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Saturday.
Eun-ji Jeong met her best friend, Shin Mi-ae, for the first time since middle school.
"Mi-ae! It's been so long!"
"Eun-ji Jeong! It really has! You look well, how have you been?"
"Honestly? I'm stressed and feel like I'm losing control... But I'm glad you look good
too."
After a few words, the two headed to the track at a nearby academy. Since they used
to practice together on the track and field team in middle school, it had been three
years since they had run together in the same place. The two girls reminisced about
their middle school days and ran with all their might, but Eun-ji Jeong continued to win
by a slightly more significant margin than before.
After about 10 sprints, the two fell flat on the track, out of breath.
"Haha... Haha... Eun-ji, how did you get so much faster?"
"Hehe... Hehe... Mi-ae, how did you not lose any of your skill? The gap was so much
wider before..."
"No kidding... Ha, you're right..."
Shin Mi-ae let out a quiet sigh.
Eun-ji Jeong decided to cheer her up a bit by asking something she was curious about,
being careful not to hurt her friend as much as possible.
"Is it okay to be in the second-grade classes? Do the kids just ignore you or ostracize
you because you're older?"
"Not really? I don't participate in class much, and since I train most of the morning
and afternoon, my classmates don't really pay attention to me. And I don't pay
attention to them, either."
"I'm jealous of that. Our academy's track and field club has a normal class schedule,
so it's annoying. And it's even more annoying because that bastard is in my class."
"That bastard?"
"Yeah... You know him. Han Seongjin from middle school..."
"Ah."
At that moment, Shin Mi-ae's expression became quite pained.
"I tried not to think about that incident as much as possible, but this year, that bastard
is in my class. Every time I see his face, I think about it, and it's so frustrating."
"I'm so glad I didn't go to Jinsu Academy."
"Just in case... Are you okay now?"
"Well, it's just... I don't see his face, so I usually just forget about it."
"I guess I brought it up for no reason. I'm sorry."
In response to Eun-ji Jeong's apology, Shin Mi-ae tapped her shoulder.
"It's okay. It's not your fault. By the way, is that guy still the same? He came to me and
started threatening me because his senior called him, and now that he's a third-year,
he's trying to manipulate others?"
Eun-ji Jeong felt something strange in her friend's words.
"What do you mean, his senior called him?"
"Why, you know. Back then, when I was pregnant..."
"What... Didn't you two meet alone?"
"...?"
"...?"
Eun-ji Jeong felt that the conversation was becoming increasingly strange. The same
went for Shin Mi-ae.
"That bastard came and threatened me, saying he would come after me if I didn't do
what he told me to."
"I don't understand right now... What senior? A third-year at that time? Why was a
third-year there?"
"Huh? Eun-ji, you don't know?"
"No, I know... but it's different from what I know. Didn't that bastard threaten you
because you were pregnant with his child?"
"What?! Why would I be pregnant with that bastard's child?!"
"?"
Four years ago.
"I won't do it! How can you say that?! You said you loved me! You said you would take
responsibility if anything happened! It's our child!"
"Hey, you said it was a safe day! But what is this?! I can't raise a child. I'll pay for the
surgery, so get it over with as soon as possible."
Inside the gym, Shin Mi-ae was scolding a man one year older than her, a member of
the third-year group of students. But he remained steadfast. He had said that he loved
her and would take responsibility, so she had given her body and her all to him. But as
soon as he heard the news of her pregnancy, his attitude changed, and they had
already been fighting like this several times.
"Hey, if you really keep throwing a tantrum like this, I'll have no choice but to use
another method."
"Another way? Fine, try it! No matter what you do, I won't get rid of this child! You have
to take responsibility!"
"Mi-ae... I really can't understand. It won't work. You brought this on yourself."
Then he briefly opened the door to the gym and called someone just outside.
"Hey, Han Seongjin. Come in."
'Han Seongjin...?'
Shin Mi-ae knew Han Seongjin's name very well. Among the second-year students, he
was the worst of the worst. Shin Mi-ae flinched and took a step back, remembering
the endless rumors about his drinking and smoking since elementary school.
Her boyfriend, the third-year senior, tapped Han Seongjin on the shoulder and said
one thing quietly.
"Don't be too harsh."
"Yes."
And he immediately left the gym. Shin Mi-ae was left alone with Han Seongjin, and a
creeping fear settled in her heart.
The gym was locked after school, there was no one around to ask for help, and Han
Seongjin was a person known for all kinds of evil deeds.
'Crap, could he...?'
What if he beat her up or rap*d her in this place with no one around? She knew very
well that no matter how strong she was for a woman, being on the track and field
team, it was impossible to beat a man of his size.
However, surprisingly, Han Seongjin did not touch her. Instead, he piled up some
mattresses in the warehouse, lay down on them, and said, "Hey, I don't know who you
are, but when a senior speaks, you do as you're told."
"What?"
"Do as you're told. You have to listen calmly to get what you want, right? Don't tire
each other out and just listen to what I say."
"Ah, are you deaf?"
Han Seongjin, who cursed loudly, picked up a block from the bottom of a nearby
jumping frame.
CRASH!
"Aaaaah!"
He threw it right next to Shin Mi-ae, close enough that it didn't hit her. The jumping
block bounced off the floor due to the recoil and landed in the corner of the
warehouse. Han Seongjin then walked up to Shin Mi-ae, who was trembling in fear,
slammed her against the wall, and grabbed the nape of her neck with one hand.
"Ugh, ugh..."
"Hey, if you don't want to be left behind, don't make me say the same thing three
times."
"Ow... Cough...!"
"What do you think will happen if I punch you in the stomach three times really hard?"
"Oh, no! Don't do it! Don't do it!"
"Or should I call the guys? Ten of them, grab her once and give her back properly?"
Shin Mi-ae trembled and shed tears as she was faced with a terrifying threat for the
first time in her life.
Han Seongjin loosened his grip on Shin Mi-ae's neck, but he still stood in front of her,
his large size intimidating.
"But no matter how bad it is, I have to be prepared, so I don't want to do that. So, let's
go on amicable terms, okay? Do you want to be beaten and pushed around until
you're on the verge of a miscarriage, or do you want to just get it taken care of on your
own when the senior says he'll pay for the surgery? No, if you give birth before then,
will you be able to handle it? Of course, you'll be kicked out of the house, and the only
thing you can do is run, so what can you do as a single mother at that age? Just give it a
chance and take it?"
"Ugh... You son of a bitch... Who are you? This has nothing to do with you! Why do you
get involved and say this and that?!"
"I have to solve this to repay a debt to my senior. It's annoying for me to do something
like this too, but it's annoying to be called in forcibly, so let's just end it while we talk,
okay?"
Only after that did Han Seongjin withdraw from Shin Mi-ae's presence and leave the
gym. Shin Mi-ae, who was left alone, collapsed onto her seat as her tension released,
and she sobbed bitterly.
"...That's how it happened. Eun-ji, did you think I was pregnant with that kid?"
"No, I heard you had an abortion because of Han Seongjin, so of course, I thought that
bastard got you pregnant."
Eun-ji Jeong only knew that her friend had an abortion because of Han Seongjin, but
she was not told who exactly had gotten her pregnant. She didn't even think to ask
because it would have brought up a deep trauma. She just heard her friend cry and
say, 'Because of that bastard, Han Seongjin...' so of course, she assumed he was the
father.
"Ha... I was really scared of that bastard's threats... But there were also things that
made me think differently because of what he said."
"Any other thoughts?"
"He was right. I was going to get kicked out of the house, and what could I do as a
single mother at that age when the only thing I knew was running? I suddenly got really
scared. There was truly nothing I could do. Of course, I couldn't run track if I was
pregnant, but that didn't mean I was good at studying, and my father was telling me to
get rid of it. What could I say to him at home? I would be kicked out and live at a single
mother's center. I wasn't ready to raise a child. If I gave birth, I would have a baby, but
the child would also be in pain..."
"..."
Eun-ji Jeong just looked at her confused friend, lost for words.
"So... that's why I did it out of my own will. When I die, I'll go to hell. I'll have to live the
rest of my life atoning for my child. Ha... It's okay for a girl who thoughtlessly played
with her body to end up like this."
"Mi-ae..."
"By the way, you were in the same class as Han Seongjin, right? Is that son of a bitch
still living like that?"
"Huh? Well, he's... right?"
In Eun-ji Jeong's eyes, Han Seongjin had definitely changed a lot since he was in
middle school or even his first and second years. But she didn't bother to say that in
front of her friend, for fear that it would sound like she was protecting him.
"Well, if you told me that bastard had changed, I wouldn't have believed you anyway.
Oh, do you know why that bastard came to me and said that?"
"Uh... Didn't you just come here because the senior told you to?"
"I found out later, during my break from school, that the bastard who got me pregnant
was already seeing another woman at the time."
At those words, Eun-ji Jeong's anger was directed at the man who was one year older
than her, whom she did not know.
"What?! There are bastards like that?! Weren't you his girlfriend?"
"I guess I was just a fling. But Han Seongjin came to me, and he used that as an
excuse to put that human in his debt and steal his girlfriend."
"What..."
"I guess that's why they had a huge fight. But Han Seongjin beat him up and just took
her away. You got me pregnant, then you told me to get rid of the baby, and when I
didn't listen, you dragged Han Seongjin in? I'm so sorry, you bastard."
That was the end of Shin Mi-ae's story, but Eun-ji Jeong was confused. The reason she
hated Han Seongjin so much that she wanted to kill him was because she thought he
made her close friend pregnant and forced her to have an abortion. But in fact, he
never got her pregnant, and the abortion was her friend's own choice?
'Wait a minute, so the whole reason I hated Han Seongjin so far... was an illusion?'
Eun-ji Jeong's hatred for Han Seongjin was so great that she could not easily accept
the truth.
'No, no, no, no. Regardless, it's true that he created an atmosphere of fear for Mi-ae,
no matter what his senior told him to do, right? It must have had some influence on
Mi-ae making that decision! It's true that she has no reason to feel wronged and he's
done nothing good, right?
And he also stole that senior's girlfriend? So Han Seongjin is still a terrible person! And
what did he say to Yu-ri about that? I can't just let things go well between him and Yu-
ri!'
Despite the confusion, Eun-ji Jeong somehow found a new reason to hate Han
Seongjin, ignoring the fact that he had now changed. However, she did not know that
at that very moment, her other friend, Yu-ri Lee, was becoming a "woman" in Han
Seongjin's house.
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