You're the Bad One (1)
Junhyuk never showed. At first I didn't think much of it. Figured he was just sleeping in, I told myself, and left it at that.
Two hours later he still hadn't set foot in the lecture hall, so I ducked into the department lounge during the second break. Walking in mid-class always felt too conspicuous; a lot of people only drifted in once the break started.
But Junhyuk wasn't in the lounge either. Mildly irritated, I fired off a couple of messages.
If he really was out cold, somebody ought to wake him—right? I almost called, then stopped myself. No point sticking my nose where it didn't belong.
Experience had taught me that the second I worked up the courage to dial, he'd materialize right on cue with a grin and a So you were worried about me after all? I shoved the phone back into my skirt pocket.
Ah—right. I still needed that spare skirt back. And I had other things to talk about anyway, so I decided to call after all. It's just about the skirt, I repeated to myself a few times as I hit the call button.
"The person you are calling is unavailable. After the tone…"
That was all I got. Going all the way out there was too far. What on earth was he doing?
Morning classes wrapped up with still no sign of Junhyuk. The messages sat unread. I was glaring daggers at my phone when Serena's voice snapped me out of it.
"Philin! Why didn't you come yesterday?"
"Ah, well…"
"And what's with the one horn?"
"This is, uh…"
I ran through the events of the previous night and came up with nothing but adult-rated episodes. I fumbled for a cover story.
"It's, um… I wasn't feeling well, so I rested."
"Hangover? How much did you drink after we left?"
"Well… a bit."
"And the horn happened then too?"
"Probably, yeah."
Good. A hangover was a perfectly acceptable explanation. Seizing the opening, I steered the conversation elsewhere.
"Hey. By the way—you left without paying a single won for the drinks that night."
"That was—! Do you have any idea how relentless Lim Sowon was? Once you hear the whole story, you won't be grilling me about skipping the bill—you'll be paying me!"
Serena shuddered theatrically, which suggested something really had gone down. Curiosity got the better of me and I opened my mouth to ask—only for a silver fox to cut cleanly across the conversation.
"Miss Philin. You were nowhere to be found yesterday."
"Just… wasn't feeling great."
"The day-after-drinking blues. I know them well. I was in rough shape myself yesterday. Still, as the year representative, I couldn't very well skip class—so I came in with a do-or-die resolve."
Do-or-die. Was the hangover really that catastrophic? Sowon crossed her arms and lifted her chin, clearly impressed with her own dedication to showing up. She still hadn't lowered that chin. Fishing for praise, was she?
"Right. You really are the year representative. Me? I'm just 'Student Extra #1,' so I caved to the hangover."
"You're not an extra. You shouldn't say things like that."
Said the first-year raid team leader herself.
Sowon leaned in as she spoke. Something about the shadow that seemed to fall across her eyes made me wonder if I was imagining it.
"So—after you sent me off like that, what exactly did you discuss with that little hairpin brat?"
That story had been spectacular in its own right. While I scrambled to sort the sequence of events and pick my words carefully, Serena stepped in for me.
"Since we're already here, why don't we grab lunch and talk over food?"
"Hmm… not a bad idea. I'm craving instant tteokbokki today. That work for everyone?"
Having issued the decree, Sowon turned on her heel and left the classroom without waiting for an answer. Serena threw a flurry of playful fist-punches at her retreating back; I gave her a double thumbs-up in thanks—two of them, for double the gratitude.
Serena had bought me time for the walk to lunch. She sidled up beside me and asked, voice barely above a whisper,
"Be honest with me. I need to know this going in. What's going on between you and Yeom Junhyuk?"
"What are you talking about? I already told you there's nothing."
"Junhyuk didn't show yesterday either. Something definitely happened between you two. Right?"
I was about to snap at her for being such a sharp-eyed busybody—
"I'm not trying to dig. I just need to know ahead of time. Lim Sowon—she's been off since yesterday."
"Off how?"
"There was a senior around, sure, but the two of you still drank together. And now both of you have conveniently free-perioded yourselves out of every morning and afternoon class like you planned it. You think that silver fox is just going to let this slide?"
Faster than she ever swung a dagger at a monster, Serena rattled off her intel in a low, rapid-fire stream.
"So this whole lunch thing is bait?"
"Not bait exactly—but what she really wants to find out is something else."
We needed to be ready either way, Serena insisted, dropping her voice even lower.
"I'm not saying I think this, but… given the circumstances…"
"…Circumstances what."
"It wouldn't be weird if you two slept toge—"
"Are you out of your mind?!"
I barked it so loud Serena jumped, and Sowon up ahead glanced back with a what-was-that look. I forced an awkward little laugh, slung an arm around Serena's shoulders, and played the close-friend card.
Sowon gave a thin smile and kept walking. Knowing that silver fox, she'd already clocked that the two of us were conspiring about something.
My head was spinning. Why did I have to stress over this kind of thing?
Serena stayed glued to my side in the same half-hug and pressed on.
"I saw you over the weekend too. You know that, right?"
"…I know. I even texted you."
"You two were hanging out all cozy at a café and you're still claiming there's nothing? No feelings at all—you're sure? Pick a lane, Philin."
The only guy on the raid team. If a love triangle formed around him, teamwork was dead on arrival. The only reason we'd even survived midterms was the sworn vow that I had absolutely nothing going on with Junhyuk and never would for all eternity.
But I'd overlooked one truly critical factor.
"Why do I have to work this hard just to keep this team together?"
"Huh? Philin, what are you—"
"There's nothing between us. But I don't want to lead this team while getting side-eyed for it either."
I didn't want to lead it, period—and I didn't want to be stuck on a team this annoying in the first place. If I'd just turned down the offer firmly from the start, I never would have gotten tangled up with that psychopath of a senior.
But then—
"Hey, what about our scholarships?!"
Serena's face crumpled, and my resolve wavered—though not because of her points-and-rewards addiction.
Without meaning to, I thought of Yeom Junhyuk, the delinquent student who'd decided to skip every lecture today.
It had only been one day, but the air and walls of that semi-basement apartment had felt so familiar. Tuition was probably already a stretch for him, though he'd never show it.
Even without me, that team could still get selected as the representative squad and thrive. But if things went south and I ended up carrying some pointless guilt over it—I hated that idea.
"Ugh, damn it. Fine. I'll just explain it properly again!"
In the end I grumbled my way into taking on yet another headache. What was wrong with me? Irritation boiled up.
Having to convince people that Junhyuk and I were nothing so I could help Junhyuk was a little ridiculous—but it wasn't like I couldn't do it.
We really were nothing. And we always would be.
Just as Serena had predicted, Sowon didn't seem particularly interested in the story about the senior.
"I thought there must have been some grand reason for picking a fight with a freshman. Turns out he was just trash."
"Well… yeah."
I gave a noncommittal hum—neither agreement nor denial. His methods had been a hundred times wrong, but I didn't want to condemn the twisted sense of purpose that had driven him to scrape together money for a "happy family."
If I'd been certain money could buy a family's love, I might have gone down the same wrong path myself. Honestly, I believed that.
Once someone has a person they need to protect, they often lose their reason and turn reckless. Love is a truly dangerous emotion, I was thinking—
"Eat up! I love instant tteokbokki. The longer it boils, the better it gets."
Sowon ladled some onto her plate and started blowing on it. Watching her shamelessly scoop out half the extra ramen noodles first, I set my own plate down with a look of pure disgust.
"…Knock yourself out."
"Miss Philin doesn't care for tteokbokki much, I take it?"
"Not as much as you do."
What I wanted to say was Not enough to haul off half the still-undercooked ramen noodles the way you just did, but I filtered it down to the mildest possible version. Sowon paid me no mind, happily slurping the chewy noodles she'd secured and stuffing them into her mouth one after another.
"Oh, by the way."
Still chewing, Sowon pointed at the top of my head.
"Your left horn's gotten a bit shorter, hasn't it?"
I'd been wondering when she'd bring it up. I needed the story to match what I'd told Serena, so I carefully selected my words, put on a casual face, and tossed it out.
"I came to and it was like this. Something must've happened after I drank."
"That must have hurt terribly. You don't remember clearly?"
"Doesn't seem like it hurt. Maybe the alcohol? Anyway. Next day the top just felt empty."
I kept the tone breezy, lips pursed, rambling on—until Sowon set down her chopsticks, narrowed her eyes, and propped her chin on her hand.
"Come to think of it, Junhyuk was awfully interested in your horns too, wasn't he?"
My chopsticks stopped mid-air before I could stop them. I looked at her.
What was she playing at?
"Junhyuk didn't break it, did he?"
Technically she was right, so I flinched for half a second—then recovered my composure and shook my head.
"No idea. Why?"
"You know. The type who gets excited just looking at horns—that kind of… sexual preference? I was wondering if he might be that sort. Back then, didn't the two of you sneak off by yourselves right in front of me to wipe your horns?"
"Lim Sowon."
"Junhyuk is a guy, after all. Who knows what dirty thoughts he might have had."
I already hated talking behind someone's back when they weren't around—and using them as the punchline of a sexual joke was the absolute worst. But Sowon, either high on good food or with a brain that had fully converted into ramen noodles, wouldn't stop.
"If that's the case, please tell me too. Trying it out with a headband sometime might not be so bad."
"……"
"Oh—or has something already happened? Say… yesterday?"
"Hey."
I set my chopsticks down. I could feel Serena cautiously tapping my knee under the table, but I ignored it.
"Don't go running your mouth about things you don't know."
The words that came out of me were cold enough to startle even myself.
I was angry. Just… something about it. The excuse that I simply hated gossip wasn't enough to explain how foul my mood had turned. I knew it was a trap and I still couldn't stand it.
Why couldn't I stay calm about this? Belated embarrassment washed over me.
Sowon put on a look of mock surprise, then narrowed her eyes again and raked her gaze up and down my body in a way that made my skin crawl.
"Miss Philin."
She tapped her chopsticks against her plate to straighten them, then pointed at me and asked like she was conducting an interrogation.
"You say there's nothing between you—so what exactly does 'things you don't know' mean?"
Of course. Here it came.