By Zephyria 
“What? How do you know that already? You haven’t even seen the ending.”
Despite my denial with a frown, Ban Seo-yi was calm. And firm.
“I’m sure of it. My actions cannot influence the plot.”
“I can’t do that either?”
Seong Hae-min not quitting his delinquent ways. The Four Heavenly Kings eventually meeting Ban Pyo-ran and falling in love with him. Didn’t I feel that acutely yesterday on my way back from the hospital? I hadn’t changed any significant plot points either. But Ban Seo-yi flatly denied it.
“No. You can tell by looking at Do Yun-hyeok alone. That idiot who confessed his love to you. It was because of him that I found you strange? He wouldn’t be like that.”
“That’s Do Yun-hyeok being strange…”
“No?”
Ban Seo-yi crossed his arms and tapped his own arm. His expression was serious, without a hint of falsehood.
“He’s always sincere. If you told him to stop fighting, he would stop fighting.”
“What?”
My jaw dropped.
Whenever that mad dog said things like that, I’d just casually think, ‘The mad dog is barking again~’ and didn’t take it seriously, but what kind of shocking statement was this! It felt like lightning struck me from the sky.
“But I…”
Ban Seo-yi, unconcerned by my reaction, continued speaking.
“…I can’t change things like you. I absolutely can’t. No matter how much I struggle, I can’t escape this plot, this fixed world. Now that I’ve seen you, I understand why. Because this novel world is everything to me… I couldn’t break the laws of the world.”
As he continued to ramble, Ban Seo-yi’s face became more and more contorted, as if he were about to cry. In the end, he spat out his words like he was chewing on unripe persimmons.
I was greatly surprised because I had never seen him make such an expression, given his usual prim and prickly demeanor, but I tried hard not to show it. Seeing the person before me like this, I didn’t have time to dwell on Do Yun-hyeok’s shock.
Ban Seo-yi clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, as if holding back tears. In the deserted place with no passersby, I stood there alone, bewildered.
The situation was turning strange. Since I couldn’t clearly understand what was happening, I didn’t know how to accept it. I couldn’t say anything rash. I was confused, and moreover, I was not good at comforting people. I remained silent for a while.
After a moment, Ban Seo-yi quickly regained his composure and lifted his head. His eyes were red around the edges. I pretended not to notice.
Ban Seo-yi told me that although the situation had become strange, he just needed a friend to talk to, and suggested we keep in touch casually. I couldn’t refuse. I agreed, and we parted ways awkwardly.
After the serious encounter with Ban Seo-yi, I didn’t know how to treat Seong Hae-min and the Four Heavenly Kings. I tried to act as usual, but Ban Seo-yi’s words that I could change this world kept echoing in my mind. Even though I didn’t feel like I had changed anything at all, his words lingered.
‘How could Ban Seo-yi be so sure?’
His excessive certainty provoked a rebellious feeling. So at first, I just found Ban Seo-yi suspicious. His suggestion to keep in touch also felt strange.
Even if he said he wanted a friend, perhaps because of his image as the villainess in the novel, I felt like he wanted something from me. A feeling that he was hiding something. I couldn’t know what others were thinking, but since Ban Seo-yi was also involved in the interests of the Four Heavenly Kings, I was reluctant to get too deeply involved.
Hiding my doubts, I continued to keep in touch with Ban Seo-yi, replying occasionally as if I were a spy.
“But what do you think of the Four Heavenly Kings?”
‘I knew my uneasy feeling was right!’
When he suddenly brought up the Four Heavenly Kings, I bristled and tensed up. I wondered if he was going to ask for something. But when I asked ‘Why?’, the answer that came was this.
“Honestly, I think they’re old enough to know better lol.”
“???”
“Calling them the Four Heavenly Kings together is so childish, I’m going to lose my hands and feet lol;”
‘…Is that not it?’
“I’d accept it if they were an idol group like TVXQ!!” was added as a bonus. I reread the text five times. Was it really from Ban Seo-yi?
‘Was this the kind of character he was?’
While I was puzzled, as I continued to text, Ban Seo-yi…
It was funny.
“Ugh, Do Yun-hyeok is so annoying -_-^^^”
When Do Yun-hyeok came up, I actually burst out laughing. It was as if Ban Seo-yi was having a field day, cursing Do Yun-hyeok with gusto. It made me wonder if I had been taking Ban Seo-yi too seriously. It seemed like so much had piled up.
“Honestly, Do Yun-hyeok seems to be going through puberty… there’s no other explanation ^^ㅋ”
“He keeps calling me a signboard, it’s driving me crazy;; It’s not that I’m a signboard, but I have a thick face for being shameless.”
Even his words were relatable!
For a long time, I looked at the texts Ban Seo-yi had sent, my thumb tracing the screen, where the pixels were clearly visible. He seemed like someone who genuinely needed a friend to talk to comfortably, just as he had said.
After much deliberation, I decided not to take Ban Seo-yi too seriously for the time being. It was too busy studying to ponder things too deeply.
‘Let’s take it easy.’
I felt I needed to observe more to understand the meaning of his cryptic words about not being able to change this world.
By the way, I wonder if Do Yun-hyeok knows he’s being so enthusiastically bad-mouthed in texts? I chuckled to myself.
That doesn’t mean I miss Do Yun-hyeok, though!
❖ ❖ ❖
“Here, is this Seong Hae-jun’s class?”
During lunch break, just like any other day, I froze like a stone when I saw a boy with wine-colored hair looking for me at the back door of the classroom. When he heard my name, I turned my head without realizing it, and our eyes met.
“Hi, pretty! I’ve been looking for you.”
…Why is he here?
My brain temporarily shut down.
Do Yun-hyeok, wearing a different school uniform that stood out from the students gathered in small groups looking this way, waved at me with a wide smile. He held a pizza box in one hand.
I heard a phantom bell ringing in the distance.
The sound of my life ending!
“Surprised?”
“…”
Do Yun-hyeok, like a prophet performing a miracle, parted the students and walked towards me. I couldn’t find words to reply. I looked around, hoping someone would intervene, but the students in the classroom kept their distance, watching from at least two meters away.
I noticed a few students standing at the back hurrying off to report to the Four Heavenly Kings that Do Yun-hyeok had arrived. I was already doomed.
Suddenly, through the open window, I heard voices from the second-year classroom on the third floor: “Hey, they say Do Yun-hyeok is here?”, “Why would a mad dog come to our school?”, “I don’t know? It’s probably a lie. But they say he came last time.”, “He’d really have to be crazy to come.”
Cold sweat broke out. However, Do Yun-hyeok, the cause of all this commotion, seemed unfazed, as if the surrounding chaos were his daily routine.
“I brought pizza.”
“…Why?”
“I want to apologize for what happened last time.”
“…”
As the rumors spread rapidly, increasing the number of people gathering around, Do Yun-hyeok winked. He didn’t forget to stick out his tongue, showing off his tongue piercing. I felt like my entire body was turning to dust and scattering.
The surrounding students, who had been watching me and Do Yun-hyeok, became noisy upon hearing Do Yun-hyeok’s words.
“What? Do Yun-hyeok apologizing to Seong Hae-jun?”
“What did Do Yun-hyeok do?”
“Won’t the Four Heavenly Kings come and attack Do Yun-hyeok?”
“They say Do Yun-hyeok attacked Seong Hae-jun?”
“…”
So this is how the truth gets distorted.
Even lies have to be somewhat plausible to be refuted, but this was so absurd that I couldn’t even speak.
Do Yun-hyeok placed the pizza box, smelling delicious, on my desk, but I didn’t even want to open it. My appetite vanished like the receding tide. Do Yun-hyeok, unaware of my feelings, winked and took a can of cola from his pocket, placing it on the desk as well.
Come to think of it, this scene feels like something I’ve seen in a movie based on an old internet novel. Was it
But why am I the one in that scene?
‘Please leave me out of this!’
I wanted to escape this spot immediately, feeling like an animal in a zoo. But if I ran, he would surely follow. My priority was to get rid of Do Yun-hyeok before more onlookers gathered. Gritting my teeth as if speaking in ventriloquism, I said,
“I don’t need pizza… can you leave for now?”
“Me?”
“Yeah.”
“I want to stay until you eat. What if someone around you snatches it? I’ll protect you.”
“There’s no one like that, so please go. What kind of nerve do you have to come here?”
“I have to have that much courage to see you, pretty.”
How did Ban Seo-yi handle this crazy guy? My respect for Ban Seo-yi rose in my throat. But this was not the time for such thoughts. Meanwhile, the crowd was growing like a cloud.
Before the Four Heavenly Kings, scattered in their respective classes, heard that Do Yun-hyeok had arrived and stormed into the classroom, I had to eliminate the source of the evil. I would figure out what excuse to give the Four Heavenly Kings after he left.
“Go quickly!”
I hastily pushed Do Yun-hyeok’s back. Do Yun-hyeok, wasting his height and build, was easily pushed by me. The students in the classroom parted like magnets with opposite poles.
“Hae-jun!”
“Seong Hae-jun!”
“Juna!”
But it was too late.