LMO 72

Ban Seo-yi, who had been waiting for me, spoke quietly after I calmed down.

“I told you before. I tried to change it many times, repeatedly.”

“You did.”

“And you said it ultimately didn’t affect the plot, remember?”

“I asked how you knew that.”

“What I meant then wasn’t that my actions couldn’t touch the framework of the novel’s plot, like you’re feeling now…”

Ban Seo-yi paused for a moment.

“It just keeps going back.”

“What goes back?”

“People.”

“What do you mean?”

“Think of this world as a stone that stays still.”

If you kick a stone, it moves elsewhere according to the laws of physics. The next day, it’s normal to see the stone where it was kicked. But the stone Ban Seo-yi kicked was back in its original spot the next day.

It wasn’t easy to understand. So… if I were Ban Seo-yi, I might have gone mad already. Seeing my confused expression, Ban Seo-yi sighed, raising an eyebrow.

“You know my ending, right? I don’t want to end up like that. Who would want that? I tried everything to escape, but the next day, no one properly remembers what I did. That’s how I’ve lived until now.”

“…….”

“Until you appeared.”

Ban Seo-yi murmured as if whispering. Amidst my confusion, I asked hesitantly.

“Me?”

“Yes, you. If you’re even slightly involved, surprisingly, people around you remember it the next day.”

“…Isn’t that just a feeling?”

“Never.”

Ban Seo-yi scoffed and stated it definitively. Then she mentioned Do Yun-hyeok.

Do Yun-hyeok, who had never acted that way before, suddenly changed his attitude at the beginning of the semester. I knew it wasn’t just Do Yun-hyeok who had changed when I ran into him at the club. But I was still unsure if I had been influenced by something, so I was hesitant. Then, in Myeongdong, I became certain. That all the changes were happening because of me.

I remembered Do Yun-hyeok, who had spouted nonsense about falling for me at first sight. I also remembered wondering if this ridiculously cheerful guy was really the villain I had read about.

‘You can change this world.’

This was what Ban Seo-yi had consistently insisted since we first met.

As Ban Seo-yi said, was that difference stemming from the distinction between being a character in a novel and a person who entered the novel from reality? But the only other difference between us was gender. Consistent statements and all the circumstances proved it to me. Even if I couldn’t believe it, it was the truth.

‘I can change this world.’

My mind flashed chaotically, like a barrage of flashes aimed at a red carpet.

Ban Seo-yi herself was calm. Only my gaze, receiving the sudden information, wavered.

“Anyway, unlike your disbelief, you are having a huge impact on this world.”

Ban Seo-yi said as if it were no big deal, cupping her hands and then blowing on her fingernails.

“If they don’t quit being the Four Heavenly Kings despite your dissuasion, it’s not because the plot is set to ignore your words for the sake of the original progression, but because there’s a genuine reason they can’t help but do so. The same goes for Seoyeon High School’s bad relationship with our school.”

It was as if a lightbulb turned on above my dazed head. The glass that had been blocking my thoughts seemed to shatter.

The reason I thought I couldn’t change the novel was because I felt the core plot points weren’t changing. And the reason the plot points weren’t changing wasn’t because the novel’s ‘progression’ was an absolute standard that couldn’t be altered, as I had mistakenly thought. It was because each character was truly acting according to their own values, and they each had irreconcilable reasons.

It was a story I could have easily accepted if I had thought about it simply. Now that I realized it, I wondered why I had been so fixated on the plot.

“…I’m sorry for arguing earlier.”

Ban Seo-yi shook her head as she accepted the apology.

“It’s okay. I didn’t mind much.”

“Your words about being able to change the world… I understand them properly now.”

“My explanation was insufficient. I didn’t know your perspective at all, so…”

But I… I just lacked certainty, but perhaps deep down, I had thought they had their reasons for their actions, just as you said. The reason I came here today was actually to find out about things related to that.

Even though I knew I was alone with Ban Seo-yi, I found myself looking around the area. Seeing my expression, Ban Seo-yi’s face also became serious. I lowered my voice.

“You remember what I asked you via text last time, right?”

“Right. The reason Yeon Su-hwan dislikes Do Yun-hyeok. Why did you suddenly ask about that?”

“Did you… see Do Yun-hyeok getting beaten up recently?”

“Was it Yeon Su-hwan’s doing?”

Ban Seo-yi’s gaze was serious. I nodded gravely.

“Yes. And listening to Seong Hae-min, the relationship between Seoyeon High School and Jeseong High School seemed strange. He said they weren’t on such bad terms until last year. But this year, Yeon Su-hwan apparently made Jeseong High School his enemy. It seems like he did it because of Do Yun-hyeok. I asked because I thought you might know. What about that story of a younger sister you mentioned?”

“Hmm…”

Ban Seo-yi rested a hand on his chin. His sharp eyes crinkled as if he were about to bring up an unpleasant topic.

“As expected, no matter how many times I see him, that guy, Do Yun-hyeok, has delusions of persecution.”

“That guy? Yeon Su-hwan?”

“Uh-huh.”

“When did you see him?”

“Um… I didn’t see him directly.”

Ban Seo-yi shook his head. His jet-black straight hair swayed lightly. As if to change the mood, Ban Seo-yi cleared his throat and whispered cautiously again.

“Then, when you asked if Do Yun-hyeok committed murder, that was something you heard from Yeon Su-hwan too, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Where do I even begin to explain this… Well, Yeon Su-hwan is doing this because of his younger sister.”

“Yeon Su-hwan’s younger sister?”

“Yes.”

“He has a younger sister? How old is she?”

Ban Seo-yi paused.

“…She’s dead.”

The voice announcing death was heavy, like an earthquake at the bottom of the sea. My chest felt a prickling sensation. Like bubbles that had been submerged rising to the surface and growing in volume, my heart began to beat with increasing intensity.

If that’s the case, then the murder Yeon Su-hwan mentioned…

‘Does it mean Do Yun-hyeok killed Yeon Su-hwan’s younger sister?’

My mind was in turmoil.

But judging from what Ban Seo-yi had said and his tone, it didn’t seem like Do Yun-hyeok had physically or directly killed Yeon Su-hwan’s younger sister. And if such a murder had occurred, it was impossible for no one to know about it.

Even if I conceded a hundred times that the police were helpless and couldn’t punish him with state power, it would be difficult for Do Yun-hyeok to remain completely clean without a single rumor.

As if reading my mind, Ban Seo-yi leaned in and whispered conspiratorially.

“Do Yun-hyeok didn’t kill her.”

“Then?”

“She… died on her own.”

“What?”

Startled by the short, unexpected words, I gasped for air.

No…

My eyes blinked rapidly.

Suddenly, it felt like a noose had been placed around my neck, and I unconsciously tugged at the neatly fastened tie, loosening it. As if that wasn’t enough, I unbuttoned the top button of my shirt. Yet, I still felt breathless.

Why are such heavy matters involved in what’s supposed to be an internet novel? Weren’t those novels just childish? Wasn’t it supposed to be just about Lee Beom and Ban Pyo-ran dating? Of course, it’s not that such things would never happen to people around me, but…

This is a novel.

The world felt overloaded with plot points. It lacked realism. Yet, the weight of the words was suffocating, making it impossible to dismiss it as something happening beyond a surreal screen.

Ban Seo-yi tapped his arms and continued.

“And Yeon Su-hwan seems to think it’s because of Do Yun-hyeok.”

“Is there any actual connection?”

“I think there’s absolutely no connection.”

“How is there a connection?”

“Just that the girl who died had a crush on Do Yun-hyeok.”

Does that mean Do Yun-hyeok killed the girl? The logic connecting a simple crush to death was too flimsy and excessively hasty.

“What did Do Yun-hyeok do? Did he insult her, bully her, commit assault or sexual assault…?”

I threw out various questions to find other correlations, but Ban Seo-yi only shook his head in negation.

“Is there any other information that could help us infer the reason?”

“As far as I know, nothing has been precisely revealed even through police investigation.”

“Then why does Yeon Su-hwan hate Do Yun-hyeok? Because he thinks everything is Do Yun-hyeok’s fault? Because he can’t accept reality?”

If Yeon Su-hwan were thinking normally, he would know that the incident wasn’t because Do Yun-hyeok was the object of her crush. Yet, Yeon Su-hwan intensely hated Do Yun-hyeok. Looking back, from the moment I first saw Do Yun-hyeok, Yeon Su-hwan never hid his animosity towards him. At the time, I thought he was just acting that way because the high schools had a bad relationship, but it turned out Yeon Su-hwan’s hatred towards Do Yun-hyeok had been hidden even before that.

“Who knows? He must have… loved his younger sister very, very much. I don’t know for sure.”

Ban Seo-yi trailed off.