024. The Designated Bully (1)
024. The Designated Bully (1)
Lee Yu-ri's mood had been seriously low lately.
Low enough that she sometimes couldn't focus on training and kept letting out heavy sighs.
The cause was a single rumor that had been circulating among the prospective cadets recently.
It started with one prospective cadet's eyewitness account.
「I saw Cheonhwa heading to Lohana Restaurant with the Male Quota.」
At first, people dismissed it as nonsense—why would Cheonhwa of all people bother with that?
But the next day, when Cheonhwa showed up at the hamburger joint during lunch, the rumor really caught fire.
Cheonhwa is showing interest in the Male Quota.
And Fighting Dog is supposedly after him too.
They say the two of them had a standoff over him.
And at the same time, word about the quota student's looks started spreading quietly as well.
— Homme Fatale, face that defies all probability, eye bleach, you can feel the wall. Perfection.
All sorts of nicknames got attached to him.
It was unprecedented for a prospective cadet who hadn't even had the entrance ceremony yet—not even a Special Admission Cadet—to become the center of attention like this.
And maybe because of those looks, the rumors gradually started getting twisted.
Into things like, "That quota student named Jin Yu-ha is flirting with the special admission cadets."
Lee Yu-ri didn't believe those distorted rumors were true.
If anything, she thought the original story that had reached her made perfect sense.
'It's obvious they took a one-sided interest in Jin Yu-ha.'
The reason was most likely Jin Yu-ha's hidden ability.
Since the special admissions cadets and the Male Quota were training together, they naturally would have gotten a look at Jin Yu-ha's skills.
And they would have figured it out.
That Jin Yu-ha possessed shocking ability, completely unbefitting the label of Male Quota.
She was no longer the only one who knew how special he was.
She'd guessed it would happen someday, and realistically, she wasn't in a position to respond to Jin Yu-ha's feelings, so she tried to accept it as gracefully as possible.
Yeah, she tried to accept it, but...
She couldn't shake the deep sense of injustice welling up inside her.
'...He came here because of me!'
Jin Yu-ha had rushed to enroll in Velvet Academy—a place he'd had zero interest in—just to follow her.
It was so sudden he didn't even have time to prepare, so he'd even taken on the absurd label of Male Quota.
And yet, women far more beautiful than her, far more capable, and with far more money... women she couldn't possibly compete with—had approached that Jin Yu-ha.
'So I figured, of course Jin Yu-ha would be swayed by them... But now, what did he just say?'
*
"So basically, that Cheonhwa bitch pulled some bullshit?"
"Yeah, yesterday I even got ambushed by her followers. And she definitely knew it was happening."
When he first started talking, the light had gone out of her eyes, but as the conversation continued, Lee Yu-ri gradually returned to her old self.
'Huh, Gukbap's feeling better?'
"She's a total psycho."
"Right. She's really shady."
"But how did you get tangled up with her?"
Lee Yu-ri asked, crossing her arms.
"Uh, well. The details are kind of complicated and hard to explain. But I made a deal with her."
"A deal?"
"Yeah, the condition is that I eat lunch with her for the time being."
Lee Yu-ri chewed her lip in fury.
Then she let out a hollow laugh.
"She acts like an angel in public, and then she uses her status to make deals? She forced you to eat with her under those conditions... That's seriously creepy. Wait, don't tell me this whole rumor was also meant to stake a claim on you?"
Lee Yu-ri frowned, sorted out her thoughts by herself, and then asked me.
"So all that stuff about you liking Cheonhwa is bullshit too?"
"Obviously."
I nodded.
Actually, if you think about how Cheonhwa looks in the media, it would be totally natural for her to doubt me, but Lee Yu-ri believed what I said instantly.
"So, what do you need me to help with?"
Lee Yu-ri asked back, brimming with motivation.
"I told you I'm eating with her, right?"
"Yeah."
"I want you to come with me. To that meal."
"Sure. Got it."
Lee Yu-ri accepted my request without a moment's hesitation.
A mix of gratitude and guilt prickled my conscience.
'She's gonna get dragged into the rumors for nothing, and it'll steal time from her lunchtime training...'
I couldn't exactly ask a favor like this without giving her something in return.
"This is you helping me. So in return..."
"Hey, Jin Yu-ha."
"Yeah?"
"You think I'd take something like that?"
She snapped at me, like she was actually offended.
Honestly, hearing her say that was reassuring, but still.
"Still, Gukbap. You train during lunch too. I feel bad stealing your time for my own mess."
"...How do you know that?"
Crack—
Lee Yu-ri's face suddenly went stiff.
"...Just, figured you would? No?"
"Y-yeah. Ah, so you did know?"
Her face flushed bright red, and she averted her eyes.
'She trains without even eating lunch properly. She must be embarrassed I found out.'
A satisfied smile spread across my face.
"Alright. I mean, it is kind of weird for us to exchange money. So this time I'll just buy the food we eat together. And next time, if you have a favor, I'll definitely do it for you."
"...Between us?"
"Yeah, between people who've worked together."
I said it teasingly.
A brief silence.
Lee Yu-ri suddenly shot up from her seat and turned away.
"Gukbap...?"
"O-Okaygotit!SoI'llseeyouatlunchtomorrow,andI'llcomebyyourtraininggroundthen.Waitforme!It'stimeformetosleepnowbutIsuddenlyrememberedsomethingkindaurgent?SorrybutI'moffnowbye!Seeyoutomorrow!"
Bang—!
"......."
Lee Yu-ri fired off a rapid string of words like a machine gun, then bolted inside the dormitory.
Must be a really urgent matter.
Anyway, that's how I managed to secure one sturdy leash to put around Shin Se-hee's neck.
* * *
The next morning.
6 AM.
I woke up an hour earlier than usual.
Snore— whoosh—
I quietly looked around at the dorm guys still dead asleep, then carefully got up.
I grabbed the wooden sword I'd fallen asleep clutching last night, washed up roughly, and headed for the training ground.
And there, one woman was already outside.
Kang Do-hee.
She was sitting on the floor, legs spread wide, bending her upper body down in deep stretches.
'Better give her a vaccine shot in advance.'
Step.
Step.
Making noise to announce my presence, I approached her.
Kang Do-hee lifted her head and glared at me ferociously.
"What."
"Already out here training? You're insanely diligent, huh?"
"What do you care, Quota. Don't ever let me see you again. I'll actually kill you."
"We're training together anyway. How am I supposed to not be seen?"
Kang Do-hee cracked her neck to both sides and pulled up the corners of her mouth.
Then she glared at me and said,
"Hey, you. Before, you were going on about that Flowerbed bitch being poisonous or whatever... And then you ended up clinging to her? So now what bullshit are you trying to pull?"
"If I switched from Shin Se-hee to you instead, would you have me?"
"Fuck off. Men who flit from one person to another with no spine make me sick."
Kang Do-hee's voice dripped with sarcasm.
On top of the Male Quota thing, I'd been following her around with Shin Se-hee recently and getting on her last nerve, so her sharpness seemed even worse.
"Kang Do-hee."
"Don't say my name. Don't even act like you know me."
"Then Fighting Dog?"
"You seriously wanna die?"
I looked at her and spoke calmly.
"Fine. From today on, I won't ever speak to you first. So just listen carefully to this one thing I'm saying now."
"......."
Kang Do-hee gave a jerk of her chin.
It looked like she was at least willing to hear me out now that I'd put it like this.
"Later, whatever question you come to me and ask, I will answer honestly. No matter what."
"What...?"
"And the thing I said about wanting to be your friend. That will never change either. So keep that in mind too."
Kang Do-hee scowled, like she was wondering what kind of bullshit I was suddenly showing up to spout.
"Any time, come find me and ask directly."
"What kind of dumbass talk is that? Me, come find you? You really think that'll happen?"
"Who knows."
I shrugged as I answered.
I didn't know what tricks Shin Se-hee might pull to rope Kang Do-hee in either.
But knowing her, she'd probably use that snake-like tongue of hers to lure Kang Do-hee in somehow.
And the most effective vaccine for when that happens is this.
Opening up and being honest with each other, directly.
Right now, Kang Do-hee's rejection of me is so strong it won't land, but later, she'll definitely remember the things I said.
Then at that moment, I just have to respond honestly when Kang Do-hee comes to find me.
With the exact same answer as now.
After giving Kang Do-hee that vaccine shot, I moved away and started training on my own.
* * *
"That's it for today's basic training. Reconvene after lunch."
Instructor Baek Seol-hee's morning training schedule was over.
And Shin Se-hee came over.
"Jin Yu-ha! Let's go eat lunch together again today!"
Shin Se-hee's voice was bright and cheery.
"Yeah, sure."
But as I was walking, I stopped at the entrance to the training ground.
"Hmm? Aren't you coming?"
Shin Se-hee, who'd been walking ahead, turned back and tilted her head.
"Ah, sorry. A friend of mine is supposed to come."
"...A friend?"
"Yeah, a friend who came to the academy with me. We'd promised to eat lunch together from the start."
"Huh?"
"We got split up into different training squads, so we've been eating separately up until now. But I thought it'd be better to eat together now. One extra person for lunch doesn't really matter anyway, right?"
Shin Se-hee nodded, her face looking a bit sour.
"...Well, fine. But who is it?"
"Ah, there she is."
In the distance, Lee Yu-ri was walking toward us.
Looking more reliable than ever.
'There we go. Shin Se-hee, your designated bully has arrived. Time to say hi, don't you think?'
I smiled inwardly.