I Don’t Want to be a Villainess

“…….”

“……”

Um, I guess personal interviews weren’t such a great idea after all.

When I said I wanted to talk ‘one-on-one,’ the three agreed. At least Sohee and Sua seemed quite pleased.

But strangely, Ha Neul had a pouting face.

Honestly, just from looking at her face, it didn’t seem like she was that upset. No matter how oblivious I was, I’ve been living with Ha Neul face-to-face almost every day for the past few months.

It wasn’t just seeing each other at school; we ate together in the same place, slept on the same bed, and even bathed in the same space for a short period of time.

If Ha Neul was making a serious face, I’d notice it for sure.

Based on my instinct, this expression likely was a put-on. She was crossing her arms, slightly turning her eyes to the side, puffing out her cheeks in an adorable way.

But I had a feeling there was some discontent stuffed in those inflated cheeks, and my mouth went dry.

…Maybe Ha Neul was jealous of Son Ah-reum.

When we were studying today, Ha Neul and Son Ah-reum’s territories completely overlapped. And to be honest, Son Ah-reum was a bit better at ‘teaching.’ It wasn’t like she was overwhelmingly better than Ha Neul, but it was easier to understand, and the level was lower.

While it felt like Ha Neul always aimed for the top score, Son Ah-reum seemed to do her best within the knowledge she had.

Well, both of them were at the top ranks anyway, so it didn’t make that much of a difference.

“Um….”

Anyway, I was at a loss about how to approach Ha Neul.

From the start, I couldn’t just say, “Don’t be too discouraged.” If I said that, it would mean I was directly admitting that Ha Neul’s teaching skills were a bit behind Son Ah-reum’s.

In the end, I decided to start with thanks and compliments.

“Thanks for today.”

Ha Neul’s gaze briefly turned to me before hurriedly shifting elsewhere.

After all, she was clearly putting on that act. Of course, she wouldn’t be completely without genuine feelings of displeasure, but it also didn’t seem like it was entirely true.

“Today, I did get a bit of help from Son Ah-reum… but if you hadn’t taught me all this before, I wouldn’t have studied so hard. I probably wouldn’t have understood even half of it.”

It wasn’t entirely a lie. If it weren’t for Ha Neul, I wouldn’t have been studying properly throughout the first semester, and no matter how easy Son Ah-reum’s notes were, I wouldn’t have been able to understand them without the basics.

It was Ha Neul who’d poked my side while I dozed off or left my textbook closed to make me study hard. I would never forget that fact.

But still, confessing that felt a bit embarrassing and awkward. Since the three of us had been in physical contact without any reservations, there hadn’t been a chance to share honest feelings just the two of us.

Ha Neul’s gaze returned to me. The puffiness in her cheeks seemed to have slightly deflated.

When our eyes met, Ha Neul blinked once and then quickly dropped her gaze. This wasn’t a pouty expression; she truly looked shy and couldn’t bring herself to meet my eyes.

That face was adorable.

“……”

I hesitated for a moment.

Ha Neul still hadn’t answered, so was it really okay to cut off the conversation like this? She seemed too shy to answer.

The arms that Ha Neul had crossed started to droop a little.

“…….”

Ah, I don’t know.

I suddenly got up from my chair and walked over to Ha Neul.

“……?”

Ha Neul looked up at me with a slightly shocked expression due to my abrupt actions.

Regardless of what Ha Neul did or said, I climbed onto her lap.

In other words, it was the ‘face-to-face sitting pose’ with Ha Neul that I had taken just to grab people’s attention at the start of the semester.

I felt Ha Neul’s thighs tightening a bit under me from the tension.

Every time I held her this way, her body always felt warm. It was as if the warmth could be felt even through her clothes.

“Thanks for everything up until now. And I hope you’ll continue to help me in the future.”

Actions speak louder than words, after all.

“……”

Ha Neul stayed still for a moment with her chin resting on my shoulder.

And shortly after that, her hand that had relaxed briefly started to move.

Ha Neul’s hand was moving around my belly, escaping the space between us and heading toward my back.

Then, as always, she wrapped me in a strong hug.

“……”

But now, I wasn’t surprised by this kind of thing anymore. In fact, it was something we did every day.

However, I couldn’t help but be surprised by what happened next.

The hand that had been holding me tightly around my back suddenly relaxed, and she grabbed my cheeks.

“Uh,”

Before I could respond, Ha Neul’s grip pulled my face back.

We ended up gazing at each other.

Ha Neul, looking at me, had a slightly angry expression.

“Sara, you coward.”

“Uh-heh?”

…Looks like I’ve been caught. Trying to mumble through things with a hug.

“And if you want to mumble through something, it won’t work like this. I’m always stuck to you anyway.”

“Um, wait,”

Khan, before I could finish my words, Ha Neul pressed her lips against mine.

It was a slightly more intense kiss than usual, almost like a soft bite.

With her arms tightly hugging my shoulders and her hands pushing down on the back of my head, I couldn’t resist and was just stuck there, pressed against Ha Neul.

…The lips finally parted when I was starting to struggle to breathe.

Clearly, our lips touched, and even though it didn’t go deeper, a thin line of saliva connected between us for a brief moment.

“Next time, be prepared for such actions. Got it?”

Ha Neul said with a faux stern expression.

“Yes……”

I weakly replied and then melted into Ha Neul’s embrace.

*

“……Looks like you’re in rough shape. How pitiful.”

Sohee entered the room next, oddly wearing a maid outfit. She had definitely changed into her sleepwear just a little while ago.

Anyway, regardless of Sohee’s outfit, my appearance must have been quite something. Ha Neul’s face sparkled as she left the room, so it was clear that I had absorbed a lot of energy.

“……”

When I stayed silent and stared at Sohee, she gracefully lifted her skirt with both hands and introduced herself.

“Maid Sohee reporting for duty at the lady’s call.”

“……”

I didn’t know how to respond.

But Sohee didn’t seem to care.

She walked past me and sat down on the bed.

Then, she tapped the spot beside her with one hand.

Was she telling me to sit there?

I wasn’t quite sure what Sohee was thinking, so I hesitated and then slowly sat down where she tapped—

“No, that’s not it.”

Sohee shook her head.

“……Or what?”

When I asked, Sohee tapped her own knees.

…She wanted me to sit on her knees?

Well, considering I just sat on Ha Neul’s lap, there was no reason I couldn’t sit on Sohee’s too. I guess Sohee could feel jealous since she saw me do that in front of her.

But as soon as I started to rise, Sohee shook her head again.

Then, she grabbed my shoulder and pushed me back down.

“Whoa,”

And naturally, lacking strength compared to Sohee, I could only fall sideways.

…I had thought I had been building my stamina through all those workouts. But on second thought, we had always been exercising together. No matter how much stronger I got, the difference in our strengths remained parallel.

Maybe I should just give up on exercising.

I had a fleeting moment of contemplation.

“……”

Anyway, the position I ended up in was lying on Sohee’s thigh.

I had thought she would be much firmer since she seemed a lot stronger, but her body was surprisingly soft and squishy. Well, from the looks of it, she definitely had a much more curvaceous figure compared to Ha Neul.

Somehow, it felt cozy. If I had been lying on a hard floor, Sohee’s thigh would have felt a bit higher, but since she was sitting on the bed, I could comfortably lay down.

“Did you have a tough time?”

Sohee started to pat my head while I was in that position.

Over the two mounds blocking my view, Sohee’s eyes peeked through.

What should I say? Should I call it straightforward, or cute?

…But I could clearly tell what Sohee wanted to do.

In other words, she wore that maid outfit on purpose. This was the position she aimed for.

I exhaled deeply.

Well, if she wanted to let me rest, maybe I should just accept it.

Wait, ah, hold on!

But at that moment, inside me, Sara screamed like that.

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