The Ex-Girlfriend’s Gambit
The current situation is a bit of a tangled web. If I were to list every connection, it would get complicated, but to put it simply: aside from the fact that Choi Gaeun and I are exes, we are complete strangers. Simple and straightforward.
"It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Joo Yeoeun, and I run a small Pilates studio in Gangnam. ♡"
After taking off her jacket, Yeoeun introduced herself voluntarily, without any need for mediation. She announced it with that natural, easy-going smile she uses to blend in anywhere.
"P-Pilates in Gangnam?"
"Yes. ♥"
This brief introduction, which I’d first heard at our meeting, seemed to be her go-to line for any occasion. She stated it without a hint of hesitation. Choi Gaeun seemed to shrink back, clearly feeling the pressure the moment she heard it.
"……Heh. So, you’re an instructor."
"Yes, I’m the owner and the head instructor."
"Oh…… I see."
The air around Gaeun was thick with wariness. I don’t know why, but the moment she saw Yeoeun, she froze up and started acting defensively.
"Whoa, holy shit, those boobs—"
Thwack!
Meanwhile, the sleazy boyfriend beside her let out that exclamation, only to be met with an elbow to the ribs.
"Hey! Why the hell did you hit me— Ow, ow, ow!"
The nameless ex-boyfriend shivered as if he were sitting in an electric chair, likely being pinched from below after shooting her a resentful glare. Choi Gaeun let out a deep sigh. Then, as if steadying herself, she started with a simple question.
"So, um, it seems you know Seungwoo-oppa?"
"Yes, we’ve become extremely close lately."
"……How so?"
"Well, you could say he’s my hero."
She smirked. "He’s the hero who saved my father. ♥"
At the same time, Yeoeun clung to me even tighter. She interlaced her fingers with mine, gripping them as if she never intended to let go.
"I can’t tell you every little detail, but we’ve been seeing each other as friends for about a week now."
"……Oh~ I see. But you two seem awfully close for just 'friends,' don't you think?"
Yeoeun didn't bother listening to the rest of that sentence. Suddenly, she picked up a skewer from the table and shoved it into my mouth with an "Ah~ ♥," and I chewed it with a dazed look on my face.
"……."
"Hehe."
The nuance was that she had done it intentionally, as if to provoke her.
"And what about you?"
The boomerang of questions returned.
"Hmph."
Choi Gaeun scoffed. She seemed to gain confidence, as if she’d found a weak spot.
"I'm his ex-girlfriend."
"Oh~ I heard a passing mention of that. You’re the one he dated for two and a half years, right?"
"Yes. That would be me," she said with a grin.
She looked down on Yeoeun with an air of superiority. "Well, if you’ve only been seeing him for a week, I think it’s safe to say I know Seungwoo-oppa much better than you do."
"? Hey, I told you not to call me oppa—"
Thwack!
"Gah!"
The current boyfriend got another jab in the ribs fortedly intervening. For some reason, the two women were using me as the meat in a sandwich to start their preliminary skirmish. Gulp, gulp! I just kept drinking water without a word. Forget the feast laid out before us; I was just refueling on minerals.
'This reminds me of when I went to that outsourcing firm with my team leader…'
I was familiar with this flow. It happens often in mixed-gender workplaces; when two incompatible women clash, there’s a certain atmosphere. The extreme thrill of walking on thin ice.
"You don't know a single thing about oppa yet, so it’s funny how you’re acting so close to him."
"That’s exactly why it’s fun to get to know him from here on out, isn't it?"
"It’s excessively close for someone you’ve only known for a week. Didn't you say you were just friends?"
"Hmm~ Is that any of your business? You said you were a couple that broke up, right? Then it’s my freedom to do whatever I want with him, isn't it? ♡"
It was a blatant psychological war. A battle of wits where they refused to lose, keeping their poker faces while their tongues danced like blades.
"And besides, my honey here was the one who gathered the courage to hold my hand first."
I flinched.
"He reached out and grabbed it at the amusement park last weekend… ♥"
Yeoeun pulled our joined hands from under the table. She flaunted our interlocked fingers. Choi Gaeun’s self-esteem was no joke, but she was out of her league. To a fox, a puppy trying to pick a fight is just gum to be played with. No matter what Gaeun said, Yeoeun deflected it with seasoned skill, and at the same time, she played with me.
"Isn't that right, honey?"
"……."
She had the ability to manipulate the situation using only the cold, hard facts. Grind, grind, grind, grind! Gaeun’s teeth were practically shattering; she had clearly lost her cool. Realizing she was being pushed back, she looked desperate to come up with something. We hadn't even been there for ten minutes, but she glared as if looking at a mortal enemy, then suddenly smoothed the wrinkles on her forehead as if she’d had an epiphany.
"……Excuse me. If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?"
"Hm? I’m thirty this year."
I answered plainly, feeling no need to hide it. Grin. Choi Gaeun smiled viciously. Her expression flipped as if she’d finally found a proper weak spot.
"Whew…."
She took a stance like someone gathering energy before unleashing a finishing move. With a bright, mocking smile, she delivered the line intended to make the other person snap.
"Wow~ At thirty, you’re basically a middle-aged lady now, aren't you?"
I flinched. That went beyond provocation. It was a clear declaration of war. As if to see the end of this suffocating psychological battle, she went full UFC. They’d been testing the waters, and now they were resorting to insults despite having only just met.
"……."
Yeoeun’s expression was blank. She responded with an unreadable, emotionless face, as if she’d been shocked, before—Hehe. ♥—she laughed back. She squeezed my hand and pressed her body against me even more.
"That’s exactly what I’m saying."
"……Eh?"
"It’s an age where I’ve completely become a middle-aged lady, so it’s quite a dilemma."
"U-Um, Yeoeun?"
She leaned in even closer. She linked her arm through mine, making sure her breast was fully pressed against my elbow. The soft sensation was a moment of pure bliss.
"Whew… I want to get closer to my honey before I get any older, but he won't open his heart to me, so it’s really a struggle."
She even rested her face against me. She lay on my chest in a half-reclined position, as if trying to hear my heartbeat.
"I’m impatient, so I’d love it if you’d just give me your permission soon. ♥"
"……."
"I… I see Seungwoo-ssi as more than just a friend."
"Wow…… You guys still aren't dating? Holy shit, I’m so jealous—"
Thwack!
At this point, it was like watching a professional actress. She was a perfect succubus who had been directed to seduce every man in the room. In the end, the common attack of calling her a "middle-aged lady" didn't work on Yeoeun at all. Which made sense, when you think about it. Since the moment we met, Joo Yeoeun had always been overflowing with confidence in herself. She knew something more important than age, so this kind of typical provocation didn't move her in the slightest.
Choi Gaeun had underestimated Joo Yeoeun far too much. I don't know why she started this psychological war on the first meeting, but it seemed like she was the only one taking any damage. As if she’d had enough fun toying with her, Yeoeun sat up from my chest.
"Then, can I have a turn to say something now?"
"……What?"
To Gaeun’s blunt reply, Yeoeun curled the corners of her mouth into a smile. She returned the favor, mirroring the way her opponent had acted.
"Do you know that your personality is absolutely shitty?"
"Excuse me? ………What!?"
Choi Gaeun’s face twisted in delayed shock, as if she couldn't believe what she’d just heard. 'Wow, wow….' Even I was surprised, but Yeoeun poured it on even more mercilessly against the now-distorted Gaeun.
"To go as far as calling your ex-boyfriend to have a pathetic dinner like this—isn't that disrespectful to both your ex and your current partner? I’d call it excessively self-centered… is that how everyone is these days?"
"……!"
Gaeun bit her lip.
"Y-You don't know anything about my relationship with Seungwoo-oppa, but this was made to reconcile our past—"
"Ha, reconciliation, my foot."
Yeoeun scoffed, dismissing it as nothing more than a long-winded excuse. "I don't know him that well, but considering our Seungwoo-ssi’s incredibly sincere personality, it’s obvious that you were the one who made a mess of things at the end."
"……!"
"Trying to reconcile after all this time—isn't that just to make yourself feel better? Your outfit doesn't exactly scream 'apologetic sinner,' either."
"W-What would you know about that!"
"Whew… don't you hear people say you’re shameless often? A woman being this clingy isn't very attractive, is it?"
"Cl-Cl-Cl-Clingy!?"
'Wow….'
It was scorching. She’d cornered her and was throwing punches with everything she had. If she wanted to go UFC, she was going to take off the gloves and fight with bare knuckles. Yeoeun fired off insults like a machine gun, her fox-like eyes still smiling.
"Y-Y-Y-Youuuu!"
Choi Gaeun was trembling. The kind of trembling before a volcanic eruption. But we didn't need to stay to see the eruption.
"Honey."
Yeoeun had already grabbed her coat and stood up. She reached out a hand with a playful smile, like a child running away after setting a fire.
"Let’s go. ♥"
The fair, white hand she extended toward me. Looking at it, I fell into a moment of reflection. For a brief, very brief moment, I looked at Gaeun, who I’d broken up with. Gaeun, who had lost the version of herself I once knew. After checking on my ex-girlfriend one last time, I grabbed it.
I made my choice. Naturally, my choice was here. Without a second thought, I followed Yeoeun and ran.
My mood was ruined. A perfectly ruined day.
"Shit, that middle-aged lady! Talking like that on the first meeting? Isn't she a total psycho!?"
She was wearing expensive high heels, but she kicked the ground until the heels were worn down. She was so furious that as she pulled out of the parking lot, her boyfriend raised both hands to stop her.
"Hey, hey, people are looking at you like you're the psycho. Calm down."
"How can I calm down?! You saw it too, didn't you, oppa?!"
"Yeah, I saw it. Man… her proportions were insane. No matter how I look at it, that face and those boobs aren't thirty—"
"Hey!"
This bastard had been staring at her chest ever since that lady arrived, and now that the tension had broken, he was being shameless. When I yelled at him, he seemed to come to his senses and started soothing me with a brazen smile.
"Calm down. Sometimes you just step in shit like this."
"……."
"I’m not really in the mood to go anywhere, so why don't we get a room and clear our heads?"
He even let his lecherous intentions show. They say men only have sex on the brain, but he really acted like a single-celled organism. But, honestly, I wasn't in the mood to go anywhere either. My body felt hot, and it would be better to just get a room nearby and blow off some stress.
"……."
"Gaeun?"
But as I thought about it, my heart grew more complicated. I’d been trying to forget him until I saw his face, but now it had all come rushing back.
'Seungwoo-oppa… he was so good in bed.'
After choosing the worst way to break up, the empty time that followed had been long. There was guilt, but I’d also experienced physical loneliness that went beyond that. I’d changed boyfriends three times since then, but that part of me had never been filled. None of them provided the same satisfaction I’d felt in bed with Seungwoo-oppa. It was just a matter of whether we were compatible or not. I was completely compatible with Seungwoo-oppa, and not at all with the others.
The reason I’d made the reckless move of approaching him yesterday pretending not to know anything—honestly, wasn't it because those memories had come back to life? I truly think I wanted to slowly restore our relationship. It seems I wanted… to be jealous of oppa.
Stupidly, I’d done it subconsciously.
"Whew… let’s go."
But it was too late. My number and account had been blocked a long time ago. As I chewed on that, even old memories came back to life. Our college days when we had fun even without money. The party we threw when I got my first job. I missed the times when we were both foolishly happy.
Breaking up was a decision I made for my life, but I lamented whether this was really the life I wanted. A little. ……No, I regretted it a lot.
'Shit, they were so lovey-dovey, are they really just friends? Is the head instructor in Gangnam for real? Then, why would someone like that be with oppa—'
I chewed on the thought, then realized. I went "Ah…" with my mouth half-open, finally understanding.
'Did you see that lady? Oppa, is it that good there?!'
Taking it a step further, 'That lady had an incredible aura, what if they’re already—'
+ + +
"Hey, hey…!"
I tried to struggle in the cramped car. But I soon realized there was nowhere left to go. The terror of a wolf approaching with glowing eyes in the darkness. Squeeze! Just like before, she grabbed my place.
Grasping it tightly, she leaned over the seat. "Honey… I can't hold it in anymore."
She seduced me with her soft skin. Inside the cramped car, she hugged me, whispering with flushed cheeks while purring like a beast.
"Let’s just do it, slowly. ♥"