No matter where I go, I feel people’s eyes on me.
No matter where I go, someone is secretly watching me.
Of course, I’m not talking about a stalker or anything like that.
It’s just that the people around me can’t resist staring at me.
If it were just a simple rumor, there might have been people who ignored it.
Some might have just thought, ‘What does that have to do with me?’ and moved on.
However, the problem is that the current situation isn’t just about ‘a simple rumor’.
An article, complete with photos, was published in an online newspaper.
It claims I boldly engage in public displays of affection during class.
Moreover, it says that my rumored lovers follow me wherever I go.
In the first-year classes 1 through 6, where only female students gather, most girls blushed as they stared at the three of us.
I couldn’t catch all the emotions behind their gazes, but I could guess what they were thinking.
They were probably imagining the three of us together.
Even though none of these events actually happened, people who only heard the stories and rumors from the outside would think differently.
So, it’s natural that the girls staring at us would blush.
They’re imagining something embarrassing, after all.
On the other hand, there were some who looked away with uncomfortable expressions.
These were likely the ones who didn’t have a favorable view of homosexuality.
Some also showed a strange hint of envy in their expressions.
Walking through the hallway, the three of us, closely sticking together, were all quite beautiful.
Honestly, if you think about it, even if it was just dating one of us, the world would seem beautiful.
The girls’ reactions could be summed up into three categories: fantasy, rejection, and envy, creating a mix of those emotions.
It was like the atmosphere you’d expect from extras in a romance manga.
So, how did the boys react?
To be honest, I rarely wandered among the boys at this school.
Although it’s a coed school, the classes were divided by gender, and if I wanted to walk through where the boys were gathered, I’d have to deliberately walk through the middle of the boys’ hallway.
And, unintentionally—right now, I was doing just that.
“…”
Ha-neul and Soo-ah blushed deeply, clutching my arms and hanging their heads low.
It seemed that walking arm in arm like this was far more embarrassing than strolling casually among girls or in public.
…And to be honest, considering the boys’ reactions, it made sense.
The boys were staring at us intensely.
Of course, some snapped out of it suddenly and quickly looked away, and a few even turned red in the face.
Most of them, however, were desperately trying not to let their lower half show in our direction.
“…”
Yeah. Having been a teenager myself, I could roughly understand.
Three girls.
And not just any girls—rumored to be dating each other, with talk of having had a wild night with another school’s student last night, and sharing underwear in the morning…
That’s what they’ve been hearing.
All three of us could be described as pretty, and on top of that, people were saying we were in ‘that kind of relationship’…
Naturally, they’d have certain thoughts.
They might not only be imagining just the three of us, but also inserting themselves into the picture.
…When I was younger, I had similar thoughts too.
But now that I’m the one being imagined, it’s not exactly a pleasant feeling.
If this weren’t the fastest route to the student council room, I wouldn’t have bothered coming here.
And in the boys’ section…
“Hmph.”
Right.
I figured I’d run into him.
Yoon Da-ho, leaning by the window and watching us from a distance, snorted the moment he saw the three of us.
There were a few boys standing around him.
Probably his friends, or maybe followers of sorts.
Compared to my personal wealth, it wasn’t much, but he was still the second richest kid at this school.
And besides, I was engaged to him.
It wasn’t a widely known story, but it was famous in the business world.
By now, there probably weren’t any students here who didn’t know.
For a moment, I considered stopping to address him, but I decided to ignore him and keep going.
If I said anything, it’d just be something frustrating, so there was no need to engage.
Besides, this engagement was a terrible deal for me.
Honestly, even if I broke it off, he wouldn’t have much to say.
It’s not like an engagement has any legal standing anyway.
Especially since we’re both minors, it’s even more meaningless.
“So, in the end, it was ‘that’ after all.”
But just as I was about to walk past, I overheard something ridiculous.
I stopped in my tracks and slowly turned around.
Ha-neul and Soo-ah, rotating to match my movements, looked a little bewildered, as if they hadn’t expected me to respond.
“What did you say?”
As I slowly turned to face Yoon Da-ho, he shrugged nonchalantly and replied as if it was nothing.
“I’m saying that because you’re ‘like that’, you have no interest in men.”
Hmm.
I gave Yoon Da-ho a sidelong glance.
He didn’t seem particularly bothered, but the boys around him took a step back.
It seemed my sharp-eyed gaze as Ye Sara had startled them.
Even if her eyes were a little fierce, what was so scary about a beautiful girl glaring up at you?
I didn’t really get it.
Were they afraid of Ye Sara herself, or of the massive wealth backing her?
“So, you’re saying that I’m a lesbian and that’s why I’m not interested in you?”
“That’s what I was implying.”
Yoon Da-ho said, looking down at me.
“Is it that you’re not interested in men?”
Of course I wasn’t interested.
Just the thought of living with a man for the rest of my life was horrifying.
Besides, though my body was female, inside I was still an ordinary man in his twenties.
But if I were to let him think he was getting to me, I couldn’t just admit that.
“It’s not that I’m not interested in men. I’m not interested in you, you ugly jerk.”
“…What?”
Yoon Da-ho’s eyebrows furrowed deeply.
Had anyone ever said that to him in his life?
I could say with certainty that no one had.
Before meeting Ye Sara, the only kids he was around were all poorer than him.
Of course, he was handsome.
Handsome enough that no one dared say otherwise.
But that handsomeness meant nothing to me.
“Your face is ugly, your personality sucks. Have you ever even spoken to a girl? What kind of lunatic calls his fiancée a pig? It seems you don’t even know why I hate you. It’s not because you’re a guy. I hate you because you’re ugly and have a rotten personality. And on top of that, you’re broke.”
“…”
Yoon Da-ho glared at me.
“And what are you going to do if you glare at me? Will your family’s fortune suddenly multiply by 200 trillion just by glaring? No, right? You’re the one who got engaged for money, so why are you calling your rich fiancée a pig? Thinking about it, you’re ugly, have a bad personality, no money, and on top of that, you’re dumb too.”
“If that’s the case, why are you engaged to me?”
Yoon Da-ho asked after hearing me out.
Surprisingly, he was controlling his emotions, unlike the first time we met.
I thought he’d try to slap me, but I guess not.
Or maybe he’s changing his approach toward me.
Whatever his approach is, though, it’s not about ‘being nice to win me over’.
“I never agreed to the engagement. The Chairwoman made me do it. Why are you engaged to me?”
“…”
He didn’t answer, which meant it was probably the same for him.
Of course, if he liked the engagement, there would be no reason to insult his fiancée.
Why he hated being engaged to Ye Sara, I didn’t know.
“Actually, why even talk to me? We’ve never had a proper conversation, not the last time or the time before that. Talking to you only gets me frustrated.”
“I…”
Yoon Da-ho sighed deeply, as if trying to calm himself.
“I was going to make you an offer.”
“An offer?”
The word ‘offer’ was so unexpectedly productive coming from this idiot that I found myself responding instinctively.
“Yes. If you’re not interested in men… but in ‘me’, specifically…”
Yoon Da-ho gritted his teeth for a moment before continuing.
“I was going to suggest that we go our separate ways.”
“You mean, break off the engagement?”
I narrowed my eyes and asked, and Yoon Da-ho shook his head.
“No. We get married but live separately. It’s clear neither of us is interested in the other, so we’d live apart, and…”
He glanced at Ha-neul and Soo-ah.
“If either of us finds someone we like, we can bring them into our lives without interference.”
Huh.
Quite a development.
Or maybe this was the obvious next step.
Yoon Da-ho probably didn’t want to be engaged to Ye Sara either.
He likely wasn’t in a position to call off the engagement himself.
So, he had pulled back as far as he could with this offer.
We would still get married, legally, but we’d each live our own lives, and if we found lovers, we wouldn’t meddle.
What was this, a medieval-style marriage?
Marry and keep a mistress on the side.
“I don’t want that.”
“You want to live with me?”
I scrunched up my face at his words.
“No, not that. I’m saying, ‘I don’t want to marry you’. The marriage is a disadvantage for me, so there’s no reason for me to go through with it.”
“I heard it was the Eugene Group that proposed the engagement, though.”
“Then the Chairwoman must be interested in your family’s money. I have no intention of meddling with it.”
No matter how much I think about it, I don’t understand why they set up this engagement.
At first, I thought it was to swallow the Homyeong Group whole, but the more I think about it, the less sense it makes.
It’s doubtful whether they even could if they wanted to.
Domestically, it would be an open declaration of monopolization, which would lead to severe backlash from the government.
Even if it didn’t break apart, it would severely damage their reputation.
I whispered softly to Ha-neul and Soo-ah, “Just a moment”.
They obediently let go of my arms.
With my now-free hands, I wrapped my arms around their waists and pulled them close.
“Ah.”
“S-Sara…”
Ugh, honestly, this was a bit embarrassing.
If I stayed like this too long, my face would probably turn bright red, so I quickly spoke up.
“Even if I’m not interested in you, I’m not indifferent to those around me. If I’m going to marry, I’d prefer to marry ‘someone I like’. So let’s drop this conversation.”
I could feel the warmth of the two girls pressed close to my sides.
“I’m not interested in your unattractive marriage offer.”
“…Does the Chairwoman agree to that?”
“If not, I’ll make her agree. I’m meeting her this week.”
“…I see…”
Yoon Da-ho stared at me for a moment, then let out a small laugh.
…What’s that about?
Why do you look so pleased?
It’s annoying.
“What?”
“Nothing. Just… good luck.”
Seriously, what’s with him?
So irritating.
I frowned at him, and Yoon Da-ho just shrugged.
“Hey, don’t you guys have homes to go to? Let’s head back.”
He said that to the boys standing around him.
“Huh? Oh, yeah.”
One of the boys, who had been staring enviously at me hugging the girls, snapped to attention and answered.
“No, wait! Tell me what’s going on! Why are you acting like this?”
“I told you already. I’m saying, give it your best shot.”
With that, Yoon Da-ho turned and walked away.
No, seriously, what’s his deal?
I knew that grabbing him now would make me look ridiculously petty, so I didn’t chase after him.
Ugh, so irritating.
Damn it.