Chapter 57
From the moment I was assigned to the same group as Ryu Chae-eun and received a message from Jeong Jaeha, I had suspected that something like this might be waiting for me.
Whether it was the world's causality or the butterfly effect caused by my actions over the past year, I had been getting entangled with the heroines unusually often this year.
Perhaps there was a reason Ryu Chae-eun had been assigned to the same Group 15 as me, too.
In fact, it only took a few days of listening to Jeong Jaeha before I realized that my guess had been correct.
“Oh……. That’s quite a novel story.”
“……”
“How about you tell me that again, big bro?”
After going with Jeong Jaeha to the front of the women's dormitory and calling for Ryu Chae-eun, I realized that my guess had not been one hundred percent certain after all.
For starters, I had been right about Jeong Jaeha asking me for a similar netorase arrangement for reasons different from Lee Hyeonseong's.
“W-wait a second. Calm down and listen to me, Chae-eun. I’m doing all this for your sake……”
“Ahaha, oppa. What are you talking about? I told you. I’ll listen, so explain it again.”
“……”
“There, I gave you another chance. Now tell me slowly, so I can understand. Read the room, do it well, and explain it properly.”
Who would have thought that Ryu Chae-eun, after coming out of the dormitory building like that, would immediately grab Jeong Jaeha by the collar?
In any case, even I had not anticipated this development. I looked at Jeong Jaeha anew, as though he were a lunatic.
“H-Han Taeyang……”
Jeong Jaeha also sent me an imploring look, asking for covering fire with his eyes.
Of course, I had already taken a clean step back the moment Ryu Chae-eun grabbed him by the collar.
‘His own karma, I suppose.’
Though I was a blond, tanned delinquent who did not pay much attention to other people's opinions, that did not mean I lacked even the most basic sense of tact.
What good could come from recklessly interfering in someone else's romantic affairs? An argument was even more off-limits.
I merely shrugged and ignored Jeong Jaeha's plea for help, leaving him looking at me with an expression of betrayal.
“What are you looking at? Oppa. You should focus on the conversation.”
“W-wait……”
That lasted only a moment. Soon, Ryu Chae-eun began pressing Jeong Jaeha with an even more ominous smile.
He no longer had time to pay attention to me and had to devote himself entirely to dealing with his girlfriend.
To repeat, I simply watched the argument quietly from a step removed.
An incredulous snicker formed at the corner of my mouth.
‘I can’t believe you never even discussed this with the person involved.’
After briefly condensing my conversation with him and relaying it to Ryu Chae-eun, the circumstances were obvious from the state Jeong Jaeha was in.
I had naturally assumed this was something the two of them had discussed beforehand, but in reality, Jeong Jaeha had simply acted on his own first.
Ryu Chae-eun, who had apparently been recommended a new bed partner(?) by her own boyfriend, seemed to be hearing about it for the first time and was visibly furious.
I clicked my tongue and rubbed the stiff back of my neck.
‘Does this mean we’re back to square one?’
After sleeping with Baek Seol-ah last weekend, I had not been able to relieve my urges separately, so I had been feeling a little pent-up.
Personally, even if it was not Ryu Chae-eun, I had been hoping to spend some time rolling around with a girl before long.
That was why, after hearing Jeong Jaeha's proposal, I had thought it worked out perfectly.
This excessively energetic body……. Along with the advantage of being extremely healthy, it also had the disadvantage of requiring frequent relief for its urges.
At least lately, the presence of Baek Seol-ah and Seo Ahyun had made it less common for me to feel dissatisfied.
But as I watched Jeong Jaeha still floundering while Ryu Chae-eun held him by the collar, I found myself increasingly convinced that today was a bust.
As far as I knew, Ryu Chae-eun held the upper hand in their relationship.
Just as I began worrying that if I stayed any longer, her anger might spill over onto me as well.
“Ryu Chae-eun! Listen to me!”
“……”
Suddenly, perhaps because Jeong Jaeha had made up his mind, he raised his voice and firmly seized her by the shoulders.
Ryu Chae-eun stopped short, her eyes widening at the rather forceful restraint.
“O-oppa……”
Perhaps because her boyfriend rarely came on this strongly.
She shrank back somewhat, looking quite flustered.
Then Jeong Jaeha let out a deep sigh and continued speaking softly, as though soothing Ryu Chae-eun.
“Chae-eun. You said it yourself last time. Since I always get tired so quickly, your dissatisfaction keeps piling up because you can’t be properly satisfied. Right?”
“……No, that’s……”
“And you called me pathetic, saying that if things continued like this, you might end up going to another man without even realizing it?”
From the sidelines, I watched the couple's argument like an audience member and let out a brief exclamation of admiration.
The atmosphere and dynamic had reversed in an instant, and a behind-the-scenes story was being revealed through Jeong Jaeha's mouth.
It was an unexpectedly fascinating and somehow impressive bit of private information.
Had Ryu Chae-eun really said something like that to her boyfriend in bed?
For a moment, I felt sorry for Jeong Jaeha. Ryu Chae-eun seemed to realize it as well, because she flinched at his self-destructive revelation and subtly averted her gaze.
“……That time, I didn’t mean it. I-I told you. I only brought it up to provoke you because you always finish so quickly. I never meant to hurt you. I definitely apologized properly, too……”
A faint sense of guilt colored Ryu Chae-eun's pale green eyes as she drawled out the end of her words in a hazy voice.
She seemed to think she had been too harsh at the time, because she timidly gauged Jeong Jaeha's reaction.
“I’m not angry. I’m not, so listen to me. This is something I’ve thought about a lot before bringing it up, you know?”
Jeong Jaeha looked directly at Ryu Chae-eun with a serious expression and a genuinely untroubled gaze.
The guy matched his girlfriend's eye level and offered her a gentle smile befitting an older boyfriend.
“This is because I’m inadequate and can’t satisfy you. If that’s the case, then I should bear the consequences too. You can be comfortable about it, Chae-eun.”
“……”
“If you don’t want to, then it can’t be helped. But if you’re even a little willing, it’s okay to sleep with Han Taeyang. We’re only taking care of your sexual urges, so what’s the problem?”
“Oppa……”
In short, that was Jeong Jaeha's logic. Even if things were fine for now, if this situation kept repeating, this unresolved pressure might eventually explode.
And rather than ending with Ryu Chae-eun giving up her romantic feelings or simply cheating without saying a word, this would let both of them feel reassured.
It was a fairly radical argument, but the logic itself did not have any particularly glaring flaws.
His feelings for Ryu Chae-eun were also plainly apparent from Jeong Jaeha's attitude……
In the end, after his calm and serious persuasion, Ryu Chae-eun gradually began to look shaken.
Her eyes trembled faintly, and her lips parted several times, but she ultimately could not bring herself to speak.
A hint that she was secretly tempted by Jeong Jaeha's words subtly bloomed across her expression.
Watching her reaction closely, I was reminded anew that her sex drive really was that strong.
Depending on the person, anyone who did not place much value on sexual desire would have rejected Jeong Jaeha's proposal outright, regardless of the reason.
Ryu Chae-eun could not do that. Despite being torn by an obvious conflict, she could not flatly reject it.
Both Jeong Jaeha and I had noticed that reaction. Soon, Jeong Jaeha swallowed dryly and drove the point home.
“……I can’t tell you the details, Chae-eun, but Han Taeyang is more trustworthy than you might think. Sure, he’s a delinquent who goes around sleeping with women, but he’s the sort of guy who keeps secrets.”
How hurtful. Especially to the ‘delinquent who goes around sleeping with women’ standing right beside him and hearing every word.
I let out a quiet laugh, passed Jeong Jaeha, and gestured toward Ryu Chae-eun. As it happened, she also glanced at me after hearing her boyfriend's words.
“……Ah.”
And for some reason, a conflict of an entirely different nature suddenly appeared in her eyes.
Soon, Ryu Chae-eun hurriedly turned to Jeong Jaeha and tried to say something.
“Wait a second, oppa. That, Taeyang oppa is──.”
“Then, Han Taeyang, please take good care of our Chae-eun. You know I’m trusting you with her, right?”
Jeong Jaeha was still resting a hand on her shoulder as he spoke cautiously to me.
Though he did not particularly like me personally, he appeared to trust me completely when it came to this matter.
I had to admit, that attitude was rather refreshing.
Who would have thought the day would come when the male protagonist from the original story, whose dislike of me I had deliberately cultivated for an entire year, would place this kind of trust in me……
‘……Hmm.’
Meanwhile, the precariously trembling eyes of the original story's third heroine held a strange sense of dismay.
I briefly scanned Ryu Chae-eun's unclear reaction, then calmly nodded.
“Yeah, whatever. I only need to satisfy my own urges. You don’t have to worry about rumors spreading. And naturally, I won’t treat Ryu Chae-eun badly, either.”
“Oh, thanks. I’ll trust you.”
At last, Jeong Jaeha wore the expression of a sage who had set down all his worries, then turned to Ryu Chae-eun and stroked her head.
“Enjoy yourself, Chae-eun. Don’t come back sexually frustrated just because you were worrying about me, okay?”
“……Ah, um.”
After lightly kissing Ryu Chae-eun on the cheek, he left looking thoroughly refreshed, without a shred of concern.
He had probably been carrying a great deal of guilt over being unable to satisfy her until now.
Then again, perhaps on the other hand……. Maybe he had suffered quite a lot from being squeezed dry all this time?
It was either one or the other, or perhaps both. Personally, it seemed closer to the latter.
In any case, with Jeong Jaeha gone, only Ryu Chae-eun and I remained in front of the dormitory building.
“……”
“……”
Ryu Chae-eun kept glancing at me awkwardly, then turning her gaze away again.
Compared with me, who stood there perfectly calmly, she repeatedly looked far more anxious and conflicted.
Was this emotional instability?
‘Well, whatever. It looks like we’ve reached an agreement for now…….’
I glanced at the scarlet sky as the sun slowly began to set, then turned openly toward Ryu Chae-eun.
Ryu Chae-eun flinched under my direct gaze and made a subtle expression.
“……W-what is it?”
“No, just.”
Then, without the slightest hesitation, I took one large step toward her and reached out.
Toward the pale green hair that had been stroked by her boyfriend only a moment earlier.
Ryu Chae-eun narrowed her eyes and glared at me as though she disliked my mischievous touch, while I snickered and continued speaking.
“Why are you being so uncharacteristically quiet? You’re normally such a chatty little brat that you’d have already rattled off fifteen lines in machine-gun fashion.”
“……I’m not a little brat, okay? I’m a second-year too, just like you, Taeyang oppa.”
That drew an automatic, sharp rebuttal from her.
I openly laughed at her and threw her words right back.
“You’re a little brat in my eyes. If that bothers you, grow another ten centimeters and come back, little Chae-eun.”
“Ah, damn it, seriously……! I’m already so confused I could die, so are you going to keep annoying me?!”
“Yeah, I am. It’s fun.”
“Eek. Ah, wait……! Stop!”
After that, I even used both hands to mess up her hair, and Ryu Chae-eun looked ready to die of happiness.
As soon as it looked as though even her carefully cherished twin tails were going to be ruined, she started throwing a fit.
She let out a ‘Kyaaak!’ and slapped my hand away, hissing like a cat.
Then she glared at me with an expression showing that her irritation had reached its limit and issued a threat.
“Even now, oppa─. Go to Jaeha oppa and tell him the truth. You don’t actually have the confidence or ability to do anything like that, sexual relief or otherwise……. Let’s pretend this never happened.”
“?”
From my perspective, that was quite sudden and utterly out of left field.
I could only blink with a blank expression for a moment.
But no matter how I reacted, Ryu Chae-eun clicked her tongue and looked at me rudely, as though she were completely certain of her own interpretation.
“I was really trying not to say this. I know your secret, Taeyang oppa. Why don’t you honestly give up while you still can?”
“……What? What secret?”
“Hah, you’re going to keep denying it even after coming this far? It’ll all come out soon enough when you go with me anyway.”
“……?”
About four or five genuine question marks seemed to rise above my head.
In other words, my brain had completely shut down.
‘What is she suddenly talking about?’
Unfortunately for Ryu Chae-eun, the reaction I was showing was not an attempt to deny it.
Wasn’t that obvious? I did not even understand what she was talking about.
When had I acquired some secret I did not even know about? Even after seriously thinking it over, I could not come up with anything.
I openly tilted my head, and Ryu Chae-eun let out a hollow laugh as though my reaction itself were absurd before turning away.
“No, seriously. So this is how you’re going to act……? Are you really going to make your younger female friend expose your own shame for you? This oppa is quite the pervert too.”
“……Um, Ryu Chae-eun? I’m asking because I genuinely have no idea what you’re talking about, but aren’t you jumping to the wrong conclusion again like you always do?”
“What are you talking about, Taeyang oppa? When have I ever jumped to the wrong conclusion?”
At some point, our conversation had stopped lining up in the slightest.
We were both racing along parallel lines without understanding what the other person was saying.
And of the two of us, I was at least somewhat closer to the truth of this parallel-line race.
I was so genuinely dumbfounded that I let out a hollow laugh, and then Ryu Chae-eun brushed her pale green hair back with the back of her hand and spoke proudly.
“Since you’re being this shameless, I can’t help it. You’re the one who threw away your last chance to preserve your dignity.”
Ryu Chae-eun jabbed a finger at me with a ‘There!’
She seemed to feel a kind of catharsis at finally being able to open the mouth she had kept itching to use all this time, and she spoke with an extremely excited expression.
“Taeyang oppa, you’re actually pathetic as a man, aren’t you? Be honest. You’re really a dateless virgin who’s never properly slept with a woman!”
“……”
So.
Yeah.
From my perspective, she had offered an ingenious viewpoint that I had genuinely never once considered.
I entered a stunned state for an instant, my head going blank as my mouth fell open.
And Ryu Chae-eun continued speaking with the same confident attitude, thrusting out her ample chest.
“Maybe you managed to fool Jaeha oppa and the others, but I’m not that easy to deceive. I know everything. I know how pathetic you are, Taeyang oppa.”
“……Hmm. So you’re saying I’m a virgin loser with no experience with women?”
“Yes! Exactly. Jaeha oppa must have gone through all that trouble thinking you could solve my sexual frustration……. But the premise itself was wrong from the start.”
Shake, shake-
Ryu Chae-eun shook her head with an extremely brazen expression and a mocking smile.
She seemed to feel terribly sorry for her boyfriend, who had reached such a misguided conclusion.
Then she looked at me with a pitiful, sympathetic gaze and held out her hand.
“Here, if you’re too embarrassed to say it now, I’ll help you. I’ll go with you and explain everything, so let’s correct your mistakes while we still can. You can build up dating experience one step at a time.”
“……”
“I know that you’re actually a pretty decent person, Taeyang oppa. If you really need it, I’ll even introduce you to a few first-year girls who are my age, okay? Come on, summon some courage, Mr. Han Taeyang.”
I stared down at the slender hand Ryu Chae-eun had held out in front of me.
There was no doubt that my expression at that moment had gone completely cold.
‘……So that’s what this was.’
In that state, I realized the reason behind the strangely meaningful attitudes Ryu Chae-eun had shown me until now, as well as the reasons our conversations had occasionally failed to line up.
It was a truth I had not particularly wanted to know. When something was too absurd, a person could not even manage a hollow laugh and instead became this hopelessly empty.
So I simply met Ryu Chae-eun's eyes with a listless expression and brought up something else.
“Hey, Ryu Chae-eun.”
“Yes?”
“What if I’m not a virgin loser like you say? It’s awkward to say this myself, but what if I really have plenty of experience, just like the rumors around campus claim?”
“……”
Ryu Chae-eun tilted her head as though the question were genuinely difficult to understand.
With that brief gesture alone, she managed to infuriate me wonderfully before answering in puzzlement.
“Do we really need to assume something that’s impossible……? I honestly don’t understand.”
“……”
“Taeyang oppa. You don’t need to be so defensive of your pride. I understand everything, okay?”
Then she looked at me with a benevolent smile, as though she were some kind of saint.
Her expression seemed to say that, as a close younger friend, she would embrace all those secrets and shame for me.
‘This damn little brat.’
I could state it with certainty. Just as I had once jokingly thought, if Baek Seol-ah was a genius at making a man’s dick angry─.
Then the pale green-haired little brat standing before me was simply a genius at making men angry.
It was UFC, not WWE. By the time the corners of my mouth had begun to tremble and then convulse ominously.
“Well, if Taeyang oppa insists on keeping up the act to the very end, I can’t help it.”
Ryu Chae-eun placed her hands on her hips and spoke with her ever-confident smile.
“Let’s say, just hypothetically, that Taeyang oppa really is the womanizing playboy everyone says he is, a hyper-potent alpha male……?”
“……”
“Well, just this once. It won’t happen, of course, but if it does, I’ll simply become your sex slave. I’ll call you ‘Master, Master’ and everything.”
Apparently even she found it funny after saying it, because Ryu Chae-eun let out a snicker.
I calmly gazed at her with my blue eyes flat and cold.
*****
It happened approximately three hours later.
Room 504 of the women's dormitory. Ryu Chae-eun's private room.
“……Eut, huff, ngh. Hng.”
“……”
“Huu, ha, hhaa……?”
Having filled the bedroom, which had carried the pleasant scent unique to a girl's room, with the lewd scent of two naked bodies, I took a swig of bottled water and glanced back.
There, Ryu Chae-eun lay facedown on the bed in the nude, her raised hips repeatedly trembling.
I poured bottled water over the pale small of Ryu Chae-eun's back, where three or four condoms brimming with semen had been placed, and muttered indifferently.
“So what.”
“……Hng. W-wait, Taeyang, oppa.”
“If, as you said, I’m a virgin loser, then that makes you the virgin loser’s sex slave now, doesn’t it, Ryu Chae-eun?”
“W-water, it’s too cold……”
“Congratulations on becoming a slave. I’ll buy you a suitable collar and bring it over soon.”