Chapter 75: Tuesday Lecture
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 75: Tuesday Lecture
A dark room.
I lay on the mattress, staring up at the ceiling.
Beside me, I could feel a presence—Choi I-seo, radiating a fragrant scent of skin that made me wonder if we really did use the same shampoo.
Watching her as she kept her eyes closed, I let out a small smirk.
"Did it hurt?"
"..."
There was no answer.
Was she just too embarrassed?
"Sorry. I should’ve been a bit gentler."
"..."
Still no response.
It was too early to be asleep. Besides, I could feel a slight tension in the hand I was holding.
"I'm sorry I couldn't hold back."
Press.
Now I-seo was digging her nails into the back of my hand. But I kept going.
"Since it was your first time, it must have—"
"What are you doing?"
Finally.
Unable to take it anymore, Choi I-seo slowly opened her eyes and glared at me. At her "what kind of nonsense is this" reaction, I pouted and replied.
"Image training."
"What image training?"
"Rehearsing what I’d say to you... assuming we actually did it?"
Of course.
Nothing had actually progressed with Choi I-seo.
In the end, I’d been beaten up, had my condoms confiscated, ate jjimdak, drank some alcohol, watched a movie, and went to bed.
And since the movie was an action flick rather than a romance, the only thing left in my body was a lingering thirst for combat.
Even though a man and a woman were in the same room, any romantic atmosphere had long since been aired out through the window.
"Stop it."
Choi I-seo closed her eyes again with an annoyed huff. It was my own little roleplay, but apparently, she wasn't a fan.
Suddenly, my left calf felt itchy. I let go of her hand to scratch it, but—
Grip.
She immediately snatched my hand back.
"My calf is itchy."
"Then sit up and scratch it with your other hand."
She answered listlessly, eyes still closed. It was absurd—she wouldn't sleep with me, yet she wouldn't let go of my hand either.
I ended up scratching my calf with my free hand and lying back down. I-seo was still holding my hand. She had said "this is the limit," so I didn't push further, but I didn't pull away either.
She looked like she had absolutely no intention of letting go of our intertwined hands.
'Whatever.'
I forced down the excitement coursing through my body and slowly closed my eyes.
I didn't know if sleep would come.
But I had to at least try.
* * *
You know that trope?
The one where you wake up to find a beautiful girl clinging to you, cuddling in her sleep.
It’s a classic cliché in Japanese anime and manga, so honestly, I’d been looking forward to it a little. But...
"Strict as a soldier, I see."
When I woke up, Choi I-seo was asleep in the exact same posture, maintaining the exact same distance.
Come to think of it, she was like this when we slept at the jjimjilbang, too.
I carefully let go of her hand and checked the time.
7:30 AM.
Waking up earlier than usual was probably due to the tension of having her next to me.
On the other hand, maybe I-seo had stayed up late because she was nervous, as she was still sound asleep.
The sight of her sleeping, her soft breaths escaping her lips, was so lovely I almost wanted to take a photo.
'What should I eat for breakfast?'
Maybe it was because I’d just woken up.
Or maybe it was because the scent of my ex-girlfriend's shampoo was wafting from my own hair.
Yesterday's excitement had cooled down, and my rational mind was now calmly debating breakfast options.
Looking back, I must have been crazy. Even if I-seo was the one tempting me, I was really about to just go for it with a girl who wasn't even my girlfriend.
'But is that really my fault?'
Isn't the person doing the tempting the one at fault?
Anyway.
Having regained my reason upon waking, I headed to the bathroom to wash up.
I usually preferred rice, but since we had jjimdak last night, I wondered if I should go to the bakery and grab some sandwiches. Just as I finished my shower...
I-seo was sitting blankly on the mattress, apparently having just woken up.
Her messy bedhead looked quite cute.
"You're up?"
When I called out to her while drying my hair, she looked up at me dazed. Then, she suddenly startled and hid under the blanket.
"Ah, oh? Y-Yeah!"
"You're acting shy now?"
"I-I'm not shy!"
I could see it written all over her face—she was remembering her behavior from last night and regretting it.
I’d gone through a similar phase myself, so it didn't seem that strange to me.
"I'm going to go buy some bread for breakfast. Anything you like?"
"A-Anything is fine. I eat everything."
"Got it. I'll be back."
I threw on a coat and stepped outside. I leaned against the door for a moment and waited.
"Aaaaaagh!"
A scream erupted from inside.
"Choi I-seo, you're insane! You crazy girl! Crazy! Craaaazy!"
"Just die! Just die! Please, just dieeee!"
'Is she going to tear the blanket?'
After enjoying the sound of I-seo screaming and thumping the mattress, I headed to the bakery.
"Y-You're back?"
I-seo was waiting for me awkwardly, having already washed up. She wasn't wearing the T-shirt I’d given her anymore; she was back in the clothes she wore yesterday.
It was lucky for her that we’d gone to the coin laundry after dinner last night.
"Bought bread. Bought milk, too."
I immediately pulled a sandwich out of the paper bag.
"A vegetable sandwich for the lady currently preparing for her body profile."
"..."
"And some sugar-free plain yogurt."
"..."
"And finally, a chocolate donut to blow all that effort away in one go."
When I handed her all three with a grin, I-seo stared blankly at them before bursting into a giggle.
"What the... why did you even buy the first two then?"
"It's always more fun to watch someone give up after trying hard. You know how people eat chicken breast to diet, but then order fried chicken an hour later? Then they end up eating the chicken breast and the fried chicken, so they eat more than before they started the diet."
I chatted about nonsense while unwrapping the bread. It was freshly baked and still warm, looking delicious.
"We should probably eat on the way."
I checked the time; it was already 8:30 AM. I had a 9:00 AM lecture, so it seemed better to head to the classroom early and eat there.
"Oh, right. You have a five-hour free period today."
"...Thanks for reminding me of the 'good' news."
When would this Tuesday hell of a five-hour free period ever end?
I glared at I-seo for pointing it out and packed the bread. Then, noticing her current state, I added one more thing.
"If you're feeling self-conscious, wear a hat and a mask."
Since she had short hair, it had dried quickly, but since she hadn't put on makeup, I thought she might feel a bit exposed.
"I don't usually wear much makeup anyway... but yeah, let me borrow them."
A lot of people hate showing their bare faces, but in I-seo's case, maybe it was because she rarely wore makeup to begin with, or maybe she was just confident—either way, she didn't seem to mind much.
Regardless, I left the house with I-seo, who was now wearing my hat and mask.
We arrived in twenty minutes by jogging a bit. This was the perk of living close to the university.
After settling into a corner seat, I took out the bread. It had cooled down a bit, but it still tasted good.
"Mmm. Maybe it's because it's fresh from this morning, but it's good."
"Does that even matter for a sandwich?"
"..."
"Or are you saying that plain yogurt, which was already processed in a factory, tastes fresh?"
"..."
As I was teasing I-seo for her weird comments, a cold breeze suddenly drifted toward us.
"Hi."
It was Seo Ye-rin, the girl we’d played games with yesterday. She greeted us with a smile at first, but then she tilted her head as she saw us sitting there eating bread.
"Hmm? Did you two come together?"
"Cough! Hack!"
I-seo, caught off guard, suddenly choked and started coughing. I patted her on the back and answered.
"We ran into each other at the bakery on the way. I think she overslept, too."
"Aha, I see~"
Ye-rin smiled and pointed at the red bean bread I was eating.
"Give me a bite."
Normally, I would never have given it up, but today I felt like I owed her one, so I held it out.
"Ham."
I wondered if all pretty girls made sounds like that when they ate, but whatever.
I was going to let it slide because she was cute, but she wouldn't let go of the bread once it was in her mouth.
"Hmph."
"..."
Then, like a tank advancing, she began to shove more of the red bean bread into her mouth.
"What are you doing?"
Only after she had finished the entire thing did Seo Ye-rin smile contentedly. Seeing her smiling demurely while covering her mouth with her hand—even though there were crumbs on her cheek—really made me want to flick her forehead.
Well, I had plenty of other bread, so it didn't really matter. I would have just given it to her if she’d asked.
This time, I pulled out a cream bread, and Ye-rin tilted her head again.
"Your taste in bread is a bit old-school."
"Ah, I was thinking the same thing."
I-seo chimed in immediately, as if she’d been waiting for the chance.
"That's because you only ever stuff your face with cakes and bread with weird names at cafes."
Excuse me, but this isn't 'old-school,' it's 'the classics.'
Red bean bread, cream bread, soboro bread.
Who would dare call these legendary staples 'outdated'?
By the time we had almost finished the bread, Seo Ye-rin, who had been watching us blankly, spoke with a bright smile.
"I guess we have to have a real meal for lunch then? Since you had bread for breakfast?"
"Of course."
"Good grief."
As if I’d ever consider bread for lunch. No matter how legendary the 'Classic Trio' was, how could they ever compete with a hearty, steaming bowl of gukbap or stir-fried pork?
Those were the true foundations of a meal.
"I-seo, is there anything you want for lunch?"
"Huh? Nothing in particular comes to mind..."
The two of them continued their conversation with me sitting between them. Glancing at Seo Ye-rin, who wore a pleasant smile, it seemed like she hadn't noticed anything unusual.
Vibrate!
My phone buzzed.
I leaned back so as not to interrupt their conversation and checked the screen.
"..."
A sudden chill ran down my spine. The moment I saw that one of Ye-rin's hands was under the desk while she continued to chat and laugh with I-seo...
I was impressed by her ability to type a text like that without even looking at the screen, but at the same time...
"Woo-jin, where did you buy this bread? It's delicious."
Seeing her acting all coy and smiling brightly—completely contrary to the content of her text—gave me the creeps.