Chapter 32: He Was Like a Viper.
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 32: He Was Like a Viper.
I’m taking a total of seven subjects this semester.
Twenty-one credits in all.
One of them is an online course.
I managed to juggle the remaining six to keep my Tuesdays completely free.
I thought I’d put together a pretty satisfying schedule. I was even prepared for the fact that I wouldn't have any acquaintances in my classes. I was used to being on my own, so it didn't matter.
Of course, now that I was taking general education courses with Miju and Ye-seul, the days of being a lonely loner were already behind me.
Well, it wasn't bad.
I realized a bit late that having people you know at school is actually better than wandering around solo.
The problem was...
"Hehe, we’re in this class together too."
I didn't expect to have another class with Miju.
Out of the six classes I was taking, we shared two.
"You're taking this too?"
"Yes."
"You weren't here last week."
She definitely hadn't been there for the first lecture.
"I had some personal business to attend to then."
"But aren't you a freshman? Is it okay for you to take this?"
This was a sophomore-level course. A freshman taking this...
Of course, I wasn't exactly normal for taking it as a junior either, but I’d forgotten everything during my two years of military service, so I had no choice.
"That's right!"
"Then why this class?"
"I already understood everything in the freshman curriculum. That's why."
"Is that even possible?"
In all my time in university, I had never once experienced "understanding" a lecture. Understanding? What kind of alien language was that?
"I'm so lucky. I get to take the same class as you, Oppa."
"I guess so."
I wasn't sure if it was really luck or if it was intentional.
Miju sat down right next to me. Naturally closing the distance seemed to be her way of showing friendliness. Thanks to that, the gazes of countless underclassmen in the lecture hall were pinned on me.
Anger, jealousy, annoyance.
Their stares actually felt painful. Ouch.
As I turned my head, I locked eyes with one of the juniors.
"Grrr..."
His eyes were bloodshot, and he was glaring at me while gritting his teeth. Even though our eyes met, he had no intention of looking away.
Look at this guy.
How arrogant.
I considered saying something but kept my mouth shut. This wasn't the army, and he was a junior, not a subordinate.
Right. Let's just let it slide.
In times like this, staying calm is the real win. He was probably one of the guys in the department who liked Miju. It seemed like he was jealous just because I was sitting with her.
Well, I wasn't the type to go looking for a fight, so I just ignored him.
Just then, the professor arrived. The boring lecture was about to begin.
"Now... today's lesson is..."
The professor's slow, dragging drawl made me sleepy almost immediately. My head felt dizzy.
As I was trying to focus on the class, the corner of a notebook entered my field of vision.
- Isn't this class boring?
The neat, cute handwriting in red pen caught my eye. When I turned my head at the sudden intrusion of the notebook, Miju was looking at me with a refreshing smile.
- Focus on the lecture.
I quickly scribbled back.
As a returning student and a junior, every single point was precious to me. It was already obvious the professor would grade me harshly just for being a third-year, so I had to work even harder.
I really tried to focus on the class, but...
"Hmph..."
I heard a small mumble from beside me.
Miju puffed out her cheeks and stared at the blackboard with a pouty face. Anyone could see she was sulking. Even though I tried to focus, I couldn't help but be distracted by her expression.
- Are you sulking?
I wrote in my notebook.
- No. I'm not sulking.
Then she drew a picture of a cute lion with furrowed brows. It was an angry face, no matter how you looked at it.
- Are you sulking because I won't talk to you?
- No. I'm not. And that's not why I'm upset anyway.
Then she whipped her head away. She looked exactly like someone who was sulking, but whatever.
After a moment of thought, I wrote again.
- We have to focus on studying. We can talk during the break.
- The whole point is the thrill of talking secretly during class.
For someone who claimed to be sulking, she was replying to everything I wrote.
- You need to get good grades.
- It's fine. If there's something I don't understand, we can just study together.
- Where?
- We can go to the library or rent a study room. If there's no space, we can even do it at your place, Oppa.
Perhaps because we had started a conversation, her sulky expression softened a bit. Then, Miju wrote again.
- Since we're in the same class, I wanted to ask. Ye-seul said her PT session with you yesterday was really good. What did you guys do?
- PT?
What did we do?
We exercised naked, I teased her with a rotor, and I watched her climax...
I couldn't possibly tell that to Miju, who was looking at me with such pure eyes.
- Just squats and some lower body stuff...
- She said you used equipment?
I couldn't bring myself to answer and just stared straight ahead. I couldn't answer this. We weren't even at the gym...
Miju grabbed my shoulder and shook it.
"Come on. Tell me."
She whispered in a voice that was barely audible.
How could I tell her? That I told her the rotor was a chest-building device while I used it to tickle her? I couldn't open my mouth.
- Tell me.
She was so persistent she even shoved the notebook, where she'd written the words in large letters, toward me. I was wide awake now.
- I'll show you next time you come to the gym. It's no fun if you know in advance, right?
Only then did Miju calm down. Thanks to her, I didn't fall asleep during the lecture. Should I be grateful?
*
"Oppa, do you want to grab lunch together?"
At Miju's question, the two of us headed to the school cafeteria for the first time in a while.
It was the same as ever. It always looked the same and smelled the same. I remembered the pork cutlet being the best thing on the menu.
"The pork cutlet here is the best."
It seemed even that hadn't changed. We were standing in line to choose our food when...
"Hey, isn't that Miju?"
A man called out to Miju as if he knew her. He was a very clean-cut man wearing glasses and a neatly styled shirt. His long, narrow eyes made him look like he was smiling even when he was just standing there.
A student council president?
Judging by his face and attire, even if he wasn't the president, you could guess he held some important position. He took a step closer with a smile. He looked like the kind of man who would be liked by everyone.
Beside him was a large, bald guy wearing tight-fitting clothes.
However, as soon as Miju saw the man, her face contorted. It was on a completely different level from the pout she’d shown me in class. It was a look of pure disgust. Even seeing a cockroach in the living room wouldn't elicit such an expression.
For the usually bright and smiling Miju to look like that... and toward a man who didn't even look threatening, but rather pleasant.
What on earth had happened?
"Get lost. I don't want to see your face."
"Miju, it hurts my feelings when you say that. It's not like we ended on bad terms."
"We never even started anything in the first place."
"Really? Did I understand things differently?"
"Stop it. I don't want to be involved with you. I clearly said I didn't like you, and I never had any intention of dating you."
"Why are you being like this? You're making me out to be the bad guy."
The man took another step forward. Miju took a step back. I sensed that there was something between them.
"Could you stop?"
"Excuse me?"
"She clearly doesn't like it. I'm telling you to stop."
"Haha, are you... her boyfriend?"
The man looked at me. As I met his gaze through his lensless glasses, I felt an inexplicable chill. A shudder ran down my spine, and I unconsciously knit my brows.
A viper.
He had the eyes of a viper.
I had seen eyes like that once before. A damn squad leader in the army who was called a son of a bitch by all the subordinates. Strangely, he was popular with the officers and seniors, but he treated his subordinates horribly.
This guy had the exact same eyes. And people like this...
"That's right."
If you don't shake them off decisively, they'll cling to you relentlessly.
"Is that so?"
The guy tilted his head, looking back and forth between Miju and me.
"That's unexpected. You don't suit each other at all."
Hearing that, I wrapped my arm around Miju's shoulder. Miju didn't reject my hand. Instead, she leaned her face against my shoulder as if she had been waiting for it. It was a bit awkward, but it seemed like a convincing enough act.
"I don't think that's any of your business."
"Well, I suppose not."
The man laughed. But his eyes weren't laughing. Because they were narrow, it looked like he was smiling at a glance, but looking deeper, his pupils were wide and glaring at me.
"I see. You're an ill-matched pair, but if that's what you two say, I should back off."
Even after saying that, he didn't leave for a while.
"See you later. It might be fun for us couples to meet up sometime."
"I don't think that will be happening."
"Hehe, you never know. Kang-jun, let's go."
The man left. The big guy standing next to him looked at me for a moment.
"Do you... work out?"
He suddenly blurted out the question. I didn't know what he meant, but I nodded in affirmation.
"I see."
Then he followed the man.
It seemed like eating at the cafeteria was out of the question. I led Miju, who was trembling with anxiety, outside. For her sake, we couldn't stay here long.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes. I'm sorry. Because of me..."
"I'll hear the details later. Let's just calm down for now."
I needed to get her a warm drink first.
After some time had passed and she had calmed her anxious heart with some warm tea, Miju slowly began to speak.
"He's a senior from another department I took a class with during my first semester. We just ate together once because of a group project, but he started acting like I was his girlfriend, so I distanced myself from him."
"What's his name?"
"Ju Yeon-seok."
Ju Yeon-seok. I’d have to remember that.
"And the big guy next to him?"
"That's Gu Gang-jun. He's always following Ju Yeon-seok around."
"I see. We should avoid the cafeteria for a while."
He was trying to take advantage of Miju's friendly nature. He thought he could get what he wanted from her.
But...
It's creepy.
He was the kind of man who made you angry just by locking eyes with him. His first impression was good because of his smiling face, though. What kind of person was he?
I shook my shoulders, trying to brush off the lingering unease.
"I told him I didn't like him so many times, but he kept hitting on me until Ye-seul got rid of him."
"Ye-seul did?"
"Yes. Ye-seul's parents work in the police force."
"Ah."
"That's why he couldn't mess with me. But now that Ye-seul isn't around, he's hitting on me again."
Miju let out a sigh.
"I'm sorry. And thank you. For protecting me..."
"I'm sorry for pretending to be your boyfriend without asking. I just didn't think he'd leave otherwise."
"It's okay. Thanks to that, that man backed off, so it's a good thing."
Miju looked at me and smiled. Why did that bright smile seem so sad today?