Why the Different Treatment?
“Different? How so?”
Rather than surprise, I showed curiosity first at her words. By displaying curiosity before shock, I was appealing my innocence to Yu Seoyeon.
If I'd freaked out here, she definitely would've pegged me as the masked man.
But by leading with curiosity, her expectations crumbled completely. Sure enough, disappointment was all over her face.
...This is my chance to prove once and for all that I'm not the masked man.
Of course, it was all a false proof.
“You kept lecturing me about having principles, making me apologize... all that nonsense. But with her, you didn't say a word!”
“What are you talking about?”
“You don't get it?”
Seoyeon crossed her arms and continued, firing back at me.
“...That bastard ran his mouth nonstop at me, but didn't utter a peep to her.”
“I'm not following.”
“Exactly! That pervert had some reason he absolutely couldn't let her hear his voice, even if it killed him!”
Yu Seoyeon's deduction nailed the exact reason from back then, and I couldn't help but tense up. But it was just for a moment—I clenched and unclenched my fist to shake off the tension.
“Isn't that just speculation? Could've been a simple whim.”
“Sure, maybe a whim. But listen!”
Bam! She slammed her fist on the table and glared at me with a growl.
“...I'm gonna catch that pervert bastard no matter what! I'll find him and kill him! That fucking trash pervert!”
“......”
“So I won't overlook even the tiniest detail! Every single one... whether it takes a year or ten, I'll hunt him down to the end!”
Her roaring declaration sent chills down my spine.
I've hooked a real psycho here.
This was beyond obsession—straight-up madness.
“H-hey, unnie. Calm down first.”
That's when Eunha stepped in to stop Seoyeon. I glanced over and saw every customer in the chicken joint staring at us, murmuring.
“Yeah, calm down.”
I chimed in with a soothing tone. Only then did she seem to cool off, slowly relaxing her shoulders.
Anyway, she's on a wild goose chase trying to sniff out the culprit right now.
Reminding myself of that, I steadied my breathing and spoke up.
“...Have you checked CCTV? No matter how slick that masked guy is, he'd show up on camera, right?”
At my question, her face twisted as the memory hit her.
“Useless. That bastard... he has the power to drag people into some weird room.”
“Weird room? Like a magician? Any tricks?”
I kept probing, and Seoyeon bit her thumbnail irritably before answering.
“No idea. It's all so unreal... hard to put into words.”
“Unreal, huh...”
“But one thing.”
Suddenly, she shot me a piercing look.
“...That pervert was using a smartphone. Every time he fiddled with it, we could escape that damn room.”
Cold sweat trickled down my back at that.
Gotta be more careful...
I'd pulled out my phone without thinking, but she'd clocked it sharp.
“I saw it too.”
Eunha jumped in.
“...It made a ding from his pocket, so he took out his smartphone.”
With Eunha backing her up, Seoyeon's face hardened with even more conviction as she stared me down.
“You can glare all you want; nothing's gonna come of it.”
“I know! I know!”
She snapped irritably, propping her chin on her hand.
“Your order's up.”
The conversation paused as our chicken arrived.
“Unnie, can we get some beer?”
Eunha piped up. Seoyeon, still fuming, pouted.
“Do whatever.”
Eunha giggled and ordered three 500cc beers from the server.
“Let's eat.”
“Dig in!”
Eunha and I said it to Seoyeon, grabbing a piece of fried chicken each. She huffed and snatched a saucy one.
“Hey, unnie.”
“What?”
“What if we ask Yuhyun oppa to help us catch the culprit from now on?”
“What?”
Seoyeon looked baffled at Eunha's sudden pitch. Eunha swallowed her chicken and explained.
“We're hunting a guy, right? If it comes to a fight, we're at a disadvantage. So we bring Yuhyun oppa along just in case.”
“Hm...”
Seeming to buy it, she set down her chicken and stared at me hard. She chugged some beer the server brought, then spoke.
“...Fine, let's do that.”
I could only gape in bewilderment, protesting weakly.
“What about what I want?”
Eunha elbowed my side.
“Seriously, oppa? Between us?”
“Between us what?”
“Close senior-junior pals! Hehe.”
Her beaming grin left me no choice but to sigh and relent.
“Can't be helped. I'll help.”
She thanked me and clinked her beer glass with mine. I raised mine too.
We polished off the chicken and stepped out.
“Guess we split here.”
Eunha clapped. I whipped out my phone quick.
“Before that, mind swapping numbers?”
I held it out to Seoyeon. She eyed it suspiciously for a sec, then took it, punched in her number, and handed it back.
I saved it and fired off a text right away.
Ding.
“...That's from me.”
As she reached for her phone, I cut in. She scowled like she'd tasted shit, dropping her hand.
“Hey.”
“Yeah?”
“Just so you know, I still suspect you might be that masked pervert fucker.”
I gritted my teeth. She meant every word.
“Unnie!”
Eunha yelled, glaring at her. I waved it off to Eunha—it's fine.
“Still not convinced?”
“Nah, it's enough. But it still bugs me no matter how I slice it.”
I forced an awkward smile.
Bugs her, huh...
That meant she was going off gut, not logic. No use protesting my innocence—she'd never buy it. Hell, it'd just make her more sure.
...Shouldn't have offered to help hunt the guy.
I'd figured building trust slowly while helping, but it felt like it'd backfire.
Turned into a double-edged sword.
I let out a small sigh, met Yu Seoyeon's eyes squarely, and said,
“Then let's hunt the bastard hard to clear up that nagging doubt.”
I stuck out my hand. She smirked and shook it.
“Yeah, let's hunt him down.”
Her tone was odd, but I let it slide. She saw me as the masked pervert anyway, so from her view, the perp himself volunteering to help must've been hilarious.
“Alright, see you tomorrow!”
As we finished shaking, Eunha stuck right to my side like glue and shouted.
Seoyeon nodded and walked off without a backward glance.
I watched her go for a bit, then turned to Eunha.
“Shall we head out too?”
“Yep!”
She grinned brightly at my question.
For my next story's protagonist, I'll just make him a total sex demon. That way I can write without overthinking! Hehe...!
Hypnosis training! Housewife training! Idol training! Screw ethics! If you're horny, just fuck!