episode_0625

“…So what.” “Anyway, that’s what I heard. The later you find out, the more upset you’ll be.” “He can be busy. What’s there to be upset about?” “Really~?” “…Hang up. I’m tired.” “Ah, you *are* upset, aren’t you?” “I said no.” “You’re not upset?” “…I said so.” “Really?” “…I’m really going to hang up.” *Pfft.* “Alright, alright.” “…….” “Still, I’ll go, so instead of Seo Woojin, you can lean on this unnie as much as you want…”

625 The day after Lee Jiyoon’s declaration of confiscation. After finishing a typical Monday, we gathered not at my usual home, but at Lee Hayoon’s house, where we indulged our desires once. Honestly, there was nothing special about it except for the change of location. Dealing with Lee Jiyoon and Seol Dabin simultaneously was something I had already done many times over the past few days. However, unlike me, who felt this way, there was someone else who was greatly affected by the mere fact that the location had changed. That person was none other than Seol Dabin. The situation of having affair sex at a friend’s house seemed to be quite stimulating for Seol Dabin. Moreover, it wasn’t even being done in an empty house. Outside, Lee Hayoon was letting us three be, sighing, and right next to us, her friend’s younger sister was also enjoying affair sex, breathing heavily. …It was likely because Seol Dabin was deeply immersed in this sense of moral transgression that she climaxed several times more often than usual. The situation was uneventful and smooth. If we could continue spending similar time like this, Seol Dabin would probably naturally integrate into our relationship. So, I wouldn’t have to worry too much about this.

“Hmph.” It seems the “traffic” has been more or less sorted out. Is there any way to check if there are any familiar faces among next year’s new students? The additional academy admissions results have already been announced by now, and their personal information and photos, they must be gathered somewhere. As for the method, I don’t need to rack my brains too hard. I could just ask, “I heard someone I know applied. Would it be alright if I took a look?” If I ask like that, I might surprisingly get permission easily. If I borrow the principal’s power, it would become even simpler. For now, the one I most want to find is the woman who came to hunt a certain pervert ten years, no, nine years later. Codename: Reaper. The problem is that I’ve never dug deeply into this woman… Unlike when I approached Lee Jiyoon, Han Sooah, or Seol Dabin, I don’t remember her real name or age at all. If only I had known even these things for sure, I could have used them to infer something, even a little. Her unique gloomy aura was something I had already seen countless times in the academy. There was at least one in each grade, and I had seen one in Lee Hayoon’s class too. But all I found were women who resembled her in gloominess. A woman who perfectly resembled her, with the characteristic snake-based mutation ability and a figure that couldn’t help but attract attention, still hadn’t appeared. Well, of course, this isn’t the only hero training academy, so the probability of not meeting her is higher than meeting her. Still, if I were to meet her here… I could uncover how things turned out this way. And as a bonus, I might be able to do some enjoyable things. What a shame.

“…….” While I was staring at a traffic light in the pitch-black sky. The moment the red light turned green, my phone vibrated in my coat pocket, right on cue. And it displayed a very familiar name. [Baek Seoyeon] – I’m going for a light run along the Han River now. – Want to come along? – It’s winter, so it’s easy to cover your face with just a neck warmer… – If you don’t want to, that’s fine.

It probably wasn’t a literal invitation to exercise together. If that had been her intention, she would have brought up such a topic frequently before. The sudden contact from Baek Seoyeon must mean she had something to say to me. There hadn’t been anything unusual recently… so it was likely a minor concern rather than a serious issue. However, directly asking if something was wrong felt a bit off, so I wrote a simple, short sentence and sent it. [Seo Woojin] – Okay. Where exactly are you? [Baek Seoyeon] – Ah. Well. – Here, next to Dongjak Bridge… [Seo Woojin] – Banpo? [Baek Seoyeon] – …Are you really coming? [Seo Woojin] – You told me to come along, didn’t you? [Baek Seoyeon] – Th-that’s right. I had time anyway. Spending a short evening with Baek Seoyeon wouldn’t be a problem at all. I shoved my phone back into my pocket and hurried home.

***** “…You really came?” “That again? You were the one who asked me to come along.” “That’s true… but it’s also really cold…” “Didn’t you know it would be cold when you called me out?” “But there was no other way than this… Ah, it’s nothing…” “……” A mid-February evening. As expected from the weather, which sounded quite cold just by hearing it, the surroundings were much quieter than what I was used to. Of course, I could still see some people jogging consistently. There was even a crazy person riding a bicycle in minus three degrees Celsius. However, it meant that the number was negligible compared to cool or warm weather. Standing side by side with Baek Seoyeon, I glanced at her profile and continued speaking. “It’s definitely cold. I almost feel like just turning back.” “Wh-what are you saying, now that you’re already here? Aren’t you wasting the effort of coming all this way?” “I just allocated a little bit of my rest time. It’s not really a waste.” “…Stop saying strange things, and since you’re already here, let’s run a bit before you go.” As I expected, exercise didn’t seem to be the purpose. It seemed half-right that she wanted to meet me briefly. The rest was still a mystery. To figure it out, the best way seemed to be to just spend some time like this.

“……” “……” It was called a run, but we didn’t start running right away. As always, we began with a light warm-up. Once our bodies were adequately warmed up, we’d be ready to run. With all preparations done, if we matched Baek Seoyeon’s pace and ran like this, it would be the same as usual. It would be a scene where I follow behind Baek Seoyeon as she lightly runs. However, today was different. “…Lately, I’ve been feeling that time. It seems to pass incredibly fast.” The person who should have naturally started running was still only walking. She was hesitant, matching my stride, and started a conversation.

“Time usually passes quickly when you’re busy. You were the student council president, so it must have been even more so for you.” “…Is that so?” “But why do you ask that? Is something wrong?” “Ah… well…” Oops. Should I have just kept making idle small talk instead of asking too hastily? For a moment, I regretted my choice, but then, seeing Baek Seoyeon’s reaction, I was relieved that it didn’t seem to be the wrong move after all. “…In about a week, it’ll be the graduation ceremony. It’s nothing grand, but.” This was why. It was as if it wasn’t an important topic yet, and casual chatter returned.

“Right. Congratulations. Your spy work is over now.” “No. I distinctly remember saying last time that I’d try being a double agent.” “True, that’s still being a spy.” “……” “Anyway, I hope things work out well. If you get caught, I’ll be in trouble too.” “…Because I’d have one less woman I can have my way with?” “Yep.” “Sigh…” However, while it was casual chatter as usual, her demeanor was subtly different from normal. The Baek Seoyeon I knew wouldn’t have been quiet like this; she should have been a bit more annoyed. For example, she should have called me an idiot or a fool for thinking her spy life was over. To my comment about regretting having one less woman, she shouldn’t have just sighed; she should have definitely retorted, ‘Is that all you have in your head?’ Baek Seoyeon’s way of speaking like that was so vivid in my memory. Or she should have at least habitually nudged my leg with her foot. But she was still just quietly walking.

“……” Was something really wrong? In the end, I was the one who brought up another topic. “Have you revealed your identity to anyone high up?” “…Of course not. It’s not that I hadn’t thought about it, but there just wasn’t a suitable timing.” “Ah-ha… If you want to meet someone important, tell me. I’ll try to arrange it.” “Who do you know that you’d say that? …No, I guess you might know people. Since you’re a healer.” “Even though he’s retired now, swaying the principal might help. And I have some connection with No.5, I think, the Martial God. I have connections here and there.” “…I’ll keep that in mind for now.” “……” “……” But this didn’t seem quite right either. It was a helpful conversation for Baek Seoyeon, but it didn’t feel like what she wanted. It was around the time we had walked for a few minutes without much progress.

In front of a smoking booth we were about to pass without much thought, a woman was standing, holding a cigarette between her lips. Her overall vibe, to be honest, was like that of a prostitute. It wasn’t just because she was smoking outside, despite the smoking booth being right behind her. Her attire also contributed. She was dressed very lightly, seemingly unconcerned by the cold weather, but that wasn’t the only reason. A faint Irezumi-style tattoo was visible on one leg through her coffee-colored stockings, but that wasn’t it either. It was only when all these elements combined that she truly looked like a prostitute.

“…Huh?” And that prostitute pointed at us, as if recognizing one of our faces. “Seoyeon~ Long time no see!” “……” *Flick, flick.* She flicked her index finger to tap off the ash and chuckled, approaching us. She was quite tall, even though she was wearing flat shoes. She probably easily stood at 175cm. And thanks to the unruly vibe I’d been feeling from her, I instantly grasped the relationship between Baek Seoyeon and this woman. She must be someone Baek Seoyeon knew from the villain alliance she belonged to, Most Wanted. There was no other way Baek Seoyeon could know a woman like this. “Why won’t you answer~ Don’t upset unnie, seriously? You never answered me back in the day, damn it!” “…What are you doing here?” “What do you mean ‘what am I doing’? Can’t you see I’m smoking?” “…Sigh…”

I more or less understood their relationship. I also understood why Baek Seoyeon seemed to lack affection for the organization. And the cigarette she just mentioned was probably just an excuse she made because I was next to her. She likely had ‘business’ to handle nearby. …In other words, someone who would clearly cause trouble if I got involved. And someone I didn’t particularly want to lay a hand on, nor did I want to get involved with. Therefore, I intended to keep my mouth shut and let Baek Seoyeon handle it herself, but, “Who’s next to you? If it’s the Seoyeon I know, it can’t be a boyfriend…” Annoyingly, she started to show interest in me as well. “Are you perhaps following Seoyeon because you like her?”

It was annoying, but I’d give up trying to avoid it for now. In situations like this, it would be much easier to just go along with what that woman said. Besides, explaining everything that actually happened would be incredibly strange. So, pretending to be ‘Ordinary Male Student 1, who follows Baek Seoyeon,’ I blurted out the silliest thing I could. “Yes. Seoyeon Sunbae is my first love.” “…?! F-first… Hey, wait…” *Pfft.* “Really? Oh, you poor thing.” “…I’m not sure, but is it really that bad?” “It’s that bad. That bad. She’s asexual, so you might as well just give up, okay? Or maybe she’s a lesbian? I’ve never seen her date a guy with that face.” “Ah…” “I wonder if she even masturbates? Knowing her, she probably wouldn’t even do that because it’s too much of a bother?”

I knew that better than anyone. And whether Baek Seoyeon knew it too, or if it was due to the biting cold, her ears were flushed crimson. But perhaps, because it was dark, it wasn’t easily visible from the opposite side. The woman, who had been happily revealing Baek Seoyeon’s secrets, then approached me a little closer and continued speaking. The unpleasant smell of cigarette smoke stung my nose. “Don’t go down such a difficult path, how about unnie?” “What?” “Unnie liked you the moment I saw you~ You look like you have quite a bit of strength in your body. Besides, aren’t you in your early twenties, exactly when you’d be desperate to pound something to death anywhere?” “……” “Here, see unnie’s handspan? If your dick is bigger than this, I’ll let you have a go.” “……” “Unnie’s pussy is seriously fucking tight, you know? Everyone always cums in a few minutes.”

Swallowing the word ‘slut,’ I looked down. Her sharp fingernails were poking my lower abdomen. Looking closely, her outstretched handspan was directly touching my body. …Rather, with someone that messed up, it might be better to consider myself lucky that she didn’t touch me directly over my clothes. So, I tried to maintain the most polite demeanor, saying thank you but no. I wasn’t facing this woman alone, and Baek Seoyeon was also next to me, so I thought I could easily get out of this. However, Baek Seoyeon’s thoughts seemed to be a little different. “…Excuse me, Unnie. Just a moment.” “Hmm?” Baek Seoyeon walked slightly forward, blocking the space between us, and in that same position, she started stammering her words. “It’s not just him following me… I’m, I’m also following… him…” “……” “…Because he’s my f-first love…” “……” “…Just get lost.”