LMO 48

Ban Seo-yi was the typical villainess in an internet novel. She hated the female protagonist and didn’t hesitate to use any means or people to take everything from her.

In the novel, Ban Seo-yi’s superficial reason for bullying Ban Pyo-ran was that Ban Pyo-ran was the girlfriend of Lee Beom, whom Ban Seo-yi liked. But that wasn’t the whole story. The truth was hidden beyond their family histories.

Ban Seo-yi and Ban Pyo-ran.

They were half-sisters.

Half-sisters with little age difference, the implication was clear. Ban Pyo-ran’s father, a successful businessman, had two households.

Although a formal marriage was conducted with Ban Seo-yi’s mother due to adult considerations like family, reputation, wealth, and parental pressure, his true love was Ban Pyo-ran’s mother. Neither woman knew this. And both women gave birth to daughters around the same time.

Ban Seo-yi grew up materially wealthy, but her family was unhappy. She had a cold father who was indifferent to the household, a hysterical and extravagant mother, and relatives who acted prim and proper but were only interested in the crumbs that would fall to them.

She grew up in a home devoid of love. Leading and despising those who followed her for her wealth and looks.

It was ironically during her investigation into Lee Beom’s girlfriend that Ban Seo-yi learned of her half-sister’s existence, whom she had been unaware of.

About Lee Beom’s girlfriend, then about Ban Pyo-ran, then about Ban Pyo-ran’s family. And then she learned of her father’s infidelity. The shock Ban Seo-yi experienced upon learning that the girlfriend of the man she had a crush on was her half-sister, whose existence she had just discovered, must have been immense.

Ban Seo-yi became consumed by the idea that her half-sister, Ban Pyo-ran, who was the same age as her, had taken everything from her: her father, her family, and the man she loved. And she came to hate and torment Ban Pyo-ran to death. The kidnapping of Ban Pyo-ran, which Seong Hae-min got caught up in and died, was also orchestrated by Ban Seo-yi.

Ban Pyo-ran was the female protagonist, and Ban Seo-yi was the villainess who hated and despised her.

And now, the person before me was that Ban Seo-yi……. I was speechless and stared at her.

“Do you understand now?”

“Uh… I understand you’re Ban Seo-yi, but….”

“What about you?”

“What do you mean?”

Ban Seo-yi pressed me, her tone familiar.

Was she acquainted with the original Seong Hae-jun? That didn’t seem right. I looked at Ban Seo-yi with wary eyes. Ban Seo-yi frowned at the lack of progress in our conversation, then lifted her head with a determined expression.

“I can’t ask things like this indirectly. I’ll ask directly.”

“…….”

“You.”

Her upward-turned pupils sparkled as they met the light.

“You know this is a novel, right?”

“What?”

My blood ran cold.

Silence enveloped the surroundings, heavy like humid air. I felt suffocated. A shock more profound than thunder in a storm reverberated in my chest. It sounded like a warning siren.

Ban Seo-yi didn’t break eye contact until the end. Before her tightly shut lips, only I swayed like a tree uprooted by a storm.

“…….”

“As I thought, your expression tells me you know.”

After a long silence, Ban Seo-yi glanced at her watch and turned away with surprising ease.

“For now, I have an important appointment, so I’ll be going.”

“Wait!”

“We’ll meet again soon.”

“Just a sec-!”

I reached out belatedly, but Ban Seo-yi couldn’t be caught. Ban Seo-yi left immediately. An unexpected person, and his absolutely unforeseen bombshell. I stood there, stunned, my mind reeling, unable to chase after her.

For a long time, until the sun began to set.

But this novel is kind of weird.

Time flew by as I thought about Ban Seo-yi. Her words about meeting again soon were rendered meaningless, as she hadn’t sought me out until now. Time waits for no one, and it was suddenly the day of the sports festival.

The vast sports field was filled with students standing in orderly rows and columns under the guidance of their teachers. It wasn’t often that such a large group of over 1,200 students gathered in one place. The students, dressed in athletic wear and class t-shirts, created a lively buzz.

[Quiet, quiet!]

“Why is Gae-myeong so angry?”

“That’s why his nickname is Gae-myeong. ‘Dog-like Myeong-jik,’ shortened to Gae-Myeong-jik!”

“I thought it was ‘Scumbag Myeong-jik’!”

[Which grade is the loudest! The grade that causes the most trouble this time will be assigned cleaning duty afterward, so be warned!]

The students’ murmurs gradually died down at the student dean’s threat over the microphone, and soon the entire field fell silent. Of course, the teachers in green tracksuits patrolling with stern expressions also contributed to the silence. Whenever the presence of a teacher, whose trademark was their green tracksuit, was felt, the students would shut their mouths like clams.

Beep- beep, BEEP!

[Now, we will begin the opening ceremony for the school’s spring sports festival.]

With the final whistle blast from the athletic teacher, the voice of the academic dean, loud but with unclear pronunciation, boomed through the speakers over the now-silent field.

I stood blankly in the middle of the formation. A position where I wouldn’t stand out was comfortable.

[We will now proceed with the national ceremony.]

The sun was bright from the morning. It was clearly going to be a good day.

[First, we will have the salute to the national flag. Please face the Taegeukgi. All, salute the national flag!]

Come to think of it, it had been a long time since I had participated in a national ceremony like this. In my original world, it was probably the last time at the high school graduation ceremony. Come to think of it, it was surprisingly recent.

[Before the glorious Taegeukgi, for the eternal glory of our nation and people….]

Familiar music began to play, and I instinctively started to recite ‘For the free and just Republic of Korea…’ but carefully closed my mouth.

Even the pledge was different from my memory. ‘Nation and people’? If I had heard that in my previous life as Seong Hae-jun, I would have burst into laughter, thinking it was too old-fashioned.

To feel like this was an old internet novel starting from the pledge itself…….

I remained in a daze throughout the rest of the national ceremony. I sang the national anthem half-heartedly. During the moment of silence for the fallen patriots and war heroes, I merely bowed my head. Was it because it was old-fashioned that they didn’t skip these things? I couldn’t disobey when instructed.

[Next, we will have the principal’s address-.]

[Ah. Dear students. The sky is exceptionally clear today….]

The principal’s lengthy speech began after he took the microphone. His bald head looked cool.

No one was properly participating in the boring opening ceremony. Even fewer students were genuinely listening to the lecture disguised as a speech.

Students were busy playing in the formation, kicking dirt with their feet, secretly poking their friends in front or behind them, and then pretending not to know. Occasionally, an athletic teacher in green would approach a student who was foolishly being too loud. Those whose ears were grabbed and dragged away soon quieted down.

The principal’s sermon, with no regard for the students’ complaints, continued endlessly.

[Leave your classrooms, move your bodies to your heart’s content under the hot sun! Showcase your talents! Engage in fair competition!]

In my original personality, I would have at least pretended to listen to the principal’s speech, but I wasn’t in the right state of mind now.

In fact, I hadn’t been for the past few days.

Ever since Ban Seo-yi left after saying those shocking words, I had been in a daze. This morning too, I had just nodded vaguely without properly hearing what Seong Hae-min was saying. I saw Seong Hae-min’s worried expression, but I didn’t have the mental capacity to explain my condition.

I had been waiting for Ban Seo-yi to contact me, as she said we’d meet again, but there was no sign of her. This wouldn’t do. If I couldn’t meet her by today, I’d have to find her by tomorrow at the latest. I had a mountain of questions.

The more I replayed Ban Seo-yi’s words, the colder and more rational my mind became.

You know this is a novel, right?

That meant she knew. And she had guessed that I also knew.

If so, ‘since when’ did Ban Seo-yi know that fact, and ‘how’ did she know it?

The most likely scenario was that Ban Seo-yi, like me, was someone who had fallen into this novel’s world. Whether you call it transmigration or dimensional travel, whatever it was. Otherwise, how could she clearly recognize this place not just as ‘the past’ or ‘someone else’s life,’ but as a ‘novel’? No matter how much I thought about it, no other possibility came to mind.

The fact that I knew this place was a novel. Ban Seo-yi must have realized that fact because my actions deviated from the original plot. Knowing this place is a novel means she also knows the novel’s original progression.

Then why did she say that to me? What did she gain by letting me know that she knew this place was a novel, and by confirming that I knew it too?

‘What is her motive?’

The unresolved questions multiplied like rabbits. However, without Ban Seo-yi, the key to answering all these questions, these branching thoughts were meaningless.

Indeed, I had to go find Ban Seo-yi. I was too impatient to wait endlessly for a promise that might never be kept.

[With this, the opening ceremony concludes. We will now proceed with warm-up exercises before officially starting the sports festival. All, attention. Forward, march!]

While my mind was filled with complex thoughts, my body dutifully followed the instructions from the stage. The students moved sluggishly. Maintaining formation, they spread their arms to widen the gaps.

[One, two! Three, four! Five, six! Seven, eight!]

Soon, familiar national gymnastics music began to play. I stopped thinking and followed along with the national gymnastics. It was better for my well-being to give up clinging to things that had no answers, no matter how much I pondered them.

Beep- beep, BEEP!

Beep- beep, BEEP!

I moved my body, calling out the counts to the familiar whistle rhythm of the athletic teacher. I disliked exercise, but I couldn’t neglect warm-ups.