Yes, It’s Me. The Obsessive Side Top

#012

While walking into school, a familiar delinquent approached from the opposite direction. It was the guy who had harassed Sun Woo in the library. Young-chan was his name, I think. I only remembered it because it sounded like “military detention.” His expression suggested he had something to say to me.

“Sun Woo, go ahead inside,” I said. “I’ll catch up after talking a bit.”

Sun Woo gave me a brief glance before heading inside, and I walked toward Young-chan, who approached with a strangely cheerful demeanor.

“Ha Jin. How can we contact you?” Young-chan began. “Your phone doesn’t work, and you don’t come to gatherings anymore. We can only see you at school.”

“I don’t have a phone,” I replied.

“Still?” he asked, sounding exasperated. “Everyone’s going crazy because they can’t reach you.”

Young-chan was trying to bring up something delicate, gauging my blank reaction as he continued.

“Did you break up with I-na?” he asked.

“I-na?” I echoed.

“At Chang Ki’s birthday party on the cruise, I-na got drunk and made a scene, crying. So everyone figured something must’ve happened. And since we couldn’t reach you either, we guessed… you broke up with I-na, right?”

“Probably,” I said.

Ah, so her name was I-na, not Hana. She seems to have quite the personality. It must’ve been infuriating to be ghosted while in a relationship. Back then, I thought it was just a casual fling, but hearing this made me feel a bit sorry for her. Internally, I sent a belated apology to I-na.

Meanwhile, Young-chan moved on to his main point. “Then… do you want to try what you mentioned before? When you said you were interested, wow, it was no joke. Seems you’re really famous in that circle too. I think we could call some good people.”

“Try what?” I asked.

Cleaning up Ha Jin’s mess felt like walking a dog while holding a bag of poop. It was probably something bizarre. Still, I needed to know what kind of trouble Ha Jin had stirred up, so I waited for his answer.

“You said you wanted to taste men.”

‘What?’

What did I just hear? Taste what? This wasn’t like sampling flavors at an ice cream shop—what was he even talking about? I stared at Young-chan, my mind frozen. He flinched and let out an awkward laugh.

“Well, you were curious about it back then. So…”

“What was I curious about?” I demanded, pressing Young-chan as disbelief flooded through me.

Was this why Ha Jin had acted that way toward Sun Woo—because he was interested in that? At my question, Young-chan looked indignant.

“That time at the bar, when we were all talking, you brought it up. Asked what men taste like. Said it might be nice to try it once. You seemed genuinely curious.”

Have you lost your mind, Ha Jin?

“That was just a joke,” I said, trying to sound nonchalant.

“Ah, I see. Those guys will be disappointed. They really wanted to talk with you, even just once. Well, let’s hang out sometime soon then.”

When I responded seriously, Young-chan said goodbye awkwardly and left. Alone again, I found myself walking away, genuinely wondering, Is Ha Jin really insane?

And then I saw him. Sun Woo stood there, quietly watching me.

Seeing him still there after I had told him to go ahead, I internally screamed. Shit… Did he hear that just now? He must have.

The timing couldn’t have been worse. I tried my best to keep a casual expression.

“Sun Woo, you didn’t go ahead?” I asked, attempting to sound relaxed.

It would’ve been easier if Sun Woo had just asked about the awful conversation or looked at me strangely. Instead, he started walking without saying a word, leaving me with an unsettling feeling. Even though it wasn’t my mess to clean up, I found myself trailing behind him, feeling awkward—like a student following a teacher to the faculty office after causing trouble.

We arrived at the department room, and Sun Woo still hadn’t spoken. The silence was oppressive, so I made a desperate attempt at conversation.

“Sun Woo, the meal was good. It seemed tastier because you bought it,” I said.

“You couldn’t even eat it because it was too spicy,” he replied.

“Th-that’s true? Well, I enjoyed the coffee,” I stammered.

“You barely drank any coffee. It’s still there,” he pointed out.

With each word, the conversation grew more awkward. Sun Woo was watching me with an unreadable expression. If only I could read his mind, I might have been able to say something appropriate. Frustrated, I found myself nervously chewing on my lips. Sun Woo’s gaze lingered on me, watching my every move in the uncomfortable silence.

“Sun Woo, did you hear what Young-chan said earlier?” I finally asked.

Sun Woo nodded. Of course… I’d been hoping he hadn’t, but of course, my life couldn’t be that easy.

“That was a joke,” I said, making excuses. Sun Woo listened intently, his expression serious. Then he calmly looked at me and asked, “Do you remember what happened after drinking yesterday?”

“Ah, huh? No!” My voice cracked as I hastily answered.

I did remember. I remembered so vividly that it was almost haunting. But after hearing that talk about wanting to taste men, I couldn’t admit it. Otherwise, it would seem like I’d kissed Sun Woo because I wanted to taste men.

The situation was growing even more awkward. Even though I felt guilty about lying, playing dumb seemed like the only way to manage.

Sun Woo stayed silent for a moment, then let out a soft sigh. “You really don’t remember?” he asked.

“No. I’m weak with alcohol. I was drunk and don’t remember. Did I make any mistakes?” I tried to look innocent, but my anxious eyes gave me away, trembling with guilt.

Sun Woo studied me with narrowed eyes. His intense gaze made the pressure almost unbearable.

Author, wasn’t Sun Woo supposed to be a fragile character? Where’s that delicate Sun Woo who seemed like he’d break if you touched him?

I nervously fidgeted with my hands, feeling increasingly flustered. Then Sun Woo smiled, a slow stretch of his lips that made me freeze in place.

“If you don’t remember, should I help you remember?” he asked.

What?

Despite insisting I didn’t remember anything, I reflexively covered my mouth with my hand. The action was so transparent and ridiculous that even I realized how stupid it looked. Sun Woo’s laughter rang out, clear and genuine, and all my anxious feelings seemed to melt away. I found myself momentarily awestruck by his ocean-like magnanimity.

Still smiling, Sun Woo pulled a piece of paper from his bag and held it out. For a split second, I wondered if it was a lawsuit.

“I organized the exam prep notes that you couldn’t finish over the weekend… here, take it,” he said.

“Huh? Oh.” I accepted the notes, surprised.

“So the exam prep is complete now, right?” he continued.

Looking at what I’d received, it was indeed the meticulously organized content he mentioned. While I’d been tangled up in awkward misunderstandings and guilt, Sun Woo had been diligently working on this.

“Thanks, Sun Woo,” I said, feeling grateful.

“No problem. I got a lot of help from you too. Good luck on the exam.” He offered his kind encouragement, then stood up to leave. But just as he reached the door, he paused and turned back, calling my name.

“Oh, and Ha Jin.”

“Yeah?” I answered, my heart pounding as I took in the eerie smile on his otherwise handsome face. There was something about his presence that felt overwhelming, and I quietly waited for what he’d say next.

“How was it, tasting a man?” he asked.

My mind went blank. His tone was casual, devoid of any mockery, as if he genuinely wanted my opinion. But his question set off alarm bells in my head, loud and blaring.

“Rich kids’ thoughts are really hard to understand, aren’t they?” he continued, still smiling, but there was no warmth in his eyes.

“Th-that’s not it,” I sputtered, my voice cracking. I was completely flustered, desperately trying to explain.

I wanted to clear up the misunderstanding, but no words came to mind. My stuttering made me seem even more guilty, and any excuse I could think of felt pathetic. Even I would misunderstand if I were in his shoes. But really, it wasn’t even a misunderstanding—this whole mess was Ha Jin’s doing. He really left quite a disaster.

Unable to say anything more, I bit down hard on my lips, trying to suppress my panic.

“It’s fine,” Sun Woo said. “We live in different worlds anyway, you and I. You went to all that trouble just to taste a man? Why bother? Don’t you have people lining up for you?” He laughed lightly, though the sound was devoid of humor. “Ah! Is that it? You rich people get everything too easily, so you crave what’s difficult. Like perverts.”

His voice was calm, and his lips curved into a smile, but his eyes were cold and distant. My mind spun with panic. That’s not it… More than the misunderstanding itself, I worried about whether Sun Woo was hurt by all this.

“That’s… absolutely not what you think… it’s a misunderstanding…” I tried to explain, but my voice trembled, and I knew I wasn’t making things any better.

“I’d prefer if you didn’t talk to me anymore. It’s kind of disgusting.”

Sun Woo left with that bright, yet haunting, smile. I sat there, feeling the weight of his words settle into my chest. Of course, I could never remain a decent person in his eyes. His reaction was completely reasonable, and I sat quietly, consumed by my own guilt and regret.

“Ha Jin, why aren’t you dead yet…” I muttered bitterly.

Even after Sun Woo disappeared from view, I couldn’t move. I was frozen, trapped in my own spiraling thoughts. Damn Ha Jin, what were you so curious about men for? What tasting? I cursed him inwardly, replaying the whole humiliating scene over and over.

Eventually, I glanced at the clock. Class was about to start, and even in this mess, I knew I couldn’t afford to skip. For the sake of my grades, I told myself, trying to hold onto any sense of purpose. I guess I’m unavoidably following Ha Jin’s route. 

Still, a wistful part of me couldn’t help but mourn what I’d lost. It was fun with Sun Woo… The memories of our time together were still vivid, and the ghost of that kiss lingered. My face heated up. Agh! Crazy! Ha Jin, you’re banned from alcohol for life.

Sun Woo was someone Ha Jin could never hope to have, anyway. I thought we could at least be friends, but Ha Jin’s past—and my own drunken mistake—ruined everything.

With a sigh, I picked up the envelope on the table. The professor had handed it to me earlier, and I opened it, more out of idle curiosity than anything else. What I saw inside left me completely speechless.

“What the—?”

I weakly pulled out the papers, my eyes widening in disbelief. Inside the envelope were not exam prep notes, but the actual test questions for the midterm, along with detailed model answers written out neatly. All I had to do was memorize these to get a perfect score.

The professor’s cryptic words from before suddenly made perfect sense: ‘It must be hard for you, Ha Jin, with all the media attention these days, so just put in a little effort.’

It hit me like a ton of bricks. This was the reason Ha Jin always topped the class without studying. If I memorized this, I’d ace the midterms effortlessly. Everything clicked, and curses spilled from my lips.

“Shit, this was it? The reason Ha Jin tops the class without studying?”

I felt blindsided. I’d spent so much time wishing for Ha Jin’s supposed intelligence, desperate to unlock his secret. And here it was, mocking me. No wonder they wouldn’t give me Ha Jin’s brains, I thought bitterly. Ha Jin’s empty head… this was your real brain.