Give Me a Break
“Hey, what the hell is that...?”
Iseo pulled my arm, sandwiching it between her breasts, and rubbed it up and down in sync with her footsteps.
She did it so slowly that it had to be deliberate.
Right next to her, Min Hayun hung onto my other arm, throwing her entire body weight into it.
She kept swaying side to side in that position, causing her chest to repeatedly brush against the outside of my forearm.
“Ah, seriously, just behave...”
With both of my arms buried in two pairs of breasts the entire way down the hallway, I was breaking out in a cold sweat.
“Whoa... what's up with that threesome?”
What bothered me more than the physical contact was the barrage of eyes locking onto us. The two girls didn't seem to notice, but the whispers reached my ears loud and clear.
“Is he filthy rich?”
“Who knows. Maybe he's packing like a horse. Either way, lucky bastard...”
Those weren't just looks of pure envy.
Even in this insane world, nobody believed a guy like me could actually pull two girls like them.
“Get off. It's uncomfortable.”
Irritated, I tried to wrench my arms free, but they only clung to me tighter.
“He says it's uncomfortable,” Iseo said.
“You're hanging onto him too!” Hayun snapped.
“But my chest is soft.”
Iseo said nonchalantly, pressing my arm even deeper between her breasts.
“Unlike yours.”
“……”
Min Hayun's brow twitched for a moment before she stepped back slightly.
I didn't know whether to thank Iseo or not. Thanks to her, my right arm was finally free.
Though the pressure on my left arm only intensified in return.
It wasn't until we reached the student cafeteria that I finally regained my freedom.
“Sit here.”
“Yujun's seat is right here, isn't it~?”
...Actually, I wasn't quite free yet.
Sitting diagonally across from each other with the table between them, they both pulled out the chairs next to them.
“Let's just eat in peace.”
*Thud.*
“Good boy! I knew Yujun would feel most comfortable next to his noona~”
Since I sat next to Min Hayun, who was closer, Iseo glared at me from across the table.
“So, what did you want to say? What about the keychain?”
“Ah, that.”
What Iseo pulled out of her bag was a skull plush keychain I had never seen before.
“…This isn't mine.”
“I know. It's yours now.”
She then shook her own bag, which had the exact same keychain dangling from it.
“Your bag looks too plain. Hang something on it.”
“What is this, we're not kids...”
If it had been just the two of us, she probably would have given it to me with a silly grin. Was it because of Min Hayun? Handing it over with such a blank face made me feel strangely awkward.
“……Unbelievable.”
Watching this, Min Hayun clicked her tongue in annoyance.
Then, she suddenly set her chopsticks down and began rummaging through her bag.
*Clack. Clack. Clack.*
Lip balm, a hair tie, a half-empty bottle of perfume.
They were all completely random, meaningless items, but she selected them with an incredibly serious expression.
Min Hayun slid the items she pulled out of her bag toward me.
“Here, this is from me!”
“……What is this?”
“A present! Well... I'll give you a real present next time, but this is just because!”
I didn't understand the point, but I pocketed them anyway. I figured things would get even more exhausting if I refused.
“By the way, Iseo. Why are you wearing men's clothes today? Did you sleep out or something?”
Min Hayun placed her hand on my thigh under the table, signaling the start of round two.
“They're my clothes. I thought about dressing like a slut too, but I didn't want to look too easy. Like some bitch who lets anyone touch her in the middle of lunch.”
Iseo replied, staring straight across the table.
“Ha, haha... Really? I don't think putting effort into how you dress is something to criticize. Maybe someone just wants to look pretty for a certain person?”
The moment I tried to move my leg to shake off her hand—
“Ow!”
Min Hayun suddenly flinched and yanked her hand back.
Looking across, Iseo was holding her water cup with an innocent expression.
“Ah, sorry. I got a cramp in my toe. My foot just happened to land right where your hand was. Though I have no idea why your hand was down there in the first place.”
“You... you crazy bitch, seriously...!”
Blowing on her hand, Min Hayun stood up and shrieked.
I had hoped I could at least eat my lunch in peace.
At that moment, my tightly wound patience finally snapped.
“Cut it out, both of you.”
My voice came out much lower than expected.
“Do you two think I'm a joke?”
Both of them froze instantly, their eyes locking onto me.
“I'm not some toy. Why do you keep using me as a weapon in your petty fights? Do I look that easy to you?”
“……Yu, Yujun…”
Min Hayun reached out, trying to grab my collar.
*Slap!*
Without thinking, I slapped her hand away.
“……?”
“…Sorry.”
In a world where everything had changed except for me, watching these two—who were the same yet completely different—made my head spin.
The things that were perfectly natural to them under their altered common sense were anything but natural to me.
“I need some fresh air.”
And with that, unable to look either of them in the eye, I walked out.
A heavy silence descended upon the table Park Yujun had just vacated.
Staring at the skull plush dangling from her bag, Jo Iseo was the first to speak.
“He told you to stop playing with him.”
Still standing, Min Hayun, who had been staring blankly at the exit Yujun had used, whipped her head around.
“When did I ever play with him? What about you? You're the one who's constantly pestering him!”
Poking the plush doll's stomach, Jo Iseo looked Min Hayun dead in the eye.
“I've always been Yujun's friend. I don't just show up during class to pretend we're close like some people.”
Min Hayun pulled her chair back aggressively as she sat down.
“Sure. You're Yujun's 'friend.' But I have absolutely no intention of staying just friends with him.”
“Pfft—”
The moment the words left Hayun's mouth, one corner of Jo Iseo's lips curled upward.
“Are you laughing...?”
“You don't actually care about Park Yujun, do you?”
“What...? What do you know about me to say something like that...?”
Without a word, Jo Iseo pulled Min Hayun's water cup toward herself.
“You just hate the idea of me having more than you. No, actually, you just hate me.”
“What did you say...?”
“Isn't that why you've been talking shit about me behind my back ever since our very first day of orientation?”
“No, that was...!”
Min Hayun stammered, trying to formulate an excuse.
Slowly, Jo Iseo began pouring water from her own cup into Min Hayun's.
*Trickle.*
“You probably had some childish thought like, 'If she has this much, I need to have this much too.'”
*Pour...*
“You didn't even care about Park Yujun in the first place. But then those rumors last night got to you. You got anxious because the guy you unilaterally claimed as yours suddenly slept with the bitch you hate the most.”
Jo Iseo added in a freezing tone.
“You're just pissed off. And because you're rattled, you're dragging innocent Yujun into your mess, aren't you?”
Min Hayun grimaced as she watched her empty cup fill up with water that had touched Jo Iseo's lips.
“What are you doing? That's disgusting!”
“Really? Is it dirty because it's water I drank from?”
The water was now divided almost equally between the two cups.
Jo Iseo picked up both cups again.
“Yujun is the same.”
“……What?”
“He's dirty now. By your standards.”
Jo Iseo poured the water back into her own cup and downed it in one gulp.
*Clack.*
“……Yujun said nothing happened.”
“Believe what you want. I've given you all the hints you need. Unlike some people, I prefer fair play.”
The cold breeze helped clear my head, if only a little. Maybe I had been too sensitive earlier.
“What's with the vibe? Did you guys fight again?”
When I returned to the table, Min Hayun and Iseo were sitting in stony silence, refusing to even look at each other.
“Fight? Of course not~ Sit down, Yujun!”
“You definitely fought. I told you to cut it out.”
Min Hayun smiled brightly and pulled out my chair, but I wasn't stupid enough to miss the tension thick enough to cut with a knife.
“So stop messing around, Hayun.”
“……Huh?”
For some reason, Min Hayun's eyes widened.
I hadn't meant much by it.
“What's wrong? Aren't you going to eat?”
“…….”
Min Hayun kept her head down, holding her breath until I picked up a side dish and put it in my mouth.
A moment later.
“Ah—! I'm full now!”
“Hey, you haven't even eaten half of—”
“Dieting! Self-management!”
Min Hayun stood up with a beaming smile.
“I'll head out first, Yujun~”
And before I could even try to stop her, she bolted out of the cafeteria.
“Why is she suddenly...”
“She must be busy. Just leave her.”
Iseo didn't even look up, focusing entirely on her food tray.
*Scritch.*
“I'll go bring her back. Just a second...”
Just as I was about to run after Min Hayun before she got too far—
*Grab.*
Iseo grabbed my wrist.
“She said she's not eating.”
“Yeah, but she's acting weird...”
“What's weird? She was smiling the whole time.”
The grip on my wrist tightened significantly.
I looked down at Iseo and replied.
“She wasn't smiling.”
At the same time, I gently pried her hand off.
“I'll be right back. Just wait here.”
“……Don't.”
I didn't have time to ask her to repeat what I hadn't heard clearly.
“Hey! Min Hayun!”
I shouted from a distance where she definitely could have heard me, but she didn't look back.
The chase led me to the emergency exit door.
*Click.*
When I opened the door and stepped inside, I saw Min Hayun sitting on the stairs with her head buried in her knees.
“……What are you doing?”
“What the! Why did you follow me instead of eating your lunch!”
Min Hayun lifted her head, forcing a bright expression.
I sat down next to her to try and comfort her.
“Sorry about earlier. I was just a bit on edge.”
“Pfft! What are you talking about? Aw, did slapping your noona's hand earlier weigh on your conscience that much, Yujun~?”
Min Hayun patted my head, playing it off playfully.
“But what should we do?! Your noona has nerves of steel, so I didn't care at all!”
“Sure. That's why you ran all the way here.”
“Ran? I told you, I'm dieting! Walking up the stairs is good exercise, dummy!”
Min Hayun replied with an exaggerated laugh.
“Your face said otherwise.”
“What's wrong with my face...”
“Even right now.”
At that moment, her hand stroking my hair froze.
Just as I was about to speak, Min Hayun opened her mouth in a dejected voice.
“……I wasn't the one who started it earlier.”
She had stopped forcing the smile.
“Jo Iseo started it when you weren't there... And honestly, yeah, I did talk behind her back... but I was just agreeing with what the other kids were saying... And she talked shit about me too...!”
I could easily picture the scene that had unfolded in my absence. Iseo probably said, 'Hey, why do you keep talking behind my back?' and Hayun snapped back, 'You did it too!'
Hayun wasn't entirely wrong. Whenever Iseo mentioned Hayun's name, it was almost always preceded by "that crazy bitch."
“……But the moment you came back, you only scolded me.”
Her head drooped again.
Beneath her lowered gaze, Min Hayun's eyes were glistening.
“Hey... are you crying?”
“No, I'm not.”
Yet her voice trembled like a newborn goat.
“Why are you crying? I'm sorry. I should have watched my mouth...”
*Thud.*
“……?”
Before I could even finish my sentence—
Min Hayun climbed onto my lap, straddling me.
Staring down at me with her tear-filled eyes, she whispered softly.
“You just said you were sorry.”
“Hey, hey, what are you—”
“Then stay still until I forgive you.”
*Chu.*
“……?!”
I didn't even have time to respond.
Her small, slightly damp lips enveloped mine.
The lights went out completely.
Mmm, slowly...
*Chu, chupt—*
Good boy. That's it.
*Slurp, nnh...*
Ah... you're... so good at this...
Through my parted lips, her shallow, rapid breaths—as delicate as her lips—seeped deep inside me.
“Yujun... now, use your tongue... okay?”
It was far hotter than I could have ever imagined,
and her lips didn't pull away for a very, very long time.