I Don’t Want to be a Villainess

Graduation ceremonies often aren’t as romantic or touching as they’re depicted in movies or dramas—especially if you’re still a student anyway.

In most graduation ceremonies, students tend to feel bittersweet about attending different schools, but that wasn’t the case for the students of Hwayoung Academy.

After all, there was no reason for students here to envy the facilities of other schools.

It wasn’t just the facilities; from the atmosphere of study and the surrounding environment to the highly qualified teaching staff, everything about this school was spectacular. Choosing to leave this school for another was akin to saying, “I no longer have money to contribute to this school.”

And that was something the students here—no, their parents—couldn’t tolerate.

Thus, most kids sitting in the auditorium for the relatively late graduation didn’t seem overly excited.

Well, a school is still a school, and the students and parents there are still people.

Even if they weren’t feeling the same disappointments as students from other schools might, there were at least some who felt a sense of pride in graduating middle school and looked forward to high school.

Even if the venue was almost the same, statuses changed, and uniforms changed, after all.

Today was the last day wearing middle school uniforms. Thinking that way, it wasn’t strange to see students gathering in groups to take pictures.

…Though I wasn’t surrounded by any.

Fortunately, the notice I received before graduation listed the class that Ye Sara attended, so I was able to go to her classroom after the ceremony.

After the homeroom teacher’s mundane speech, the students began to gather and take pictures with their friends, yet no one came to me.

Hmmm.

Isn’t a typical villainess supposed to have at least two lackeys flitting around her?

It seemed cliché for three kids to roam around together causing trouble during middle school, right?

“……”

But among the chatting students around the teacher, no one spoke to me.

I was treated like a completely transparent person.

Could it really be that the sole daughter of the number one group in the business world was being bullied in class?

Well, it didn’t bother me. After all, it would only make me awkward if someone did come up to talk to me. I wouldn’t even know how to respond if a student I didn’t remember tried to make conversation.

“……”

I sat there for a while before finally standing up. Staying here longer wouldn’t benefit me at all. I picked up my diploma and left the classroom.

“I’m going.”

I said to Yang Hye-in, who had been waiting at the back of the classroom in a black coat.

“Yes, Miss.”

Yang Hye-in nodded and started to follow me, as if she knew what I was thinking.

Creeeak, as I opened the door, the gazes around the classroom finally shifted towards me, but as soon as I turned around, everyone hurriedly looked away. Even if I asked why, I wouldn’t get a proper answer, anyway.

Without saying a word, I stepped outside.

The scenery outside the classroom didn’t look much different.

Students with their parents were wandering around taking pictures, engaging in conversations about where to go now that the day had ended early.

I should just go home.

“……”

Well, it felt a bit off not taking at least one photo on graduation day, so I decided to ask Yang Hye-in to take one in front of the school gate.

*

I pushed through the crowd and reached near the gate. Not a single person had tried to talk to me by this point. At this stage, I started to wonder. Was it true that not a single one of Ye Sara’s friends was at this school?

…Or maybe they thought Ye Sara wouldn’t be able to inherit Eugene Group?

While I was walking and thinking about this—

“Ah, um, over here!”

Someone called out to me.

Before I could even turn to where the voice came from, black suits shot out from who knows where to create a barrier between me and the girl who called me.

“……”

Ah, I see why I didn’t have any friends.

If every time someone talked to me it ended up like this, it makes sense I’d have no friends.

“Um, could you move aside, please?”

I tried speaking politely, but the response was absurd.

“We are here to protect the young lady’s safety.”

“……”

…Are they doing this on purpose?

What if Ye Sara started making friends at school and her family’s problems leaked out? Well, as her stepmother, it would benefit her to keep Ye Sara’s connections extremely limited. Considering how they were locked away at home, they might have extremely despised Ye Sara as a person too.

Who knows? Maybe they bribed her classmates or their parents to pretend they didn’t know Ye Sara.

Sure it sounds ridiculous in reality, but isn’t this a world where “will they kill or save the high school girl?” is the plot of some morning drama? This world is the same as that gaming world. Nothing strange about outrageous occurrences.

I don’t have any intention of becoming a villainess. If I get on the bad side of the heroine, it could mean dying or being on the verge of dying, depending on how the supporting characters of that heroine react.

But that only applies to the protagonist.

The rules don’t necessarily apply to nameless extras, right?

“Guard.”

I gave up asking the suited man again and called for Yang Hye-in. She stepped forward, placing her hands on her stomach and bowing slightly.

“As far as I know, I hold the authority over personnel in the mansion I live in.”

“Yes, that is correct. The mistress of the mansion is you, Miss.”

“What’s your name?”

At my question, the man in black—who had his back to me—flinched, his shoulders trembling.

“I don’t know what the chairwoman asked you to do, but I don’t think the world will turn upside down just because a newcomer talks a few words at the graduation ceremony.”

I said that while looking straight up at his back.

“Even if some rich man’s escort is here, it wouldn’t turn the world upside down either.”

I saw a bead of cold sweat trickle down his neck.

A moment of silence passed, and soon the wall blocking my path opened up. Good, that’s right. If you keep irritating someone, you end up turning them into a villainess. I’ve been sensitive lately; maybe I should just cut this tension.

I took a quick glance at the faces of the guards standing behind me, then turned my attention back to the girl who had called out to me.

She looked stiff, holding her smartphone, and seemed a little scared of the guards who had been blocking her way, her face glowing.

…No, not in the sense that she was pretty and therefore glowing, but her face was literally glowing.

Is that physically possible? Does this world have a glowing makeup product or something…? As I pondered that, I realized I still didn’t know my ‘instinct.’

…So the reason her face seemed to shine was that my instinct probably activated because of her.

Of course, I had no idea what that even meant.

Her hair was tied in twin tails, she had big beautiful eyes, and her demeanor seemed a bit shy.

I thought I recognized her. At least the twin-tailed blonde hair was a hairstyle used by a female character from ‘If You Wish.’

I couldn’t remember her name; I simply recalled a streamer calling that character “human capybara.” It was so striking that it stuck with me.

The viewers also called her that more than by her real name.

She was the girl who commonly played the role of the “information-gathering friend character” in dating sims, knowing all the ins and outs of the school because of her crazy social skills.

She would casually convey tips about what the main characters liked—be it food, hobbies, or preferences—but in this game, she was a target to be pursued. Ironically, though, the wiki mentioned that while she knew everyone else’s tastes, she almost never revealed her own, making her difficult to pursue…

I wasn’t sure why she decided to speak to me. Maybe the capybara instinct was kicking in again. Could it be that she wanted to be friends with everyone at school before graduation?

There was nothing bad about being friendly. After all, she’d eventually become the heroine’s closest ally, and her wealth of information would make obtaining info easier for me, too.

“What is it?”

I asked while observing her slightly nervous demeanor, and she blinked back to reality.

“Um, uh, well….”

Seemingly flustered by what just happened, she glanced at the guards at the side.

“You don’t need to worry about those people. If you want to say something to me, just say it directly to me,” I said, putting my hands in my coat pockets.

The blonde girl gulped once.

“C-could I… could I please take a picture with you!?”

Her voice cracked, likely too tense.

Yeah, I figured she’d ask for that.

“Picture?”

However, considering that I was meeting her for the first time, it felt a bit sudden to just jump into taking a photo together. Even if I could roughly guess her reasoning, it would be more natural to pretend I didn’t know.

“Uh, yeah. I’ve seen you from a distance during school, and you looked so cool… I thought it would be nice to take a picture before we graduate…”

Her honesty was genuinely cute, to the extent that it made me want to smile.

I could see why people liked her.

Well, I couldn’t know what Ye Sara’s true personality was like, but she certainly came off as a gorgeous, cold character when she just stood still with her mouth shut. It wasn’t strange for someone to admire her with the air of “a lady” that radiated off her.

Trying to stifle my laughter, I think the girl misunderstood my silence because she began to fidget, her blue eyes darting around.

“Y-yeah… I guess it’s… a bit too much for someone I’ve never met to suddenly ask for a picture—”

“Okay.”

“—It would feel a bit strange…”

“I said okay.”

I stepped closer to the girl, who was drawing her own conclusions, and the guards flinched a bit at my movement, but apparently, my earlier threat had been effective enough that they didn’t block me again.

“Where shall we take it?”

As I approached, she stammered, “Ack! Uh…”

Having come this close, I noticed her uniform’s pocket area bulged much more than mine, enough that the name tag looked like it might rest on her chest rather than hang from it. I remembered the streamer had deliberated a lot on which heroine route to pursue. The character was clearly depicted with curves in a drawing drawn with an art program.

The best graphics card, apparently, at this point, was imagination.

The name tag read “Lee Soo-ah.” Right, that was her name.

I extended my hand towards her.

“Smartphone.”

At my request, she hurriedly placed her smartphone in my hand. After realizing it was still locked, she quickly took it back to unlock it and returned it to me. Then, noticing the camera app wasn’t open, she took it again to turn on the camera.

That whole sequence could appear annoying depending on the person. If it were someone with a bad personality or one with whom I had a poor relationship, I might have commented, but her sincere panic was somehow endearing, or maybe it was just her good looks.

So, that’s the reason she was popular.

“Is it ready?”

I asked, and she blushed deeply, nodding her head.

I handed the smartphone to Yang Hye-in, who was standing behind me.

“Oh, right.”

Before getting settled for the picture, I glanced at Lee Soo-ah once more.

“So, where do you want to take the picture?”

She shyly bowed her head and answered, “Uh, w-we can take it here. Since it’s a place where the school can be seen….”

She answered while twisting her body awkwardly.

Anyone would think we were taking a picture for a crush.

This world is one where both boys and girls can flirt with each other as it exists in a dating sim. It’s completely normal to accept same-gender relationships or vice versa, even though I wasn’t quite certain what a “normal” situation looked like given my fiancé was male.

“Well, fine.”

I shrugged, placing my hands in my pockets, then walked over to stand beside Lee Soo-ah.

Of course, it didn’t come naturally. Normally, I’m not good at taking pictures either. Plus, I had never taken a picture with a girl I’d just met.

And it seemed Lee Soo-ah also felt the same way; despite being the one asking to take the picture, she seemed awkward.

With her hands behind her back, she stood twisting her body, and her face was still bright red from embarrassment.

“Okay, both of you, please look this way.”

Yang Hye-in raised the smartphone toward us and said.

“Then I’ll take the picture. One, two, three.”

Click went the phone.

Yang Hye-in immediately walked over and handed the smartphone back to me. I looked at the screen displayed on it.

Two figures stood side by side, looking a bit awkward. My expression was close to emotionless with just a hint of a smile, while Lee Soo-ah had her head bowed slightly, making it difficult to see her face. Even considering she leaned her head down, it seemed I was a little taller than her. After all, Ye Sara didn’t have a small stature, even if her frame was thin.

I returned the smartphone to Lee Soo-ah.

“How does it look?”

“Um, yeah. It turned out well…”

Lee Soo-ah avoided my gaze as she spoke.

…Did I get too familiar for just meeting her?

I shrugged again and said, “I thought I wouldn’t get to take a photo today, but thanks to you, I did. Thank you.”

As I said that, Lee Soo-ah’s already red face turned even redder. It was practically fully cooked by now.

“Well then….”

Okay, how should I wrap this up?

After a moment’s hesitation, I shrugged once more. Well, I didn’t really need to inquire about her contact details. She was going to the same high school anyway.

“I have some things to attend to. So, I’ll be going ahead.”

“Uh, o-okay.”

Lee Soo-ah nodded at my statement.

I actually didn’t have any particular plans, but this seemed like the only polite way to slip away.

As I turned to walk away, suddenly a voice called out from behind, “Um, over there!”

When I turned back, I saw Lee Soo-ah looking at me.

“L-let’s meet at high school!”

She shouted at me as I turned.

“Sure.”

I replied and turned back around.

Suddenly, my previously sour mood improved a little. I had spoken with a cute girl and took a photo… But more than anything, I felt like I’d stepped a bit closer to not becoming a “villainess.”

With lighter steps, I walked while Yang Hye-in watched me as if she were seeing some unknown species for the first time.

*

Lee Soo-ah is mixed race.

Her father is a South Korean businessman, and her mother is an American model. I heard they met while he was in America for business.

Inheriting her blonde hair and blue eyes from her mother, Lee Soo-ah was treated as a foreigner in both America and Korea. She faced discrimination for being Asian before, and conversely, in Korea, she also experienced ostracization due to her hair and eye color.

However, Lee Soo-ah tried to overcome it. Over time, she researched ways to cope and ultimately found a way to get through it.

The most important thing was, she needed to have many friends.

Ostracization occurs when there are more people who dislike you than those who like you. Therefore, Lee Soo-ah found people to befriend right as each term began. She patiently sought out people in her class to befriend, getting on their good side and maintaining contact with friends from before. For that, she learned how to use her looks to her advantage. With her rare beauty of being a “mixed-race girl” in Korea, she was a perfect condition to pet the egos of some kids.

After making as many friends as she could by actively socializing, the people who used to ignore her gradually disappeared. After all, anyone who tried to act against her would face backlash.

Sustaining that lifestyle, to be blunt, was quite tiring.

Human relationships are fluid. Sometimes two friends would fight, leading to a need to choose between them, or a new student might transfer in or out, which made managing all those relationships an everyday job. On top of that, she had to maintain her grades. Every day was overwhelmingly busy.

Amid those hectic days, one day, when she entered middle school, she met someone.

Well, it wasn’t so much as she “met” them—she had never even spoken to them. To put it more accurately, she had seen them.

“It’s better not to mess with her,” was what the kids said.

With black hair and red eyes, she had a doll-like beauty, and nobody dared to approach her.

“Why?”

When Lee Soo-ah asked, the other kids pulled her away from the girl and spoke in hushed tones.

“Her mother…”

“The inheritance of Eugene Group is complex and tangled…”

“And you’ll probably hear stories soon…”

They shared several reasons, but it was hard for her to understand. However, Lee Soo-ah eventually recognized she shouldn’t talk to that girl.

“It’s best not to get close to Ye Sara from Eugene Group.”

One day, her father called her and said that.

“…Why?”

Even till then, confused, Lee Soo-ah asked her father.

“I’m sorry. It’s hard to go into detail. I can only say that it’s related to the stories about Eugene Group. If we’re not careful, we could get dragged into it.”

Her father urged her multiple times, and ultimately Lee Soo-ah had to comply with his words.

…But was “had to” really the right expression?

How could she ever explain that she ignored someone and estimated that girl as transparent? Such an act was already a terrible crime in itself. Having experienced bullying as a child, she knew this all too well.

Yet, she followed her father’s advice.

Because she didn’t want to lose her current lifestyle.

She had felt all too painfully what it felt like to move from ‘many’ to ‘few.’

For an entire year being in the same class as that girl, Ye Sara, was like sitting on pins and needles.

At least starting in the next grade, they’d be in different classes, leaving her with a slight sense of relief. At least she could detach herself from the guilt of actively tormenting her.

Even after switching classes, she would still occasionally see Ye Sara. There were times when the girl would walk down the hallway impassively, times she’d sit with no words during combined physical education classes, and occasionally when passing by the window of the class next door.

And every time she’d see that girl acting as if she was completely unfazed, Lee Soo-ah would feel something prick her heart like a thousand needles.

Just switching classes didn’t mean she couldn’t say anything to her. If only someone would speak to her, perhaps that wall of ice surrounding Ye Sara would melt, and she might smile.

…But being the one to break that silence was extraordinarily terrifying.

And so two more years passed.

The final day she could be a student at Hwayoung Middle School.

Lee Soo-ah, who had many friends, busily took pictures with her classmates, as most of them would be attending high school with her. It was critical to make a good impression, ensuring they remained friends through high school.

And in the midst of that, she saw Ye Sara returning home.

Following her was something she hadn’t anticipated.

Though impulsively, it felt like she wanted to express some sort of apology to the girl she’d never spoken to in three years. After all, she could regret not even attempting to converse.

Apology… at this stage.

She found that thought somewhat ridiculous but still followed Ye Sara while declining invitations to take more photos with others. Saying at least one word seemed worthwhile.

“Ah, um, over here!”

And right before Ye Sara stepped out of the gate, she managed to call out to her.

*

“I want to apologize,” wasn’t the thing that came out.

That was because the sheer certainty that the girl who had blocked her path and had never caused any trouble for her was speaking with such refreshing ease made it feel wrong.

As if all those past events didn’t even matter.

“Can we take a picture together?!”

In the end, Lee Soo-ah blurted out something rather pitiful.

…Yet Ye Sara accepted her.

Once again, as if nothing had ever happened.

As a result, a photograph was captured on Lee Soo-ah’s smartphone.

A picture featuring the girl who almost plunged her head in embarrassment amidst the backdrop of a school she’d attended for three years, standing confidently beside Ye Sara, who looked straight into the camera.

…In some ways, it was a deeply symbolic photograph.

A girl who had many friends, living a popular school life, yet endlessly embarrassed.

And another girl who was treated as inconsequential, yet stood proud and unbothered.

This photograph should never be deleted.

And once I enter high school, I should be the first to speak to this girl. I should apologize for everything I didn’t get to say.

At the very least, I would reflect on the mistakes of the last three years while living the next three years.

Whether I am part of the majority or the minority.

Regardless of what anyone says.

I want to become a person as confident as Ye Sara, Lee Soo-ah thought.

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