episode_0577

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Last year around this time— The clothes Unnie used to wear. The way she spoke only when she was with Seo Woojin. The reactions she often showed during sex, something I’d witnessed countless times from the sidelines.

And the sweet, romantic words Unnie was too embarrassed to say— I spent a brief moment uttering them in her stead, playing the role of the perfect girlfriend from a novel.

Then, from outside where only the sound of rain had been audible, a familiar voice reached my ears.

“You… were with Hayun’s little sister…?”

“…”

“And in Hayun’s room, no less…?”

Dabin sunbaenim’s voice. The same voice that had once come looking for Unnie when their smartphones got swapped.

Who. Where. What. Among these, ‘what’ was the missing piece.

But given the context so far, pretending ignorance was impossible. Why was a drunk Unnie sleeping in my room? Why was Seo Woojin drenched in sweat without even a shirt on? And… what exactly was I doing here?

I desperately racked my brain, which until moments ago had been drowning in pleasure, but there was no way out.

Explaining why I was wearing Unnie’s clothes? That, I could manage. Even if sunbaenim was Unnie’s friend, she wouldn’t remember every single outfit Unnie owned. If she grew suspicious, I could just claim I bought the same one.

As for Woojin being drenched— I could brush it off by saying we’d worked out together.

…Of course, she’d never believe any of it. Still, even a flimsy lie was a hundred times better than admitting the truth about what happened between Woojin and me.

But the real problem—the one that left me with no escape—was this: We had done it all over Unnie’s goddamn bed.

Naturally, this meant I had no choice but to show myself in Unnie’s room. And if sunbaenim paid even a little more attention… She’d realize the entire bedroom reeked of sex.

“……”

What now? Sunbaenim was Unnie’s friend—would she barge in to confirm she’d caught Woojin cheating? Or had she already figured everything out, sparing herself the trouble of entering the bedroom?

…Now that she knew, would rumors about Unnie, me, and Woojin spread like wildfire in the academy starting tomorrow?

Me? Whatever. As long as my grades stayed intact, I didn’t care. But Unnie—this might actually hurt her. And Woojin… what would happen to him? Would he get fired for the negative gossip?

As the fading remnants of pleasure gave way, real-world worries poured over me like a bucket of icy water.

That’s when—

“……”

Footsteps echoed from beyond the door. Mixed with the sound of the door lock turning again—whether that was fortunate or unfortunate, I couldn’t tell. Though, of course, the footsteps belonged to just one person in the end.

“Haa…”

“…Hey. What was that? What happened?”

The moment Woojin returned, I shot questions at him. Part of me wanted to grab his collar and shake him like they do in comics, demanding answers.

“Was that Dabin sunbaenim? The one who just came in?”

“Yeah. Yeah, it was her, but… ugh…”

But Woojin, evidently just as flustered by the situation, responded only by exhaling deeply instead of answering properly. Honestly, it was maddening—but I could understand why. Had I been in his shoes, I’d probably act the same.

So I waited quietly, giving him time to collect his thoughts. After nearly a minute, he finally spoke.

“Everything’s fine. I gave her a rough explanation. Asked her to keep it a secret from everyone else.”

He didn’t outright say it, but his words confirmed one thing: Dabin sunbaenim had figured everything out about our relationship. And apparently, Woojin hadn’t even tried to make excuses.

…Well. At least this was cleaner than some half-assed lie like “We just worked out together.” Even if sunbaenim had already guessed most of it, insisting on excuses would’ve been pointless.

But we couldn’t just say “Oh well,” and move on. We still had way too much to talk about.

“And she just let it go that easily? You’re not gonna get blackmailed for a fortune now, are you?”

“No, nothing like that. We handled it another way.”

“Which is?”

The idea of being extorted was mostly a joke, but I had assumed there’d been some kind of deal. Yet he claimed they’d settled it differently?

The moment I heard that, my mind raced through possibilities—what could Woojin possibly offer as leverage? Yet, the only things that came to mind were materialistic. Designer goods? Hush money? That seemed the simplest solution. Or maybe cash outright… Alternatively, perhaps sunbaenim had secured some kind of unlimited treatment privilege from Woojin. Among these, the last option seemed most plausible.

With those fleeting thoughts, I pressed further.

“So what exactly did you give her? Why won’t you tell me?”

“Well… she kinda has a history with you too. She implied she’d let it slide because of that connection.”

“‘Implied’?”

“But only on one condition.”

“And what’s that?”

“…Haah… It’s…”

“…?”

“…Wait, what?”

“……”

“…And she actually bought that crap you said?”

“I told you. Going through Jiyoon would make things easier.”

“No, that’s not what I meant—”

“Plus, she hates having her private life exposed.”

“Haah… Doesn’t everyone want to keep their private life hidden?”

“Point is, that’s how it went.”

On a Sunday afternoon, rain still pattering outside— With nothing better to do, I took time off to meet Woojin in person.

After returning home, we’d already discussed the gist of what happened via messages, but it felt necessary to talk face-to-face about how to proceed. Call it multitasking.

Especially since, in this mess, I’d mostly just gone along with Woojin’s lead. I’d only planned to stir up a minor incident like last time, but somehow, Woojin had cranked it up to eleven.

Was it because he didn’t trust me enough? Or because he was frustrated about something? That was the impression I got, at least.

But whatever. It all worked out in the end.

Pulling down my mask, I took a sip of the green grape smoothie in front of me.

“Well, at least this means you’ve got a new connection to Jiyoon, right? I’d consider that a win.”

“Obviously, I know it’s a good thing. …It’s just that, thanks to your brilliant little script, I ended up looking like some kind of freak.”

“It’s not that bad. Compared to Jiyoon’s obvious fetish for her unnie’s boyfriend, a simple little affair is way more socially acceptable.”

“Wow. That’s the hill you wanna die on? Cheating with a friend’s boyfriend is just a ‘simple little affair’?”

“A one-time fling absolutely counts as a ‘simple affair.’”

“…Then pray tell, what the hell qualifies as a serious affair to you?”

“Group sex?”

“…You’re insane. Actually insane.”

And like that, Woojin had introduced me to Jiyoon like this:

“I get that you and Woojin have secrets, but since I’ve got history with you, I’ll keep quiet around Hayun and her friends—I’ll be the nice sunbaenim!”

“But let’s be clear: there’s one condition.”

“See, I’ve actually been into Woojin for a while now—the wicked sunbaenim who just admired him from afar because he was my friend’s boyfriend!”

…And since I’ve got both of you by the throats anyway, why not use this golden ticket to finally sleep with Woojin? Like the trashy homewrecker I am!

Not only that—

He’d even thrown in a fabricated threat: “You’re already cheating with Jiyoon, right?” “What’s one more person gonna change?” “Or should I just tell Hayun and her friends everything?”

“Haah… My head hurts…”

“From what?”

“From you, obviously!”

“Nothing went wrong, though? If anything, the outcome’s pretty good.”

“Sure, but—… Ugh. Never mind. My mouth hurts.”

And yet…

Despite all that, Jiyoon had apparently just blinked in confusion and agreed to sleep with me. Not that she’d enthusiastically consented—but still.

“……”

…Was this only possible because I already had some rapport with Jiyoon?

I honestly couldn’t tell yet.

“…Starting tomorrow, Jiyoon’s gonna treat me like some kind of monster.”

“You’ll see when we meet at HQ on Monday. Doubt she’ll be that hostile.”

“She definitely won’t be happy about it either.”

“That’s fair.”

“Haah… …Anyway. When you told her all this, what was her exact reaction?”

“Hmm… First, she didn’t get it. Then asked what I meant. Then freaked out. Then resigned herself. Then started hitting me for causing everything.”

“Makes sense. You’re the whole reason this mess exists.”

“Since when is liking pretty women a crime?”

“You just don’t know when to stop! Like some kind of rabid dog that’s been starving for years—”

No. Never mind.

Explaining things properly to this man would only leave my mouth sore. No point wasting words on deaf ears.

Instead, I just tightened my grip on the poor straw in my hand and sighed.

“…Just wanna make one thing clear.”

“Yeah?”

“How… should I act around Jiyoon now?”

“How?”

“I mean… You basically threatened her with ‘I’ll tell Hayun everything.’ So now, do I need to double down and play the intimidating villain or something?”

“Why overthink it? Just be yourself like always. Like when you were with Baek Seoyeon.”

“B-Back then, I was just trying to—!”

Well.

…It wasn’t helpful advice.

But whatever.