44.5th Death - A Talk [EXTRA]
Jiho sat in front of his computer, fingers fidgeting, unable to sleep. Tomorrow, he would start at his new school—Pineapple. An hour ago, he had said goodbye to Eunhee. Not forever. He knew he'd see her again in school.
But he didn't know how to act when that happened.
'Why do I even do this?' he thought, pressing his lips together with doubt. Still, his hands moved on their own, and he began typing:
"How to deal with crush fallout… the type where your best friend goes out with your crush behind your back, and now you don't know how to talk to them. Or if you even should."
He hit enter and waited for Boogle to load.
'There's no way something this specific exists. It's too ridiculous...'
And then—there it was. A strange-looking site. Japanese in origin, but auto-translated into Korean.
'What the...?' Jiho squinted. 'This is exactly what I typed... Word for word?!'
He clicked.
'What a weird website...' The banner was plastered with bizarre ads—every single one featuring the same smug-looking guy.
'Anti... NTR...? Anti-NTR Man's Official Website...?'
A chill ran down his spine. Every part of him said to close the tab. It was sketchy. Probably run by some lunatic.
And yet… he scrolled.
At the bottom, he saw a public chatroom: "Ask a Love Specialist Anything."
'This is so wrong. I should leave. What kind of person even makes something like this...?'
But he didn't.
'I searched for it,' he told himself. 'So what if it's dumb? Whatever.'
He exhaled, and began typing.
[02:01 AM] Guest03: Hello. I'm Jiho. How do I talk to my crush after she betrayed me?
[02:01 AM] Guest03: I mean, she didn't really betray me. My best friend did. They got together behind my back. And now she says she can't leave him—even after finding out he lied to her about me. What am I supposed to make of that?
[02:02 AM] Guest03: I kinda know what I should think... I just don't know how to act. I'm transferring schools tomorrow. They'll both be there. I don't want to make a fool of myself.
[02:02 AM] Guest03: I mean, it's not like I care anymore. Not about her. Not about him. I just… I don't know what I'm supposed to feel.
Jiho waited a few seconds.
'This is so stupid. It's 2AM—both here and in Japan. There's no point. I should just try to—'
Ding!
'N-No way... He responded!?'
[02:03 AM] NotYuuto (moderator):
Sounds like they both were your friends, esteemed visitor—even that crush of yours. Am I right?
Jiho gulped.
[02:03 AM] Guest03:
Yes! They were! Both of them, for 10 years! I'm in high school now. I liked her for a long time and told my best friend about it. He just told me not to confess—said it would ruin what we had.
But it turns out he was dating her all along.
[02:03 AM] NotYuuto:
Well, betrayal can come outta nowhere. No surprise there.
Remember a thumb rule for next time: Love advice should come from someone who doesn't—and more importantly, can't—love the same person you do.
[02:04 AM] Guest03:
What do you mean!? Daniel was a chick magnet! He knew both of us for 10 years—why would he go for Eunhee when he could go for any girl out there?
[02:04 AM] NotYuuto:
No clue.
But is your Eunhee really in the category of "any girl"?
'..!!' Jiho's eyes widened. And the odd person kept typing.
[02:04 AM] NotYuuto:
Take a moment. Think. He must've had some reason for courting her behind your back.
Something you haven't seen yet.
[02:06 AM] Guest03:
There's... nothing! Maybe... he fell for her too?
[02:06 AM] NotYuuto:
Unlikely. You told him you had a crush on her, didn't you?
Courting her behind your back knowing that... Nah. Dude didn't do it out of love; at least - not the pure, selfless, caring kind.
Take it with a grain of salt—since I'm not there personally— but I'd wager he did it because he felt like his dick might be too small compared to yours.
Felt the need to devalue you in her eyes. To take control of the dynamic. And the need to take control usually comes from fear.
Anything come to mind he might've been afraid of?
Jiho looked down, baffled.
'Daniel... isn't scared of anything!' his mind scrambled.
[02:11 AM] NotYuuto:
Well, maybe it's not even worth figuring out, esteemed visitor.
The reply appeared.
Jiho stared at the screen.
[02:11 AM] NotYuuto:
Whatever his reasons were, the fact stands.
[02:11 AM] NotYuuto:
He betrayed you.
And Eunhee isn't worth your time either—considering she kept it from you.It means, whatever her reasons were... You weren't more important than any of them. His manipulation was stronger than whatever you think you two might've had.
Jiho clenched his teeth.
[02:11 AM] NotYuuto:
So you owe them nothing.
[02:11 AM] NotYuuto:
A person like that... Deserves to have his ass baseballed.
....
[02:21 AM] Guest03:What if I were the same as him? What if I manipulated too? Would I be with her right now?
The screen blinked.
NotYuuto is typing...
Jiho's heart pounded in his ears. He hesitated—and then closed the tab.
He turned off the computer. Something told him... he shouldn't see the answer.
Not tonight.
—— Meanwhile, in Japan ——
Yuuto stared at the screen.
'Huh. Guess the kid wasn't ready for the truth…' he muttered, watching the guest count drop to zero.
He looked at the message he never got to send.
[TYPING] NotYuuto:
Practical. Efficient. And yeah—probably the right answer. But you're human; and most importantly - you're not me. You can't manipulate forever. At some point, the mask breaks.
Nah.
Just find someone who loves you for who you are.