Me, sprinting in the sweltering summer heat.
Soon enough, my breath hitches up to my chin, ragged and uneven.
"Ah, fuck…"
Sweat drips incessantly, soaking my clothes until they're damp.
Even so, I don't stop running.
No—I couldn't stop.
"Hah, ha… huu…"
Even the wind hitting my face felt scorching.
And the tteokbokki in my hand kept swaying wildly, back and forth.
"Huh, haa… ah!"
I blow past the familiar security office like an arrow.
Then, sprinting straight ahead, a familiar figure comes into view in the distance.
"Hurry the hell up!"
A sharp yell echoes through the apartment complex.
And the people glancing at us.
"Hah, ha… sorry, I came as fast as I— hah, huu…"
Sweat droplets fall to the ground with a plop—
My eyes sting so much from the sweat it's almost unbearable.
"…Whatever."
I rub my eyes to wipe away the sweat.
My blurry vision clears slightly.
"Let's go."
"…Yeah."
Only after catching my breath does Park Eun-ji finally come into focus.
Her long hair was tied back, swaying like a horse's tail with every step she took.
Screeeech—
The shared entrance door opens.
I follow behind Park Eun-ji just before the door closes.
"Hey, so do you know any seniors around here, like a year above us?"
"Uh… hold on."
Her gaze, sharper than usual, turns toward me.
Park Eun-ji doesn't bother hiding her irritation, and I instinctively shrink back.
"...How nearby do you mean?"
The overwhelming pressure I'd momentarily forgotten while hiding behind anonymity now suffocates me again.
"Like, 20-30 minutes from here?"
"Ah…"
"Why? You know someone?"
Well, I did know someone.
But dragging anyone else into this would just make things messier.
I figured I should cut it off here.
"…I don't really know any guys…"
"Not 'don't really know'—I'm asking if there was someone."
"...."
It was a situation where I had to find someone who didn't even exist.
Struggling, I stubbornly opened my mouth again.
"No, uh, there wasn't."
"…You sure?"
"I mean, from what I know… it's kinda far from school, and if you don't know… how would I…?"
"Yeah, right. Like you'd know if even I don't."
Park Eun-ji's eyes bore into me.
Then, the corner of her mouth twitches—a bitter, mocking smirk aimed my way.
Ding—
"Get in."
"Ah, yeah."
I quickly follow her into the elevator.
And there we stand, facing each other.
"By the way, what's that in your hand?"
"Ah… this?"
Park Eun-ji's gaze, which had been scanning my face, drops slightly.
Then she gives a small nod.
"Yeah."
"…I was hungry earlier… so I got lunch."
"Hey, who's gonna steal it? The fuck, you think someone's gonna see me and assume I'm some thief?"
The reality of my position, momentarily forgotten because of the random chat, sinks in again.
My hesitant, faltering movements clearly don't sit well with her.
"You're a guy, stand up straight."
Park Eun-ji's hand reaches behind my back.
Then—poke, poke—she jabs at some spot near my spine.
"You've got a decent face, so why do you act like such a fucking loser, huh?"
Her eyes return to what I'd called my lunch.
"…The fuck. Is this tteokbokki?"
"Ah, well, yeah. I just suddenly craved it…"
"...."
The spicy aroma of tteokbokki now fills the elevator.
But Park Eun-ji's expression—no, her entire body—stiffens like stone.
"…What?"
I play dumb, feigning innocence.
Meanwhile, Park Eun-ji's shoulders jerk slightly, her pupils trembling like there's an earthquake in them.
"No, what the fuck…"
She mutters under her breath.
But it's clear enough that it's a curse.
"What kind of dumbass eats fucking tteokbokki for a meal—are you insane?!"
"Ah!"
A movement too fast for the eye to follow.
Park Eun-ji snatches the bag from my hand and slams it onto the floor.
"Ah…"
The flimsy bag couldn't withstand the impact.
The elevator is now a mess, splattered with the orange-red tteokbokki sauce.
"Hah, huu… haaa…"
Her breathing grows noticeably rougher.
Then—ding—the elevator stops.
"...Ha, fucking hell…"
She looks like she's barely holding back her anger.
That carefree expression from earlier is long gone.
"…Get lost, you piece of shit."
"Uh, yeah!"
She looks extremely pissed off.
No need to ask why.
"Ah, but… I should clean this up…"
"Then fucking do it! You want me to clean it?!"
"Ah, no… I'll do it."
"God… fucking… hell…"
Almost as if she's embarrassed by yelling at me to leave, Park Eun-ji storms off, walking so fast her feet are a blur.
Then—SLAM!—the sound of a door shutting violently echoes through the hallway.
BANG—!!
"Huh, heh… heh heh… huu, hahah!"
Park Eun-ji's twisted expression just now was priceless.
No matter how hard I tried to hold it in, laughter kept forcing its way out.
"Hah… huu, haaa…"
The elevator, now a disaster.
I walk toward where Park Eun-ji had gone, then stop by my own apartment to grab wet wipes and a trash bag before returning to the elevator.
"Heh, hng… ha… haaa…"
The orange-smeared elevator slowly gets cleaned.
It was an annoying cleanup, but I couldn't stop laughing—making it a strangely happy time.
And all I could think about was getting back to my room and resuming the paused random chat.
************************************************************************************************
[Stranger: Hey]
[Stranger: Why aren't you answering? 😂]
[Stranger: Scared? Haha, yeah, I'd be scared too if I were you]
"Ah, fuck… fuuuck…"
[Stranger: Just give up already? Fighting like this just tires us both out 😂]
I don't even know where things went wrong.
Everything was tangled beyond repair from the start.
[Stranger: No, seriously, I don't get it? If you'd just sent one pic with your boobs out, this would've been over. Why are you doing this?]
I bite down hard on my lower lip.
A sharp pain flares, but the stress is worse—my head throbs.
[Me: What reason do I even have to trust you?]
[Stranger: 😂😂😂😂 Isn't it better than rumors spreading that you're some random-chat slut looking for guys?]
[Me: Who'd even believe that? 😂 Just spread it, you fucking loser. What're you gonna do if you do?]
No matter how many times I checked, there was nothing incriminating in the chat.
No matter how I looked at it, I'd just stepped in shit.
[Stranger: Pic]
[Stranger: Pic]
"…What's this now?"
[Stranger: I can just edit it~]
Someone spouting vulgar shit like I'm horny… I wanna taste cum.
And the pics they sent were of me from earlier.
[Stranger: And honestly, it doesn't even matter lol If rumors spread that you're some random-chat slut, I'd be satisfied with that 😂😂😂😂]
My hands tremble—shake, shake.
This is the first time in my life my body's shivered like this.
And the question arises—
Why are you doing this to me? There's no need to go this far… I just don't get it.
[Me: What the hell do you even want from me…?]
[Stranger: No, you fucking bitch 😂 How many times do I have to say it? lolol Just take a pic with your boobs out… and send it to me. Is that so hard?]
[Me: So you can blackmail me with that too, you fuck]
[Stranger: I'm already blackmailing you…? And it's not like I want you to become some random-chat slut… I just wanna see your boobs and jerk off, is that too much to ask?]
[Me: Stop bullshitting… You're just gonna make me do worse shit later]
I'm not some crazy bitch—why would I send pics of myself to some guy I don't even know, who does know me?
[Me: Whatever, you know who I am anyway]
[Stranger: Yeah, I know you real well 😂😂😂😂]
[Me: Then come over and touch me all you want 😂 Do whatever you want]
At this point, I didn't care anymore.
No—I genuinely wanted them to take the bait and meet me in person.
[Stranger: Where should I go?]
"Huu…"
I take a deep breath.
With my still-shaking hands, I type slowly, carefully.
[Me: Come here]
There was no other way.
The only answer left was to meet them and beat the shit out of them.
[Stranger: If I come, will you let me do it once?]
[Me: Just come]
[Stranger: Can I go ahead and dump my cum inside your pussy hole?]
"…You're so fucking disgusting…"
Words I'd never heard in my life.
Vulgar beyond belief, treating me like some whore.
[Me: 😂 Try it if you can]
"Just come… you're dead, you fuck…"
I don't care if they're really a senior or whatever.
All I can think about is beating the shit out of them the second they show their face.