NOVEL NEXT #002
#002
– Jaeha? Hello?
I felt sorry for Kim Sehyun, but I had to check the comments first. Fifteen comments weren’t many for a serialized work. How many of them would contain the information I needed?
‘Damn advance party…’
I need to understand the situation before I can deal with it!
Usually in possession stories, don’t you enter a book you’ve read? I was used to having terrible luck, but I didn’t expect it to apply even in such an extraordinary situation.
‘Esper… is that like a psychic? Is this a modern fantasy?’
It was a somewhat unsettling title for a modern fantasy novel, but I decided to think of it as having entered a modern fantasy setting. At this point, it’s hard to know who the protagonist is. So, I needed to get information about Kim Sehyun as the quest instructed.
Afraid the comment window might disappear, I stared at it with blurry eyes, and the comment count increased by one.
Comments (16)
Po****: Who’s Lee Jaeha? Makes me uneasy from the first chapter… Starting with being paired is intense, but why do I sense signs of a villain…
└Right? Why is he smashing up his room just because he got paired?
‘He smashed up his own room?’
I looked around. Was the state of this house, which looked like it had been burglarized, due to the actions of this body’s owner?
– Lee Jaeha, I can hear you breathing, why aren’t you answering? Mr. Lee Jaeha, if there’s a problem, please shake a carrot~
The voice from the phone sounded playful. I thought this must be what people mean by a voice like rolling jade beads.
It was a very pleasant voice, but right now it was no different from noise.
Let’s add a spoonful of imagination to think about this: Kim Sehyun, who I’m talking to now, has become some kind of pair… that is, a partner with someone named Shin Haejun, and Lee Jaeha, the owner of this body, didn’t like that and trashed his room?
‘Judging by the mention of signs of a villain, it seems I’m not the protagonist.’
If that’s the case, the protagonist is probably either this Kim Sehyun or Shin Haejun. And judging by Kim Sehyun’s attitude, he seems no different from a very close friend.
‘And it seems that I… have become the villain.’
This is bad. Fantasy novel villains usually end up with their throats slit or meet a miserable end.
Moreover, even the quest I received was instructing villainous behavior. How exactly am I supposed to cause trouble over the phone?
“Uh… yeah. No problem… at all.”
They must be on casual speaking terms, right? If I’ve been possessed, couldn’t they have included some memories as a privilege…
I hesitantly gave a careful reply to Kim Sehyun.
– Oh, what! You were listening. Why did you call?
“Ah… I wanted to apologize for suddenly leaving yesterday.”
Since Kim Sehyun mentioned this information first, it must be correct.
Although I just repeated what he had said, I heard giggling laughter from the phone. What kind of man laughs like this? Feeling a bit creeped out, I rubbed the arm holding the phone, when suddenly Kim Sehyun called out, “Lee Jaeha.”
– Yesterday… why did you suddenly leave? You’re not upset about me pairing with Haejun, are you? Were you surprised because I didn’t tell you in advance?
“Well… I was surprised that you suddenly told me such important news.”
– You know I’ve always wanted to pair with an S-class esper. I wanted to get more congratulations from you, I was actually a bit disappointed.
“Ah… really? I’m sorry.”
It seems the owner of this body left a party on his own whim.
Was he such a loner that he couldn’t stand the party atmosphere?
Well, I don’t know the details for now. Since I was curious about the quest window’s reward, I decided to follow the instructions for now.
“You could have told me in advance during our conversations.”
– …Were you feeling self-conscious being alone yesterday? I’m sorry, everyone else is A-class or S-class, so you were concerned? But you’re my best friend. I really wanted to invite you.
Ah, hearing that, I could somewhat understand the situation. In most fantasy novels, it’s a rule that F-class is low and S-class is high.
Anywhere, when one colleague gets promoted alone, relationships tend to become awkward. I don’t know what a guide is, or how an F-class and an S-class became friends… but I guess this case isn’t much different.
Moreover, the more he spoke, the more he reminded me of Deputy Kim.
‘Mr. Lee Yeonsoo, were you okay during the meeting? I didn’t mean to cut off your opinion intentionally… You’ll understand when you work at the company a bit longer.’
‘Yes, yes… I understand!’
‘I’m giving you advice because I care about you, but I think you’re weak in coming up with ideas, so it would be good to study harder.’
His way of speaking, saying he’s telling me this because he’s thinking of me… it was very similar. It’s probably my fault, and Kim Sehyun was probably trying to look after his friend, but honestly, these weren’t pleasant things to hear.
“Well, congratulations anyway. I guess we won’t be able to see each other for a while.”
Thinking that, I casually asked while trailing off, and Kim Sehyun immediately exclaimed as if jumping up.
– What are you talking about! When I agreed to pair with Haejun, I made a promise with the Haesun Group. Since you’re my best friend, I asked them to arrange a house close to ours.
“Haesun Group? Our house?”
– As you know, Haejun is the youngest of the Haesun Group. He said he’d do anything to thank me for pairing with him. And I’m planning to share a house with Haejun now. Because we’re paired.
Okay, whatever it is, Shin Haejun is the youngest of a chaebol family.
Kim Sehyun seemed to enjoy bragging subtly. Thanks to that, information was piling up in my head, which wasn’t bad.
But… the more I listened, the worse I felt. Even without the system window telling me to cause trouble, I couldn’t help but interject.
“Kim Sehyun. No matter how close friends we are, why are you deciding my living arrangements on your own?”
I’ve never talked back like this at the company. But thinking that this is a character in a book, and this body isn’t mine, words just flowed out.
– …Huh? Oh… Jaeha, I guess I was too hasty. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, but… you were worried about your monthly rent expiring, so… I was just worried about you.
Suddenly, Kim Sehyun’s voice became teary. It was an apologetic voice that made me feel bad for raising the issue. And then a cold voice rang out over the phone.
– Why are you crying?
– Ah… it’s nothing. Jaeha, I’m sorry. Let’s talk again later.
With a very cold and calm voice, Kim Sehyun hung up.
Ding!
At the same time, a notification sound rang. As I was hurriedly trying to open the game app, I suddenly saw a new comment pop up.
Comments (1)
Xq****: Wow, is this the scene where Haejun comforts Sehyun crying? I don’t like foreign elements, but it’s good to see progress in chapter 2
‘…It feels like I’ve become some kind of matchmaker.’
With an uneasy feeling, I turned my eyes away from the comments and opened the app. Given the notification sound, the quest must have been updated.
: *Contact Kim Sehyun*
Quest Rank: Tutorial
You have completed the quest. You will receive a reward!
Reward: Villain Sub-Character Title
What is this, a new title? I understand the villain part, but what does sub-character mean? I opened the character window and checked the new title.
The [Grand Life Master] title I’m currently wearing increases skill by 150, which can be obtained by maxing out all life professions. I worked hard on the grind to get it. I don’t know how much I struggled to be the first on the server to get it.
‘Let’s see…’
As I scrolled down the dense list of titles, I saw the [Villain Sub-Character] title.
[Villain Sub-Character] Increases omnidirectional aggro by 15%
What am I supposed to use this for!
As I frowned, saying “Ugh,” I heard the sound of comments being updated.
Comments (11)
Fe****: I like the fast development, I don’t like the foreign sub-character
└Wow, it surpassed 20 dislikes in an instant;;
└└It’s the foreign element that we dislike for no reason even though it hasn’t done much yet. I’m giving both likes and dislikes
└└└Moving to a house nearby, is this going to be a major plot point? I hope Haejun gets rid of him quickly lol
Fe****: After binge-reading, I’m commenting again out of anger. It’s totally unfair. It’s a guide bus, but until the latest chapter, they’re just holding hands and stringing us along
Did I talk that badly? For some reason, everyone seemed to hate me.
‘There must be a reason why everyone hates me, right?’
Manager Park’s words came to mind. Of all bodies to possess, it had to be the villain, so I’m hated here too.
Even though I haven’t really done anything yet, I haven’t slapped anyone with water like a drama villain, but I’ve become someone who ‘deserves to be gotten rid of’.
‘What happens if you die in a novel you’ve possessed?’
I don’t even know what happened to my original body after the traffic accident. Maybe I died and was possessed into this world.
If so, if I die here, will I possess another place?
‘I want to die and find peace, not die and loop forever…’
I couldn’t let myself be casually gotten rid of before knowing clearly what would happen to me.
Comments (11)
Po****: I’m binge-reading again after catching up to the current chapter, but Sehyun is too nice, so the F-class is acting up among S-classes for no reason. He keeps causing accidents in the dungeon, putting Sehyun in danger
└Please refrain from spoilers
GG****: For those curious about where Lee Jaeha gets dropped, it’s chapter 68
└Thank you
└└Whew, I thought it would be predictable so I wanted to skip, but I guess I can watch in 10-chapter intervals up to chapter 68
‘I cause accidents in the dungeon and put Kim Sehyun in danger?’
What on earth happens in chapter 68? For now, until I know whether I can return to the original world and why I was possessed, I shouldn’t be ‘dropped’ according to the original story…
I clenched my fists in tension and glared at the quest window that gave such a crappy reward.
“You vile quest window…”
Ding!
: *Go to the Awakened Center*
Quest Rank: Tutorial
Kim Sehyun has arranged a house for you. Let’s visit the Awakened Center to check out your new house.
Reward: ???
Where is the Awakened Center… As I thought this, my eyes widened as the expression of the system window, which had never changed before, changed.
Why… does it look surprised?