Kim Sua's Request – 3

"What on earth happened?"

I stepped inside first, then sat down on the sofa and answered Yun Jiyeon's question.

"Well, as for how this all came about..."

I had to explain every last detail. Clearing up a relationship with a middle-school kid demanded nothing less.

"Sol hasn't even gotten to kiss Sunwoo on the cheek yet..."

"Is that really what matters right now?"

"Hiiing..."

"So it was all just an act, then?"

"That's what I've been saying."

"Sua, you need to answer too."

"It's true... I was the one who asked him..."

"Haaaah..."

Once Lee Naye finished questioning us and both Kim Sua and I had given our answers, Yun Jiyeon—who had been listening quietly to my explanation the whole time—let out a long, deep sigh. Then she pulled Kim Sua into her arms and apologized.

"I'm sorry, Sua..."

"Huh? Why are you apologizing, Mom..."

"I didn't even know my own daughter was going through something so hard... I really feel like I don't deserve to be called a mother..."

"No, Mom! It's not your fault! How were you supposed to know when I never told you..."

"Sua. Can Unnie ask you one more thing?"

"Yes..."

"Why did you go to Sunwoo for help with something like that?"

"That's...!"

What? Why is she looking at me?

At Lee Naye's question, Kim Sua glanced my way, then slipped free of Yun Jiyeon's arms to answer.

"I-I just... did..."

"Just?"

"Because... he feels kind of like a dad... and kind of like an Oppa..."

"A-a dad?? Sua, what are you talking about...!"

"I know he's not! But Oppa gives me allowance and takes really good care of me! And he plays along with my jokes..."

"Allowance...?"

"Haha... I just gave her some once in a while. Don't worry about it."

I had no idea why she had to go and say something so unnecessary and make things even more awkward for me—but at the same time, I felt terribly sorry for her.

Yun Jiyeon had been separated from her husband for ten years. Kim Sua didn't know that. She'd only been a five-year-old baby at the time. She had no idea that the man called her father—the one who'd dumped a mountain of debt on them and run off—was living well with some other rich woman. She'd simply been told he'd died in an accident when she was little. That was all Yun Jiyeon had ever told her, and that was all she knew.

Knock, knock, knock—

After clearing up the misunderstanding, I'd gone up to my room and was working through my overdue assignments when someone knocked on the door.

"Can I come in...?"

"Your head's already halfway through the door."

"Tch..."

Kim Sua peered around as she stepped inside, shot a quick glance at the laptop on my desk, then sat down on the bed.

"Oppa, your room doesn't smell at all?"

"Smell?"

"My friends said so~ They said an Oppa's room always reeks."

"Haha... I'm the tidy type."

The truth was Yun Jiyeon cleaned my room diligently for me, but still.

"Don't tell me you came to ask for the same favor again."

"I did not!"

"Then why are you here?"

"Well... about what I said earlier, about you being like a dad... I wanted to take that back..."

"Wanting a dad this young and handsome is a bit greedy, yeah."

"Ha! Look at that ego... Anyway, thanks for helping me today~ And I'm sorry for getting you caught up in a weird misunderstanding..."

"It's fine. You already apologized enough earlier. But I told that guy it was all a misunderstanding, so he should know that by now. What are you going to do about him?"

"Don't worry about that~"

"What?"

"The Unnies said they'd help me, hehe~"

Something about it felt a little dubious, but when it came to this particular field, Lee Naye and Eunsol were definitely the experts. From middle school all the way through college, they'd been turning down countless guys' advances. Were they about to unleash all that accumulated know-how?

"Copy me."

"Okay."

"Cross your arms like this, and turn your body a little so you're not facing him head-on."

"Like this??"

"Good. From there, lift your chin slightly—and don't glare. Just glance at him sideways."

"Like this??"

"No, that looks like you're furious. Just act like you couldn't care less. Like you're looking at a fly buzzing past."

"Hmm... like this?"

"Perfect. Now reject him from that position."

"How??"

"Simple. You're disgusting. Get lost."

"You're disgusting. Get lost."

"......"

It definitely felt awful. I even felt a twinge of despair. Why, exactly, did I have to be the one hearing this?

"Does the practice partner absolutely have to be me?"

"You're the only guy in this house. Who else is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠she supposed to practice on?"

"She could use a mirror."

"Then it wouldn't feel real. This is for Sua—help her out a little."

"......"

"Unnie."

"Yeah. Got a question?"

"Well... he's the CEO's son, so if I reject him that hard, I might never debut..."

"Ah..."

"Then Sol will teach you!"

"What's your method, Unnie??"

This time Eunsol stepped in. Since it was Eunsol's approach, it would probably feel a lot more considerate of the other person than what Lee Naye had taught.

"Just copy exactly what Sol does~"

"Okay."

"Uuung..."

"Uuung..."

She pressed a finger to her lower lip and tilted her head.

"Sol has..."

"Sol has..."

"No—Sua should use Sua's name."

"Ah... Sua has..."

"Someone she likes already?"

"Someone she likes already?"

"...Is that it?"

"I'm not done yet!"

"Don't interrupt, Oppa!"

"Tch..."

I shut my mouth and watched. Fine. Let's see how impressive the rest of this was going to be.

"Sol..."

"Sua..."

"Just doesn't like you?"

"Just doesn't like you?"

"...Why?"

"I just don't. You give me the creeps~ Hihi."

"I just don't. You give me the creeps~ Hihi."

"......"

Hearing something like that would definitely make a guy stop chasing her. But then again, it wasn't all that different from the method Lee Naye had taught!

"Enough! Enough!! Practice somewhere else from now on and get out. I still have assignments to finish!"

"Ah, right! Sol has an assignment too!"

"You two should do that stuff ahead of time."

"Sol only got it today..."

I'd gotten mine a week ago, and it was due tomorrow. I genuinely had no time. I quickly chased the three of them out and worked on my assignment late into the night.

The next day I submitted it without any trouble—but that was when the real problems started.

"Sunwoo..."

"Yeah, Seongmin. What's up?"

"Uh... shouldn't we start our group project...?"

"They have to send us the materials first."

"Ah... okay..."

At that point I was still taking it easy. It was a group project we'd only gotten yesterday, so starting slowly wouldn't put us behind. Or so I thought. That was a mistake.

"S-Sunwoo..."

"Hoo... I'll go talk to them."

"Please... if it gets any later, I really don't think we'll make it..."

I stood up abruptly and walked toward the front of the lecture hall. A whole mixed crowd of guys and girls were laughing and carrying on, having a great time.

"Excuse me for a second."

"Huh?? Oh..."

"Hey. Aren't you doing the research?"

"We are."

"We're working on it~"

"Yeah? Then upload it to the group chat today."

"Okay, okay, stop rushing us."

"Mm~"

Jo Yeonjeong's snippy attitude was a little irritating, but I trusted the soft-spoken Lee Chaeyeon, who answered nicely enough, and went back to my seat.

"What'd they say...?"

"They said they're working on it. Said they'd upload it to the group chat today."

"Thank god... Then Sunwoo, I know it's a lot, but if you could compile it and send it over right away, I'd really appreciate it..."

"Don't worry. I've got nothing else on today, so I'll start the second I get the materials. Should be done by lunch tomorrow at the latest."

"Thanks!"

"It's just what I'm supposed to do. No need to thank me."

"S-still... haha..."

I failed to keep my promise to Park Seongmin. No—I couldn't keep it. I waited until midnight, but nothing ever appeared in the group chat. The little "3" next to my message telling them to hurry up and send the materials still hadn't disappeared the next day.

"Hey. You just don't feel like doing it?"

"I was going to~ But yesterday happened to be Yunji's birthday, you know? How am I supposed to skip a friend's birthday~"

"I'll send it today for sure."

I had no idea who Yunji was, but apparently they'd gone to a birthday party, gotten wasted, and failed to do any research.

"Kim Areum, were you there too?"

"Yeah. But don't start on me. I'm in charge of the presentation."

"I wasn't going to say anything to you."

"Tch... acting all manly."

"What?"

"Am I wrong? You jump all over us, but you can't say a single word to Areum. That's a fact~"

"Like she said, she's not in charge of the research."

"Sure, sure~ Whatever you say~~"

I ignored Jo Yeonjeong's snide remarks and went back to my seat.

Only two days left until the group project presentation. That alone was enough of a headache—but lately something else had been making my head hurt even more.

I was worried. I couldn't help but be worried. Ever since that day, the look on Kim Sua's face when she came home after practice had been a little off. She said it was because practice was hard, but behind that forced smile I could sense something else. The harassment had probably gotten worse since then. But that was as far as I could go. I was too busy myself.

"Seongmin."

"Huh??"

"Let's just do it ourselves."

"Ourselves...?"

"We don't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have a choice."

"Okay. Then let's start with the research."

We worked until our eyes were about to fall out. We didn't listen to a single lecture—just researched. The short breaks between classes, we researched. Even while eating lunch, we kept our laptops open beside us and compiled what we'd found as we ate.

"Did you see them? They were working so hard."

"I told you, didn't I? Leave them alone and they'll handle it. But Areum."

"Yeah?"

"Is it true the seniors are buying drinks tonight?"

"Um... they only invited me..."

"Aww~~ Come on, take us with you~ I've got my eye on Junho-sunbae~~ In exchange, I'll give you this. Brand-new eye cream I've only used once!"

"Fine, then."

"Thanks, Areum! Oh, and Lee Chaeyeon—you're freeloading drinks because of me, so you're buying lunch for the next two days, okay?"

"Okay."

They were having a blast. While some of us were working our eyes out of our skulls, they were thinking about drinking. Well, what could you do? The ones whose asses were on fire had to do the work.

I didn't particularly want to run into them, so before leaving I ducked into the bathroom. Even after all the lectures ended, we stayed at school, gathering and organizing the materials we'd collected, working straight through until evening.

"Wow... you're really good at this."

"N-no... we finished this fast because you helped so hard... If I'd been alone, there's no way I'd be done by now..."

"So if we just make the PPT and a summary for the presentation, we're done?"

"I-I'll do that! It's my job anyway."

"Forget it, we'll do it together. But you have to go to the subway station to get home, right? Let's work near there while we grab something to eat, then split up."

"I-is that okay...?"

"Take away my sense of responsibility and I'm basically a corpse."

We headed toward the subway station and were on our way to a decent restaurant nearby. It was a neighborhood famous for theater, full of small playhouses and restaurants. We were about to go into one of them when, through a bar's storefront window, I spotted Kim Areum's trio packed in with a bunch of male seniors, drinking away.

"Those crazy bitches sure have it easy."

"S-Sunwoo..."

"I don't care if they hear me. And I don't care if they do."

"But is it really okay to do this...? We're going to keep seeing them..."

"It's not about whether it's okay. It's the natural thing to do."

"But..."

"It's fine. And once you let yourself get used like that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even once, you become a total sucker. Word will spread, too. 'Park Seongmin's a free ride. If you've got a project, just partner with him.' You'll be popular, at least."

"Hey..."

"So just do what I say. And once you get back from the military, those girls will be—hold on."

I stopped mid-sentence and answered the phone first.

"I'm about to grab food with a friend. Working on a project together, too."

"Why, what's up?"

"Hah... fine. I'll have something hot and fresh ready for you right when I get home."

"Y-your girlfriend...?"

The second I hung up, he said something terrifying.

"Absolutely not~"

"What do you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mean not... A guy like you having a girlfriend is only natural..."

"A guy like me?"

"You're tall... nice personality... good body... and handsome... I don't know why you hang out with me, but... anyway, the girls talk about you a ton!"

"You don't even have any close female friends. I've never once seen you talk to a girl."

"I-I just overheard it! During breaks, or at the cafeteria..."

"Ah~ But I'm not actually that handsome, am I? Or do I just look better standing next to you?"

"Hey!!"

"Hahahaha~ Just kidding, man~ So what should we eat? My treat today."

"I..."

"Hold on."

Another call came in. Not Kim Sua this time—Lee Naye.

"Yeah, Naye."

"Another girl..."

"Friend. Just a friend. Huh? What was that??"

"She did call, but she didn't say anything like that.... Hang up for a second."

"Seongmin, I'm really sorry. I'll buy you something even better tomorrow."

"Just go."

"We'll work on the PPT together tomorrow! Don't be an idiot and do it alone. Got it?"

"Yeah."

I sprinted out to the main road and flagged down a taxi immediately. I called several times on the way, but none of them connected. A bad feeling settled in my gut. Had something happened?

"Thank you."

"Your change—"

"Keep it!"

I didn't take the change, and I didn't even close the door behind me as I got out. I went into the agency building looking for Kim Sua, but they said she'd finished practice a while ago and headed home.

"Sol, is Sua home yet?"

I hung up the moment I confirmed it.

Nah. No way.

What could possibly happen to Kim Sua, the future idol? But that bastard was the agency CEO's son. Don't tell me that was how she'd managed to debut in the first place...?

"Kyaa!!"

A scream. I ran straight toward the sound.

"Playing hard to get is only charming in moderation. At this point you're just being a pain in the ass, you know that?"

"I-I'm not playing hard to get... I already have the Director and— kyaa!!"

At the fist slamming into the wall, Kim Sua's whole body trembled.

"Not Director—Oppa. And what am I even asking for? Just do what you did with that other guy—act cute and let me hold you. Is that such a hard request? I told you it's because I don't have a little sister~ I'm just asking you to be my little sister for a bit. Did I ever say we should sleep together? Why do you keep saying no and pushing me away?! You're pissing me off!!"

"I-I'm sorry... but..."

"Hey. Do you seriously not want to debut? Listen to Oppa and I'll make sure you debut within three years, guaranteed. You live with just your mom, right? You need to get famous fast and make money, money~"

"......"

"And who knows? If you sleep with Oppa often enough, maybe I'll put you in the next debut lineup?"

"Ugh...!"

A hand sliding down the wall like a snake stroked the cheek and neck of Kim Sua—who was only fifteen—and slipped lower.

I grabbed him.

THWACK!!!

"AAAAAARGH!!!! Who the fuck is this crazy bastard!!! Aagh! Let go of me!!!"

"O-Oppa...?"

I seized the back of that piece of trash's head and smashed his face into the wall. Then I looked at Kim Sua and asked,

"Why are you just standing there?"

"...Hic... huuh... I have to debut... I have to make money so Mom doesn't have to work so hard anymore... hic..."

"Hoo... I'm going to lose my mind."

"You're that bastard from before, aren't you?! Let go of me! I'll have you eating prison rice— AAGH!! Okay! Okay, I said okay! Stop grinding it! You crazy fuck!!!!!"

I ground this garbage human's face against the wall as I made a call.

"Counselor."

"I need to beat someone up. And I need to acquire a company. Hanul specializes in M&A, right?"

"I haven't been caught yet."

"Take your time. I still have more beating to do."

"Of course. I'm an expert in that department."

I hung up and yanked the back of his head away from the wall I'd been pinning it against.

"Y-you're actually going to hit me...?"

"I don't joke around with trash like you."

"You crazy bastard...! Do you know who I— GAAHK!!!!"