Chapter 60: You Ugly Bitch.
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 60: You Ugly Bitch.
[...Oppa.]
The sweet new song Doah played for me.
Even though she only played a very short snippet, I had a feeling this song was going to be a huge hit.
The composer has such an excellent eye; it seemed like they gave Doah the part that was a perfect fit for Luka.
Ah. I'm so excited.
[Yeah?]
[Oppa, do you say 'I love you' often?]
Say 'I love you'?
[Uh... I almost never say it, I guess?]
It was a phrase I couldn't even say to my parents without my face getting hot.
And since I've never had a girlfriend until now, I haven't really had a reason to use it.
There's no way I'd say it to my guy friends.
[Then why did you say it so easily?]
[Huh?]
From her disgruntled voice, I instinctively knew I'd done something wrong.
[...I was saving it, holding it back because I wanted to say it only when I really, truly wanted to.]
Disappointment dripped from every single word.
[It feels kind of empty and annoying.]
My girlfriend didn't run away like last time.
Doah was being honest about her feelings.
I, too, wanted to give her a proper answer.
[Ah... but I didn't just say it for no reason.]
It wasn't just an empty shell of a phrase.
She really did look so lovely, and it was my way of showing how much I was cheering for her.
And while I almost never use it in real life, it's something I've typed a lot in chat...
[So you're saying you sincerely said something to Luka that even I haven't heard from you?]
[No. But Luka is you.]
If the problem was that I was praising another woman or a popular idol in front of Doah, I could have understood completely.
I know that's bad manners.
But... the person I said it to was you...
The fact that I was getting scolded for sending a message of support to Luka felt a little unfair.
[...I still don't like it.]
[...I'm hanging up.]
Doah hung up without even waiting for my reply.
The red "Call Ended" window on the screen confirmed that the call was, in fact, over.
The paused video of Luka on my monitor was still winking at me.
“Ah... I got in trouble because of you... Luka-tan.”
Blaming it all on Luka for being too cute, I started writing an apology to Doah.
Friday morning.
After washing my face and getting dressed, I left the house ten minutes earlier than usual.
It was because I didn't want to go to school with Oppa.
The more I thought about it, the more resentful I felt.
What? Because Luka is you?
Hah. Seriously.
How great would it have been if he had just said 'Doah' instead of 'Luka' at the end?
Was it that hard to change those two syllables?
Shoving my hands deep into my pockets, I kicked aimlessly at the ground.
To be honest, my real wish was to hear 'I love you' for the first time when we were both feeling a deep, tender affection for each other.
In a romantic place, looking into each other's eyes.
I've never been in a relationship, but I thought something like that could happen in real life.
And I hated that he made excuses before apologizing when I told him I was upset.
...That bastard.
I had a few texts from Oppa, but I didn't read them yet.
I figured I'd talk to him if he called, or after my classes were over.
Whatever. I'll probably feel better after some time passes.
After all, I had no intention of breaking up over something so small, and the saying 'time is the best medicine' was usually right.
The lecture hall, which I'd arrived at earlier than usual.
As expected, since there was still some time before class started, there were hardly any students.
I had taken out my textbook and tablet and was browsing the internet.
“You're Kim Doah?”
A shadow fell over my desk.
Unable to place the owner of the voice, I looked up.
It sounded like a voice I'd never heard before.
A pitch-black leather jacket.
Heavy makeup, as if she were going to some event.
She gave off the kind of vibe that screamed 'I have a ton of Instagram followers,' and she called my name again.
“I asked if you're Kim Doah.”
“Yes, that's me.”
A very aggressive tone.
Her sudden use of informal language was annoying, but she seemed like an upperclassman, so I responded politely.
Her eyes scanned me up and down.
After looking me over from head to toe, she let out a smirk.
“Hey.”
Ugh. I really don't like how she's addressing me.
Calling someone you've never met 'Hey' was incredibly rude.
“Stop hitting on Han Taemin.”
And the name that came out of her mouth was none other than my boyfriend's.
“Who are you?”
Before I could retort, I wanted to know who this person was.
What's with her?
“You don't even recognize a sunbae from your own department?”
What era does she think we're living in?
Her incredibly condescending remark left me speechless for a moment.
Do people like that still exist these days?
“I've never seen you before.”
“I'm Park Jihee, class of '18.”
“Okay. And?”
“I told you to stop getting involved with Han Taemin.”
I could feel my irritation level shooting up, and it was still morning.
“Excuse me, Sunbaenim. I have never hit on Taemin Oppa, nor have I ever tried to force my way into his life.”
Dumbfounded, I added one more thing.
“And even if I had—giving you the benefit of the doubt—I don't think you have any right to say anything about it, Unnie.”
“Wow. Kids these days are so bold.”
She looked at me as if she were looking down at a disgusting bug she didn't even want to see.
I could feel eyes turning our way as more students started trickling in.
“Han Taemin and I have a thing, so you should know when to back off. Got it?”
She must have become conscious of our surroundings too, because she leaned in and whispered in my ear.
“Taemin really hates that kind of stuff.”
I got goosebumps.
Who the hell is this woman to be saying things like that?
I didn't doubt Oppa.
The probability of Oppa, who watches 60 hours of streams a month, messing around with a woman like this was practically zero in my mind.
But then again, she seemed to have some reason to be so confident, so I couldn't just dismiss her as a complete stranger to him...
My confusion was mounting and a million questions were about to spill out.
“If you were going to leave early, it would've been nice if you'd told me.”
A familiar voice came from behind me.
It was my boyfriend, the one I'd been ignoring.
“Oh? Taemin!”
The sunbae named Jihee, her venomous expression from moments ago replaced by a friendly smile, approached Oppa.
“What are you...”
He didn't seem to be a complete stranger to her, at least, as Oppa replied to her greeting in a dry voice.
“Why are you here?”
“Hey. It's been a while, isn't that a bit of a cold greeting?”
“What did you come here for?”
This was how he usually was.
Oppa's current way of speaking and acting was the version of him that most people at school knew.
Cold.
His words, devoid of a single ounce of affection, contained only the matter at hand.
“Ah. I heard this girl has been giving you a headache lately.”
The sunbae said playfully, tilting her chin slightly toward me.
“I was just trying to give her a little warning, so you wouldn't have to deal with the hassle.”
Oppa's eyes widened as he met my gaze.
His eyes seemed to be asking for confirmation.
I just stared daggers at him without a word.
“...Doah has never bothered me.”
Oppa tore his gaze from me and stared straight ahead at the sunbae.
“Aww, what are you talking about? The whole school is buzzing with rumors that she's your stalker.”
“You must have been so stressed, right? Don't worry anymore. I'll take care of everything.”
“I told you to let me know if you needed anything after coming back to school. I'll help...”
-Smack-
The sunbae's hand, reaching for Oppa's shoulder, never made it to my boyfriend's body.
“...Ah.”
Her hand, having lost its destination, returned pitifully to her side.
A faint red mark remained on the back of her hand where it had been hit.
“...The reason I don't ask for help...”
His chilling expression made even me hold my breath.
I felt a sense of alienation, so completely different from when he looked at me.
“...is because I don't need any.”
“Tae... Taemin.”
Not just her voice, but her pupils too began to tremble as if in an earthquake.
“Who are you to be warning Doah?”
Oppa seemed to be getting angrier, the intensity of his words escalating.
“When did I ever ask you to do anything for me? And why are you confronting her when you don't even know if she's a stalker or not? Couldn't she be the victim here?”
Cornered, the unnie must have decided she couldn't back down, because she raised her voice.
“You hate troublesome things! You told me you absolutely hate rumors spreading. That's why I tried to help, out of the goodness of my heart, so why are you doing this to me?”
Her furious index finger pointed at my face.
“This worthless bitch keeps...”
The sunbae couldn't finish her sentence.
Because Oppa had grabbed that finger.
“...Who the hell are you to call my girlfriend worthless?”
Oppa's hand wrapped around my shoulder.
“Apologize. You ugly bitch.”
...But, Oppa, objectively speaking, I think this unnie is actually gorgeous.
And that was the beginning of our public relationship.