I Don’t Want to be a Villainess

Monday morning.

I always wake up at the usual time and wash my body. Just as I finish showering, Yang Hye-in comes into the room. She sits down and dries my hair with a hairdryer while lovingly brushing it.

As I wait for my hair to dry, I start dozing off, and after Yang Hye-in finishes her inspection, I change into my school uniform.

Then, as usual, I follow Yang Hye-in’s guidance, leaving the room and heading down to the cafeteria when—

I notice a slightly different atmosphere than usual.

The staff generally don’t react to Ye Sara, but at least they show some minimum courtesy. Even if they don’t strike up a conversation or respond properly, they stop moving and bow their heads when Ye Sara passes closely. And once she is past them, they resume their tasks.

Ah, it’s not that the staff have stopped doing even that.

Rather, they seemed to be acting “a little more” than usual. So, it’s safe to say they behaved in a way they typically don’t.

Normally, the staff who bow their heads wouldn’t look at me. They’d be so focused on the ground as if it were a trap, waiting for me to pass by.

But one of the staff, passing by me, didn’t do that.

They stopped, bowed their head but momentarily glanced at me, and our eyes met.

The staff hurriedly averted their gaze again.

It was an inconsequential action. To be honest, in their position, it could be an impulsive action they did without realizing.

However, at the same time, it was a first for me. Within this mansion until now, the only person to make eye contact with me uncalled was Yang Hye-in.

If I had been just a bit more careless, I might have asked them what they wanted.

“…Miss.”

Just as I managed to suppress my curiosity and passed them silently, Yang Hye-in, following behind me, softly spoke.

“I’ll let you know in the car shortly.”

It seemed Yang Hye-in knew why that staff member reacted that way.

I nodded silently and headed quietly towards the cafeteria.

*

As soon as I got into the car, Yang Hye-in sat beside me and immediately showed me her smartphone.

On the screen was an article about me.

But I could tell what the article was about even before reading the title.

After all, there was a giant photo in that article.

There I was, wearing a hat pulled low, a black T-shirt, jeans, and a gray jumper—an outfit that could be described as somewhat boyish.

And in that photo, Yoo Ha-neul was brightly smiling, hugging my arm as she looked at me.

…Ironically, since the light on Yoo Ha-neul’s face didn’t show in the photo, I could see her face much more clearly.

Her expression showed not a trace of worry, just pure happiness.

[After years, the Yujin Group heir appears… Who’s that girl of similar age accompanying her?]

While the title didn’t contain words similar to “dating,” its meaning was crystal clear. They probably thought of spinning our relationship that way to increase views.

The article was short. [The sole heir of the Yujin Group, Ye Sara, has made her first appearance in years. She looks happy with another girl who seems to be of similar age, contradicting the rumors circulating.]

In truth, it was more suitable to consider it just a description of the photo rather than actual article content. Perhaps it was formatted as breaking news or something?

“…So, the staff in the mansion saw this, and that’s why they looked at me like that?”

“Yes, that’s correct. …I apologize. It’s my negligence.”

“Huh?”

I was taken aback by Yang Hye-in’s sudden apology and asked her back somewhat surprised.

“I should have predicted that something like this would happen when you went outside.”

“Predicted what?”

“…Miss, you’re not like the typical children of wealthy families.”

That much was indeed true.

Even in the world I lived in, there were times when the children of wealthy families made news or their photos circulated online. I’m not talking about getting caught in scandals. I mean photos that circulated because of people’s interest.

For example, a picture of a child using a competitor’s product of a company run by their father, or someone writing angsty posts on social media that went viral across the internet.

But usually, it naturally had less impact compared to articles about celebrities. They didn’t frequently show their faces to the media, and the only compelling element was that they were born into powerful families. Unless they acted in an outrageous manner, it would be hard to attract more than passing interest.

However, Ye Sara was a different case.

She was the heir of a company valued at 3,600 trillion.

Not just the biggest in the country but the largest in this world. About 30% of the global population uses the smartphones produced by this company, which dominates 50% of the foundry market and is capable of semiconductor design.

It meant that this company wasn’t merely the number one in market cap; it was on a level that seemed almost insane. Honestly, it was surprising they hadn’t been dealt with earlier. It wouldn’t be unusual for nationalistic fools to create videos celebrating the company and upload them to streaming sites.

“Miss, you officially inherit 5.7% of the shares.”

So, I might be one of the wealthiest teens in the world, or if not, certainly the richest among them.

Of course, strictly speaking, that wealth wasn’t mine but Ye Sara’s.

That was just for the stocks, and if you include real estate, the wealth would increase. It wouldn’t reach stock levels, but still.

Even though I couldn’t freely spend that money, any potential spouse I married would also come into possession of immense wealth.

Is it similar to how scandals follow princes or princesses in countries that still have royalty?

“And also, Miss, you gained attention for your looks since you were a child.”

If you search Ye Sara’s name on the internet, photos would pop up that declared her as a “top-tier rich kid” even in her childhood.

“…”

Yeah, it really seems every reason to become famous has clumped together.

And since her face hadn’t been shown to the media for years, perhaps an air of mystery had inadvertently arisen, enhancing her image further.

“…Who took that photo, I wonder?”

“That’s something we need to check. The newspaper might not have taken it themselves.”

There’s a chance someone took that photo and sold it.

“Maybe the company is investigating it already.”

“That means…?”

“Yes, there’s a possibility that the chairwoman might already know.”

A moment of silence fell inside the car. The luxury sedan with its huge engine was surprisingly quiet inside.

“…Have you received any contact yet?”

“Not yet.”

I rubbed my eyelids with my hands.

“…I’m sorry.”

“…No, it’s me who was thoughtless.”

At my words, Yang Hye-in zipped her lips.

I had been too complacent.

It wasn’t just in the mansion. Even someone entirely unrelated to me could think of me as prey because Ye Sara was genuinely that famous.

*

As I half-opened the door, the chatter suddenly stopped.

In an instant, all the kids in the classroom looked at me.

Was it because of the article circulating online?

Usually, even if I walked in, the kids would glance at me and return to their tasks, but now, they were staring as if they had been caught in a surprise.

So, I acted differently than usual.

Normally, if the kids ignored me, I would have ignored them in return.

But if they looked at me, I should at least look back at them.

I turned my gaze and scanned the room, catching the eyes of those looking at me one by one.

Ye Sara has a pretty face, but she also possesses notably sharp eyes. Just a glance or a slight upward look could give off a vibe as if she could slice something with her gaze.

Of course, the moment our eyes met, they quickly turned away.

After I had cleared away all the gazes, I slowly walked to my seat and sat down.

…Thinking of it, this isn’t just a crisis.

I was now attempting to benchmark the original Ye Sara to escape from the current situation where the chairwoman controlled me.

Of course, that didn’t mean I planned to completely ruin myself like the game’s Ye Sara.

I aimed to make it so that “no one could ignore me,” just like how she was portrayed in that game.

Should I manipulate the children’s parents with money to make them ignore Ye Sara? Maybe even make the school treat her like an invisible person?

Then, I just have to create chaos that can’t be dealt with by that money.

Though, unlike the original Ye Sara who let everything go, I’ll try to be as gentlemanly as possible.

Clack, the classroom door opened again.

Once again, all attention flowed toward the classroom door.

“…Huh?”

The kid who met my gaze froze. While they often were the center of attention in the past, this time, the stares directed at them were much heavier and sharper than the previous indifferent glances.

“Heaven!”

As I shouted at the surprised Yoo Ha-neul,

“…Huh!?”

This time, she looked even more shocked.

…Ah, right. I might not have called her by name before.

Well, that’s not the immediate issue. Rather—

The classroom desks are usually apart, each in a row. During break times or lunch, some kids might pull them together, but during lessons, they generally stay apart.

Well, I didn’t care about that due to being an “invisible person.”

I reached out and tried to pull Yoo Ha-neul’s desk toward me…

But then I hesitated.

…It’s heavy.

What in the world did she pack in that desk? Surely it wasn’t stuffed with books aside from her textbooks?

“Ugh.”

I lifted my body to put some weight into moving the desk.

But it didn’t take long before Yoo Ha-neul’s desk was right next to mine.

There we go. As an “invisible person,” I can do whatever, right?

Now that I’ve attracted attention today, this is going to work out well.

I looked at Yoo Ha-neul and tapped the chair beside me.

“Come sit here.”

Then I flashed a grin.

Yeah, since it was just me as Ye Sara, others could ignore me no matter what I did; but now that I have a few collaborators, would they really be able to ignore me?

Waves become more unpredictable and harder to anticipate as more of them overlap.

“Uh, uh??”

Yoo Ha-neul still looked incredibly shocked.

Well, it’s just the beginning.

Let’s see who comes out on top.

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