episode_0573

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…When I asked Seoyeon sunbae about Yozora,

her response was “a fucking psycho,” so I’d braced myself to some extent.

But actually facing her in person left me speechless.

“You seemed to like that last time.”

“Huh? Like what?”

“You’ve introduced yourself similarly to someone else before. That day we ran into each other near Baek Seoyeon’s place.”

“…Ah! That time! …Did I?”

“You did.”

“Hmm~ I wouldn’t say I liked it~ More like it was just a straightforward fact, don’t you think?”

“……”

To think someone so pretty would introduce herself as a “fuckhole.”

And then there was Seowoojin’s follow-up remark.

So she’d introduced herself like this to someone else too? Who, exactly?

Surely she wouldn’t say something like that to someone close to her. Neither of them was that much of an idiot.

So it must’ve been someone she’d never see again in her life.

Like, say… a random passerby.

But even so, calling yourself a “fuckhole” without hesitation…

“So, what should we do? Should I call you sunbae? Or is it okay if I think of you as a cute hoobae?”

“…Ah.”

Just as Seoyeon sunbae had warned me, I had a feeling this wouldn’t be easy.

I forced an awkward smile as my thoughts raced.

“J-Just do whatever’s comfortable. You don’t have to stick to formalities…”

“If you say that, I might really start treating you casually, you know?”

“It’s fine… I was just curious about how many women Seowoojin’s actually been with.”

“Ah~ Well then… Hmm~…”

“Expressive” would be the right word for her.

Despite it not being that big of a deal, Yozora wore a deeply serious expression as she pondered.

Before long, she brightened up and spoke cheerfully.

“You’re both my sunbae and my hoobae, so let’s just drop formalities, yeah?”

“…Whatever. I don’t care.”

“Great! Take care of me, Dabin-ah?”

“……”

“Ah, was that too casual?”

“N-No… It’s fine. Yeah.”

“Pfft… Really?”

After all that seriousness, she now seemed amused, lightly clapping her hands before stepping closer.

Given the “horror stories” I’d heard from Seoyeon sunbae, I half-expected her to do something weird, but Yozora stopped right by the infirmary bed behind me.

She plopped down on the edge (I could guess what she’d been doing in the infirmary all this time) and chattered away.

“Anyway, about what you were curious about earlier—it’s not as many as you’d think. Including my current girlfriend, roughly six? One, two, three… Yep. Six.”

“…Six isn’t few.”

“Hm? Dunno. I was thinking up to twenty.”

“Twenty…?”

“These are men carefully selected by Yozora-nim herself. Isn’t this the bare minimum?”

“……”

What even…

It’s not the number of women that bothers me—it’s the way she thinks, like Wow, my sex partners are amazing!

I didn’t really get her mindset, but it didn’t matter either way.

Like I said earlier, I’d already braced myself after hearing all those horror stories.

But still, I couldn’t help feeling drained…

Now I understood why Seoyeon sunbae had warned me so seriously.

While Yozora grinned, I frowned at the other pervert in the room—the one I could at least reason with.

“…You really planned to sleep with twenty people?”

“Six was already exhausting. I don’t plan to push it that far.”

“So you’re thinking around ten, then.”

“Who knows? No one catches my eye right now, but there are new first-years this year. Maybe one of them’ll be interesting.”

“Sigh… Going after kids who were high schoolers just a few months ago… Real classy. Real classy.”

“What’s the big deal? Last year, I was barely twenty myself when I rolled around with Lee Jiyun until we were sore.”

I had no rebuttal—it was technically true.

Hell, it’s even funnier that I’m the one lecturing when I’m only a year older.

My voice naturally trailed off.

“Anyway, I let you meet Yozora like you wanted. Nothing else to ask? Anything you’re curious about?”

At Seowoojin’s remark, I glanced at Yozora sitting beside me.

…Somehow, she looked too comfortable, like she owned the place, with an expression that screamed Ask me anything!

And by Yozora’s standards just now, that probably meant anything—no limits.

A few unplanned questions crept up, but I hesitantly settled on the one I’d prepared.

“…Well, uh.”

“Want me to teach you how to knock Seoyeon out fast so you can have Seowoojin all to yourself when it’s the three of you?”

“N-No, not that… I mean…”

“Then?”

“……You’re a first-year, so… I was wondering if you knew Jiyun.”

…How to knock Seoyeon out and monopolize Seowoojin during a threesome.

Honestly, I was a tiny bit curious,

but I swallowed it down.

“Hm? Obviously? We’re in the same class.”

“…Oh.”

Now that I think about it, I have been using casual speech with a first-year.

Yozora’s… mature vibe (to put it nicely) made me forget for a second.

Looking back, it feels similar to how I talk to Seoyeon sunbae.

There’s this weird dynamic, like I’m talking to someone my age or younger.

Either way, now that the grade topic came up, the casual speech started bothering me. But I tried not to show it and pressed on.

“Then, do you have any tips on how to get closer to Jiyun…?”

“Ah, gomen. Sorry. I don’t really know either.”

“…What?”

“I spent a whole year trying to get close to Jiyun~ and failed spectacularly…”

“……”

“Pretty sure she even blocked me on Kakao? The ‘1’ next to my old messages is still there.”

Yozora rummaged through her coat pocket and slid her phone toward me.

A lone “1” sat next to JiyunJiyun in her Kakao chats—probably the message she mentioned.

“One of my bucket list items was to get Seowoojin drunk with Jiyun, then have sweaty sex right next to her while she’s wasted…”

“You really think I’d let that slide?”

“Come on, you’d wanna try it too. Especially since you get way harder during public sex.”

“…You two did it outside…?”

“Yep yep. In the bathroom at Hongdae XX, and that one time in the Sinchon theater bathroom, creak creak—”

As Seowoojin and I stared, Yozora grinned and thrust her curled fingers in and out.

Did she have to demonstrate so enthusiastically?

Crossing my legs, I steered the conversation back on track.

“…Well, then, do you know anything Jiyun likes? Hobbies, maybe…?”

“Wouldn’t Seowoojin know better?”

“I’ve already asked him for help… I just thought knowing more couldn’t hurt.”

“Hmm…”

When Yozora asked why I wanted to get closer to Jiyun, Seowoojin answered for me.

He said I wanted to tell her about our relationship but was too scared, so I was trying to win over even her little sister.

I did feel guilty for getting involved with someone else’s boyfriend, but I didn’t like being treated like a coward…

Still, he wasn’t wrong, so I stayed silent.

And in the end,

Yozora’s answer was:

“It’s nothing major, but there’s one thing I noticed while trying to get closer to Jiyun…”

True to her word, it wasn’t major.

Not helpful at all.

“She’s kinda bad at pushing people away, I guess?”

“Bad at it?”

“I mean, if she really hated it, she could’ve cursed me out or something. But no matter how much I pestered her, she always reacted.”

“…Hmm.”

“Like, even if I said I wanna get railed by the nurse, she’d just look annoyed but never actually swore at me… That kinda vibe?”

“……”

Of course that wouldn’t help.

Unlike Yozora, who got blocked after scheming, I…

“…I’ll keep that in mind.”

…was already past the stage of forcing my way into Jiyun’s life.

So, my net gain from meeting Yozora: zero.

Even though it was still early afternoon, I went home, showered half-heartedly, and flopped onto my bed.

Part of it was exhaustion from dealing with Yozora, but mostly, it was the sheer pointlessness of it all.

I thought being classmates with Jiyun would help, but it was literally zero help.

I should’ve just had se…x instead. At least that would’ve left me with something.

But of course, we met in the academy infirmary, so we couldn’t do anything.

Even during break, someone like the teacher I saw earlier could barge in anytime.

Plus, it was in the infirmary where I first learned Hayun and Jiyun’s secret…

“Sigh…”

Feels like I wasted my entire Saturday.

Just as I sighed into my blanket cocoon—

“……”

—my phone, left charging in the distance, kept buzzing.

…At this hour, I could guess who it was.

I wriggled an arm out and grabbed it.

– Anyone wanna drink today,,,

The same old group chat, always rallying for drinks.

But by now, hardly anyone responded.

One asked for lunch recommendations, only to ignore them and pick something else.

Another posted new clothes they bought, fishing for compliments.

Another spammed photos of their favorite idol, gushing over how hot he was.

I wasn’t in the mood for drinks either.

I knew the old saying about rainy days and makgeolli, but leaving the house sounded like way more effort.

I was about to ignore it (even if it was pinned), but—

– Ah, I’m free today.

– Really? What about the nurse?

– She’s usually free on weekdays, but she said she had to go out today. Probably won’t be back until night, so I’ve just been watching YouTube at home.

…Hayun had replied.

And suddenly, I remembered that special day with Hayun.

The day Hayun drank a lot because of her friends.

The day Seowoojin came late to take care of her.

The day our phones got swapped, so I went to return hers.

And then,

“……”

…Jiyun, who’d been in the middle of,

thoroughly fucking her sister’s boyfriend behind her back,

answered the door slightly disheveled,

panting heavily, completely unaware.

“……”

No guarantee it’d play out the same way,

but there was no reason not to try.