ASIAH 27

“Shut up, shut up!”

While Hyun Jaekyung was throwing a fit, Kim Sanna and Shin Yeonji briefly stepped out. Ha Wonjong dodged the lunging Hyun Jaekyung with annoying agility and continued his story.

“I never imagined someone I knew would have a threesome.”

“Ha Wonjong, tell him about that one, you know, the one about waking up in the hotel in the morning.”

Hearing Yeom Hyejin shout as she followed the other two out, I felt dazed for a moment. A threesome and ‘the one about waking up in the hotel in the morning’? It’s possible to feel this ominous about someone else’s story. For some reason, I felt like it would hit me too, but I had no choice but to listen.

“Right, that one was epic too. Back then… it was probably late February or early March… right after the semester started? We went to AA and paired up, and Hyun Jaekyung said he’d get a suite. He said we didn’t have to chip in, so I happily went along.”

“What? Ha Wonjong, you crazy bastard, what have you been blabbing about?”

“I didn’t spread it as a rumor, I only told Hyejin.”

“If that’s not spreading a rumor, then what is…”

Hyun Jaekyung, who had suddenly jumped in, seemed to resign himself after receiving the silent pressure not to interrupt. It was two against one, after all. The guy sat there blankly, his gaze fixed on my feet. I got self-conscious and checked, but thankfully, they were just plain, clean socks.

“But the bedroom there had a sliding door, so it wasn’t soundproofed from the sofa area. I was in the bedroom, and the moans from outside were… insane…”

Is this some kind of American drama? Forget teasing Hyun Jaekyung, I should have just gone to sleep. I really didn’t know where to put myself and wanted to stop listening.

But given their personalities, if I tried to leave now, they’d probably give me a nickname like ‘the virgin teacher from the traditional village’ and tease me with it. At every drinking gathering until graduation, at that. I thought I was the type who didn’t care what others thought, but sharing that kind of private information was a bit much.

“So I was just lying there, trying to sleep… when I suddenly jolted awake. You know what I mean, not waking up from a deep sleep or from being startled, but just waking up abruptly. I’d fallen asleep with my arm as a pillow for the girl, but when I woke up, no one was in the bed. And I was lying on my side, with my back to the other bed.”

Ah, fuck, don’t tell me.

“Live porn behind my back.”

…….

“At that moment, I wasn’t angry or anything, I was just impressed. I wondered how he had the energy to even touch the girl I came with.”

Aren’t they a little too careless with their stories? I feel like my own face is turning red. Hyun Jaekyung tried to cover my ears, then just lay down and pretended to be asleep.

“It was seriously no joke. Hearing her gasping for breath, I started getting a little turned on, too.”

“…If I’d known you were that turned on, I would’ve fucked you too.”

“Hyun Jaekyung isn’t asleep.”

All I could do was sigh. Hyun Jaekyung once again pretended to be uninterested, lying down long, propping his head up, and staring at the ceiling. Since Hyun Jaekyung wasn’t stopping him, Ha Wonjong continued his story cheerfully.

“We definitely came in as two couples, but the next day, both girls had their arms linked with Hyun Jaekyung. They were clinging to him, asking for his number, and I was so jealous of how he slipped away like a slippery eel.”

So that’s how it was.

I had wondered why he hung out with Hyun Jaekyung, who, despite being good bait for picking up girls, had a shitty side to him. He even looked down on Ha Wonjong a little. But now I see that desire and admiration for women was Ha Wonjong’s driving force…

And Hyun Jaekyung is really a total slut. A fact I already knew, a simple fact, became disgustingly depressing when accompanied by such a vivid example. Even though, normally, I wouldn’t give a damn how a guy who wouldn’t even speak to me would swing his dick around.

Ha Wonjong, seeing my lukewarm reaction to his story, poked Hyun Jaekyung.

“Any thoughts at this point? Don’t you have anything to say?”

“What is there to say?”

On top of that, images of Hyun Jaekyung doing… that sort of thing kept trying to pop into my head. Forgetting my decision not to do anything conspicuous, I stood up.

I heard someone say let’s play the King Game, so the girls must have returned from behind me. But everyone’s voices were hoarse and their bellies were full of booze, so they didn’t seem to have the energy for it. Hyun Jaekyung seemed a bit drunk, too. He was chugging water and whining about being full…

As I thought, there’s no one who can drink as much as me. This must be the loneliness of a king. The heating was too strong or something, because my chest felt stuffy and it felt like a fire was burning inside me. The cool air felt a little better. If I were a smoker, I would have probably smoked half a pack.

The morning star twinkled in the sky as dawn began to break.

Looking at it, I suddenly got angry at Hyun Jaekyung. For no reason at all, out of nowhere, I just got pissed off.

“Gasp.”

From behind me, a can of an ion drink was suddenly held out. And it was that niche drink that I like…! For a moment, I was reminded of someone on the basketball court, and my heart pounded fiercely.

“Drink some of this.”

“Kim Sanna.”

So it was Kim Sanna. No, it’s not like I was expecting anyone in particular. When I just stared blankly, Kim Sanna quickly explained.

“You always refused what Jaekyung offered you. So I didn’t know what you drink… I think I heard that drinking something like this after alcohol makes you even more drunk. Ah, would plain water have been better?”

“Is this for me?”

“As a thank you.”

“I have a high tolerance, so I’m fine. Thanks.”

…Since I had told Hyun Jaekyung that I liked this specific drink, I naturally thought for a second it might be him. Of course, a single can of a drink wouldn’t be enough to ever repair my hurt feelings toward that guy.

Most importantly, that casanova bastard wouldn’t try to take care of me right now…

Even though my stomach was bloated with alcohol, since it was my favorite drink, half of it went down easily. I felt bad that Kim Sanna was empty-handed and thought about giving him the other half, but I felt like he might misunderstand. Would he think I was making a move with something like an indirect kiss? Even if not, it could seem like I was interested, so I’ll just drink it myself.

“Oh? Our first campus couple? Looks like the quiet cats are the first to get on the stove~?”

As soon as I heard the familiar voice, Kim Sanna scurried away. Feeling dazed, I turned around, and this time, it really was the slut’s appearance. I looked at the guy’s lower body, hands, and face in that order, then turned my gaze toward the fading morning star. But the half-full drink can was snatched away.

“You sure drink this tasteless stuff well.”

“Give it back.”

“Don’t want to.”

Hyun Jaekyung put his mouth to the half-full can and downed it coolly. His face suited the pale dawn. The bones in his wrist were so prominent they made me want to grab it.

The rim of the can that touched his lips would still have my body heat on it.

Fatigue was probably reaching its limit, as my head throbbed as if it were in a vise, and it also felt heavy, as if a weight were attached to it. I started walking toward the valley to just walk for a bit, and I heard the sound of footsteps quietly following me.

“Why are you following me?”

“I’m just going my own way? Why are you so self-conscious?”

Don’t feed the troll…

During the day, I can’t really tell that the sun is moving, but I could feel the darkness being pushed away moment by moment. For some reason, Hyun Jaekyung’s footsteps were cautious, as if he were watching my mood. That suddenly felt pathetic, and at the same time, I felt a surge of irritation.

I stopped walking to let him go first, but Hyun Jaekyung, who had said he was going his own way, stopped with me and pretended to be looking elsewhere. Then, he suddenly kicked a stone at his feet in my direction.

“Hey, virgin. Come to think of it, you always changed the subject even when they said they’d set you up if you named your type. Was it because you have no experience?”

There he goes again.

“Why are you such a pain in the ass? Just accept that other people have different thoughts from you.”

“Different thoughts? Are you gay?”

“…You know you talk like a total piece of trash, right? Is it something to be proud of, grabbing and rolling around with just anyone, anywhere? I absolutely detest that kind of thing.”

“Hahaha! What’s he saying?”

For a moment, the debauchery of Hyun Jaekyung that I had imagined earlier came to mind again. Girls like that pale body? He should watch his own ass.

“Unlike you, I’m going to meet a premarital-chastity-believer and have a sacred married life.”

“You sound like you’re in a cult. Is this the 15th century by any chance?”

“It’s not like I’m asking for my partner to be pure while I get to play around. I’m saving myself too, okay? So we can offer our virginity to each other. Isn’t that the loyalty of monogamy?”

“Ah, I get that you’re a virgin, so stop.”

Hyun Jaekyung grinned, his face flushed. A slut, with all that baby hair on his face. I wanted to slap that cheek, and I wanted to pinch it hard. This has been a persistent urge for a while now.

“Guys like you think it’s cool to go around teasing people for that, but I don’t think so at all.”

“No, this guy thinks I’m trash who only cares about my own pleasure. Do you know how armed I am with a spirit of service? Fucking hell, besides kissing, I do everything you can do with a mouth.”

Ah! F-uuuuuuu-ck!!!!

“Why put off sleeping together? Everyone gets married past their prime these days anyway. What’s the point of a man’s existence if he can’t even satisfy someone when their blood is boiling? And it’s not like I just get my own pleasure and that’s it.”

Huh, really? Am I really the problem here? My goodness, Hyun Jaekyung’s philosophy on sex was so serious that I seem to have unconsciously judged it as a topic worth considering.

“If you make them heat up slowly, from that point on, they start showing that they’re getting impatient. No matter how aloof they pretended to be, they’ll say, ‘Ah, Jaekyung, stop teasing me.'”

“……”

Does someone really say that while doing it? Does a situation like that exist in reality? But since the one saying it is Hyun Jaekyung, it feels like I should believe him…

No, this conversation is uncomfortable. But suddenly, my ass was grabbed firmly.

“Only small-dicked guys who haven’t had any sex ed start by just pounding away.”

As he said that, he even rubbed his lower body against my butt. It was so absurd that I couldn’t even react right away.

“Ah, you fucking bastard, I said stop it.”

“I think you’re more the type to appeal to men than women. The opposite of me.”

Me? No, I’m pretty sure that’d be you. But it wasn’t worth answering. When I pushed him off and moved away, the guy snickered and added.

“But are you for real, or are you just pretending?”

Pretending what? About me pretending to be nice for cleaning up before? In my head, I retorted to every word Hyun Jaekyung spouted, but nothing came out of my mouth but curses. Hyun Jaekyung looked at me with a strange expression, then, with slightly slurred pronunciation, poured out a series of questions with unclear intent.

“You’re a virgin? Have you only counted women? Is it true you don’t get drunk? Think carefully.”

“What?”

When I asked him back, not understanding what he meant, the guy’s tone became a little more desperate.

“Just say one thing, that you’re not drunk now, but you were drunk then.”