I Don’t Want to be a Villainess

Ha Neul’s supplementary classes continued steadily even after that. During break time, Ha Neul summarized and organized what we learned in the previous classes, trying to cram it into my head as much as possible. If there was a physical method to shove that study content into my brain, I’m sure Ha Neul would have eagerly done it.

“Well, at least math is the worst one.”

By the time school classes were over, Ha Neul delivered such a brutal assessment to me.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I did well in the other subjects. Almost a decade’s worth of class content was too distant for me to recall. Even if the school teachers were from a good academy, for someone like me who was “I don’t want to study,” it just went in one ear and out the other.

The fact that I could hear the evaluation “at least math is the worst” was because some remnants of school lessons still lingered in my mind as general knowledge. I had given up on math, but I worked hard on Korean, and similarly, I also practiced listening for the English proficiency exam.

As for the subjects involving exploration, there’s definitely things I remembered if they weren’t too formulaic. Usually, introductory parts of basic subjects aren’t that difficult, so I could understand them to some degree.

“Then let’s do the other studies after club activities. I’ll think about whether we’ll do it in the classroom or go home first.”

Of course, Ha Neul’s intentions to make me study were wholeheartedly sincere, regardless of whether I understood anything.

Knowing that arguing further wouldn’t change her stubbornness, I just nodded and let it be. Well, there’s nothing bad about my friends coming over anyway.

After all, Sua and Sohee are at home too. It would be a bit odd if Ha Neul insisted on staying at the mansion as well, but thankfully she didn’t say anything that extreme.

“Looks like one more has joined.”

When I arrived at the soccer club, Nam Da-un said that.

“From today, this is Shin So-hee, who will be studying with us at this school. I’ve heard she is helping our lady with her physical training. Really appreciate it.”

To Nam Da-un, Sohee suddenly said that and bowed slightly.

“……”

Nam Da-un looked at me with an expression of “What is she doing?”

Right? What is she doing? Has she developed a taste for acting like this since this morning? I wonder if she’s surprisingly into cosplay or something.

……Nah, that can’t be it.

Seeing Sohee’s face light up with laughter just before she lifted her head suggested that it was a joke on her part.

Having exchanged a few words when we met last time, it seemed she genuinely liked the soccer club.

“They don’t ignore you.”

After the running session ended and I collapsed on the floor, I asked her why, and that was the reply I got.

“The only people I ignore are the ones who ignore you. The moment they start talking to us here, they’re normal people worth dealing with, right?”

“Hey, isn’t that too harsh?”

Nam Da-un said that to Sohee, but he didn’t strongly deny it. It seems he generally understood how I was treated at this school.

For the record, the captain, who was once too scared to even talk to me, was subtly avoiding my gaze.

“Is that severe? Just today, I felt like punching every passerby.”

Sohee said that while looking over at the group of soccer club members. They quickly averted their gazes as if they were afraid of making eye contact with Sohee.

“How about you, senior?”

“What?”

In response to my question, Nam Da-un answered with a face that obviously had no concern.

“Do people avoid you because you talk to me?”

“Not really?”

When I widened my eyes at his response, Nam Da-un shrugged his shoulders.

“Among guys, they don’t care much. You’re in a girl’s class anyway, and more than anything, you’re in a different year, so there’s hardly a chance to meet. I don’t know how it would be with first-years though.”

Certainly, at the beginning of the semester, the girls were cautious about looking at me. In contrast, the stares I received from boys when walking down the hallway felt quite different. There were times when they genuinely looked away in fear, but usually, it was more about not wanting to be caught with a dirty thought.

“During first year, you have to be extra careful, but you know how it is. The bravado that guys have. If someone tries to keep conversations to themselves out of caution… I bet they’d just call them a ‘chicken.’”

When Nam Da-un said “chicken,” I could see his gaze flicker slightly.

It seems more like… I can vaguely imagine it. When guys have unrestrained conversations, they might be saying something much more direct than just “chicken.” But it would still be embarrassing to put it out there in front of me.

Instead of saying something like “They’re actually in a real lesbian relationship,” they’d probably discuss something like that more often. With different grade levels and genders, it would genuinely be a matter concerning guys. It could turn out to be much more amusing gossip.

Even the girls in our class couldn’t openly talk while I was there; I bet they were eagerly chatting behind the scenes.

Moreover, if it were a romance between girls… well, I could only imagine a bit about what kind of stories would float around among those more intense characters.

I stared at the captain. He, too, looked at me, seemingly embarrassed by his own reactions, cleared his throat, and quickly turned his eyes away.

“But, aren’t you afraid, senior?”

“Huh?”

When I brought up that thought, Nam Da-un looked surprised as if he didn’t expect that question.

“You’ve heard the rumors that talking to me has consequences, right?”

I knew I was the ‘main character’ in the original story, so I was talking to him, but whether he took my words seriously was another matter. For instance, one of the main characters in the original, the student council president, couldn’t even have a proper conversation with me. His face didn’t radiate much, either.

Nam Da-un still exudes a faint light from his face.

Now I think I’m starting to understand what this means. It seems Ye Sara has an instinct for recognizing people who will help her in life. Up till now, every person who shone from their face has been someone who has aided Ye Sara.

But then, why did things go differently in the original?

……Perhaps the reason people seem to shine is that ‘my knowledge’ is included. Since I ‘inherited’ Ye Sara’s abilities, the information in my head and Ye Sara’s instincts mingled, and that might be the phenomenon occurring.

Though I can’t be too sure since I haven’t talked to Ye Sara or regained her memories yet.

“Oh, that.”

Nam Da-un crossed his legs and added, “In the end, it’s just a rumor.”

And he offered an answer that was quite different from what I had expected.

……So it wasn’t just because he’s an overly bold ‘main character’?

“A rumor?”

“Yeah, a rumor. You don’t know what that means?”

Uh… so…

“Do you think that’s the truth?”

“Yeah.”

When I asked, Nam Da-un nodded.

“……Why?”

When I asked back, Nam Da-un looked at me with a surprised expression.

“Then do you think it’s reasonable to destroy a family just for talking to your daughter? In the 21st century? I could understand if it was a rumor that a mediocre person buried someone who can hardly live, but if a well-known rich person does that, it would immediately become a national issue.”

“But to cover it up with money…”

“Covering things up with money has its limits, you know? What about outside of school? Are you going to throw money at the entire nation?”

“Uh…”

So that was it; was there talk to keep things discreet within the school?

“Someone went missing, got beaten up, or set fire to… they’re all just rumors. Bad things just happened at bad timings, and the rumors only grew from there. Or someone manipulated it to happen.”

“……”

Well, I mean, if we’re just looking at possibilities, that might be so. But this isn’t just reality; it’s a world where fiction has turned into reality.

No, that’s not what’s important right now.

“But, missing? Really?”

So it’s not just about covering things up with money?

Nam Da-un stared at me intently as I questioned him.

“What? Don’t you get it?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Then just keep living without knowing. It’s not going to do you any good to find out.”

No, saying it that way just makes it more intriguing!

*

Ye Sara continued to ask Nam Da-un for more details, but he refused all of them.

He thought it was better not to know. After all, believing in something that isn’t a truth wouldn’t do him any good either.

……Well, judging by Ye Sara’s reactions, it seems like I’ll be able to hear more details from her soon.

“By the way, do you know anything about the rumors surrounding her?”

As usual, after helping Ye Sara gather herself, the captain cautiously asked Nam Da-un. This guy, despite his large build, has a surprisingly timid personality. He may become 180 degrees different when discussing soccer, though. It would be better if he just kept playing soccer.

“Well, I don’t know.”

I knew. But I also knew that answering would lead to a tremendous hassle, so he just answered that way and dropped it. Luckily, the captain didn’t probe any further. Thankfully, he has good intuition when it comes to these matters.

Well, part of the story did indeed happen and was true.

However, not everything is entirely true. After all, “rumors” are just rumors.

If everything that happened in that story was entirely true, would he even consider coming back to this school?

Nam Da-un thought of himself as someone who’s pretty bold, but he never thought he was that ‘brave.’

In fact, it is probably that the one who runs around so diligently while knowing so little about the details is the truly bold one.

“Well, I have a good gut feeling. So…”

Nam Da-un just said that and rolled the soccer ball with his foot.

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