66. Who Was Better?
66. Who Was Better?
66. Who Was Better?
There was no escaping the girls' dormitory without Yu Ha-yeon's help.
A security guard was posted at the entrance,
and the odds of running into a female student on the way out were far too high.
I had no choice but to ask Yu Ha-yeon for help.
"Ah, whatever. It's not like I'll die, right?"
I probably wouldn't die, but it definitely felt like I might.
With that thought, I headed back toward her dorm room.
By some stroke of luck, I didn't run into anyone along the way.
'...Let's go.'
I steeled myself in front of Yu Ha-yeon's door.
Then I knocked with a hand full of resolve.
Knock knock.
-Who is it?
"It's me. Hurry up and open the door, Yu Ha-yeon."
I rushed her because there was always a chance another girl would open the door and see me.
-Wh... why are you here...? Wait a second. I'll open up.
Yu Ha-yeon sounded flustered by the news that it was me.
After all, the person she'd locked up had come back on his own.
Her reaction was perfectly normal.
Creeeak...
The door opened, and Yu Ha-yeon greeted me.
She had her long black hair tied back, maybe because she'd been preparing food.
"What's going on? Why are you even here?"
"..."
Because of you, obviously.
Wait—if you brought me here, shouldn't you let me out?
I wanted to shout that at Yu Ha-yeon, but if I opened my mouth, a different sentence seemed likely to come out.
I swallowed the words that were trying to burst out
and quickly stepped inside her room.
Clunk!
As soon as I was through the doorway and the door shut,
I let out the words I'd been holding back.
"Yu Ha-yeon."
"What."
"I kissed Lee Seol-ha."
Calm and emotionless. A tone meant solely to deliver the fact.
The moment those words left my mouth, the only sound that filled Yu Ha-yeon's room was something bubbling.
Was it the pot boiling because she'd been cooking?
Or was Yu Ha-yeon's head boiling over with rage?
To break the silence hanging in the air, I spoke.
"Yu Ha-yeon, that pot's gonna burn."
"What's burning is my insides... you son of a bitch, Han Si-jun...!!"
The bubbling sound was coming from Yu Ha-yeon's head.
She grabbed me by the collar and screamed.
"H... how...! How can you do that in just one day...?! And with that bitch Lee Seol-ha, of all people...!!"
"W... wait, I can't breathe... I'm dying..."
Apparently, the fact that I'd kissed Lee Seol-ha—a girl who hated her—really got under her skin.
My stamina is a staggering 2.
If Yu Ha-yeon kept clutching my collar like that, I'd suffocate.
But she seemed even angrier than I'd expected, and she didn't let up.
"Th... this doesn't make any sense...! How could you even think of getting all over that bitch...?! And then you come to me? What, are you here to brag about the kiss...?!"
"C... can't breathe..."
Before I reached my limit, Yu Ha-yeon loosened her grip on my collar.
'I... I almost died...'
Just as an angel was about to wave at me,
Yu Ha-yeon let go, and I let out a ragged breath.
No matter how furious she was, she apparently didn't mean to kill me.
"Han Si-jun. Explain."
Yu Ha-yeon said it to me while I steadied my breathing.
It was a demand for an explanation, a threat.
She was biting her lip, trying her hardest to contain her anger.
'Umm...'
Where should I even begin?
In that situation, I casually asked her.
"...Before the kiss? Or after?"
"You want to die...?"
"Kidding, kidding..."
First, I decided to relocate to explain things properly.
It was too long a story to tell in the entryway.
***
"So, do you understand now?"
Slurp—
I'd finished explaining to Yu Ha-yeon what happened last night,
and now I was spooning up the kimchi stew she'd made.
Even if I couldn't taste the food, I had to get the bare minimum of nutrients to build up my strength stat.
'...Actually, this might be for the best.'
Yu Ha-yeon is a terrible cook.
She says she follows the recipes, but every single dish has a screw loose somewhere.
Today, though, I was grateful my tongue was numb and I couldn't taste a thing.
Yu Ha-yeon watched me eat and murmured quietly.
"Hmm... So Lee Seol-ha's type is a younger Han Si-jun... Okay... noted..."
"...You're scaring me, Yu Ha-yeon."
Yu Ha-yeon kept muttering to herself over and over.
I couldn't grasp what she really meant by it, but I could clearly tell she was putting pressure on me.
I'd left out a few details about Lee Seol-ha when I told her.
The part about how my smaller body happened to match her preferences.
And how I seized that opportunity to get closer to her.
I told her that much truthfully.
'Even so, there's no way I can mention the misandry or the trauma.'
Obviously, I hid the part about having to treat her trauma.
No matter that Yu Ha-yeon and I are childhood friends, I still had to keep someone else's secrets.
Yu Ha-yeon stared at me eating and muttered to herself.
"Just one more. Fine... I'll hold out until then..."
She kept repeating those same words the whole time I was eating.
She wasn't out of it, but her gaze was fixed on me the entire time.
When she gave me more food and told me to eat a lot, a chill ran through my body.
After finishing that satisfying meal,
I sat down on Yu Ha-yeon's bed, the same one I'd been tied to last night.
'At least I'm not tied up today...'
To be honest, I thought I would be tied up today.
But after her initial anger, Yu Ha-yeon paused for a moment, and then kept her composure.
I guessed to myself.
'Is she getting used to it...?'
Apparently, there are even couples in the world where one partner gets permission before cheating because they do it so often.
Maybe Yu Ha-yeon held back because she knew I'd had no choice but to do what I did.
Not knowing her true feelings, that was the best guess I could make.
As I sat on the bed, thinking, she came closer.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Just... which club to join. I was thinking about that."
Every student at the academy is required to join at least one club.
The chairwoman we met before puts enormous effort into clubs to make sure heroes have an enjoyable school life.
There are well over fifty clubs.
The support for clubs is so generous that students actually try to join as many as possible.
"Hmm... a club..."
Yu Ha-yeon sat down next to me with a thoughtful expression.
Ever since middle school, it was practically a given that she and I would join the same club.
"There's one I want to join."
"Which one?"
"The Bride Training Club."
The Bride Training Club.
In V. AGE, that club contains a Hidden Piece,
but no player ever wanted to join unless they were doing some bizarre concept play.
But more importantly.
"I'm a guy, you know?"
"That's a stereotype, Han Si-jun. You can be a bride too."
...Is that really a stereotype?
'It might not be so bad.'
A life where Yu Ha-yeon earns the money and I stay home.
When I thought about it, it didn't sound bad, but since I didn't want to live tied up, that club was rejected.
'First priority is clearing V. AGE. I'll think about romance later.'
I pulled up the list of clubs on my phone.
Each club had clear pros and cons, and dozens of clubs contained Hidden Pieces.
Connections first, personal strength first, or information first.
"Hmm..."
I had my concerns, but for clearing V. AGE, there was no better club than this one.
I held my smartphone screen out to Yu Ha-yeon.
"Wanna join this one?"
"The Villain Research Club?"
"Yeah."
The Villain Research Club.
A club that ranks among the top five in popularity with students.
It's a club where you study villains, identify their weaknesses, and prepare for actual hero work.
For any hero cadet aiming to join a guild or a security company, you could almost consider this club mandatory.
'I don't need the information. Honestly, the Hidden Piece is my real goal.'
If I joined the Villain Research Club and got that Hidden Piece, my survival rate would skyrocket.
It was an excellent choice for mitigating the 'Villain's Fate' to some extent.
Yu Ha-yeon asked in a worried tone.
"Han Si-jun, are you interested in villains?"
"Interested in villains...?"
"No, I mean... are you interested in villains, specifically...?"
Yu Ha-yeon stared at me intently with anxious eyes.
Apparently, Han Yu-wol sinking her teeth into my neck had left a bit of a painful memory for her.
'I can't exactly say it's for a Hidden Piece...'
A Hidden Piece is normally a blind spot in the world—something that shouldn't exist.
An Easter egg.
Even if I explained it, she'd definitely think I was crazy.
I gave her a playful excuse.
"I heard there are a lot of pretty girls in the Villain Research Club."
"..."
"Kidding, kidding..."
Yu Ha-yeon's worried expression vanished completely,
and she stared at me with dead eyes.
"I don't like jokes like that."
"Got it..."
"Is saying 'got it' the end of it?"
As if seizing the opportunity, Yu Ha-yeon pushed me down onto the bed where I'd been sitting.
A soft sensation pressed against my back, and Yu Ha-yeon lowered her head to meet my eyes.
"Han Si-jun."
"...Yeah."
"When you kissed Lee Seol-ha... was it good?"
Yu Ha-yeon fixed her serious gaze on me.
She was gripping my shoulders tightly, perhaps out of jealousy.
"Tell me now. If you don't, I'll get mad."
"...It was good, yeah."
I answered honestly.
Good things are good, and even if I said it wasn't good, Yu Ha-yeon would've gotten blazing mad anyway.
Yu Ha-yeon's face crumpled into a scowl as she spoke.
"This is why you're so annoying, being honest at a time like this... You lie all day every day, so why aren't you lying now...?"
"I wasn't done yet."
You have to hear the end of a sentence in Korean.
I continued with what I'd been about to say to Yu Ha-yeon.
"But, I think you were better... my memory's not great, though..."
The rule of compliments is that you give them when the person is right in front of you.
If you're comparing two people, you compliment the one who's standing right there.
At that, Yu Ha-yeon asked in a sulky tone.
"...What do you want from me?"
"I just... I feel like I might know for sure if we do it one more time..."
"...Die, Han Si-jun."
Contrary to her harsh words, Yu Ha-yeon gently enveloped my lips with hers.
The clumsy way she tangled her tongue as she leaned in was very much like her.
Yu Ha-yeon pressed against me diligently, as though determined to leave no trace of Lee Seol-ha behind.
And my answer, naturally, was already decided.
"Seriously, just one last one...! I still can't really tell...!"
"Y... you crazy bastard...! P... pervert...! Drop dead...!"
After three kisses total, I let Yu Ha-yeon know who was better.
She showed a bashful look and went, 'Well, obviously...!'
That was the last hour I spent in the girls' dormitory.