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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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A-reum came running, crying.
“Waaah! Cheol-jin, what am I gonna do?!”
“W-What is it? What’s wrong?”
The reason was…
“My mom told me to come home! Can you convince her for me?”
“…Seriously.”
I immediately loaded a flick to her forehead.
Flick!
A crisp sound rang out.
“Ouch! Ow, that hurts!”
A-reum, who had been pretending to cry, clutched her forehead and shed real tears. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.
I gave her another flick on the head and said,
“Go home, okay? Go when your parents call you.”
“No!”
“What do you mean no? Do you want to be grounded again? Looking at the time, the bus will stop running soon.”
I was startled, thinking something serious had happened. She was making me worry for nothing.
“I want to play more!”
“So what? Damn it. And how am I supposed to convince your mother? I doubt she’d be happy if a guy called her.”
“She might be!”
“You want another flick?”
“You violent thug! Bully!”
“I’ll show you what a real thug is. You’re dead today.”
“Kill me then! Kill me!”
“I’ll bury you in a sunny spot.”
I grabbed the back of A-reum’s neck and dragged her away. Back to the table I had escaped from.
“Sung-hyun, give me her stuff.”
“Uh, yeah. But A-reum looks like she’s really hurt, is she okay?”
“She’ll be fine. And didn’t you see her complaining just now?”
“Cheol-jin is heartless─!”
Ignoring A-reum’s struggles, I took her bag. It was pointless for her to squirm, small as she was.
I bowed my head slightly to the members who were staring at us in surprise.
“Sorry for the commotion. I’ll just take her home.”
“O-Okay. Take care.”
Seora said, looking bewildered.
As I dragged A-reum away, I heard whispers behind me.
“Wow, I’ve never seen Cheol-jin like that. I thought he was just a gentle guy.”
That was Seora’s voice. She had only ever seen me panting from exercise, so it was no wonder she was surprised.
“…Did he really hit her? Should we leave them alone?”
I didn’t know why Han Saebyeok sounded so serious. Anyone would think I’d committed a crime.
“So his nickname is Kang Cheol.”
“Cheol-jin, you’re scary……”
“Oh, assertive.”
“I was surprised.”
“These new members are unique.”
Other voices followed.
“No, Cheol-jin is nice.”
At least Sung-hyun was defending me.
“He’s only like that with A-reum. He’s the type to… be rough with people he’s close to, I think?”
…I’m an idiot for believing him even for a second. I wanted to smack him with a shield.
I left the restaurant, leaving the club members behind. Damn, my image was ruined.
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Outside the restaurant…
A-reum grabbed my arm, rubbing her chest against it, and said,
“Cheol-jin, why don’t we just go to your place and have sex?”
Thump!
“Ouch! My brain’s gonna break! Aren’t you hitting me too much today? And you hit me hard!”
“That’s nothing compared to how you usually hit me.”
It wasn’t like A-reum hadn’t headbutted me or thrown her cotton-candy fists at me countless times. Recently, she’d even added pinching to her repertoire.
“Ooooh!”
“Stop puffing your cheeks. You’re super cute.”
“…Heh. Cute? I did it to be cute. Now I want you to ravish… Ow!”
“Crazy girl, please stop. There are people around.”
“Who cares?”
“What an outdated saying.”
She was pulling out slang from her elementary school days.
I looked at A-reum with an exasperated expression.
“Staying out late again won’t be good for you, you know?”
“Ugh. My parents need to get used to this. I’ve been too well-behaved, so they have no tolerance for me being out late. They call me every day at 10.”
“I’m saying this for your own good.”
“Whatever! I’m doing this for my parents too. Frequent rebellion is the best medicine for this. They’ll get used to it and worry less.”
She misunderstood me. I wasn’t saying her parents were saying that for her sake, but that I was saying it for her sake.
Persuading A-reum was simple. You just had to speak her language. For example, by switching the topic to sex.
I lowered my voice and spoke with a serious expression.
“Think about it. You have exams coming up.”
“So what?”
“That means you have a relatively legitimate excuse to stay out late. For example, you can say you’re studying for exams with your smart friends.”
“?!”
A-reum’s expression changed. Was I imagining the exclamation point above her tiny head?
“The library is open 24 hours, and I heard from Seoyeon that the department is opening up all the classrooms. Some people study there all night.”
“Oh, ohh.”
“If you take pictures of yourself studying as proof, what can they say? And do you think we’ll just study there?”
“…Sex?”
“Right. Sex… well, yes, but can you please talk like a human, you monkey?”
“Ook ook!”
Don’t make that cute face with your fists clenched. I might actually kidnap you and take you to my place. I wanted to have sex anyway.
I exercised my self-control and said,
“Anyway, you got it?”
“Yessir! As a college student, you gotta have secret sex in a classroom at least once… Ouch! Why’d you hit me again?!”
“Sorry, your vulgarity triggered my hand.”
“You suggested it first!”
That was to persuade you…
“Now, go home quietly.”
“Okay.”
Phew, one problem solved.
I walked A-reum to the station and then headed back to the restaurant.
While walking, bored, I looked at my phone.
[You have unread notifications.]
The message popped up on the Trictor app.
‘Another freelance request?’
I checked it, and…
Backside_Of_One: LOLOLOLOLOL
It was a message from Backsa.
You’re such a freak LOL
= ?
I enjoyed watching your otaku explosion Pffft LOL
= You bitch?
I suddenly felt a rush of alcohol. I could tell my face was flushed even without looking in a mirror.
Backsa’s messages continued.
Your real-life nickname is Kang Cheol, so it was easy to figure out LOL
By the way, is it Kang Cheol because your name is Kang Cheol-jin? Or is it because you’re a Fullmetal fanatic? Why do you like that boring anime? LOLOLOLOLOL
This bitch, thinking she had something on me, wouldn’t stop teasing me. She even insulted Fullmetal. She was asking for it.
Feeling steam coming out of my ears, I typed rapidly.
You’re such an idiot. Saying that is the same as confessing you were at the party.
You’re practically begging me to fuck you.
Come out of the restaurant now. I’ll drag you to a motel and pound you until you beg for mercy.
At least one thing was certain. Backsa was at the party. The story about getting the Post-it from her friend was a lie.
Confident, I sent the message, but…
Whatcha gonna do, otaku? I know your real name and face, but you don’t know mine, do you? Try and fuck me. In your imagination, of course LOL
Neener neener.
“Wow, this, fuck…!”
This was infuriating. I wanted to teach her a lesson with my dick right then and there.
I’ll give you some fap material. Go jerk off, virgin LOL
(photo)
A fresh photo I just took. Enjoy~
The picture of her butt arrived.
From her back to her waist and down to her thighs. It emphasized her butt. Unfortunately, no clothes were visible.
‘She’s diligently hiding her identity though. Judging by her messages, she seems stupid.’
A meticulously taken photo, not revealing a single shred of clothing. Did she take it completely naked?
I fumed for a moment and sent one last message.
= Asphalt-glued, padded-bra bitch.
Buzz!
Buzz!
Buzz!
A barrage of messages arrived, but I didn’t open them. I had won.
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Back in the room, the members greeted me.
“Oh, Cheol-jin’s back.”
“Did you walk your girlfriend home safely?”
Cheol-jin waved his hands at Jung Mina’s question.
“A-reum and I are just close friends.”
“Really? Soyeon said you weren’t dating, so I thought you were going out with A-reum.”
“Nah, I’m not interested in dating right now. I think I said that earlier.”
“You didn’t say you weren’t interested in dating. You just said you weren’t dating Soyeon.”
“Did I? Sorry, I must have been mistaken. People often misunderstand.”
Just then, someone entered.
“Oh, you came back?”
It was Park Mincheol, the one who had been playing hand games with Yoo Hyun-jeong. He continued with a lewd expression,
“I thought you wouldn’t come back. Heh heh.”
“Huh? What do you…?”
“Well, you know, you left with your girlfriend. So naturally, I thought you wouldn’t come back.”
“……”
Cheol-jin frowned and stared at Park Mincheol.
‘What a shitty way to talk.’
It wouldn’t have been a big deal if it was just his tone, but his expression made Cheol-jin’s blood boil. The meaning behind his words was clear.
He didn’t care about himself, but Park Mincheol’s words were an insult to Pi A-reum as well.
He wanted to curse him out, but he didn’t have the guts to go that far. Silently glaring was the best Cheol-jin could do.
However, it was enough to make Park Mincheol uncomfortable.
“Uh, no, I was just joking…”
Cheol-jin wasn’t aware of it himself, but his physique was quite intimidating to others. His silent glare created an atmosphere that made it seem like he was about to throw a punch.
The situation was tense.
“This fucking asshole.”
A curse finally slipped out.
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this is kinda inconsistent whys he crashing out on the mf trynna make jokes n not the guys that were gonna assault her