The Telltale Lipstick
“Haa…”
I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead and glanced sideways at Soyeon sitting next to me. She was staring blankly in my direction with unfocused eyes, as if lost deep in thought. She didn’t seem to be suspecting anything in particular.
…That was way too close…
I had managed to hide quickly and slip through, but if she had seen me with my wife, it would have been total disaster. It wasn’t just a problem between us; I couldn’t imagine what Soyeon would think of her mother. The current Yeonhee had a much gentler personality now, but considering how closely Soyeon’s temperament resembled her mother in her prime, the mother-daughter relationship I had barely restored would shatter completely. Rather than watch their bond break, it would be better for me to disappear entirely.
As I watched Soyeon carefully and tried to calm my racing heart, the light suddenly returned to her previously vacant gaze. She narrowed her eyes at me and asked in a probing, almost testing tone.
“What were you talking about with Mom?”
It was an ordinary question, yet it set my nerves on edge. It felt like being cross-examined by my wife. I kept my expression neutral, recalling the story I had prepared in advance, and answered casually.
“Madam asked if I’d be interested in receiving personal sponsorship… That’s what we talked about.”
It wasn’t exactly a lie. However—
“Sponsorship?”
Soyeon, who had already heard the story from her mother, looked at me as if she couldn’t understand what I meant.
…What is she thinking?
“Yeah. Somehow she knew everything about my situation… It felt rude to refuse outright, and it seemed like a good opportunity, so I told her I’d consider it.”
“…Really?”
Soyeon stared at me quietly, as if recalling the conversation with her mother, then slowly nodded as though convinced and looked away.
…Did I get through it?
Just as I thought I had successfully dodged the bullet and was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Soyeon suddenly struck again.
“…By the way, what’s that on your lips?”
“…Huh?”
She was now openly eyeing me with suspicion. I unconsciously touched my lips, worried the lipstick mark hadn’t been fully removed, when—
“…Isn’t that a lipstick stain?”
Min Soyeon had hit the bullseye.
…Ugh.
My heart plummeted. Reflexively, I rubbed my lips hard and tried to sound casual as I asked back.
“L-lipstick?”
I definitely stopped by the bathroom to wipe it off…?
Recalling exactly where the lipstick had been, I hurriedly rubbed the spot and sneaked a glance at my fingers. A faint red tint remained on my fingertips.
…Crazy…
The instant I confirmed the lipstick hadn’t come off completely, Soyeon leaned in toward my hand. I smoothly pulled it back and tried to distract her.
“There’s nothing there. Aren’t you seeing things?”
She stared at me intently, tilting her head as if something felt off. She still looked suspicious.
Gulp.
I naturally turned my body and changed the subject by pretending to prepare for the next class.
“Anyway, there wasn’t anything important, right?”
“…I don’t know.”
Only then did Soyeon drop her suspicious gaze and begin preparing for class along with me.
…I did get through it, right?
Whoosh— The sword sliced through the air.
“…Tsk.”
I clicked my tongue without thinking and reset my stance. Yu Jihwan, who had lightly dodged my blade, called out to me with a flustered look.
“…Soyeon…”
But for some reason, his expression irritated me today. I readjusted my grip, raised my mana, and charged at him.
“Haaat…!”
However—
Clang—!
He blocked my sword with ease and quickly waved his hands, calling out to me.
“Soyeon! Hold on a second!”
Yu Jihwan stood completely defenseless. Knowing it was cowardly, I ignored his plea and prepared to attack again. I lowered my stance, wrapped my blade in mana, and readied a powerful strike when a sudden thought crossed my mind.
Even if I swung my sword like this, would it actually reach him?
He hadn’t raised his mana at all, and his posture was unstable. By any standard, I held the advantage. Yet… I couldn’t shake the feeling that my sword would never touch him.
“Soyeon… Let’s talk for a bit…”
Yu Jihwan approached cautiously, as if trying to calm me down.
…So annoying…
Overcome by an inexplicable displeasure, I detonated my mana and swung my sword.
“…Haat!”
Whoooosh—!
The blade tore through the air with a tremendous roar.
“…Haa…”
In an instant, a barrier collided with my sword.
Kaaaaang—!
It felt like striking a massive wall. Sure enough, it was completely blocked.
“…Kk…”
The impact sent a jolt through my wrist. In the end, I dropped my sword and collapsed onto the floor, clutching my numb wrist.
“…Ow…”
“Soyeon!! Are you okay!?”
Yu Jihwan, who had taken the attack, looked perfectly fine and instead worried about me.
“Hey, let me see! Does it hurt a lot? Want to stop by the infirmary?”
He gently took my wrist, his face full of concern.
“…”
It was infuriating how easily he had blocked my strike, yet the moment he began carefully massaging my wrist, my sulky heart melted away. It was almost ridiculous.
“…Should we stop for today?”
When he suggested ending training, I simply nodded slowly and offered him my wrist instead of answering.
“Haa…”
He let out a heavy sigh, sat down beside me on the floor, and diligently massaged my hand.
“…Soyeon. Is something wrong…?”
Something wrong? There was. Something very serious. I kept getting this dirty, unpleasant, extremely bad feeling from Yu Jihwan… but I couldn’t figure out exactly what it was.
Of course, everyone had one or two secrets. But my man wasn’t allowed to hide anything from me.
It would be nice if there was an item that could see straight into his head…
I let out a small sigh, quickly avoided Jihwan’s gaze, and answered half-heartedly.
“…I don’t know.”
Then I offered my other hand, demanding a massage as well. Without a word, Jihwan gently took it and began rubbing it too.
…It’s funny…
I had only been able to hold his hand after preparing an insanely expensive item that couldn’t be bought with money and a flawless plan. Yet here I was, holding his hand without any item or scheme at all. It felt strangely hollow.
After finishing combat practice with Soyeon, we returned to the classroom for homeroom and waited for our teacher.
…Why is she acting like this…
“…”
I watched Soyeon, who wore a noticeably pouty expression, and felt a small question rise inside me. She had been suspicious of me all morning, then attacked me during afternoon practice as if she wanted to kill me. Now she suddenly looked depressed, her face full of accumulated complaints.
Even when I asked what was wrong, she only glared at me without answering. I had no idea what rhythm I was supposed to follow.
“…Haa…”
As I let out a small sigh and tried to think of ways to soothe her, the teacher appeared.
“Everyone! I have good news!”
She gave us one announcement.
“The results from the last exam are out!”
It was the test scores. And at that exact moment—
“…Huh?”
“Huh.”
Soyeon and I looked at each other as if we had remembered the same thing at the same time.
The test score bet. We had completely forgotten about it, but we had made a wager where the person with the higher score could make the other grant any wish!
Of course, I had proposed it thinking I would win. So what wish should I ask for? The situation was different now from when I first made the bet. It would be nice if there was a chance to seriously open up our feelings to each other…
Confident that I would win, I waited for the report cards. Then—
“Yu Jihwan!”
“Min Soyeon!”
After receiving our report cards from the teacher.
“…Shall we look?”
We checked them amid a strange tension. The results were…
Gap: 2 places
“…Huh?”
I had lost. By two ranks!
Flustered, I rubbed my eyes and checked the report card again, but…
“…H-huh…?”
The results remained unchanged.
…N-no way…!
While I sat there clutching the report card in utter despair at the unbelievable reality—
“…Hehe…”
Soyeon, who had been sitting beside me with a pouty face, had now completely brightened up. She looked at me, eyes curved beautifully, biting her lip as if trying to hold back laughter. Her face was radiant, as if she had never been in a bad mood at all.
“…”
…Should I be happy about this or not…?
It was good that Soyeon’s mood had improved, but it was extremely bad that the wish right had now passed to her.
Once the report cards were fully distributed, the teacher finished homeroom and left the classroom.
“See you all tomorrow!”
The students chattered excitedly as they prepared to head home.
“I’m screwed… My back’s gonna get it good.”
“I can finally change my phone, right?”
Leaving the noisy crowd behind, Min Soyeon and I stayed to settle the bet.
Tap— Tap—
She tapped the desk, deep in thought as she considered her wish. The occasional predatory glances she sent my way made me tense. I tried to gently persuade her.
“Sh-should we head home first? We can decide later…”
“…Shut it. I’m deciding right now.”
I flinched at the harsh words I hadn’t heard in a while. As I waited nervously for what wish would come flying at me—
Tap!
Soyeon slammed the desk hard and glared at me.
And then—
“…Let’s go on a trip togeth—”
Just as her wish was about to leave her lips—
“Yu Jihwan?”
…Yes? Someone was calling me.
Left alone in the classroom, I nervously tapped my foot while waiting for Jihwan.
“…It really pisses me off…”
The student council girls had suddenly shown up, claiming it was urgent, and dragged him away. Of course, that didn’t mean I had lost my chance to state my wish, but…
“…Huu…”
My mood was terrible. Absolutely terrible!
Thud!
I kicked the desk in frustration and pulled out my phone to kill time. I needed to find a travel spot with as few people as possible—somewhere he couldn’t escape from.
But…
Purchase now and get 1+1 FREE!!!!
Love Potion 55, Aphrodisiac 25, Ovulation Inducer 10, Male Contraceptive 40
“…What the hell is this?”
I sighed at the ridiculous message, replied with Get lost, and immediately deleted it.
As someone who already possessed the Message, I had no reason to use any of these things.