Betrayal (4)
In a small one-room apartment in Seoul. Click— tap tap— click—
Sitting in front of an old desk, the man named Jo Janghak had his tired eyes gleaming as he fiddled with his laptop.
[Kim Hongseo (3) Dating Kang Juho, Not Sent 010-...]
[Gong Haeseon (1) One-sided Crush on Yu Jihwan, Sent 010-...]
[★Min Soyeon (1) One-sided Crush on Yu Jihwan, Sent, X, 010-...]
[Yoon Hojae (2) One-sided Crush on Han Gakyung, Sent 010-...]
His gaze lingered on the male student who was receiving the affection of both ‘Min Soyeon’ and ‘Gong Haeseon’—names he had marked as high priority.
“...Hya, lucky bastard...”
Jo Janghak let out a deep, envious sigh and resumed searching for new targets to send recruitment messages to.
Click— click—
The mission Jo Janghak had received from the Salvation Sect was to spread drugs throughout the Academy. Whether it succeeded or failed, the goal was simply to tarnish the Academy’s reputation, so there was no real need to be this diligent about it.
But on the day he received the assignment, Jo Janghak had thought to himself that this might be his last chance to climb out of the bottom rung of society and into the upper class.
That was why he threw himself into the task with such desperate tenacity.
“Sigh… A teacher? Messing with the teaching staff seems pretty risky…”
While Jo Janghak was racking his brain and checking prospective customer information, his burner phone vibrated.
“Hm?”
[010-4444…]
An unsaved number. Realizing he had never contacted this one before, Jo Janghak searched the ledger that contained every student’s phone number.
And there it was.
[Yu Jihwan (1) No Information, Not Sent, 010-4444…]
Yu Jihwan’s entry appeared.
“Huh?”
Yu Jihwan had been removed from the customer list because he didn’t meet the criteria. Jo Janghak looked puzzled as he opened the message.
“Hmm…”
An inquiry he hadn’t expected. After a moment of hesitation, Jo Janghak decided to test the waters and sent a reply.
*
On the way to Soyeon’s house.
Using the number I had received from Gong Haeseon to dig up information on the culprit, I slowly turned the situation over in my mind as I read the quick reply.
Did they really not know who had given me the contact, or were they pretending not to know in order to confirm it?
“...”
After thinking for a moment, I decided to probe a little and sent another message to the culprit.
A short while later, the reply came back.
The culprit had blatantly mentioned both Min Soyeon and Gong Haeseon.
“...”
The moment I saw the message on my screen, my expression hardened.
This…
By naming Min Soyeon and Gong Haeseon so precisely, the sender was clearly telling me they knew exactly who I was.
Just as Yoon Hojae had said, if the culprit had only sent messages to specific students, they would need to have complete information on all of them. Whether intentionally or not, the person had just proven that by sending me this message.
But there were far too many Academy students for anyone to know all their personal details. That meant the culprit had easy access to the Academy’s internal database and was almost certainly an insider.
No matter how I looked at it, the other party had to be a current teacher at the Academy. Without that level of clearance, accessing the internal database would be impossible.
Why would a teacher working at the Academy be peddling drugs like this?
“...”
Assuming the other person was an Academy instructor, I pretended to know nothing and sent a cautious reply.
The response came back immediately.
“Hmm…”
I fell into deep thought again as I read the reply.
The other person clearly knew who I was. So why were they so insistent on knowing the target?
What if I picked one of the two names and then used the drug on a completely different person? Or maybe…
At that moment, a bad feeling flashed through my mind.
“No way…”
What if they were planning to use my personal information to blackmail me?
…Insane.
It was the most chilling possibility, but also the most plausible. The other party had openly revealed that they knew about me. This was clearly an attempt to establish psychological dominance and add weight to any future threats.
I had thought it was strangely sloppy of them to reveal they were an insider so carelessly, but I never imagined they were playing this kind of game.
So that’s how it is, huh?
I quickly sent the message to the culprit and waited for a reply. They seemed to be thinking it over and didn’t respond right away. By the time I had almost reached Soyeon’s house, the reply finally arrived.
Got them!
After securing the deal with the culprit, I was reading through the long explanatory message that followed when—
Vrrr—
Another message arrived from someone else.
“...Huh?”
It was from Min Soyeon.
…Was I too late?
I thought she had sent a message urging me to come quickly, so I hurriedly checked it.
But what I found was the exact opposite of what I expected.
*
While I sat on the bench in the changing room, slowly changing my clothes—
Vrrrr— Vrrrr—
The phone I had left in my locker started ringing.
I instinctively realized it was Yu Jihwan calling. Without thinking, I reached toward the locker, but—
“...Ugh.”
I froze as I suddenly remembered my promise to Mom.
Vrrrr— Vrr…
The vibration eventually stopped, and a heavy silence settled over the changing room.
“...Haah…”
In exchange for helping me, Mom had set several conditions. One of them was that on days I finished training early, I wasn’t allowed to meet Jihwan.
When I asked why it had to be that strict, Mom said it was because Jihwan was too affectionate. Ironically, the moment I heard that, I immediately understood her intention.
Jihwan has a strong tendency to be overprotective of me. Even if I hadn’t completed my training properly, he would still embrace me, and I would definitely cling to him. Mom was probably worried about exactly that.
I accepted her condition, thinking it was reasonable enough, and began the training.
I threw myself into it with the determination to succeed no matter what, but Mom’s training was beyond anything I had imagined.
In the end, I wouldn’t be able to see Jihwan today.
“...Damn it…”
Of course, I could always meet Jihwan behind Mom’s back. It wouldn’t be difficult, and I wouldn’t even feel guilty. There’s nothing wrong with seeing my own man!
But… I decided not to.
I need to become stronger so I can protect Jihwan. Jihwan protects me, and I protect Jihwan. Isn’t that what makes us the best partners?
Until I become someone worthy of standing beside him, I plan to quietly follow Mom’s instructions.
…Even so…
“......”
Just thinking about eating dinner all alone made something in my chest ache dully.
*
That evening.
After leaving Soyeon’s house and returning to my wife’s place, I found her in the master bedroom changing out of her work clothes.
Hm? She must have just gotten home.
“You’re back late. Must have been a tough day.”
I greeted her without thinking and stepped into the room. She glanced at me, then turned to show me her back.
“...You’re home? While you’re here, can you undo this for me?”
She seemed to want me to unhook her bra.
“Ah, sure.”
I set my things down, walked over to her, and reached out.
Click—
The tightly fastened buckle came undone. She thanked me and slowly slipped off her clothes. As I followed her lead and began undressing as well, I casually brought up what had been on my mind.
“...Hey. Soyeon suddenly told me not to come over today…”
She paused mid-motion, spun around gracefully, and answered as if it were no big deal.
“...I told her to say that.”
“What?”
An unexpected confession from my wife. When I asked what she meant, flustered, she wiggled her toes wrapped in stockings and explained.
“...Soyeon said she wants to get stronger, so I decided to help her. As her mother, that’s the least I can do, right?”
“No, what does that have to do with telling her not to see me?”
She leaned back as if stretching, striking a deliberately provocative pose, and continued speaking slowly.
“...Soyeon needs some time to herself, doesn’t she?”
My eyes were inadvertently drawn to her pale, smooth figure. I quickly snapped out of it, turning my gaze away sharply.
It was good that Soyeon was growing. And since my wife knew her better than I did, it seemed like a valuable opportunity.
Having settled the matter about Soyeon for now, I brought up the student council and asked, almost accusingly, why she had done it.
“Are you telling me to join the student council or something? I’m helping with this incident because I have no choice, but please don’t make me do things like this anymore.”
She swept her long hair back and looked at me with an innocent expression, instead asking in return.
“...I’m not sure what you mean?”
She was trying to brush it off again.
…Sigh…
I stood there with my arms crossed, staring at her with clear displeasure. She stretched her legs out and spoke in a slightly coquettish tone.
“...I’m so tired. Won’t you take these off for me?”
“...Take them off yourself.”
When I firmly refused in defiance, she suddenly ripped her stockings with a loud rip— and teased me again, looking adorable as she did so.
“...It’s fine if they tear, you know?”
“...Haah… Seriously…”
Sighing, I walked over to her, lifted her up, and carried her toward the bed. The sight of her smiling with satisfaction in my arms made me completely forget every worry I had been carrying.
All I could see was my wife’s body.