Choosing a Club in an Erotic Game

They say rumors have wings. Or maybe they fly even faster than that.

"Hey, Lee Hajun."

As soon as I walked back into the classroom after walking Ayoung to her class, a guy I was somewhat acquainted with blurted out a question.

"Are you really dating Jo Ayoung?"

I hesitated for a moment before answering.

"...Yeah."

It was going to be a pain, but denying it now would render everything I had done up to this point completely pointless.

"Whoa, holy shit..."

"Hey, Lee Hajun is dating Jo Ayoung!"

"Dude, Hajun got a girlfriend!"

"Hey, Hajun is dating that insanely pretty girl from the auditorium!"

"Whoa, Hajun is dating that gorgeous, smart girl who got the award in the auditorium—"

"Stop it..."

This was exactly why I hadn't wanted to say anything.

They ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠weren't kids anymore; they were adults. What was so thrilling about someone getting a girlfriend?

Like a pack of monkeys, one of them would screech, and another would hear it and screech in turn. As this cycle repeated, I suddenly found myself as the lone human surrounded by a troop of howling apes.

"Ooh ooh ah ah!"

"Could you at least speak in human language?"

"So, since when have you guys been dating?"

"It's a secret."

"Who confessed first?"

"...I did."

"Honestly, even you have to admit Jo Ayoung is way out of your league, right?"

"Admitted."

"If you have a conscience, you should pay extra taxes."

"..."

"Mmhmm, I see..."

"Don't get any weird ideas."

"Hey, what did I even do?"

"...Sigh."

I was forced to endure this utterly unproductive conversation until the teacher finally slid open the front door. It was a situation mind-numbing enough to drive anyone insane.

"Alright, alright. You're not children anymore. Get to your seats."

Fortunately, the teacher's arrival began to quiet down the classroom, giving me a moment to breathe.

"Hey, you alright?"

It was so bad that even my desk partner, the very culprit who had put me on the spot in the first place, was looking at me with genuine concern.

Would you be alright if you were in my shoes?

The retort rose to the tip of my tongue, but I barely managed to swallow it back down, my lips twitching.

"Of course I am... *grind*."

"Whoa, watch it! You're gonna chip a tooth. Heheh."

Of course, he only seemed more delighted by my irritation.

"Anyway, congrats, man."

After that flurry of mixed congratulations and teasing subsided, the guy sitting next to me offered a genuine smile and offered his well-wishes. Knowing there was no malice behind his playful banter, I accepted it with a light smile.

"But seriously, dating that Jo Ayoung ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠girl? I can never forgive you for that."

"And what are you going to do about it if you don't?"

"...Ah."

Having landed the final blow, my friend and I continued our playful banter for a while longer. Eventually, our conversation drifted toward the topic of clubs.

"So, are you joining a club with your girlfriend?"

Once again, I fell into thought. ...A club.

"What, you haven't talked about it yet? The registration deadline is tomorrow, you know."

Come to think of it, so many things had happened in such a short span of time that I had completely forgotten about the clubs.

"...I forgot."

"Geez."

With a click of his tongue, my friend pulled a handout from his desk drawer and slid it over to me. "Here, take a look at this at least."

I took the handout and began scanning it from the top.

"Soccer Club, Baseball Club, Volleyball Club, Tennis Club, Swimming Club, Romance Club, Board Game Club, Library Club, Magic Club..."

Every single one of them was a list of absolute ruin.

Listening to me read the list, my friend chimed in to recommend one that seemed decent to him.

"How about the Soccer Club? You like working out, so you could join, and your girlfriend ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could be the manager..."

I pictured it in my head. Ayoung working as the manager of the Soccer Club.

Ayoung, dressed in a tight t-shirt and short shorts, walking among sweaty, tanned, athletic guys to hand out towels.

"...Please use these."

And the members of the Soccer Club staring at her with lecherous, devouring eyes.

Just the thought of it made my blood boil. I rejected it flatly.

"Absolutely not."

Over my dead body. There was no way in hell I would ever let that happen.

"Uh... well, I guess it might be a bit much for a girl."

My friend nodded in understanding, then drew an X next to the Baseball Club as well.

"Then the Baseball Club is out too..."

"Yeah, absolutely not."

His finger moved to the third option. "What about the Volleyball Club?"

...Volleyball Club.

"They have a separate girls' volleyball team there."

It was an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠appealing suggestion. It wasn't a co-ed club where boys and girls mixed, but a place where girls could gather separately and build friendships.

If this world were the setting of a normal rom-com, I would have nodded immediately and agreed. But it wasn't.

"...No, not that either." I shook my head.

While the girls' volleyball team was indeed composed entirely of girls, the instructor coaching them was a man.

Knowing what that muscular PE teacher I saw in the auditorium would do in the future, it was a choice I couldn't possibly make.

"Really?" Surprised that I had rejected even that, my friend tilted his head and pointed a trembling finger at the fourth club.

"Then... how about this?" The Tennis Club.

"I heard that girl, Lee Sara? The famous one in our year. Apparently, she's applying for the Tennis Club too."

I knew it was one of the most popular clubs among the girls at our academy. Of course, that didn't mean I was going to allow it.

"No."

Every rejection had a solid reason. The Swimming Club, Romance Club, Board Game Club, Library Club, Magic Club... and all the others that followed.

Since I had played through all of these clubs in the game, I knew better than anyone what kind of depraved traps lay hidden within them. I couldn't bring myself to choose any of them.

"Then which club are you even planning to join..." Exhausted from trying to help me choose, my friend slumped onto his desk.

I sighed as I stared down at the list of clubs. Was there really no decent club anywhere?

A club that had never once appeared in the erotic game. A club without any bleached-blonde, tanned seniors, shaved-headed classmates, or gloomy-looking guys who looked like they used hypnosis apps.

Hoping against hope that such a club might exist, I let my finger trace all the way down to the very bottom of the list. "There really isn't one." Nothing caught my eye.

In the end, deciding to just wing it while avoiding the most dangerous ones—the Soccer, Baseball, Volleyball, and Tennis clubs—I set my pen down. At that moment, the pen rolled and pointed to the very edge of the handout.

"..."

I had found a hidden route in the game.

"...Join a club together?" At my suggestion, Ayoung beamed with a sweet smile. "Yes, I'd love to."

I had been worried that someone might have already coaxed her into submitting a registration form for another club while I wasn't around. Fortunately, it seemed she hadn't fallen for any such advances yet.

"Actually, some friends I made today asked me to join the Soccer or Baseball Club as a manager with them."

Ah, so there had been attempts. I asked cautiously, "So, what did you do?"

Ayoung hesitated for a moment, then stared intently at me before whispering, "Well, I told them I appreciated the offer, but..."

Appreciated the offer, but? "I said I couldn't because I have a boyfriend."

I smiled and told her she did a great job. "Right? I did good, didn't I?"

Delighted by my praise, Ayoung looked visibly excited. "And some other friends asked me to join the Volleyball or Tennis Club with them too."

Like a baby bird, she chirped away endlessly, reporting everything that had happened to me one by one.

"But I've never been very good at physical sports since I was little..."

That made sense. After all, intense physical sports favored a leaner build rather than a voluptuous one. Carrying heavy balloons on both her front and back like Jo Ayoung did, it was only natural that moving around would be difficult.

"So I told them I'd think about it and turned them down." I praised her for that as well.

"Um, Hajun." Despite my praise, Ayoung still seemed somewhat insecure. "Should I start working out now?" She looked down at her own body and muttered timidly.

"I feel like I've gained too much weight lately, and people often tell me I look sluggish..."

At those words, I reflexively scanned Ayoung's figure from head to toe. "Ah..."

Noticing my gaze, Jo Ayoung blushed slightly and spoke. "U-Um, Hajun."

I was about to apologize, thinking my blatant staring might have made her uncomfortable, but... "...It's not like that."

Ayoung shook her head, indicating that wasn't the case, and spoke in a trembling voice. "...Do you want to check?"

She then slid closer, pressing her body against mine. "Whether I've gained weight or not..."