Can I Call You Oppa Too?
To protect the image she had spent a lifetime cultivating, Jeong Yesol did everything she could to keep her heart from showing.
That did not mean she was hiding the fact that she liked Ju Seonghyeon.
What mortified her was the thought of anyone discovering how childishly giddy she felt.
So for the past week, Yesol had given it her all.
Thanks to the supplements Seonghyeon had given her, her condition had truly been at its peak—but she still had to fight through the constant distractions of him drifting into her thoughts.
She refused to hear anyone say she had tanked her grades over a guy. She refused to become that kind of woman.
Far cooler, she thought, to say she had done well because of him.
In truth, it was less that she had poured a few extra days into studying and more that the excellent condition she had enjoyed since Saturday had held almost the entire week—enough to earn her strong marks in her major.
And then came Saturday.
Yesol walked into the dojo with her head high.
Today she would lean a little more toward dressed-up than dressed-down, with the real finishing blow planned for next week.
She had put on the outfit she and her fretting friend and mother had carefully chosen for her.
With that in mind, she had fully intended to sit quietly through the lesson and nothing more.
But then—
"Ah—ah, yes. Of course. Ah, I didn't bring anything special today… I'll just run downstairs real quick…!"
The dojo master—flustered, clearly dazed by her appearance once again—looked almost adorable like that.
"Ahem. Those supplements are pretty effective, but… anyway, I'm glad they helped."
When she told him she might even land a scholarship after doing so well on her exams, the way he celebrated as if it were his own news filled her with quiet pleasure.
"I barely have any foods I won't eat, so anything's fine… though saying that probably just makes it harder for you to choose, doesn't it, Yesol?"
It was nothing, really—a tiny bit of teasing she would have ignored from any other man. Because it came from Seonghyeon, it made her smile.
"D-don't look at me like that… It's not that I picked it because of you… well, it kind of is! But I genuinely love pasta. Especially panne. Dipping bread in that sauce is just too good…"
It did not sound like a lie. The way he tried to look after her without crossing into outright falsehood made her heart flutter.
"I used to go with a friend and his girlfriend every now and then, but I got busy, he got busy, and I haven't even looked for a place in two or three years. It's weird going with just guys, and weird going alone… I mean… I don't have a girlfriend either."
"…Without a female friend or a girlfriend, it would be hard for a guy to walk in alone."
"Yeah, pretty much… I'm fine with eating alone usually, but places like that are tough."
"It would be fine if you went with me, though."
"R-right! Ha, haha…"
There was no doubt the master, Ju Seonghyeon, had feelings for her too. She could see it. He made it far too obvious not to notice.
If he took one more step and asked her out, Yesol had already decided she would not waste time with pointless push-and-pull. She would say yes.
But he never took that final step.
As if he were carefully timing something.
It might have looked unmanly or frustrating to some, but Yesol liked even that about him.
Because the master doesn't casually hit on female members. Hmph. That's only natural.
Already wearing rose-colored glasses, she could only see it in the best light.
Until now, Yesol had been certain of her own feelings, but she had never been a hundred percent sure of Seonghyeon's.
Today, though—watching his words and manner—she finally could be.
Thump-thump.
Her chest felt ready to burst.
For the first time in her life she liked a man, and the way every little thing he said or did sent her soaring or crashing was strangely delightful.
Among more than eight billion people, to find someone you like—and to have that person like you back—that feeling…
It was beyond words.
Which was why, when he had her put on a bikini swimsuit for the lesson—
"Do you like this kind of thing, Master? Bikinis?"
"W-well… I don't dislike them, but it's less about my personal taste and more that with a figure like yours, Yesol, I thought you might prefer something like this…"
"Hmm…"
—when she learned that Seonghyeon's taste ran toward sexy swimwear like this, the girl who had always worn only rash guards suddenly found herself considering a bikini. No—it was already decided.
This summer she would wear the sexiest bikini she could manage.
Not to show other men. Before full summer even arrived, she would be dating Seonghyeon.
And she would show it to him.
Yesol made the vow.
And then—
Certain of Seonghyeon's feelings, her heart racing at how cute and cool he was, already imagining showing him a risqué swimsuit—
she could not concentrate on the self-defense lesson at all.
"…Yesol?"
"Ah, I'm sorry. I wasn't offended… I was actually so happy I blanked out. Please go again."
She had no intention of toying with a lesson he taught so earnestly. She meant every word.
But she could no longer lose herself in "Ju Seonghyeon's molester play."
She could not lay rough hands on the man she liked. She did not want him to see her as rough or vicious.
Up through last week the classes had been fun enough that she had simply wanted to give her best.
Now that she was sure their feelings were mutual, she wanted to show more of her usual chic side—and more of her femininity.
"There's no way I'd tease a man by getting my nipples hard like this, right?"
"Ahn… this… let go…"
Fortunately Seonghyeon did not scold her for losing focus. Instead he rode the mood and threw in a massage for good measure.
With hands that sent electricity racing through her at the lightest touch, he played with the nipple massage she loved so much.
As always, his skill was extraordinary.
In an instant her swimsuit bottoms were slick and full of sticky arousal.
The atmosphere was excellent.
Just the two of them in the dojo, like this.
"Ang, ahhng… B-because it's you, Master… my body gets excited before anything even happens, I can't help it… haaugh…♡"
"You did so well up through last class… What are you going to do if some real weirdo tries to pick you up like this?"
"If my boyfriend is right beside me… hngh… I won't get targeted so easily… so it's fine…"
"Huh? W-well, if your boyfriend is glued to your side it would be fine, but…"
"And if he's… worked out… mmm… and has a good body… even better, right?"
"That… would be true."
She had slipped into flirting as naturally as breathing, and the man simply stared at her, dazed.
The setting and outfits could have used a little more mood, but the atmosphere itself was perfect.
Touching a member is completely out of line… but I'm not just any member, so it's fine. So… he could say it right now…
Yesol thought the most self-serving double standard as she looked at him, breathing hard—
and then—
"Ye—"
Just as Seonghyeon started to speak—
Ding-a-ling!
"Eung, are you in the office? Ah, there you are! Oppa! I just wanted a quick massage—eh."
A voice like a bucket of cold water.
"…Oppa?"
The moment she heard the word, Yesol's floating mind snapped cold.
Reflexively she leaned to the side and looked at the woman who had spoken.
Wh-what? Cute…
A cute, pretty girl.
Older than middle school for sure—high school age, maybe?
Her long black hair was striking, and even to Yesol's eyes her demure, innocent face looked thoroughly feminine.
Pretty, pure, the kind who stirred protective instincts.
Exactly the type men went crazy for.
"……!! I-I-I-I'm so sorry!!! O-Oppa, I'm sorry! I couldn't see from outside so I thought n-no one was here…! I'm sorry!!!"
She fled the dojo almost at once, but the image of the girl burned itself clearly into Yesol's mind.
A member of this dojo, most likely—yet unlike Yesol, who still treated Seonghyeon with careful formality—
this girl, who looked even younger than her, called him "Oppa" with complete familiarity.
"…………Oppa?"
Seonghyeon's hand was still inside her swimsuit bottoms, but for a moment her body forgot the excitement and pleasure of that touch.
She stared at Seonghyeon, who was floundering like a robot with seized joints.
"Master."
"Y-yes…?"
She called him in a voice gone cold and still.
Her expression and tone had turned icy, but fire was already roaring through her head and chest.
Oppa… to a high schooler like that? Oppa? Oppaaa?
She could not believe it.
"Who was that just now?"
"That's… a member of our dojo… but…"
"She called you Oppa. Did you tell your members to call you that? And a high schooler, at that?"
Honestly?
It was jealousy.
She herself had never called him Oppa, never even tried—
and that girl was already so intimate with him.
Jealousy that another female member had gotten there first.
At least she seemed young; that was something. There was no way a twenty-seven-year-old master would have weird feelings for a girl who wasn't even an adult…
"I-I never told her to call me Oppa… More than that, um, the member just now is older than you, Yesol. She's twenty-three this year…"
"………Twenty-three?"
"Yes. Twenty-th—h-hurk."
"……."
At the sight of her face twisting beyond control, she heard Seonghyeon suck in a startled breath.
But Yesol could not manage her expression.
Learning that the girl who looked so young was older than her was surprising, yes—but more than that, Yesol felt something snap inside her head.
Twenty-three, so that was a relief?
No.
It was worse.
Closer in age to Seonghyeon than she was, and that cute, pretty, feminine?
And right now, far less distant from him than Yesol herself?
…Annoying. So annoying… so damn annoying…!
She bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. Strength flooded her hands and eyes.
One minute ago she had been a hundred percent sure he was her man. Now a sharp sense of crisis was rising fast.
Of course, judging by Seonghyeon's reactions and attitude, she was still much closer to the "lover" position—but the human heart was never that simple.
That boiling feeling—Yesol did not
"…Master."
"Yes…"
—spill it out at him like a child.
She barely managed not to shatter the mature, adult image she knew she cultivated, the one that made her seem older than her years.
She simply…
First of all—
"I can call you Oppa too, right?"
"…What?"
"I can't?"
"W-well, as far as I'm concerned… if that's more comfortable for you as a member, I don't mind…"
"I'll call you that from now on. Oppa."
She claimed the title.
She had to stand on the same line as that nameless girl, at least.
"And please speak casually with me too."
"Uh, uh…"
"You don't want to? You seemed fine dropping formality with that member just now."
"It's not that I don't want to… um… if it doesn't make you uncomfortable either… yeah… I mean, yeah."
She made him drop the formal speech as well.
Of course, unlike the girl from a moment ago, Yesol had no intention of speaking casually to Seonghyeon herself.
Even if they started dating, she would keep it that way.
Whether he was her boyfriend or not, using polite speech with someone seven years older was hardly strange, and it felt natural to her.
This much was non-negotiable.
And she was not satisfied yet.
Caught up in her excitement, she had never imagined—because of the private reservation system, she never saw other members' faces—
that of course a dojo with a master this kind and skilled would have other female members. The thought made her suddenly frantic.
So Yesol made up her mind.
"Oppa, are you free this evening by any chance?"
"Tonight… tonight? I am free, but."
"The dinner I said I'd treat you to next week—how about tonight?"
"For me… as long as Yesol… as long as you're fine with it, I'd love to."
"Then let's eat tonight. Right after, for dinner."
"Y-yeah. Okay."
Tonight, she would settle this.