Chance Encounter
After OT week ended, it was the first day of the Korean-American History class. “Jang Hansol? Is Jang Hansol not here again? Tsk… There sure are a lot of students who register and then skip.” The professor marked the absence and moved on to the next name. Watching this, Lee Ye-rin couldn’t hold back her anger and slammed her desk. —Bang!
The sudden outburst made everyone around her glance over and start whispering. “What the hell… why’d she do that all of a sudden?” “No idea. She must be weird.” “Her face is insanely pretty though.” “Pretty girls are usually the craziest ones.”
Even the professor flinched at the noise and pushed his glasses up with a fingertip. “You there, student. I don’t know what’s going on, but you shouldn’t cause trouble for everyone else.”
“…I’m sorry…” Embarrassment flooded over her and Lee Ye-rin lowered her head deeply. No matter how angry she was, she shouldn’t have slammed the desk. If weird rumors started spreading in the department, it would be a disaster. The one saving grace was that, being an unpopular elective, she was the only law student in the room.
She waited until the professor wasn’t looking, then quietly slipped out through the back door. ‘Jang Hansol… how dare he humiliate me like this!’
While thinking that, her eyes fell on the handbag she was carrying. It was the bag Jang Hansol had given her as a 200-day anniversary gift. She actually owned much nicer handbags, but she’d deliberately brought this one today to show off to him.
“Jang Hansol… Jang Hansol…!!” Annoyed, she was about to throw the bag on the floor when memories surfaced.
—You wanted this, right…? It’s a 200-day anniversary gift since we started dating.
—Whoa, this must’ve been expensive… Where did you even get the money, Hansol? I know you’re broke…
—It’s fine… I saved up a bit while I was in the military… If it’s for you, I don’t mind at all.
—Hansol…
It had been the first expensive gift she’d ever received from him in their 200 days together. Compared to other guys, the gifts came less often and were cheaper, but—
—Next time I’ll definitely get you something even better, Ye-rin-ah.
His sincerity had felt so genuine in that gift. His innocent guilt at not being able to give his pretty girlfriend something nicer had melted into it.
“…The bag didn’t do anything wrong…” She slung it back over her shoulder. This was proof that Jang Hansol had truly been head over heels for her. ‘People’s feelings don’t change that easily. If I keep carrying this around, he’ll realize he wants to make up.’
Even if he kept avoiding her, the fact that he loved her wouldn’t change. ‘Let’s not rush this.’ OT week had only just ended. There was still plenty of time to reconcile.
“No, so where exactly did you go on this trip? You borrowed my money saying you were going somewhere fun and now you can’t even tell me? And how does someone who supposedly went on a trip not even make a single phone call?”
“I already told you I was just hanging out at a pension with friends. I couldn’t call because I got drunk and forgot.”
She was trying to calm down and head home when loud voices echoing down the hallway stopped her in her tracks. ‘That’s… Seok-ho oppa and Seo-yeon unni?’
Kang Seok-ho, a third-year student council member, and Yoon Seo-yeon, also a third-year student council member. They were the most famous couple in the law department. In more ways than one.
The atmosphere between the approaching pair was clearly bad.
“Who exactly are these ‘friends’ you supposedly went with? Do you think I don’t know your friends? I contacted all of them and none of them said they went on a trip with you. Does that make any sense?”
“Just drop it. I already said I’m sorry I couldn’t call.”
“Yeah, you look real sorry.”
“Fuck, do you want to die?”
“…?!”
“You keep crossing the line because I’ve been letting it slide, Yoon Seo-yeon.”
“N-no… you keep doing things that make me suspicious…”
“Then let’s break up. Why the hell are we even dating?”
“……”
“If you don’t want to fight here, just stay quiet… Oh, Lee Ye-rin. Perfect timing.”
Kang Seok-ho, who had been fuming just seconds ago, broke into a bright smile the moment he saw Lee Ye-rin. Yoon Seo-yeon also noticed her and the tension eased slightly, though her expression remained subdued.
“Hi, Seok-ho oppa. Hello, Seo-yeon unni.”
“Yeah… hi, Ye-rin-ah…”
“Seok-ho oppa, did you need something from me?”
“MT’s coming up soon. We’re short on third-year participants, so we’re gonna need a lot of group leaders. I was gonna ask if you’re coming.”
“I want to go, but… I should probably start studying soon… If it was just being a regular member, maybe, but being a leader sounds like a lot…”
By the time students reached third year, most stopped joining MT. Even those who did participate were few because of studying, and having to act as group leaders made third-years avoid it altogether.
“Come on, just go. There’s even another third-year going, so why would you skip?”
“Our unni already quit studying. She loves partying. I don’t know…”
“If you come, I’ll use my authority to let you pick whichever group you want. Still not interested?”
Being given special privileges was nice, but it still meant babysitting first- and second-years. There weren’t any juniors she particularly wanted to hang out with, so the offer didn’t feel very appealing—until a good idea suddenly struck her.
“Then I’ll go if Jang Hansol comes to MT.”
“What? Weren’t you two broken up?”
‘We had a little fight and broke up, but we’ll get back together soon.’ The words almost left her mouth before she realized it might start weird rumors, so she gave a vague answer instead.
“Something like that. If he’s participating, can you put him straight into my group?”
“That might be tough? You’d have to ask Yoo Ra about that, not me.”
“Unni? I thought you said I could arrange the groups however I wanted?”
“I told Yoo Ra the same thing before I told you, and she threw a fit saying she wouldn’t go to MT unless Jang Hansol was in her group.”
“Unni said that?!”
“Yeah. Now that I think about it, Yoo Ra hasn’t been hanging out with us lately and keeps going around with him. That Jang Hansol guy’s got some serious game. Trying to bag both sisters at once. They’re dating, right?”
She didn’t actually know if they were dating. They’d been getting noticeably closer, and from what she’d seen them doing at the bar, it looked like they were doing some pretty filthy stuff like animals… But the very fact that rumors like this were spreading was unpleasant for Lee Ye-rin.
“W-what are you saying, Seok-ho oppa? Dating? Unni’s probably just chasing him around to mess with him. What else would she be interested in a guy for?”
“Is that so? Anyway, the sisters can fight over the guy themselves. If you’re coming to MT, let me know. Oh! And make sure to tell me which one of you wins. Heh. You two sisters are hilarious.”
Kang Seok-ho, who had zero interest in other people’s love lives, laughed mockingly and walked off. His sharp jab sank her already low mood even deeper.
Watching this, Yoon Seo-yeon approached Lee Ye-rin. “Sorry, Ye-rin-ah… I’ll apologize on Seok-ho’s behalf… He has a habit of saying weird things…”
“You don’t need to apologize, unni. I’ve known Seok-ho oppa is like that for a while.”
“Thanks for understanding, Ye-rin-ah… I should get going too.”
“You have it rough too, unni. See you later, Seo-yeon unni.”
“Yeah… Hey, Kang Seok-ho! Where do you think you’re going without me? Wait up!”
Lee Ye-rin felt a little better after accepting Yoon Seo-yeon’s apology, but her insides were still churning. Of all people, her biggest obstacle had to be her own older sister… What a cruel situation.
* * *
Five days had passed. I hadn’t attended a single Korean-American History class during that time. By now, they must have realized I was avoiding it. But Lee Ye-rin hadn’t shown any particular reaction. ‘Was Yoo Ra wrong?’ She’d said Lee Ye-rin would be so obsessed with me that nothing else would register. Yet I hadn’t run into her on campus once, and she hadn’t contacted me either.
‘Tch. I wanted to dramatically ignore her the moment she showed any attachment.’ It was disappointing, but there was nothing I could do. I decided not to waste any more energy worrying about Lee Ye-rin.
Today was a weekend with no classes. When I opened the window, the fresh air and bright weather instantly lifted my mood. “The weather’s nice. Maybe I’ll take a walk in the park?”
I threw on whatever clothes were nearby and left the house. As expected, plenty of people had the same idea. There were families out together, people jogging along the paths—lots of variety.
What I was scanning for, though, were pretty, fuckable girls. While looking around for someone who caught my eye, I spotted a familiar face.
“Noona, what are you doing here?”
“Eek, what are you doing here?”
Yoo Ra looked genuinely shocked to see me, letting out a weird reaction. “I just came out for a walk. Did I do something wrong? You’re looking at me like I’m a monster.”
“I was just happy to see you. Perfect timing! Wanna hang out with us?”
“Hang out?”
“Yeah. We’re laying out a mat and drinking makgeolli with some friends.”
“Is it okay if I join?”
“Why wouldn’t it be? They’re all our school kids anyway. Let’s go.”
Yoo Ra grabbed my wrist without hesitation and tried to drag me along, but I pulled my hand free.
“Huh? What’s wrong?”
“I’m not going if Lee Ye-rin’s there.”
It occurred to me that I might run into Lee Ye-rin. If Yoo Ra was here, there was a chance Lee Ye-rin could be too. Since they were both third-years, their social circles probably overlapped.
“Do you really think I’d thoughtlessly bring you along if Ye-rin was here? She went on a date with her boyfriend today. His name was Lee Jin… something, I think.”
“Lee Jin-hoon?”
“Yeah, that was it.”
So she was still dating that guy. I remembered his name. Actually, I couldn’t forget it. On the day I got dumped, I’d gotten his number from a friend who said Lee Ye-rin seemed to be cheating and even tried calling him myself. He never answered, but he was the bastard who kept hitting on a girl he knew had a boyfriend.
‘Birds of a feather flock together.’ Hopefully they’d keep seeing each other and stop bothering other people.
“You’re coming, right? Let’s hang out together for once.”
She was being so desperate to bring me along. Should I go along with it?
“Alright, let’s do it.”
“Yes! I was getting so bored listening to those girls talk about their boyfriends nonstop. This is the perfect chance to shut them up.”
“So that’s why you wanted to bring me.”
“I do want to hang out with you too, so it’s killing two birds with one stone. Let’s see if they can still talk about their boyfriends in front of you. Hehe.”
That was just like Yoo Ra—always looking for ways to mess with people. But even that side of her just looked cute to me. No matter what weird hobbies she had, a girl who’d spread her legs at a single word from me was adorable from a guy’s perspective.
“Do your friends talk about their boyfriends a lot around you, Noona?”
“Yeah. It’s so annoying I could die. They all have boyfriends and I don’t, so they rub it in even more. They’re seriously evil.”
“You should get a boyfriend too, sunbae. What are you saving that for?”
I casually grabbed her left breast with my right hand. The soft flesh squished under my fingers. No matter how many times I touched Yoo Ra’s big tits, they always felt good.
“Hiiik…!! Y-you wanna die?! What are you doing touching me here!”
She yelped in surprise and quickly swatted my hand away, then punched me hard in the right side with her fist. I clutched my side and acted like it hurt. We played around like this all the time, but I could hear people around us whispering.
“Whoa, fuck, I’m so jealous… Did you see that guy just grab the girl’s tits?”
“Damn… the guy’s insanely handsome. That’s why he can get away with it.”
“My life sucks, I’m just going home… Lost my appetite for drinking. Tsk.”
All I did was grab her breast once, and the stares were intense. This was why guys tried to keep the prettiest girls by their side.
“Agh… When you touch me, I get turned on right away… I wasn’t even planning on doing it today…”
Just one squeeze and her pussy was already getting hot. What an easy cunt.
“Hold it in. Like you said, we can’t do it here.”
“Ugh… Just you wait… Can I come over to your place tonight?”
“Of course. My door’s always open for you, Noona. I even gave you the passcode.”
“Thank god…”
—Kiss. Yoo Ra suddenly stood on her tiptoes and planted a surprise kiss on my cheek. Then, embarrassed by her own boldness, she blushed and smiled bashfully before tightly holding my hand, even interlocking our fingers.
“Why the sudden kiss…”
“I-I don’t know! I just felt good and… wanted to do it all of a sudden…”
“The hand-holding too?”
“Yeah… If you don’t like it, should I let go?”
“No. I like seeing you act cute, Noona.”
The same Yoo Ra who used to freak out at just a kiss had gotten so used to this kind of skinship. It was impressive. If she was being this affectionate, I had to reward her. I decided to boost her ego in front of her friends today.
“I’m not actually your boyfriend, but I’ll brag about you to your friends. I’ll match whatever you want.”
“If you’re not my boyfriend, bragging doesn’t mean anything… And calling you my sex partner feels weird too…”
“Ah, you’re right.”
She looked a little disappointed. I’d been too thoughtless. But another idea came to me right away.
“How about this then? We’ll go with the concept that you’re the girl I’ve had a crush on for a while, and you’re the one who keeps clinging to me even though I’m annoying. That way it matches your image of not wanting a boyfriend because it’s too much trouble, and it’ll make your friends jealous too, right?”
Yoo Ra’s eyes sparkled as she shouted, “Oh! You’re a genius! We have to do it! That sounds so fun. Hehe.”