The Sisters and the Stalker
The misunderstanding had been cleared up. If she had stuttered or shown even a hint of hesitation, a sliver of suspicion might have lingered, but… she had pushed me away with a pathetic expression, as if I weren't even worth the effort of her time. Well, that was that. I could go back to my normal routine now. Even if I got teased occasionally about "what kind of sister asks her own sibling if she's a lesbian," it would eventually fade into just another random happening.
However, the last thing Jiyoon had said kept drifting through my mind.
"He's handsome, Seo Woojin. That's why I got close to him."
"Ah, that clears up the lesbian misunderstanding, right? Don't you think?"
That meant every man who had hovered around Jiyoon until now was below her standards, and she found me, the one who met those standards, to be to her liking. Which ultimately meant Jiyoon, in her own way, was….
"…."
That was probably just wishful thinking.
It was mid-April now, so the night breeze blowing across the Han River wasn't quite as biting anymore. It just blew by with a refreshing, unannounced chill, gently stealing away the heat radiating from my flushed body.
"Hoo…."
I checked my watch; I’d been doing cardio for thirty minutes already. Scanning my surroundings, I brushed my damp bangs back with my hand and slumped onto a nearby bench.
Thankfully, it seemed the issue of Lee Jiyoon being mistaken for a lesbian by Lee Hayoon had been resolved. Well, it wasn't intentional, so explaining it shouldn't have been too difficult. I had unintentionally caused Jiyoon some trouble, but at least it was settled without any major incidents. If things had gone for the worst, I wouldn't have just lost the chance for a 3P; I would have eroded the favor I’d built up so far.
"That's a relief."
The following messages were full of slightly roundabout questions—asking if I was going to play games today, or if I had any plans to hit the PC bang. But I carefully declined, saying I was a bit busy today. The biggest reason was that rather than spending time perfectly taming Lee Hayoon and Lee Jiyoon, it seemed much easier to break and trample Han Su-a, who had finally developed an interest in lewd things.
Well, when you think about it, that was only natural. From the moment I first checked her physical state, she was a type of woman I’d never seen before—no signs of masturbation, yet her entire body was incredibly sensitive….
"……."
Ten years. For ten whole years, I’d frequently checked the bodies of the "sluts" in the Villain Alliance, thinking, "I might find a use for this on a hero someday," but she was the first woman I’d ever encountered who was nothing but erogenous zones. And that was just her body; imagine how much more potent it would be given that she was a pure soul who hadn't even masturbated, let alone had sex. Everyone else had too much experience, so instead of the pleasure of slowly taming them from the start, I could only break them to the point where they couldn't be satisfied by anyone but me. If Han Su-a was already submissive enough to wag her tail at me, I might be able to put a sturdy leather collar on her in the near future.
"Hek…! Ugh……."
"…?"
Just as I was planning whether it would be better to meet Han Su-a again today or to keep her on edge, I heard a loud, unpleasant male panting from somewhere in the distance. The voice sounded familiar, too. As if I’d heard it somewhere before.
That was strange. I might remember a woman's voice, but there was no reason for me to be memorizing a man's.
I lifted my head, which had been cast downward, and looked in that direction. The reason was immediately clear. A woman with pale blue hair, wearing black leggings that clung tightly to her legs, with her jacket sleeves tied around her waist as she ran. And behind her, a somewhat short man, trailing along and panting with all his might.
There was no need to look any further. They were the people I saw at the Academy. The Student Council President. The Vice Student Council President.
"…."
I’d run into them around here once before. Did they do this every single day? Tsk. I clicked my tongue and glanced at the Vice Student Council President, who couldn't even lift his head as he ran. He was certainly putting in a lot of effort to get a piece of a woman. It was a pity, but Baek Seoyeon didn't seem particularly interested in him. Since he was handsome enough, it would be easier to just pick someone else.
Was he the type who preferred things that were hard to get over things that were easy?
The thought didn't last long. I didn't want to get bothered by them pretending to know me, so I went back to staring blankly at my phone. However—
"…Excuse me."
"…."
Seeing Baek Seoyeon standing right in front of me, catching her breath, it seemed I was a little too late.
"Ah, I was right. …The infirmary teacher."
"…What is it?"
"Why are you being so blunt? I just recognized you because I was glad to see you outside."
"I'm not particularly glad to see you."
"…There's someone else behind me. Just pretend we're close. Please."
"…Haa…."
"Gah…, cough…."
If she was going to do that, it would have been easier for both of us if she’d just walked by pretending not to see me. Why did she have to come all the way to me to cool off? After a short sigh, I turned off my phone screen, which had been displaying nothing but the Google homepage. The Vice Student Council President, who had been running so hard from a distance, threw himself onto the bench right next to me. …Honestly, it seemed he still hadn't recognized me at all.
Still, I didn't want to be any more bothered, so I played along with Baek Seoyeon.
"Would you like some water?"
"Ye-yes…, water, thanks…, …huh? Isn't that the infirmary teacher? You are, right? Do you exercise here too, sir?"
His tone was frivolous. If it were a woman, I might have thought, "It's nice to be energetic," but right now, he was just loud and annoying.
"Sometimes."
"Aha. No wonder your body looked pretty good…."
"It's not particularly good. Just 'fashion muscles.' That's about it."
"Hey, having even that is something, right? I'm like this after just running 1km, you know."
"…Well, there are plenty of people who can't even run that much."
"Ugh…. I feel like I'm gonna live now…."
Three sentences were more than enough conversation. I loathed these kinds of empty, nutritional-less conversations with people I had no interest in and no use for. How long did I have to keep this up…?
I watched the Vice Student Council President gulp down water without even asking if I’d touched it, then glanced at Baek Seoyeon, who was hovering in front of me with a friendly mask on. I sent her a look that basically said, "Take this guy and get lost," but what I got back was a somewhat suspicious look that seemed to say, "Just a moment."
I was about to just leave first, but Baek Seoyeon, who had been quiet, suddenly opened her mouth.
"Teacher. Would you like to exercise with us?"
"…Me?"
She had dropped a completely out-of-the-blue proposal.
"Yes. We're running around this area anyway, so if you'd like…."
"No. I've done enough. Besides, it feels like I'd be oblivious if I wedged myself between the two of you…."
I replied in a disinterested voice and took back my water bottle. I could see the Vice Student Council President smiling from ear to ear. Honestly, it was a face I wanted to punch, but I didn't want to cause any unnecessary trouble, so I kept it to myself.
"…We, we aren't like that."
"Even so, I'm getting tired, so I should head back."
"…Ah."
"Have a good night, student Baek Seoyeon. And…."
"It's Yoo Siwoo. Yoo Siwoo."
"…Student Yoo Siwoo."
It was funny how he’d been wary of me until a moment ago, but as soon as I said I was leaving, he became so polite. But what could I do? That’s the kind of animal a man is. If I were in a similar situation, I might have reacted the same way. I accepted the Vice Student Council President's sudden, light handshake and slipped out of the Han River Park before I could get any further entangled with the two of them.
"…."
I had caught a glimpse of slight distress on Baek Seoyeon's face as we parted, but I had no intention of digging deeper. It was obvious she was just annoyed because of the guy next to her.
"Hoo…."
Just because I knew their names didn't mean I wanted to play the role of a volunteer. I looked toward the smoking booth in the corner of the park and moved my legs to clear my head of the thought of a cigarette.
I made up for the cardio I couldn't finish because of the sudden interlopers by lightly jogging around my neighborhood. It didn't give me the same sense of accomplishment as increasing my weight, but I liked the exercise because I felt like my endurance was improving. To be honest, I’d started it back when I was actually twenty, thinking it might help with sex. Well, I don't know if it really helps, but since it couldn't hurt, I kept at it. And after doing it for so long, it had become a habit.
I returned home, thinking of a newspaper article I’d read once with the unique title, "Liberalization of Nighttime Self-Study," as I passed three male students who were probably skipping their night study session and whispering complaints about their teachers.
"……."
"Hey, yoo-hoo…."
Upon arriving at the first-floor entrance, I encountered a familiar face. The same cute ponytail as always. The adorable piercing visible beneath the softly curled stray hairs. And then.
"You should have called before coming, Noona. I was… working out."
"Ah, no! I just got here too. I was just about to call you."
"What's that in your hand…."
"This? Ta-da~"
Whether she didn't care about the temperature when it came to fashion, or she was just clumsy and had come out wearing what she’d had on at home, Lee Hayoon was wearing the exact same pitch-black dolphin shorts she’d worn when Lee Jiyoon had given me a sumata.
"I wanted to have a drink with you like last time…."
"…Ah."
"How about three cans each? You didn't tell me what you liked last time, so I just picked the ones I like…."
"Noona, you get drunk after just one can."
"Th-that was… just pretending to be drunk…."
"…."
She appeared, holding a white convenience store bag that clinked with beer cans.