Chapter 20
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Cold War (4)
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‘Well, there's no way this girl actually likes me that much or was thinking about marriage.’
Of course, I knew that too. That Cheon So-yul's fondness for me couldn't possibly be romantic affection or goodwill.
So, I could roughly understand what she meant. The overall conclusion she was driving at.
In other words, while she was pondering the utility of the Heavenly Thunder I'd copied on my behalf, she got carried away and spouted nonsense to her own mother. To that Myriad Thunders, Cheon Se-hee.
‘Man, she's still got that habit of veering off the path and making a fool of herself right when things are going well.’
To be a bit more honest, sure. We'd shared a bed, after all.
New emotions could naturally arise to some degree. Even I couldn't completely deny the existence of that thing called affection between man and woman.
"And then she finds out I did it with another girl in the middle of all that... So her emotions exploded, right?"
"……."
"She got pissed, felt wronged. Said some unnecessary stuff, and now that it's turned out like this, she's embarrassed too."
"……."
"And she just hates my guts?"
Cheon So-yul, who had been tilting her head to the side without responding while I spoke, finally reacted at that moment. She shot me a sharp glance.
"……You get it. I was so pissed off, I nearly snapped your waist in half on impulse. Took some effort to hold back that urge."
"……."
That much? No, even so, wasn't that a bit extreme?
"Ahem……."
Suddenly, my appetite vanished. I set down the chicken wing I'd just picked up and took a swig from a can of beer instead to wet my throat.
So, how do I handle this?
It was something I had no choice but to agonize over. Apologizing felt off since I hadn't done anything majorly wrong, and even Cheon So-yul acknowledged that.
After all, it was her who rejected my offer to take responsibility right then and there.
‘Of course…… even so, as one person to another, I can't deny that I made a mistake.’
I let out an awkward cough. Honestly, it wasn't like we'd only done it once and could avoid seeing each other forever. We were still best friends, right?
Factually speaking, less than a few days after my first time with her, I'd slept with another woman.
From Cheon So-yul's perspective, it wasn't a pleasant fact. And she hadn't heard it from me, but pieced it together herself.
Those indescribably complicated, displeased feelings—whatever they were, resentment toward me. I acknowledged them.
I sincerely understood and empathized.
‘……What the hell do I do about this…….’
How on earth do I untangle this mess? How do I best soothe her sulky heart?
That was when I started pondering seriously.
"……Whatever, it's fine now. Doesn't matter anymore."
Cheon So-yul broke her silence.
Her tone carried a strange sense of relief.
Feeling an odd unease, I lifted my head, which I'd been keeping low, and looked at her.
Her expression still held some resentment toward me, but…….
It somehow seemed resigned, detached, as if she'd given up. Like she was saying it was all the same to her now.
I felt that earlier premonition of dread hit me sharply.
"……It doesn't, matter?"
"Yeah."
She nodded at my wavering question. Leaning back on her arms, she tilted her head slightly.
Through the gap in her uniform shirt—top button undone—her pure white cleavage peeked out.
A short, light chuckle escaped her. Heh.
"Well, isn't that the truth? You're not my boyfriend, and I'm not your girlfriend. Interfering with each other would be ridiculous……."
"……."
"Right, right. Go ahead and have your fun, Mr. Great Ability Hyun-jin. I even gave you my virginity. Time for me to hang out with my friends and play around with other guys too."
She said it casually, bringing a can of beer to her lips like it was no big deal.
But the moment I heard those words, it felt like a stone dropped into my heart.
–Time for me to play around with other guys too.
……Not a single word was wrong, yet for some reason, it made my heart uneasy.
Deeply so.
‘……Pfft, damn it. I shouldn't laugh.’
Cheon So-yul had to forcibly suppress her lips from curling upward.
Laughing now would ruin everything. Her grand plan would fall apart.
She'd just tossed those words at Lee Hyun-jin: ‘Time for me to play around with other guys too.’ She prayed he wouldn't see through that it was a lie, something she didn't mean at all.
All she wanted was for him to feel the exact same emotion she had.
To put it bluntly, ‘jealousy.’
That sticky feeling between man and woman.
No guy other than Lee Hyun-jin, with whom she'd shared a deep relationship for a whole year, would ever stir her heart, no matter who she brought in.
She admitted her desires were strong. But she was confident it wasn't directed at just any man.
It was possible because it was Lee Hyun-jin. Because it was him, she felt no aversion—in fact, she could face her own desires more honestly.
Truth be told, that night, she'd fully indulged in the pleasure of physical intimacy without holding back.
So she had to rein him in now. Woman's instinct, or intuition—call it what you will.
If she didn't take measures…… he'd keep repeating the same thing.
Sure, given his bizarre trait, forming relationships with as many women as possible was advantageous for his future. She acknowledged that.
‘Fine, do whatever you want with that…….’
If she couldn't stop his playboy tendencies, at least she had to be his top priority.
……In other words, the minimal possessiveness that even Cheon So-yul didn't want to give up.
He'd always prioritized her above anyone else anyway.
Lee Hyun-jin treasured Cheon So-yul, and vice versa. Nothing different there.
The two didn't dislike this relationship. No, they rather liked it.
That's why Cheon So-yul thought:
As long as Lee Hyun-jin didn't want to give up this relationship, she might actually hold the reins. There had to be a way.
"What's with that face?"
This was that way.
Cheon So-yul laughed inwardly.
But she didn't show it outwardly. She acted nonchalant, carefree, as if asking what the problem was, drawing out his anxiety even more.
Lazily stretching, she flashed him a captivating expression.
"Don't tell me you hate the idea of me with another guy? Ah, but you had your fun with other girls while leaving me alone?"
She spoke, and Lee Hyun-jin's lips twitched slightly.
"……That's……."
But finding words to say wouldn't be easy. After all, her words were the most logical.
Cheon So-yul cheered inwardly. His reaction was too satisfying. Thrilling.
Yeah, you're jealous too, aren't you? You hate me with another guy.
You want my body all to yourself, right? Not sharing with other men.
"It's romance when you do it, adultery when I do? Something like that?"
But her outward words were different.
They had to be. For now.
Cheon So-yul deliberately twisted her lips, feigning irritation. Narrowing her eyes, she stared at Lee Hyun-jin.
He probably knew it in his head too. Not a single flaw in her words.
But he wouldn't want to accept it outright.
It wouldn't be easy to swallow.
Yeah, just like she had for the past three days.
He must be feeling the exact same impatience.
She understood a hundred, a thousand times. No, she encouraged it. Jealousy harder, want to possess her more. It didn't matter. All good.
She was just so happy about it. Her real goal was to revel in that dark emotion.
Cheon So-yul cleanly wiped the grease from her hands and mouth with Clean Magic. Beer and chicken were no longer on her mind.
Lifting one leg slightly, she hooked her finger under the pure white stocking beneath her uniform skirt and slid it down. With a subtly erotic gesture.
Gulp. The sound of someone swallowing dryly.
Probably the guy right in front of her.
Cheon So-yul couldn't hold back her smile at the thrilling sensation. Breathing out a lustful sigh, she stretched her leg toward Lee Hyun-jin.
She tossed the removed stocking aside carelessly, then prodded his thigh with her pale bare foot.
She could see his body twitch—feel it through her toes.
Feeling a pleasure not great for her head, Cheon So-yul tossed words at him.
"Hey."
No reply came, but Lee Hyun-jin's conflicted gaze was fixed on her.
"You hate me doing it with another guy?"
"……."
"Then, you know."
Her foot didn't stop even as she spoke slowly.
It moved more. Advanced further.
Brushing his knee, then his thigh, she curled her toes to deliver more dangerous, precarious stimulation.
Continuing the sensual touches, Cheon So-yul pressed on.
"Show me some sincerity."
"……What?"
Lee Hyun-jin finally showed a bewildered reaction.
Cheon So-yul smiled with her eyes, unperturbed.
"Make it so I won't look at another guy. Show me you can do it right."
Lee Hyun-jin gaped, at a loss for words, and Cheon So-yul delivered the finishing blow.
"If you're gonna cheat, at least satisfy your wife more. You trash."
Her playful words made his pupils quake.
Time until his reason fully crumbled: exactly three seconds.
Convinced her seduction had worked, Cheon So-yul smiled silently as she undid the ties of her skirt.