The Villainess’s Guide to Winning the Male Lead

The angels exchanged glances after seeing my reaction.

“There should be a vacant room in the dormitory, right?”

“Would we let such a valued guest stay there?”

“Gabi will take care of it, no doubt!”

The three of them took turns throwing in their comments. I had thought they were only talkative and noisy in the chat room, but it was the same in reality.

“First, let’s eat something delicious. Then, to the cafe!”

“You’re really fixated on the cafe.”

“There’s an event going on at my regular cafe. Oh! Now that it’s come to this, let’s ask the owner if it’s possible to rent the place!”

“Sounds good.”

Compared to the lively and high-pitched OnlyFinley, Poppopo was the opposite. Perhaps that’s why their combination felt more harmonious.

OnlyFinley, linking arms with me, sneakily smiled.

“And then let’s talk about Finley a bit…”

“Personal motives.”

Poppopo flicked OnlyFinley’s head with the hand. OnlyFinley pouted.

“What! Isn’t Q&A a basic thing for a fan meeting?”

“It’s not even a fan meeting yet, and it’s not about Jiha Unni…”

“Hmph.”

OnlyFinley turned her head away sulkily. I felt I had to revise my previous thought that their online and real-life personas were the same. Her real-life personality was much more charming.

“I’m not that close to Finley, so I don’t know much. We haven’t spent much time together.”

It was only briefly at the beginning of the possession and when Kabir Heyward discovered my true identity that I had interacted with Finley. Objectively speaking, we weren’t close.

“When does Finley appear in the original work?”

“Soon, very soon! I’m just waiting for that day.”

OnlyFinley responded excitedly to Poppopo’s question.

I then asked OnlyFinley a question that had been on my mind.

“What do you like so much about Finley?”

“Hmm, maybe the fact that no matter how much he struggles, he’s ultimately a secondary male lead?”

Weird… I respect their taste, but it was a reason I couldn’t understand.

We then headed outside. We occasionally encountered other angels, but they didn’t show much interest in me. Probably because they wasn’t my viewer..

The outside scenery was very unfamiliar. It seemed close to modern times, yet had a strangely mystical atmosphere. As I looked around curiously, Poppopo laughed.

We followed OnlyFinley to her favorite cafe.

“What would you like to drink?”

“Just coffee.”

Not knowing the menu in the Celestial Realm, I called for the most common option.

Fortunately, the coffee in the Celestial Realm was not different from what I knew in the human world. There wasn’t much difference between the two realms. After all, they were the ones who created the human world.

We found a seat and sat down.

“Not many customers here.”

“It’s right in front of the office, and it’s the peak time for work. Works for us, right?”

As Poppopo said, we were the only ones inside the small cafe. It was a relief to be able to talk comfortably.

I hadn’t felt this wonder when I first entered the novel. Everything here seemed fascinating, perhaps because of the atmosphere.

Continuously peeking out the window and looking around, MadelineTastesGood burst into laughter.

“Unni, you’re so cute.”

“So it seems fascinating to you.”

The three of them looked at me with fond eyes, as if they were watching a much younger child. I felt a little embarrassed under their gaze.

“How about this space? Isn’t it enough for fans to come?”

“Maybe not even ten can fit in here.”

“Ten is quite a lot. Would that many even come to see me?”

I asked, feeling awkward. I wondered if people would really come to see me in such numbers.

All three of them stared at me intently.

“Unni, you don’t know, do you…”

“Jiha, you’re really popular.”

“You have an average of over a hundred viewers, didn’t you know?”

Even though that was true, I had always felt it was less real since only a few were active in the chat. Also, the number of viewers had recently decreased.

“Since it’s come to this, let’s just invite fans who usually donate and chat―”

“Right. It’d be more comfortable for Jiha to see familiar nicknames.”

“Shall we decide who will come? Who are the regulars?”

“How about Eroa Unni?”

“Hey, Jiha won’t understand if you use nicknames.”

The three started discussing among themselves.

Anyway, I had no particular thoughts about the fan meeting, so I was planning to go along with whatever they decided.

“We definitely have to invite asdf.”

“He won’t come.”

“Yeah, he definitely won’t.”

MadelineTastesGood suggested, but OnlyFinley and Poppopo immediately disagreed.

Asdf was an angel who used to donate a lot and chat frequently. It was surprising to hear he definitely wouldn’t come to the fan meeting.

“Why not?”

I asked the two angels, who seemed sure of themselves. Was it for the same reason MadelineTastesGood mentioned earlier, because he was busy?

Poppopo was the one who answered.

“He’s really busy. He finds everything other than work bothersome. He’s not the type to attend fan meetings.”

“But he likes Jiha Unni.”

“Well, he’s more into the broadcast itself.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“It’s a bit different.”

I agreed that there was a difference. The broadcast and the broadcaster were indeed very distinct.

“What about Isaac?”

“Oh, he would come.”

“If we call him now, he’d come running.”

“Should we call him?”

“No, it’s bothersome.”

The nickname Isaac was also familiar. Isaac was almost the whipping boy in the chat room, often teased, especially by the manager.

“And there’s FlowerFlute Unni.”

“Gold2.”

“What about NyamNyamoo?”

“Why are all these nicknames so weird?”

“It doesn’t seem right for ‘Poppopo’ to say that.”

“‘PleaseShakeACarrot’ is weirder, you know?”

They started arguing among themselves again. It was quite a sight to behold.

“It looks like it’ll be around ten people, give or take.”

“That’s about right and good. Too many people at the start would be overwhelming for Jiha.”

“Then I’ll contact the list and let you know about their availability.”

They were proceeding methodically, just like professionals.

“I’ll inquire about the venue!” said OnlyFinley.

“I’ll be Jiha Unni’s guide!”

“Trying to be natural about it.”

“Ugh.”

MadelineTastesGood clicked her tongue.

Originally, it was MadelineTastesGood’s role. I discreetly sided with her.

“MadelineTastesGood was the one who originally came as my guide.”

“That’s right. Jiha Unni chose me herself.”

MadelineTastesGood looked triumphant.

OnlyFinley appeared shocked at this.

“Why not me!”

“Well, with the points that MadelineTastesGood has spent, it makes sense.”

Poppopo, on the other hand, reacted nonchalantly. She then turned to me with a kind voice.

“Still, let us know if you get bored. We can come out and play with you in between.”

“Yeah, yeah! Call us anytime!”

I felt like I had gained some dependable sisters. I too smiled and nodded.

As we continued our pleasant conversation, MadelineTastesGood’s gaze suddenly shifted towards the window.

“Oh!”

She stood up from her seat and peered out the window.

“What’s up?”

I asked, but MadelineTastesGood was too focused outside to respond, instead muttering to herself.

“Is that asdf?”

Following MadelineTastesGood’s gaze, I saw a man with black hair passing by outside.

“Hyung!”

MadelineTastesGood called out loudly to the man, presumed to be asdf, but he didn’t seem to hear and just walked on. We only saw the back of his head.

MadelineTastesGood returned to his seat, looking a bit embarrassed.

“I missed him…”

“Are you sure it was him? Why would he be out?”

“Just let it be. We run into him enough as it is.”

Poppopo and OnlyFinley seemed indifferent.

“I wanted to introduce him to Jiha Unni.”

“Jiha probably isn’t that interested, right?”

“Me?”

I was suddenly called upon by OnlyFinley.

Asdf. To be honest, I was curious. But saying so now would probably lead them to arrange a meeting, so I just nodded instead. I wasn’t curious enough to drag someone back who was just passing by.

“Ah.”

Poppopo looked at her wristwatch and stood up.

“I should get back.”

“Take care―”

“What do you mean ‘take care’? You have to go too.”

“No, I want to stay with Jiha!”

“Hurry up.”

Poppopo firmly pulled OnlyFinley, who was trying to sit back down, and said as she took her by one arm,

“Let’s meet again in the evening.”

“Yes, good luck with your work.”

It seemed they were planning to visit again in the evening. Having people who were friendly to me in this unfamiliar environment was a good thing for me.

“I’ll make a quick call!”

MadelineTastesGood said this and left his seat.

Suddenly, I was left alone.

I absentmindedly ran my fingers over the coffee cup in front of me. The song playing inside the cafe was peaceful.

‘I’m taking a break.’

It was a rest.

I had been turning on the broadcast as soon as I woke up, so I hadn’t really taken a proper break.

I felt like I was truly having some time for myself.

Enjoying the quiet, MadelineTastesGood, who had finished her his outside, came back into the cafe. His expression was bright.

“Nuna, good news!”

“What is it?”

“Finished your coffee? Follow me!”

I still had a little left, but MadelineTastesGood was so excited that I had no choice but to follow.

We returned our coffee cups and went outside. After being in the cold north, the warm sunlight felt excessively hot.

“It’s nearby. Let’s go.”

“Where to?”

“Just come. You’ll like it too.”

She seemed to want to surprise me.

* * *

The place we arrived at, as MadelineTastesGood said, wasn’t too far.

It was a small two-story house located in an alley near a building labeled ‘company.’

“……?”

“It’s an empty house that was originally used as a dormitory, but you can use it while you’re here.”

“For me?”

I asked in surprise. I couldn’t believe such a nice house was being given to someone who would only be staying temporarily.