By Zephyria 
Thus, the life-or-death issues surrounding Seong Hae-min in the novel were all resolved, and the situation concluded without incident. A peaceful daily life returned, in its own way.
Of course, the troublesome issues of confessions from Do Yun-hyeok, Min Si-hu, and Lee Beom remained. I decided to leave Do Yun-hyeok, who was unstoppable no matter what, alone. Min Si-hu had been rejected, and Lee Beom hadn’t properly confessed, so I was pretending not to notice. I’d thought a lot about how to handle these guys, but couldn’t come up with a clear answer.
So… I decided to continue living in denial.
It wasn’t that I didn’t care, but I couldn’t think of any other solution. After hearing about the breakup from Ban Seo-yi, whom I met by visiting Jeseong High School, I had completely cut off contact, and now I had no one to confide in about these worries. I already considered being confessed to by someone of the same gender a peculiar experience, but receiving confessions from multiple people made me feel like a fool for being so flustered and clueless.
The world was no longer a dangerous teen romance novel, but practically ‘real’ life. Thinking that way, I felt a bit overwhelmed.
It wasn’t the kind of overwhelm one feels when facing an illogical teen romance novel, but rather the overwhelm of accepting this world and having to seriously live and accomplish something.
Putting aside other worries, I began to focus wholeheartedly on preparing for college entrance exams. I went out to the city with Seong Hae-min to buy science math concept books, reviewed the books to identify areas needing study, and looked for cram schools…
In the process, we even had in-depth discussions about me and Seong Hae-min taking the GED and then the college entrance exam early to get into university. Seong Hae-min, who looked surprised upon hearing my specific plans, also began to seriously consider his future after high school, and the Four Heavenly Kings, upon hearing the news, also started to seriously consider their career paths. In any case, it was a positive change. Compared to our first meeting, it was tremendous progress.
Summer vacation was just around the corner. While waiting for the vacation to start, I received contact from someone I never expected.
It was Ban Seo-yi.
❖ ❖ ❖
Ban Seo-yi, who had been kicking small pebbles with her hands in her pockets, noticed my presence and looked up.
“You’re here?”
“……”
I was surprised by her gaunt face. Ban Seo-yi, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, looked so unwell that it made one worry. The conventional greeting of “How have you been?” felt out of place, and I couldn’t even greet her, just stammering with my mouth shut. Had she been going through a lot?
“Have you been well?”
Ultimately, Ban Seo-yi was the one who initiated the greeting. I nodded awkwardly.
“Yeah. And you?”
“As you can see. So-so.”
Ban Seo-yi said with a wry smile and shrugged her shoulders.
“Let’s sit down and talk first.”
Ban Seo-yi plopped down on the bench and patted the seat next to her. I slowly sat down as well.
This park, which was also the place where I first met Ban Seo-yi, was still deserted. The sky in the middle of summer was clear, without a single cloud. Only the cicadas chirped loudly under the hot sun.
I began softly.
“So, what’s up?”
“……”
Ban Seo-yi, fiddling with her nails, let out a faint smile and a sigh. Then, she clasped her hands together and murmured.
“I’m sorry about before.”
Her voice was small, but I heard it clearly. I turned to look at Ban Seo-yi. Resting her chin on her clasped hands, Ban Seo-yi avoided my gaze and looked somewhere far away.
Seeing her posture, which so clearly conveyed her embarrassment, the words I was about to say, pointing out that her apology was too late, vanished. Instead, a small laugh escaped me.
“You do realize it, then.”
“…Thank you.”
As I responded playfully, Ban Seo-yi pursed her lips and lowered her head. She must have been through a lot. Seeing her get emotional over such a small remark, I guessed she had her reasons, and I shook my head.
“It’s fine. It’s good that you apologized now.”
“…It’s all because you’re that kind of person!”
“What kind of person?”
“It means thank you.”
Ban Seo-yi grumbled unnecessarily, as if trying to hide her embarrassment. Still, she seemed to feel lighter than before, letting out a deep sigh and then rambling on.
“But I had my reasons too, you know? It’s embarrassing, but I’ll make excuses, so listen. Back then, I really… I wasn’t in my right mind because I was scared. How could I let the peace I’d gained be ruined? I couldn’t help it. You would have acted the same way if it were you, right? Of course, it’s not your fault. Anyway, I’m telling you this because I worked up the courage to come. Well, it’s all thanks to Do Yun-hyeok, though!”
Ban Seo-yi finished her words with a strong exclamation. I had been listening quietly, but hearing the name, which I didn’t expect to come up, I uttered it in surprise.
“Do Yun-hyeok?”
“Yeah, Do Yun-hyeok. Honestly, I wanted to give up on everything, but Mr. Do said something? He said I always run away. And then he said, you can run away, and sometimes it helps, but it won’t end if you only run away……”
“……”
“He told me to face things head-on before I fear being hated. So I snapped out of it and came.”
Ban Seo-yi ran her hand through her hair and smiled brightly. Seeing her like this, she certainly had something in common with Ban Pyo-ran.
It wasn’t just about their appearance. Ban Pyo-ran and Ban Seo-yi resembled each other in how they reflected on themselves, found courage, and faced problems.
Looking at Ban Seo-yi now, it was hard to recall that she was the villain who acted so maliciously in the novel. Now that this world had completely diverged from the novel’s plot, such role distinctions were meaningless anyway.
“So, to confess what I couldn’t say before…”
Ban Seo-yi paused, catching her breath. She opened and closed her mouth several times before closing it and waving her hand.
“Hoo, just a moment, just a moment. Even with my resolve, it’s not easy, you know? I’m so nervous because I don’t know how you’ll react. I even thought about what to say and organized it, but I’ve forgotten it all. So, what I want to say is…”
Ban Seo-yi clenched and unclenched her fists, then lowered her hands in resignation. With an expression that clearly conveyed a ‘whatever happens, happens’ attitude, just like before, she murmured.
“It feels like it’s all my fault. No, it is my fault.”
“What is?”
“All of this.”
“All of what?”
I asked the question, but it was Ban Seo-yi who looked confused. I didn’t know what she felt so guilty about, but it seemed like it wouldn’t be a problem anymore. We had already strayed far from the novel’s story, and what mattered was living well from now on. To emphasize that she didn’t need to worry about whatever it was, I calmly summarized the situation.
“The Yeonmyeong High School incident was handled well thanks to you. As for Seong Hae-min’s situation, everything was resolved perfectly. Did you see the news reports?”
“Yeah, that… it’s truly unbelievable. Do you know how surprised I was? I never dreamed it would be so thorough and proper. That something like that was even possible…”
“The Four Heavenly Kings all withdrew from the Iljinhoe, and the Iljinhoe was disbanded. The older students were disciplined. And the nationwide alliance or whatever ranking match is also gone now. You heard this news too, right?”
“Yeah…”
“So, you don’t have to think about the novel’s plot anymore. There’s nothing for you to worry about.”
I concluded firmly. Ban Seo-yi’s dark eyes wavered, losing their focus. Her hesitation seemed even greater than before I spoke. In my gaze, asking if there were other problems, Ban Seo-yi faltered.
“But…”
“Are there other problems?”
Her usually sharp eyes had lost their usual haughtiness and were now subdued. Ban Seo-yi, hesitating, nodded.
“Yes. And… it’s a problem so big it’s incomparable to anything I’ve mentioned so far.”
“That big? What on earth is it?”
My brow furrowed. I couldn’t fathom what she was about to say. Ban Seo-yi, flustered, spoke incoherently and chaotically.
“Well… when I say big, it’s not about Seong Hae-min or the delinquents, or those kinds of problems. It’s a problem of a different dimension. But it’s not like it’s completely unrelated, because…”
Her rambling grew worse, and Ban Seo-yi once again skipped over logic like self-destruction and threw out a conclusion.
“…What if this isn’t the end?”
Ban Seo-yi held her breath and looked at me. Her anxious eyes revealed clear tension. It struck me that Ban Seo-yi’s gaze was unusual. I gestured as if to tell her to calm down and explain.
“Explain it slowly.”
“…There’s just one thing I haven’t told you until now.”
Tap, tap. The sound of her compulsively picking at her nails echoed anxiously. Ban Seo-yi, fidgeting with her fingers, slowly looked up at me and clearly murmured.
“Actually, I’m repeating this world.”
“What are you talking about? Repeating the world?”
“Exactly as it sounds. That’s why I said it felt like it was all my fault. No, it is my fault.”
Ban Seo-yi began to explain slowly. The words that followed were shocking.