Chapter 400 – #82_Coalescence(4)
#400
One.
Gaslighting.
An act of skillfully undermining the independence of the other party and making the judgment depend on others.
It was an act defined by the most famous wiki in Korea.
Subsequent documents are lined with origins, explanations, and examples.
Of course, I don’t think Yoochan is gaslighting.
No.
I can’t guarantee that it’s not the slightest, but I’m sure there’s no malice in it.
Because Yu-jin loves teacher Yu-chan so much, and she must be vice versa.
When her mother passed away and she was having a hard time alone, who became the strongest support?
He is a teacher who works hard for Eugene more than anyone else, even at this moment.
That’s why the ‘brainwashing stages of gaslighting’ written in the documents one after another only stimulated Eugene’s displeasure.
“…”
No.
I feel uncomfortable and my stomach churns.
The teacher’s words and actions so far continued to flicker before her eyes.
It seems that each type written by an unspecified number of people gathers and turns into a pointed curse, turning the teacher into the perpetrator and Yujin into the victim.
When he read through the document and reached the method of overcoming it, Yujin clenched his teeth.
“What is this, it’s pure nonsense.”
An indescribable nausea runs through your veins.
A tickling sensation, like an ant biting your body.
“What, what do you know…”
As if my body was broken, my eyes became hazy and tears flowed drop by drop.
Her own body that has changed, but the love between the two that does not change.
Couldn’t it be the result of gaslighting?
Eugene is lacking.
It is Teacher Yuchan who completes the missing part.
That is why this relationship is special.
It wasn’t so trivial that strangers who didn’t know anything would talk about it.
Wiping away the tears, Yujin pressed the button to go behind her.
Eugene, who had been annoyed for a while, calmed her down after a while and took her cell phone in her hand again.
2.
Originally, she hadn’t intended to hold onto her smartphone for this long.
As she secretly used it without the teacher’s permission, she was only going to confirm the contact, even if it was because of her apologetic heart.
“… Wow, oh my god, that’s crazy.”
But what about so-called brain washing?
I needed to squeeze in some other information, just to make myself feel bad for the strange nonsense.
In fact, it’s half an excuse, and it’s because I’ve been able to do infinite things with my cell phone for the first time in a long time.
Eugene is the generation that has owned her smartphone since she was born.
The craving for information provided without rest was similar to the indulgence for water.
The Internet world, which I came to connect to after being cut off from the world forcibly, literally made me lose track of time.
I also read articles on the internet.
I skimmed through the new videos of the YouTubers I subscribed to.
Most of all, the funniest thing was seeing the current situation of her friends through the social media sub account that the teacher had not yet resigned from.
There were students like Eugene who ended her luck and became newbies, and there were quite a few friends who went to the army.
“…”
Unlike Eugene, who chose to crouch like a bird in a cage, each of them spreads their wings and lives their lives.
I envy you.
Eugene put down her cell phone, soaked in her sense of helplessness and helplessness.
Clear all windows and browsing history and charge the battery normally.
After that, I pushed it under the sofa exactly as I remembered it for the first time.
2.
-Beep beep beep
There was the sound of the door code being pressed.
Eugene knew that Yoo-chan had returned from about 3 minutes ago because a notification automatically came when a vehicle entered or exited.
She thought it would be okay until she secretly looked at her phone, but her heart thumped.
“Whoa, whoa…”
Taking a deep breath, Eugene feigned self-justification and composure.
Didn’t you do anything particularly bad?
Okay.
Nothing will happen.
Such optimism is shattered as soon as he sees Yoo-chan’s expression upon entering the house.
“…”
“Did you go?”
The teacher who went out with a kind smile saying that if there was something he wanted to eat today, he would buy it.
The moment the cold, expressionless expression turned towards him, Yujin heard the sound of his heart beating.
Should I tell you the truth right now?
You seem to already know everything.
However, the “Punishment” That will be inflicted in that case is scary.
“Yujin. Let’s talk.”
“What… Talk?”
“Don’t you know?”
What Yoo-chan brought to Yoo-jin, who stuttered, was the same type of mobile phone as Eu-jin’s original phone.
Got caught
I don’t know what it is, but there’s only one thing I can suspect of a teacher who shows her cell phone in such a serious tone.
In the first place, the cell phone under the sofa was a decoy to check if Eugene was listening to her.
He was also caught secretly using his cell phone in some way.
Denying the truth after coming this far would only bring the teacher’s anger.
“Sorry, I… I did it because it was so frustrating. I’m so frustrated…”
“Did you search for gaslighting because you were frustrated?”
“…”
She seemed to have swallowed dry ice.
A cold belly and a spine throbbing with fear.
How? The question idly ran through my mind.
She didn’t even know that she used her cell phone, but she knew every detail of how she used it.
This makes no sense.
Entering the smoking room, Yu-chan took out the phone that Yu-jin was using and turned on the phone.
It was only then that Eugene was able to understand the situation that she could not understand.
“Yujin. The teacher trusted you.”
“…”
Both phones were moving at exactly the same time.
It is a thing called a duplicate phone or twin phone that is copied and installed on the other phone.
Since it is usually used for business or fraud, it was natural that ignorant Eugene could not recall its identity.
“I tried it just in case. I wonder if I will listen carefully, and if I am alone, I will not have a hard thought. But it is a regrettable ending.”
“Teacher… Sir…”
“But did you think what I was doing to you was gaslighting? In front of you pretending to be compliant, teacher, but behind your back, are you thinking about this?”
Eugene couldn’t even breathe properly.
This does not simply end in the realm of ‘bee’.
It is the worst situation that might bring about the breakup that Eugene fears and dreads the most.
Yuchan is everything to Yujin.
Losing him like that was no different from death.
Eugene knelt down without a moment’s thought.
A cold gaze poured over Eugene’s head.
There was a clear sign of cold disconnection rather than anger.
“Okay, so far, I’ll pass it as possible. But you can’t get rid of my habit and you’re trying to be rude to guys again?”
“No! No! Teacher!”
Eugene, who couldn’t even make an excuse and was getting tired of it, but the reaction this time was explosive.
That’s how much Yu-chan put in her mouth was the most fearful misunderstanding.
If I had to point out the decisive factor in the twisted relationship between Yuchan and Yujin, it would be Han Seohyun’s contempt.
Because of that, Eugene was being treated as an ‘anal slut’.
This terrible tattoo on my hip now is also a stigma that started from that misunderstanding.
“Then why did you check text messages from other men? Why did you enter the social media page?”
“I am just a friend. I mean, they’re really just friends…”
Conversely, this is the part that the teacher is most angry about.
There was a glimmer of hope that if only this part could be properly explained and moved on, it could be reversed.
Procrastinating is what the teacher hates the most, so she desperately swallows tears and pours out words with gestures.
Really just friends
We had known each other for a long time.
Her strange mind did not harbor the slightest hint.
I firmly believe that if it is teacher Yuchan who is the only understanding person of Eugene within the scope of common sense and reasonableness, he will trust me.
Yuchan’s reaction to him was simple and cynical.
“Then let’s try it.”
3.
Jiwoon Choi.
Lee Yu-jin and her classmates and ball friends could be called friends.
A friend who helped Eugene and comforted her through club activities and when her mother passed away, she ate and slept at the funeral hall throughout the three-day funeral.
Maybe that’s why Jiwoon was the one who received the most missed calls.
Ji-woon, who had been in touch for the first time in a while, asked about his current situation, such as that he was worried about Yoo-jin and what happened.
After that, a conversation that would come and go naturally if it was a friend.
“Send.”
“… Sir, please…”
“Send it.”
Eugene looked at the liquid crystal in her trembling hand.
There, the texts written as they are called appear blurry.
The teacher’s request was simple.
Prove that you are real friends with your best boyfriend.
“Why can’t I let you go? Did you lie again?”
“No, but if you send it like this… With Jiwoon now…”
I looked at her with anxious eyes, but her decision wouldn’t change.
She said that’s Teacher Yuchan.
If you have something you want, you must put it in her hand to stop.
Eugene sent a text message with her trembling hands.
[I’m very lonely these days, but would you like to come to my house today? I thought I wanted to do it with you from before]
Eugene trusted her friend.
But that was before that.
How will Ji-woon react to this absurd text message?
[?]
The reply that came after two minutes that seemed like an eternity.
[Why are you like this? What are you talking about all of a sudden?]
[You must be having a really hard time]
[It’s okay, I’ll buy you and your favorite meal]
Eugene became a color.
She also proved to be her friend as the teacher demanded.
Not only that, but Ji-woon accepted Yu-jin’s request as if she had lost her mind because she was simply heartbroken.
“Look at this! We are real friends!”
Wouldn’t even the teacher believe this?
Contrary to his vain hopes, his expression did not soften in the slightest.
“Send it like this again. With this picture.”
Pictures and texts popped up in the text window without even being manipulated by Eugene.
The picture was Eugene’s upper body wearing a bra, and the text was a more explicit request.
In the past, when Eugene was maintaining a more gentle relationship with Yu-chan, it was a picture he had sent when he said, “My breasts seem to have grown a bit because of my period!”
[Do you know our address? Call me when you come, I’ll be waiting for you]
[Bring condoms]
“…”
It just seemed like his hair was turning white.
Jiwoon is a good kid.
In the first place, if you saw Eugene as a woman rather than a lady friend, the timing for her confession was overflowing.
To think I had to test such a precious friend like this.
As much as she’s the right kid, she’ll be treated like a goblin and ruin their friendship.
This time it took a little longer.
The phone rang a few times, but when I didn’t answer, the reply came in a rush.
[Really? Aren’t you kidding? Why aren’t you answering the phone?]
[I don’t know what it is]
[Okay, let’s meet and talk]
“…”
Even at that moment, there is a glimmer of hope.
It’s just that I’m trying to help a friend who is trying to get out of the way because it’s too hard.
Who knows if he’s trying to comfort you after he says he’ll meet you?
[But I won’t hate it if you try to force it]
[Do you want to have sex with me?]
[Tell me honestly]
[It’s because I don’t want to force it]
As if responding to Yujin’s inner protest, Yuchan casually sent a text message.
The response was a bit quicker this time.
[Huh]
[I don’t hate it]
Yu-jin was more afraid of that short reply than Yu-chan’s snoring.
[I don’t have condoms at home, so could you buy some for me?]
[Okay, I’ll buy it]
After checking her last text message, Eugene looked at her phone in a state of dismay.