Chapter 45
Chapter 45
I deeply regretted provoking him.
The supervisor's passion for soccer was on a completely different level than I'd expected.
Now that things had progressed this far, he announced he was determined to make sure I understood, and granted me some time to "get comfortable with the ball."
Unfortunately, Ye Sa-ra's athletic ability did not seem capable of befriending a ball just by running hard for a single day. Or maybe my past life, the one that had always steered clear of exercise, created some kind of synergistic effect?
Still, I did establish one thing for certain. Ye Sa-ra should never take a job related to sports.
Same goes for me.
"See, I told you. That guy is seriously into soccer."
As I trudged toward the wall again, legs shaking, Nam Da-un said it like he'd expected as much.
"......."
Since I was kicking myself for having provoked the supervisor, I couldn't muster a comeback.
Honestly, I'd figured I'd kick the ball a few times and that would be the end of it. I really underestimated how serious he was.
"Well, it's still impressive. Watching you pull in, one by one, the people who swore they'd never talk to you."
"I'm not there yet."
Yeah, I wasn't.
After all, the number of people I'd actually held a conversation with was still under five. It was five if you counted Shin So-hee, though given that she was from outside the school, counting her didn't mean much.
"......."
At my response, Nam Da-un narrowed his eyes and looked down at me for a beat before speaking.
"Those girls clinging to both sides of you... that isn't actually your goal, is it?"
"......."
Indeed, the reason I could walk a straight line without collapsing, even while staggering like this, was thanks to Ha-neul and Lee Su-a holding me up on either side.
Although it felt a little more like they were clinging to me than simply offering support.
"This is part of the process too," Ha-neul answered.
"There's nothing better for drawing attention," Lee Su-a added.
"......."
Hearing them, Nam Da-un let out a deep, dumbfounded sigh.
"Well... I don't know what exactly you're aiming for, so it's not my place to interfere... but don't you have a fiancé?"
"......Ah."
Right, that guy.
I'd completely forgotten he existed.
Come to think of it, he was being remarkably quiet. There was never any genuine affection behind the engagement, but he was the type whose blood would boil the moment he saw an article like that. In the original story, he hated letting anyone touch what was his so intensely that even while he was still needling Yu Ha-neul, he'd grab her by the wrist and drag her off the second he spotted her with another guy.
Of course, back then he was solidly in his tsundere phase and already had some feelings... but wouldn't he consider Ye Sa-ra "his" regardless? The engagement was, essentially, for her assets. If Ye Sa-ra belonged completely to him, then so did all of those assets. Finding out there was an open dating scandal, and that she'd been rubbing up against someone else during class, ought to make him a little uneasy, shouldn't it?
Well, if he just gave up, I'd be grateful.
"If he's bothered by it, he'll come ask about it himself."
So I brushed it off with that.
Yeah, he'll deal with it on his own. The old Ye Sa-ra might have sat there and taken it, but this was Yoon Da-ho, the man who had personally witnessed her personality flip on its head. He wouldn't think I'd roll over quietly if he came stomping in with his usual nonsense.
"No, you're brushing that off way too casually... but whatever, who am I to meddle? You know your own situation best."
Nam Da-un shrugged lightly.
While we had been talking, we'd arrived at the spot where we always climbed the wall... well, it had only been a few days, but in any case, the wall-climbing spot.
"I think you'd be better off just leaving through the main gate today."
He must have said that because he saw how badly my legs were shaking.
"If I go out the main gate, I'll get kidnapped."
"People don't usually call getting into their own family's car a kidnapping, you know."
Despite saying that, Nam Da-un helped me up the wall.
I'd been running every weekday, after all. Even if I'd pushed myself a little harder today, a fall from this height alone shouldn't be enough to knock me ov—
"I'm letting go."
Nam Da-un announced it and released me.
I dropped straight down from the wall,
"Urk."
and the moment my feet hit the ground, I crumpled forward.
—I'm falling.
Fine. I'd just have to settle for running from now on. Maybe settle for exchanging a few words. It seemed a soccer ball and I simply weren't compatible.
As I pitched forward, I threw out my hands and flailed, desperately trying to keep my face from slamming into the ground.
Squish,
and my face met something soft, yielding, and warm, a deeply pleasant surface.
"......."
"......."
A brief silence followed.
I slowly raised my head to find Shin So-hee staring down at me with a completely dumbfounded expression.
"Oh, ah, sorry!"
I blurted out the apology and tried to scramble upright, but my exhausted legs refused to cooperate and I nearly toppled backward... except I didn't.
Because Shin So-hee caught my shoulders with both hands as I tipped back.
Fortunately, even though my legs had given out, I still had enough strength to stay standing as long as someone held me up. I didn't end up collapsing on the spot.
"What are you doing?"
Shin So-hee asked.
"Uh, I don't know."
I glanced at Shin So-hee out of the corner of my eye as I spoke. When I stole a look at the exact spot where my face had just been buried, I saw that, as usual, around three buttons of her shirt were undone, as if her chest felt stuffy. Because she'd buttoned a cardigan over it, her chest wasn't exposed more than necessary, but the arrangement still pushed her large breasts together, carving a distinct valley.
......I had driven my face directly into that bare chest.
"Sara!"
Right at that moment, Ha-neul sprang off the wall, shouting with alarm. She must have glimpsed me pitching over as soon as my feet touched down below the wall's edge.
Then her mouth dropped open when she registered me standing there with Shin So-hee gripping my shoulders.
Shin So-hee gave Ha-neul a small shrug. It was a gesture that seemed to say, 'Things like this happen.'
......You're way calmer now than when you accidentally saw under my skirt. Is it because you know it was an accident?
Ha-neul flicked her gaze between me and Shin So-hee before quickly arriving at my side and wrapping her arm tightly around mine.
"......Huh?"
......And she clung hard. Hard enough that even Shin So-hee, watching from directly in front of us, was momentarily flustered.
"Sara, what's going—"
Lee Su-a, who jumped down next, seemed to grasp the entire situation the instant she saw us. She hurried over and hugged my remaining arm close.
"......."
After a short silence, Shin So-hee slowly released my shoulders.
"Uh, well..."
"It's not."
I issued the denial before Shin So-hee could frame a question.
"Not?"
Shin So-hee asked back. Her face had gone blank for a moment, but now she frowned slightly as she spoke.
"No."
When I answered firmly, Shin So-hee's eyes moved.
They traveled from my face to Ha-neul's face beside me, then down to the arm Ha-neul was holding. Ha-neul, who was hugging my arm with both of her own, was pressing against me far more than any act of "support" required.
And Lee Su-a on the other side was no different. She was molded so tightly against my arm that the shape of her chest was visibly distorted.
"So, you're seriously saying it's not?"
After slowly surveying the scene, Shin So-hee asked with a grave expression.
I suppressed the sigh that was about to leak out.
*
"......So, let me sum this up."
A quiet café tucked into an alley a short distance from school.
We'd chosen it because going to any café near the school risked other students overhearing. It had a nicer atmosphere than I'd expected; it seemed they'd rented an older, relatively affordable building and renovated the interior neatly. Well, "affordable" was relative for a spot in the middle of Seoul.
After we settled into a corner seat, I explained to Shin So-hee what had happened at school today.
I also showed her the photos of Ha-neul and me from the article.
Shin So-hee tapped a finger on the smartphone screen that still displayed the article's photo.
"You two were caught on camera hanging out alone over the weekend, and it turned into an article."
"Right."
"But the article's implication was that you two were dating."
"Yeah."
"......And since things ended up this way, you're saying you're going to use people's misunderstanding, that you're dating her, to generate some attention within the school?"
"Exactly."
At my words, So-hee folded her arms and tilted her head. Her brows knitted together, a small crease forming between them.
Her heavy breasts rested on her folded arms, making the valley visible through the undone part of her shirt look even deeper. I caught myself staring and quickly averted my eyes. I'd seen it before, but I'd never been this conscious of it. It hadn't been long since I'd buried my face there; the sensation kept replaying in my mind.
Had I always been this susceptible to women?
......Yeah, I had. Honestly, if it weren't for my circumstances, I could probably enjoy this plenty.
I'm just clutching my sanity with both hands because if I let go, there's no telling how the Chairwoman would deal with me.
"Why?"
So-hee asked back after a long moment of thought.
"Huh?"
"No, I mean. You're pretending to date to draw attention at school. And she's joined in now—whether it's a love triangle or polygamy or whatever. But I have absolutely no idea why you'd go that far just to get attention."
"......Ah."
It was only then that I realized So-hee truly didn't know the full extent of my situation.
She might have guessed that I couldn't go out freely or had some family issues, but...
I unconsciously glanced over at Ha-neul and Lee Su-a. They were already looking at me.
Catching that, So-hee seemed to assume I was hesitating to speak.
"Ah~ well, if you don't want to talk about it, then don't. If it's too personal, I... don't really have the right to force you to tell me."
It was such an openly sulky reaction.
"No."
I shook my head.
"Now that we've talked this far, I'll tell you what's going on. Everyone at school knows about it already, anyway."
"Ah, really?"
Shin So-hee, who had been leaning back in her chair and pretending not to care, immediately leaned forward toward me the moment I spoke.
So incredibly honest.
Well, honesty isn't a bad quality. It's far better than dealing with someone who tells nothing but lies.
Thinking that, I gave Shin So-hee a general outline of my current situation.