By Zephyria 
“Put it on.”
“What?”
Do Yun-hyeok was being arbitrary again today. He dragged me towards a nearby bench. Unable to resist his excited demeanor, I sat on the bench, and he confidently placed the bag on my lap. The bag was very light. Rummaging through it, I pulled out a bandage.
“……?”
“Put it on. Here.”
Do Yun-hyeok pointed to a scraped area near his eye and tapped it with his finger.
…Just a bandage?
‘He dragged me all the way here just to put this on?’
While Do Yun-hyeok’s actions had never failed to surprise me, this time it felt like my nose was blocked. But seeing his face, mottled and looking pathetic like a bruised apple as he pouted and tapped near his wound, I didn’t get angry.
Instead, I let out a disbelieving laugh. It was funny, truly funny.
“Hehehe…”
“Blow on it. So it heals quickly.”
Do Yun-hyeok… he’s really lost it.
While cursing him in my head, my hands diligently opened the bandage box and picked out a medium-sized one.
“Hurry.”
At Do Yun-hyeok’s urging, I slowly peeled off the backing of the bandage. I couldn’t bring myself to speed up.
Do I have to give this embarrassing care to Do Yun-hyeok? Me? I had never even put a bandage on Seong Hae-min when he had an accident. Of course, that was partly because Seong Hae-min had quickly taken care of everything before I could do anything.
Do Yun-hyeok was watching me persistently with his clear eyes. I felt like he was drilling holes into my face. I couldn’t refuse this mad dog’s request. Because this mad dog was someone who would push until his demands were met.
It’s going to happen anyway. Let’s consider it saving one person! I closed my eyes tightly and did as Do Yun-hyeok instructed.
“Hoo. Hoo…”
Actually, I only said it; I didn’t really blow. Even saying just those two words, I was so embarrassed by what I was doing that my voice grew quieter. Yet, Do Yun-hyeok exaggeratedly squinted and smiled.
“Ouch.”
“Huh?”
“It stings from the wind.”
That rascal. Feeling embarrassed and annoyed belatedly, I slapped the bandage on with a loud sound.
“Ouch, ouch…”
Do Yun-hyeok moaned, whether from exaggeration or genuine pain, clutching his wound. Seeing him, who was bigger than me, hunched over with his eyes glistening, it didn’t seem like he was faking it. But perhaps I had become a little bolder after seeing Do Yun-hyeok a few times, so I just snorted.
Seeing me, Do Yun-hyeok grinned playfully. Then, as if he had strained the muscles around his facial wound like a fool, he cried out “Ouch!” again and covered his face.
What is he doing by himself?
“That.”
“Ugh… yeah?”
“…Never mind.”
I almost asked about his relationship with Yeon Su-hwan, but stopped myself. If Ban Seo-yi couldn’t explain the matter over text, it was unlikely Do Yun-hyeok would explain it easily either.
Rather than stirring up trouble by digging, I wanted to stay at the current level. Just exchanging banter.
Feeling awkward about stopping mid-sentence, I looked around and remembered what Ban Seo-yi had said in this park. His shocking statement that he was a character in a novel who was aware of being in a novel, and what he said along with it.
That is, he said Do Yun-hyeok was sincere towards me, and if I told him not to fight, he would stop.
‘Is it really true that I can stop Do Yun-hyeok?’
I couldn’t even stop Seong Hae-min, who was the closest person to me in this world…
After a moment of hesitation, I quickly mumbled in an unsure tone, like a young protagonist in a modern novel caught stealing grapes from a neighbor’s orchard and trying to make excuses to the orchard owner.
“Stop fighting and stuff.”
“Why?”
The answer came back immediately. However, Do Yun-hyeok wasn’t like an orchard owner sternly questioning a child. He looked at me with bright, innocent eyes, like a neighbor’s child who had been picking and eating grapes alongside me and then looked up when scolded. Seeing that innocent-looking brain, as always, I lost my words.
“Huh? Um…”
Even though it was something I blurted out impulsively, I didn’t expect this kind of reaction. At best, I thought I’d get a response like Jeon Jae-hyung or Seong Hae-min saying it would be difficult, or they’d dodge the question, or just outright refuse. Did my words actually work on Do Yun-hyeok, as Ban Seo-yi said? I felt a strange sensation and hesitated.
Honestly… I had never thought I could have such a significant influence on someone, especially on characters who formed the core of the novel, to the point of changing future developments.
“Why?”
Do Yun-hyeok asked again.
If it were my usual personality, I would have told him to forget it if he didn’t like it and moved on. But since I had brought it up, and received such an unexpected response, perhaps I could try to persuade him. I chose my words carefully from the jumbled mess in my unprepared mind.
I couldn’t exactly say, “You’ll end up kidnapping Pyo-ran when you turn dark later.”
“That…”
“That?”
“You’ll get hurt.”
I had never thought my improvisational skills were lacking, but this was the best I could come up with after agonizing in frustration. I wanted to tear my hair out in embarrassment. But Do Yun-hyeok’s reaction was even more extreme.
“It’s bad if I get hurt?”
“……”
So, it’s okay if I get hurt?!
I was speechless and looked at Do Yun-hyeok. He was still looking at me with an innocent expression, completely unaware of any problem. Just like how my vision blurs when I face bright sunlight, a strong sense of worry washed over me.
Is this guy really as dense as a brick…?
My malicious side urged me to tell him to live however he pleased, whether he got hurt or not. But I changed my mind. For some reason, I felt like I wanted to answer his question obediently. Was it because he was too much of a fool?
“It hurts when you get hurt.”
“I don’t mind getting hurt at all.”
Is this guy crazy? I frowned.
Is that why you were getting beaten up near the school recently? I wanted to scold him. Even if the wounds from back then hadn’t healed and he looked pitiful with a face that had suffered a major accident, someone who doesn’t take care of himself deserves to be scolded.
I immediately launched into a lecture.
“People shouldn’t live like that! Even if you’re okay, what about the people around you? They get upset!”
“Hae-jun, you get upset too?”
“Huh?”
“If I get hurt, do you get upset too?”
Do Yun-hyeok, fiddling with his fingers, asked something completely different, seemingly unaware that he was being scolded.
Upset… I hadn’t even thought about that.
It wasn’t just about Do Yun-hyeok; I realized I didn’t like seeing anyone get hurt. Until now, I had lived thinking it was none of my business whether someone got hurt or died. But human nature was truly fickle. Seeing someone on the verge of death right in front of me changed my feelings.
Who would enjoy bloodshed for no reason? You only watch it in movies because you know it’s for revenge and the makeup is fake. In reality, people should resolve things through conversation.
“Not particularly?”
“……”
I said that playfully because I felt like I would lose if I agreed with Do Yun-hyeok’s words. But as soon as he heard me, the smile vanished from Do Yun-hyeok’s face. I also dropped my playful demeanor.
It seemed like a white lie was necessary for strategic purposes. If I could save Seong Hae-min, what did another lie matter?
“Just kidding, of course I would.”
“Okay, then.”
“Huh?”
“I won’t fight anymore.”
Do Yun-hyeok nodded easily. Why had he asked me all those questions? I was bewildered, even though I got the affirmation I wanted. And I felt uneasy.
Is it real?
I started to smile but stopped. Doubt, which always resided in my heart, hit me in the gut.
He might just be saying that.
You couldn’t believe what people said at face value.
Whether his purpose for coming was truly to get a bandage, Do Yun-hyeok quickly sent me home. I stood there blankly, watching Do Yun-hyeok ride away on his motorcycle.
Why is everyone so self-willed?
Time slowly passed, and the day of the spring picnic arrived.
During that time, I had avoided conversations with Seong Hae-min about the picnic day. Seong Hae-min seemed to assume we would go together, but I didn’t bother to correct his misunderstanding. It was obvious it would be a pointless war of attrition with no resolution. I didn’t want to repeat the scenario of me stating my opinion and Seong Hae-min worrying about it dozens of times.
I woke up early, packed my things with Seong Hae-min, and headed to school. It was only then, hearing the murmurs of my classmates in the classroom, that I learned how Ban Pyo-ran and the Four Heavenly Kings had encountered Do Yun-hyeok at the amusement park in the original novel.
“I heard Manhae High and Jeseong High are going to the same place for their picnic today?”
“What? So the Jeseong High stars are coming too?”
“They probably are. If we’re lucky, we might see them.”
“Ugh… I should have packed different clothes if I knew this!”
Both Manhae High and Jeseong High? Well, this was the only way for the Four Heavenly Kings from three different schools, the female protagonist, and the villain to meet on the same day. The author’s manipulation of the plot to suit their taste was no longer surprising.
As I calmly boarded the bus chartered by the school, I thought about the coincidences in the novel. What was the probability in reality that the picnic dates and destinations of three nearby schools would all overlap? Well… perhaps it was higher than the probability of me falling into the world of an internet novel.
It was as expected, but having to accept it felt a bit disheartening. It seemed my plan to go alone might be scrapped, but stubbornness wasn’t something that easily crumbled.
I’ll just avoid them carefully and go alone!