Outstanding Debts (1)
"What do you mean, why am I here? My ranking match just ended too... I was just about to head back."
"Ah."
Come to think of it, it was a stupid question. I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly, and Lee Hyun-seong stood there just as awkwardly, pursing his lips. While it wasn't to the same extent as Baek Seol-ah in the past, Lee Hyun-seong and I weren't exactly close either. Since I went around acting like a delinquent and picked fights with his girlfriend, Baek Seol-ah, at every opportunity, it was only natural that he viewed me in a negative light.
...I figured our rocky relationship was probably why he had singled me out to satisfy his NTS fetish in the first place.
I don't really want to dig any deeper into that, though.
To be honest, I didn't have enough interest in Lee Hyun-seong's inner workings to investigate. Trying to understand the mind of a guy who wanted to hand his girlfriend over to another man would only ruin my mood. Frankly, even standing face-to-face like this was deeply uncomfortable for me.
"...So, what were you talking about stealing?"
It seemed this protagonist fellow actually wanted to talk to me. He hesitated before asking the question. Judging by his sour expression, he wasn't thrilled about facing me either, which meant only one thing: he had something he wanted to ask or hear badly enough to endure the discomfort of dealing with me. And it was painfully obvious what was going through his head. I let out a dry chuckle and replied.
"Why? Did my muttering sound like it was about your girlfriend?"
"...No, well. It's not necessarily because of that..."
"Like hell it isn't. You look like you're about to lose your mind with worry. You're not very convincing."
Lee Hyun-seong fell silent, unable to deny it further. He even blushed out of sheer embarrassment. Watching a grown man blush was honestly a painful sight. Eager to explain myself quickly and get him out of my face, I waved my hand dismissively.
"You don't need to worry. I wasn't talking about Baek Seol-ah, so just run along."
Granted, after the spectacular experiences of the past few days, it was true that I had developed a strong attraction to Baek Seol-ah. I couldn't deny that. And because of that, the thought of stealing her away from Lee Hyun-seong to make her entirely mine had crossed my mind. But at the very least, my muttered words from earlier—about just stealing her away—weren't about Baek Seol-ah. I was talking about Seo Ah-hyun, who was stuck with a pathetic excuse of a boyfriend and playing the role of a battered wife, making everyone around her uncomfortable.
That was how painful it was to watch. The joke of a relationship between Seo Ah-hyun and Kim Min-jun.
In that sense... Lee Hyun-seong was actually the better of the two, weird sexual fetishes aside. He was still a pathetic bastard, but at least he didn't mistreat Baek Seol-ah. In fact, he wasn't even in a position to mistreat her in the first place. The most he could do was get down on his knees and beg her to get fucked by another man.
Just as my thoughts reached that point, Lee Hyun-seong, who had frozen after hearing that my monologue wasn't about Baek Seol-ah, finally reacted a beat late.
"Ah... Really...?"
"...?"
If my eyes weren't playing tricks on me—and honestly, his reaction was too blatant to miss—for a brief second, a flicker of disappointment and regret washed over Lee Hyun-seong's eyes. It was a fleeting reaction that vanished instantly, but it was definitely there.
"...Lee Hyun-seong, you..."
"Ahem, cough."
I was a physical-type Awakener, just like Seo Ah-hyun. There was no way I would misinterpret a reaction, even a split-second one. I stared at Lee Hyun-seong with a complicated look, as if looking at the world's biggest lunatic, while he cleared his throat, seemingly aware of his slip-up.
An awkward, suffocating silence descended between us. To break the incredibly uncomfortable tension, I scratched my chin and changed the subject.
"...So, uh. Did you check the video we took last weekend? Baek Seol-ah recorded it on her phone, so she should have it."
"...Ah. Yeah, I checked it."
To be honest, this wasn't a topic I wanted to discuss with Lee Hyun-seong in a private conversation either. But I had no choice. It was the only thing that came to mind to steer us away from the awkwardness. The terrifying, goosebump-inducing possibility that Lee Hyun-seong didn't just want her to sleep with me, but actually wanted her to be completely stolen away... This was the only way to pretend I hadn't noticed that disturbing potential.
Perhaps sensing my effort to redirect, Lee Hyun-seong pulled out his phone and continued.
"Seol-ah has been a bit... angry with me the past few days. I haven't been able to meet her in person, but she sent me the video."
"...Oh, really?"
"It's all thanks to you, Han Taeyang. I used it well over the weekend... I mean, I watched it well."
"..."
I couldn't see my own face without a mirror, but I was sure my expression was quite a sight. I could only guess that it was a mixture of utter disgust and sheer disbelief. I never expected to hear those words come out of his mouth. I didn't want to hear it, and I didn't want to know. Sure, I knew what the video would be used for the moment they asked me to film it, but hearing it confirmed directly by the guy himself was a different level of psychological damage.
"...Haah..."
I reluctantly raised a hand to massage my temples, trying to recover from the mental shock. Unfortunately, my suffering for the day was far from over. The moment I calmed my mind and opened my eyes, something caught my attention.
"...?"
I froze, my eyes locking onto the sight. Was he trying to show me the video he received? Lee Hyun-seong was holding his phone with the screen turned on.
"What the fuck?"
Despite playing the part of a delinquent, I rarely used such harsh profanity, but the situation practically forced the curse out of my mouth. I stared at Lee Hyun-seong in genuine horror. Feeling my intense gaze, he flinched and looked down.
"Ah..."
He let out a short sigh as he looked at his active phone screen. I wondered how many complex emotions were packed into that single sigh. But as I've said before, I really didn't want to know... Lee Hyun-seong quickly stammered out an explanation.
"Well, this... this wasn't my idea at all."
"..."
Yeah, I'm sure it wasn't. If it had been your idea, I would have lost all hope in humanity. I opened my mouth to speak, but the words died in my throat, and I clamped my lips shut. ...What on earth did I see on his screen to react so violently? I didn't even want to describe it, but there wasn't much to explain anyway. It was simply a photo set as his wallpaper—one that had absolutely no business being there.
Yes. Last weekend, Baek Seol-ah had barged into my dorm room, done that with me, devoured malatang, spicy tteokbokki, and ice cream, and then left. But right before she walked out, she had suddenly hopped onto my lap and snapped a photo. Specifically, a cozy couple-like selfie of the two of us pressed close together. That very photo, which was currently saved in my own gallery, was now set as Lee Hyun-seong's phone wallpaper.
"..."
"..."
A silence far heavier than before settled over us. Finally, as if even he found this hard to bear, Lee Hyun-seong muttered with a bitter smile.
"...She said it's a punishment for the sinful boyfriend who sent his precious girlfriend to be held by another man. She told me to keep it as my wallpaper for a while."
"..."
"She said I could either suffer or get turned on every time I use my phone, and that it was up to me."
I closed my eyes slowly. I couldn't believe Baek Seol-ah had actually ordered him to do this.
Seriously, this is too much...
It really was. This couple had a knack for making my life difficult in tandem. It was a stark reminder that Baek Seol-ah was just as unhinged as her NTS-loving boyfriend, just in a different way.
"Fuu..."
I let out a sigh, rubbing my throbbing forehead, and ordered him.
"Hey, just delete it. Delete the photo entirely."
"...What? No, but..."
"I'll talk to that girl myself and make sure she doesn't force that wallpaper on you anymore, so just delete it. It's giving me a headache just looking at it."
"O-okay."
Perhaps he had found the wallpaper a bit too much to handle as well. Though he hesitated for a moment, once I promised to handle Baek Seol-ah, he immediately began tapping away at his phone. In the hollow silence that followed, he quietly added one last thing.
"...Thanks, Han Taeyang."
"Yeah. Sure..."
I stared blankly up at the sky, swallowing the sigh that threatened to escape.
"Han Taeyang."
A few days later, during a liberal arts class that Baek Seol-ah and I shared a couple of times a week. The white-haired, golden-eyed beauty sat down next to me, placing her textbook on the desk as if it were the most natural thing in the world. She tucked a strand of her snowy hair behind her ear and glanced at me.
Too exhausted to even complain, I met her gaze with resignation. Her hair was perfectly neat even in the morning, and her posture was upright, showing none of the typical fatigue expected of a student. She looked remarkably pristine. In truth, Baek Seol-ah was always an exemplary student at school. The times she spent disheveled and moaning on my bed were the exception; normally, she was the picture of elegance.
While I was idly analyzing her appearance, she suddenly glared at me with a pouty look.
"I heard you told Hyun-seong to delete the photo I gave him? And you even told him you'd talk to me directly about it."
"...Ah, that?"
Resting my elbow on the desk and propping my chin in my hand, I gave a half-hearted reply. I had expected her to bring this up eventually, so I wasn't surprised. When I let out a wide yawn and smacked my lips, her expression soured further, and she poked me in the ribs.
"Why are you interfering in our relationship? I have every right to be mad at you for this, don't I?"
"...What are you even talking about?"
Naturally, I just looked at her with disbelief. 'Every right to be mad' my ass. I hoped to God she wasn't being serious. If anything, it should be the other way around. I snorted and gently pushed away her index finger, which was still rudely poking my side.
"If anyone's going to be mad, it should be me. Why the hell did you force your boyfriend to set a photo like that as his wallpaper?"
"What do you mean 'a photo like that'? I told you before, I took it because it would be useful."
"No, but... Sigh, whatever."
I briefly considered arguing further, but decided to drop it. Looking at her face, I knew she wouldn't listen to a word I said anyway. It was better to just ignore whatever nonsense she spouted. Unfortunately, ignoring her proved to be less effective today.
"Hey, answer me. Are you jealous? Because I'm sharing a wallpaper with Hyun-seong?"
Perhaps because I had chosen a seat in a quiet corner of the lecture hall, Baek Seol-ah's whispering continued unabated even after the instructor walked in. The biggest issue was that most of her chatter was absolute nonsense. I had to suppress a rising sigh. By the way, did she set that photo as her own wallpaper too? I was starting to think she was genuinely crazy. Anyone looking at her phone would think I was her boyfriend.
"Answer me, come on. Han Taeyang, answer."
"...Ah, please. Let's just focus on the lecture."
Regardless of my pleas, Baek Seol-ah was exceptionally persistent today, pestering me endlessly. My fatigue levels steadily climbed, and my face naturally grew weary. But my reaction didn't seem to bother her at all. She poked my cheek with her pen, her narrow eyes filled with mischief and her cheeks slightly puffed up.
"Hmph, so you're going to keep ignoring me...?"
She muttered in a low, threatening tone, but I grit my teeth and refused to look her way. I gave her the cold shoulder. I figured if I didn't respond, she would whine for a bit and then give up on her own. That was my calculation. At first. ...It was a terrible calculation.
Slide—
"...!"
Suddenly, after staring at me in silence with a dissatisfied pout, Baek Seol-ah made her move. Her hand slipped beneath the desk... and her secret touch brushed against my waistband. Startled, I finally turned to look at her, but she had already made up her mind.
"Now that I think about it, I still haven't fully repaid my debt, have I? I think there are about four times left...?"
"...No. Hey, Baek Seol-gi. Are you insane?"
Her voice was a tiny whisper, completely inaudible to the other students or the instructor at the podium. Baek Seol-ah's eyes curved into crescent moons as she smirked. Terrified, I reached out to stop her, but—
"If you grab me, I'll scream. I'll tell everyone you tried to grope me."
"..."
After squeezing the growing bulge through my pants a few times with practiced ease, she casually propped her chin in her hand and delivered the threat. I stared at her, my eyes wide with shock at her sheer, unadulterated audacity.
"...Heh, I like it when you're this quiet."
"Baek Seol—"
"Yes, yes, good boy. Stay still, Han Taeyang."
And then, cutting off my final attempt to stop her, she slid her hand straight into my pants without a single shred of hesitation or embarrassment.
...Haaah.
The moment her cool hand slipped past my underwear and made direct contact, I gasped, my eyelashes trembling. Baek Seol-ah's playful smile widened.
Just to be absolutely clear... we were in the middle of a classroom.