Calibrating the NTR Drift in the Light Novel - MTL

Sooyeon Choi and I only broke up after buying a cup of coffee each at a café.

"Then be careful going in, and I'll see you again on Monday. Today was good."

"Senior, please go in carefully. And… Yes, I felt fresh and not bad today either."

Choi Su-yeon grinned and turned her body to slowly disappear.

Choi Soo-yeon is always smiling, so you can't really tell what she's thinking. Anyway, on the outside, she's just one of the group of second-year students.

Because she belongs to the Iljin group, she has such a sense of entitlement that Gong Young-bae wonders if he is secretly reluctant to accept her.

I gave Soo-yeon Choi a little stimulation, and after pricking her weak point, Soo-yeon Choi became much more emotional than usual and gave herself up to a daily date with me.

She probably still likes Gong Young-bae deep inside, but it seemed like she was hurting her heart, so her taste wasn't very good.

But…

– That's because if I date someone, the other two might leave me…

Her shocking words from Gong Young-bae were still lingering in my head.

Even if I didn't break Choi Soo-yeon's heart today, Choi Soo-yeon is destined to continue to suffer inside because of Gong Young-bae's selfish and mean intentions.

'I'm sorry for giving you a hard time today, Suyeon. But I don't want to see her having a hard time looking at that bastard again. I will have you. And this time, I will repay your heart to the fullest.'

After breaking up with Sooyeon Choi, I carried her bag and turned on her cell phone.

Then, I clicked on her profile as I saw it on the group chat and sent her a 1:1 message.

– Hey, I'm Seongjin Han. Let me ask you something.

– Uh? What is it…?

– Is the president still at the academy?

And when I saw the reply that came back right away, my eyes widened.

– If you're talking about Yuri, she left school early because she was sick during lunchtime.

'What does this mean again?'

Considering Gong Young-bae's trashy mind and attitude of taking women's affection for granted, if he is told to reconcile with Lee Yu-ri, the conflict will only increase rather than reconciliation.

Anticipating that from the beginning, I even prepared a place for Yu-ri Lee and Gong Yeong-bae to leave alone, and showed Soo-yeon Choi the two of them talking, making room for me in her heart.

It seems like everything went well…

'What did he do to leave school early?'

I only expected that the conflict between the two would intensify, but I had no idea that Yu-ri Lee, the idiot, would completely abandon her afternoon classes and send her to school early.

I wanted to find out what happened by questioning Gong Young-bae, but…

"We should take care of our cute Yuri Mental Yuri first."

I sent a short message to Yuri Lee.

[Me]: Hey, I heard it hurts. I was looking forward to making you a meal tomorrow, but if it hurts too much, don't overdo it

The read mark popped up right away, but the reply didn't come until I got home.

It was only when I had changed my clothes, washed up, and even drank water that I sent the message, and almost 40 minutes later, my phone finally rang.

[Lee Yu-ri]: I'm sorry, but I don't think I can go tomorrow

[Me]: Does it hurt a lot? Can you buy me some medicine?

[Lee Yu-ri]: No, it's okay. Just leave it alone for now. My head hurts.

That's the end of the short conversation.

Of course she knew that Yu-ri Lee couldn't be sick, but now she just pretended to believe her when she said she was sick and didn't bother her anymore.

Instead, I have something to prepare separately.

"Ugh, now I really need to save money."

When I checked the last check card usage history text message, my steps toward the pharmacy became heavier.

___

After Lee Yu-ri finished her brief chat with Han Seong-jin, she put her cell phone down on the pillow by her bed with a weak hand, like she was dying.

She wasn't sick, and she wasn't sleepy.

But it felt like her heart was going to burst at any moment, and even the back of her neck and earlobes felt like they were heating up.

'I arbitrarily made a promise and broke it…'

She felt a little sorry for Han Seong-jin, but she couldn't find the energy to do anything.

"My younger daughter, are you very sick? Would you like mom to make you some oatmeal?"

Her mother's voice was heard from outside her room.

"No, mom… It's okay. Just let me get some rest."

After covering her with her appropriate words, Lee Yu-ri covered her head with her blanket.

When I think about what happened at lunch, my heart ached, and I was so angry that tears kept welling up in my eyes.

…

"I'm sorry for being so angry last time."

"Yuri, aren't you really embarrassed?"

"… What?"

Lee Yu-ri, who tried to reconcile with her, was shocked by those words, as if she had been hit on the head with a hammer.

Her Gong Young-bae was still looking at her with a reproachful gaze.

"Did you just hear what that bastard Han Seong-jin said? 'Our' student council president? Since when did that bastard become so close to you? And what? Are you lonely? You said you used to stick together and go home together? Aren't you embarrassed to hang out with a bastard like that?"

"You… Are you doing this to me because of that…?"

"I wonder how much leeway you gave that kid to be like that!"

"You're giving me space? Is that all you're thinking about? We haven't had any trouble since Han Seong-jin's semester, and it's less than what I heard, so we just had a normal conversation! Is that giving you space?"

"What can I do to impress a bastard like that? Haven't you heard the rumor about him?"

"They say it's better than the rumors I heard!"

"He's been kicking others since the first day of the semester!"

"It's a kick that said it would save us!"

As Gong Young-bae and Yu-ri Lee's voices began to get louder, the attention of the surrounding students caught their attention, but the two were just glaring at each other and not paying attention to the surrounding situation.

"Yeah, that's true. But don't you think about what label you'll get if you stick around with that kid? What do I, your childhood friend, think?"

"Ha? A label? What kind of label? If we go together a few times because it looks like the direction of the house, they say I'm suddenly ranked last in the whole school? Or that I can't do my job properly as the student council president? Or that I sold myself out?! And you? Why are you?"

"Don't you think that if you get labeled as weird, kids might ask you weird questions?"

At that moment, Lee Yu-ri remembered what Han Seong-jin said.

– Then, that bastard only sees the side of 'student council president, an honor student who is good at studying', not Lee Yu-ri. Aren't you a bastard who is not interested in the person you are and is more interested in 'the amazing me who hangs out with that kind of Lee Yu-ri' using your image?

At that time, I thought it was just comforting words and tried to ignore it.

However, as I listened to what Gong Young-bae said now, I had no choice but to admit that Han Seong-jin got the point right.

"Really, me. Is that what you were worried about? You, who are going to be in trouble because of me, not because of me being labeled as a weird one? Why, your childhood friend always has to be the student council president and the top student in the whole school, and if you say a few words to the academy's gang, you're the one to be cut off?"

"That's not what you're saying! Why do you only think in such strange ways!? Did you really hear something strange while hanging out with Han Seong-jin?!"

"That damn Han Seongjin, Han Seongjin! He has no influence on me and has nothing to do with what I'm doing now! Why have you been tripping over Han Seongjin since a while ago!

I was trying to make up with you! From your point of view, I just said I was sorry because I seemed to have been too sensitive last time! But what about you? You didn't do anything wrong to me? So you're not embarrassed by your first words? Is that what you're saying?!"

"What are you doing to have a bastard like that next to you! Is this normal now? This guy is talking to you like 'our president' and you're not saying anything!"

"No matter how Han Seong-jin behaves towards me, I make judgments about my personal relationships! It wasn't at the level of conversation between students in the same class, so I just left it alone, and if he crossed the line, I would have cut him off! Why are you so meddlesome in managing my personal relationships? !"

"You've taken good care of me, so now Han Seong-jin is acting like you're this close to me? No, maybe, seeing as that bastard has been eyeing you since the beginning of the semester, you've been secretly flirting with me without me knowing-"

Wow!!!

Gong Young-bae's face suddenly turned to the side.

Yuri Lee's red hand was shaking.

Tears flowed down Yu-ri Lee's trembling cheeks.

"… Fuck you."

A harsh six-headed character came out from the mouth of Lee Yu-ri, who usually doesn't swear at all.

"I have been looking at you the wrong person all this time. If I had known how poorly you were looking at me, I would have broken off my relationship with you first."

"What?"

"Do you know what I regret the most right now? It's not getting involved with Han Seong-jin or fighting with you like this. It's just you."

"Yuri, I know what you're talking about-"

"Don't call me by my name as if I'm friendly. I'm disgusted by that bitch who gives Iljin her honey and flirts with her. How can you put my name in that arrogant mouth?"

Yuri Lee stood up from her seat while continuing to shed tears.

"More than being twisted by Han Seong-jin, I'm more disgusted by the fact that I was childhood friends with a guy like you. Don't ever talk to me again."

___

Early before noon on Saturday.

Yuri woke up early in the morning, but she was still lying on her bed, half-conscious, staring at the ceiling.

Woooooung- Woooooung-

However, her cell phone did not leave her idle.

'Who is it, at this time…'

Yuri Lee woke up in surprise when she saw her name on her phone.

"Han Seong-jin…? Why is he… Hello?"

– Hey, you're home, right?

"Yes. But why did you suddenly call me-"

– I'm on the bench in front of your apartment. Can you come down for a moment? I have something to give you.

"What? What do you mean? What can I give you for coming to my house on the weekend morning?"

– It's no big deal. If you're concerned about not wearing makeup, it's okay to wear a hat and a mask. It won't take long. Yes or no?

"Oh, no, that's okay, but what is this…"

– Then get ready and come down. I'm on the bench.

And the call was disconnected.

"?"

Not knowing why, Yuri Lee hurried to the bathroom, washed her face, brushed her teeth, briefly trimmed her hair, and went down to the first floor wearing a jersey and slippers.

A large blond man was seen sitting on a bench near the entrance to the apartment, and Yuri Lee approached him with an embarrassed expression.

Han Seong-jin, who discovered Lee Yu-ri, stood up, waved his hand and greeted her loudly.

"Oh, are you here?"

"No… What have you been doing since Saturday morning? What are you giving me?"

"It's nothing special, just this."

The bag handed out by Han Seong-jin contained fever reducers and a bowl of oatmeal bought from a oatmeal store.

"This is…"

"I heard from the kids yesterday that you left school early because you were sick. So I brought you some. This oatmeal is delicious."

"…"

"I didn't know if I had a cold or what, so I just bought it as a fever reducer. Of course, I have medicine like this at home, but it worked well when I was sick."

"…"

"I was curious about the meal you made, but I'll ask you to do it later. You promised me first, so I can't forgo this. Take care of yourself."

"Black…"

Something hot rose up in Yuri Lee's throat.

Just the day before, the bag of antipyretics and a bowl of oatmeal seemed to fill the hole in her heart that had been left gaping after she saw the depths of her childhood friend and the man she deeply liked and announced that she was breaking off relations.

She eventually couldn't hold it back and bent her knees and squatted on the floor, tears streaming down her face.

And then she started crying bitterly.

"Ugh… Ugh! Ugh!"