It began, Chae-won's lackeys sat across me with Chae-won seated beside me as expected.
She tried her best to hide it but I could sense her unease, everything was connected.
And something told me it went deeper than a simple scare, I could feel her body stiffen up every time I touched her.
We were the only one in the room just as I arranged but everyone was so engrossed in small talk and trying to figure me out that it felt more like an interrogation than interaction.
But Sora kept quiet, watching me awkwardly as she averted her gaze the moment I looked up.
The other two weren't so frail that they couldn't hold my gaze because they had resigned themselves to knowing that I didn't belong to them but Chae-won.
"Say Minsuk, what do you do after school?" Eun-ah asked the all-important question.
"The question should be what I am not doing after school," I responded with a smirk, tilting my head in Chae-won's direction playfully.
I knew that these girls didn't have much personality and stating that Chae-won was my love interest was simply all they wished to know.
Chae-won blushed upon hearing this, telling me that despite her body language, she was still very much attracted to me.
Who could blame her but this answer seemed to lessen the questions.
"So tell me, what do you girls do after school?" I asked, making sure it was a general question so all of them would feel included but mostly it was an attempt to get Sora out of her shell.
It was easy to know that she didn't belong in this clique, I could tell by the quality of the clothes she had on for starters.
She wasn't as rich as them and that was alright, these people had set some crazy standards for wealth so it would be crazy to use their definition of wealth to define who was rich or not.
"Why don't we let Chae-won answer that question for us?" Ji-ae responded with a giggle.
This caught my attention because it implied that they had something going on for them after school.
"Stop it Ji~" Chae-won gushed but I didn't read too much into this, this looked more like an inside thing than anything else so there was no way that I could catch on.
"Chae-won is training to be an Idol," Eun-ah said excitedly, I was surprised that this was it.
I mean I understood why this would be a thing to be shy about and in hindsight, she did have the features to be an idol even though she was a piece of shit but I had to play along.
"An idol!? Wow! That is amazing," I exclaimed, I knew this was something they were proud of and I had to give the right response.
"I mean it is no surprise, you do have the looks," I said; but I felt a hint of disgust as these words left my lips.
"S-Stop it," Chae-won flushed red, this is what narcissistic people respond to.
Praises about themselves, it is the same way attractive people claim not to be attractive just to fish for compliments.
"I will stop when you stop looking so good," I said, these things were rolling off my tongue.
This was the power of confidence, I no longer felt inferior to them. If anything, they were the inferior ones.
I was better than them in any way possible, I didn't take note of how hot Sora was and while she didn't directly partake in the bullying.
I considered anyone who watched it happen a perpetrator, they were not innocent and I wasn't going to give them a pass.
I was going to ruin all of their lives like they did mine but I also knew I had to be careful.
Sora kept her mouth shut but I saw an opportunity, beneath the table, I slid my legs across and made slight contact with her foot.
Sora's eyes immediately looked at me in shock before looking away just as quickly, she was so cute and innocent, I knew I would have fun ruining her.
But she didn't try to retract her feet, she left it there and just like that, physical contact was established.
Such a naughty girl considering that her friend has already expressed her interest in me.
"So what do the others do?" I asked, placing my hand around Chae-won's waist.
She didn't try to pull away just as I predicted, she was receptive to it even.
"And you…" I said, looking right at Sora so she would know I was talking to her.
"Do you talk?" I questioned her but I made sure I wasn't rude so she wouldn't be on guard.
"That is Sora, she doesn't like talking, do you Sora?" Eun-ah responded but I hated this.
I hated asking a question and having someone else respond to them.
"I wasn't asking you, I was asking Sora," I responded sternly, I had to put them in their place.
I was 'friends' with Chae-won, not them but I understood that something was going on in this friend group.
Sora appreciated this, I could tell without her saying a word but the moment she looked at Chae-won, she looked down and the dull look in her eyes returned.
"I just don't have much to say," She responded but I wasn't about to press the matter or it could create unnecessary tension.
That was the last thing I needed right now, I took a deep breath and realized that it was time for some fun.
Luckily, the food we had ordered made its way into the room and this effectively changed to atmosphere as the ladies were all excited.
We ate and told jokes, laughing but my foot remained in contact with Sora with my hand slowly going lower to occasionally caress Chae-won's buttocks.
They were soft, I couldn't believe how soft they were and Chae-won's body loosened up.
It took a little over thirty minutes for us to finish eating but there was a karaoke machine right there and an idea came to mind.
"Hey, Chae-won… How about you sing us a song?" I asked and she was shocked at this suggestion.
"Come on everyone! Chae-won! Chae-won!" I urged her friend to join me and everyone did, including Sora, she too had loosened up.
Chae-won gushed but I knew she wouldn't pass this chance to get her ego massaged and she got up to her feet and went to the stand but due to my position, I had to turn around to watch her which would be uncomfortable. But this was my plan, I got up and changed my position so I could enjoy the show, no one thought anything of this.
And this was where I planned to initiate the second phase of my plan as I sat right beside Sora.