Twisted Fate (2)
As quitting time approached, Yuchan felt irritation while sorting through his counseling notes. It was safe to say he'd failed to handle the sudden incident well. Song Miyoung had relentlessly hounded him over his mistake. Yujin had desperately defended him from the side, insisting it was all because she'd kept pushing herself on him, but he only felt grateful in his heart.
The reprimand for failing to maintain proper distance from a student as a teacher was unavoidable. A scandal with a pupil would have blown up into a major incident if this were a school. Fortunately, it wasn't a clear romantic relationship, and the fact that this was a cram school minimized the damage to Yuchan. At worst, he could no longer contact Yujin privately, and rumors about him and her would circulate among the students for a while.
What irked Yuchan wasn't the minor inconveniences he'd face but the fact that he'd been caught off guard by an unexpected attack and taken it lying down. If there hadn't been eyes on them, he would've snapped Song Miyoung's neck mid-conversation. As he packed his things with slightly rougher movements, Yujin appeared.
Yuchan paused and looked at her. The root of all this trouble. He wanted to unleash his anger on her right then, but that would be a poor choice. Interrogating her wouldn't improve the situation; better to brush it off as nothing and build a bit more favor. Composing himself, Yuchan flashed a gentle smile.
"What is it?"
Yujin had looked dejected even as she entered the counseling room and closed the door. Her shoulders slumped, her back hunched—anyone could see she was utterly downcast. Yuchan approached and stroked her head.
"Teacher, I'm sorry."
She apologized for what had happened that day, clearly feeling guilty for putting him in such an awkward spot. Besides, hadn't Yuchan always drawn a firm line with her? It was Yujin alone who'd kept flirting with him.
"Stuff like this happens on the job. I'm not bothered at all. Don't worry about it. Are you okay?"
"Why wouldn't I be?"
She seemed a little touched by his concern for her despite the trouble she'd caused. But something felt off about her reaction. They hadn't talked much since lunch—and that incident—so he couldn't be sure, but there was a distance. Not just guilt-induced awkwardness. Yuchan's sharp instincts warned him of some change in her feelings he didn't know about.
Yujin, hesitant and sparing with her words, finally asked cautiously, "Teacher, do you still counsel Seohyun these days?"
The moment Seohyun's name left Yujin's lips, Yuchan immediately checked her Black Box. His vision blurred, and Yujin's phlox came into view. Reading emotions from tone, expression, or vibe was a fine way to read minds, but Yuchan had something far superior. No matter how skilled an actor, no one could instantly change their heart's color.
To Yuchan, Seohyun was still a vital point Yujin mustn't discover. If she found out now that he was sexually exploiting Seohyun, not only would his relationship with Yujin hit rock bottom, but it'd spark a crisis worse than the lunch fiasco. But seeing the phlox glowing its usual faint purple, Yuchan realized his worry was unfounded. No orange or yellow warning signs of alert or caution.
So why had she suddenly brought up Seohyun? Unable to pinpoint it, Yuchan decided to reveal a sliver of truth and observe.
"I counsel her occasionally. Why?"
With his answer, the half-blooming phlox bud clamped shut like a clamshell. Proof her heart was drifting away.
"It's nothing. I'm really sorry about today..."
Yujin grimaced, looking somehow disappointed, and turned to leave the room. Normally, she'd chat for at least ten minutes. Her behavior was utterly unnatural. Acting like that and saying "it's nothing"? Clearly, it was something.
Scenes of him with Seohyun lately flashed through Yuchan's mind like a panorama. Mostly sexual play, but if she'd seen those, her reaction wouldn't be this mild—he ruled them out. Private moments with Seohyun that could've been witnessed: meeting Nayae at the cafe for the first time. Pretending to be her boyfriend to chase off Director Park. Right after, exposure play in the park. Then in the busy streets.
Yuchan inwardly sighed in dismay. He'd been too careless lately; time for self-reflection. He'd lacked caution. He grabbed Yujin's wrist as she tried to leave. She'd been avoiding his gaze, but now her pretty, sparkling eyes widened in surprise as she looked at him.
He couldn't confirm exactly what had caused this vague distance, but for now, he needed to tie her heart down a bit. That was his judgment. He crafted the most sorrowful expression: hurt, bitterness, complexity all mixed in. Yujin startled twice over at the shift from his usual confident, relaxed vibe.
"Teacher...?"
"Is it really nothing?"
To convey emotional intensity, he gripped her wrist hard enough to hurt a little and pulled her close. Thump-thump. Through her thinned spring sleeve, he felt her pulse racing. Her wide, rabbit-like eyes flickered with various emotions. Yuchan, who'd always kept a line drawn, had suddenly closed the gap.
Yujin blurted out without thinking, "I saw you. You and... Seohyun, walking arm-in-arm downtown."
Aha, so that's it. Yuchan understood instantly. Her question about counseling Seohyun wasn't literal, as he'd guessed—it was a clumsy probe into their relationship.
"You told me to wait, but why give Seohyun special treatment?"
Her rising voice brimmed with resentment. Simple jealousy and the anger it bred. Unbeknownst to her, Yuchan sensed a new sauce added to his main dish.
"That day, Seohyun was really drunk, so I was just supporting her."
"But you were super close! I saw you put your hand on her waist too!"
She should say that quieter. Anyway, she hadn't seen everything. Damage control wouldn't be hard.
"Didn't you know how I feel? You've never properly responded, just treated me like a kid...!"
Yuchan cut her off and yanked her wrist. She tumbled into his arms like she'd been flung. The fresh girl's scent mixed with her changed perfume tickled his nose. He felt her swallow hard in surprise, her shoulders tensing. Feeling her small, soft body through her clothes, Yuchan firmly pulled her head into an embrace. He said nothing. To avoid prying eyes, he released her cautiously after about fifteen seconds.
Yujin staggered back, dazed. Yuchan grabbed her shoulders and whispered in his most alluring voice.
"You know how I feel about you. Mine's the same. Seohyun was staggering so much that day; I was just helping. Nothing more."
"Teacher..."
"You're a very special student to me. I want you to know that."
Comparing Seohyun, whom he toyed with casually, to Yujin, whom he was savoring for the ultimate feast, would be unwise. The sudden relationship leap. Yujin fidgeted with her hem, trying to hide the smile creeping onto her lips. Yuchan felt his heart race.
"Even if not now, someday I want to get closer to you."
Until nothing remains but me. Dependent only on me, eyes only for me. I want to own you. He buried the deep desire in his chest. First, he'd need to eliminate the obstacles.
Yuchan stopped by home to plan. Today's events hadn't escalated into a big problem, but Song Miyoung was the primary obstacle to owning Yujin—he had to remove her first. He'd already investigated her roughly. Ever since targeting Yujin, he'd probed her surroundings. To conquer a single-mom household, he needed to dig into the mother more than anyone.
Yuchan had already grasped Song Miyoung's relationships, business status, and weaknesses. All that remained was deciding when to pull the trigger. And unfortunately, she'd hastened her own end. He'd originally planned it leisurely after fully conditioning Seohyun as his assistant. But if a few texts led to this overprotectiveness, it'd hinder his actions even more later.
Clicking away on his laptop, Yuchan downloaded a hacking tool on his smartphone. He'd already set up a program to remotely control his pre-made hacking app. His hacking skills were third-rate, but medical equipment had laughably lax security compared to others. A success notification popped up for the app installation.
He always slaughtered scapegoats through indirect means. That was the most valuable legacy from his father. Thanks to it, despite two-digit body counts, Yuchan had never once drawn police suspicion. And this time would be no different. Pondering the perfect timing, he closed his laptop.
To avoid the elevator CCTV, he took the external emergency stairs up. He stood before the door. The musty corpse smell he could always detect. She thought she'd masked it, but she couldn't fool his sensitive nose. Perfume always hid rotten meat.
Of course, certainty came only recently. He opened the officetel door. Digital locks were pathetically easy—30,000V shock did the trick. An analog one would've at least required picking. Seeing the door beep and swing open so feebly made him glad he'd stuck to analog at home.
Stepping quietly inside revealed a drab interior. No bright furniture. The interior seemed untouched from the default. But the kitchen gleamed with luxury appliances, hinting at hobbies. With the owner at work, it was naturally vacant. No scent of cohabitation.
Well, technically cohabitation? Not human, though. He crept around self-consciously, aware he was committing a crime. After rummaging a while, nothing stood out. Referencing movie tropes, he thoroughly checked the fridge. Suspicious chemicals aplenty, but no body. Just meat packs labeled "pork."
Was there really a body here? Maybe stored elsewhere? Or did she even kill? Various thoughts flitted amid his pounding heart. Then, an alien smell at his nose tip. The dark odor only the "dead" emit.
He cautiously approached the tub. He pulled back the polyester shower curtain. He stopped breathing. There it was—like it had been waiting—a torso, upper body only, floating in ice water thick with white powder.
And there the dream ended.