The New Semester, A Reunion with Ji-hee
Two days had passed since that night.
Two days since he'd fallen asleep buried inside So-hee's pussy, her husband Gun-young was due back from his business trip. The night before his return, So-hee had told Juhwan that they'd have to go at it one last time, long and leisurely — but their bodies were already wrecked beyond repair, in no condition for sex of any kind.
And so, until Gun-young came home, Juhwan and So-hee simply rested together in the same bed, holding each other tight. They stayed wrapped in each other's arms, fast asleep, right up until the night before Gun-young's return.
The next morning, Juhwan scrambled out of bed the moment he woke, threw on his clothes, and hurried downstairs before Gun-young could arrive — while So-hee busied herself erasing every last trace of Juhwan from the apartment.
Three hours after Juhwan went back to his place, Gun-young opened the front door, hauling a heavy suitcase behind him.
"Honey~ I'm home! Must've been so lonely all by yourself again, hmm?"
"Honey♡ I missed you so, so much, hehe."
Gun-young pulled her into a warm embrace.
"I'm sorry... ha. Work keeps me so busy, I can never take care of you the way I should... leaving you home alone like that...."
"While I'm home, I'm going to spoil you and look after you properly."
"...Mmhm♡"
The moment her husband walked back through the door, So-hee had snapped right back into her dutiful-housewife mode. Hopeless.
*One week later*
The new semester began at Juhwan's university. The sunlight on campus was warm, and that youthful energy only university students can give off filled every corner of it.
*6:30 in the evening, a bar near campus*
"Everybody! The long break is finally over, and tonight we're holding our semester kickoff party!"
"It's so good to see you all again after so long! Let's keep this great vibe going all night long!"
"Cheers~!"
Clink!
It was the psychology department's semester kickoff at S University. Students still buzzing from the first day of classes crowded around every table in the bar, drinking themselves silly, laughing and shouting over one another.
Juhwan was right there in the middle of it, surrounded by the friends he always hung out with at school.
"Ahh~~ I've been cooped up at my parents' place in Busan all break, feels damn good to be back up in Seoul," Moon-seok drawled in his thick regional accent.
"......I spent the whole break on a study program in Spain, living it up with gorgeous Spanish girls every single day... and now here I am back in Korea, hanging out with you lot," Yoon-gu muttered.
"Hey Juhwan, how come your face looks even worse than before the break, hm? Something happen to you?" Moon-seok asked.
"...Huh? Ah. Does it look that way?"
"You did see Dong-yeop a few times over the break, didn't you? Hey Dong-yeop, tell me — what's been going on with this guy?"
"What's been going on? Oh, a shitload, hahaha. Let me tell you about just one of them, so— erk...!!"
Before Dong-yeop could finish, Juhwan stomped hard on his foot under the table.
"Hm? You slippery little bastard, why'd you stop mid-sentence? Hahaha."
"Nothing happened to me, hahaha. I was grinding away at two part-time jobs all break, that's probably why my face looks so worn," Juhwan laughed it off.
"Ah, is that right?"
"Ahh... Spanish babes..." Yoon-gu sighed wistfully.
"Hmm... I don't think two part-time jobs is the real rea— ughk..!"
Juhwan ground his heel into Dong-yeop's foot a second time. Leaning in close, Juhwan shot him a look and mouthed the words silently, just enough for Dong-yeop to read his lips.
(Shut your mouth, asshole.)
"What's so funny, you guys??"
Ye-yeon had suddenly appeared behind Juhwan.
"Oh, big sis. Long time no see~"
"Ah~ Moon-seok, hahaha. Dong-yeop and I were talking about swinging by Busan to see you... but we got busy and couldn't make it. Sorry~!"
Yoon-gu, still muttering about Spanish women under his breath, let his eyes drift straight down to Ye-yeon's chest.
"?? Hey — Dong-yeop, what's wrong with your friend here?"
"....Babes...?"
"W...what...? Ha. This guy goes off to Spain for one semester and comes back completely out of his mind...."
"Hey, Yoon-gu—" she smacked him on the cheek. "Hey! Snap out of it! How much have you had to drink?"
"Good grief... I'll let it slide just because it's me. But you ever do that to another girl, you're dead."
"And Dong-yeop... your friend is staring down my shirt, so why is your ass just sitting there doing nothing, huh, boyfriend?"
"Ah, right, babe... I was actually just about to murder him for it."
"Mm, don't kill him. Half-cripple him, tops."
The mood at the table was warming up nicely.
"Ah, big sis, it's nothin' really — we were just sayin' how Juhwan's face here got even worse over the break, that's all," Moon-seok said.
"...Juhwan?"
Dong-yeop sprayed out the water he'd been drinking. PFFH—!
It wasn't just Dong-yeop, either — his girlfriend Ye-yeon also knew everything Juhwan had been through over the break, all thanks to his accidental phone call that day.
"...Well... I guess he was worn out from working two jobs, huh. And he was out boozing with Dong-yeop every other day anyway."
For all her bluntness, Ye-yeon was quietly covering for Juhwan in her own way.
*Brief smoke break*
Out front of the bar, getting some fresh air, Juhwan, Dong-yeop, and Ye-yeon stood smoking.
"Hey, Juhwan."
"Yeah, noona?"
"You saw that back there, right? The guys digging into whether something happened to you over the break?"
"Yeah... Thanks for covering for me, noona."
"Don't mention it. Just don't do anything you'll regret... I mean, she's not exactly your upstairs neighbor or a married woman as far as anyone knows, so there's nothing legally that can bite you...."
"Whether you keep her as a fuck buddy or make it official, that's your call. But nothing illegal, you hear me? Nothing."
She was talking about So-hee.
The fact that So-hee was a married woman was something only Juhwan and Dong-yeop could ever know. It was a secret that could never, ever reach Ye-yeon or anyone else.
"...I'll keep that in mind, noona."
"So... since that day, has anything else happened between you and your upstairs neighbor?"
"Wh—WHAT?????!!!!"
"Oh come on~ I'm curious! I mean, just how amazing is our Juhwan, huh, that the upstairs lady comes crawling back to find you herself even after getting wrecked like that? Hahaha."
"Noona? Why is that any of your business?"
"Ah, hahaha, sorry, sorry. Aww, is our Dong-yeop upset~?"
Juhwan froze, unable to get a word out.
Has anything else happened?? Had anything else happened. Fuck yes, a whole hell of a lot had happened....
"Uh... uh, hey babe, I think someone inside the bar's calling for you?"
"You little— what do you take your girlfriend for? Nobody's calling me."
"They're not...? Hmm, guess I saw wrong then... heheh."
"...Good grief... fine, fine, you idiots. I'll clear out and give you boys your space. Come in when you're done talking."
Ye-yeon tapped her cigarette ash onto the ground and headed back inside alone.
"Phew......" Dong-yeop smacked the back of Juhwan's head. "That's what you get, you bastard! Why the hell would you call and say that stuff while I was with her?!"
"Ow..!! Ah, shit, quit hitting me, man... I didn't know you were with your noona..."
"And another thing, asshole! What my noona and I were doing that day— ah, never mind... Argh, you cost me a perfect moment that night, you know that?"
The two of them lit up their cigarettes in silence.
"Hey, but seriously, Juhwan — what are you gonna do? About that upstairs woman."
"...Like Ye-yeon noona said, I guess somehow we've ended up as fuck buddies."
"Hey."
Dong-yeop leaned in close to Juhwan's ear, whispering in case anyone might hear.
"....Think you could introduce her to me too?"
WHACK!
This time it was Juhwan's fist slamming into Dong-yeop's arm.
"AIISH!"
"You insane bastard, you've got Ye-yeon noona, hahaha. What do you think happens if Ye-yeon noona finds out?"
"Knowing that woman's temper, you wouldn't survive. Not even close."
"Ah, shit, I'm kidding! It was a joke, you dumbass! Hahahahaha!"
They went back to smoking, and the conversation turned quieter.
"...Anyway. I'm sorry about that day... I had no idea you were with Ye-yeon noona...."
"Nah, it's fine, haha. Noona was caught off guard at first too, but later, when we were drinking and she was heading out, she said she trusts you, at least."
"Huh...? Me?"
"Yeah, haha — she told you the same thing earlier, remember? Just how amazing must you be, that the upstairs woman comes back to find you on her own two feet even after everything you did to her?"
"Whatever the reason is, she figured you're not a bad guy. That's what she said."
"......I see."
Just then, something caught Dong-yeop's eye as he stood there smoking.
The bar where the kickoff party was being held sat near the school's back gate, and with it being the first day of the semester, department after department was holding its own welcome party in the area. Which meant the street was thick with students coming and going.
"Hey... hey. Ten o'clock, dead ahead."
"Huh? It's not even ten yet."
"?? Not the time, you dumbass. Ten o'clock direction. Look."
He looked.
There were so many people.
"?? There's a shitload of people out here — who am I supposed to be looking at?"
"Ugh, you hopeless bastard... The blonde! Over there!"
And once he heard that, he spotted her instantly.
A long, straight head of golden hair...
He could only see her from behind, but even from behind, her figure was phenomenal — an S-line sculpted to perfection.
Juhwan and Dong-yeop, in unison: "Whoa........"
So a woman could command this much attention from her back alone....
Just then, the blonde turned slightly, granting Juhwan and Dong-yeop a glimpse of her profile.
Her chest was no joke.
"....Hey... you seeing those melons...? Fuck, is that even a human being...?? She's like a dairy cow that just broke loose from a farm in Denmark..."
".....?"
Watching her profile from a distance, something about it struck Juhwan as off. Familiar, somehow.
"....? Hmm........ I feel like I've seen her somewhere...."
"Where? The department group chat? Nobody in our department looks like that."
Just then, the bar door swung open with a bang.
".....I'd say you two have had plenty of time to talk by now, hm?"
Shoved along by Ye-yeon, Juhwan and Dong-yeop were half-dragged, half-forced back inside.
*The next day, on campus*
Having drunk themselves into oblivion at the kickoff party the night before, Juhwan and Dong-yeop spent the entire day with wrecked stomachs. When their lecture ended, the two of them shuffled off toward a hangover soup joint near the school's back gate.
"Dude... fuck... get your girlfriend under control... Ye-yeon noona... god, what kind of liquor does she pour that hits like that..."
"Don't ask me, fuck... I'm the one living in captivity here, how the hell am I supposed to 'control' her..."
"How much farther to the soup place?"
"At this pace... about ten minutes..."
And then it happened.
An inexplicably pleasant feeling drifted across the campus street. He couldn't explain why, but something made his heart flutter.
"...O... ohhh... huh...? That blonde from yesterday...?"
It was the blonde girl from outside the bar. She was walking right past Juhwan and Dong-yeop.
But at that exact moment, Juhwan's phone started buzzing.
It was So-hee.
Her messages came pouring in one after another, not waiting so much as a second for a reply.
While the blonde girl was passing by them, Dong-yeop couldn't tear his eyes off her — and Juhwan was too absorbed in So-hee's messages to notice anything at all.
Sensing Dong-yeop's stare, the blonde girl glanced briefly back at the two of them, then fixed her gaze forward and kept walking, about to pass them completely when—
She froze. Eyes wide with shock, she spun around, looked straight at Juhwan, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke.
"U...um... oppa??"
"Gah...!!!"
Dong-yeop's soul left his body.
Juhwan, still bewildered, finally turned around — and met the blonde girl's eyes.
"...Uh...??"
The blonde girl broke into a bright smile and came closer.
"Oppa!! It IS you, right?? Whoa, no way!! You go to the same school as me??"
He'd felt it outside the bar yesterday too — she looked familiar, somehow. But something about her felt... different. It was maddeningly vague.
He racked his brain. Nothing came.
Understandable, really — his head had been completely consumed by everything with So-hee.
"Ah... hehe. Oppa, I changed my hair color, that's why you don't recognize me, isn't it??"
Perhaps noticing that Dong-yeop was standing there even more dumbfounded than Juhwan, she leaned in close to Juhwan's ear and whispered.
"Oppa... it's me, Ji-hee... hehehe. You know... from the officetel..."
From the officetel.
The instant he heard those words, his memories flashed before his eyes like a spinning lantern.
The day he first went up to confront So-hee about the noise between floors — and got talked down to like dirt.
The officetel he'd visited as reconnaissance, plotting his revenge against So-hee.
The hostess girl at that officetel who'd entertained Juhwan under the stage name 'Seo-yeon.'
It was her. Her real name was Ji-hee.
"...OH!!!!!!"
Ji-hee giggled — pfft, hahaha — at his reaction.
"So it was the hair color that threw you off?"
"Anyway, oppa, you go to OUR school?!! That's amazing... hehehe. I'm so happy to see you..."
"Uh... yeah... wow, it's really been so long...!!"
Just then, a sleek black luxury sedan circled through campus, spotted Juhwan, and pulled over to the curb.
But Juhwan's eyes registered none of it.
"You... God, it's really been forever...!"
"Right? It's been forever! I've been thinking about you a lot, you know..."
Ji-hee clearly wanted to keep catching up with Juhwan, but deep down, the Dong-yeop standing next to him was nagging at her.
"Ah... hello... hehe."
"Oh, hi... hehe. So you're oppa's friend, then."
Off in the distance, two girls who appeared to be in Ji-hee's department stood watching, then shouted out to her.
"Ji-hee unni! Over here! Come on, hurry!"
"Oh! Coming!!"
Ji-hee looked back at Juhwan. She wanted to keep talking with him, but her friends were calling her — and more than that, with Dong-yeop standing right there, she couldn't exactly pour her heart out.
"Oppa, let me see your phone."
"Huh? Oh, here."
Taking his phone, she punched in her number and pressed the call button. The moment her own phone rang, she flashed a sly grin, declined the call, and handed the phone back to Juhwan.
"That's my number... hehehe."
"I kicked myself forever for not getting yours that day... and now here we are, meeting again like this."
"I'm so glad I saw you..." — she glanced at Dong-yeop — "Ah... oppa, I really have to go now.... Sorry — let's finish catching up over text or a call, okay? Hehehe."
Ji-hee spun around hurriedly and started running toward her group.
Then she stopped, turned back toward Juhwan, waved once with a big smile — and disappeared.
"Hey... what the fuck was that...? You KNOW her??"
Meanwhile, inside the luxury sedan that had pulled over the moment it spotted Juhwan...
The sedan's owner was So-hee.
From the driver's seat, she watched Juhwan talking with Ji-hee, her teeth grinding audibly.
"Hahahaha...... you fucking piece of shit... I come all the way out here on purpose so we can fool around in the car, and you're ignoring my texts while flirting with some girl?"
As Juhwan and Dong-yeop resumed walking, So-hee started the engine again and began to tail them, slowly.