My Ex-Boyfriend is Sold Out

Chapter 7 – Group Project with My Ex and My Childhood Friend

* * *

As promised, Yerin and I went to Baskin Robbins.

We chose three flavors: Mint Choco, “Dad is an Alien,” and Rainbow Sherbet. With our ice cream in hand, we quickly found a seat.

Pushed by Yerin’s insistence, I started to recount what had happened in the club room.

“All that happened while I was gone!?”

“Yeah, seriously. She did wrong, but kept acting like I should be the one to apologize.”

“Has she lost her mind or something? How can someone be that selfish…”

Yerin stopped mid-sentence and stared at me intently. Her usually gentle gaze had narrowed sharply.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I was just thinking… she must have been really spoiled by you, to turn out this arrogant.”

“So now you’re saying it’s my fault that Chae-yeon turned out like that?”

“Not entirely, but yeah, you played a part.”

Between the YouTuber I watched recently and now Yerin, why did everyone keep saying I was somehow to blame?

Taking a scoop of her mint choco ice cream, Yerin waved her spoon as she continued.

“You should’ve set some boundaries with her. Instead, you got so wrapped up in her that this whole thing is just… a mess.”

“At least I broke it off now, so no need for all the commentary.”

“Pfft… true enough.”

Yerin chuckled, then reached over to pinch my cheek, playfully shaking it.

“Next time you date someone, make sure you get my approval first. That way, you can avoid another disaster.”

She was acting like she was my mom or something.

I pushed her hand away.

“Thanks, but I can pick my own girlfriends just fine.”

“Oh, is that so? Says the guy who dated Lim Chae-yeon and let her use him as a… mph!”

Seeing where this was going, I stuffed a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth to shut her up.

“You’ve got a long tongue today, don’t you?”

Startled by my move, Yerin blinked her big eyes at me in surprise.

Then, as she looked right at me, her cheeks flushed, and a strange, meaningful gleam appeared in her eyes.

“What’s with that look…”

Feeling awkward under her intense gaze, Yerin smiled slyly, tucking her hair behind her ear. A moment later—

Munch, munch.

The sensation of her tongue swirling around the spoon’s handle transmitted directly to my hand.

“H-Hey, what are you doing?”

There was a limit to how much she could joke around.

I tried to pull the spoon away, but Yerin just pursed her lips tightly, refusing to let go.

“Are you still not done? Come on, let go already.”

Smack.

The sound and tugging grew louder, and feeling increasingly embarrassed, I yanked the spoon away with force.

Pop.

A silvery string of saliva stretched from the spoon, which now gleamed as if it had been freshly washed.

“What, did I smear honey on my spoon or something? How long were you planning to keep sucking on it?”

“Sorry. The ice cream was just so tasty, I lost control.”

Typical Yerin—helpless when it came to food.

Leaving the newly sparkling spoon aside, I grabbed a fresh one and took a scoop of my own.

“Guess it’s because you’re always eating weird flavors like mint choco. Now you’re finally tasting something good.”

“Mint choco is delicious, though…”

Yerin pouted and continued to eat her mint choco quietly.

Before long, we’d finished the ice cream. Just as I was about to toss out the trash to repay her for the treat—

“Give me the spoons. I’ll throw them away.”

Before I could respond, Yerin had already snatched the spoons from me.

* * *

Three days had passed since the argument with Chae-yeon.

Maybe the club room confrontation had finally made things clear, as neither she nor So-hee had bothered me since.

Though…

Glance. Flick.

…So-hee still kept stealing glances my way.

“Well, I guess that’s tolerable.”

If I could make it through the rest of college in this kind of peace, that’d be great.

With this small hope in mind, I accepted the paper the professor was handing out.

And then, as I read what was on it…

“Shit.”

A curse slipped out before I knew it.

—

Group Members

[Group A: ***, ***, ***, ***]

[Group B: Kim Si-hyun, Lim Chae-yeon, Yoon So-hee, Han Yerin]

[Group C: ***, ***, …]

—

So, this was the group project—and the professor had somehow managed to assemble the absolute worst possible group.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…”

In a daze, I rubbed my eyes and even turned the paper upside down, but the names stayed the same.

Worst of all…

Chae-yeon was glaring at me with an expressionless look.

So-hee, giving me a thumbs-up as if to say “let’s do our best.”

And Yerin, next to me, frozen with her mouth hanging open.

Their reactions were enough to make me realize that, yes, this was reality.

“Sigh…”

I could already feel a headache brewing.

How long had it been since the argument, and here we were forced back together again.

As I clutched my head and let out a sigh, Yerin spoke up with a worried voice.

“Si-hyun, are you okay?”

“No, not even remotely okay…”

Honestly, I wanted to drop the whole project and just walk away, but…

It didn’t feel right to drag everyone else’s grades down just because of personal issues.

At the very least, I figured I should get the work done and ignore the drama if it came to that.

“Everyone, please sit with your assigned groups,” the professor instructed, prompting the students to shift around the room.

Some were happily seated with friends, while others seemed a bit awkward, barely managing a greeting.

And among all the groups, the worst one was…

Zap.

Chae-yeon shot me a glare as if she wanted me dead the moment I approached. This was our group.

“If you’ve got a problem, why not just say it?” I muttered.

“Who says I do?”

Right, like she wasn’t radiating discomfort for everyone to see.

Sigh… I’d lost track of how many sighs I’d let out already.

Realizing the tough road ahead, I took a seat across from her, feeling a wave of dread wash over me.

Not long after, Yerin arrived with her laptop and sat down beside me.

“……”

Five minutes had probably passed, yet none of us had spoken a word. We were all just locked in a silent standoff.

Especially Yerin—she kept staring coldly at Chae-yeon, and her gaze was so sharp that even a brief glance made me shiver.

“Uh, guys? Now that we’re in this together, let’s give it our best!” So-hee, watching the tense atmosphere, tried to lighten things up.

It seemed like we’d get nowhere without breaking the silence, so I decided to back her up.

“Yeah, we’re all uncomfortable, but let’s at least cooperate until the project’s done.”

So-hee’s face brightened, and after a moment, Chae-yeon and Yerin reluctantly nodded.

With the tension easing a bit, So-hee quickly spoke up.

“About our group project… I was thinking we could divide tasks into one presenter, one person for the slides, and two for research. So, what do you all prefer?”

I wasn’t exactly great at making slides, and presenting in front of people was the last thing I wanted to do.

“I’ll do research.”

“I’ll do that too,” Yerin echoed my choice.

“Okay, so Si-hyun and Yerin are on research. How about you, Chae-yeon?”

“I’ll handle the slides.”

“Alright, then I’ll take care of the presentation. And, I think it’d be best if we all met up to work on this. When’s everyone available?”

So-hee put a special emphasis on “all met up.”

“Is she still not over this?”

Surely she knew how badly things had soured between Chae-yeon and me…

Even though she’d seemed nervous before, now So-hee looked energized, as if she saw this as her chance.

“Is meeting up really necessary?” I asked.

She smiled sweetly and replied, “If we’re in the same place, we can give each other instant feedback, right?”

“Isn’t that doable over chat?”

“Nope! What if someone just goes silent on us?”

Not likely.

Everyone in our group took their responsibilities seriously. Yerin was diligent when given a task, and even Chae-yeon wasn’t the type to slack off.

And of course, neither was I.

I figured So-hee knew all this, too, which meant she was insisting on meeting up to push Chae-yeon and me together. As I was about to refuse—

“Fine, but let’s buckle down and finish it in one day,” Yerin agreed to So-hee’s suggestion.

“Huh…!” I pinched her thigh, wondering why she’d decide that on her own.

Yerin flinched, then leaned over and whispered in my ear.

“It’ll be better to knock it all out at once. If we try doing it over chat, she might use that as an excuse to keep bugging you.”

“Ah…”

It seemed Yerin had thought it through after all.

Seeing her logic, I quickly apologized to her, patting her thigh where I’d pinched her.

“Alright, then. I’ll set up a group chat and let everyone know the details,” So-hee said, wrapping up the discussion.

“Why’s Chae-yeon so quiet?” I wondered.

She must’ve been uncomfortable about meeting up, too, yet she hadn’t voiced any complaints.

* * *

A few days later, the four of us gathered at a study café for the group project.

Chae-yeon and So-hee sat across from Yerin and me, with an awkward tension lingering in the air.

“How about we grab something to drink before starting?” I suggested, trying to ease the tense atmosphere as I stood to take orders.

Almost immediately, Yerin piped up.

“Si-hyun, just get me my usual.”

“Got it.”

I instantly understood her cryptic order.

They must’ve been wondering how often we came to this café for me to know exactly what she meant, as both Chae-yeon and So-hee’s eyes widened at Yerin’s display of familiarity.