Repayment (3)
The NTR novel I'd possessed was peculiar in many ways. No need to belabor the point since it suddenly veered into drift racing in part 2. But what I wanted to talk about now wasn't that—the part that smacked readers upside the head.
“……Seo Ah-hyun?”
“Hmph.”
I'd mentioned it before. In the original story, 'Han Taeyang' stole away the heroines. That's right—heroines, plural. Not just one.
This guy, impressive in all sorts of twisted ways, hadn't limited himself to Baek Seol-ah…….
Of course, every woman he stole had a boyfriend. Just like Lee Hyun-seong with Baek Seol-ah, all the others were the same.
From that perspective, the original story was closer to an ensemble drama. For every woman Han Taeyang stole, there was a corresponding male lead. And while polygamy was legal in this world, all those couples started out as strict one-on-one pairings.
Anyway, long intro aside, the point was simple.
Right then, as I stepped out of the classroom wondering if I should head back to the dorm, one female student grabbed me…….
Dark, curly black hair tied in a side ponytail, and those rare, shimmering amethyst eyes—a beautiful girl.
“What's your deal, coming up and talking to me first.”
Her name? Seo Ah-hyun, as I'd just said. One of the original story's heroines I'd brought up moments ago.
She crossed her arms, her face openly displeased, and shot back at me.
“Don't get the wrong idea. I don't want to talk to trash like you either.”
“Still casually dropping harsh words like it's nothing, huh?”
“Hmph……”
Trash like you. She sure had a foul mouth.
I knew her personality well enough, but still. Anyway, Seo Ah-hyun let out a short snort, then glared at me again, eyes narrowing.
For a moment, we locked eyes in silence.
……She said she didn't want to talk to me, yet here she was, grabbing me first. She clearly had some business.
“No business? Then I'm out.”
“Ah. W-wait a sec.”
No reason for me to stand there patiently, right? Expecting manners from the Golden Boy was a lost cause.
Baek Seol-ah was a special case after yesterday's events subtly shifted our dynamic, but generally, things between me and the heroines were like this. We rarely even crossed paths unless it was unavoidable. Conversation? Forget it.
As I yawned indifferently, feigning a yawn and turning to leave, Seo Ah-hyun hurriedly grabbed me. Not with words this time—with her hand.
She rushed right up and lightly clutched the hem of my clothes as I started to walk away.
“What the hell.”
“Why are you in such a rush? I haven't even started talking yet.”
“So?”
I looked down at her with a bored frown. Our proximity made the height difference even more glaring.
Seo Ah-hyun was petite overall, so up close like this, her gaze fixed around my chest level. Meaning she had to look up at me while I looked down.
She never seemed to like that dynamic…….
“……Hey, lemme ask you something.”
“What.”
For her to approach me first when we never even exchanged words on eye contact? I answered curtly on the surface, but inwardly, I was curious.
I gave a light chin tilt urging her to spit it out, and she continued right away.
“Did something happen between you and Seol-ah?”
“……?”
Compared to the possibilities I'd imagined, this was a bit unexpected. Baek Seol-ah's name coming up here?
But thinking about it, not really. What happened in class today would've looked plenty strange to everyone else.
Trivial, maybe, but enough to spark curiosity among the other students. After all, that Baek Seol-ah hadn't left my side the entire lecture. And it must've looked like we were talking now and then, fueling even more interest.
Everyone knew she openly despised me.
Still.
“No way you came straight to me just to ask about that.”
“……”
“Did your boyfriend put you up to it?”
It was a reasonable suspicion on my part. Seo Ah-hyun talking to me over something so minor? No chance.
She could've just asked Baek Seol-ah directly—they were friends. Yet here she was, rushing over right after class to grill me.
As far as I knew, only one person could've motivated her like that.
“Kim Min-jun's still the same, huh. Still hung up on Baek Seol-ah or something?”
I muttered with a smirk, and her face visibly hardened.
Not just because my laugh sounded mocking.
I looked at her with pitying eyes and added,
“You're pathetic too. You know why he's curious, and you still come running at his request?”
“……Hey. Watch your mouth.”
“Jumping at your boyfriend's every word—nothing's changed. Or should I say, it hasn't improved?”
Grab!
Her verbal warning was just once. Right after my second jab, she grabbed my collar without hesitation.
Her amethyst eyes turned icy cold, glaring daggers at me.
Of course, like with Baek Seol-ah, it wasn't threatening to me at all.
I continued flatly, expression unchanged.
“Tell Kim Min-jun nothing happened between me and Baek Seol-ah. We're still enemies, as always.”
“……Hah, you expect me to believe that?”
Seo Ah-hyun scoffed in disbelief, gripping my collar even tighter.
True to her status as one of Cheonun Academy's top physical awakeners, her strength was no joke.
But not enough to faze me. I smirked back and slapped her hand away.
“Don't believe me? Then ask Baek Seol-ah yourself.”
“……You.”
“Though you'd probably just tell her to ask me instead.”
“……”
“You really picked a winner for a boyfriend, Seo Ah-hyun.”
After outright mocking her one last time, her expression turned utterly frigid. A chill far beyond her usual casual hostility toward me.
But I knew. Most of the negative emotions she felt right now weren't aimed solely at me.
A fact we both knew down to our bones, including that.
She gritted her teeth slightly and whipped her gaze away.
“……I really hate you, Han Taeyang.”
“Honored.”
I shrugged leisurely, and she gave me one last meaningful side-eye before turning and walking off first.
I caught sight of her joining a scrawny guy at the end of the hall, then glanced away.
Whether some idiot beta played the thorough loser in love…….
Not my problem.
Pathetic lingering obsession. Tsk.
Especially not when I was playing the surface role of the blond, tanned delinquent Han Taeyang.
I shook off the nagging unease and headed back to the dorm.
And then the weekend arrived.
Thud thud thud thud!
“……Ah, shit. What the hell.”
My precious morning of sleeping in after slouching comfortably was ruined.
I irritably kicked off the blankets, got up unsteadily, and shuffled to the door.
“Which asshole has no manners, banging on someone else's door this early……”
I scowled, ready to chew out whoever ruined my sleep, and flung the door open.
“Hi.”
“……?”
Standing there was someone way outside my expectations.
In other words, someone who shouldn't be at the male dorm this early.
Someone who really shouldn't be here at all, standing demurely with her hands clasped in front of her.
I forgot my annoyance for a second, staring blankly, and she spoke awkwardly.
“I came to pay back the debt.”
“……”
“……Can I come in first? What if the dorm supervisor catches me standing out here.”
Baek Seol-ah, dressed in fresh casual clothes instead of her usual uniform, glanced around nervously and whispered.
Déjà vu?
Why the hell was this girl here?