Shin Eunah

A full week had already flown by since Eunah noona started exercising.

To put it differently, it had only been a week since she began working out, and her entire body ached with muscle soreness — there wasn't a single spot that didn't hurt, leaving her listless and dragging herself around.

Still, considering she'd gone from being a friendless outcast to having multiple friends, and even becoming student council president, her tenacity was remarkable.

Even though every part of her hurt and it was exhausting, she showed up on time for her training sessions even when she didn't want to.

On top of that, she was diligently applying the foot cream that was supposed to clear up her face.

She was also consistently using the cream that, following my advice, my father's company had acquired — a product we planned to aggressively market during the period when people would develop skin problems from wearing masks 24/7 due to the future virus.

Her dedication was incredible. I estimated it would take only about three to six months for her to reach her target weight.

That was how passionate Eunah noona was.

Her face was the same. Depending on how well her skin condition responded to the medication, it would take about three to six months. So roughly by the time summer break ended and school started, she'd definitely shock the entire student body.

"If things keep going like this with Eunah noona, it should work out fine."

She had started developing subtle feelings for me.

Hugging her without caring about the stares around us — right after she'd been crying in front of the bathroom after overhearing people ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠trash-talking her — had been remarkably effective.

I was confident that if I kept increasing our contact points and getting closer, I could steal both her body ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and heart.

The problem was...

"Good morning!"

Just as I was sitting at my desk staring out the window.

Cheolyong approached, his bag — which looked small compared to his massive build — slung over one shoulder, and greeted me. He must have just arrived at school.

"Yeah. Morning."

Couldn't the guy at least drop his bag off in his own classroom, at his own desk, before coming over? He was treating our classroom like it was his own.

"Oof!"

Cheolyong plopped his heavy ass down next to me — in Nayeong's seat.

"Hey. Jihoon."

"What?"

"I heard something weird."

"Something weird?"

"Yeah."

Cheolyong's eyes were serious.

I could see a fierce determination in them — like he might blow up if I lied to him.

"I heard you were hugging the student council president last week?"

"Huh...? Oh."

So news from a week ago had finally reached his ears.

Honestly, it felt a bit late.

"What was the reason?"

He immediately pressed me, demanding to know why I'd been hugging the woman he loved.

After seeing Jaehyeon's behavior at the PC bang, My affection level toward him had hit rock bottom. But Cheolyong, whose affection level toward me was still maxed out — unlike Jaehyeon — required careful handling.

"There was a bug."

"A bug?"

"Yeah. Turns out she's terrified of bugs. I mean, you should've seen how scared she was."

I shrugged with an expression that said, What could I do?

"A bug... So she's scared of bugs..."

There were all kinds of people in the world.

Cheolyong nodded to himself, apparently convinced that it wasn't strange for a woman to fall into some guy's arms because of a bug.

What the hell? That easy?

I'd been preparing additional excuses because I thought it was too flimsy, but it turned out to be completely unnecessary.

"That's kinda cute."

Cheolyong's lips curled up to his ears, probably imagining Eunah noona being scared of a bug.

"Alright. See you later."

Satisfied with my answer, Cheolyong immediately got up.

Then he walked out of our classroom — which he treated like his own.

"Some friend you are."

"Huh?"

As soon as Cheolyong left, Mijin carefully sat down on the chair he'd just vacated and spoke.

"Do you really have to steal your friend's girl too?"

She was asking whether I really needed to take the woman his first friend in years had feelings for.

"I feel kinda bad about it too."

It didn't sit well with me either.

I lamented my fate — that I had no choice but to pursue this woman.

I was better-looking than Cheolyong, and I had far more wealth. The chances of Cheolyong winning Eunah noona's heart were abysmally low.

There was nothing I could do about it.

It was the law of nature — the superior male gets the female he wants.

"How pretty does this Eunah person get that you're this desperate?"

Nayeong and Huila noona, who knew that they themselves had originally looked like Eunah noona, suddenly seemed curious.

There ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had to be a reason I was charging in without giving up, even though she was the woman Cheolyong — my first real friend — liked.

"Hmm... If I had to compare, maybe around Huila noona's level?"

"What...?"

It wasn't a lie.

Nayeong was in a league of her own, so I excluded her. But if Eunah noona's looks fully bloomed, she'd become beautiful at the level of Huila noona — who was at the peak of what a human could achieve.

The only difference between the two would be their aura, I suppose.

"Huila unnie's level..."

Mijin, who couldn't catch up to Huila noona no matter how hard she tried to become prettier — since Huila barely even wore makeup because she found it bothersome — was amazed at the thought that such a beautiful face could bloom from that ugly one.

"Well... I guess it's not that strange, since Huila noona was like that too at first."

Even though Mijin had been friends with Huila noona back when she was ugly, it was still surprising.

She still said that when she thought about Huila noona's past, it just didn't match up with her present at all.

"If it's that level, I guess you can't help it."

If she was going to rise to the level of Huila noona — beautiful enough to captivate even other women — then it wasn't strange for me to covet her.

Mijin nodded in understanding.

"So what about Cheolyong?"

"..."

If I took Eunah noona, conflict with Cheolyong was unavoidable.

I didn't know when I'd ever make a friend like Cheolyong again.

Or maybe I'd never meet someone like him for the rest of my life.

But even so, Eunah noona was too precious to give up.

And he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wasn't going to get her anyway.

"I guess so."

"Hmph."

Seeing me fall into worry because I hadn't thought that far ahead, Mijin let out a soft laugh and smiled.

"This isn't something I can help you with."

As she said, there was nothing Mijin could do to help.

Not just her — the other women were the same.

"Hope it works out well. Good luck."

Mijin got up, patted my head, and walked over to the group where Nayeong and the other girls were gathered.

"Haah..."

I looked out the window again and sighed.

Cheolyong. Why did it have to be Eunah noona of all people?

The world was full of average and pretty women.

Right now, I couldn't help but resent Cheolyong for having feelings for Eunah noona.

Time passed.

School was over for the day, and as usual, I was in the student council room.

"Jihoon, could you handle this?"

"Sure."

Eunah noona had now reached the point where she naturally entrusted me with tasks.

Honestly, I wondered why I had to be doing this kind of stuff, but I had no choice — I took the documents she handed me.

"Whoa..."

"Huh? What's wrong?"

As soon as I took the documents, I let out an involuntary exclamation, and Eunah noona's gaze turned to me.

"No. Nothing."

I shook my head and brushed it off.

But as I looked at the documents, I was still amazed inside.

And for good reason.

"Noona."

"What?"

"Are we... allowed to do this?"

This wasn't a university. We were grading the students' performance evaluations ourselves.

Well, I could somehow understand and let that slide.

But why were they handing us the teachers' salary documents?

I mean, all we had to do was check if the numbers added up, but still — being given this was just absurd.

I could take it as a sign of how much they trusted Eunah noona... but hmm. Maybe this was just the kind of grunt work student council presidents did.

Still, I did it.

I checked every single total to make sure the amounts were correct.

And then.

The smartphone in my pocket vibrated violently.

I pulled it out and checked the screen — it was a call from my father.

"Noona, I'll step out to take this."

"Okay."

Leaving Eunah noona, who told me to go ahead without even looking at me, I stepped outside for a moment.

"Yes, Dad."

What was he calling about today?

He occasionally called to ask for my advice on company matters.

Surely that was the reason this time too.

But.

"No, I'm fine."

"Tomorrow?"

Normally, I'd be on a rotation date with one of my women, but this weekend there was a social gathering for Lee Jihoon's women, so I didn't really have anything to do.

I'd just be lazing around in my room.

"Yes, I think I'm free."

"I'm free."

"Is there... something you need me for?"

Was I being urgently called to the company for something I needed to handle personally?

"..."

I was completely speechless at the sudden request to go volunteer at an orphanage.

"Why so suddenly?"

It wasn't that I couldn't go. Honestly, I just found it annoying.

Since they weren't my kids, I couldn't exactly feel warmly toward them either.

They ran around freely, caused all kinds of trouble, acted annoying, and were noisy — it was hard to see them in a positive light.

My father's company was doing really well, but it couldn't compare to Cheil Group, which had held the top spot firmly for decades.

"What I'm working on now inevitably creates friction with Cheil Group. So I met with the chairman of Cheil Group and talked things over. He readily agreed to compromise. Said there's no benefit to fighting — only losses."

"I see..."

"When we met and talked, he didn't seem like a bad person, so I want to try getting closer. And since we're at it, it'd be good if our kids got along too, right? Plus, Nayeong said you don't have any friends — I thought this would be a good chance for you to make some."

I did have two male friends.

One was in a somewhat ambiguous position, and the other was a friendship that might break soon. I couldn't bring myself to say anything.

"Yeah... well. I'll give it a try."

Maybe it wouldn't be bad?

He was a chaebol heir like me — who knew, maybe we'd hit it off and become real friends.

"If it's not too far, just send me the address. I'll go on my own."

The call ended there.

"That took a while?"

Was she waiting for me? As soon as I entered the student council room, Eunah noona asked.

"Sorry."

"No need to apologize... Anyway, um... Did you find a place for me to work?"

Eunah noona cautiously opened her mouth.

Come to think of it, I'd told her to quit her old job and said I'd find her a new part-time position.

I'd forgotten.

But I calmly nodded and brushed past the crisis, saying I'd take her there soon.

"Thank you..."

"Don't mention it."

I wasn't the kind of guy who couldn't even do this much for someone who would soon become my woman.

On the contrary, she'd be receiving far more than this — she'd need to get used to it.

"Let's finish up quickly and head home."

"Okay."

We started processing the teachers' dumped work one by one again.