Episode 7

 

Tae-seo looked at the three people gathered in front of him with a perplexed expression. He hadn’t noticed when they arrived, nor did he know they were supposed to come in the first place: Seo Da-rae, whom he didn’t know was coming; Kang In-hyuk, whom he disliked seeing; and the face of Park Han-soo, who caused this situation. Seeing each other like this instead of sitting together for the class meant something significant.

 

Whenever there was a group meeting like this, they gathered like this. The more one resisted getting involved, the more entangled they became. And it was all thanks to the cunning antics of one person without any sense of restraint.

 

Tae-seo’s lips curled in frustration. Their reactions varied visibly to his expression of discontent. Kang In-hyuk furrowed his eyebrows as  if he didn’t like it, Seo Da-rae stared at her book with an expressionless face, and Park Han-soo went from being pleased to perplexed, resorting to all sorts of evasive actions.

 

“Isn’t this too cliché?”

 

“What’s cliché about it? It’s nice when friends… people you know are in the same group.”

 

Park Han-soo subtly redirected the conversation.

 

“That thought is really cliché. It’s better to meet new people and all that.”

 

Tae-seo glanced sideways at Park Han-soo, who caused this situation, with his arms folded. Because of this clueless guy, the four of them ended up in the same group.

 

As soon as they were told to form groups during class, Park Han-soo immediately turned to Tae-seo. Will you join? Tae-seo nodded without much thought. After all, there weren’t many people he knew here, and Park Han-soo’s image wasn’t bad.

 

But then this guy, Park Han-soo, after glancing at Kang In-hyuk, confidently stepped forward and called out Seo Da-rae, Kang In-hyuk, and Tae-seo’s names. Was it because he saw Kang In-hyuk? It seemed like he didn’t even speak to Seo Da-rae, so Tae-seo wondered how he managed to get her involved. When asked, he said he contacted her via messages.

 

But what was really funny was that although Park Han-soo caused this situation, Kang In-hyuk’s annoyance and Seo Da-rae’s awkwardness were directed solely at me. It felt like  if I were to be left out, it would’ve been better.

 

“Yeah, it’s better  if I’m left out.”

 

Tae-seo had no lingering desire to be among them.

 

“I’ll pass.”

 

Tae-seo was about to get up and ask the professor to change groups when Park Han-soo suddenly grabbed his arm and even leaned in close to his face.

 

“Just a moment, Tae-seo, listen to me.”

 

“What is there to listen to?”

 

Tae-seo shook Park Han-soo off roughly. He should’ve rejected him when he suggested they work together in the first place. Since it was partly his fault, Tae-seo pushed his face away mercilessly within the limits of not hurting him.

 

“We’ll get better grades as a group of four.”

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“This is a liberal arts class, and there’ll be a lot of people who don’t even take it seriously. The professor won’t even notice the ones who work hard. As long as we submit assignments, it doesn’t matter to him. In this situation, why would I team up with someone else when I have you guys who I know will guarantee my grades?”

 

“Thanks for your ambitious self-introduction.”

 

Tae-seo pushed Park Han-soo away even more forcefully with a sense of “Fine, that’s how it is.” He had organized the group like this so he could comfortably do assignments and get good grades. He had nothing to say to the selfishness that didn’t even consider his discomfort sandwiched between Kang In-hyuk and Seo Da-rae.

 

“It seems like it’s all settled.”

 

Kang In-hyuk, who had been watching the struggle, intervened with an uncomfortable tone. When Tae-seo quickly looked around, it seemed like they had already decided on the group and were getting organized. Park Han-soo subtly pulled Tae-seo’s arm.

 

“Shall we sit down for now?”

 

“No. I can switch with someone else. Wouldn’t it be better  if someone who doesn’t take the bus joins us?”

 

“Hey, Tae-seo.”

 

Park Han-soo’s voice gradually faded as Tae-seo remained stubborn until the end. Park Han-soo was starting to think he couldn’t control him anymore. That’s when it happened.

 

“Yoon Tae-seo, won’t you just sit down?”

 

Kang In-hyuk warned Tae-seo in a low voice. Because of his open display of discomfort, everyone naturally turned to look at him. Especially Tae-seo felt like they were all silently asking  if he was going to sit down now and accept the situation.

 

“Are you telling me to sit down now?”

 

“You were the one who suggested forming groups from the beginning. If you don’t like it after we’ve made the groups, then you should go home and do it.”

 

“Hmm…”

 

Tae-seo chuckled in disbelief. Who was he to be the one to do this when he should be the one resisting and disliking it? Unable to suppress the boiling anger inside him, Tae-seo lashed out at Kang In-hyuk.

 

“So, are you just going to stand there quietly? Don’t you want to be in a group with me?”

 

“We’ve only met a few times to do assignments, and you’re making a big fuss like this.”

 

Kang In-hyuk consistently pointed out Tae-seo’s attitude. Because of this, Park Han-soo, who had formed the group, became even more uncomfortable and looked at them helplessly.

 

“In-hyuk, calm down.”

 

Then Seo Da-rae gently comforted Kang In-hyuk, touching his arm. Suddenly, the sharp atmosphere around Kang In-hyuk softened.

 

Ugh, really annoying.

 

Tae-seo looked at them with incredulous eyes. He knew they got along well. If Tae-seo had slipped something into Seo Da-rae’s drink at the party, they might have gone even further and developed a deeper relationship. But knowing this didn’t make it any less irritating. Even  if I’m just some foreign substance between them, it didn’t feel good to be treated like this. That’s why I wanted to avoid this.

 

“I’ve committed a sin.”

 

With Park Han-soo’s mutterings, Tae-seo reluctantly took his seat. If everyone else didn’t care, then so be it. Even  if he didn’t want to see Park Han-soo’s face anymore, he wouldn’t budge.

 

Eventually, amidst the awkward atmosphere, Tae-seo kicked Park Han-soo’s desk with his foot.

 

“What are you doing as the group leader? Just standing there and watching?”

 

“Huh? Uh, um. Well, first, since we need to start our research, should we each gather our own materials? But it might be better  if we overlap our research a bit, so let’s divide into pairs.”

 

“Okay.”

 

“And let’s meet up when we have time to gather all the materials.”

 

Park Han-soo quickly spat out his words to end the conversation. Tae-seo listened to Park Han-soo’s words half-heartedly and glanced at Seo Da-rae’s hand. She still seemed unwilling to let go of Kang In-hyuk’s arm.

 

It could be that due to Seo Da-rae’s naturally affectionate nature, such skinship felt normal to her, or it could be that she did it as  if she were showing off to someone.

 

If it was the latter, then that someone was probably me, Yoon Tae-seo.

 

‘Surely she won’t be like this every time we meet, right?’

 

It didn’t matter  if they were close, but it was uncomfortable for me to still be seen as the old Yoon Tae-seo who had a crush on Kang In-hyuk. Suddenly, one thought crossed Tae-seo’s mind.

 

‘She still thinks I like Kang In-hyuk.’

 

Until now, I unintentionally never said that I didn’t like Kang In-hyuk. Moreover, I even drank the champagne Kang In-hyuk gave me at the party.

 

‘So that’s why she’s like that.’

 

That’s why she was clinging so closely to Kang In-hyuk. Now that he had organized his thoughts a bit, as soon as the group meeting ended, Tae-seo immediately called Seo Da-rae.

 

“Seo Da-rae.”

 

Tae-seo stood up and gestured for her to follow him, looking at Seo Da-rae, who was watching him.

 

“Let me go.”

 

Seo Da-rae glanced at Kang In-hyuk once and then quietly stood up from her seat. She followed behind Tae-seo as he left. Park Han-soo’s actions were quicker than Kang In-hyuk’s attempt to stop Seo Da-rae.

 

“Hey, hey, wait.”

 

“Let go of me.”

 

“Tae-seo has something to say to Da-rae.”

 

“So, you’re just going to let them go?”

 

“Why don’t we go together and listen?”

 

“Park Han-soo.”

 

Kang In-hyuk directed a threatening pheromone towards Park Han-soo while still holding onto Seo Da-rae’s arm. Even though Park Han-soo, being a beta, couldn’t perceive that pheromone, he could sense that Kang In-hyuk’s mood was not good.

 

“Why did I even form this group?”

 

“Is causing trouble unnecessarily your hobby?”

 

“What do you take people for? Tae-seo hasn’t been the same lately. So, I wanted you to acknowledge that Tae-seo has changed too.”

 

If Tae-seo had been here, he would have immediately scoffed and brushed off Kang In-hyuk’s words. Saying he was meddling too much. But since Tae-seo wasn’t there, Kang In-hyuk only showed discomfort towards Park Han-soo.

 

“I don’t expect us to get along well. But could you stop bothering Tae-seo and pestering Da-rae?”

 

“You know what Tae-seo has done so far, don’t you?”

 

“Who doesn’t know? I know everything about how he’s been harassing others just because he didn’t like them. But what, is that because he has a bad nature? Is it because he’s blinded by love?”

 

Park Han-soo, who was thought to just get along well with Tae-seo, surprisingly knew a lot. It was true that Tae-seo couldn’t avoid Park Han-soo’s keen eyes. Moreover, there were rumors subtly circulating around the school, and it wasn’t just Seo Da-rae who was harassed, so surprisingly, there were many who rejected Tae-seo.

 

But because Park Han-soo understood Tae-seo’s heart, he couldn’t fully hate him.

 

“If you keep doing that, Tae-seo will become more toxic to Da-rae.”

 

“So, should I just stand by and watch? Will everything get better  if I just watch?”

 

“Hmm… in my opinion,  if you don’t mess with Tae-seo, things might change. He really has changed.”

 

Park Han-soo tried his best to change Kang In-hyuk’s mind. If their relationship could improve through this group meeting, Kang In-hyuk believed he could date Seo Da-rae as much as he wanted, and Tae-seo would gain more friends.

 

However, Kang In-hyuk, who had already suffered from Tae-seo, didn’t easily believe it.

 

“I’d rather say Tae-seo manifested it. That would be more credible.”

 

Kang In-hyuk shrugged off Park Han-soo’s arm, saying that it would be more believable if his dirty personality changed rather than his traits. Park Han-soo clicked his tongue as he watched Kang In-hyuk leave the classroom.