The Iljin Pack, Distortion and a Proposal

Lee Dona looked down at me as if I were the punchline to a joke.

She was shorter than me, yet somehow her gaze always hovered a level above my own — a genuine marvel.

"Seo Yerin's lapdog, Han Junyoung. Wearing a leash back then, wearing one now — some things never change, huh?"

...

"So? Was there something going on between you two? Are you actually dating or not?"

...

When I gave no answer, Dona smirked.

"All that commotion you two kicked up, and you're still at it? Be honest — after this much time, if there's really nothing between you, then you're as good as a stray with no owner, aren't you?"

...

"Yeah. That girl's lying — it was never a once-or-twice kind of thing with her."

That arrogant, insufferable face, sneering with every last word, hadn't changed one bit.

Yoon Soyoung, the second of the pack, slid up in front of me — then jabbed a finger into my chest, her expression full of wonder.

"Yo, holy shit. When did you get this built? Is this seriously the same loser who used to do nothing but carry people's bags?"

...

The tip of her finger, sharpened to a point by long manicured nails, pricked unpleasantly against my skin.

The youngest of the three, Jung Haeun, with her long sleek hair, played shy, half-concealing her enormous chest while sneaking glances at me.

Either way, nothing good had ever come of getting tangled up with these people.

"...I'm busy. See you."

"Hey, you bailed on us yesterday and now you're bailing again today?"

Soyoung's shrill voice barked at my back. I ignored it and quickened my pace.

I sat through my lectures, but naturally, none of it stuck.

'The cash-out is guaranteed, but...'

How do I keep the app running? Keep the points flowing in? Keep the satisfaction ratings from sinking below the cutoff?

I turned the questions over and over until I found myself back at the apartment.

-Beep-beep.

"I'm home."

"......"

"Seo Yerin. Yerin?"

No answer. Apparently she'd gone out to campus.

The moment I stepped into the kitchen, a sigh came pouring out of me. Another round of dirty dishes sat abandoned on the table, exactly where she'd left them.

"Seriously, that girl can't wash a single dish, can she. And the temper on top of it..."

I was about to start cleaning up when I spotted it — a memo on the table, carelessly torn to shreds.

'Ah... right. That was today.'

Seeing it brought it back — today was the day of Yerin's department gathering's overnight trip. Two days, one ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠night.

A cold sweat traced down my spine.

If I hadn't raised Yerin's stamina stat, the girl wouldn't have been able to crawl out of bed, and the trip would have been canceled on the spot.

And then every last shred of that tantrum would have landed squarely on me. Obviously.

Ding-dong!

I was still mid-sigh when the doorbell rang.

"Forget something?"

Figuring that crazy girl had left some luggage behind, I opened the door — and there stood the last faces I ever expected to see.

"...What the hell?"

"Whoa, no way. Yo, so this is where you guys live?"

The iljin pack had tracked the place down without a clue whose den they were marching into.

"Han Junyoung. Nice place you've got here."

"......"

"Mind if we come in?"

Dona didn't wait for an answer — she just shoved past my shoulder and walked in.

Soyoung trailed after her, kicking off her shoes wherever they landed like she owned the place, while Haeun gave me a small nod — then tidied up even Soyoung's scattered shoes before stepping inside.

Tidying the shoes, of all things. As expected — the most insidious behavior hiding behind the most innocent face.

"Ha."

A hollow laugh escaped me at the sheer absurdity of it.

"How the hell did you even find this place?"

No answer. My head throbbed.

The girls strolled into the living room and looked around as if touring their own home.

"Yo, you live somewhere this nice? Didn't expect that from you."

Soyoung smirked as she swept her gaze across the living room.

Then, prowling around the table, she spotted Yerin's belongings and the crumpled note lying among them, and let out a squeal.

"Huh? Dude, he seriously IS living with Seo Yerin!"

True to form for a manners-free airhead, she flung open the door at the end of the hall without a moment's hesitation.

"Yo, it's true! Hey, you really ARE living with Seo Yerin!"

At that, Dona snatched the note off the table ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and read it.

Having pieced the situation together, a smile curled across her lips.

"Ahh~ so Seo Yerin's off on her trip and the place is empty tonight."

Dona planted herself deep into the sofa, crossed her legs, and swayed her top foot back and forth.

"Perfect timing, actually. We had nowhere to go today and it was becoming a real problem. Just let us have the place for today. It's getting late, and we've got nowhere to sleep."

I checked the clock. It wasn't even six in the evening. The sheer gall was almost impressive. And then Soyoung piled on.

"Yo, sitting around doing nothing is boring — let's just drink. Han Junyoung, you drink with us too."

'...So that was the scheme. What were these girls angling for, worming their way in here?'

Same as the old days, apparently. They were out to snag themselves a fresh pushover.

"Oh? So you do the housework yourself, huh?"

"......"

Soyoung had already ransacked my fridge on her own authority, hauling things out as she pleased.

That airhead had been flaunting that shameless familiarity since way back — she'd left people blinking in confusion more times than I could count.

Haeun, meanwhile, sat there playing demure, and when I looked closer to see what she was up to, she was placing a delivery order entirely on her own initiative.

Ordering delivery. Her insidious little scheme to save my address into her phone. Insidious to the bone.

Dona, for her part, sat with regal arrogance and turned on the TV as if this were her own bedroom.

The arrogant witch.

"Han Junyoung, you not gonna hang out with us? Come on, catch us up on how you've been living all this time."

"...Fine. In a bit."

"Ooh, 'in a bit'? Look at you, all grown up."

I left the three of them to freeload as they pleased and pulled up their info windows.

No need to check anything else. Just the satisfaction ratings.

"Hmmm."

All three of them, rock bottom.

Yerin used to tear into these girls behind their backs — how they supposedly traded in boyfriends every other week, that sort of thing.

A hollow laugh slipped out of me.

'Always bragging about cycling through men, and look at these numbers.'

Or wait — was it because they were this much of a mess that they kept churning through men in the first place?

'......Come to think of it.'

They'd always claimed they swapped men constantly, but I'd never once seen proof of a single one.

'Did these girls actually have boyfriends...?'

Well, they were the type to bluster. Maybe they'd faked having one even when there was nothing there.

I activated my newly purchased skill.

The thoughts of all three surfaced across the app window.

"...Yeah. So that's how it is."

Roughly speaking, I understood now.

The pack had naturally annexed the living-room table and set up a proper drinking session.

Tss, pssh. Beer cans cracked open one after another, idle chatter flowing along with them.

"Han Junyoung. Life must be treating you pretty well these days? Your face has really smoothed out."

Dona took a swig of beer, watching me for a reaction. I answered vaguely.

"Getting by."

Soyoung, seated beside me, jabbed at my shoulder with practiced casualness and snorted.

"We can come hang out here sometimes, right?"

"......"

"It's not like you're actually dating Seo Yerin anyway. Or, well, you could come out and see us instead. Either's fine."

'Their little play is as transparent as glass.'

They meant to turn our home into their personal hideout and suck it dry for everything it was worth.

Yerin was the one who'd taught me that these girls only latched onto me when they needed something.

'Like I'd fall for it a second time.'

"We'll see. It's not really up to me."

When I gave that vague an answer, it was quiet little Haeun's turn to sidle up beside me. The insidious one.

Haeun's eyes gleamed slyly as she asked:

"Do you... maybe do the YouTuber thing? Your whole style is just... completely different now. Your body too... I heard guys like that rake in serious money these days..."

"Give us your channel and we'll subscribe. How about it?"

"And you're gonna be making appearances and stuff later too, right?"

The three of them giggled behind their hands as they said it.

That was how it always went — the three of them would giggle together like this, then turn around and make me do something absolutely ridiculous.

If it hadn't been for Yerin, I'd probably still have no idea that all of it was sucker's work.

"Why not just be an influencer yourself, then? You've got the looks for it, don't you?"

Dona shook her head.

"Putting your face out on the internet is terrifying. The world's a mess these days — what are you supposed to do if some stalker latches onto you? And streaming is way harder than people think, by the way. Turns out you don't just print money for being average-pretty."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Right, right."

Soyoung gave my forearm a slow squeeze.

"Then why've you been so quiet all night, huh? Sitting there all broody, holding the mood down — it's kind of... grown-up of you?"

"Isn't it, though. Han Junyoung. Going for the strong, silent type?"

"I think silent Junyoung suits him just fine, honestly. Would've been nice if he'd managed it back in the day too."

Dona and Haeun each tossed in a line of their own.

I drank down a mouthful of beer and said, lightly:

"You three need money?"

The pack's faces froze in perfect unison.

"The hell did you just say, you crazy bastard?"

Soyoung shoved my shoulder hard, teeth bared.

"Are you out of your goddamn mind? Why would you even bring that up?"

Dona was glaring at me now too.

"Han Junyoung. Do we look like we came here to borrow money? You think we came out to see you after all this time because we wanted a loan? You think we dragged ourselves all the way here to pull some pathetic con?"

There it was.

It was a question they could have laughed off or brushed aside, and instead the reaction was wildly overblown. I had well and truly jammed a thumb into their sorest spot.

The app's surface read told me everything I needed.

"......"

Just as I thought. Angling to play 'owner,' or whining that things are 'tight lately' — either way, they were circling me like meat to be picked clean.

Blatant. They probably had credit card debt stacked to the ceiling from burning money on their lifestyle.

These girls had been obsessed with designer labels since their high school days.

The time Yerin offhandedly mentioned the price of the T-shirt Dona was wearing, their jaws had hit the floor.

On top of that, they loved going out and having fun, and were forever trying to drag me somewhere or other. Apparently being worked as the school's bag shuttle wasn't employment enough for them.

Yerin had pried me out of that shuttle duty more times than I could count.

I dangled the bait.

"That's not it. I'm saying if you're looking for part-time work, speak up. I happen to be short on people right now."

The hostility bled out of Dona's eyes.

"...Part-time? That's what this was about? Han Junyoung. Did you start some kind of business?"

"Something like that."

Soyoung leaned her shoulder in, playing at interest.

"The old loser Han Junyoung, running a business. Doing what, exactly? Does it pay well?"

She snickered at her own joke.

"Well, since we're old friends and all, even if the pay's trash, I suppose we could let it slide as a favor."

Haeun asked:

"Is it long-term... or short-term? If it's long-term, let me see about moving some things around... You're working with us too, right...?"

Slipping in a casual probe at my schedule. Insidious, as ever.

I took a swig of beer and answered.

"Short-term. No — not even that. More like... irregular."

"Irregular? That's a shame..."

Mock disappointment, no less. Insidious, as ever.

"In exchange, I'll pay a million won per job."

"...What?"

At my offer, all three of them went round-eyed and stared at me.

Then Dona's glare snapped back with a vengeance.

"Han Junyoung. Are you insane?"

"Where's that coming from all of a sudden?"

"A million won for one job? What is this, some voice-phishing operation?"

"He's lost it......"

When I sighed at the sheer absurdity, Dona's guard eased a little. Though not all the way.

"Then what kind of work is it? Han Junyoung. Your style changed overnight — you haven't gotten into something shady, have you?"

"Nothing like that. No faces on camera, nothing illegal — so relax. Simple work that takes an hour at the very most."

"......Ahh."

Something in my answer sent Soyoung down entirely the wrong track, and she smirked.

"Ahh~ I get it now. You wanna sleep with us, that's what this is? Damn, Han Junyoung, you've really grown. Been looking at us like that this whole time?"

Soyoung swept her fingers through her hair, grinning slyly.

"Honestly, the old you would've gotten told to can the bullshit and a boot up his ass, but with you looking like this now? Eh, it's... not the worst offer. One night, sure, I could manage that."

Soyoung kept snickering as she slapped my shoulder again and again.

"Han Junyoung, you've really grown up. Wanted a taste but never had the guts, so now you're paying for it? Cocky. So goddamn cocky. Have you been eyeing us like this since back then? Ugh, you idiot. Should've said something ages ago."

"......"

"It's fine. One night is nothing. And honestly, forget the money, I'd be fine with—"

"Soyoung."

Dona cut her off mid-sentence.

Dona's eyes had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gone cold as they settled on me.

"Han Junyoung. I'm disappointed in you. Trying to buy a woman with money? Is this the first time you've done something like this?"

I shrugged.

"No. It's not like that. I've got zero interest in sleeping with you three. It's work that doesn't need me hanging around you anyway."

"No interest? Hey, if not now, then when—"

"Soyoung."

Dona cut her off a second time.

Haeun, cheeks flushed, carefully asked something completely out of left field.

"J-Junyoung. You really haven't... right...?"

"Haven't what?"

"Y-you've never... bought... anyone... have you...?"

"What are you even talking about......"

At my sigh, the tension drained out of Haeun's body. Feigning relief, no less. Insidious, as ever.

Haeun asked, silkily sly:

"Then... what kind of part-time work is it?"

"Testing adult toys and writing up reviews. A million won per item. So — what'll it be?"

"Adult toys...? Junyoung, what does that even mean......?"

"She means dildos and that stuff, dummy."

Soyoung cleared up Haeun's confusion with a scolding, then delivered a smack to my shoulder.

"Han Junyoung. THIS was the big business you were running? You're a completely degenerate pervert, you know that?"

"Pervert, whatever. If you want the money, do it. If you don't, don't."

Dona studied me like she was deciding where to aim.

"...Han Junyoung. You're running a strange business."

"Strange how?"

"Just — strange. Adult toys, of all things."

Granted. It was a little strange.

Dona's face hardened into something rigid, and she leaned her body in closer toward me.

"An adult toy business. Then you must've been with plenty of women, huh? Is that why your whole style changed? From being with so many?"

At Dona's question, Soyoung and Haeun both leaned forward, ears practically pricked.

"No."

I answered without a heartbeat's delay.

What women? These girls spend their whole lives tormenting Seo Yerin.

Ah — well, there was Lee Jieun, I suppose.

Dona's brow furrowed.

"...Really? Honestly?"

"Really. You three are the first I've ever offered."

"......We're the first?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Really truly?"

"God, are your ears clogged or something......"

At my jab over the repeated questions, the tension left Dona's eyes instead.

".........So that's how it is."

Dona let her whole body go slack and sank deep into the sofa.

Somehow or other, Soyoung and Haeun loosened up too and slumped into their seats.

"...Whew."

"What are you sighing for?"

Dona looked back at me with heavy-lidded, languid eyes.

"......Idiot."