Swallowed - Chapter 25

At that moment, lively music filled the once quiet stage, and Jaeha started to move. He stepped lightly, almost as if dancing, while unfolding a large shirt he was holding. It was a giant T-shirt, big enough for two people to fit in. As soon as Jaeha put it on, a male student standing next to him stretched the shirt and stuck his head inside. From inside the shirt, he wriggled around until his head popped out next to Jaeha’s. The audience quickly realized that Jaeha’s team’s idea was to fit all the members into the oversized shirt, and laughter erupted throughout the room.

“No way! You think they’ll all fit in that one shirt? If they succeed, I’ll treat everyone to snacks using my student council president powers!”

As the third student squeezed his head out where an arm should be, more laughter followed. By the time the fourth student managed to get inside, the shirt was stretched to its limit. The shirt was now so tight it couldn’t stretch any further, and the students inside wriggled as if they were uncomfortable.

Seyoung, however, only had eyes for Jaeha. Thanks to his solid build, he easily supported the weight of his teammates without budging an inch. His face was lit up with a bright smile.

The fifth student was a small girl. She tried this way and that to get in, but finding no space left, she exaggeratedly shook her head and raised her arms in surrender. She made her hands pointy and, with a ridiculous motion, forced her way into the side of the shirt. Laughter and screams erupted as she pushed her way through. By the time the last person barely managed to stick their head inside, the shirt looked like it was about to burst.

They succeeded, but they were so tightly packed they couldn’t move or get off the stage. The emcee, laughing so hard they could barely speak, had to pull each student out one by one, creating even more laughter.

“They’re crazy! This is hilarious!”

Yoo-jung laughed, slapping the floor. This wild, out-of-the-box idea was in line with the reputation of her group. Seyoung laughed too, realizing now why Jaeha said they didn’t need much practice. She couldn’t help but wonder where they’d found such a massive shirt.

As Jaeha stepped down from the stage and made his way back to his seat, he glanced toward Seyoung. Even though only the stage was lit, and the rest of the room was dark, he easily spotted her. Her hair was messy, her face flushed, and she looked like a wreck. Yet, it reminded her of what had happened in the bathroom earlier, causing her mouth to go dry.

Jaeha smiled brightly and greeted her before sitting with his friends, who were already confident they had won. They laughed loudly, enjoying themselves, with one of the friends even reenacting the funny scene of them squeezing into the shirt, making Jaeha laugh heartily.

Seyoung sat hugging her knees, watching him for a long time.

***

Once the schedule was over, only the drinking party remained. The gathering was only for professors and their assigned students, where the students drank and received valuable advice and, of course, endless nagging.

After a couple of rounds of drinks, the students were given free time. Seyoung wandered from room to room, looking for Jaeha. She wasn’t sure which room he was in, so she made her way through various rooms, eventually finding Jaeha and the other freshmen sitting together, listening to a professor.

Unfortunately, it was one of those professors who always talked a lot, and once they started drinking, their talking doubled. It seemed like it would be a while before they’d be free. Thinking she should send Jaeha a message to join her in the third-year room later, Seyoung was about to turn around when someone blocked her path.

“Excuse me.”

Excuse me? It wasn’t like Seyoung not to recognize someone calling her like that. She glanced down at the girl standing in front of her. Though thin, the girl was tall, meaning most women had to look up at Seyoung. Noticing the girl’s disdainful look, Seyoung realized her downward gaze had irritated her.

“I have something to say. Can you spare a moment?”

Seyoung glanced around. They were standing by a staircase landing, and no one was passing by, so there wasn’t any need to move to another spot. She nodded in agreement. She could tell this girl was a freshman, but she didn’t know her name. And weren’t all the freshmen supposed to be listening to the professor right now? It was odd that she was acting so independently.

Though Seyoung didn’t know what the girl wanted to talk about, she had a feeling it wasn’t anything pleasant. Taking out her phone, she quickly typed a message.

「Go ahead.」

“Can you not use that thing?”

Seyoung paused and looked up, meeting the girl’s unpleasant gaze.

“No one’s probably told you yet, but the sound of that is really strange, you know? If you stutter when you talk, you don’t need to rely on something like that. Isn’t it just drawing more attention to you?”

As Seyoung stared at the girl’s smirking lips, memories she had buried deep inside began to resurface.

‘Han Seyoung is such an attention-seeker. That’s why she uses that thing.’

‘Does she really think she can talk? Her voice is ridiculous.’

‘Seriously, is stuttering even a disability? She’s just trying to act all pitiful to suck up to the teachers. It’s so disgusting.’

Why don’t people change? They so easily reveal how filthy and inferior they are. Seyoung’s expression darkened, becoming cynical. She had heard these kinds of words countless times in high school, so they no longer hurt. Sure, the old wounds were being brought back to the surface, but that was about it.

「Whether I rely on this or get attention, what’s it got to do with you?」

“It’s annoying to look at. And to listen to.”

Seyoung snorted. She had tried to rationalize it by thinking the girl was drunk, but it didn’t seem like that was the case. So, had she been waiting for this moment?

Rather than responding, Seyoung observed the girl carefully. It didn’t seem like someone would pick a fight like this without any reason. Some connection she wasn’t aware of. What could it be? Considering she was a freshman, the answer seemed obvious.

「What, do you think Jaeha focuses on me because of this?」

Flinch. Seeing the girl’s eyelids tremble ever so slightly, Seyoung couldn’t suppress a smirk. So young. So very young.

「Then you should use it too. Maybe Jaeha will pity you and pay attention.」

“Ugh, that’s not it! Who cares about Baek Jaeha? Your voice is just annoying, that’s all.”

[So what? I find your voice annoying too, but I’m listening, aren’t I?]

“Ugh!”

Hearing Seyoung use the same words Jaeha had said made Woo-rim’s anger flare up. Unbeknownst to Seyoung, Woo-rim had already drunk more than a bottle of soju, meaning she had nothing to lose at this point.

After Jaeha had dismissed her that day, Woo-rim found herself completely isolated. She tried to justify it by telling herself she was distancing herself from her classmates, but in reality, no one wanted to be around her. With so many major classes to take together, being ostracized like this was frustrating, and to make things worse, she kept seeing Baek Jaeha spending time alone with Han Seyoung.

“Hmph, just because you have a pretty face, you think you’re not pathetic?”

Woo-rim spat out her words, filled with venom. She couldn’t stand how Seyoung remained calm and unbothered, and she desperately wanted to tear down that composed expression and hurt her.

Suddenly, Woo-rim’s cheek burned as if it had caught fire. The sharp sound of a slap echoed through the stairwell. Woo-rim stared at Seyoung in shock, unable to believe that she had just been slapped. Seyoung stood there, casually rubbing her hand, as if nothing had happened.

“Ah… Aahhh!”

“…”

Seyoung had expected Woo-rim to retaliate by grabbing her hair or trying to slap her back, but instead, Woo-rim burst into tears. As she clutched her cheek and collapsed to the floor, crying, Seyoung frowned in disbelief. People began to gather after hearing her wailing.

“What’s going on? Who’s crying?”

Ah, so that’s what this was about. Seyoung let out a dry laugh. Woo-rim was trying to play the victim. How ridiculous.

As more people gathered, Woo-rim’s sobs grew louder, and someone recognized her and rushed over to comfort her.

“Han Seyoung, what’s going on?”

A fourth-year student recognized Seyoung and asked her what had happened. With Woo-rim sitting there crying and holding her cheek, it was obvious to everyone that Seyoung had hit her. Seyoung didn’t respond immediately and just looked down at Woo-rim.

“What happened, Seyoung?”

At that moment, Jaeha approached with a worried look and positioned himself protectively in front of Seyoung. He didn’t bother trying to understand the situation. From the start, he only cared about Seyoung’s well-being. As soon as Jaeha appeared, Woo-rim sobbed even harder, clutching her cheek dramatically.

The first-year students started murmuring amongst themselves. Although Woo-rim had come to the academic seminar with the group, she had been keeping to herself and had even skipped the talent show. Now, it seemed she had caused a commotion.

“Han Seyoung. Don’t just stand there—explain what happened. Look, this is in front of professors, so it’s not right for a Sunbae to be fighting with a junior. Let’s settle this peacefully, alright?”

The student council president spoke in a tone that seemed more concerned about resolving the situation than understanding it, subtly blaming Seyoung for causing a scene. Jaeha’s expression darkened as Seyoung grabbed his arm to stop him from stepping in.

Jaeha frowned down at her but decided not to intervene for the time being. Seyoung’s expression was clearly telling him not to get involved. Rage bubbled inside Jaeha as he thought about Woo-rim. She had said something cruel before, too, and now he wondered what she had said to Seyoung this time. The thought of her hurting Seyoung made him feel like one slap wasn’t enough.

“First-year, who are you? Kim Woo-rim? Why are you crying? Stop crying and tell us what happened.”

“Ugh, she… suddenly hit me… out of nowhere…”

Woo-rim’s words were mixed with sobs, but she was clearly implying that she had done nothing wrong, and Seyoung had just slapped her without reason. Seyoung let out a small laugh. Her naturally cold demeanor combined with the sudden chuckle made the atmosphere even more chilling.

“Han Seyoung, explain yourself. Why did you hit her? Did she do something wrong? Even if she did, you can’t just hit someone. You’re a Sunbae; you shouldn’t be getting into physical fights with younger students.”

Everyone knew that Seyoung wasn’t the type to hit someone without provocation, and that the quiet, reserved Seyoung must have been pushed to her limit for her to slap someone. However, there were no witnesses. On top of that, Woo-rim’s cheek was bright red from the slap, and it was clear to everyone that it would be swollen by the next day. In this situation, it was Seyoung who appeared to be in the wrong.