A Scoundrel's Resolve
If I had already built these promiscuous relationships with women, then making excuses would be a sin. That much was clear. Even setting aside the countless one-night stands I had before getting deeply entangled with the heroines this year, I had already gone far beyond a simple “more than friends, less than lovers” stage with Seo Ahyeon. We were now so close to being a couple that the remaining two percent felt almost negligible. And in the midst of that, I was also maintaining a secret relationship with Baek Seolah that no one else could know about.
Seo Ahyeon had already noticed the meaningful connection between us to some degree, and she had even said she would tolerate it until she officially became my girlfriend. Still, I was fully aware that if everything came to light, there was a high chance I would be pelted with stones. Especially considering the standing Seo Ahyeon and Baek Seolah held among the female students of Cheongun Academy, the offense would be all the more severe. If word got out, more than a few male students would probably make voodoo dolls of me.
With Seo Ahyeon on my left, her eyes terrifyingly hollow and devoid of life, and Baek Seolah on my right, smiling as if the situation amused her—
……If either choice means I’m confirmed to be trash anyway.
I squeezed my eyes shut and steeled my resolve. Drawing a deep breath, I opened my eyelids again.
Whoosh!
“……?”
“Huh, uh.”
I pulled both Seo Ahyeon, whose expression was growing increasingly frosty, and Baek Seolah, whose smile had deepened with satisfaction, into my arms at the same time. In other words, I was embracing two girls who were far too good for someone like me. I knew full well that we were in a classroom with other students present, but—
Ah, whatever.
I had made up my mind. No matter how I acted, I was already going to be seen as some kind of playboy. At the very least, I shouldn’t make the girls who liked me sad.
Seo Ahyeon, clearly not expecting the sudden hug, widened her eyes slightly. I turned to her first and whispered into her ear.
“Sorry, Ahyeon.”
“……Hnn.”
If I was going to be trash either way, and that fact wasn’t going to change, then I might as well be a proud one. Even if that path eventually led me to become Han Taeyang in the end, this was still the way to avoid hurting my girls as much as possible. After all, polygamy was legalized in this world. Unlike the place I originally came from, it wasn’t such a taboo for one man to be with multiple women, both culturally and by common sense. Of course, the prerequisite was that the man had to be capable of supporting more than one woman, but that was a condition I could achieve if I lived a little more intensely than I did now. In fact, there were even high-ranking Awakened who had built entire harems.
It’s not completely impossible.
It wouldn’t be easy, but it wasn’t an impossible condition either. In the end, it all depended on my efforts. After that, I would also need to persuade and soothe the women I took in. Baek Seolah, who couldn’t yet be called 100% mine? She wasn’t the one I needed to worry about right now. No matter how things turned out later, the only person I had to focus on at this moment was Seo Ahyeon.
What the hell am I doing.
Only then did I realize that I had reflexively pulled Baek Seolah into the hug as well. She still had a boyfriend. Regardless of how attracted I was to her inner and outer charms, or how often I felt the desire to make her mine, at this point in time Baek Seolah was still Lee Hyeonseong’s girlfriend and nothing more than my sex partner. No matter what the future held, I couldn’t treat her the same as Seo Ahyeon right now.
Thud!
“?”
So I casually pushed Baek Seolah away from me. Not forcefully, just a gentle nudge. She had been quietly nestled in my arms without rejecting the hug, but now she stepped back with a dumbfounded expression. A few steps. Hesitant. When she looked at me with a strangely wounded gaze, I flinched for a moment, but—
“……Ahem. Anyway, Ahyeon.”
It only lasted a second. After clearing my throat and glancing at Baek Seolah, I focused back on Seo Ahyeon. The terrifying expression she had worn earlier was gone, replaced by a shy blush. She looked deeply flustered by the hug, our close contact in the classroom, and the low voice whispering in her ear. Her violet eyes sparkled with obvious affection as she looked up at me innocently.
“No matter what happens between me and Baek Seolah from now on,” I began in the calmest, most sincere tone I could manage, “I promise I’ll never make you sad, no matter what. It might sound irresponsible, but……”
“……Yeah, hn.”
“This much I can promise. The way I care about you won’t change. Ever.”
“Hnn……”
That was when I realized Seo Ahyeon liked having words whispered directly into her ear more than I had thought. The content of my words probably played a part, but even so, her reaction was excessive.
Interesting.
I had thought I had already discovered all of Seo Ahyeon’s weaknesses, but apparently there was still room to explore and develop more. Feeling quite pleased by this discovery, I gently stroked the area behind her ear as if tracing a line.
“Hnn.”
As expected, her body trembled and melted from the pleasure of ordinary contact. Her expression was so lewd that the male students who had been watching me hug both girls flinched in unison. Seo Ahyeon took several deep breaths alone, slowly calming her trembling body. Then, after glancing at me with a complicated look, she mumbled with her lips before speaking.
“……Then, no sex without a condom. If I ever find out later, I’ll pop your balls……”
“……Mm.”
It was a threat that sounded cute yet sent a chill down any man’s spine. Still, it was ultimately her way of allowing my unreasonable request for a legal harem(?), so I nodded gratefully and accepted her condition without complaint. After all, neither Baek Seolah nor I had ever had unprotected sex even once. There was no reason for me to cross the obvious line Seo Ahyeon had set now.
Thus, the top priority of reassuring Seo Ahyeon was successfully completed.
Now, then……
Next was Baek Seolah. After lightly patting Seo Ahyeon’s shoulder, I turned my gaze to the silver-haired girl standing beside us. She had her arms crossed and wore an extremely sulky expression, the complete opposite of how she had looked earlier. I let out a dry laugh.
Honestly, really.
I had just finished dealing with the biggest problem, only to be faced with another mountain after crossing one. Ding-dong, ding-dong— Right on cue, it was exactly nine o’clock. The time when classes at the academy officially began.
*****
Come to think of it, unlike me, both Baek Seolah and Seo Ahyeon weren’t in Class 2-B. They had simply come to this classroom before class started as if it were natural. In reality, Baek Seolah belonged to Class A, the same as Lee Hyeonseong, while Seo Ahyeon was in Class C. So as soon as the bell rang at nine, they left the classroom with contrasting gaits. Baek Seolah walked with irritated steps, clearly displeased with how things had turned out, unlike when she first arrived. Seo Ahyeon, on the other hand, walked with light, satisfied steps, the complete opposite of her earlier mood. They were heading to their respective classrooms right next door to follow their own schedules. And in truth, the same applied to me.
“Hey. Happy? Now that you’re dating Ahyeon.”
“……”
Unfortunately, the time I could earn wasn’t all that abundant. This was an academy with a unique school culture that mixed the lecture system of a university with the moving-class system of a high school. No matter where you went, you were bound to run into people eventually. And among the two girls, the one whose schedule overlapped with mine more was—
“Are you happy? Huh? Now that I think about it, your complexion has been really good lately. Was it because you got a girlfriend?”
“……Why are you doing this to me, Baek Seolgi.”
In the end, it was Baek Seolah, the main heroine of the original story. I let out a deep sigh at her persistent nagging. I never knew a sex partner’s jealousy could be this intense. If she was going to be like this, why didn’t she just dump Lee Hyeonseong and become my girl instead? I would love her just as much as Seo Ahyeon.
Well…… That probably won’t happen.
I chuckled inwardly at the impossible possibility that had crossed my mind and rested my chin on my hand leisurely. Although my belief had wavered slightly recently, Baek Seolah was fundamentally a person of upright character. Knowing how much she liked Lee Hyeonseong, I couldn’t deny it any further. Regardless of my personal wishes or desires, Baek Seolah would never easily become mine.
“Haaam.”
Believing this without doubt, I let out a big yawn, intending to ignore Baek Seolah’s pointless whining that had been grating on my nerves from beside me.
“……Tch……”
That was why I didn’t see it. At that very moment— Baek Seolah’s expression grew a little more genuinely upset as she tried to say something more, only to turn her head away with a dark look, as if something was bothering her. I didn’t see it, and Baek Seolah didn’t try to hold me back or bother me any further. She only approached me timidly after class and asked if I could go with her to a restaurant she wanted to try on our weekend date. Of course, I nodded. Date or not, I was willing to go along with whatever the girl—Baek Seolah—wanted. And when she smiled brightly at my ready agreement, I also let out a small laugh and had no choice but to think the same thought as before.
Damn girl.
Still, that smiling face of hers was ridiculously cute. Really, it made me grow more attached every time.