Epilogue: Kim Jae-heon Dies.
My conscience is stabbing me.
No, more than stabbing, my conscience is on fire.
My good-natured conscience simply cannot bring itself to say such a line.
But.
"..."
I glanced sideways toward where Jang Chae-yeon was.
She told me to do it.
I could feel her intense willpower, born from a furious determination that she wouldn't suffer alone, to socially destroy me with all her might.
'Go and say the most violent thing you can.'
Jang Chae-yeon's words came back to me.
Right. I am innocent.
Well, honestly, I have plenty of sins, but I'm glad I can share those sins with Jang Chae-yeon.
It means that even if I fall into hell, she'll be there with me.
Thinking that, I looked at Song A-rin.
Well, she was staring straight at me.
"...What did you just say?"
Song A-rin muttered, meeting my eyes.
"..."
"Was that a joke? If not, was it sincere?"
I couldn't detect any emotion in her eyes as she spoke.
"..."
"..."
Park Ye-eun and I exchanged a look.
Oppa, what do we do? I think I'm really going to die.
Me too.
Should we back out now?
Maybe we should?
Just as we were sharing this look,
something pinched my neck.
"Ugh."
"Ouch!"
Park Ye-eun and I cried out simultaneously.
"..."
I didn't need to look to know what had pinched us.
It was obviously Jang Chae-yeon.
A threat that wasn't a threat.
Telling us not to back out now.
"..."
I had already hurt Jang Chae-yeon,
so... yeah. There's no other way.
"You're right. It's not a joke."
"Oppa...!"
Park Ye-eun's eyes went wide as she stared at me.
"...Ha."
Song A-rin let out a laugh.
The emotion in her voice wasn't anger, emptiness, or anything else.
"...I see."
Resignation.
"I must have been dreaming for a moment."
"..."
"That someone loved me... no. I was the one who loved you, so I was just expecting things, getting hurt, feeling happy, feeling sad all by myself. How strange must I have looked, doing all that in front of you?"
Song A-rin muttered as she turned her body away.
"A-rin."
"Sorry. Don't talk to me. Right now... I can't bear to look at your face."
If this goes any further, it'll be irreversible.
"I-It's a hidden camera!"
"Hidden camera!"
I shouted hastily, and Park Ye-eun followed suit, yelling loudly.
"..."
Song A-rin's gaze turned toward Park Ye-eun and me.
"What did you say?"
"W-were you surprised? A-rin? It's a hidden camera!"
"That's right! I decided to do it with Oppa! Chae-, Chae-, Chae-yeon unni got pranked too!"
"..."
The door creaked open and Jang Chae-yeon stuck her face in.
"..."
Song A-rin watched us silently, then snapped her fingers.
"W-wait a minute! A-rin unni! Unni!"
Park Ye-eun immediately dropped to the floor and began doing perfect-form push-ups.
"...Ugh, ughhh..!"
Jang Chae-yeon opened the door fully and started doing a Cossack dance.
Song A-rin watched the two expressionlessly, then looked at me.
"A-rin. Just a moment."
"A moment?"
"No, not just a moment. I know you're angry, of course. But. No..."
"Be serious. Do you really think you can make excuses right now?"
"...No."
"Right?"
Song A-rin smiled brightly, stepped closer to me, and then.
"Guhk!"
She drove her fist straight into my solar plexus.
So when you get hit properly in the solar plexus, you can't breathe.
That thought was brief.
The next moment, Song A-rin collapsed into my arms.
"...What am I supposed to do now?"
"...Should I get on my knees and beg?"
"3 points."
"Out of how many?"
"..."
"I'm sorry. Uh. Um. Um. I'm really... really sorry."
"..."
Song A-rin looked up at me without a word.
"Hug me."
"What?"
"Do you want me to say it twice?"
"No. I'll hug you."
I immediately pulled Song A-rin into a tight embrace.
Her small frame fit perfectly into my arms as she clung to me.
"...I."
Holding onto me, she whispered quietly.
"Did you know I can't live without you now?"
"..."
"No. I suppose I could. People can manage to live on anyway."
"..."
"But, if you weren't here, I'd be living a different life."
"..."
"If you want to leave, then leave. I'm not someone who can hold you back."
"A-rin."
"If you truly decide to leave me, I can't stop you either."
"..."
"But. Please don't even joke about that kind of thing."
Song A-rin looked up at me, and then.
—Thwack!
"Guhk!"
She headbutted me right in the solar plexus with her forehead.
"Got it?"
"Y-yes, I got it."
"Ugh, unni! Please save me! My arms hurt so much!"
"Huff, huff...! Huff...!"
Park Ye-eun was doing perfect-form push-ups with a tearful face, and Jang Chae-yeon was still doing her Cossack dance, unable to even say 'stop'.
"...Did you plan this with the white-haired one too? Does she play pranks like this?"
"No. She was a victim."
"Ah, so because you suffered, others have to suffer similarly?"
"It seems that way."
"What a bunch of trash."
Song A-rin let out a deep sigh and looked at me.
Unexpectedly, Song A-rin really couldn't stand injustice.
"Do it now."
"What?"
"If I had to go through it, the others should get a taste too."
Song A-rin frowned and growled.
"...Hek, hik!"
Park Ye-eun, seeing this, let out a pained moan.
Probably out of fear.
Or maybe just because it was too physically difficult.
"Then I'll act."
Song A-rin muttered.
"Whoever is next, I'll make tears stream down their eyes."
"..."
"And I'll completely destroy your social reputation."
"I know what I did wrong, and I'm sincerely reflecting on it. Couldn't you please let it slide just this once, A-rin?"
"No."
"I see."
But what could I do?
It was my mistake.
At least let's not feel wronged.
"I'll cry my eyes out next to you, like someone who's already received divorce papers."
"Do you really have to go that far?"
"Yep. You two, stop."
Watching Song A-rin nod, I quietly closed my eyes.
I see. So this is how my social reputation dies.
Thinking that, I looked at Park Ye-eun, whose arms were shaking like a leaf, and Jang Chae-yeon, who had slumped down like a newborn baby, unable to do anything.
"Ugh..."
"..."
At least Park Ye-eun was moaning, but Jang Chae-yeon just sat there with a completely soulless expression.
"Chae-yeon."
"..."
She was saying something in a faint voice, but it was hard to make out.
"Hey, you're in the way. Get up and get lost."
When Song A-rin frowned and spoke to Jang Chae-yeon,
"...Gk..."
Jang Chae-yeon got up with a pained expression and started moving.
"Even so, isn't this too harsh on Chae-yeon?"
"To be honest, I was going to go easy? But I'm really angry because you kept glancing at the white-haired one even while talking to me."
I'd been caught.
But I'm sure anyone would have looked; who could resist watching something shaking so dynamically?
"Anyway. We're doing the same to the next person. Understood?"
"...Yes. Understood."
While I was saying that.
"She's coming."
"Oppa. My arms hurt."
"Good for you. You're building muscle. That's good."
"You're really mean."
Does she not know who caused this whole mess?
As I was thinking that,
"She's here."
Song A-rin said, and then.
"Waaahhhh..."
She suddenly started crying like a madwoman.
"A-rin?"
"Waaahhh... You trashy bastard..."
"..."
Before I could even finish, she came over and started pounding my back.
The door opened and the Branch Chief came in.
"What on earth did you do this time?"
The Branch Chief blinked as she entered.
"Waaaahhhh!!"
Song A-rin started crying even more pitifully.
Is she hypnotizing herself right now?
"..."
And there was Park Ye-eun, standing there weakly.
Probably because her arms had given out.
"...Is something going on?"
The Branch Chief seemed to understand the situation a little, staring straight at me.
"Well, you see..."
"...He says he's divorcing me."
Before I could finish, Song A-rin continued in a tearful voice.
"He says he's marrying a high school girl and abandoning all of us."
That's a destructive statement. Seriously.
Even I felt dizzy hearing such a destructive remark, so I closed my eyes gently.
"What did you say?"
The Branch Chief looked at me as if it were unbelievable.
"Kim Jae-heon. That's not true, is it?"
"Well, you see..."
I tried to say 'It's not,' but...
Zing. Under Song A-rin's piercing glare, I had no choice but to open my mouth again.
"...That's ri—"
—Thud!
Before I could finish, the Branch Chief stomped her foot.
"..."
The floor cracked, and Song A-rin, who had been crying buckets, froze as if her act had been broken, staring at us.
"No way."
An obvious answer, but.
"At least get a child first, then get divorced."
What kind of crazy talk is this woman saying?
"Don't people usually get divorced before having children?"
"Shut up! How dare you abandon the fruit of my love! Get out right now!"
"Wait! Hidden camera! Hidden camera!"
"So you're filming this with a hidden camera again!"
"Not that meaning! It's a real hidden camera! A real hidden camera!"
It was only after I, Park Ye-eun, Song A-rin, and even Jang Chae-yeon all ganged up to persuade the Branch Chief that she finally calmed down.
*
"I knew this would happen."
The Branch Chief sighed and crossed her arms.
"I believed in you, Kim Jae-heon."
It was hard to say that, given I couldn't forget the Branch Chief's attempt to tear my clothes off, but I decided not to voice that thought aloud.
Thinking that, I talked with the others.
"Now all that's left are the black-haired one and the dirty blonde."
"...I have a feeling we really shouldn't mess with Yu Daon."
"I agree. Eileen might be okay, but Yu Daon..."
The others muttered.
Hearing them, Song A-rin raised one eyebrow.
"Don't be ridiculous. There's no leniency. If she goes crazy, we'll just erase her memory."
Do we have to go that far?
As I was thinking that,
"Jae-heon!"
I heard the sound of the door opening and someone coming in.
As if by prior agreement, the others pushed me.
"Jae-heon?"
Park Ye-eun and I were looking at Yu Daon.
"...Uh. Um. Daon."
"Yes?"
Yu Daon tilted her head.
"I'm divorcing Ye-eun and getting married, so please stamp the divorce papers."
"...Ah."
Yu Daon stayed still for a moment after hearing me.
About three seconds passed.
"Okay! Stamp them!"
Yu Daon smiled cheerfully, and both of us were left speechless.