Chapter 56

< Episode 57 > Everyone, this is how scary hypnosis can be.

Let me repeat: Young-hee is a pretty girl.

There’s no denying that fact,

and out of a hundred people, all hundred would say so.

But the meaning of “beauty” varies from person to person.

If someone were to see Young-hee now… they’d definitely think she looks different from usual.

…

“Yu-jin-sama, please try this too. Aah~”

“Mmm.”

Young-hee offered fruit with her hand extended.

Her cheeks are flushed red as if embarrassed.

Her eyes shine pathetically as she gazes at Yu-jin.

“How is it? It’s delicious, right? I hope it suits your taste, Yu-jin-sama…”

It was an adorable expression.

The face of a girl unable to contain the feelings bursting from her heart.

“Hehe! Doesn’t this make us look like a newlywed couple?”

While maintaining that cute smile,

her eyes were completely dead.

Not a bit sweet.

Her gaze clung to someone stickily—but not Yu-jin.

A99

Chul-soo, sitting in front, quietly stared at her.

There was no sign of anger or sadness.

He just kept staring.

After all, that was exactly what Young-hee was aiming for.

She knew her actions and words could “hurt” Chul-soo.

That was the conclusion drawn by the girl whose mind had been warped by suggestion.

“Ah, Yu-jin-sama, there’s something on your mouth.”

“Huh?”

“Just a second. Let me wipe it off for you.”

Young-hee leaned toward Yu-jin’s face.

Only—not with her hand.

– Slurp.

Extending her pink tongue after moving her face closer,

she lovingly licked Yu-jin’s cheek.

Even Yu-jin was taken aback by this action.

“Young-hee, isn’t this…?”

“Ahh, sorry! I got too excited!”

Young-hee covered her mouth as if surprised by her own behavior.

Even a child could tell it was fake.

Proof of this was how she immediately broke into a sly smile.

“But still… since we’ll eventually kiss anyway, this much should be okay, right?”

Young-hee nervously fiddled with her fingers,

her cheeks slightly flushed, speaking cautiously with the expression of a girl in love.

“And… if Yu-jin-sama wishes, I could wake you up every morning with a good-morning kiss.”

Crack!

Chul-soo’s chopsticks shattered.

The wooden pieces fell to the floor with a soft thud.

Chul-soo paid no attention to them, only continuing to stare at Young-hee.

Young-hee turned her head toward Chul-soo with a smug grin.

“Oh my~ Why are you staring like that?”

Her gaze was like looking at a bug.

A condescending look that treated the other as trash.

An arrogant smirk characteristic of someone dealing with something beneath them.

A glare brimming with malice and mockery aimed directly at Chul-soo.

“Tch… I thought your feelings for me would never change. Guess I was wrong?”

Young-hee’s words cut like a knife.

Wishing they’d pierce Chul-soo’s heart like daggers.

Wishing they’d tear apart his soul.

“Well, I understand. With a girl like the class president around, it makes sense your feelings would change. I guess I’m just not worth much to you, huh?”

She didn’t know why she was doing this.

She didn’t understand why she felt compelled to act this way.

Normally, she’d never do such a thing—even if she died.

But Young-hee’s mind was utterly broken.

“Why don’t you say something? Or is everything I said true, leaving you speechless?”

“…”

“Ahhh, is that it? You don’t even think I’m worth explaining to anymore? Do you see me as nothing more than a rag lying around here?”

Chul-soo’s face twisted in frustration.

“Conscience much? Who made me this way?”

Finally, Chul-soo stood up.

Leaving without finishing his meal.

As Yu-jin subconsciously started to rise as well,

– Click.

Young-hee tightly held onto Yu-jin’s arm.

As if pretending she was the one who had been hurt.

Yu-jin, stuck in the middle, awkwardly sucked on his spoon.

“…Are these two having a lovers’ quarrel?”

Thinking such ridiculous thoughts while…

*Snap*

The class president’s magic hit the rabbit.

She trudged over to pick up the fallen rabbit.

“Our food supply secured for today.”

There wasn’t a hint of accomplishment in her tone.

Of course not. How could she feel happy when things were like this between her friends?

She’d come here under the pretense of hunting and walking, just to escape the suffocating atmosphere.

“Haa… Why is Young-hee acting like this?”

Young-hee had seemed a little off since they arrived on the island.

At first, she hadn’t thought much of it.

After all, wasn’t everything Young-hee did just an act to impress Yu-jin?

But her current behavior clearly crossed a line.

It looked like pure malice directed at Chul-soo.

“Hmm… Was she so shocked by Chul-soo saving me?”

It was understandable from a girlfriend’s perspective.

It was like her boyfriend chose to protect another girl instead of her.

Even she herself felt a little jealous about Yu-jin protecting Young-hee…

“No! No! I shouldn’t have thoughts like that!”

It was obviously an unavoidable situation.

Chul-soo had judged in the moment that he needed to protect her.

And given the circumstances, his decision wasn’t wrong.

Just because it wasn’t wrong doesn’t mean it led to good results.

That’s all.

Of course, intellectually she understood that…

but human emotions aren’t something you can easily control.

“…I’m in no position to criticize Young-hee.”

Was her own heart really this narrow?

No, it only became like this when it involved Yu-jin.

Even on this island, she couldn’t stop thinking about Yu-jin.

At first, she wanted to show off her skills to get his attention.

How did it end up like this?

“Yu-jin…”

“Did you call me?”

The class president jumped in surprise where she stood.

For a moment.

Then she quickly tidied her messy hair,

and hastily hid the bloody rabbit corpse in her hands.

Hmph! Hmph! Cough!

With that, she turned around and forced the cutest smile she could muster.

“Eh, Yu-jin. What brings you here?”

Could he have followed her because he was worried?

If so, she’d be a little—no, very—happy.

“Just passing by. Young-hee said she’d take care of things and practically pushed me out.”

But Yu-jin didn’t give her the answer she hoped for.

Of course, it was only natural in this situation.

She tried to hide the slight disappointment creeping in as she asked.

“How’s Young-hee?”

“She’s been the same since earlier.”

The class president silently nodded.

So the problem persists.

Should she be relieved that their survival period is almost over?

Maybe they’ll improve once they have some peace of mind.

“Hm… Now that I think about it, this is the first time we’ve been alone since coming to the island, isn’t it?”

Regardless of anything else, the four of them had always stuck together on the island.

Whether bathing, sleeping, or eating.

She couldn’t approach Yu-jin because of her friends.

Even if she wanted to act friendly with him in front of Chul-soo, she wasn’t shameless enough to do so.

“Hm… Suddenly nervous?”

Anyway, realizing they were alone made her heart start racing.

Reflecting, she realized she hadn’t spent any time with Yu-jin since fully understanding her feelings.

Her face grew warm for no reason.

“Ah, I need to say something!”

The class president desperately searched for a topic.

But even her top-of-the-class intellect wasn’t much help in this situation.

The best she could manage was this:

“Hey, what do you think of Young-hee?”

She wanted to bang her head against a wall.

Why did Young-hee have to come up now?

Sure, given the situation, it wasn’t impossible for the topic to arise.

But seriously, asking “what do you think”?

She mentally berated herself for making such a dumb question.

“Nice kid.”

Yu-jin answered without hesitation.

The moment she heard those words, the class president’s heart sank.

She cared.

Too much.

She carefully continued.

“S-she is? In what ways?”

“Kind. Broad-minded. She’s amazing. She’s the first person I got close to at the academy.”

“…”

Oh no.

Her chest began to sting painfully.

She knew she shouldn’t feel this way.

Yet her heart kept throbbing painfully.

She could feel her hidden inferiority complex slowly rising.

“What an idiot…”

Why did she even ask if she already knew the answer?

She regretted questioning her past self from 30 seconds ago.

What annoyed her most was…

that she was currently envying Young-hee.

She felt like drowning in self-loathing.

“So… this situation is kind of tough. I don’t know why Young-hee’s acting like this.”

The class president stopped mid-reply,

realizing something important.

“Huh? So right now, Young-hee is alone at the base camp?”

“For now. Chul-soo left earlier, but since there’s nowhere to go, he might’ve come back…”

Yu-jin trailed off,

realizing the implications of his words.

Meaning… Young-hee and Chul-soo were currently alone together in that state.

Almost simultaneously, both started running back to the camp.

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