10. The Seed Always Awakens Underground (Final)
10. The Seed Always Awakens in the Soil (Final)
After the three of them went shopping together and dropped off the exhausted So-jeong at her place on their way back.
"......"
While So-jeong was at her own home, busy discovering new sensations, Ryu Baek-seol and Choi Ha-na were walking toward the bus stop in an awkward silence.
Ha-na kept glancing at Baek-seol with an anxious look, carefully gauging her mood before cautiously opening her mouth.
"I'm sorry, unnie."
"For what."
"Because I suggested going shopping and made So-jeong unnie tired."
"She didn't come out because you forced her, so stop blaming yourself."
Baek-seol glanced sideways at Ha-na with her characteristic cold eyes.
"Both you and So-jeong wanted to go, so we went."
"Ah, I...... yes."
Seeing Ha-na answer with slumped shoulders, Baek-seol realized belatedly that she had spoken too sharply again and sighed.
"......I meant don't worry too much. So-jeong's body is a bit weak, so she gets tired easily. If she rests well for a day, she'll be fine."
Even as she said that, Baek-seol herself felt guilty for not noticing that So-jeong was tired until she was exhausted.
I didn't know she'd get tired that quickly. Somewhere deep inside Baek-seol, that excuse bubbled up like an air bubble.
Normally, she wouldn't have gotten so tired from just walking around this much that she'd collapse.
Baek-seol thought that excuse had merit.
Hadn't the two of them just gone on a trip not long ago? So-jeong had walked around just as much then, but she hadn't seemed particularly tired at the time.
Baek-seol frowned as her thoughts grew more complicated.
It could simply be that she wasn't feeling well today, or because we walked around a crowded place.
But the sense of strangeness that So-jeong had occasionally displayed recently made it hard to dismiss so simply.
Baek-seol wanted to know what this strangeness was, but since So-jeong herself said she was fine, she couldn't just keep prying.
'Am I being overprotective?'
As the situation didn't progress and her worries kept circling in her head, she began to think that way.
Right. Didn't I think that she should break away from me and live an ordinary life where she could mingle with other people too?
Perhaps the very fact that there are things I don't know about So-jeong might be part of the process of her gradually becoming freer from me.
Just as she was about to fall into the quagmire of thought again, Baek-seol was snapped out of her reverie by Ha-na's voice from beside her.
"Unnie Baek-seol and unnie So-jeong, you've been friends since before university, right?"
When Baek-seol turned to look, Ha-na was gazing steadily into her eyes.
"How did you know?"
"The feeling is different between people who've been close since high school and people who became close in university when you see them from the side."
"......"
Even though she constantly put herself down saying she couldn't adjust distances in relationships with others, she was indeed a perceptive woman.
"We've known each other since second year of high school. Since I transferred."
"So you've been taking care of So-jeong unnie since then?"
"Why are you curious about that?"
"Because I want to become closer with So-jeong unnie."
Ha-na answered immediately to Baek-seol's question.
"I want to know if there's anything I should be careful about."
She'd said So-jeong was her type looks-wise, so she must have really taken a liking to her.
Baek-seol felt secretly proud that there was someone else who recognized So-jeong's beauty, but also felt a twinge of jealousy.
Baek-seol was silent for a while.
Ha-na's question felt like she was asking for permission from her to get closer to So-jeong.
Do others see me as being overly protective of Baek-seol?
Feeling as if even her internal conflict had been discovered, Baek-seol spoke as if throwing the words out.
"Just keep doing what you've been doing. I'm not So-jeong's parent, why are you asking something like that."
She was So-jeong's friend. And a resting place where So-jeong could pause to catch her breath.
That was all.
'......If I were really So-jeong's parent, I wouldn't have stood by and let my daughter go through that at school.'
As she was chewing on that bitter thought, Ha-na laughed awkwardly and scratched her cheek.
"Ahaha, right, right? It's just that So-jeong unnie feels a bit different from other people. With other kids, I could just stride right up and become friends quickly, but with unnie, somehow..."
Ha-na trailed off for a moment searching for the right expression.
"So-jeong unnie somehow seems like she might break if held too tightly."
"......"
Just then, the bus Ha-na had been waiting for arrived.
"Ah, unnie, I'll get going now."
Ha-na rummaged through her bag to pull out her wallet as she said goodbye.
"See you next week!"
Ha-na gave a bright smile before dashing off toward the bus.
Baek-seol followed the disappearing back of Ha-na with her eyes, as always.
Might break if held too tightly.
Though Baek-seol thought she had more differences than similarities with Ha-na, she couldn't help but agree with that statement.
Perhaps that's why she couldn't completely let go of So-jeong, nor could she stop being obsessed with her.
***
A few days later on Monday. Baek-seol was waiting for So-jeong in front of the classroom door as always.
"Ah, Ba, Baek-seol-ah."
But So-jeong, who was tiptoeing from the hallway into the classroom, didn't give her usual bright smile when their eyes met - instead she seemed flustered and avoided Baek-seol's gaze.
"Ah, hello!"
Watching So-jeong practically shout that single word before rushing into the classroom, Baek-seol had countless question marks floating above her head.
'Why is she acting like this all of a sudden?'
It was the same awkward reaction as when they first became friends in high school.
Just as she was about to wonder if something had happened to So-jeong again, a completely different thought suddenly popped into her head.
'Did I do something wrong to So-jeong?'
Thinking about it, all the strangeness So-jeong had shown recently was related to her.
When she was so sick she skipped several days of classes, she didn't call her, and when asked if something was wrong, she brushed it off saying she was fine. And a few days ago, she suddenly felt extreme fatigue while shopping with just the two of them.
And then just now that distant reaction......
Didn't she act normally toward Ha-na, whom she'd only met recently?
Then does that mean she unknowingly did something to make So-jeong dislike her?
Baek-seol felt something heavy sink inside her.
The fear of possibly being disliked by So-jeong had always lurked deep in her heart, but the thought that it might have become reality came as a much bigger shock than she had anticipated.
Baek-seol desperately racked her brain. She went over everything she had done, wondering if she had done something wrong.
Then a thought suddenly crossed her mind.
'Could she have found out?'
Baek-seol's deepest feelings toward So-jeong. Her dirty desires. Her sinful and desperate emotions.
The forbidden wish to hold her, feel her, touch her.
Goosebumps crept chillingly up Baek-seol's spine.
Surely not.
Baek-seol repeated that to herself as if scolding herself. Otherwise, she couldn't calm her heart.
There's no way.
I've hidden it so well until now.
But if not, then the question of why So-jeong was acting strangely only toward her remained unanswered.
Going over what she had done recently in detail, Baek-seol entered the classroom with a somewhat dazed expression.
***
Han So-jeong couldn't calm her heart at all.
Even though several days had already passed since her first 'Sexual Desire Management,' the moment she saw Baek-seol in the hallway, the sensations from that day came back as vividly as if it had just happened.
The image of herself grabbing and shaking that throbbing dick, her own voice panting lewdly.
And the image of a completely naked Baek-seol that had appeared in her mind during it.
Feeling her face flush hot, So-jeong entered the classroom without properly greeting Baek-seol.
'You idiot......!'
Of course, she immediately regretted it after sitting in her usual seat.
'I'm a bad person.'
Managing her sexual desires while thinking of Baek-seol, who always took care of her and helped her in many ways.
She felt guilty, as if she had somehow defiled her.
'I'll have to keep managing my sexual desires from now on too.'
If she masturbates while thinking of Baek-seol every time, So-jeong's conscience won't be able to handle it.
"Huu......"
So-jeong collapsed onto her desk and let out a deep sigh.
Just when she thought she had solved one problem, another problem popped its head up.
Just how long does this damn dick plan to torment her?
As she was making a sour face thinking about the incomprehensible unwelcome guest, the classroom door opened and Baek-seol entered.
"Ah, Baek-seol-ah."
So-jeong forced a smile while trying to maintain her composure.
"Hello."
Baek-seol blinked a few times before coming to sit next to So-jeong and speaking.
"Hello."
Seeing Baek-seol's slightly puzzled expression, So-jeong's feet itched with anxiety as she hurriedly continued speaking.
"Ah, I think I left something here in this classroom last time. That's why I couldn't greet you properly earlier. Heh, hehe. I found it now."
"Really? ......That's good."
At So-jeong's words, Baek-seol seemed to return to her usual expression. Probably.
'Look at that. I almost made her worry again.'
Scolding herself inwardly like that, So-jeong made another resolution.
Certainly, after managing her sexual desires once, her dick didn't randomly get hard all the time anymore.
'Right. I just need to manage it periodically without thinking about Baek-seol.'
If she does just that, there should be no problems.
So-jeong firmly believed that.