Campus Log - Chapter 115 - citrus aurora.

Even though my stiff attitude must have made her uncomfortable, the woman kept smiling brightly. Seeing that radiant face reminded me of a man who also wore a generous smile so easily.

“Are you dating Eun-seok oppa?”

Since I had asked directly, Yang Soo-bin didn’t beat around the bush either and cut straight to the core. It was a question I had been expecting, so I wasn’t surprised, but I hadn’t prepared an answer.

I should have said no, of course.

But because it was Yang Soo-bin, I didn’t want to lie.

I didn’t want to give even a sliver of room to the girl who had cried so pitifully, asking why Ryu Eun-seok hadn’t celebrated her birthday.

The girl who matched Ryu Eun-seok so well that others mistook them for lovers, the girl who knew him inside out enough to ask if he had “that kind of friend,” the girl who drew attention with her pretty looks and had many friends who liked her, the girl who stood at the opposite end from me.

To Yang Soo-bin, I didn’t want to leave any room for hope.

So what I chose was silence.

The one who had first proposed the secret agreement had now broken the most important rule. I had scolded Ryu Eun-seok for trying to show off and chased him away from sitting next to me—what a cowardly act.

I knew it, but I acted on my own desires. I had no idea how I would explain this to Ryu Eun-seok later.

Still, like a child who only sees the cookie in front of her, I had no choice but to make a foolish decision now.

As the long silence stretched on, the smile gradually faded from the woman’s lips. Without it, she looked more like a doll face. At odds with the serious situation, I almost let out an admiring remark.

“You’re not the only one deluding yourself, are you?”

Each word of her question was tipped with a sharp thorn.

“There are a lot of girls who think Eun-seok oppa is only nice to them. Because he has a good personality and is even kinder to people he’s not close to, but they don’t realize that and believe they’re in a ‘something’ with him.”

That was something I knew all too well. I had even silently laughed at them many times.

“It’s annoying because those girls always glare at me with suspicion whenever they see me.”

I had pitied them, wondering why they acted so foolishly over a guy. I believed Ryu Eun-seok himself was also at fault for causing misunderstandings with his excessive kindness.

But now I, too, was being greedy like those girls who had fallen into delusion, wanting to monopolize Ryu Eun-seok’s attention. Even though I felt embarrassed about having a battle of wills with a younger junior, I had no intention of backing down an inch.

“Seems like the one being suspicious is you toward me.”

When I snapped back sharply, a shade deeper than blush spread across Yang Soo-bin’s cheeks. I had coated my tongue with poison because I wanted to strike a blow, but seeing her flustered made my conscience sting.

“What did I ever do to you…”

Yang Soo-bin couldn’t continue and blinked rapidly. The moisture gathering between her lashes was clearly visible. Her lower lip was trembling.

I had thrown the arrow myself, yet I felt an unreasonable sense of guilt. But I didn’t want to apologize. It was Yang Soo-bin who had sought me out first and prickled my nerves with absurd words like “delusion” and “suspicion.”

“I don’t get why you came to me when you’re closer to Ryu Eun-seok. Are you afraid he’ll tell you it’s not a delusion? Or are you not that close after all?”

I was never going to be friends with Yang Soo-bin anyway. The more we ran into each other, the more awkward it would get. Resolving to be known as unpleasant, I decided to just be the bad guy.

“I know what kind of girls you’re talking about. But to me, they and you are all the same.”

The blood drained from Yang Soo-bin’s flushed face in an instant.

“Calling me out like this to lecture me—that’s overstepping.”

Eventually, Yang Soo-bin let a thick teardrop fall. Soon, like a faucet turned on, streams of tears crossed her cheeks. Her slender shoulders trembled, and she bowed her head. The ground at her feet darkened.

“Hic…”

I finally understood how Ryu Eun-seok must have felt when she cried loudly in front of the business building. Confused, irritated, wronged, and at the same time, a little pitiful. That was probably why he brought her here and tried to soothe her kindly.

Back then, I hadn’t understood that and had pushed Ryu Eun-seok outside the line, saying I wouldn’t care anymore.

I had fallen into preconceptions and didn’t bother to look into how he must have felt.

As I mentally wrote my apology, I took a tissue from my bag and pressed the whole pack into Yang Soo-bin’s hand.

…and checked one more time to see if anyone was around. I wasn’t kind enough to sit beside her and wait for her tears to subside, so this was the best I could do.