Chapter 121
Chapter 121
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 121
Chapter Title: The Hand Cream Accusation
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‘Lodging services? Insane. Who’s the one doing it? Jackpot.’
‘Women have it good~. They can make easy money.’
‘Those girls don’t even need to study hard, right? Living off handouts when they could just study instead—that’s the real idiot move.’
‘Oh, like Kang Da-hye killing herself to get into Korea University?’
‘Hey, hey, try writing Kang Da-hye’s name on it.’
‘What? On that paper they’re handing out?’
‘Yeah, you idiot.’
‘…Me, personally? That’s a bit much.’
‘Sigh. You little punk. Hey, Do Ha-jun!’
‘Ah… damn. We could’ve officially made Kang Da-hye a sugar baby.’
‘So no one saw that content? The stuff Do Ha-jun wrote?’
‘Well, even if they did, probably no one would’ve believed it anyway.’
‘Nooo, you never know. What you guys wrote might be true. Kang Da-hye’s been carrying around expensive stuff lately?’
‘Expensive what?’
‘Hand cream.’
‘Pfft. Look at Jang Ji-won pretending not to be while sniping at Kang Da-hye.’
‘It’s true! She gets all sneaky, checking around before pulling it out to apply like she’s guilty.’
‘WTF?’
‘Yup! Total bitch!’
‘If it’s true, that’d be hilarious.’
‘She’s nuts.’
‘Hey, hey, Jang Ji-won. Go tell Kang Da-hye it’s the same as yours. Ask where she got the money to buy it, if she stole yours.’
‘Will Jang Ji-won actually do it?’
‘No way.’
‘If she does, jackpot.’
‘Babe! That thing I mentioned earlier, should I do it now?’
‘Now?’
‘Yup yup! Kang Da-hye’s heading to the staff room alone right now—perfect timing!’
‘Smart cookie.’
‘Ehehe.’
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ “How do you know if that’s Da-hye’s or your lost item? Did you write your name on the hand cream?”
“Yeah, you’re treating someone like a thief without even being sure?”
“It’s the same! The brand, the scent, even the fold here!”
“So you have solid proof it’s yours? You don’t. It could just be a coincidence.”
“Hey, Kim Ga-eun. There are other ways to defend her—you’re defending theft now? Would I insist it’s mine if I knew it wasn’t?”
“Jang Ji-won…”
“I’m fine.”
I stopped my friends, who weren’t even fully convinced themselves but stepped up to protect me anyway, along with Seo Jae-kyeom and the other classmates chiming in one by one.
I flashed the same triumphant smile back at Jang Ji-won, who was grinning smugly.
“Done talking? Say whatever else you have left.”
“This is expensive. Where’d you get the money to buy it? If you had that kind of cash, you’d have replaced your bag.”
“Yeah. Keep going.”
“Not a beggar, stealing someone else’s used crap?”
“Keep going.”
“You’re staying quiet because you’re guilty too!”
“Keep going.”
“……”
“All done?”
Then it was my turn to speak, right?
I glanced around the room. The kids who’d gone to change were all back by now. Everyone was watching me.
Ah, speaking in front of this many people makes me nervous.
(Introvert)
“Kang Da-hye, got nothing to say? Don’t waste time…”
“Yeah, no words, but I’ve got something to show.”
I looked down at my phone—the video I’d emailed myself had finished transferring. I walked to the computer, moved the mouse to light up the screen, logged into my email, and turned on the TV.
Amid the kids holding their breath to see what I’d do, I locked eyes with Park Su-hwan. He’d already sensed something off from my calm reaction and was slyly hiding behind his group.
“Su-hwan, focus. It’s the computer you guys always used last semester.”
I held back a curse and threw in a jab.
I clicked the top email in my inbox—no subject—and downloaded the attached video.
I was pretending to be calm, but my palms were slick with cold sweat. Those few seconds waiting for the download felt like an eternity.
“Kang Da-hye, what are you…”
“Shut it.”
Ga-eun smacked the back of someone who couldn’t hold back their curiosity.
I clicked the downloaded video on the desktop.
The moment it opened.
-Gyeong Se-in!
-Yup!
The screen filled with Se-in’s face, beaming and throwing up a peace sign.
“Whoa, that’s from PE class!”
Se-in, who’d been gripping her fists and staring at me, shouted. I nodded in confirmation.
“Right. During PE, when I got up to go to the staff room.”
The video kept playing as I spoke. Soon my face appeared briefly, squinting in the sunlight, then the camera dropped to my feet.
-Ugh… so hot…
My dying voice filled the audio.
-1868… The German merchant Oppert’s tomb raiding of Prince Regent’s grave…
“I’ll speed this up from here. Gotta prove my innocence before break ends.”
With that, I fast-forwarded to max speed.
The staff room came into view.
Yi Mong-ryong, working inside, looked up toward the screen.
-Da-hye, need help with anything?
The teacher’s usual low, pleasant voice sped by like helium-high chirping.
Ceiling. Basket. Staff room door again. My feet. Back to the field.
-Ta-da!
The video ended with cheers as I returned during PE.
I’d gone straight from the field to the staff room and back—no detour to the classroom, nowhere else.
I turned off the TV, which had done its job.
“I recorded myself memorizing the modern history timeline during free time to review later. Never thought I’d use it like this.”
Bull. I started after Do Ha-jun and that Tolstoy fiasco made me realize how crucial alibis are.
Prepare for the worst. Always be ready when things feel fishy.
Honestly, I figured it’d blow over in a few days… Lucky for me, you idiots blew it up fast, before my prep faded.
‘Am I an idiot? They were staring right at me, signaling.’
Why lump me in with you, Jang Ji-won, Park Su-hwan?
This is the 21st century. We’re drowning in content. Haven’t you seen dramas where lack of alibi gets someone framed?
“Ha.”
In the silence, one guy burst out laughing in disbelief first. Jeong Na-jun, who’d tipped me off about Park Su-hwan’s group trash-talking me at the PC bang.
“Knew it.”
He shook his head and added,
“I never believed Kang Da-hye did it from the start… but wow, what if you hadn’t recorded that video?”
“Right?”
“Hey, Jang Ji-won. You didn’t do that on purpose, did you? Try to frame Kang Da-hye as a thief?”
“No way. She must’ve just been confused.”
“But she said it so confidently. Like she definitely put it there and it vanished.”
“Without that video, Da-hye would’ve been toast as a thief, right?”
Tell me about it.
“And even without the video, how could she be so sure it was hers? Like Ga-eun said, no name on it or anything.”
Tell me about it!
“Why are you picking on me again?! From my position, it’s natural to suspect! Look at what Kang Da-hye usually carries around! So you’re saying you bought this yourself?!”
Jang Ji-won flailed, face red.
“Why believe everything Kang Da-hye says but gang up on me!”
Blind to the worsening reactions.
‘Digging her own grave.’
If she’d apologized now—‘I lost my item, panicked, made a mistake, sorry’—she could’ve salvaged it.
Or pushed a third-party thief theory.
“It doesn’t add up! I’ve never seen Kang Da-hye use something this pricey!”
Were you that obsessed with me usually?
“If you really bought it, why use it so secretly?! None of your friends even knew you had this hand cream! Even if not stolen from me, you’re hiding something shady!”
“Ah, so you knew it was mine all along?”
“What?!”
“Hand it over first.”
I snatched the hand cream still in Jang Ji-won’s hand.
It was crumpled a bit. Jeong Eun-seong gave it to me… I smoothed it with my hand and tucked it back in my bag. Sighing, I continued.
“Jang Ji-won, you just admitted with your own mouth that I was using it secretly. So you must’ve seen me use this hand cream at least once before today. Right?”
“……”
Gotcha, you little sneak.
“You knew it was mine but insisted it was yours—why?”
“Hey, Jang Ji-won.”
Seo Jae-kyeom, who’d been giving me ‘let me step in’ looks, finally called her name.
“I bought that for her.”
Jeong Eun-seong cut in casually.
He’d been watching the whole mess from the start, now straightening from leaning against the front door.
Gathering everyone’s eyes without raising his voice, he repeated.
“I bought that for her.”
“Huh?”
“Eun-seong, you?”
“Yeah. Me.”
“……”
“I told Kang Da-hye not to tell anyone. Said if the kids found out I gave her a gift, they’d make a fuss like this.”
Ignoring the stares, he cracked his neck in a light stretch and glanced down at them.
“But I didn’t expect my closest friend—the one I like so much, cherish, think about all the time—to get called a thief over this.”