The Female Bullies Eat Me Up

"4th round... gotta go... must... go..."

"Senior, you're drunk."

"Ah... I'm not drunk, am I? I shouldn't be drunk, right?"

The hellish drinking session was over.

By the second round, there were still quite a few people, but by the third, half of them had vanished.

The ones left weren't in great shape either.

Maybe because I had toughened myself up with whiskey a few days ago...

I managed to survive somehow.

I drank more beer than soju, though.

"Let's call it a night. Freshmen, be careful on your way back. We'll take these ones home."

"Ah, understood."

Tomorrow's classes and yet they're nearly in a trance... Guess they don't have first period.

Somehow, only Kim Myung-jun and Ju Ye-jin from the freshmen were left.

Kim Myung-jun didn't seem drunk, looking pretty much the same as usual...

Ju Ye-jin seemed similar to her usual self but slightly more relaxed.

"Ah— what about the festival?"

The talk at the drinking session was mostly about the festival.

How to run the festival booths, what to do for the sports day, that sort of thing.

No one talked about midterms. Is it just assumed we'll bomb the exams...?

"Gotta think about it."

The seniors said they'd teach us the basic know-how...

But since I've never done it, it's not easy to get the hang of it.

They said it's like selling skewers or desserts at a high school festival.

'I only remember getting ripped off.'

I remember being dragged by delinquents during the festival and spending money.

The responsible ones usually did all the making and selling stuff.

When I think of festivals, I only recall the bully girls dancing on stage in December.

"But it'll be fun, right?"

Will it be fun...?

Kim Myung-jun and I exchanged awkward looks.

Seems Kim Myung-jun isn't too thrilled about this stuff either.

I heard this time, the females are banned from soliciting, so the guys have to do it.

Last festival, some girls wore revealing outfits to solicit and it caused issues, so now it's banned...

Some other department suggested, "Why not have guys dress up as girls?" What a load of crap... We won't pull that shit, right?

"Selling booze might be fun, though."

Hmm...

Running a proper bar with rent paid, selling alcohol, that could be fun.

But setting up a street stall like a pojangmacha, not sure if that's fun. Maybe the fun is in working together?

"But who's the celebrity coming to the festival?"

"Who knows. They said they'll definitely get a top-tier girl group."

A girl group? That's tempting.

Is it the current top-tier group, Sinspa? Or the unique band girl group, Q-Tap?

Personally, I prefer tier 3 or 4 girl groups. There's something appealing about their desperation. Hmm.

"Talking about girl groups, Joon-hyung's face lit up."

"Huh? No, it didn't."

Did I really look that excited without realizing?

Ju Ye-jin poked my shoulder with a grin.

"Who do you like?"

"No, I mean, whoever comes, it's all good..."

"Come on."

Really. I'm just curious about girl groups, nothing more...

Honestly, the ones who make my heart race are my female classmates right next to me.

Just now, a simple poke made my heart race.

Maybe because we're a bit drunk, the girls seem less guarded.

"But where are you guys headed? Gonna take a taxi?"

"I'm going to the intersection."

"I'm heading towards the main road."

All three of us are going different ways.

Buses are done for the night, so taxi is the only option.

If we were going the same way, we could split the fare, but too bad.

"Then I'll head out first? See you tomorrow."

"Okay, see ya."

Ju Ye-jin waved goodbye and disappeared.

Kim Myung-jun and I stood there for a moment, watching her leave.

"She's got charm, doesn't she?"

"...Yeah, yeah..."

Kim Myung-jun said out of the blue. Maybe he's a bit drunk too, talking like this.

Yeah... she does have charm.

She's different from other girls our age.

Unlike the others who are usually more reserved, she's more approachable and speaks first without prejudice.

Guys think alike, it seems.

But then a thought hit me.

If Kim Myung-jun and I end up going on a group date together... what if we both like the same girl?

What if Yoo In-ha, who brought a pretty girl, isn't my type? Naturally, wouldn't my eyes wander to the other girl?

If Kim Myung-jun's taste leans towards simpler girls rather than flashy ones, what then?

What if we both like the same girl?

Would we end up fighting over her?

I glanced at him.

He's got the looks that would make any girl swoon.

No nerd vibes at all. He probably had his fun in high school.

And he's not bad at studying either. Despite our school's reputation, he wasn't bad at studying, even got a scholarship to come here...

Why he chose this school, I have no clue, but he's definitely smarter than me, who got in through a supplementary admission.

'Damn.'

I felt suddenly small.

Fighting... I doubt we'd actually come to blows, but he doesn't seem like the type to back down.

Could I win? Not sure.

Not all students from the same school are on the same level.

What do I have that's better than him?

Good at poker? Fuck that. Starred in a porn? What the hell...

"What's up?"

"Oh, nothing."

Even if we both did OnlyFans, if it was Kim Myung-jun's face, we'd probably make a million won.

Thinking about it brings a harsh reality check.

Would Juha have reacted differently to him?

Would she have shown an incredibly excited expression? Panting with excitement?

...

Thinking about it made my lower half seriously deflate. Just imagining it, I've already lost the male competition.

"I'm gonna head out too. See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, see you tomorrow."

What's fucking annoying is that I don't even feel jealous.

I actually want to be closer to him.

I want to be close enough to watch girls get shy and excited around him.

I... I'm just a beta male... damn...

"Sigh."

Maybe because I'm tired, my mood's dropped.

I pulled out my phone. What time is it now?

[35 missed calls]

...Huh?

What's with all these alerts?

This is something you'd only see if you were super popular.

[Kim Ha-ru - 10 calls]

[Kwon Ji-ye - 15 calls]

...

[Yoo In-ha - 5 calls]

What the fuck. I started sweating cold.

All the female gang members I'd forgotten about called me.

I quickly checked my KakaoTalk, and there were countless notifications there too.

[Fuck, why aren't you picking up?]

[You wanna die?]

[Damn, you're pissing me off after so long.]

[Hey, are you asleep?]

[This bastard goes to bed so early.]

[Playing games? If so, you're dead.]

[Shit, I wanna beat someone up.]

This isn't some bullying app... How long has it been since I felt this PTSD...

And there's no message from Yoo In-ha. That's unsettling.

The messages from other delinquents all said the same thing.

They told me to go find Yoo In-ha.

She called because she was drunk and not feeling well, but they couldn't go.

They called me at 1 AM to come over. How the hell am I supposed to get there? Her place is far as fuck.

...It's 2 AM now?

The first call came around 12:30.

So she started calling for help from then, and I was the last one she called.

'Yoo In-ha isn't one to get drunk easily.'

I've never seen her drunk even in high school...

She could down several bottles of soju and still be almost sober, laughing off everyone else...

"But how would I know where she is?"

I tried calling Yoo In-ha again... but she didn't answer.

What's going on? Maybe there's a reason she called me? She must be somewhere near Daehangno.

Fuck, now I have to deal with her being drunk? Damn...

But since it's urgent, what choice do I have...

I reluctantly headed back to Daehangno.

She didn't go home by herself, did she? Maybe she's lying next to a trash bag somewhere.

Fuck, she's not here?

I was already drenched in sweat.

I searched Daehangno like a madman, but she was nowhere to be found.

Did she go home? If she could go home, she wouldn't have called.

I had a bad feeling.

Did she get dragged away by someone while drunk?

All sorts of bad scenarios ran through my mind.

Fuck... I didn't realize because my phone was on silent... Is this going to be a disaster?

I bit my lip.

The chances of her being inside a shop are zero. The likelihood of someone finding her collapsed and calling the police? Low.

I felt like I wouldn't sleep tonight if I didn't confirm. Should I search from the beginning again?

...No.

Checking the same places again isn't very meaningful.

From my experience, it's not effective. Like during the school trip treasure hunt, I was the only one who couldn't find it, sweating bullets.

Fuck, where are you? If I can't find her, I can't go home...

I kept looking in places I'd already checked, focusing hard, but couldn't find her.

Later, she was in a really unexpected place. Somewhere hard to imagine... because the usual spots were already checked by others.

That experience suddenly came to mind.

If it were a normal person, they'd be in a normal place. Yoo In-ha isn't.

She must be in a place beyond imagination.

I made a wide circle outside Daehangno.

I even checked deep alleys or dark spots behind utility poles. Maybe she'd be in such places...

"Ha."

I found her.

Outside Daehangno, in a hard-to-find dark alley.

Yoo In-ha was sitting with her knees hugged, head buried.

"Why here..."

What a bizarre hiding spot...

I sighed and touched Yoo In-ha's shoulder.

"Hey..."

"j... j... j..."

What... what is she saying?

I didn't realize it, but she seemed to be trembling.

Her trembling was so severe, like someone who'd eaten something bad.

"Hey... Yoo In-ha. What's... what's going on?"

F... fuck... I'll kill... I'll kill... fuck... touch me... and I'll kill...

Like in a horror movie, Yoo In-ha was mumbling.

What's wrong with this bitch? She looks like she might suddenly bite if I touch her.

"Hey... it's me, Lee Joon-hyung. You called me."

"Lee... Joon-hyung..."

At the mention of my name, Yoo In-ha's trembling eased slightly.

I cautiously crouched beside her.

Is she really in bad shape? Did she drink that much?

"Let's go. Where's your place? I'll take you home."

"F... fuck..."

Yoo In-ha slowly lifted her head.

Holy shit. What's with her face? Her eyes were so swollen they looked like black holes.

Her makeup was smeared, making her look like a ghost.

Her lips were bitten, covered in blood...

"Ho... home..."

She looked serious. This isn't a laughing matter.

What did she eat? I need to get her home fast.

"Why... why are you like this? Let's move."

When I supported her by the shoulder, Yoo In-ha managed to stand up.

Her face was pale, looking like she might collapse any moment.

What's going on? Should I call an ambulance? All sorts of bad thoughts crossed my mind.

"Lee... Joon-hyung? Lee Joon-hyung?"

Is she out of it?

I kept responding. Yes, it's Lee Joon-hyung.

Should I buy some water? I put her arm over my shoulder to walk, but she was heavier than I thought.

She seemed to be losing consciousness more and more.

I had no choice but to pull her by the waist,

"Ah... ah..."

With a single moan, Yoo In-ha's body shook violently.

...What?