The other girl standing beside Aera stepped forward.
"Ahem… Hyorim," she said carefully. "I know what Aera did wasn't cool, but she has her own reasons for being upset… please try to understand."
Mijin scoffed.
"Heh."
She twirl her hair with her fingers and mocked her, "Oh please. She's suffering, huh? While screaming at everyone? What are we supposed to do read her mind before deciding whether we forgive her or not?"
Suwon glanced at Mijin.
Mijin is scary…
Aera's friend opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
"…That.."
She hesitated, then turned to Aera.
"That oppa… what exactly did he do to you…?"
Aera quickly grabbed her friend's arm.
"Forget it. Let's just go."
Seolhyo's expression darkened.
"That oppa?" she repeated slowly. "Who are you talking about?"
Aera's eyes watered again.
"You already have a boyfriend… can't you atleast let other people be happy…? You… you.."
Her words broke apart, muffled by her crying.
She turned away and started walking back.
Seolhyo stared after her, muttering under her breath.
"…This girl… did she hit her head or something?"
Beside me, Suwon had a thoughtful expression.
"That oppa…?"
he murmured quietly. "Could it be that guy…?"
Seolhyo immediately turned to him, squinting.
"…Do you know something?"
Suwon stiffened when everyone suddenly looked at him.
"I-I'm not sure,"
he said quickly. "But I guess she might be talking about that handsome hyung… what was his name again… Chor? Cho-"
He snapped his fingers.
"Choi Giryang!"
Hong Aera stopped walking and looked back the moment she heard the name.
Seolhyo made a disgusted face.
"That guy…?" she said flatly. "Is she talking about him?"
She pressed a hand to her forehead like the situation had just given her a headache.
Right then, Seojin suddenly burst out laughing.
"HAHAHA!"
I pointed at Hong Aera while wiping tears from my eyes.
"Did you become his Pokémon or something?!"
Seolhyo immediately turned toward me.
"You two definitely know something."
Hong Aera's face turned bright red.
Even though she didn't understand what they were talking about, it still felt like they were mocking her.
Seolhyo slapped my arm when I still wouldn't stop laughing.
"Spill it. What do you know?"
"Wait-HAHAHA-"
After laughing for a few more seconds, I stepped forward and draped my arm over Seolhyo's shoulders.
I looked straight at Hong Aera.
"It seems you got fooled by that guy," I said bluntly. "So don't take it out on us just because you fell for him."
Hong Aera glared at me, tears spilling down her cheeks again.
But she didn't say anything.
Her shoulders trembled as she turned away and walked off with her friends.
After that, the girls were dead curious about what had just happened.
We all ended up at the playground near the school.
Suwon and I sat on the swings while the girls stand in front of us Irina was among them too, having returned after chasing Park Dong earlier.
Jinkyung kicked at the dirt, her expression still dark.
"Even if we study all night now, it won't fix this," she muttered. "I should've snapped her neck."
Sujeong pointed at her head.
"You can never figure out what psychos are thinking."
Mijin leaned closer and asked Irina, lowering her voice slightly.
"Is it that oppa who stalks Hyorim and gave her a gift? The super 'hot' one?"
Irina scoffed.
"Yeah. That exact one."
Seolhyo stood right in front of me with her arms crossed while I lazily swung back and forth.
"So?" she said flatly. "What do you two know? What do you mean Hong Aera got fooled by him?"
Suwon whistled quietly and looked away.
I should've gone with Jisung to the PC bang…
I tried to play it cool.
"What do you mean?"
Seolhyo's patience was clearly running thin.
Seeing me keep swinging, she suddenly grabbed the chains of the swing, stopping it completely.
"Tell me what you know."
Then she turned to Suwon.
"You too. Spill it. Stop playing dumb."
Seeing Seolhyo about to snap at me, I quickly grabbed her hands on the chains.
"Alright, alright."
I shrugged.
"Well… we only found out recently too. That guy's basically a Pokémon trainer."
Suwon nodded immediately.
"Yeah. That guy seriously has something wrong in his head."
The girls stared at us with confused expressions.
"Pokémon trainer?"
"What does that even mean?"
"Does he train animals to fight or something?"
Seolhyo pinch my hand.
"Be specific."
I grinned at her.
"In simple terms… that guy collects girls left and right like a Pokémon trainer."
The girls immediately went quiet.
"If a girl comes up to him asking for his number, and she happens to be cute or pretty, he gives it. Then he starts texting her. After that, he invites her out for drinks…"
I paused and shrugged.
"And once she gets drunk, he takes advantage of her. You know what I mean."
I jerked my thumb in the direction Aera had left.
"I guess that beanpole got played by him too. That's probably why she was so angry earlier."
Jinkyung frowned slightly, thinking of that gentle-looking senior.
"Seriously? He doesn't look like that kind of guy."
Irina scoffed and crossed her arms.
"HAH. What do you expect? He's friends with that guy."
Remembering her ex, she spat on the ground.
Mijin rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
"If what you're saying is true, then it's not surprising. I mean… you guys said he's ridiculously handsome."
She shrugged.
"If that's accurate, getting girls wouldn't be a problem."
Seolhyo sighed, brows furrowing.
"So that's why she was acting crazy…"
She looked annoyed.
"But why take it out on me?"
I stood up from the swing and stretched my arms into the air.
"Because to him," I said casually, "you're not like any other girl."
My eyes locked onto Seolhyo.
"You're like a legendary Pokémon that got away once… and now he's desperate to catch you again."
Seolhyo stared back at me, clearly in disbelief.
Irina blinked.
"So what, he's out here collecting girls like rare cards or something?"
Suwon snorted. "Yeah. And from what we heard, this guy already has a lot of 'collections.' Maybe close to a hundred."
The playground instantly fell silent as everyone processed what they had just heard.
Jinkyung muttered quietly, "That's really messed up…"
Mijin crossed her arms. "I hope I never run into a creep like that on a blind date."
I stepped forward and stopped in front of Seolhyo.
Reaching out, I gently placed my hand on her cheek, caressing it as my tone turned serious.
"So… if he ever shows up in front of you again, call me right away. No matter what time it is."
Seolhyo nodded, meeting my eyes.
"Okay… but don't do anything reckless."
I smiled faintly, still brushing my thumb lightly against her cheek to reassure her.
"Don't worry."
Then I added more casually, "So… should we head to the study room now?"
Seolhyo let out a small sigh. "Forget it. I'm not really in the mood anymore. I'll just study at home."
Irina raised her hand. "Then I'll come over too. Two brains are better than one."
I glanced at her.
You have a brain…?
Jinkyung rubbed the back of her neck. "Guess I'll study at home too. I can't deal with this much drama when I'm this hungry."
Sujeong nodded. "Same. I'll just go home and study."
One by one, everyone dispersed and went their separate ways.
After walking part of the way with Seolhyo and Irina toward her house, I eventually split off from them.
Now I was alone, walking along the sidewalk.
I stuffed my hands into my pockets.
…What am I supposed to do now?
Well… I guess I'll just go swim again.
I stretched my shoulders as I walked, rolling my neck lazily.
"Let's go, baby," I muttered to myself with a faint grin. "Cardio time."