Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: 16. Words of Love (4)
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Everyone carries their own deficiencies.
Some seek out people inferior to themselves to look down on, just to soothe a trivial inferiority complex.
Some, deprived of parental love, search for someone to cherish them tenderly.
Others, driven by their secret tastes, hide behind anonymity to find those who can satisfy their cravings.
That's how they fill the voids.
And sometimes,
they call that feeling love.
80
Han Su-ah's deficiency is her isolation.
She's never been outright bullied or torn apart like that—
just a tiny, pathetic void that could be fixed by making a few like-minded friends.
It's barely even worth calling a deficiency; more like a scratch.
After all, she has everything else, doesn't she?
Money.
In modern society, there's nothing money can't buy.
If there's something money can't buy, it just means you don't have enough of it.
That's been a running joke for years.
Luckily born into a princess-like status, she'd never lack for money.
So why was she practicing conversations so diligently just to make friends? I couldn't care less.
She'd never had friends before, so she was probably practicing now to give it a shot... That was the vague, plausible excuse I came up with.
Using the hobbies Yojora had told me about, I acted the ideal friend as best I could,
stayed by her side until she felt comfortable with me,
and eliminated any better friend candidates from around her.
That was enough.
In the end, only Yojora and I would remain by Han Su-ah's side.
At least until she graduated from the academy.
That was enough.
If anything happened, she'd hesitantly come to me,
and even if not, Yojora would be her only other option.
That was enough.
Desperate not to lose the friend she'd finally made,
she'd end up yielding a lot in our relationship.
That was enough.
It was a solid foundation for Han Su-ah's sake.
"Hoo..."
I'd tried to use only the softest words possible, but had it worked?
It was good I'd given it a shot, but that speech pattern didn't suit me at all. I wanted to drop the act ASAP.
A chilly winter night.
While lightly jogging along the path near Ichon Hangang Park to loosen up, I plopped down on a bench for a breather.
I pulled out my chattering low-battery earphones, popped them in their case, and took my phone from my jacket pocket.
Unfortunately, there were no notifications.
It had been about two hours since I'd slipped out of Su-ah's place after her marathon manga rant (honestly, I only got the parts about money).
She could've at least sent a thank-you for being her practice partner today, right?
I'd planned to keep the chat going from there and build more rapport, but total silence...
Well, disappointing, but not a total loss.
I now knew where Han Su-ah lived,
I'd glimpsed the first three digits of her front door passcode (not sure if I'd ever need it),
and I'd confirmed her bed—where she usually slept soundly—was plenty big enough for some messy all-night fun.
Now, all that was left was to watch her signature icy expression twist in pleasure atop it someday.
I'd worried about botching the first button, but no need.
Just button the rest right.
Once we got closer, she'd start sending personal KakaoTalks now and then.
She's just awkward for now, I figured.
Exciting... No. Wait, no.
"Exciting" sounds kinda girly.
Guess three hours of her manga explanations had rubbed off that genre's vibe on me.
I'd planned to instill wrong ideas in Han Su-ah long-term, but here I was getting hit first.
Anticipation builds.
Yeah. "Anticipation." That's the word.
I anticipated the day Han Su-ah panted beneath me, wagging her tail.
With barely anyone around anyway, I pocketed my phone, clapped my cheeks with both hands, and stood from the bench.
I was pulling my neck warmer up snugly when—
a woman I vaguely recognized dashed past on the urethane path.
Pretty fast for a regular person.
Especially for a woman.
A chilly gust followed in her wake,
and as "She's got good form" shifted to "That hip line is insane"—
my eyes caught on the pale blue-white hair swaying at her waist.
It reminded me of the woman who'd visited the infirmary a few days ago.
Student council president.
Another spy from the villain alliance.
Baek Seo-yeon. Her hair matched the ditzy impression she'd left.
"Hm..."
Weird.
This was a route I'd run often even before regressing, but in ten years, I'd never bumped into her once.
With so many people around, maybe I just forgot?
Or was I always holed up in the smoking booth during breaks back then?
If not... maybe some butterfly effect.
My wandering thoughts didn't last.
She didn't spot me and kept running, vanishing beyond the streetlamp.
Even in the cold, her thin outerwear fluttered, revealing those plump Nike leggings from hips to ankles. Quite the sight—too bad she was gone.
Should've eyed the ass instead of the hair.
Sigh.
"Hoo... Sh, it... Hoo..."
Right after my lukewarm fantasies about her, a guy staggered past, panting hard—probably exhausted.
Poor stamina, I guess.
I got that he was trying, but his heaving breaths grated on me.
If he had to gasp like that, better if it were a woman's voice...
I stood, digging in my ear, and resumed my slow jog along the path.
Cool night air brushed my earlobes.
...Something...
Something's...
off...
I'm not sleepy...
What time is it?
Feels like I've been tossing for at least 30 minutes...
...Nngh.
I fumbled for the charger, grabbed my phone.
1 a.m.
Exactly one hour since I'd lain down at midnight, intending to sleep.
Normally, I'd be drifting off by now.
So why was my mind razor-sharp tonight?
I wriggled under the covers, then peeked my head out from the blanket avalanche.
I brushed back the hair tickling my cheek, sat up against the headboard like I was reading manga.
My eyelids fluttered lightly.
As if it were noon.
"...Weird."
I'd exhausted myself approaching people during the day.
Evening, I'd drained every drop giving Seo Woo-jin a crash course on romance manga.
After sending him off, I'd replayed our nonstop three-hour chat, patting myself on the back: Not bad for my first time, right?
A bit later, realizing he'd led the talk the whole time to match me, I'd dived into bed and kicked the innocent sheets with my toes.
So I should be wiped right now...
What the hell?
"Hmmm..."
Might as well grab water to refresh.
I flicked on the fluorescent light, padded to the kitchen in pajamas, and chugged cold barley tea from the fridge.
Auntie must be asleep. She'd always check if I needed a midnight snack at any rustle.
Yeah, bedtime for her too.
While here, I snuck a couple pork chunks from the kimchi jjigae, licked my fingers clean, and headed back.
Still no sleep.
Even after belatedly brushing my teeth.
Or splashing water on my face for a "role reversal!" (No idea what that means) and returning.
Same deal.
Not sleepy at all.
Like my brain was soaked in endorphins. (No clue what that means either.)
Tomorrow's Saturday, sure, but I didn't want to mess up my sleep schedule...
"......"
Twenty minutes wasted.
Now the obvious culprit: tonight's events.
My excited lecture on manga in front of an interested Seo Woo-jin.
Guess I got so hyped, my brain's still wired.
...Well, it was fun.
Mystery solved, simply.
I plugged in earphones, fired up YouTube.
Planned to doze off to crisp rain ASMR.
"...Huh?"
Right under the video.
Until a super sleazy manga ad snagged my eyes.
"What the..."
Long story short:
the woman was naked.
If that were it, fine—but the speech bubble had blatant sex appeal too.
Distinct colors, natural Korean: probably Korean-made.
What is this?
Usually fun ads, but why this at night?
Late hour?
Or because I'd searched naughty manga lately thanks to Yojora?
Scary AI algorithms?
Who knows.
I blanked the screen, shut my eyes obediently.
"......"
But then Seo Woo-jin popped up.
Seo Woo-jin, who'd steered talk to pure romance manga to accommodate me.
And Seo Woo-jin, whom Yojora called "Master."
...A pervert with those tastes.
Hadn't I learned firsthand today? Best way to chat: bring up their hobbies.
No wonder "male-oriented."
Or "female-oriented."
So glancing at that might help with guys later...
"...Ngh......"
As if.
I sighed-ish, pulled the blanket higher.
"......"
Under my furrowed brows.
Cracking one eye open.
"...Not tired anyway. J-just a peek... Yeah."
I already roughly knew what sex was like.
Yojora's "special selection of romance manga"—
21 adult titles in disguise—had taught me:
more violent than expected,
semen stickier and more copious than thought,
...thrusting to the hilt felt brain-meltingly good,
women squirted on the bed all the time,
and post-act, drool always streamed from their mouths.
...Oh, right.
And finally, the woman licked it clean orally. Yep.
But Yojora's picks were probably female-oriented.
Male-oriented might differ.
So, what do guys like?
What does my helpful pervert like?
Just broadening my knowledge spectrum.
Could help with guy talks later.
Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely not because I want to see naughty stuff.
No interest whatsoever in that gross reproductive act.
For real. Swear.
Self-justifying rationalization complete.
I perked my ears at a noise outside the bedroom, cautiously lit my phone screen.