I Don’t Want to be a Villainess

“Did you not hear from the chairwoman? Do you know what situation I’m in right now?”

Ye Sara, sitting with her legs crossed and a vicious expression, asked just like that.

At her words, Lead Committee Member Son Ah-reum recalled her conversation with the student council president.

“It’s not that we’re just accommodating Ye Sara. We’re ignoring her being there.”

It was a strange statement. It sounded as if it meant that it wasn’t Ye Sara who was bullying the students, but rather that the other students were ostracizing Ye Sara.

However, there was also a reason she couldn’t accept that statement. Ye Sara never acted like a “victim” on campus. If, according to the chairwoman, she was truly being ignored and bullied by the entire school, there would be no reason for her to walk around confidently, interrupting classes, and bullying the students with a carefree expression.

Son Ah-reum tried to understand Ye Sara in her own way. After hearing the student council president say to leave Ye Sara alone, she quietly watched her for a week. After that, she didn’t make any major mistakes and didn’t bother others too much, except for walking around confidently during class or hanging out with girls by her side.

Of course, that didn’t change the fact that she was still breaking the rule against inappropriate relationships.

This morning, she happened to run into Ye Sara. Usually, Ye Sara would come through the school gate at a much later time, flanked by two girls waiting for her, but for some reason today, she arrived alone at a much earlier time—even earlier than Son Ah-reum, who is usually the early bird.

…Okay, let’s just keep an eye on her until the end of this week.

If Ye Sara doesn’t cause any more problems, then her next thought was to consider whether Ye Sara was indeed being bullied or not. According to the chairwoman, it was actually Ye Sara who was being bullied. Regardless of where the ostracism was directed, Son Ah-reum, as a Lead Committee Member, had an obligation to guide the students properly.

Of course, usually at that point, the teachers would step in.

So after observing her all morning—

Ye Sara continued to walk around confidently, completely ignoring the gazes of those around her, and even dared to stroll out of the classroom during sacred class time, going so far as to deliberately visit Son Ah-reum’s class to disrupt it! She didn’t care that the teacher and students were embarrassed!

Moreover, she even chased away students sitting in the park during lunch to claim the spot for herself.

Isn’t that just a blatant act of tyranny?

…But still, the story she heard from the student council president remained that Ye Sara was indeed being ostracized.

“How do we know if that story was made up?”

Ye Sara came from a wealthy family. Not only her, but her mother was also loaded. Among the rich, she was one of the true wealthy. If we were to liken it to a biblical description, she was not a camel trying to squeeze through a needle’s eye, but rather an elephant—or more like a Brachiosaurus.

Even if most rich kids attended the same school, it was possible to twist the narrative in some way.

“It’s made up.”

Ye Sara laughed as if she found it amusing to hear that.

“You’ve seen it for the past week. Do you really think that way?”

“…….”

Son Ah-reum sealed her lips. Of course, she thought that. But… she couldn’t be a hundred percent sure.

Indeed, as the chairwoman said, the kids’ reactions were to ignore and evade her. Just based on her actions, it seemed that Ye Sara was the one bullying. The kids seemed terrified every time she acted out, and most of them quickly left the scene.

But that was different during class.

The school had many teachers. While some were popular, there were also plenty that students did not like.

And when a student who was hated by the teachers was bullied by Ye Sara… the kids couldn’t help but stifle their laughter.

At this school, even rich kids experienced subtle discrimination from the teachers. It wasn’t about academic performance; it was about how much money each student had. Even Son Ah-reum, who had the highest grades, was ignored by the teachers and never called out for a chat.

Of course, they didn’t openly discriminate. It was more of a subtle neglect. Even when a student approached them, they would respond bluntly or enforce chores in a roundabout way.

And since the students knew this, they generally disliked such teachers.

When Ye Sara bullied those teachers, they couldn’t openly laugh, but they would shake with suppressed giggles. Some even found themselves enjoying or anticipating Ye Sara’s appearances.

But… still.

Son Ah-reum shook her head. That reaction could only be due to hoping someone would bully the teacher for her. If Ye Sara were truly fighting for justice, she wouldn’t act that way; rather, she would address the teacher’s actual behavior. That would be the right approach.

“But still, the fact that you are bullying the kids doesn’t change.”

“Is that so?”

Ye Sara placed her hand on her cheek as if pondering, “Hmm~,” then opened her mouth.

“How many people in this school properly pay attention during classes? Have you ever taken a look around during class?”

“…….”

Indeed, the number of students paying proper attention was low. Were they receiving pre-class tutoring elsewhere?

“But there are still a handful who do pay attention.”

Though they were a minority.

“There are also those who have never been ignored by you at this school?”

“…….”

At those words, Son Ah-reum momentarily fell silent.

Ignored.

Of course, she had experienced it a lot.

When addressing rule violations, they would just laugh and overlook them. Especially for students favored by teachers, it was natural for anything they said to be brushed off. When she would tell the kids not to chat in class, they wouldn’t even listen. Even when she brought things up to the student council president, it would usually be brushed off with a lackadaisical response.

During the first week of the semester, most of the visible rule violators were, in a way, rich kids. Among those, the few who would kind of listen to her were just an extreme minority.

…In fact, among them, Ye Sara was the only one who had directly said she would “take the punishment.”

“Didn’t you have a lot of those experiences? Being ignored. Even Ha Neul, who’s next to me, experienced it. Because she’s from a different middle school, kids wouldn’t even talk to her. So it was easy to bond.”

Certainly, Yoo Ha-neul was the top of her grade. If she had come from outside, she might have been ignored too, like Son Ah-reum.

“And Sua next to me, too. Because she’s close with me, all her friends left her. How do you explain that? Do you think it’s a deserved punishment for bullying the kids?”

Son Ah-reum shook her head vigorously.

You shouldn’t respond to bullying with the same bullying. That would just make you the same type of person.

More than anything, she had never seen Lee Soo-ah actively bullying anyone. The class was different, and she always seemed to be clinging to Ye Sara when featured. She didn’t appear to be the proactive type either.

“Besides you.”

Ye Sara looked directly at Son Ah-reum and said.

“You’re actually following me because I respond to you, right?”

At those words, Son Ah-reum felt her mind go blank for a moment.

“No one reacts when you speak. I’m probably the only one who reacts to your pointing out of rules, and I’m the only one who said I’d take a punishment. When you speak, I’m probably the only one who answers right away. Well, the student council president might answer, too.”

Ye Sara’s eyes narrowed, and she was grinning. The vicious expression she had just a moment ago had transformed into a simple smile.

“If you want to have a conversation, feel free to come find me. I’m different from the other kids. There’s no need to run away. Plus, as you continue to talk to me, you’ll realize more and more how isolated you become from the others. If you’re curious, why don’t you check it out yourself?”

“…….”

Son Ah-reum stared at Ye Sara with her mouth agape for a moment. Ye Sara was still smiling at her, maintaining her playful demeanor.

“What’s happening around me is far more complex than you think—”

“No!”

Son Ah-reum shouted and cut off Ye Sara’s words. Ye Sara’s eyes, which had been half-lidded a second ago, widened in surprise.

“Y-You! So you’ve been seducing kids like that! This is a violation of school standards! A violation!”

Seeing Son Ah-reum spit out any random words, Ye Sara blinked in surprise.

“A violation…?”

Ah, this is bad.

It was only after shouting that she realized she had momentarily lost her senses, and she covered her burning face with both hands.

“I will definitely find evidence of your evil deeds! Just wait until then!”

And she quickly turned around and chose to run away.

*

“……”

I stared blankly at the retreating figure of the Lead Committee Member as she ran at full speed, though it sounded like something an antagonist in a twenty-year-running children’s animated show would scream.

…Why?

Ah, did I go too far?

I guess I might have overstepped by triggering the trauma she experienced upon coming to school. I was only trying to find some common ground, thinking we were in similar situations, but it turned out this way.

Now, will she follow me—well, judging by the last thing she said, it seems she won’t be stopping anytime soon. For now, having more students react to me undeniably is a good thing. Whether it’s a good image or a bad one doesn’t matter. I’m not in a position to quibble over hot or cold water right now.

“……”

Feeling a gaze beside me, I glanced over and saw Ha Neul and Lee Soo-ah looking at me with strange expressions.

“……What?”

“Ah, nothing.”

Surprisingly, Ha Neul turned away with a bit of a pout as if she felt a bit offended about something.

“……Is something wrong?”

“No……”

Lee Soo-ah also wore a slightly deflated expression.

…What’s going on? Seriously, what’s happening?

Oh.

Now that I think about it, I brought up the two’s story without thinking. They might have felt a bit disappointed to see me casually bring up such heart-wrenching topics.

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