I Don’t Want to be a Villainess

The effect of Han Garam starting to move was soon apparent.

It didn’t take a few days. The very next day, remarkably, Yoon Da-ho came all the way to the front of the classroom.

Well, it wasn’t the first time, to be fair.

Moreover, yesterday, I had gone to the classroom myself to find him.

The girl students were very cautious around me, but it seemed that the same sentiment hadn’t infected the boys yet. I didn’t feel the need to push it, either. Among the boys who had bullied Sara in my memories, there weren’t many.

Maybe when we were in elementary school, the boys helped to bully together, but rediscovering that at this point was quite a task. Back then, I was really at the mercy of my parents’ words.

I wondered what it would have been like if middle school and high school were co-ed… but it wasn’t the case, after all.

Well, even if the girls had a sort of fear of me, their curiosity hadn’t completely dissipated either.

Especially when someone handsome like Yoon Da-ho showed up.

“What’s this?”

No matter how long I waited, it didn’t seem like Yoon Da-ho would come in on his own, so I ultimately stepped out of the classroom. Ideally, I wanted to respond while looking up at him with a ridiculously annoyed expression like I did yesterday, but since he wouldn’t come in, I couldn’t do that.

You know, there’s a pretty big difference between a girl entering the boys’ classroom and a boy entering the girls’ classroom. Despite talk of gender equality and whatnot, there’s still a disparity in perception, making it far more burdensome for a guy to enter a girl’s space.

The girls probably wouldn’t like it much either.

Yet if I didn’t step out to meet him, who knows if he would have waited till I came out? Sooner or later, we’d have to talk; it wasn’t beneficial to keep delaying things.

“…I don’t know what you’re doing right now.”

Just like when I first met him at this school, Yoon Da-ho stood leaning against the window and spoke.

“I think it would be better to stop.”

“Why do you think that?”

“There’s nothing good about antagonizing my grandfather.”

I glanced around. It had been quite a while since the recognition of not having to ignore me spread. Back in the day, if I’d pretended to ignore them while listening, now there were kids openly displaying their curiosity and sending glances my way.

“Are you saying you think I’d lose if I fought your grandfather?”

“….”

Yoon Da-ho looked at me with an expression of disbelief.

Well, it’s understandable; it would be ridiculous for a first-year high school student to say he’d fight an experienced former chairman of a large company.

“Just because you have a lot of money doesn’t mean you can win. Your grandfather definitely has something in mind.”

“…Huh?”

Yoon Da-ho’s words were a bit odd, so I tilted my head.

“So you came to warn me? Not to threaten me?”

His tone was a bit strange. It felt like he genuinely didn’t want me to lose—

Ah, I see.

If I were to lose against Yoon Da-ho’s grandfather, the engagement between him and me wouldn’t break. Ultimately, they would end up getting married. The question of assets would come later, but it seemed Yoon Da-ho really didn’t like that.

“Whether it’s a warning or a threat, you can think of it however you like.”

“Then, what’s the basis?”

I didn’t want to lose in a battle of words, so I lifted my chin.

“….”

And it wasn’t just a matter of pride; it was a very crucial confirmation process too. Whether Yoon Da-ho was warning or threatening me, I needed solid evidence to believe it.

“As for physical proof, there isn’t any.”

Hmph.

So he came to warn me without any physical proof?

“If I don’t confront your grandfather, how do we break off the engagement?”

“…Isn’t it too late to argue about that now? At this point, does it even matter if we’re engaged or not?”

Yoon Da-ho’s gaze turned towards my back. There stood Sohee and Ha-neul. Sadly, Sua was in a different class and wasn’t here at the moment.

Well, it’s true that debating it now seems a bit strange.

The real problem is that his grandfather hasn’t let go of it until now.

“Still, we should hammer out a resolution to prevent further talks from both sides. I don’t want your grandfather to come around reminding me of the engagement every time I forget about it.”

“….”

“Or would you like to tell your grandfather yourself? That you don’t want to marry me?”

“…You think I haven’t told him?”

Yoon Da-ho growled a little.

“You also said you didn’t want to be engaged, and we both know that as of now, the engagement has become feeble; why would your grandfather insist on bothering me? Even if there’s no evidence, you must have your own reasoning for thinking that.”

“….”

At my words, Yoon Da-ho briefly shut his mouth.

Then he looked around once. Kids who had been casually walking by suddenly froze in their tracks and hastily started moving again, as if startled. A few of them openly wore expressions of regret on their faces.

It was one thing to show curiosity about me, but it was an odd sight for them to show such curiosity toward Yoon Da-ho. At the start of the semester, he was somewhat of a leader, garnering his own followers. While he still seemed popular among the girls, there were almost none left looking at him with a prince-like gaze now.

As time passed, the illusions about Yoon Da-ho appeared to have faded… or maybe it’s more accurate to say it’s due to my influence.

Every time Yoon Da-ho crossed paths with me, he often ended up being humiliated in front of other students. He maintained his composure, trying hard to assert that I should break the engagement without being discouraged…

But no matter how you look at it, I was overwhelmingly stronger. Honestly, even setting market capitalization aside, comparing individual assets rendered the comparison utterly meaningless.

Strangely enough, the public perception can sometimes deem someone much wealthier and socially prominent as pathetic after just a few public embarrassments. I think Yoon Da-ho found himself in such a situation.

And it didn’t help that his impression had softened a bit since the beginning of the semester.

…Ah.

Come to think of it, Yoon Da-ho is also the protagonist. He’s a typical tutorial character likely to become the first target if the game starts without any direction.

In the original, Yoon Da-ho also had moments where he lost confidence halfway through.

He was overwhelmed with all sorts of humiliations by the former chairman while wanting to break off the engagement with Ye Sara, who he liked, and ultimately, after receiving encouragement from Yoo Ha-neul, he awakens and achieves a happy ending.

In reality, his family’s situation was only briefly highlighted at the end, and most parts of the route were close to Yoon Da-ho managing his mental state.

I remember the streamer heavily disliked him throughout that gameplay because he kept whining.

Is his current state akin to that?

With the caretaker role of Ha Neul at my side?

Though it didn’t make me feel particularly apologetic about that.

“…I have a feeling.”

“…A feeling?”

It was such an unexpected answer that I reflexively asked back.

“Yeah. My grandfather seems to be in a really good mood lately.”

“Your grandfather is in a good mood…?”

As I blinked in confusion, Yoon Da-ho uncomfortably blushed. Apparently, he was well aware that it sounded embarrassing.

“…You might not understand, but my grandfather smiles brightly when he’s confident that things are going smoothly for him.”

“…”

Well, if that old man were smiling like that, I would definitely think he was up to something.

“So then, why do you think it’s related to that?”

Upon hearing my question, Yoon Da-ho looked at me with an expression of disbelief.

What? Why?

It’s odd for someone’s expression to serve as evidence in the first place. I mean, how can I assume I can intuitively guess their family’s corporate dealings based on their mood—Ah, I suddenly remembered there was a sixth sense system in the original.

“…”

As I stared at my own face, Yoon Da-ho averted his gaze.

…Dude, stop blushing and avoiding eye contact. It’s bugging me.

Though he was probably genuinely embarrassed.

Anyway, well.

The problem is that.

I don’t know if this feeling is some kind of sixth sense.

And originally, the sixth sense had never been explicitly stated to be present in all characters.

At least, in the highlight videos I watched, there was no mention of Yoon Da-ho having a sixth sense.

Though it wasn’t there…

“…Heh.”

I took a deep breath.

Now that I had somewhat grasped the feeling, I couldn’t just let it slip away. Especially when the situation was getting strange as it is.

I needed to know if what this guy was saying was true or just nonsense.

So, the problem was that I had to say something I really didn’t want to say.

“Phew.”

I exhaled deeply, calming my mind a bit.

And then,

“…I’d like to hear a bit more about that story; do you have some time after class?”

Sori and Sohee, who were behind me, made sounds that would make Ha Neul nervous.

Ah, I dislike this too, you know?

I really, truly do.

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