I Don’t Want to be a Villainess

There wasn’t really any significant reason to gather stocks. No matter how similar the market cap is to my wealth, if everyone really started investing all their assets, the stock prices would soar endlessly.

That said, even if I hold a meaningful level of stocks alone, it would be difficult to have a major impact during the meetings. There would already be factions formed within that group, and I’d just become a mere pawn that didn’t belong to any faction.

But even so, it wouldn’t be easy to completely ignore me.

At a truly critical moment, when opinions are split almost evenly, the side someone champions is bound to win.

Or if I spoke up directly during the meetings, all eyes would surely turn to me.

Considering all of this, it wouldn’t be possible to entirely disregard my stock gathering efforts.

Well, even if I went to Yoon Da-ho’s place in this situation, they wouldn’t refuse and would let me in. But still, I need to show that I can do something on my own.

Only then can I keep my temper in check.

Seeing how much the market cap differs, there must be a significant difference in family wealth as well.

And—

“My father’s company’s stock?”

“Yes.”

Of course, Ha Neul’s father’s company isn’t the same as her father’s company. But there are various ways to help the company.

Why is the company failing?

There are several reasons, but if I had to sum it up in one word, it would obviously be “money.”

Without money, or if money is being deceived… If you can’t provide the necessary funds at a critical moment, the business fails. Perhaps, the way the Ho Myung Group pressures the company where Ha Neul’s father works is also via “money.”

If that’s the case, the most direct way to break through that situation is “money.”

I asked Han Garam to look into that situation and find a way to fill in the gaps with money.

True to her nature of living for money, Han Garam was incredibly happy with the order. Well, it is joy to going against a conglomerate with a massive fund.

“Ah, but that means spending too much money…”

What a hassle to worry about.

Even in this situation, Ha Neul was worried about receiving too much help from me.

If you get so much help from a friend—no, from someone you’re fond of, you worry that you can’t give back enough, and it feels like you can’t repay it.

Thinking about that made me—

grr!—feel quite annoyed.

Now that I think about it, Ha Neul had this kind of reaction last time too. She tried to deal with everything herself, hoping I wouldn’t care or worry.

Letting out a deep sigh, I swept my hair back and then cupped Ha Neul’s cheeks with both hands.

Because I applied pressure, her face became somewhat fish-like. Yet, it was still cute.

“Do you think I’m helping you to expect something in return?”

“Um, umm…”

Was it because her face was squished? Ha Neul couldn’t answer properly and made a sound similar to what I usually say.

The face I touched was heating up. Ha Neul’s forehead had turned quite red.

Pressing my face closely against Ha Neul’s face, I spoke.

“The reason I help you is simply that I want to help. Because we’re friends. Because this is a precious bond we’ve gained here. I don’t want to lose it. I don’t want you to be unhappy. Got it?”

Ha Neul nodded. Her round eyes were fixed on me.

“If I don’t help and your father’s company fails, do you think I wouldn’t help then? Absolutely not. If something happens to you that needs my help, I will help you then too. So wouldn’t it be better for both of us to sort this out before it becomes a bother? Right?”

Ha Neul nodded again.

…Even at this close proximity, I could hardly feel her breath. Every time Ha Neul brings her face close, I used to feel her gentle breath.

Well, seeing as she’s nodding so much, it doesn’t seem to be a big problem.

“So, from now on, don’t say things like you can’t repay me or that you feel guilty about receiving too much help again. No, not just that, don’t show any signs of discomfort. If you do it just once more…”

…What then?

Honestly, I don’t have any appropriate way to reprimand these kids. After all, we are friends, and friendships are never one-sided. I’m not their master or anything.

So, what I can say is—

“Then, I’ll make you pay back for life with your body. Got it?”

“……”

And then I let go of Ha Neul’s face.

Ha Neul’s face was now entirely flushed. The marks from my grip were completely gone.

“……Huh?”

Then, I finally realized that something was a bit off with Ha Neul.

Her mouth was just opening and closing, and she couldn’t say a word to me.

“Uh, hey, Ha Neul?”

Seeing Ha Neul trembling, I jumped in surprise and grabbed her shoulders, shouting.

“Ha Neul, breathe! Breathe!”

Right. The reason I couldn’t feel her breath even when I brought my face that close was that Ha Neul had stopped breathing.

“Phew, phew….”

After shaking her shoulders a few times, Ha Neul finally exhaled.

Then she slumped back and just lay on the bed.

“…Ah.”

And then she said, “I’m okay dying now…”

What an absurd thing to say.

…Wasn’t she just waiting to become an adult?

After seeing Ha Neul say such random things, I finally relaxed and let out a long sigh, wiping the sweat off my forehead.

Then I turned back and—

“Ugh!”

I was startled to see Sohee and Sua’s faces pressed closely together towards me.

“What, what’s going on…?”

Holding onto my racing heart, I asked, and first to respond was Sohee.

“Ah, ahh, I feel like I can’t repay everything I’ve received from Sara…!”

She spoke in an overtly exaggerated theatrical tone, and I couldn’t tell whether she was joking with me or genuinely sounding worried like Ha Neul, possibly just lacking acting skills.

Still, one thing was clear: Sohee was hoping to hear my previous words to Ha Neul.

“……”

Well, it’s true that Sohee had received a lot from me.

A lot, but…

“Uh, Sohee, didn’t you already say you’d repay me with your body?”

Indeed, Sohee had initially said that if she fell short, she’d repay me by working forever.

“Heh, heh…!”

But for some reason, Sohee reacted to my words.

And just like Ha Neul, she slumped backwards with a thud.

“……”

Well, what do I even say to that?

Looking down at the dazed expression on Sohee, I noticed there was still one gaze fixed on me.

It was Sua.

When I silently looked at Sua for one last time, she fidgeted in her seated position and moved around restlessly.

Yeah, I mean, even if I can one-sidedly help Ha Neul and Sohee,

Sua is a lady of inheritance. Sure, there’s a considerable difference in terms of company size… but generally, it was a large enough company that it wouldn’t collapse easily.

But I couldn’t just tell Sua to repay me with her body without a second thought. Most of what I helped with could probably be paid back.

In fact, she was still receiving help by employing a reporter with her own money.

That said, conversely, even if I did insist on repaying her, it would be hard to move her emotionally as much as Ha Neul or Sohee. I could just pay her back with money.

“Hmm…”

But not giving such words to Sua feels like excluding her, which I don’t want.

Damn it.

You will pay me back for similar help later tonight, so just wait.

Ew?

…If I still have a body, my subconscious responds like that; maybe that sound isn’t entirely unrelated to my body.

Would I make such sounds in my dreams too?

“Sua, you can ask for any help you need too. If it’s something you’re having a hard time with, I can easily solve it.”

“W-well, and if… I can’t repay it…?”

“……”

Are these kids flirting with danger a bit? Or are they possibly hoping for the male lead to be carelessly clumsy…?

I don’t know, the more I think about it, the more it just feels tiring.

“…If you want, well, you can pay back with your body like Ha Neul or Sohee.”

“Huh…?”

Eventually, my words made Sua melt away too.

Even though my words were much shorter and less emotional than what I said to Ha Neul, seeing them all react the same way means there’s clearly a mechanism in their heads that adjusts their lines.

“…Should I go wash up?”

After sitting dazed for a while, I decided to just leave the three of them and headed toward the shower room.

---