiot Seo Woojin came to check if I was hurt, right? After that, you rode the taxi home with us.”

“Yeah. That’s what happened.”

“…I think the director saw that.”

“…Huh?”

But all that left my mouth was a short sound of confusion.

The director saw it—so what?

If Jiyoon was implying that she and Seo Woojin had been caught doing something weird, that definitely wasn’t the case.

It had been a week, so my memory was a bit hazy, but I remember us just having some trivial conversation before getting into the taxi.

…Was there really a problem here?

“Why does that matter?”

“…I think the director misunderstood something when he saw that.”

“Misunderstood?”

“It’s… kind of embarrassing, but…”

What reached my ears next was—

A voice that sounded slightly absurd.

Or maybe a little annoyed.

Or perhaps even melancholic.

“What kind of girl your age is already running around with boys?” he said. “You should be focusing on your studies right now,” or something like that… Of course, I denied it, but he didn’t seem to believe me…”

And yet, somewhere in it—

There was also a hint of amusement.

Jiyoon’s voice.

“Seo Woojin is, as you know, my sister’s boyfriend… To someone who doesn’t know, I guess it looked like I was dating my sister’s boyfriend.”

“…With the teacher?”

“Yeah. And you were there too that day, but for some reason, the misunderstanding was only directed at me…”

“……”

“Don’t you think that’s… funny…? Or, well… does it seem that way to you too?”

If I had been completely ignorant of the situation, I would’ve laughed it off and said, “Not at all.”

But I wasn’t ignorant.

“W-Well, I know your relationship, but like you said, to someone who doesn’t…”

“…”

“…It’s totally possible to misunderstand.”

“…I see.”

To put into practice what Seoyeon sunbae had said—”Be kind to your juniors.”

…I chose words that Jiyoon might like.

I used it as an opportunity to build even a little goodwill.

But still.