Chapter 124: Competition
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 124: Competition
“Kim Woo-jin, why aren't you coming out?!”
Outside the men’s locker room.
Han Bom, oblivious to the situation, was hollering my name. We were supposed to meet outside after changing, and since I hadn't shown up, she’d clearly come looking for me.
“Woo-jin, you’re in there, right?”
“……”
This time, Lee Seo-ah called out to me, her voice laced with worry. Since I was taking so long, she seemed to think something was wrong.
‘Should I just lie and say I went back to the dorms?’
I wanted to text them saying I felt sick and left early, but that would mean the card reader would show I’d clocked out thirty minutes early.
As I sat there agonizing, unwilling to step outside, the voice of the very culprit who had put me in this predicament reached my ears.
“Come out.”
Short and concise.
Yoo Ah-rin’s voice, which seemed to radiate a strange heat beyond just being chilling, made my body stiffen instinctively.
“The more you stall, the more exhausting this is going to get.”
“……You said you wouldn't hit me.”
When I resisted in a small, shrinking voice, I heard her let out a long exhale.
“I won’t hit you.”
As if I could believe that.
However, the bewildered stares from the other employees using the locker room were starting to pile up, so I eventually had no choice but to step out.
The other two, already sensing the icy atmosphere between Yoo Ah-rin and me, were walking on eggshells.
When I gave them an awkward smile and a greeting, Yoo Ah-rin immediately snatched my arm, linking hers with mine, and began dragging me away.
“Let’s go.”
“Uh, o-okay.”
“What’s going on?”
Han Bom and Lee Seo-ah watched us, sensing something was off, but I could only let myself be pulled along under their gaze.
“Are you really not mad?”
When I asked Yoo Ah-rin cautiously as she held my arm, she glanced at me and tightened her grip.
“I’m mad.”
I figured as much.
“So you better behave today. Unless you want to die.”
“Is that your way of letting this slide?”
“Depends on how you act.”
Well, then I’d have to work hard. If I dared to talk back to Yoo Ah-rin when she had every justification to hit me, I’d truly be beaten to a pulp.
‘I should have learned how to fight better.’
It was embarrassing to admit to anyone that I got pushed around by a girl, but the story changed when that girl was Yoo Ah-rin, a former Taekwondo athlete. It was a loss anyone would accept.
Regardless, we decided to spend the remaining time taking a quick stroll around the hotel.
Walking around a hotel might sound strange, but Gold One was packed with numerous shops, ranging from restaurants to clothing stores. Since it was tucked away in a mountain valley with nothing else around, it felt like they’d made the place entirely self-sufficient.
There were so many restaurants that I briefly considered having dinner here, but one look at the prices on the menu made me realize that eating at the staff cafeteria was the only sensible choice.
“Should we check out Dae-Han-Dang?”
Lee Seo-ah suggested heading to the bakery where Seo Ye-rin worked.
As everyone agreed and started moving, Yoo Ah-rin, who had naturally let go of my arm earlier, clung to me once again. Since Lee Seo-ah and Han Bom were walking ahead, I didn't have to deal with their stinging glares, but still...
“……This is a bit too blatant.”
I knew she was linking arms specifically to target Seo Ye-rin at Dae-Han-Dang, so I couldn't help but comment.
“Ugh.”
Perhaps not expecting me to call her out so directly, Yoo Ah-rin hesitated for a moment, deep in thought. But then—
“Ow!”
She pinched my waist and made a declaration.
“Don't you dare let go of my arm from the moment we step into Dae-Han-Dang.”
“……”
“I’m serious, you’re dead if you do.”
At her chilling warning, I reflexively tensed the arm she was holding. Satisfied, she leaned against me slightly with a faint smirk on her lips.
“Heh.”
‘Seeing her like this, she is kind of……’
Cute.
Anyway, as we entered Dae-Han-Dang, Seo Ye-rin was, naturally, the first to greet us.
Wearing a baker’s hat and an apron, she looked a bit exhausted, likely from dealing with the swarm of customers who had flocked there after seeing her on SNS.
“Hey, guys, he—”
She started to greet us but stopped mid-sentence, her eyes fixated on Yoo Ah-rin and me with our arms linked.
“Is that butter cream cheese bread you mentioned last time still in stock? I really want to try it!”
“Ye-rin, take a picture with me in that outfit!”
Because Han Bom and Lee Seo-ah rushed her from the side, Seo Ye-rin’s attention was momentarily diverted to take care of them, but she looked visibly unsettled.
“Hehe, the effect is instantaneous.”
Yoo Ah-rin stifled a laugh, covering her mouth with her hand. Her satisfied expression was downright devious.
Just then.
“W-Woo-jin! Are you buying bread? Let me give you a recommendation!”
After leaving the other two friends to the other part-timers, Seo Ye-rin clung to my other arm.
The surrounding customers and other employees stared in shock at Seo Ye-rin, whose physical contact was far more excessive than usual.
‘Wow, what is this?’
To be honest, as a man, my self-esteem felt like it was piercing the heavens, and a grin started to spread across my face.
“Ack!”
My waist was pinched so hard I let out an involuntary cry.
When I turned to glare at Yoo Ah-rin, she met my eyes with her mouth firmly shut, looking utterly disgruntled.
“C-cough. Ye-rin? People are watching. You’re sticking too close.”
I forced myself to pry Seo Ye-rin’s arm off, taking Yoo Ah-rin’s side.
“……”
Realizing a moment too late that I had avoided her, Seo Ye-rin stared blankly at her own arm.
“Hmph!”
She pouted and gave my shoulder a light punch.
If it had ended there, it would have been fine, but Yoo Ah-rin, acting like a victor, flashed a V-sign at Seo Ye-rin.
“Hmph! Hmph! Hmph!”
Seo Ye-rin’s fists began to drum against my shoulder.
Compared to Yoo Ah-rin, her hits were like being pelted with cotton balls and didn't really hurt, but...
“People are watching.”
The scene was drawing too much attention, so I eventually had to step outside Dae-Han-Dang. Lee Seo-ah and Han Bom stayed behind to pick out bread, leaving just Yoo Ah-rin and me outside.
“Wow, that was exhilarating.”
Beside me, Yoo Ah-rin nodded vigorously, looking thoroughly satisfied.
“Okay, you’re forgiven.”
“Are you even friends with her?”
Finally released from her grip, I rotated my stiff shoulder and asked. Yoo Ah-rin snapped back irritably.
“Friends fight, and they compete. That’s how it is.”
I suppose that’s true, but...
“This is the first time I’ve ever beaten Ye-rin at something like this.”
“Was there a win-loss record?”
Yoo Ah-rin didn't answer my question and started humming while fiddling with her phone. I was going to wait outside for Lee Seo-ah and Han Bom to come out, but then my phone vibrated.
“……”
I felt like a junior being dragged off by seniors for punishment drills. After telling Yoo Ah-rin I was going to the restroom, I left her and arrived at the back of the bakery.
“Woo-jin?”
A very displeased Seo Ye-rin stood there with her arms crossed, glaring at me.
“Ahem, there were circumstances.”
“Did you... finish with those 'circumstances'?”
Is she crazy?
“No, I mean I had reasons.”
“Ah, those reasons……”
Realizing she’d misinterpreted, Seo Ye-rin looked embarrassed. Thanks to that, the atmosphere lightened up a bit.
“S-so, Ah-rin can link arms with you, but I can’t?”
“I told you, there were reasons.”
“Why do you keep talking about reasons? Are you frustrated? Do you want to do it now?”
It wasn't like she was offering a child a snack. I quickly stopped Seo Ye-rin as she started to unbutton her top.
“You’re doing this on purpose, aren't you?”
I called her out, sensing she was intentionally steering the conversation toward something sexual.
“No, I’m not……”
Like hell she wasn't. She turned her head away, feigning ignorance.
“Cut it out. We’re outside.”
“Then why did you push my arm away?”
We were back to square one.
I was at a loss for words. How could I tell her I did it because I didn't want to get beaten up for teasing Yoo Ah-rin about her panties?
“My chest is bigger, too.”
Seo Ye-rin appealed to me, cupping her own breasts from below. The innocence in her eyes made my heart flutter strangely.
“Feel them.”
“I already…… ahem, I’ve felt them before.”
I’d touched, bitten, and sucked everything last time, so what more was there to do?
But Seo Ye-rin took my hand and placed it firmly on her breast.
“O-oh……”
What was this?
My palm was filled with the sensation of her fullness. No, it felt like Seo Ye-rin’s breast was swallowing my hand. I let out an involuntary gasp.
Before I knew it, I was kneading them with both hands. Given how I couldn't take my eyes off them, she’d definitely cast some kind of spell on me.
“W-Woo…… ah…… jin……”
Did she just moan?
Just as I was about to move my hands more boldly, Seo Ye-rin asked in a small voice.
“Ah-rin is the Moderator, right?”
“……Pardon?”
My head instantly cooled down.
“Don't let go.”
While holding both my wrists to signal me to continue, Seo Ye-rin pressed on.
“Ah-rin is Unit 1, isn't she?”
She was already certain. Along with the fullness of her chest, her voice was tempting me to confess the truth.
“I’m right, aren't I? It’s obvious from what was posted on the Bamboo Forest.”
“Ah.”
Now that I thought about it, she was right. As the Administrator, I’d posted on the Bamboo Forest that I was fooling around with Unit 1 during the break. Since Seo Ye-rin knew my identity and our relationship, it wouldn't have been hard for her to guess that Yoo Ah-rin was Unit 1.
“Make me Unit 2.”
And Seo Ye-rin’s proposal was all too predictable.
“……”
“Hmm? If you want to keep touching them, make me Unit 2… Ah?!”
“……”
“L-let go for a second.”
“Ah, sorry.”
I’d been touching them so mindlessly that I’d lost myself in the sensation.
“Ugh… I-I said let go!”
Leaning against the back door, Seo Ye-rin’s body began to writhe as she clearly started to feel it. The moment her hot breath brushed against the back of my hand, I pleaded my innocence.
“I think I’m glitched.”
My hands won't let go. It’s like some kind of bug……
“I’m here to fix the bug.”
Kim Woo-jin’s body arched like a bow.
Yes, that was the only way to describe it. My body tilted sideways, and I went rolling across the ground.
“You son of a bitch!”
The moment my eyes met Yoo Ah-rin’s, who was looking down at me and huffing with rage, she lunged at me again.
“Ack! W-wait a second!”
“Shut up!”
Yoo Ah-rin went into a full mount and started raining down punches. Her hands were so 'spicy' that Seo Ye-rin’s earlier hits couldn't even compare. I’d been hit like this by Choi I-seo before, but from what I could tell, she was on par with or even stronger than I-seo.
“It really hurts! Crazy! It really hurts!”
“You! You! Die! Just die!”
“Ack!”
I tried to block by clutching my head with both hands, but eventually, I couldn't withstand it and went limp.
“Hmph!”
Fortunately, the attack stopped once my guard dropped. Perhaps because she practiced Taekwondo, she seemed to have at least a shred of an athlete’s conscience left.
“Hey, Seo Ye-rin!”
Then, she stepped over me and marched toward Seo Ye-rin.
* * *
“Hey, Seo Ye-rin!”
As Yoo Ah-rin approached Seo Ye-rin, her mind was so cluttered it felt dizzying. The jealousy and anger rising within her, feeling almost like intoxication, were being directed at both Seo Ye-rin and Kim Woo-jin.
Simply beating up Kim Woo-jin wasn't enough to clear her head.
Therefore.
“He took my panties today.”
Yoo Ah-rin decided to go on the offensive. If Seo Ye-rin was going to act that relaxed... if she was so full of self-confidence that she could talk about lukewarm things like 'competition'...
“He had fun playing around with me using those.”
Ah-rin was going to show her that being so relaxed would lead to disaster.
Seo Ye-rin’s gaze shifted to the fallen Kim Woo-jin. He was staring blankly at the sky as if his soul had left his body.
“And today, I’m going to have sex with that bastard.”
“……?!”
Seo Ye-rin’s gaze snapped back to Yoo Ah-rin.
Yoo Ah-rin met her eyes, still huffing. Honestly, she hadn't intended to go this far. She thought they’d just hang out like usual and that would be it.
But seeing Kim Woo-jin groping Seo Ye-rin’s breasts had made her blood boil, and the words were just spilling out.
Her competitive streak and desire to win were ablaze. She could handle losing once. But Yoo Ah-rin could never lose twice.
“Tell the girls in our room that I’m staying out tonight. I’m leaving.”
Yoo Ah-rin turned to take Kim Woo-jin with her. She wanted to see just how long Seo Ye-rin could keep up her relaxed act.
Grab!
Seo Ye-rin snatched her wrist.
Surprised by the sheer strength in the grip, Yoo Ah-rin looked at Seo Ye-rin, slightly flustered.
“Y-Ye-rin?”
Standing there was a Seo Ye-rin with an expression entirely different from what she’d expected.
“A-Are you really going to do it?”
The same Seo Ye-rin who had been so confident about competing and doing their best...
“I-I mean, you know. Woo-jin isn't feeling well today……”
Her face was flushed red as if it were on fire, and she was at a complete loss.
“D-Do you really have to? I-It’s not like I want to do it or anything. We have to think about Woo-jin’s opinion, too!”
“……”
“And we have to go to work tomorrow……”
“……”
“T-They say men need time to recharge after doing it once…… S-Since it hasn't been long, it’ll be hard for him right now! Yeah! It’ll be hard!”
“……”
“I-I’ll tell you later! After I check with Woo-jin……!”
“Ye-rin.”
“Y-Yes?! I-It’s definitely not because I think he’s mine! W-We agreed to have a fair competition! I’m not jealous or anything!”
It was pathetic.
“……You’re cute.”
Yes, honestly, Yoo Ah-rin had to admit it. Seeing Seo Ye-rin on the verge of tears because she heard Ah-rin was going to sleep with Kim Woo-jin was cute.
‘She’s the same.’
Seeing her just as devoid of composure and just as jealous as herself...
Somehow, her heart began to feel at ease.