I Became the Villain in a Romantic Comedy — Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - You might just get by doing nothing (3)

“......”

The atmosphere in the noisy classroom quickly subsided as I entered.

It felt as though I was being blatantly ostracized, but looking into the students’ eyes, it seemed that was not the case at all.

Expressions that should now be slowly becoming familiar. I tried not to show it, but fear and terror were leaking out to greet me.

Golden Sun, who had been notoriously infamous since middle school. Moreover, on the first day of the entrance ceremony, he openly caused trouble and then used a traffic accident as an excuse to refuse to attend school for a whole week. Perhaps in their eyes, I am seen as such a person.

I couldn’t help but sigh. If I'm going to possess someone, shouldn’t it have been the protagonist, as per the usual rule? Why do I have to receive such contemptuous and fearful looks for something I didn’t even do in the past?

I don’t know who the master of this world is, but just you wait until I caught you. I’ll grab your cheeks and stretch them out until they’re 1 meter long.

“So, I'm saying to filter out all the ones who pretend to be cute and coy, right? Those are the girls who are really desperate to attract men, and they’re much more dangerous than the ones who are openly flirting… Are you listening to what I’m saying?”

“Of course, I’m listening.”

“What did I say?”

“Women are foxes?”

“…It’s really annoying, Lee Ji-woon! You’re going to lie so nonchalantly without even listening!? Well, at least you remembered the most important part, which is fortunate.”

Lee Ye-ji, with her unique emotional ups and downs, swung between anger and relief with every word she said. For me, it was a very satisfying state to have guessed about half of it right without even focusing on the conversation.

I’m sorry to Ye-ji, but I was not in a situation where I could have a pleasant conversation with her. Among the students who were subtly glancing at me and paying attention, only two were blatantly staring at me.

'It’s burdensome…'

Without paying too much attention to the gazes, Lee Ji-woon walked to the seat he remembered as his.

In fact, there was no need to rack his brain to know where Ji-woon’s seat was. The window-side back seat was conspicuously empty, and even when playing from the protagonist’s point of view, Ji-woon’s designated seat was always there.

Lee Ye-ji, who had been chattering beside me, naturally plopped down on my desk. As she crossed her legs, the skirt length naturally rose, catching the eye.

Doesn’t she have any shame? Sure, it’s eye-catching, but still, parading around with bare legs in a classroom where everyone is present seems a bit much. Of course, no one was looking directly at the back seat, but since it’s my designated spot, I should at least be mindful.

If she were just any female student, it wouldn’t matter, but isn’t Lee Ye-ji, Ji-woon’s close friend? Even though I'm not Lee Ji-woon, we’ll likely continue to see each other. I suppose I should pay at least minimal attention.

“So what she said to me was…”

“Your legs are completely visible. What kind of girl acts so foolishly?”

I casually took off my jacket and handed it to Ye-ji. I didn’t forget to lower my voice at the same time. Ye-ji, with a more clueless expression than usual, was staring blankly at me, then suddenly looked down at her legs and hurriedly placed my jacket on her skirt.

“Idiot…! You should have said something sooner…!”

“I told you as soon as I could.”

“And you, you were already looking at it! Pervert! Go die!!”

“I’m not a pervert, and I don’t want to die either.”

Ye-ji Lee seemed to be more bashful than she appeared. When she played the villain next to Lee Ji-woon, she seemed to have no sense of shame, but to make such a fuss over showing a bit of leg.

Leaving behind Lee Ye-ji, who was playfully hitting my arm, I slyly began to glance in the opposite direction.

‘…They still can’t take her eyes off me.’

There stood Yoon Dong-gun, the protagonist of the work, and Park Ha-eun, the main heroine.

The main characters of the dating sim game, who knew Lee Ji-woon the most, and because of that, harbored both concern and disgust for him.

Surprisingly, the two were childhood friends with Lee Ji-woon, before his personality was ruined by frequent moving and studying abroad, the three shared a relationship closer than friends, almost like a family.

Of course, after their first reunion in middle school, the relationship soured due to the completely changed Lee Ji-woon.

To be precise, the current protagonist, Yoon Dong-gun, hated Lee Ji-woon, and the main heroine, Park Ha-eun, hoped to restore the relationship between the three of us back to how it used to be.

An ambiguous deadlock. Perhaps this situation could be dismissed with such a word.

“But why does the expression look a bit strange?”

Yoon Dong-gun had a handsome face befitting the title of the protagonist. Park Ha-eun exuded cuteness with her youthful and innocent appearance, despite being older, but the size of her chest was a charm that was far from cute.

However, a sense of confusion was spreading across the faces of the man and woman. Was it because they made eye contact with me?

No, they were openly looking at Lee Ji-woon from the start. Even if they made eye contact with each other, it wouldn’t be a reason to express such bewilderment.

That means I must have done something uncharacteristic of Lee Ji-woon again.

As my thoughts reached that point, I couldn’t help but hurriedly turn my gaze away and look at Lee Ye-ji.

“Um… that, but why are you suddenly being so kind…? Normally, you would have said something vulgar… You’re a bit… sweet today, aren’t you?”

Where did the bold Lee Ye-ji from just a moment ago go, leaving in her place a blushing high school girl sitting on my desk.

Her face turning red as she looked into the distance. One hand seemed to be fixed to her mouth, perhaps to hide her embarrassment, while the other hand was tightly clutching the jacket I had given her.

It was then I realized. Because Lee Ye-ji wasn’t the heroine of the story, I treated her without much thought, and as a result, I had acted in a way that was clearly out of character for Lee Ji-woon.

It was somewhat ambiguous to call it a mistake, but the fact that Yoon Dong-gun and Park Ha-eun witnessed this situation was sure to introduce a significant variable.

“What are you talking about? Anyone would think I usually go around spouting weird things.”

“You did the same thing before. You asked if you could lick my leg because it looked like it would taste like chocolate.”

“.......”

Once again, this Lee Ji-woon is holding me back. He’s in a body that’s of no help at all. Even if I tried to make excuses, my usual behavior has been such a mess that I couldn’t even come up with a proper excuse.

First, let’s calm down. The water has already been spilled, but it’s not a big mistake. After all, wasn’t Hong Seol quite surprised by my behavior?

In a way, this could be seen as a natural progression for someone possessed. Yes, the process of the second son of the noble family, who was a troublemaker, transforming and gaining fame by shedding his wretched past.

During this process, the astonishment of those around him would naturally follow, and that’s exactly where we are right now.

Although it wasn’t intentional, showing the protagonists that Lee Ji-woon has ‘changed’ could also be one way to alter the ending.

First, stay calm. Second, stay calm. After all, it was something I did to Lee Ye-ji, and since she’s not the official heroine, it doesn’t really matter. Even if her affection for me changed, it has nothing to do with whether I can save my own skin.

Squeak-

There was a time when I thought that way. At least until Park Ha-eun kicked her chair and stood up.

“Damn it… Why is she coming this way…!”

My legs started to tremble at this unforeseen development in the story. Had I touched something wrong? At least on the first day, there was no exchange between Park Ha-eun and Lee Ji-woon.

Pushing aside the protagonist’s hand that tried to stop her, Park Ha-eun was walking steadily towards me. I sat there with my arms crossed, trying to appear as calm as possible, but I couldn’t hide my trembling legs. Even Lee Ye-ji, sitting on the desk, have told me to stop.

The distance was closing in. The closer she got, the more my legs trembled, and even when Lee Ye-ji forcibly pressed her both hands on my knees, I couldn’t stop the uncontrollable shaking.

She’s here. Damn it. What is she going to say? Just go away… Please, just go…!

Swoosh-

“....?”

The sound of water trickling down in several streams. Park Ha-eun walked past me and began watering the plant at the back of the classroom.

Although she had initially been walking toward me, she suddenly changed her mind and turned her body 90 degrees toward the potted plant.

Perhaps even Park Ha-eun found it burdensome to engage in conversation with me. Considering my usual behavior, I couldn’t be too surprised by her sudden change of heart.

'Phew… My legs have finally stopped trembling.'

Lee Ye-ji, who had been pressing my knees with both hands, wiped the sweat from her forehead as she realized my legs had stopped shaking. Lee Ji-woon’s physical strength was quite formidable, so it was impossible to prevent my legs from trembling even with considerable force.

Well, it doesn’t matter. Park Ha-eun ultimately changed her mind just before, and the story continued as planned. Going forward, I’ll try to alter the bad ending as much as possible along the storyline…

“Ji… Ji-woon.”

I intend to move forward. Although, I hear Park Ha-eun’s voice from behind, but it’s just my imagination. After all, don’t people often experience auditory hallucinations or tinnitus? This must be one of those situations. No, it had to be.

“Hey. She’s calling you.”

Lee Ye-ji, who had been eavesdropping, launched a second attack on me. Naturally, her relationship with Park Ha-eun wasn’t great, so she already had a disapproving look on her face.

By now, I had to admit that she had indeed called me. But I didn’t want to turn around. Maybe there was hope that Park Ha-eun would change her mind at the very last moment. That hope alone was something no one could take away from me…

“Kyaa…!!?”

With the sound of something slipping, water chilled by the morning’s cool temperature struck my upper body. Caught off guard by the sudden dousing, I was soaked to the skin without moving a muscle.

“I’m s-s-s-sorry…!! It wasn’t on purpose…! I slipped while walking…!!”

“Hey, Park Ha-eun!! Are you out of your mind!? How can you just splash water on someone like that!!?”

“I’m sorry, Ji-woon…! It really wasn’t intentional, it was an accident… No, no, I’m not making excuses… Ahh…!”

Park Ha-eun, who clearly didn’t know what to do, and Lee Ye-ji, who was scolding her, both voices hit my ears.

But what concerned me more was that Yoon Dong-gun, the protagonist who sensed that the atmosphere had become strange, had started walking towards this place.

The decisive reason why Lee Ji-woon ended up in juvenile detention. The apostle of justice in the work. The protagonist with power that no one can defy.

Squeak-

Without hesitation, I stood up vigorously. All eyes were on me, and the situation was tense enough that curses and fists could fly at any moment.

In such a situation, what I had to choose was already a foregone conclusion.

“I’ll go dry off my clothes.”

As the protagonist approached, I mustered the resolve of a seasoned sailor and launched a swift counterattack.

Running away has always been one of the most excellent strategies handed down through the ages. If you’re not confident in resolving the situation, then running away from it is the solution.

Of course, even if it brings shock to everyone in the class, as it does now.

“…Ah?”

Ignoring Yoon Dong-gun and Park Ha-eun, who were particularly dumbfounded, I quickly headed toward the restroom.

A man who was colder than anyone else but couldn’t show it. Ji-woon had no choice but to disappear momentarily before the eyes of the main characters.

It’s cold. Damn it.

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