Catfight
Catfight
It had been a dream-like day.
Though he was still ticking and hadn't chosen her yet, the man who had been reacting sharply as if facing an enemy forgot everything for this one day and enjoyed their date with a bright smile as if they were lovers, and at the end...
'It was such a sweet kiss.'
The beautiful sky dyed red by the setting sun and the warm kiss that took place beneath it.
Unlike the coercive kiss from before, this was a kiss that the man himself had opened his mouth to accept - sweeter and more thrilling than any fruit juice.
This soul-shattering kiss showed her, who had seen the world in black and white for 35 long years, a world more beautiful than a rainbow, and because of that...
'I hate this woman...!'
In a way, this current situation resulted from an impulsive choice that wasn't part of her original plan.
Kim Ye-rim.
An FPS game specialist streamer on her own company Paprika TV, simultaneously Kang Cheol's lover and her romantic rival.
Originally, Selena's plan was to drive a wedge between Kang Cheol and Kim Ye-rim, gradually creating distance between them, then comfort Kang Cheol's hurt and weary heart while slowly drawing the man into her embrace.
'But that opportunity came much faster than expected.'
Faster?
No, this was impulse.
'...You're disgusting.'
His expression as he accepted the kiss with feigned displeasure yet didn't seem to dislike it.
'Why are you suddenly saying that? Was the way you acted today all fake? ...You were so gentle. I genuinely thought well of you...'
Even his attitude just before getting on the elevator...
She couldn't wait any longer.
She wanted to take that lovely man into her arms right now...
That's why.
Even though she knew that with just a little more time, just a little more patience, they would break apart according to her plan, she had called Kim Ye-rim here for a direct confrontation.
"Was this why you told me to wait...? To show off that you and Oppa have that kind of relationship?!"
Looking at Kim Ye-rim screaming with red, bloodshot eyes, she thought.
What a foolish woman.
A woman much younger than her, with less experience, and abilities far inferior to her own.
Though her scheming had contributed, making that angelic man cry and being unable to control her emotions over that brief conversation with Kang Cheol, immediately resorting to shouting - it was truly disappointing.
'To think I felt jealous of such a pathetic woman.'
Kim Ye-rim in person, not on screen, was pathetic.
But at the same time...
'She suits him well.'
Ironically, even though she appeared immature and foolish - unable to control her emotions and immediately lashing out instead of maintaining a flawless composure - Kim Ye-rim's inherent bright energy that couldn't be hidden resembled that man's radiant light.
As if heaven itself had destined them to be paired together.
"Well, if I said that wasn't my intention, it would be a lie, wouldn't it?"
But what did that matter? That they suited each other?
That they looked like heaven-made lovers?
'Fuck all that...!'
This was the first light that had come to her in her life.
The first man she had ever fallen in love with.
Not because of her wealth or abilities.
As a woman to woman, she wanted to defeat Kim Ye-rim and win that man's heart.
Grind...!
At Selena's provocative answer, Kim Ye-rim gritted her teeth and glared sharply at her, resembling a cat growling and hissing as its prey was taken away.
"And what does that matter? Isn't it your fault for not protecting your man and hurting him? Hehe~"
Selena's expression as she condescendingly criticized before such a Kim Ye-rim resembled that of a noble lion.
"You're shameless? You threatened a vulnerable man and raped him by force, and now you're saying it's because I couldn't protect him?!"
"Threatened... Well, that's not wrong~ But since we're on the topic of threats, what do you think is the reason good things have been happening to you and your family recently?"
"...?"
What was she talking about now?
When confronted about threatening and raping Oppa by force, she brings up family matters?
"As expected, that good man didn't explain and kept it to himself. How pitiful... Despite saying he believed in his girlfriend and loved her, resisting all my temptations and threats to the end, you - knowing nothing - fell for my schemes and hurt the man who was sacrificing himself for you and your family."
"Wh-what are you talking about? Oppa was sacrificing himself for me and my family?!"
Was there more hidden truth beyond that conversation?
"How stupid. Do you think Kang Cheol, that man, would submit so easily? No. Even when his body was taken by force, he endured for your sake, and what made him yield was none other than threats related to you and your family!"
Though Kim Ye-rim was the angry one, somehow Selena seemed even more filled with rage as she spoke.
"That man who would endure even if I tormented him personally lost his composure at the offer of a partnership contract for your insignificant streaming, and when I said I'd increase work for your mother's company, he obediently came into my embrace..."
"Th-that's a lie..."
It had to be a lie.
That devilish woman's words had to be lies.
But the timing of her partnership contract and when she heard about increased work for her mother's company perfectly coincided with when the dating rumors between Kang Cheol and Selena Kim were resolved.
"That powerless, vulnerable man endured so much for you and your family, and you didn't even know, making tears appear in his eyes."
Throb!
It hurt.
While her lover had been fighting a difficult battle alone for her and her family, she didn't know and got angry, suspecting him of cheating, and even called him a slut - words that should never be said to a man.
"Why... why are you telling me this...? If what you say is true, even if you hadn't told me the truth, wouldn't you have taken Kang Cheol Oppa according to your plan anyway?"
Separate from her painful feelings, Kim Ye-rim found this puzzling.
If what this devilish woman said was true, it might take more time but eventually she and Kang Cheol would have gradually developed cracks and broken up according to her schemes.
In fact, Kang Cheol's attitude toward Selena had changed in a short time too.
Guilt toward Kang Cheol and gratitude that he had believed in her until the end.
Amidst these two contrasting emotions, with an expression that was neither smiling nor crying, Selena - who had been silently gazing at her expression - finally spoke.
"...Because I was jealous."
"Jealous...?"
As Kim Ye-rim frowned at this completely unexpected answer from Selena, the genuine emotion showed through the mask of pretense she had worn until now.
"Yes, I was jealous. I was jealous of you being able to make that expression even after hearing this devastating truth, and jealous of that man who chose you to the end even though you hurt him."
As Kim Ye-rim had questioned, Selena didn't need to personally initiate this conversation.
According to how Selena had lived until now, this was an impossible approach.
But this time, she didn't want to do that.
"I want to have that kind of relationship with him too... That's why, that's why I deliberately told you all the truth, Kim Ye-rim."
The formal speech that Selena had used with everyone except Kang Cheol had now become informal speech.
Meaning she was accepting her as an equal, and though Kim Ye-rim was young, as a proper adult who had served in the military, she understood the meaning of this informal address.
"So you're taking off your rank insignia and saying we should fight woman to woman over Kang Cheol Oppa?"
"Hehe~ Well, our levels are different, but that's the general idea, right?"
The cat and the lion glared at each other.
Until now, it had been a picture of the cat being unilaterally beaten by the lion, but now...
"Ah, right~! Now that I think about it, aren't you that?"
As if remembering something, Selena lightly clapped her hands and opened her mouth with a mischievous expression.
"That our Kang Cheol has a lewd body? Oops~ Thinking about it now, Ye-rim, you're bad at sex, aren't you?"
Twitch!
A vein appeared on her forehead in the shape of a cross, showing just how pissed she was.
"Wh-what are you talking about...? That I'm bad at sex...!"
She could accept anything else, but as a woman, she could never accept being told she was bad at sex.
"Oh my? According to Kang Cheol, sex was just painful for him? But how many times did that Kang Cheol reach climax in my embrace... Twice? No, exactly five times, wasn't it?"
This crazy bitch.
Spouting nonsense like that from the start?!
Twitch! Twitch! Twitch-twitch!
She had endured enough.
Ever since hearing that this woman had threatened and raped Oppa by force, she had wanted to smash her face to pulp.
The only reasons she hadn't done so until now were to hear about Oppa and because of Selena Kim's social status.
But now that she herself had suggested taking off rank insignia for a fair fight, there was no reason for me to hold back!
"...Drop dead! You crazy bitch~!!"
As Kang Cheol had described Kim Ye-rim multiple times.
True to her military hobbyist nature, Kim Ye-rim never neglected exercise, and those healthy muscles exploded as her fist swung toward Selena's face at incredible speed.
But...
"Too slow."
True to Selena who had once taken down a gang of thugs in one go, she didn't even blink at the fist swinging toward her face, lightly turning her head to dodge, then.
As Kim Ye-rim's missed punch left her defenseless, Selena swung her palm like slapping a cheek against Kim Ye-rim's ample chest.
Smack~!
"Kyaak?!"
Faced with that overwhelming combat power, Kim Ye-rim hugged her stinging chest and looked up at Selena with a bewildered expression.
"Why, why my chest of all places...?"
"Oops, I accidentally... I wondered if those insolent breasts were what bewitched Kang Cheol?"
For reference, Selena's chest wasn't particularly large...
Thus their first clash remained a complete victory for the lion.
"So... does it hurt a lot?"
"It hurts, you crazy bitch!"
For reference, a woman's chest is a vulnerable spot...