The Second Bet
“President, I’ll step out to the bathroom for a moment. Something urgent came up.”
“You can just go to the bathroom.”
“No. I want you to be the one who tells me to hurry and go, President.”
There had to be some hidden scheme behind those words. Still, Cha Yeri had no desire to waste energy trying to figure it out.
“Haah… Just go.”
“Yes! I’ll make sure to go properly and come right back.”
“That wording sounds weird somehow…”
Kang Ijin smiled with a satisfied grin.
“I’ll be back!!”
After that, as if he really were desperate to piss, he clutched his crotch with both hands and bolted out of the student council room. His light, frivolous behavior carried zero trace of seriousness. Even though it was the complete opposite of her own personality and the exact type of person she hated most, the sight of Kang Ijin leaving the room made a small chuckle slip from her lips.
“What on earth was he thinking when he said that just now… Ugh~”
With Kang Ijin gone, Cha Yeri stretched in the now-empty student council room to loosen up a little and rose from her chair. Her eyes then landed on the neatly arranged documents on the distant table, and she walked over to examine them.
The files Kang Ijin had organized were sorted perfectly by grade and class. Student council interviews required permission from the teachers in charge of classes to pull students out. Rather than calling them individually, the plan was to bring in entire classes for group interviews. Cha Yeri had never mentioned this to him. Despite receiving no specific instructions on how to organize the documents, he had perfectly grasped her intentions and categorized everything flawlessly.
“His abilities really are excellent… If only the person himself would adopt a slightly more serious attitude.”
A serious Kang Ijin…
“Pfft…!”
The mental image was so absurd that laughter burst out of her uncontrollably.
Cha Yeri was not someone who laughed often. Even when alone, she had trained herself never to let her composure crumble. Lately, however, she had been secretly laughing by herself more and more. Naturally, that also meant she was sighing far more often. All of it was because of Kang Ijin. Simply being around him drained her mentally to the point that her perfect bearing fell apart. It felt as if he were forcibly dragging out the weak parts of herself that she never wanted anyone to see.
Get a grip.
Kang Ijin was the man who had targeted her and even seized the vice president position. She had to stay vigilant, always keeping in mind that some scheme might be lurking beneath the surface.
“……”
As that thought crossed her mind, another suddenly occurred to her.
“Does the vice president… like me that much?”
Cha Yeri stood in front of the full-length mirror inside the student council room. Her neat hair, which she had brushed for over twenty minutes that morning. The appearance that both adults and students around her praised. A woman whose mere posture radiated classical elegance and refinement. She was not narcissistic, but objectively speaking, her beauty placed her in the top one percent. She had put in tremendous effort to reach that level.
“At this point… it might be inevitable that Kang Ijin would covet me…”
Kang Ijin. Beneath his frivolous behavior lay a terrifying man who was the true leader of the Ijin-hoe and possessed every qualification to be vice president. And that man’s goal was her.
I won’t fall for him so easily.
Of course, that kiss back then… had been an unavoidable accident. She had mistaken him for just another common thug. She had been arrogant enough to believe she could never be wrong.
Cha Yeri ran her hand across the desk.
Right here, with Kang Ijin…
The memory was still vivid. Him sitting her on the desk, wrapping his arm around her neck. His lips overlapping hers, his moist tongue invading her mouth. She had expected a rough kiss from him. Though she hadn’t shown it outwardly, she had been tense, afraid of what he would do. But the kiss Kang Ijin gave her was nothing like she had imagined. It was soft, tender, and she could clearly feel that he was being considerate of her. That kind of kiss.
If she were to be honest, it had felt… good.
“Ugh… Why is it suddenly so hot in here?”
As Cha Yeri fanned herself with her hand, her eyes fell on the necktie Kang Ijin had loosened and tossed onto the sofa. Loosening one’s tie inside school was a clear violation of the rules. She was thinking she ought to scold him when he returned when a strange fantasy suddenly floated into her mind.
The faceless man her family had arranged for her, and Kang Ijin. If she absolutely had to choose one to date, who would be better? Both options made her feel suffocated, but if she were forced to pick, it would be Kang Ijin. Ever since she was young, her parents had always told her to cast aside all personal feelings for the sake of the family. Marrying a man whose name, face, and age she didn’t even know was simply the predetermined path.
Yet every time she thought about it, the whole world seemed to turn gray. She wondered if she was no different from the trophies sitting on that shelf. They looked brilliant and gave a sense of superiority, but that was all. Nothing more than decorations that could be there or not. Her every effort existed only to become some man’s trophy.
In that case, Kang Ijin—who at least treated her like a person—was better. At least he wouldn’t treat her like a trophy.
He has zero respect for his senior and keeps saying weird things like I’m like his mom, though.
It was the first time she had ever wanted to fluster someone so badly. Like a child who gets excited tormenting the person they have a crush on. Cha Yeri felt a faint flutter of excitement in her chest.
I wonder what kind of reaction Kang Ijin will have if I let Kang Suho into the student council?
Maybe she would get to see a side of him she had never witnessed when the two of them were alone. The interview was supposed to be free of personal feelings. Yet the one putting the most personal feelings into it was none other than Cha Yeri herself.
This was a romance-comedy set in a school. And in this story, the student council president was a heroine. If I became the protagonist, there was one situation I absolutely wanted to experience: the popular protagonist getting along with the other female members, and the student council president watching it all while burning with jealousy.
I had already decided on two girls in my mind who could trigger Cha Yeri’s jealousy. The first was Jeong Sua. Had Suho applied to the student council and dragged her along? Or had she applied because I was the vice president?
I’d prefer it to be the latter.
Regardless, Jeong Sua had also submitted an application to the student council. And I intended to bring her in no matter what. Simply having Kang Suho and Jeong Sua together in the student council filled my head with deliciously filthy scenes.
Suho still didn’t know that the two of us were dating. He had even confessed and been rejected. Given his personality, he wouldn’t confess again right away. Even if he did, he would take his time working up to it. The guy would just sit there sucking his thumb, watching us being all lovey-dovey and seething with jealousy.
Above all, the biggest reason I had to bring Jeong Sua into the student council!
I want to flirt like crazy with Sua in the student council room.
In that sense, I had zero interest in the guys who were nothing but extras.
“Yes, I heard you well. I’ve finished my questions. Vice president, do you have any additional questions for the applicant?”
“Nope. Next, next.”
My sloppy attitude nearly made Cha Yeri’s face twist for a second, but she barely held it together.
“Haah… Junior, please tell the next student to wait five minutes before coming in.”
After the interview ended and the student left, Cha Yeri called out to them with an elegant smile. But the moment the applicant was gone, her face turned icy as she glared at me.
“Do it properly, Kang Ijin.”
“I am doing it properly.”
“Then why haven’t you asked a single question this whole time? I’ve been the only one speaking throughout every interview.”
“Before I could even ask anything, the president already asked such perfect questions that there was nothing left for me to say. What am I supposed to do when there are no questions left to ask?”
“Then at least sit properly when the applicants are in front of us. These students came here for our student council. Show them the demeanor of a proper vice president.”
So prickly. But seeing the elegant student council president lose her temper only in front of me was insanely hot. Made me want to run to the bathroom again.
Cha Yeri seemed to think I wasn’t taking this seriously, but in reality I understood the applicants far better than she did. In my eyes, I could see things no one else could.
My ability revealed a great deal of information. Especially when the target was an extra with no assigned role, it showed far more.
Role: Gangan High School Student
Gangan High School first-year. Eldest son of one son and two daughters. His appearance, knowledge, social relationships—everything about him is perfectly average. There is nothing particularly special about his past; he has simply lived an ordinary life. Realizing his own ordinariness, he applied to the student council in hopes of becoming someone special.
Role: Gangan High School Student
Gangan High School first-year. Only child. When she was young she dated a church oppa five years her senior and had her first sexual experience. In middle school she frequently hung out with delinquents and lived a wild, rebellious life. Upon entering high school she came to her senses and applied to the student council in order to reform herself.
The moment I became aware of an extra, it was as if a role had been assigned to them. Their hidden information and background became visible. The information I gained this way was surprisingly useful and served as a measuring stick for judging people.
I’ve never been scammed by anyone thanks to this.
It seemed like the roles changed according to my standards. When someone approached me with the intention of deceiving me, their role would change to “Swindler” or the description would say something like “Approaching with intent to commit fraud.” That was why simply glancing over the applicants like this was far more efficient than conducting these tedious interviews.
“Honestly, is there any meaning to this face-to-face questioning method?”
“What do you mean?”
“Come on. Just looking at the application forms already gives us most of the basic information. Why bother with interviews on top of that?”
Cha Yeri let out a deep, annoyed sigh as if to say Here we go again. That’s right. It was time for Kang Ijin’s complaints.
“Because an application form alone isn’t enough to judge a person. You have to meet them face to face, talk with them, and observe their true character.”
“Do you really believe you can judge someone just by talking to them, President? What if their appearance and answers are all fabricated?”
“Even that would reveal how meticulously calculated their personality is. At the very least, you learn more than what’s written on the application.”
“It would be truly sad if the students you chose with that method end up falling short of expectations.”
“You just want to argue with me no matter what I say. Get to the point.”
“Very well. How about we make another bet this time?”
“A… bet…?”
I caught it clearly, if only for a moment. The way Cha Yeri flinched when she heard the word “bet.” It seemed the kiss we shared had come to mind. Every time a bet was mentioned, she ended up remembering that kiss with me. So fucking hot.
“Why do you look so surprised?”
“I-it’s nothing. Ahem… Why would I need to make a bet with you?”
“To correct your mistaken thinking, just like last time.”
“You deliberately…”
When I emphasized “just like last time,” she realized I was mocking her and frowned. The sight of the respected, elegant student council president being toyed with by my words was always thrilling.
“What, are you scared you’ll lose to me again?”
“Hmph. Your provocations don’t work on me… Still, I’ll at least hear what the bet is about.”
“It’s simple. We’ll call in the next student and compete over who can read them better. For the record, I won’t be asking any questions. I don’t think this interview process itself has any meaning. You can ask all the questions, President.”
“How will we determine who understood them better?”
“We can just ask the person directly. Who understood them better.”
“Hmm…”
Cha Yeri crossed her arms and began to ponder. Even though her wariness toward me had skyrocketed since the kiss bet, she wouldn’t be able to refuse this one easily. Why? Because on the surface, the bet was overwhelmingly in her favor. Of course, that was only if I didn’t have any special ability.
“Will the reward for winning the bet be the same as last time?”
“You want it to be the same as last time? I don’t mind. Heh.”
When I smirked and asked that, her gaze briefly flicked to my lips before she turned her head away. I saw that, you know. How cute. I really need to add this woman to my collection soon.
“But this time let’s make it different. If you win, I’ll leave the student council—just like before. If I win, however…”
“Then what do I have to give you if you win?”
“If I win, leave the entire process of selecting student council members to me. Of course, that includes you helping me with the work. Since recruiting new members requires both the president’s and my signature, it would be troublesome if you refused to sign off on anything.”
“You don’t have to tell me that. I wouldn’t do that…”
“I know, I know. I’m just being thorough. You like being meticulous too, don’t you, President?”
“Fine. I accept the bet. This time I’ll definitely make you leave the student council.”
“That won’t happen. I’m quite confident in my eye for people, you see.”