〈Chapter 7〉

 Group Project with My Ex and My Childhood Friend

* * *

As planned, I went to “Meskin Rabins” with Yerin.

We picked three flavors—Mint Choco, Puss in Boots (Dad is an Alien), and Rainbow Sherbet—then quickly took our seats.

Pushed by Yerin’s relentless pestering, I spilled everything that had happened in the student lounge, piece by piece.

“All that happened while I was gone!?”

“I’m telling you. She’s the one who fucked up, yet she keeps demanding I apologize… I just don’t get it.”

“Did that bitch eat something wrong? How can a person be that selfish…”

Yerin stopped mid-sentence and stared at me intently. Her usually soft, doe-eyed expression was now sharpened into a cold glare.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Just…wondering how much you must have pampered and worshipped her for her to become that arrogant.”

“Are you saying Chae-yeon’s twisted personality is all my fault?”

“Not all of it, but you definitely played a part.”

First that MewTuber I watched, and now Yerin. Why does everyone keep saying I’m at fault when I’m the victim?

Yerin took a spoonful of Mint Choco ice cream, then continued while gesturing with her spoon.

“Seriously, you should’ve known when to stop clinging to her. You were so blinded by love for some undeserving bitch—just look at the mess you’re in now.”

“I’ve finally broken up with her, haven’t I? Why do you have so much to say about it?”

“Heh… well, that’s true.”

Yerin let out a silly giggle and pinched my cheek. Then, shaking my face back and forth, she spoke.

“From now on, when you date another woman, make sure you get my permission first. That way you can avoid landmine girls.”

As if she’s my mother or something.

I waved my hand in dismissal.

“No thanks. I can find a dating partner just fine on my own.”

“Oh, is that so? For a guy who claims he can find them ‘just fine,’ you sure ended up dating someone like Im Chae-yeon and being a tota… Mph!”

Predicting exactly what she was about to say, I blocked her mouth by feeding her a spoonful of ice cream.

“Ma’am, your tongue is quite long today.”

Startled by my sudden action, Yerin’s sparkling eyes blinked repeatedly.

Then, she stared intently at my face, her gaze turning oddly suggestive as a flush crept up her cheeks.

‘What’s with that look…’

While I was flustered by her sticky gaze, she smiled with her eyes and tucked her hair behind her ear. And before long…

Nom, nom.

The sensation of her tongue flicking against the spoon was transmitted directly to my hand.

“W-what are you doing?”

There’s a limit to how much you can joke around.

I tried to pull the spoon out, but Yerin kept her lips pursed and wouldn’t let go until the end.

“Are you still not done? Let go already.”

Sluuuurp.

The vibrations coming through the spoon became even faster and more intense.

Feeling a sense of embarrassment, I gave the spoon a hard tug.

Pop.

As the spoon came out, a silver thread of saliva stretched between us.

The spoon, which had been caked in ice cream just a moment ago, was now shining as if it had been through a dishwasher.

“Did I coat my spoon in honey or something? Just how much do you have to suck on it to be satisfied?”

“Sorry. The ice cream was so good, I guess I just lost myself in it without realizing.”

Typical Yerin—she loses all restraint when it comes to food…

I left the glistening spoon aside, picked up a fresh one, and said while scooping more ice cream.

“It’s because you usually eat weird shit like Mint Choco, so you lose it when you taste something real.”

“Mint Choco is good too…”

Yerin, pouting for some strange reason, silently shoveled the Mint Choco into her mouth.

As a result, the ice cream was gone in no time. Just as I was about to throw the trash away since she was the one who paid…

“Give the spoons to me. I’ll throw them away.”

Before I could even answer, Yerin snatched the spoons from me.

* * *

It’s already been three days since the argument with Chae-yeon.

Perhaps because the conversation in the student lounge had been the final blow, neither of them interfered with me anymore.

Glance. Flinch.

…Though Sohee was still constantly watching herself around me.

‘Well, still… this is manageable.’

How great would it be if this peace could last until graduation?

I wanted to stop getting tangled up with Chae-yeon and her circle and just live like we were invisible to each other.

With that modest hope in mind, I received the handout the professor was passing out.

And the moment I read it…

“Holy shit.”

A curse escaped my lips before I could stop it.

《 Group Assignments 》

[Group A: ***, ***, ***, *]

[Group B: Kim Si-hyeon, Im Chae-yeon, Yoon Sohee, Han Yerin]

[Group C: ***, *, …….]

He said he was assigning a group project, but the professor had picked the absolute worst possible teammates.

‘This is seriously out of line…’

I tried rubbing my eyes to deny reality and even held the paper upside down, but nothing changed.

Above all…

Chae-yeon was looking my way with a cold, indifferent gaze.

Sohee was making a “Fighting!” pose as if telling us to give it our best.

And even Yerin, sitting next to me, had frozen with her mouth hanging wide open.

The reactions of everyone around me proved that this was all real.

“Ha…”

A headache was already creeping in.

How long had it even been since our fight, and now we’re thrown together like this?

As I clutched my head and sighed, I heard Yerin’s worried voice.

“Si-hyeon, are you going to be okay?”

“No, not at all…”

Honestly, I felt like throwing the assignment aside and forgetting about it…

…but I figured it wouldn’t be right to ruin my group members’ grades over personal feelings.

Shouldn’t I at least do what needs to be done before I decide to ignore everyone?

“Please gather and sit with your assigned group members.”

Following the professor’s instructions, the students began to move.

Some were happy to be paired with close friends, while others seemed awkward, merely exchanging stiff greetings.

And among them, the absolute worst was…

Glare.

The moment I walked over, Chaeyeon—my group mate—glared at me like she wanted to kill me.

…our group.

“If you have a problem, why don’t you just say it?”

“I don’t.”

Like hell she didn’t. Not when she was making her discomfort painfully obvious.

“Haa…”

I don’t even know how many times I’ve sighed today.

Realizing the road ahead was going to be nothing but suffering, I sat down across from Chae-yeon, feeling like the world was going dark.

Shortly after, Yerin arrived with her laptop and sat down next to me.

“…….”

It felt like we’d been sitting here for five minutes already.

No one said a word; we were just locked in a silent war of nerves.

Yerin, in particular, was staring at Chae-yeon with such a frigid gaze that just catching a glimpse of it made my skin crawl.

“Um… guys? Since we’re stuck together anyway, let’s all try our best!”

Sohee, who had been nervously reading the room, tried to shift the hostile atmosphere.

Since it looked like we’d never get the project started at this rate, I hopped on her momentum.

“It’s true that we’re all uncomfortable, but let’s at least cooperate until the project is over.”

Sohee’s face brightened, and after a beat Chae-yeon and Yerin nodded.

As the tension loosened slightly, Sohee quickly spoke up.

“About this group project… I was thinking of having one person for the presentation, one for the PPT, and two for research. So, what does everyone want to do?”

I’m not exactly great at making slides…

As for the presentations, I absolutely loathe standing in front of people.

“I’ll do research.”

“Then me too.”

Yerin immediately chose research as well.

“Okay, so Si-hyeon and Yerin are on research. Chae-yeon, what about you?”

“I’ll make the PPT.”

“Perfect. Then I’ll handle the presentation… I think it’s best if we all meet up to work on it together. When would be a good time?”

Sohee put a lot of emphasis on the “everyone meeting up together” part.

‘Has she still not given up?’

She must clearly know by now that the relationship between Chae-yeon and me is as broken as it can get…

Yet, despite having been busy minding herself until just a moment ago, her eyes were now brimming with life, as if she had grabbed onto a new opportunity.

“Do we really have to meet in person?”

At my question, Sohee answered with a faint smile.

“If we’re in the same space, we can give and receive feedback much faster.”

“I feel like that’s perfectly possible through social media, though.”

“No way. What if someone just goes MIA?”

As if.

Every single person in this group is the type to get their work done.

Yerin is the type to work diligently once she’s assigned a task, and Chae-yeon isn’t the type to irresponsibly dump her work on others either.

And of course, neither am I.

‘Since Sohee probably knows that too…’

Which meant her insistence on meeting up had to be some kind of scheme to tie Chae-yeon and me back together. Just as I was about to refuse…

“Fine. But let’s go in hard and finish the whole thing in one day.”

Yerin accepted Sohee’s proposal.

“Mm—!”

I pinched her thigh, silently protesting: Why are you deciding that on your own?

She flinched, then leaned toward my ear and whispered.

“If we’re doing it anyway, it’s better to get it over with in one go. What if we do it over Social media and they use that as an excuse to keep contacting you?”

“Ah…”

It seemed Yerin had a plan of her own.

Since it made perfect sense, I immediately apologized to her as she whimpered while rubbing her thigh.

“Okay. I’ll make a group chat later and let you guys know the specific schedule.”

With Sohee’s closing remark, the conversation ended.

‘Why isn’t Im Chae-yeon saying anything?’

She should be uncomfortable meeting me, too… strangely, she didn’t voice a single complaint.

* * *

A few days later.

The four of them gathered at a study cafe for the group project.

Chae-yeon and Sohee. Si-hyeon and Yerin. As the four of them sat facing each other, a palpable sense of discomfort hung in the air…

“Should we grab something to drink before we start?”

In an effort to break the bleak atmosphere, Si-hyeon stood up and began taking orders.

And as if she’d been waiting for those words, Yerin spoke immediately.

“Si-hyeon, get me my usual.”

“Got it.”

Despite how vague that order sounded, Si-hyeon understood her right away.

Just how often must the two of them have come to cafes together for something like this to be possible?

At Yerin’s blatant display of intimacy, both Chae-yeon and Sohee watched with their eyes wide in shock.

* * *

TNote: if you notice the scene switch from third to first person or vice versa just know that’s how the author wanted it, there are breaks before each shift though.

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