By Zephyria 
One day, Ban Seo-yi realized that this world was a novel.
At the same time, she understood her role in this novel world.
The villain who relentlessly tormented the female protagonist.
The truth that her father had committed the atrocity of having two families was, of course, shocking, but what was even more shocking was her own fated unhappy future.
No one who knew they would face an unhappy future would choose not to change it. So, Ban Seo-yi tried to escape the novel’s story, where she would meet a miserable end as a villain. However, she repeatedly failed.
This was something I had heard before. The important part was from here on.
How Ban Seo-yi came to realize that she couldn’t change the novel’s plot.
It was because, after realizing she was a character in the novel, Ban Seo-yi had repeated this novel an uncountable number of times.
Ban Seo-yi’s actions changed nothing, and the ending she faced as the villainess kept repeating. At first, she didn’t give up and tried countless times to change it, but nothing changed, only the maddening frustration grew. After repeating that dozens of times, she became the Ban Seo-yi of today, resigned and living each day as it came.
It was during that time that Ban Seo-yi noticed me. In a club she frequented, living life as it came. Me, an outlier acting differently from the original novel’s progression.
Doubting if she had seen or thought wrong, she contacted me with a sliver of hope. Believing I was the only key to escaping this loop.
However, what she ultimately learned was the despair that she herself could change nothing. The only bitter truth she discovered was that the reason I, Seong Hae-jun, could act differently from the novel’s progression was because I was an imbued person, not a character within the novel like Ban Seo-yi herself.
Yet, the me Ban Seo-yi spoke to seemed completely unaware of her own regression. She confessed that she had intuitively sensed, and thus hidden, the possibility that her regression might be connected to me becoming a character in the novel.
Having poured out her story up to that point, Ban Seo-yi contorted her face in pain. As if her mind were scattered, Ban Seo-yi ran a hand through her hair, then stopped and fiercely clutched her head.
“I just grew tired of this fake world. I just wished… I had family I loved enough to die for, like you do.”
Her large, upturned eyes were brimming with tears. Ban Seo-yi, barely steadying her trembling breath, poured out her words like a machine gun.
“This might be the last time, you know? I thought that, and I tried to live properly this time. You were the only one besides me who knew this was a novel… and this was the only time the progression changed.”
Overwhelmed by the flood of shocking information, I stood there, stunned as if I’d been hit on the head. Even as I tried to calmly sort out the situation, my throbbing head interfered. I myself began to ramble incoherently.
So… does this mean the current world has a chance to repeat anew?
That alone was shocking, but does it mean my arrival in the novel is somehow connected to Ban Seo-yi? How, exactly? Through what means? How did she conclude there was a connection?
Is there still something she hasn’t told me?
I couldn’t be certain that my sudden arrival in the novel world was related to Ban Seo-yi’s repeated regressions. But I couldn’t be certain it had absolutely no connection either. It was difficult to give a definitive answer to this strange question.
The fact that I was already living a life within the novel made it impossible for me to judge the situation rationally.
Trying desperately to calm my thoughts, I asked Ban Seo-yi,
“Why didn’t you say anything sooner?”
The answer came back immediately.
“Would you have?”
“Of course… no.”
If I were in Ban Seo-yi’s shoes, I wouldn’t have revealed all my cards either. A single ray of hope discovered at the end of despair… it would be foolish to tell everything about oneself.
“But, it was still the right thing to do. Why didn’t you?”
Yet, I didn’t stop pointing it out. I knew asking like this wouldn’t lead to a solution, but the questions spilled out first. I was confused too. A desire to blame and resent Ban Seo-yi surged within me. I was aware it wasn’t a logically sound judgment. But…
“Me… me, if I’m denied by you too… what about me? What will happen to me?”
Shrinking back from my accusation, Ban Seo-yi’s hands trembled. Along with it, Ban Seo-yi’s true self, hidden until now, was fully revealed. Her mind, pushed to the brink, was laid bare. Witnessing her precarious state, my mouth snapped shut.
Continuing this conversation wouldn’t benefit either of us. I also needed time to cool my head to make calm and rational judgments.
“I wasn’t trying to corner you. I’m sorry about just now. But… I think I need some time to think too. Just the possibility of this repeating is overwhelming, and now you’re saying I got caught up in this world because of you…”
I intended to smooth things over, but as I spoke, I felt my own mind becoming as precarious as Ban Seo-yi’s. It became difficult to grasp the threads of my thoughts.
If you think about it, no, there’s no need to think about it, Ban Seo-yi wasn’t the only one who was wronged. I was wronged too.
I, who had lived a perfectly normal and diligent life, why do I have to go through this crap?
Even if I had muddled through because I didn’t know what was happening, what if Ban Seo-yi is truly the cause of my current situation? Can I help but resent Ban Seo-yi? Of course, her situation is also regrettable, but did it have to be me who got caught up in it?
Moreover, according to Ban Seo-yi, this novel might repeat again. I had no doubt that I had resolved and concluded everything well, but now? What am I supposed to do then?
The more I mulled it over, the more shocking it became. I had never felt my mental state shake this much before, so the impact was even more severe. In the end, I clutched my head, which felt like it would split open. My forehead was hot, as if burning with fever. Even my sighs were hot.
Ban Seo-yi, who had finally shown tears, got up, saying she needed to use the restroom, perhaps wanting to leave the situation. I nodded.
After Ban Seo-yi left for the public restroom in a corner of the park, I sank onto a nearby bench.
How to calm down, what to say to Ban Seo-yi, what to do about anything.
Everything felt overwhelming.
Lost in my chaotic emotions, my senses dulled. I didn’t even have the energy to notice if Ban Seo-yi was returning, but while clutching my spinning head, I suddenly heard the sound of grass being stepped on and rustling, and simultaneously, a loud thud like a watermelon bursting.
Intense pain followed in the back of my head. My body collapsed forward limply.
I gaped. No sound came out.
“Stifle this bastard’s mouth. So no sound leaks.”
With that low voice as my last memory, the world turned dark.
Please exclude me from this novel.
Lee Beom glanced with annoyance at his mobile phone, which was ringing.
It was bound to be another message from someone he didn’t know. It wasn’t unusual for calls and texts to flood in from girls whose names, ages, and faces he didn’t know. It hadn’t been that long since he changed his number, so when had this one been sold?
The mobile phone, which had stopped, rang once more. It seemed to be the type that wouldn’t give up until it got a reply. As he was about to open his folder and press the menu button to block it, three characters caught his eye, ones he couldn’t just ignore.
“This is about Seong Hae-jun. Take the call.”
Before he could even think, his finger slid naturally. Lee Beom immediately pressed the call button. The other party answered before the call even connected.
[Is Hae-jun there?]
“…Who are you?”
[I asked if he’s there.]
Despite the cold question, the other party was persistent. Lee Beom frowned. Listening again, he recognized the voice.
Do Yun-hyeok…
Just thinking of him made his teeth grind. Even when fights at school were ongoing, he didn’t particularly harbor ill feelings towards Yun-hyeok himself, but this bastard kept lurking around Seong Hae-jun annoyingly, which sparked animosity. His constant hovering made him feel sick. How dare such a degenerate show interest in Hae-jun. But no matter how much he tried to keep them apart, they somehow always got entangled, so he couldn’t like him even if he wanted to.
[Seong Hae-jun… is he there?]
“What’s it to you?”
Lee Beom scowled. Seong Hae-jun, who had said he was going to the library, was taking longer than expected, and Seong Hae-min was already worried. Now, for this street thug Do Yun-hyeok to dare inquire about Seong Hae-jun, his nerves became even more taut. He felt disgusted.
[Just answer yes or no, quickly. It’s important.]
“What business is it of yours?”
[It’s related to Seong Hae-jun’s whereabouts.]
“What?”
His mind went blank. His vision seemed to turn red. He couldn’t think straight. Lee Beom gripped his mobile phone as if to crush it and leaped to his feet. A deep, scraping sound like metal being dragged came from his throat.
“You damn bastard… what did you do?”
[Shit… he’s not there either, I guess.]
“Where are you right now, you bastard!”
[Calm down. I don’t know either. Ha… let’s calm down, calm down…]
Do Yun-hyeok muttered on the other end of the phone. His words sounded less like he was speaking to Lee Beom and more like he was soothing himself. Lee Beom’s hand holding the mobile phone trembled. It felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped on his head.