Romantic Troubles of Duanmu-kun

“Hah… though this isn’t my first time, it’s still quite distressing at moments like this.”

Jin pressed his fingers against his temples, trying to drive away the lingering drowsiness in his brain. He supported himself against the back of the sofa, struggling to stand upright.

“However…”

Paying this level of price was completely worth it. Now was the time to enjoy the reward. The pleasure from violating women and committing crimes spread up from the base of his spine like an electric current. At the thought, he unconsciously licked his lips, his crotch swelling uncontrollably.

Who should he start with?

Jin undid his belt with one hand, sighing quietly at the moment of release from constraint, fixing his sticky gaze intently on the high school girls lying haphazardly on the sofas.

“…I’ll go with her.”

The principle for selecting prey wasn’t based purely on appearance or figure, but more importantly on satisfying specific thrilling experiences.

So, he set his sights on the female half of the high school couple. Just thinking about violating her in front of her boyfriend made the chaos in his heart begin to swell involuntarily.

“Hah…”

He exhaled heavily.

The slumbering girl had her head resting on her boyfriend’s shoulder, her hair disheveled. The high school girl’s face wore an oblivious expression of unconsciousness—the type that easily evoked protective instincts in others.

Simple-minded, easy to deceive. Stupid. Jin thought, children are just like this, turning a blind eye to others’ malice. Easily trusting others, always expressing opinions through sulking. Lacking resolve, easily discouraged. When blood rushes to their heads, they only cause trouble for those around them, their courage comes quickly and leaves just as fast. Once caught in a compromising position, they tremble in fear.

That’s why they get targeted by ill-intentioned adults, he concluded with a dark psychology.

“Cough, cough…”

In the pin-drop silence of the private room, suddenly another coughing sound arose. Jin’s fingers froze in mid-air, as if he’d been struck hard in the back of the head, his mind rumbling and seeing stars.

One of the young men slowly sat up from among the unconscious high school students. Without speaking, he maintained a deeply bent posture. He reached into his throat with his hand, face toward the ground, with the determination of someone trying to dig fermented matter out of their stomach, continuously making violent retching sounds. The sound of vomiting in the room continued for dozens of seconds.

“…My, my, despite having prepared beforehand, it’s still not as easy as it was for Jin-san.”

The young man wiped his lips and then raised his face. His complexion appeared weak and pale in the dim atmosphere, but he was smiling pleasantly at Jin.

“You…”

The young man looked at him in astonishment.

If he remembered correctly, this person seemed to be the first one to reach for the medicine bottle.

“Emetic. I drank it beforehand. Since it was my first attempt, although I was mentally prepared, the level of nausea far exceeded my expectations.”

The young man wiped away the tears that had involuntarily flowed from the corners of his eyes due to the pain, yet maintained a rather lighthearted tone as he explained the situation.

“Also, before we begin our conversation, I must first clarify one of your lies.”

“…What?”

“Drug suicide is absolutely not painless as Jin-san claimed. Due to overdosing, the suppression of the central nervous system, including the respiratory and vasomotor centers, as well as damage to the gastric mucosa and so on… it actually causes quite an unpleasant pain. In short, it’s not as easy as one might imagine.”

…Ha.

Jin’s face showed a mixture of surprise and unease. Why… why was this guy explaining such things with a serious expression?

“Don’t you understand? What I’m saying is, lowlifes like Jin-san generally rely on lies to survive. Conversely—”

The high school boy’s fingers were smoothing his tie.

“Once you lose the lies that support your existence, you can’t continue living, can you?”

Jin didn’t answer. His gaze unconsciously glanced toward a hidden corner of the room, and he instinctively breathed a sigh of relief.

“Using the name of suicide gatherings to assemble young women, then using drugs to make them unconscious. Violating them while they’re unaware. What a vile interest.”

…He’s seen through me.

But given what had just happened, with intentions that were clearly improper from any angle, it was only natural to be figured out. What mattered was this guy’s attitude… which was truly unfathomable.

Jin tried his best to calm himself down.

“Even… even if that’s true… so what? They all wanted to die anyway… it’s not bad to let someone enjoy himself before they die, right? There’s no loss…”

“So, what do you plan to do next?”

“…What?”

“I mean, apart from the sexual assault, don’t you plan to do anything else?”

The high school boy pointed at the fools lying beside him.

“For instance, what about the remaining males? Isn’t it wasteful to just let them go? Jin-san could contact criminal organizations that sell organs or smuggle people across borders, tie them up and sell them… just as you said, since they’re planning to die anyway, why not make a contribution to others’ lives.”

His facial muscles were gradually becoming rigid.

“…What… what are you talking about?”

“Have you done it? Have you done it before, or haven’t you? Which is it?”

Sweat flowing down from his forehead ran along one side of his cheek. The transparent sweat formed a salt armor after solidifying, thickly covering his features, perhaps that’s why his facial expressions were out of control. Maybe that was it.

“This really is a good place. I thought so earlier. Windows sealed, good soundproofing. Not many regular customers either.”

The other changed the subject, pointing his thumb downward at the floor.

“Similar things have happened here before, not for the first time. Is that half-dead receptionist at the front desk your accomplice? A high likelihood of being bribed.”

“…I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

Jin replied coldly.

“That was just a joke earlier. How could I possibly do such things? That would be criminal. The reason I woke up is probably because the drug’s effect wasn’t strong. It’s very common, drug tolerance varies from person to person…”

“So, as I was saying.”

As if he hadn’t heard Jin’s defense at all, the other started laughing to himself.

“Even if you were to die here, Jin-san, that receptionist probably wouldn’t notice the bodies in the room until the agreed time. Oh, and I think your cause of death wouldn’t raise suspicions with the police either. After all, from any perspective, it would look like a new mass suicide incident. Jin-san would become an internet celebrity!…”

“That is, if everyone here dies together.”