Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Shackles
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To a college student, April isn't the season of cherry blossoms.
It's the brutal season of midterms.
"Ah, I'm seriously gonna die. Why does the professor cover the material so fast?"
As exam period approached, the central library turned into a total warzone.
If you didn't line up at dawn, you couldn't even dream of snagging a seat, let alone breathe the reading room air.
I, the returning student, was no exception. Even though I'd come out early in the morning, I couldn't find an empty spot and was pacing around like a hyena.
That was when it happened.
[Yoon Seo-ah: Senior! Where are you? I saved a seat for you!]
[Yoon Seo-ah: 3rd reading room, corner spot. Best seat ever lol. Hurry over!]
A message from my savior popped up.
I let out a sigh of relief and headed to the 3rd reading room.
How had Yoon Seo-ah managed to snag seats in this battlefield—two of them, no less?
The question crossed my mind for a moment, but I brushed it off, figuring it was just her talent at work. Totally plausible.
I opened the door to the reading room and spotted her right away, tucked in the farthest corner.
Even from a distance, she shone.
White shirt, black cardigan, hair tied back tight, glasses on. A far cry from her usual glamorous goddess vibe—this was straight-up intellectual literary girl mode.
"Senior, over here."
She mouthed the words and pointed to the seat beside her.
On the desk were already my go-to canned coffee and some chocolate.
Such thoughtfulness. I sat down, my face lighting up with gratitude.
"Thanks. Without you, I'd have been studying on the floor today."
"Oh, come on. I came out at the crack of dawn because I wanted to study with you, Senior."
Yoon Seo-ah beamed and opened her textbook.
The room was dead silent, filled only with the rustle of turning pages and the scratch of pens.
We fell into the rhythm, starting our quiet study session.
But there was no way I could focus.
The faint shampoo scent wafting from right next to me. Every time she brushed her hair back, that glimpse of her pale neck.
It was a brutally tempting setup for a parched returning student's senses.
I forced my eyes to the book and tried to mind-control myself.
Focus. Blow this exam, and there goes the scholarship.
About thirty minutes in.
Something nudged my foot from below. Tap.
Huh?
I instinctively pulled my leg back. Figured it was the person across, but this wasn't a partitioned study carrel—it was an open facing table.
And across from me was empty anyway.
So the culprit had to be the girl next to me.
I glanced sideways, but Yoon Seo-ah was dead serious, highlighting away.
Must've been my imagination?
I turned back to my book.
Slide—
This time, no doubt about it.
Something soft and smooth crept up my ankle, slow and steady.
Yoon Seo-ah's foot, wrapped in sheer nude stockings.
I nearly dropped my pen.
My heart plummeted. This was the sacred library, for crying out loud?
I widened my eyes and stared at Yoon Seo-ah.
But she didn't lift her gaze from the book.
Left hand propping her chin, right hand scribbling notes like mad.
From the waist up, she was the picture of a model student.
Her toes pressed into my shin, then slipped under my pant cuff, rubbing my calf.
Is she... messing with me?
Too blatant and persistent for an accident.
Panicking, I scribbled on a Post-it and stuck it on her desk.
[Hey, foot.]
Yoon Seo-ah glanced at it and stifled a laugh.
Without even looking my way, she scribbled back.
[Why? Leg's numb. Stretching.]
Who stretches like this?
I was floored, but with the silence rule, I couldn't call her out.
She seemed to relish my discomfort—her foot play grew bolder.
Shoes off now, completely.
Her toes pinched my ankle playfully, then tapped the inside of my thigh.
A jolt shot up my spine.
I'm losing it.
Cold sweat beaded up.
I scanned around, terrified someone might see, but everyone was buried in their own work.
In this vast library, just the two of us sharing this secret touch.
The forbidden thrill was weirdly exciting.
I tensed my leg to push her off, but she pressed deeper, unrelenting.
Like a snake coiling around prey.
She turned to look at me.
Her eyes sparkled with mischief behind those glasses. She mouthed something.
Stay still.
It was an order.
Not her usual cutesy "Senior~".
In that instant, some strange pressure pinned me down, body frozen.
"Um... Senior Kang Minwoo?"
A sudden voice—our tangled legs sprang apart under the desk.
I jerked my head up to see a unfamiliar freshman girl standing there.
Hoodie, glasses, baby-faced junior.
"Ah, yeah. Who...?"
"I'm Kim Soo-jin, first-year. I was wondering if you have the 'Marketing Management' past exam notes...?"
She fidgeted, continuing.
"My classmates said you're great at studying and probably have them organized... Sorry to ask, but could I maybe copy them? I'll buy you coffee!"
Such an innocent request.
Hard to turn down a same-major underclassman begging for exam notes during hell week.
Plus, her calling me a 'study whiz senior' secretly puffed me up a bit.
"Oh, sure? Hang on. They're on my laptop... "
As I reached for my notebook—
Thud.
A dull impact from under the desk.
Yoon Seo-ah had kicked my foot.
I swallowed a near yelp and glared at her.
"Senior."
"Uh...?"
Her voice cut in from the side.
Eerily calm, low tone.
"We're studying right now. Don't interrupt our flow."
Yoon Seo-ah looked up at the junior.
Glasses pushed down just a bit, eyes narrowed, scanning her up and down.
The playful face from moments ago was gone—replaced by icy coldness.
Like a beast chasing off an intruder from her territory, dripping with sharp hostility.
"Ah... S-sorry. I didn't realize you were here too, Senior Seo-ah."
The junior paled.
Was it because Yoon Seo-ah was the famous 'Business School Goddess,' but also this untouchable, noble aura?
"If you get it, then scram? Senior Minwoo's busy with me right now."
Yoon Seo-ah latched onto my arm as she spoke.
That "busy with me" dripped with possessiveness.
The junior backed away, spooked.
"S-sorry! Didn't mean to interrupt!"
She fled the scene.
I stared blankly at her retreating figure, then turned to Yoon Seo-ah.
"Hey, what was that? She just wanted some notes."
"No way."
Yoon Seo-ah pouted.
"Girls like that's all excuses. Notes my ass—she came to hit on you, Senior. Can't you tell?"
"Hit on me? Come on."
"What about you? You're so cool."
Her foot slid under the desk again.
Not kicking this time—she wrapped it gently around my ankle.
Like fastening shackles.
"Your notes are for my eyes only, Senior. Don't show other girls. Waste."
Jealousy?
Angel-like Yoon Seo-ah, jealous. Cute, but a little scary too.
That chilling glare at the junior lingered in my mind.
"Fine, fine. Just for you."
"Promise? No talking to other girls either. Ruins my focus."
Yoon Seo-ah seemed pleased and returned to her book.
But under the desk, her foot stayed glued to my leg.
Driving me insane.
It burrowed even deeper, teasing the inside of my thigh.
Screw it... studying's done.
I sighed and closed my textbook.
No way words were sticking.
All my nerves were locked on that hot sensation of her toes under the desk.
10 p.m.
Closing time finally hit, and we stepped out.
Night air was chilly, but my face was still burning. All day tormented by Yoon Seo-ah's 'foot games.'
"Senior, study hard today?"
"Thanks to you, zero progress. Take responsibility."
"Psh, you loved it."
Yoon Seo-ah hooked her arm in mine, giggling.
Couldn't argue. Honestly, I didn't hate it. Thrived on the thrill, maybe.
"I'll walk you home. It's late."
"Whoa, really? My place is that way."
Yoon Seo-ah lived in a fancy officetel near campus, not a goshiwon.
One of those notoriously pricey ones.
We strolled a quiet street lit by sparse lamps. She clung tight to my arm.
Not just linking—practically hanging off it.
Her warmth and deadly softness messed with my head.
"Senior."
"Yeah?"
"That first-year earlier? Totally lame, right? Admit it."
"She seemed average. Why?"
"No way! Her eyes were all foxy. Like she wanted to devour you."
You're the real fox.
I thought it, smirking inwardly.
No answer from me—she pinched my arm, annoyed.
"Say it. Lamer than me."
"Ow! Okay, fine. You're the prettiest. Happy?"
"Hehe. Obviously."
She leaned her head on my shoulder, all satisfied smiles.
That innocent grin made me wonder if her icy library face was a trick of the light.
Yeah, just jealous, that's all.
I shrugged it off and matched her pace.
I simply thought the spring breeze felt nice,
and willingly accepted the invisible shackles tightening around my ankle.