Reward (1)
“No, really, I was trying to end things nicely, but he kept grabbing me and wouldn’t let go. Honestly, I had no choice from my side either.”
“……Mm, right.”
“Besides, I didn’t even mean to hit him that hard. You know I’ve never really punched anyone unless it was during a ranking match, right?”
Seo Ahyeon rushed into the bathroom, washed the red stains off her fist, and came back out. Seeing my indescribable expression, she started rambling excuses in a flustered tone.
“I only meant to shock him a little so he’d come to his senses. But then I messed up the strength control. Ahem. It was an accident, basically.”
“Got it. You can stop explaining now.”
“……Your eyes say you understood, but you still have a lot to say, don’t you? Han Taeyang.”
“No, not really.”
I waved my hand dismissively, trying to dispel her suspicion. Her gaze stayed narrowed as she stared at me, but I had nothing more to add. Contrary to what she suspected, I didn’t actually have much to say to her. If anything, it was the opposite. I was simply at a loss for words.
‘……Even so, I never expected her to actually break his jaw.’
After all, Seo Ahyeon had always been timid. I knew that better than anyone after testing her patience to the limit for an entire year. No matter how angry she got, unless it was on the training grounds, the most she would do was grab someone by the collar. She was the kind of girl who lacked the courage to inflict emotional harm on others. That had been my assessment of her, and it had been accurate. She was the same foolish girl who just stood there blankly taking slaps from Kim Minjun. That was exactly why I broke my own rules and interfered in the first place.
Honestly, I wasn’t thrilled about this unexpected development either.
‘I figured she’d at most slap him across the face.’
I scratched the back of my head awkwardly, unable to completely erase the strange feeling. It was true that I had pushed her into this. It was also true that I had hoped for a similar outcome. For Seo Ahyeon to properly return even once all the humiliation she had suffered from Kim Minjun. In the end, my wish had come true. And in quite a spectacular fashion, at that. The only part that deviated from my expectations was, once again, that I never thought she would actually punch him square in the face.
From what she said, she at least managed to split the inside of his mouth. That far exceeded the realistic upper limit of physical harm I had imagined Seo Ahyeon could inflict, even with someone encouraging her.
‘Well.’
Still, I quickly changed my mind. Good things are good, right? Seo Ahyeon wouldn’t have to see Kim Minjun again anyway, and I planned to make sure of that by staying close. A satisfying punch as a farewell after enduring a year of his crap was acceptable. With that thought, I looked at Seo Ahyeon, who was pouting with slightly drooping shoulders from my silence, and let out a small chuckle.
“Don’t make that gloomy face. People will think I scolded you.”
“……What do you meaaan……”
She openly showed she was sulking and shot me a sideways glare. I deepened my smile and naturally pulled her shoulder toward me. With a soft thud, I buried her small frame in my arms and sat down on the sofa. Even though her expression remained pouty, she didn’t resist my embrace at all.
Pat, pat—
“……What is thiiis.”
Soon, my rough but sincere hand gently stroked her black hair. Seo Ahyeon complained in a slightly sulky voice, as if she disliked having her hair messed up. I rested my chin on the top of her head and patted her chest affectionately.
“I’m just saying you did well. No matter what, he’s the guy who made you suffer for a whole year. As long as you don’t kill him, a little blood is fine.”
Fortunately, that seemed to please her. Her ears perked up visibly and she broke into a bright, silly smile.
“R-right? See, I didn’t do anything wrong. I just did what needed to be done.”
“Well, even so, I never imagined you’d actually break his jaw.”
“……”
Of course, that smile quickly turned into a pout the moment I added that teasing remark. I chuckled in amusement at the way she looked at me with teary, resentful eyes. Before my teasing could cross the line and earn me a punch from the newly hatched chick, I quickly changed the subject.
“Anyway, so what happened? I was worried because you didn’t come back until late. I thought something might’ve gone wrong.”
“……Ah.”
Maybe it was my imagination, but the conflict in Seo Ahyeon’s eyes, which had looked like she was debating whether to hit me, instantly vanished. Pretending otherwise, she answered with a slight twitch at the corner of her mouth, as if she didn’t actually mind my concern.
“Hehe, heheung…… You didn’t have to worry. I left a message saying I’d be back late today.”
“That’s true, but……”
I replied while enjoying the fresh citrus scent coming from her dark hair. After staying in my dorm for the past few days, that scent had become quite familiar. Yet it still felt new. The heroine of the original story, who had a boyfriend, was gradually absorbing the shampoo I used. My hand naturally brushed through her hair, and Seo Ahyeon continued her story as if it were natural for me to bury my face in it.
“Actually, you know? This afternoon, on the way back to the dorm after class with you, Minjun…… I mean, Kim Minjun showed up and grabbed me.”
“I didn’t know either, but there were already photos on the academy community. Someone must’ve secretly taken pictures when I was sitting on your lap.”
“Since I’d been ignoring his messages for three days and he looked half-crazed, he pushed me against the wall and started threatening me……”
To summarize her story: Kim Minjun suddenly appeared in the afternoon. While they were talking to end things once and for all, his face suddenly turned pale for some unknown reason and he headed to the infirmary.
“……?”
When I heard that much, I couldn’t help but have question marks floating above my head. It was a very sudden development, and Kim Minjun’s actions were hard to understand. He had come looking for her in a rage after catching her (sort of) cheating, yet after some conversation, his condition worsened to the point he needed the infirmary?
“……Did he have some kind of chronic illness? Never heard of it.”
“Mm…… No? It wasn’t that.”
When I asked in a sour voice, Seo Ahyeon, curled up in my arms hugging her knees, tilted her head and added,
“He suddenly tried to take off his pants and pounce on me, so I just said a few words while looking at ‘that place’ of his.”
As she said the latter part, she secretly reached out with her slender hand and lightly brushed my crotch. Not noticing how my body flinched, Seo Ahyeon continued innocently, blinking her eyes.
“I asked Minjun if he was really fully erect right now…… and if it had always been that small.”
“?”
With an expression that said she truly had no idea what was going on, Seo Ahyeon revealed the somewhat cruel truth of the situation. She explained that after those few words, Kim Minjun suddenly staggered. I looked down at her with a rather different kind of mysterious gaze than before. My lips moved a few times as I tried to think of something to say, then—
‘I see.’
I simply closed my mouth again and nodded to myself. Indeed, that innocent attitude seemed to have dealt Kim Minjun a severe internal shock. Even though I had never once thought of Kim Minjun that way before, for the first time today I felt a little sorry for the guy. Living long enough really does bring all kinds of sights. I let out a hollow laugh and shook my head.
“So then, things wrapped up at that level during the day. I was getting ready to head back to the dorm after afternoon classes when he contacted me. Said he wanted to talk at a café.”
“Mm.”
“Honestly, I didn’t want to go, but we had been together for a year. I figured I should at least show some final courtesy, so I agreed. I also thought it was a good chance to make the breakup official.”
Without the slightest awareness that she had completely crushed a man’s pride, Seo Ahyeon continued brightly. She seemed simply happy to be in my arms recounting today’s events. I nodded with a calm smile and quietly listened to her stories. If she was happy, that was all that mattered. At least her feelings mattered more to me than that damned Kim Minjun’s, since our relationship had already become more than friends, less than lovers.
So, to sum up all of Seo Ahyeon’s chattering—
“So in the end, you cleanly broke up with that guy? Good job. Really impressive, Seo Ahyeon.”
“……Ehehe.”
Well, what else was there to say? Despite the precious opportunity Seo Ahyeon had given him to have one last talk, Kim Minjun messed up. Even at the very last moment, he couldn’t forget his position as the dominant one in the relationship and maintained a subtly condescending attitude while trying to hold onto her. Naturally, Seo Ahyeon lost every last bit of lingering affection she had for Kim Minjun.
-Seo Ahyeon……! Are you really going to end it like this? After everything I’ve said?
After firmly declaring the breakup and trying to stand up, Kim Minjun grabbed her wrist.
-Yeah, I’m ending it.
In that moment, the resentment that had been piling up burst forth, and she swung her fist without thinking. Naturally, being a magic-type, Kim Minjun collapsed pathetically after being hit by Seo Ahyeon. With his mouth bleeding and only able to clutch his swollen cheek, he couldn’t chase after her any further. At first, I was shocked that ‘that’ Seo Ahyeon had punched someone, but apparently my resentment toward Kim Minjun wasn’t any less than hers. Hearing the detailed story of that disgusting bastard’s jaw getting broken was simply satisfying.
“Anyway, so……”
I opened my mouth with a 100% satisfied smile while stroking Seo Ahyeon.
“From what I heard earlier, you’re currently recruiting a new boyfriend? Seo Ahyeon, now a free woman as of today.”
“……Yeah, hehet.”
This time, however, I didn’t just pat her head like I would a little sister. Instead, with a more intimate and mischievous meaning, I stroked her back. Using my extended index finger, I traced a vertical line between her shoulder blades, then withdrew my hand just as Seo Ahyeon’s body trembled when I reached near her tailbone. Seo Ahyeon let out a slightly suggestive voice and blushed—
“……Th-then, yeah.”
“……”
“Right now, the seat next to me is empty…… Heut, so I’m recruiting someone to fill it.”
Despite saying that, she glanced at me sideways with a seductive look, as if trying to provoke me. I smiled wryly and met her eyes. Seo Ahyeon exhaled a heated breath and murmured,
“Y-you’ll have to work hard if you want to apply……? I don’t know if you know, but I’m pretty popular.”
“……Hoh?”
“W-what? You did help me a lot with this, so I could put you as the top candidate, but still…… Et, eunghak?!”
Whoosh!
And I had no intention of just watching her say such cheeky things. Before Seo Ahyeon could even finish speaking, I immediately undid and removed her skirt. With that perfectly practiced undressing skill, Seo Ahyeon’s bare legs and thighs were completely exposed except for her panties. The moment she turned bright red from the shock—
“How cheeky, Seo Ahyeon.”
“……W-what?”
I naturally changed positions, sat her on the sofa instead, and slowly stood up. Then, grabbing her firm, soft thighs, I spread them wide apart.
“After everything I did to comfort you, I’m not even a confirmed candidate, just the top candidate? That’s a bit disappointing.”
“……Uh, no. Wait, Han Taeyang. Taeyang? That was just, you know, a joke──”
“Seriously. I can’t let this slide.”
“……?!!”
I crouched in front of the sofa and looked up at her from below. With a playful yet slightly sadistic smile, I glanced at her. By now, Seo Ahyeon probably realized what I was about to do. But realizing it and being able to stop it were two different things. In any case, in our relationship, the balance of power leaned more toward me.
“……Ah, w-wait a sec.”
“This is both a reward for breaking up so admirably and punishment for putting me on the scale so arrogantly.”
“R-really, just a moment…… Taeyang, eut!”
I twisted my lips into a fierce smile and brought my face closer to Seo Ahyeon’s underwear. Even without direct touch, Seo Ahyeon straightened her back from my breath alone.
“Doing both at once is fine, right? Seo Ahyeon.”
“……Yeah, eutheup.”
“You just said yes.”
Feeling desire begin to boil at her cute reaction, I reached out my hand. Now that her skirt was gone from her lower body, the only piece of fabric that could stop me—Seo Ahyeon’s cute bunny-patterned panties—was what I grabbed and pulled outward.