Chapter 193: Love Triangle (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 193: Love Triangle (2)
Finally, that day had come.
The day the new semester began for college students all across the country.
“Hey! Are you done yet?!”
Bang, bang!
Just look at her.
One college student, already excited for the new semester, was banging on the door hard enough to break it.
Most people feel like dying when vacation ends, but I have no idea what’s up with her.
“I’ll be right out!”
As I shouted at the door, the silhouette visible through the frosted glass stopped in its tracks.
It was like I’d told a puppy to “stay!”
I looked in the mirror in my room and straightened the clothes I’d carefully chosen to wear.
Today was the first day of the semester, and also the day of the freshman entrance ceremony.
In other words, it was the day I’d first meet the underclassmen who would call me their senior, or “oppa.”
“I hope there are some pretty girls.”
“What did you say?!”
Shin Yu-jeong reacted to my quiet mumble.
“Just talking to myself.”
What is she, the Bionic Woman?
Thankfully, it seemed she only heard me mumbling and was asking me to repeat myself.
If she’d caught the exact words, she would’ve broken down the door and grabbed me by the collar.
“This should be good enough.”
A coat and a sweater—warm and neat.
This was my limit when it came to fashion, just rotating through a few similar outfits.
As long as I didn't look bad enough for people to stare, I couldn't care less.
After all, fashion is completed by the body and face beneath the clothes. In this world, if a handsome guy wears rags, people will call it vintage and praise him for it, won't they?
Before leaving, I slipped on my shoes and checked my KakaoTalk.
[Eun-bi noona: No reply, so you must be asleep? Hehe... Sleep well, and let's talk tomorrow morning!]
A message from her that I hadn't read because I'd passed out last night.
Lately, my fingers were about to get blisters from texting with Kim Eun-bi.
She talked so much. I got dozens of messages a day from her, sometimes over a hundred.
If I replied to every single one, the day would be over before I knew it.
[Eun-bi noona: Ah, the 1 disappeared!]
“……”
Looks like she was constantly checking the chat room, waiting for a reply.
[Eun-bi noona: I'm heading to school now! Your semester starts today too, right?]
[Me: Yeah, that's right.]
[Eun-bi noona: I'm curious what Korea University is like. Can you tell me about it next time we meet?]
[Me: Okay.]
[Eun-bi noona: So when are we meeting?]
This was weird.
I was told that if you give one-word answers, the other person runs out of things to say and the conversation naturally dies down…
“Why won't this one end?”
I guess someone being too cheerful can be a problem.
Well… if she were the only one I was dealing with, this kind of texting would actually be a plus.
It took several more replies before the messages from her finally stopped.
I pushed her chat window aside and checked another message that had come in overnight.
[Ryujin: Semester starts today for you too?]
[Me: Yep.]
[Ryujin: ...Your reply is so fucking half-assed.]
[Me: lol?]
[Ryujin: Fuck off.]
My chats with Ryujin were mostly like this.
A pattern of teasing each other, I guess you could call it.
It was a completely different vibe from my chats with Kim Eun-bi, who pulled in all sorts of topics to keep the conversation going.
Thinking of her made me regret last night.
That time we walked together when I was taking her home, drunk.
“I felt like if I'd just pushed a little harder, it would've happened.”
Unlike her cold and composed appearance, she's the type who's weak to a man who pushes forward.
…Or maybe she's just weak to me.
Anyway.
She was drunk, and if I had slowly set the mood while we talked, it wouldn't have been impossible to go all the way with her, but I was the one who stopped.
If I had deepened our physical relationship by having sex with her that night, Ryujin would have definitely become mine, but then I would have had to let Kim Eun-bi go.
Games, sports, fights, and love.
When one side is not just dominant, but has an almost completely one-sided advantage, the other side thinks it's hopeless and naturally gives up.
Kim Eun-bi and Ryujin.
To maintain this precarious relationship with both of them, I had to proceed with both at a similar pace.
“First, I'll hide these.”
Just in case, I set both of their chat rooms to 'hidden'.
It was unlikely to happen, but I couldn't leave any traces in case Shin Yu-jeong or someone else happened to look at my smartphone.
Someone once said that to date multiple women, what you need most is time management and thoroughness.
Click.
When I opened the door and stepped out, Shin Yu-jeong was standing there with a displeased look, one leg cocked.
Here we go again.
“You said you'd be right out.”
“I don't think it took that long.”
I texted quickly and hid them quickly, too.
Before she could say more, I put my arm around her shoulder and started walking.
“Let's hurry, we'll be late.”
At that, she subtly snuggled closer.
“You're getting pretty natural with the skinship lately, huh?”
“We've spent quite a few nights together. Isn't this much to be expected?”
“Heehee, I guess you're right.”
Shin Yu-jeong smiled, pleased, her face blushing.
Then her expression hardened and she shot me a warning.
“But you know that skinship should only be natural with me, right?”
“Of course.”
By now, lying in response to her threats had become perfectly natural for me too.
I walked down with Yu-jeong and got into the car parked in front of the house.
Sitting in the passenger seat, she grinned.
“Ah~ it's so nice not having to take the bus anymore.”
Having your own car was definitely the best way to get to school from here.
The bus stop was a bit far, it made a lot of stops, and if you missed one, you could end up short on time waiting for the next one.
It was great to be free of that inconvenience, but it was a bit of a pain that I had to drive every time we went to school.
“Should I drive on the way back?”
“…No, thanks.”
I flatly rejected the offer she made with a subtly hopeful look in her eyes.
She drove my car a few days ago.
It wasn't even far, just to a nearby supermarket… but I felt my life was in danger about three times that day.
She just can't drive.
I have no idea how she even passed her driver's test.
“Eheheung~♬”
I started driving, accompanied by the music on the radio and her humming along to it.
The drive to school took about 30 to 40 minutes.
The cars that had packed the roads thinned out dramatically as we headed toward Yeouido.
Since the entirety of Yeouido had been turned into the school campus, there was no reason for anyone but students or staff to go there.
Thanks to that, we sped along the empty road and arrived at the school.
“It's been a while.”
I was here for about three months, then had a break for over two months, so it felt unfamiliar again.
I heard other people kept coming to campus during the break for training and whatnot… but I didn't.
How should I put it… I think I experienced something like a slight burnout.
When I was Son Si-woo, training every single day was my daily routine, my entire day.
Looking back now, I wonder why I struggled so hard, and I think that's why I've settled into a mindset of enjoying each day as much as I can.
It's not like I was just fooling around, though. I grew stronger in my own way.
If you had to pick the person who got the strongest during the break, I'd be the overwhelming number one.
My stats jumped significantly thanks to the mana stones from the Seeker's body, and my trait evolved a level, making it much more efficient.
Of course, I was still a long way from regaining my former strength.
After parking the car, I headed with Shin Yu-jeong to the largest lecture hall in the Combat Faculty's general studies building.
Room 301.
I'd been here once before.
It was the place where I met my classmates and the upperclassmen after the special admission ceremony.
“I thought we came early, but a lot of people are already here.”
“Yeah.”
As we entered, the eyes of those already there turned towards us in unison.
All the guys looked at Shin Yu-jeong's face, and all the girls looked at mine.
I'm not being self-conscious. It's true.
While I was looking around for a place to sit, I saw Im Na-eun waving from a distance.
“Ma… no, Do-jin…! Over here!”
“……”
Did she just accidentally start to call me ‘Master’?
It was clear she couldn't contain her joy at seeing me after so long.
As I led Shin Yu-jeong over to her, Im Na-eun's gaze grew more affectionate the closer we got.
…Can't someone invent a spell that turns people's pupils into hearts depending on their emotions?
It looked pretty hot in manga, but in real life… hmm.
Never mind.
Let's just remember that live-action adaptations of manga rarely get good reviews.
“Have you been well…?”
Im Na-eun asked as soon as I sat down.
She had a look on her face like she had a mountain of things she wanted to ask.
…Even though I thought we'd been calling and texting pretty often.
“I've been fine. You?”
“Hee… I haven't been doing so well.”
“…Why?”
“That's…”
She glanced at Shin Yu-jeong, who was sitting on my other side, and shook her head.
“It's a secret!”
Saying it was a secret here must have meant she was deliberately hiding it because of Yu-jeong.
I didn't even need to hear it to know.
She probably wanted to do all sorts of things with me during the break, but she was called back to her family home and couldn't do anything, cooped up in her room. She must have a lot of pent-up desire.
“Hehe…”
She subtly clung to my arm.
From the way her nose was twitching, it looked like she was smelling me, too…
She looked just like a pet at home, which I found kind of cute.
“Hey.”
But it seemed I was the only one who felt that way.
Shin Yu-jeong, who had been glaring at the now much-closer Im Na-eun, called out to her in a low tone.
“What do you think you're doing?”
“Huh…? I was just happy to see him after so long, so I was just saying hi…”
Im Na-eun retorted, not the least bit intimidated by Shin Yu-jeong's sharp reaction.
…The atmosphere here was getting serious.