Eyes That Prey on Them
The days had become a dream. I stuck close to Lee Yu-ri at school, kept Jeong Eun-ji thoroughly tamed as my personal slave, and after classes I worked my part-time job at the convenience store while swapping tongues with Choi Su-yeon. It was pure bliss. But the one who shattered that peace was Hwang Seong-tae, the guy who had taken over as leader of the third-year delinquents from me.
“Hey, Seong-jin. Got a minute?”
“What is it? Just say it.”
Hwang Seong-tae had waited for a moment when I wasn’t glued to Lee Yu-ri, then slipped into our classroom during break and plopped down in the seat next to mine. He nudged me with his elbow like we were best buddies and grinned.
“So, you’re really dating Lee Yu-ri now, huh?”
“And?”
“Then you’ve moved on, right? So it’s cool if I go after Choi Su-yeon?”
The bastard still couldn’t let go of his obsession with her. The rumor that I was dating Yu-ri had spread across the entire school, so he must have assumed I’d used Su-yeon and tossed her aside. Honestly, given my old track record, that’s exactly what the previous me would have done. But I wasn’t that guy anymore. And more importantly, I still hadn’t even slept with Choi Su-yeon yet. Even if I had, there was no way in hell I’d ever pass her to him.
I answered without hesitation. “No.”
“Aw, come on! Why not? You’ve switched girls, she’s single now, and I just wanna have a taste. What’s the big deal?!”
“I didn’t switch. Choi Su-yeon is my girl. I already warned you once—stop eyeing her.”
“Huh? But you’re dating Lee Yu-ri. What the hell are you talking about?”
“Both of them are mine.”
“......”
“What are you staring at?”
“Dude, that’s bullshit. There are so many guys who’ve been after Yu-ri and Su-yeon. If you hog them both, what the hell are we supposed to do?”
“Why the fuck should I care? You don’t actually want a girlfriend. You just want to get your dick wet. I handed the position over to you, so go pick one of the girls who hang around the crew.”
“That’s not… ugh. Things are different now that you’re gone. The guys don’t listen to me the way they listened to you. They don’t jump when I speak.”
“That’s your problem to fix. I gave you the seat and stepped back. If you can’t keep them in line, don’t come crying to me.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever. But honestly, you’ve probably fucked Su-yeon enough by now. You’ve never stuck with one girl for more than a month before, so why are you acting so possessive? Just let me have a turn, man. Come on.”
“Was my last warning not enough for you?”
I lowered my voice, but this time Hwang Seong-tae didn’t back down.
“Fuck, you’re being way too greedy. You can’t just claim every hot girl for yourself. If you keep this up, maybe next time the crew meets up I’ll just pull Su-yeon aside while you’re not looking and—”
BANG!!
I flipped the desk and shot to my feet, shoving him hard.
“Gaaah!”
Hwang Seong-tae lost his balance, stumbled backward, and crashed onto the desks in the next row. The back of the classroom turned into total chaos. Our classmates screamed and scrambled away, clearing the area until only me and the fallen bastard remained.
“Say that again.”
“N-no, I didn’t mean I’d actually do it—”
“Say it again.”
I grabbed him by the collar. I’d let it slide once before when he’d openly hinted at wanting to sleep with her, but this time he’d crossed the line.
“I said, say it again.”
I shook him back and forth by the collar. He couldn’t even fight back properly, just flailed helplessly.
“Wait! It was a joke! Just a joke! I swear I wasn’t really gonna—”
“A joke? You’re telling me that dogshit was a fucking joke? A joke only works when the other person can laugh along, you stupid fuck. Do I look like a pushover now that I stepped down? You think you earned that position with your own strength? What were you gonna do to Su-yeon at the next meet-up? Keep talking. I’m listening.”
I kicked him hard in the stomach. He flew backward, knocking over even more desks and chairs.
“Ugh… cough…!”
“I already warned you once not to eye her. The fact that you’re pulling this shit again means you think my words are worthless, right? Means you don’t take me seriously. I was trying to wash my hands of this crap, but since you clearly can’t understand normal speech—”
“Hey! Hey, wait!”
“Seong-jin sunbae~♥ I came to visit again—hic!”
Choi Su-yeon, who now wandered in and out of our classroom like it was her own, opened the door like always—only to freeze at the sight of the wrecked room. Overturned desks and chairs. Hwang Seong-tae buried underneath them. And me, clearly the one responsible for the entire scene.
“Sunbae? What happened? Why is everything like this…?”
“Su-yeon, come here for a second. And you—Hwang Seong-tae. I’ll let it go just this once. If you ever come at me with that same bullshit again, I’ll knock your front teeth out.”
After Han Seong-jin and Choi Su-yeon left the classroom, Hwang Seong-tae slowly stood up. His teeth ground together with overwhelming humiliation and rage.
Fucking bastard… Since when did you start catching feelings for those cum-dump bitches? I need to bury that son of a bitch properly. There has to be a way…
He knew he could never beat Han Seong-jin in a straight fight, so he swallowed his anger and simply fantasized about revenge. That was when a group of underclassmen delinquents rushed over to him. They bowed at ninety degrees and spoke urgently.
“Boss! We’ve been looking for you!”
“I’m in a shit mood. Unless it’s important, get lost.”
“It’s… pretty important…”
“If it’s not, you’re dead. What is it?”
“For the past few days, the guys from Eunbong have been beating up anyone they see from our side.”
That was serious enough to snap him out of his foul mood.
“Eunbong? Why the hell are those bastards suddenly starting trouble?”
“Apparently some of our first-years got drunk with girls from another school and had a one-night stand. One of those girls was apparently one of Kang Baek-san’s sex friends… Looks like Eunbong found out.”
At the name Kang Baek-san, Hwang Seong-tae scowled and rubbed his head. Of all the people to mess with, they’d touched a girl connected to the boss of Eunbong Industrial High—the guy they called the Eunbong barrel. Given that bastard’s personality, a massive brawl was inevitable in the very near future.
“Got it. Tell the guys not to walk alone. Travel in groups no matter where they go. And if any idiot gets his ass kicked by those Eunbong pricks, I’ll kill him myself.”
“Yes, boss.”
Hwang Seong-tae repeated the same lines Han Seong-jin used to say, but they carried none of the same weight.
Fuck… talk about bad luck…
First he’d been humiliated in front of the entire third-year class by Han Seong-jin, and now this declaration of war from Eunbong Industrial High. It really did feel like bad news always came in waves.
“…And that’s what happened.”
I had taken Choi Su-yeon to the quiet stairwell leading up to the rooftop and explained everything. At first she looked startled, but the more she heard, the softer her expression became. By the end she was smiling with her eyes and pressing her body against me, rubbing her chest on my arm.
“So you basically announced to everyone that I’m your woman too, huh?”
“You’re really asking me that?”
I wrapped one arm around her waist.
“I’ve been saying you’re my girl since that group meet-up.”
“That was just pretend back then.”
“And now?”
At my question, Choi Su-yeon grinned, then gave me a light kiss on the lips. A blush spread across her face as she gently placed her hand over mine.
“…I’m really your woman now…♥”
The look on her face as she said it was pure female in heat.
“Anyway, I warned that bastard Hwang Seong-tae, but just in case, try not to hang out with that group—especially when the guys are around. I don’t think he’s given up yet.”
“Don’t worry about that. I never hung out with them that much anyway. I was always busy dodging them by saying I had a college boyfriend.”
“I’m just being cautious. Even when you’re with your friends, don’t let your guard down too much.”
“Thank you for worrying about me♥ Is this what it feels like to have a caring boyfriend?”
Choi Su-yeon beamed and enjoyed the short break we had together. Then she looked up and stared straight into my eyes.
“Sunbae, are you free this weekend?”
“Hmm? Let me think… Oh, this weekend Yu-ri has to run around handling the sports festival budget and ordering supplies from vendors, so we won’t be able to meet.”
“Then go on a date with me! Yu-ri sunbae is in the same class so she gets to see you from morning till dismissal every day, but I’m a second-year! Aside from break and lunch, it’s so hard to see you! I need to steal some of your weekend time at least!”
“Aww, were you feeling neglected?”
She nodded vigorously.
“Every time Yu-ri sunbae looks at me it’s like she’s thinking ‘how pathetic.’ It pisses me off so much! She acts like she’s the only girlfriend you have! Just because you did it with her once she’s acting all high and mighty…”
“It was twice.”
I corrected her, and Choi Su-yeon pouted even harder, sticking her lips out further.
“If it bothers you that much, why don’t you just come over to my house on the weekend? You’ve already been there once.”
“Ah, then…”
She knew exactly what would happen if she came to my house, so her face turned bright red.
“I-I really want to, but… it’s kind of scary and I’m nervous… No, no! It’s not that I don’t want to or that I’m testing you or anything!”
“Yet last time you came over you tried to take your clothes off first and even suggested we do it.”
“Uwaaah! Uwaaah! T-that was when I wasn’t in my right mind! My mentality was completely broken, so it was like I wasn’t even myself…”
“I was joking. If you’re not ready, I won’t force you. You’re my girl too. I’m not gonna lay you down against your will just to feel good myself.”
Her heart had already completely fallen for me, but despite her flashy gyaru appearance, she was actually quite delicate inside. That’s why she was still afraid of her first time. Lee Yu-ri and I had spent over a month seeing each other every day, giving me plenty of time to work on her. But because Su-yeon was in a different grade, we couldn’t meet as often, so I hadn’t been able to put in the same effort. I had no intention of keeping things purely platonic forever, but I decided I would at least wait until she was mentally ready for her first experience.
“But this should be fine, right?”
I grabbed her chin, pressed our lips together, and slipped my tongue inside. Choi Su-yeon immediately wrapped her arms around my neck and tangled her tongue with mine like two snakes mating. We sat on the stairs leading to the rooftop, holding each other tightly and kissing until the class bell rang.