Ahyun Therapy (1)
Silbiaaaa!!!! My inner scream burst out on its own.
Forgetting to keep up the act, I shot back at her.
"…No way, are you seriously saying you want to date me?"
"Yes! You're not thinking of taking back what you said yesterday, right? You clearly told me you wanted to date me. You can't say no now. I threw away all my pride to come here. So, starting today, we're dating. Got it?"
She wasn't even asking if I wanted to date—she was straight-up declaring that we were dating.
Silbia definitely said she'd lost interest.
But now she was showing up at my door, demanding we date?
Did she catch on that something was off? Is she testing me just in case?
Suspicion flared up, so I scrutinized Melissa closely, but I couldn't spot any shady ulterior motives on her face. She just stared at me with eager anticipation, like she was waiting for me to say yes right now.
How the hell do I fix this?
I couldn't flat-out say no—not after what I'd already done. I'd already branded myself as the kind of guy who chases power and women in her mind.
I needed a way out. A way to reject her!
"This is all so sudden—my head's spinning. The truth is, Jeki hasn't fully gotten over his feelings for you yet. I'm worried about what to even tell him later…."
"I'm sorry about your teammate, but he's someone I already turned down, and he's got nothing to do with me and you. Dating you will bring you tons of benefits, and since he's in the same group, he'll reap those too. I think that'll more than make up for it."
"Is it really okay to buy a relationship like that?"
"Yes, that's why I'm here. I can give you as much as you want. I'll help you become the top idol."
"…What about Bianca? Have you two talked it over? Yesterday, it seemed like she hated the idea."
With Silbia around, there shouldn't have been any dating between us in the first place. But thanks to yesterday's karma, rejecting her proposal felt impossible.
Left with no choice, I threw Bianca out there as a shield.
And luckily, it hit the mark—Melissa's face twisted the moment I mentioned Bianca.
"Don't drag Bianca into this! I don't care anymore if you date her or not. I already told you I threw away all my pride to come here!"
"Sorry, but it matters a ton to me. I only agreed to date you in the first place because of Bianca."
She bit her lip hard, shocked by my words.
"So if Bianca tells you not to date me, you won't? Even though you want all the benefits I can give you?!"
"To be honest, Bianca can offer me plenty of those benefits too."
"Then why did you say you'd date me yesterday?"
I met her resentful gaze head-on without flinching.
"I was pissed at what Bianca said. I was trying to make her jealous."
"!!"
"She said she'd lend you to me for a day so we could date and break up. That hurt a lot when I heard it. I needed a way to make sure she'd never say something that shitty again. And conveniently, accepting your proposal was the only option at the time. Even though I knew it'd hurt you."
"…!!"
Maybe it was because this young body of Jin Haesol's was sharp—racking my brain to persuade her led to a clever idea faster than expected.
It was an impulsive acceptance driven by jealousy. That explanation gave my actions yesterday plenty of plausibility.
And Melissa couldn't spot any lies in my words; she was crumbling from the rejection.
"Sorry, but let's pretend that proposal never happened."
"Why does it have to be Bianca? I'm way better than her! You saw it yesterday too—how she offered to lend you out! You think that'll be the last time? It could happen again. That's just who she is. She only cares about herself."
"……."
Frustrated by my unshakable stance, Melissa pounded her chest with her fists.
"In the end, it's Bianca, huh. If she says yes, you'll date me; if no, you won't. Either way, I lose to her."
"I think the best thing for us is to stay professional."
"Ha, I did think it was kinda weird. I must be too oblivious. It was obvious if I'd just thought about it…."
"I'm sorry."
She's lucky. Better to end it clean as professionals than get tangled up like Bianca and have Silbia steal her body and toy with her.
Let's wrap this up nicely while we can. If I get more entangled with Silbia here, who knows what troll shit she'll pull next.
Some guy who fits her even better than me will show up eventually. I've persuaded her enough—time to quit.
"I should be the one apologizing."
But then, Melissa made an ominous sudden acceleration.
"Huh?"
"That apology was for all the times I'll have to apologize to you from now on."
"??"
"I can't give up. I won't give up."
Why!! Why won't you give up!? You ditched other guys coolly when they said no!!
"Keep dating Bianca. I'll keep seducing you with everything I've got. Even if she opposes it, I'll make you say you want to date me."
Melissa had made the worst choice of her life.
"At first, I was disappointed that you were so blatantly after my wealth. But thinking it over, all guys are the same. It was just the difference between those who say it outright and those who don't. Honestly, it felt refreshing that you were upfront. Hearing today that you used me to make Bianca jealous hurt even more."
"If you keep this up, it'll put me in a really tough spot."
You're the one who's gonna be in trouble. Just stop when I tell you to, please.
"That's why I apologized. Because I'll be clinging even harder and bothering you from now on. You were honest, so I'll be honest too. I don't want to lose to Bianca. I'll seduce you and make you my man. Seems like that's the only way to beat her."
Melissa declared it proudly with a cheeky smile, nose held high—oblivious that she might get slapped for it.
"You used me first because of Bianca, so I'll use you a bit to beat her. You can let that slide, right?"
"……."
What more could I say?
Silbia and my plan had ended in perfect 'failure.' Even if it failed, I never should've left Melissa's handling to Silbia….
Dark clouds loomed over Melissa's future.
After Melissa left, I immediately summoned Silbia.
She rushed over without knowing what was up, then ground her teeth when I explained.
She really hadn't seen this coming either.
"I'm done. Handle it yourself. I tried to end things nicely with Melissa out of guilt toward Bianca, but she's stubborn as an ox. No way to stop her."
"You're really handing her over to me?"
"I went this far and she still doesn't get it. What can I do? She keeps rejecting my goodwill."
You can only be nice so many times—if she keeps turning down the courtesy, I'm no pushover to keep indulging her.
Besides, I didn't want to deal with Melissa anymore. Hadn't she already wasted two days of my precious vacation?
All the outrageous bad shit that could happen once I fully dumped Melissa on Silbia. It was bound to be beyond imagination, so I'd tried my best to end it well—but now it was time to stop.
"I'll handle it cleanly. Hohohoho!! She'll never show up in front of Master again."
"But how did it even turn out like this? You said it was resolved."
"I thought so too. She vented to me about how disappointed she was in you, so I let my guard down and got tricked. That sneaky little… She's one hell of a fox. Not someone to underestimate."
Someone who wants to seduce me for revenge against Bianca isn't to be taken lightly, sure.
"It's all yours now, so just report back later on how you handled it. But no killing. You can control yourself, right?"
"Yesss~ Of course! Don't worry. I'll make it neat. Hohohot!"
Less trustworthy and more like a witch's laugh that put my heart on edge.
With my permission, the little devil cub huddled and dormant in Silbia's heart broke free from its seal.
Oblivious to that, I coldly cut off all thoughts of Melissa just because I didn't want to deal with it anymore.
Chaebols are exhausting to get tangled with, as expected.
Do you avoid shit because you're scared of it? No, because it's filthy.
Chaebols were no different from shit to me. A truth I'd firmly learned from this mess.
I needed to recover my Melissa-drained spirit, so it was time for some 'healing.' Luckily, I had plenty of beings who could provide that.
Taeyang, Jua noona, and Jeonghwa were no-brainers, but right now, I was craving Ahyun.
"Ahyun-ah, you free?"
"Of course!!"
I called and set up a meet with Ahyun.
Hugging her tight and rolling around would wash away all that mental fatigue clean.
—It definitely will!!
"Where are you? I'll come to you."
—You're coming? I'm at the studio….
"Studio? The academy?"
The recording room at Boksun noona's newly opened academy. A place I'd wanted to check out whenever I had time.
Plus, it was our shared workspace, wasn't it? She'd been using it all alone till now—I needed to drop by and record something like a proper composer at least once.
—Yeah, the academy.
"Perfect timing. I've been wanting to see it. It's our joint studio, after all."
—Right? We bought it together, but I've been hogging it.
"I'll be in the country more now, so I'll swing by often to work."
—Hurry~ I'll be waiting! I've got a bunch of tracks I worked on while you were gone. Come rate them!
"Okay! Hold tight—I'm on my way!"
Thinking of meeting my cute bunny-like Ahyun filled me with surging motivation out of nowhere. Something Silbia, Bianca, or Melissa could never provide.
Mmwah! Mmwah! Mmwah!
Reuniting after so long, Ahyun and I glued our lips together the moment we met.
We kissed all sticky and deep for a good while before I barely pulled away, knowing I'd strip off her panties if we kept going.
"Soundproofing's great and all, but teachers or students pop in sometimes with snacks…."
"When'd you get chummy with the academy folks?"
"Boksun unnie introduced me."
"Good job. I was worried you'd feel lonely using the studio by yourself."
Boksun noona must've known my concerns too—she'd set everything up for Ahyun without me even asking. I'd have to hug her tight and thank her properly next time.
"Ooh, cute. This doll looks just like you."
The recording room was smaller than expected but had everything needed. Adorned with little dolls and potted plants, it screamed 'cute girl's room' just like Ahyun's age.
"I decorated it too much just for me, huh?"
"Nah, no way. I suck at decorating, so I'm super grateful you did it for me."
"Hehet, this is your spot."
Pat pat~!
Ahyun must've made a cushion for the chair she set aside for me.
Thrilled it was 'my' seat, I plopped down. Then she patted my lap.
"??"
"What're you doing? Come sit."
"Eek!?"
"From now on, this is your assigned seat."
"Nooo, I'm heavy."
"Ehehe~ Hurry. You think I can't handle your weight? I just wanna stick to you. Quick quick quick! I'm dying here."
At my urging, Ahyun gave in and moved.
She settled lightly on my lap, and I wrapped both arms around her waist, pulling her in fully.
This is healing.
Those days abroad, choking down greasy, mismatched food on foreign soil.
Back on vacation, and bam—Melissa shows up stressing me out.
Holding Ahyun tight like this melted all the stress away.