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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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As unfamiliar faces entered the lecture hall, eyes turned towards them.
“Who is it?”
“Is it Cheol-jin’s friend?”
Normally, glances would have quickly moved away. What was so special about someone from another department visiting?
But the two people who just entered were too conspicuous. Perhaps because they were from Fashion Design, their attire was quite different from other students.
Ju Hana’s hair was a striking bright yellow bleached color, and her outfit consisted of tight high-waist jeans and a baggy crop top that subtly revealed her stomach. It was an outfit that flattered her long limbs and slender waist.
Han Saebyeok, on the other hand, had a blue-black two-tone bob cut, and while her hair itself wasn’t as flashy as Ju Hana’s, the thorn tattoo on her neck caught the eye. Moreover, her hip street fashion combined with her unique aura exuded a strong androynous charm.
Of course, more than those elements.
“Wow, she’s pretty.”
The primary reason was purely that they were pretty.
It was surprising, but all the members of the animation club, Toonz, had above-average looks. Naturally, the gazes of both men and women turned towards the two.
Stampede!
Amidst this, there was one girl who came running boisterously, and that was Pi A-reum, who was uniquely noticeable among the first-year students of the Digital Content department.
“Hana, Saebyeok unnie! What’s up?!”
The golden retriever-like girl who loved people threw her arms around the two. Ju Hana was flustered, and Han Saebyeok softened her sharp expression.
Han Saebyeok gently stroked Pi A-reum’s hair, who was in her embrace, while glancing at Kang Cheol-jin.
“Check your KakaoTalk.”
“Oh, okay… But what’s the matter?”
“Club activities.”
Han Saebyeok answered curtly, as if asking what else she would contact him for. For some reason, her tone was even more prickly today.
Kang Cheol-jin flinched and checked his KakaoTalk. He hadn’t known because he was asleep, but now he saw quite a few messages piled up.
But the funny thing was that there wasn’t a single message from Han Saebyeok. Most of them were messages from Ju Hana.
‘No, but why is she getting angry?’
Feeling inwardly wronged, he looked back at Han Saebyeok, but.
“A-reum, let’s talk outside.”
“Okay, okay!”
Before he knew it, Han Saebyeok was naturally leading Pi A-reum out of the room.
Suddenly, Ju Hana, left alone in an unfamiliar place, made a flustered sound, “Uh, uh?”
“Saebyeok unnie? Oh, that, uh…”
Ju Hana hesitated and looked back at Kang Cheol-jin. Then, noticing the women surrounding him, she cautiously spoke.
“O-are you free after class today? I need to discuss something for club activities.”
“Discuss?”
“Yeah. About costume production.”
“Ah! But I have time…”
Kang Cheol-jin looked back at Jo Hye-seo and his friends. They had just been making plans to hang out after class. Of course, he hadn’t given a definite answer yet, but if he had to choose, this was the prior engagement.
As he felt awkward,
Jo Hye-seo suddenly spoke.
“W-we’re fine. If it’s for the club, we can’t help it.”
“Oh? You’re fine?”
When Kang Cheol-jin asked with wide eyes, Jo Hye-seo nodded again.
“Yeah, yeah. We meant to hang out if you weren’t busy, not to make you clear your schedule if you were.”
Jo Hye-seo’s expression as she said that was somewhat fed up. She glanced at Ju Hana and sighed.
‘Why are there so many girls around him? And they’re disgustingly pretty too.’
Pi A-reum alone was quite bothersome, but two more pretty girls had shown up. Moreover, one of them clearly seemed to be interested in Kang Cheol-jin.
Just look at that wide smile. As soon as she said it was okay, her face, which had looked gloomy due to dark circles, brightened up.
“Th-thank you. It’s an important meeting.”
“…Yes. Don’t worry about it.”
Jo Hye-seo answered vaguely and turned away.
‘Okay, let’s give up. I didn’t even like him that much. Actually, I’m glad to give up quickly.’
At this rate, even if she succeeded in seducing Kang Cheol-jin, it was clear she would suffer emotionally. Jo Hye-seo didn’t want to compete with those women, nor did she want to worry because of his female friends.
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Ju Hana, who had left the Digital Content building, spoke with a pouting face.
“Saebyeok unnie is so mean. Leaving me alone…”
“Sorry.”
Han Saebyeok apologized with an awkward expression. In truth, she had deliberately gone out alone to tease Ju Hana, but seeing her look like she was about to cry, a belated feeling of apology arose.
The two went to the campus cafe and found seats. They both still had quite a bit of time until their next lecture.
“Did you talk well?”
“I’m going to talk in detail after class today.”
“What? So you just made a promise?”
“Yeah.”
Ju Hana nodded slightly.
Han Saebyeok shook her head and sighed. If they were just going to make plans like this, why bother going all the way to the building? They could have just talked on KakaoTalk later.
Noticing her mood, Ju Hana shrunk back and apologized.
“S-sorry. You went to all that trouble with me. But he said his lecture was starting soon.”
“…It’s okay. It seems like if I hadn’t come in person, the appointment might have been pushed back anyway.”
“Yeah, it’s a relief his friend was understanding. Hehe.”
Seeing Ju Hana like that, Han Saebyeok let out a hollow laugh.
‘It seemed more like she gave up than compromised.’
The woman’s face she had seen through the door came clearly to mind. Compromise is something a person who has something does for someone who doesn’t. On the other hand, the woman’s expression she saw earlier was that of someone who had been pushed out of the competition and given up.
She always thought that Ju Hana had too low self-esteem for her looks. If she put her mind to it, there probably wasn’t a man she couldn’t charm. Of course, she didn’t wish for her to charm men, but.
‘I wish she was as confident as when she’s cosplaying.’
Ju Hana when cosplaying looked completely different from her usual self. It was partly because she immersed herself in the character, but… she exuded a professional model-like aura and often looked like a completely different person.
However, regardless of her presence as a model.
“Are you really sure you don’t need help? I could just make it for you.”
Han Saebyeok asked worriedly. Unfortunately, Ju Hana’s costume-making skills weren’t very good. Although she didn’t say it outright, she thought Ju Hana had chosen the wrong major. If she had gone to a professional modeling school instead of fashion design, she would surely have flourished.
But Ju Hana only replied with a mix of embarrassment and excitement.
“Yeah. I want to make Cheol-jin’s costume myself. His physique is a bit different from a model’s, but his proportions are good.”
“That’s true.”
Han Saebyeok also nodded in agreement. While his grand bone structure and sturdy build were far from a model’s, his long limbs and relatively small face for a man certainly made him good material.
“Okay. Still, tell me if you need help.”
“Okay! Thanks always, unnie.”
Han Saebyeok sighed imperceptibly and nodded.
Slurp.
The two drank their coffee in silence. Since neither of them were very talkative types, their conversations often broke off like this.
However, the silence didn’t make the atmosphere uncomfortable. Truly close relationships are often comfortable even without conversation. Han Saebyeok cared for Ju Hana, her junior in the same department and fellow club member, and Ju Hana also followed Han Saebyeok like an older sister who took care of her.
While they were spending time occasionally looking at their phones or people-watching.
Ju Hana suddenly asked a question out of nowhere.
“Unnie, do you perhaps like Cheol-jin?”
“What? Gasp, cough!”
“A-are you okay?!”
Han Saebyeok, who was drinking coffee, coughed violently as if she had choked. After finally calming down, she asked back with a face full of bewilderment.
“What’s the basis for that question?”
“Oh, no, it’s just… You usually don’t talk to men, unnie.”
Indeed, Han Saebyeok didn’t talk to men. She didn’t even interact with them at all. Of course, she would do so out of necessity sometimes, but she never initiated conversation without a reason. Rather, she would often ignore them even if they spoke to her.
“But it seems like you talk to Cheol-jin often.”
“No, that’s just because he’s a fellow club member.”
“But you don’t talk to Sung-hyun or Sung-ju oppa. They’re both good people.”
Ju Hana generally found it difficult to deal with people. The fact that even she called them “good people” showed how comfortable they made her feel.
“That’s… you roughly know, about me and men.”
“Yeah. Sorry for asking something unnecessary…”
The conversation seemed to conclude, but in reality, the answer to the question wasn’t given. So why did she talk to Kang Cheol-jin, even briefly, unlike others?
Han Saebyeok took a sip of coffee, then sighed and opened her lips.
“Kang Cheol-jin, he’s just… I’m concerned about him. It’s not that I like him or anything… You know that cover sticker.”
“Cover sticker? Oh, on his neck.”
Kang Cheol-jin always wore a cover sticker on his neck. However, it was very thin and adhered to his skin in the same color, so it wasn’t easily noticeable. Furthermore, most of the clothes he wore either covered his neck or were loose-fitting hoodies, so many people didn’t even know he wore a cover sticker.
But Ju Hana, who had a physical relationship with him, was well aware of the cover sticker’s existence. Moreover, having seen his “Room Corner Escape” based on his experiences in the club, she could vaguely guess the reason for the cover sticker.
“He has a scar there. That’s why he wears the cover sticker.”
“Oh? Have you seen it yourself, unnie?”
“Yes. It just happened…”
Han Saebyeok had personally confirmed the scar hidden beneath the cover sticker. It was the day Kang Cheol-jin came to pick up Pi A-reum, who was drunk and passed out. At that time, he had rushed over and wasn’t wearing the sticker.
‘It was a burn mark. Probably from being burned with a cigarette…’
It was clearly a trace of bullying. The detailed reason for it would be due to his past, as shown in “Room Corner Escape.”
“That’s why I’m concerned. I draw tattoos, you know. Well, as you said, he seems like a decent guy too.”
Han Saebyeok remembered Kang Cheol-jin who came to pick up Pi A-reum. Although she generally had an aversion to men, his quick action to help his “woman” was a positive aspect.
Meanwhile, Ju Hana nodded as if she finally understood the reason.
“Ah, I see. Because of the scar…”
Indeed, if she had personally seen the scar, it would be a sufficiently concerning factor for Han Saebyeok, who worked as a tattoo artist.
As the conversation progressed this way, Han Saebyeok couldn’t help but ask.
“Hana, you like him, don’t you?”
“…Yes.”
Ju Hana nodded shyly.
A sigh escaped Han Saebyeok again. Her beloved dongsaeng liked a man… More than anything, it was regrettable that the person was Kang Cheol-jin. As far as she knew, Kang Cheol-jin was definitely dating Pi A-reum.
– Sex! Kang Cheol, let’s have sex!
That’s what the drunk Pi A-reum said when she saw Kang Cheol-jin who came to pick her up. Moreover, the next day, Han Saebyeok encountered the two in the laundry room. Circumstantially, it was clear that the two were dating.
‘Should I tell her this?’
She didn’t want to interfere in others’ romantic lives. But she also didn’t want to see her beloved dongsaeng sad after confessing for no reason. It was painful to watch when the ending was so clearly set.
To be more honest, she didn’t particularly want to see Ju Hana dating a man at all.
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