I Don’t Want to be a Villainess

However, unfortunately, I couldn’t just say something like “I wanted to completely destroy the classroom atmosphere using this article” inside the classroom.

Of course, the article didn’t mention anything about Ha Neul and me being in a relationship. It was merely ‘hinting’ at it through our clothes, postures, and atmosphere. But the fact that my classmates were watching me so carefully and that the kids from this class couldn’t take their eyes off us made the article quite effective.

But in front of the kids who believed that article, I couldn’t very well say, “Actually, we’ve been doing these things to make you believe that article.” Of course, I didn’t intend to outright say “we’re dating,” but I thought if anyone asked later, I’d brush it off with “What are you thinking so recklessly?”

…But it seemed I had gone a bit too far.

Yoo Ha-neul, who was blushing furiously and deeply bowing her head in her seat, seemed to think the same.

Not that Yoo Ha-neul completely misunderstood my intentions. Rather, it was the problem that she understood it so well without knowing the content of the article.

This wasn’t entirely Yoo Ha-neul’s fault, though. I had my share of fault for assuming she’d just read the article and acted accordingly without giving her any information.

“…….”

Well, whatever.

Still, my mind was clear. Finding out that Yoo Ha-neul didn’t have any dark intentions towards me cleared my thoughts. It seemed like Yoo Ha-neul had overstepped a bit from the middle, but since I thought it was a misunderstanding, I felt relieved. For a while, I could continue playing the attention-seeker role.

And when I think about it, I had put a wedge in so much that I could shake the surrounding kids that much. Even at this moment, the kids were clearly glancing at me. They seemed unable to hide their actions.

I approached Yoo Ha-neul, who had returned to her seat.

And I whispered in her ear.

“I thought about it, and I think staying like this wouldn’t be so bad.”

At those words, Yoo Ha-neul’s face whipped around to look at me. Although she had adapted a bit lately, I was still momentarily blinded by the light radiating from her face so close to me.

Squinting, I caught Yoo Ha-neul’s extremely flustered expression. Honestly, that face was a bit funny, so I chuckled and said, “No need to be flustered after going that far in the last lesson.”

I wondered if the surrounding kids heard that, as there were sounds of swallowed breaths here and there.

Well, whatever. I was happy that Yoo Ha-neul was cooperating so actively. When I didn’t know her intentions, I was a bit worried, but if there were no romantic feelings, then I felt much more at ease.

Besides, honestly, it wasn’t like I would feel bad if such a cute girl casually made physical contact.

…

…No, that’s not it. No matter what, that posture sitting face to face was really not okay.

Yoo Ha-neul had gone a bit overboard. I should mention that to her later. Still, I think it would be good to set some limits.

Just as I wrapped up that thought, the sound of the school bell announcing the start of class rang through the school speaker. It was quite funny that not a single kid in this class moved from their seats during the break.

Do they not know that kind of ‘reaction’ is still a ‘reaction’?

The classroom door creaked open. The next subject teacher walked in, holding the teaching materials.

I wondered if she had heard about what happened in the previous class? She glanced at me sitting near Yoo Ha-neul and seemed to be about to say something to her.

But I suddenly stood up from my seat.

“…….”

The teacher stared at me, still with her mouth open. Seeing her eyes trembling a bit, it seemed she knew what I had done in the previous class.

Well… the person over there could be at ease now.

Yes, I had originally planned to do something else during the second class.

I moved my chair back to my original seat and lightly tapped Yoo Ha-neul’s shoulder, saying, “I have something to do for a moment, so I’ll be back before this class ends.”

If Yoo Ha-neul was left alone, I didn’t know what the other kids would do. I might be invisible, but Yoo Ha-neul was in a position to be ignored. And these two situations were distinctly different. I could do anything without them getting mad, but for Yoo Ha-neul, that ‘ignoring’ could turn into ‘physical bullying’.

Of course, Yoo Ha-neul wouldn’t be the type to just take it… But there was also the problem of her not having any solid backing since she was admitted after taking an outside exam.

I’m not looking down on Yoo Ha-neul’s family. What I’m saying is that her family is incredibly weak in terms of assets or power.

So, if the opponents who had been ignoring her actually started bullying her for real, it wouldn’t end well. She’d just suffer helplessly.

It’s true that a protagonist might be able to overcome such a situation by themselves, but I didn’t want to see my friend going through that. So I would finish my business during class time when other students couldn’t openly bully her, and then I would stick by her side again. That was my best plan.

“Ah, then I’ll…”

“No.”

I placed my hand on Yoo Ha-neul’s shoulder as she tried to stand up. It wasn’t a matter of strength, but Yoo Ha-neul froze in the position she was trying to get up in.

“I’m marked present whether I’m here or not, but you’re someone who ‘needs’ to be here.”

It’s not a matter of necessity. It’s a difference in whether the other party acknowledges that fact or not.

If Yoo Ha-neul follows me out of here, whether it’s an absence or an early leave, it would have a significantly negative impact on her grades.

Yoo Ha-neul seemed to accurately catch what I wanted to say. I felt relieved when I saw her biting her lip in frustration and sitting back down.

“Well, I’ll be back.”

Having said that, I took my leave.

People’s eyes were gluing to my back, but I didn’t mind.

After all, I was trying to make it obvious.

I walked confidently, opened the back door of the classroom wide, and stepped outside.

Naturally, I didn’t close it. Well, I could say it just blew open from the wind. A sliding door shouldn’t open because of the wind, though.

Alright then.

What class is Lee Soo-ah in?

*

In reality, I knew exactly which class Lee Soo-ah was in. However, if I went straight there, it wouldn’t draw attention. For now, at this very moment, I was the attention-seeking person who had gone mad with people’s interest.

Of course, I carefully entered each class next door to look around.

With a deep bow, I shoved my face in front of the students’ faces.

“Ah, not here either.”

Leaving the frozen kids who never expected to see me in their class in that position, I opened the door wide and stepped out of the classroom again.

Since I had come in through the back door and went out through the front, both doors were wide open.

I rounded through the four classes.

Yoo Ha-neul and I were in class 1, while Lee Soo-ah was in class 6. The last class I visited had, of course, Lee Soo-ah in it.

Through the window on the door, I spotted Lee Soo-ah. Sitting in the far back, in the corner, she looked a bit down. The atmosphere around her seemed entirely different from when I met her before.

Just like the other classes in Hwayoung High School, not many kids in class 6 seemed to be seriously paying attention to the lesson. Most were just chatting amongst themselves to pass the time. Those who seemed to be listening to the class were mostly doing problem sets that had progressed way further than the actual lesson on their desks.

Lee Soo-ah looked like she had been left behind among those kids, with no one to talk to her.

As I suspected, starting to get involved with me was likely causing her some disadvantages. If I spoke to Lee Soo-ah, there was no way my story wouldn’t come out.

Of course, Lee Soo-ah’s situation probably wasn’t as vulnerable as Yoo Ha-neul’s. After all, Lee Soo-ah was one of the ‘wealthy family’ students in this school. If she didn’t bring up my story, she might have been able to blend back in with the students. But knowing Lee Soo-ah’s personality, she likely wouldn’t do that.

…As I expected, it was frustrating to see this in person.

I deliberately swung the door open. Being the school of the rich, the classroom door was well-oiled, and it slid smoothly to the side, crashing into the wall and making a loud bang!

The students in class and the teacher at the front writing something on the blackboard flinched and shivered. Then, with an annoyed expression, they turned to look at me, only to freeze in place.

“……Sara?”

Only one person called my name in a thin voice.

Lee Soo-ah stared at me with wide, surprised eyes. I smiled back at that shining face.

So, what should I do here?

Unfortunately, there were no empty seats in this class. If there was a spare chair, I would have sat next to her, but this school managed even these supplies strictly tailored for each student. Despite the students frequently moving in and out abroad, before they transferred here or left, they quickly took out or put in supplies after hearing about it.

How cold and calculating.

Let’s see if they can treat me like this as well.

I walked over and stood next to the teacher conducting the class.

It wasn’t just students who were bullies in this school. Rather, it’s that teachers tolerate those kinds of students, allowing Je Sara to be unilaterally ignored. I don’t know how much they’ve been paid to do that.

Well, Je Sara could have been marked present even if she didn’t attend school.

As I looked up at the teacher intently, I saw sweat bead up on her temple.

Yeah, this will be a first, right?

Je Sara had only made a ruckus while seeking attention back in elementary school. Even then, she quickly stopped when she accepted reality. Therefore, middle school teachers and kids had never experienced Je Sara’s rebellion.

And the same goes for high school.

“Uh, then, from now on—”

The teacher tried to disregard me and continue with the lesson.

Well, that’s not going to happen.

How did Je Sara rebel back in elementary school? According to the records, she would scream loudly, throw things, and run out of the classroom. But everyone just ignored her.

I might have come out of the classroom, but my rebellion would be a bit different.

I slowly, exaggeratedly moved like a slapstick comedian and picked up the eraser from the blackboard.

Then I began to slowly erase what was written on the blackboard.

“Oops!”

The teacher yelled at what I was doing. Why? There were hardly any kids listening anyway.

When I turned to look at the teacher, she hurriedly covered her mouth with her hand and turned away.

I, still looking at the teacher, slowly gazed back at the blackboard and continued to erase its contents.

“Ahhh….”

The teacher let out a sound of lament, causing me to turn my head sharply again. The young teacher covered her mouth again.

“Keup.”

Someone in the back burst into suppressed laughter at the situation. Of course, it quieted down as soon as I turned my gaze in their direction.

Right. This is the path of my rebellion.

Every time Yoo Ha-neul poked me in the side, someone would laugh. Seeing that a few times made me realize one thing: holding back laughter was easier than holding back tears.

Did you know that there’s a training in the military where they make you hold back laughter while looking at a crying rubber duck?

From today on, I will train the kids like that.

What if they can’t hold back until the end? Well, they’ll have to listen to me then.

I smiled brightly up at the teacher, and her face turned pale.

Why is she so surprised?

It’s only been a short while since I started.

Let’s see if I can bear this attention-seeking behavior that I’ve pondered over all Sunday, one by one.

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