Chapter 6
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Loss
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A few more rounds of the drinking game went by after that, but somehow Seon-woo Lee managed to dodge every single penalty shot with uncanny skill.
Instead, I ended up taking all of them on the chin, and on top of my own drinks, I chugged down Su-a's share too. Before I knew it, I'd way overdone it.
"Ha-rang, your face is so red. You okay? What do we do..."
Su-a grabbed my arm and shook it frantically as she spoke.
The room was already spinning, and her shaking me from the side made my stomach churn even more.
That's when a glass of water suddenly thrust into my field of vision.
"I figured you were pushing it too hard. Why not take a breather between drinks, Ha-rang? Junior."
I stared blankly at the glass, then spoke in a low voice laced with steel.
"Get that away from me. Even water from you would make me sick."
This time, my words really got under his skin—Seon-woo Lee's eyebrows twitched up and down.
I ignored him and shook my head hard, as if to shake off the buzz.
I tried to tough it out, but it was no use. I braced my wobbly legs and stood up from my seat.
"Gonna step out for some air real quick."
One of my classmates stopped me then and asked,
"Where you headed, Ha-rang?"
"Thinking of grabbing some hangover meds."
"Then bring me some chocolate milk!"
"Hey, you think I'm your errand girl or what?"
I shot back in disbelief, and he pouted his lips, throwing a cutesy whine my way.
"My blood sugar's crashing. Come on, get me some? Pleeease?"
"Money first."
"Asking for cash? Between us?"
"What 'us'? We just met today."
"Ha-rang, you savage?"
I brushed off the nonsense and turned away.
I was just about to head out the door, nursing my pounding head, when a guy—clearly wasted—stumbled between the crowded tables and bumped right into me.
"Ah...!"
I nearly toppled over, but he caught me in his arms and said,
"Oh, sorry. I'm pretty smashed too. You good?"
I nodded like it was no big deal and tried to pull away from him.
But the hand around my waist wouldn't let go so easily.
If anything, it felt like his fingers were subtly sliding down my side.
'...What the hell?'
I scowled up at him, and he flinched, yanking his hand back in a hurry.
"Ow, my bad."
"..."
"Haha. Anyway, no injuries, right?"
He scratched the back of his head sheepishly and flashed an innocent grin.
Seemed like it wasn't on purpose.
Was I overreacting?
I mean, people shoving around everywhere—it happens.
Plus, he was apologizing with a smile; getting all pissy would've been awkward.
I waved him off lazily.
"I'm fine. Go on."
"Thanks! Really sorry!"
He bowed deeply, all polite-like.
I clicked my tongue and hurried off.
The encounter left a bad taste, but it wasn't worth making a fuss over.
Then, as I stood in the quiet alley outside the pub, cooling off in the chilly breeze, a conversation drifted clearly to my ears.
"That girl's waistline was insane. Just the right handful. Damn."
"You psycho. Heh."
"Go bump into her yourself. Where else you gonna grope a chick like that for free?"
"Wait, you did that on purpose?"
"Bingo."
"You're nuts. What if you get caught?"
"Caught? By who? Just play dumb, say it was an accident—what's she gonna do? Look earlier. One 'sorry~' and she bought it."
...He'd done it on purpose?
To touch me?
A wave of disgust surged up, burning my face bright red.
It was a filthy, slimy feeling I'd never known as a guy—like something crawling under my skin.
Fuming, I was about to storm over and confront him when one fact hit me.
'...'
Come to think of it, I'd been ignoring it all this time.
The stranger's face staring back from the mirror every day. The muscles that had vanished. The subtle shifts in how people treated me.
I'd played it off like no big deal, like I was fine.
I wasn't.
Admitting that finally let me see clearly what I'd lost.
'...With a body like this, who the hell am I supposed to protect?'
Protect Su-a?
What a joke.
I couldn't even look after myself properly—how was I gonna protect anyone?
Tears streamed hot down my flushed cheeks.
It was revolting.
The tears welling up against my will, this body turning me into some guy's object of desire— I hated it all so much I wanted to die.
This kind of powerlessness and shame was alien to me.
And I despised those unfamiliar emotions surging up.
Rage and self-loathing tangled messily, clouding my judgment.
There was only one way to wash off this filth.
I had to tear that bastard apart until there was nothing recognizable left.
I couldn't hold back. I charged at him and shoved his chest with everything I had.
He clearly hadn't expected me nearby and toppled defenselessly to the ground.
"What the—?!"
I straddled him and started pummeling his face without mercy.
"You fucking creep!!"
"Ugh...!"
"Who the hell gave you the right to talk about my body like that?!"
I couldn't contain the raging emotions anymore.
I clenched my fist with all my might and swung at his face again.
But my right arm, mid-swing, froze.
His massive hand had clamped my wrist, slamming it to the ground instead.
"You gone crazy?!"
Dull pain exploded as I hit the pavement.
Smack! He backhanded my right cheek with his palm.
The pain overwhelmed me, and humiliatingly, I instinctively covered my face with both hands after just a couple more hits.
My body trembled uncontrollably.
Panicking at how it wouldn't obey me, my mind blanked.
The disconnect between mind and body was downright eerie.
I wanted to fight, but this frail woman's body seemed to reject it desperately.
He sneered down at me, gripping my collar.
More shocking than my choked airway was the sheer brute strength pinning me—this guy's raw power.
Had males always been this solid and heavy?
"Hey, hey! Calm down!"
His friends watching from the side panicked and grabbed his arm.
But he shook them off roughly and kept coming at me.
"Let me go! This bitch started...!"
I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to focus, and kicked his side with my freer right leg.
But my skinny leg couldn't budge his heavy frame.
The recoil only tightened his grip on my collar.
"Let... go, you fucking creep...!"
Watching me struggle seemed amusing to him now—he openly chuckled.
"I ain't holding back 'cause you're a girl. Crazy bitch starting shit?"
My breathing grew labored, eyelids drooping, consciousness fading—
Then suddenly, the weight crushing me lightened.
Someone had grabbed the wrist clutching my collar—from behind.
A familiar face.
"...I don't know what's going on, but ease up, yeah?"
My unfocused eyes locked on him.
The guy from the bathroom this morning, trying to snag my number.
...Why was he here?
My gaze fixed on him like a magnet.
"Ah, shit... And who the hell are you? Let go!"
The guy thrashed and yelled, but he didn't even blink.
If anything, he tightened his grip, and pain twisted the guy's brow.
"Agh! Argh! Let go!"
"You let go first. Loosen up before you snap the girl's neck."
I seized the moment his grip slackened.
Gathering every scrap of strength, I kneed him in the solar plexus.
"Gaaah!"
Caught off guard, he screamed and rolled aside.
I scrambled up, expelling the pent-up breath in a ragged gasp.
"...Hah, ha."
Brushing dirt off my clothes, I looked up to see him winking playfully.
"We met this morning, right?"
"...Did we?"
"Playing coy. I'm business admin too. Ju-won Kang, second-year. Didn't expect a freshman from our department."
He chuckled, eyeing my messy hair.
The situation was dire, but his tone carried a strange ease.
"Thought you were some staffer checking bathroom hygiene."
"..."
"Moonlighting? School by day, staff gig by night. Hustler."
I ducked my head, mumbling.
"Don't tease."
"Not teasing."
"..."
"And you said no phone for digital detox."
He nodded at my jeans pocket.
My smartphone buzzed and lit up—plain as day.
Must've glitched during the scuffle.
"What's that flashing in your pocket, a pager?"
I scowled, hit the power button to kill the light.
"You saw wrong."
"I heard it vibrate."
"Hallucinating. Must be the booze."
"My ears and eyes both shot?"
"Yeah. See a doctor."
"Damn, you're an iron wall. I give up."
As we bantered idly, Su-a and Seon-woo Lee approached from afar.
Su-a looked pretty shocked at the messy scene.
"Ha-rang!"
Her voice quivered like she might cry any second.
"I checked the bathroom—you weren't there... So I came out looking with senior, heard screams, and ran over freaking out. What happened?!"
Meanwhile, Seon-woo Lee strolled up slowly, scanning the chaos.
His eyes lingered on Ju-won Kang, then me, then the guy I'd fought.
The guy who'd been sizing up Ju-won now deflated completely before Seon-woo.
Seeing the student council president snapped him back to reality.
His friends looked bummed too, like they'd gotten dragged into trouble.
"Explain what happened."
Seon-woo stopped in front of me and said.
Of all the timing—right after openly clashing with him...
No way I'd get a fair shake, but I calmly summed it up anyway.
The guy had bumped me on purpose, groped me, we argued, it turned into a fight.
But listening in, the guy gaped like I was the victim, then spat,
"Ah, fuck... Hold up. Actually, you're the one screwed."
"...What?"
"You hit first. Straddled and beat on me? That's not mutual—it's straight-up assault, you psycho bitch."
"That was because you—"
"Groping? Got proof? I just bumped you, and you flipped out and attacked."
Shit, he had a point.
Galling as his brazenness was, he wasn't wrong.
The law doesn't look kindly on whoever throws first.
'What the hell did I do?'
Regret hit late.
Letting impulses take over and causing scenes—my old bad habit.
Need to fix this temper.
Head spinning at the thought of actual jail time, Seon-woo cut in.
"This alley's a CCTV blind spot, right?"
"...Yeah?"
"Even if you got hit first, no way to prove it."
"..."
He pointed at the pub.
"Store's got cameras rolling fine, though. They'll have crystal-clear footage of you groping."
"..."
"Assault? Insufficient evidence—90% chance of no charges. But your indecent assault? Ironclad video proof."
Seon-woo's lips curved smoothly.
"Sex offender on your record means expulsion minimum. Your face plastered forever on the registry. Good luck job-hunting."
His gaze flicked between me and the guy.
"So? Call the cops and whine about getting wronged, end up the sex criminal with your life in ruins? Or..."
"..."
"Call it even, bad luck all around, and walk away?"
His logic was airtight.
Not a bad deal for me. He was mediating in my favor.
'But why?'
I should be grateful, but I wasn't.
Sure, unlike my first life, we weren't exactly enemies yet. Not weird for him to side with me.
But the Seon-woo I knew never did favors for free.
Especially after I'd shown open disdain right off the bat—what reason did he have to help?
Owe him one to make me compliant?
Or...?
The deeper I thought, the thicker the fog.
In the end, I settled on not overthinking it.
Probably just wanted to wrap it up without hassle.
Drama like this would annoy the student council prez too.
Clearing my mind, I turned to Su-a.
I'd shown her an ugly side—meant to apologize for worrying her.
But Su-a wasn't looking at me.
She stood dazed. Staring right at Seon-woo Lee.
And I had no idea what that look in her eyes meant.