It became extremely unsettling.
In fact, I did have my doubts. Unless they were acting terrifyingly, there was no reason for kids from rich families to prostrate themselves like that.
But still, making someone disappear or setting a building on fire… that could happen, I suppose.
Yeah, even in the reality I used to live in, bizarre situations often smacked me in the face, coming straight out of fiction. Besides, it’s a cliché in these kinds of stories for wealthy people to physically bully those without money.
Moreover, Ye Sara genuinely wanted to do something about Yoo Ha-neul in the original work.
…So, it became even more unsettling.
Thinking that my actions might lead to something happening to my friends made me consider whether I should just end those relationships now.
The only reason I’m still hesitating is that it’s still in the realm of ‘rumor.’
If there had been solid evidence that Choi Na-kyung acted that way, I would’ve distanced myself from my friends right away. I really didn’t want them to get hurt because of me.
If someone were to approach violently… too many bad thoughts came to mind.
No matter how it was, I never thought I could do anything to Lee Soo-ah, the daughter of a well-known family. But it’s different with Ha Neul and Sohee. Plus, Sohee has her little sister Sori to think about.
No matter how much I tried to avoid negative imaginations, they kept invading my mind.
…Should I just move my family into this mansion?
It would be possible if I wanted to. But I didn’t think they’d appreciate it. Even if I tried to confine them against their will, I’m sure it would not sit well with them.
Besides, that sort of thing isn’t really far from what Choi Na-kyung does.
…..
For now, it might be best to find that boy Ye Sara talked to in her childhood. I don’t know what happened to him, but at least uncovering that process should clarify if what Choi Na-kyung did was true or not.
“Sarah.”
After a long silence, Ha Neul gave my arm a light tap.
“Ugh.”
Caught off guard, I let out a weird sound without realizing it.
…But really, why am I like this? I never made such sounds when I was a guy. It’s not like I’ve never been startled before, but it’s not like I was making these weird noises either.
Could this also be some kind of instinct ingrained in Ye Sara’s body?
I don’t think we saw such a clumsy side of her in the original.
Maybe it’s because the original perspective was entirely from Yoo Ha-neul, who was thoroughly bullied by Ye Sara. As a developer, there wouldn’t have been a need to create anything that could shine positively on Ye Sara.
…Or maybe it’s all just a setup for the Ye Sara route later.
Yeah, there was definitely a Ye Sara route in this game. Since I only saw the Yoon Da-ho route and the Shin So-hee route, which didn’t mention the background at all, I didn’t realize that Ye Sara was in such a situation. But if a player somehow gets into the Ye Sara route, they’d need a story that makes them sympathize with Ye Sara, who was ‘evil’ after all.
The bad actions Ye Sara took could have either been her desperate struggles or misunderstandings. It could be a mix of both.
…But doesn’t this make Yoon Da-ho a much worse guy than I thought he was?
I understand that he dislikes Ye Sara for some reason, and that he didn’t want the engagement, but if Yoon Da-ho gets together with Yoo Ha-neul, it means he kicked Ye Sara aside ‘while knowing about all that situation.’
Also, I’ve already seen the Yoon Da-ho route. Of course, I haven’t seen it all, but I have watched highlights from streamers.
Yoon Da-ho never mentions Ye Sara’s backstory.
Eventually, he breaks off his engagement with Ye Sara and gets together with Yoo Ha-neul.
…Did that really happen just because he liked Yoo Ha-neul?
Or was he just trying to use Yoo Ha-neul to rid himself of Ye Sara?
I remembered the expression Yoon Da-ho had when he saw me last time. It wasn’t the usual disdainful look he’d have—it was something refreshing. It seemed like he was telling me to do my best.
“…Sarah.”
“Ah, yeah.”
After responding once, while I was still lost in thought, Ha Neul tugged at my arm again. Only then did I manage to answer properly.
“Don’t worry too much about the story you heard today.”
Ha Neul looked into my face with concern and said,
“… .”
I couldn’t bring myself to respond.
What could I say? Knowing the future, or rather, because I knew it, I dragged the heroines into the mess to try and avoid the destruction I’d face. In reality, these three weren’t even characters who should’ve been involved if I hadn’t either approached or allowed them to approach. If I had stayed quiet, Yoo Ha-neul would’ve just ended up having her romance and happily ever after.
“…So.”
I said that just so Ha Neul wouldn’t worry, but… how could I not care?
Since I pulled them into this, it was my responsibility to protect them.
…In the end, because of those thoughts, I couldn’t focus on studying that day.
Well, I didn’t think it would change anything even if I tried to focus.
*
If I had my way, I would want to sleep over at Sarah’s house.
But if I stayed over this time, I’d end up thinking about that again and again.
Even so, I couldn’t go that far. I had already seen my family worrying about me because I’ve been silent and lost in thought at home these days. They’d already be concerned about me coming home late, so staying over frequently would be too much.
…So, it made Yoo Ha-neul incredibly frustrated that she even had these thoughts.
Sohee and Sua both confidently moved out and lived with Sarah, while she couldn’t even think of doing that—it made her furious.
She could at least think about staying over for a day or so. But venturing away from family and going home like this… felt somewhat wrong.
Perhaps it was because she had learned that from childhood.
Lately, she felt like that foundation was slowly crumbling, but Yoo Ha-neul’s personality was to study hard what they say at school and to think she must live just like that.
Anything wrong should be corrected right away, and nothing should just be overlooked.
And because of that, she also thought she shouldn’t do wrong things.
But after attending Hwayoung High School, her thoughts changed.
Truly wrong people do not realize what is wrong with them. It’s natural, and so they break rules without a second thought.
And to oppose such individuals, one must break the rules as well.
Unless you hit them once, they never realize why they should stop doing such things anyway.
Yoo Ha-neul realized this less than a month into attending Hwayoung High School.
She didn’t feel thankful toward those who made her realize this. If there hadn’t been anyone she liked among them, Yoo Ha-neul would’ve tried to quit school long ago.
…Yeah, someone she liked.
Up until now, she thought of it as a sort of possessiveness toward her friends. A normal jealousy, she concluded, something fleeting.
But it wasn’t.
The more people gathered around Sarah, the more she interacted with others apart from her, the more unsettled Yoo Ha-neul felt.
What should I do?
How can I become closer than those people?
How can I stay close without falling apart?
Those thoughts spun through her head throughout the class.
…If Sarah thought about spending her life with someone and that person wasn’t herself, could Yoo Ha-neul endure that?
Yeah, the truth is, Yoo Ha-neul couldn’t say anything to Sarah. Just as much as she couldn’t concentrate, Sarah couldn’t concentrate either during class.
Not yet.
Not yet, I lack the courage and conditions to rush in like that.
Even amid all that, Yoo Ha-neul kept thinking this way.
“…”
After her three friends sent her off, Yoo Ha-neul stared at them walking away for a while before she turned and started walking. It seemed that the weather was beginning to transition from winter to spring; it wasn’t particularly cold.
It wasn’t cold, but she had no intentions of having a chat outside.
Where Yoo Ha-neul headed was a café tucked away in a corner. She had been there several times before. It was a café that used high-quality beans and had delicious tiramisu, contrary to its looks.
She ordered a cup of coffee and sat down in a corner of the sparsely populated café.
And waited.
After a long wait, the person she had been looking forward to finally entered the café.
It was Yang Hye-in, who was wearing a black coat—someone she had seen before. She probably had a maid outfit underneath that coat.
Yang Hye-in entered the café without looking rushed, placed her order, and casually walked over to where Yoo Ha-neul was sitting, as if it had been pre-arranged from the start.
Then, she took out a note from her coat pocket, unfolded it, and placed it in front of Yoo Ha-neul.
[After going back, at that café we saw last time.]
The note, written on a torn corner of a notebook, was in Yoo Ha-neul’s handwriting.
Yoo Ha-neul nodded with a stern face at Yang Hye-in, who was gazing intently at her.
Yang Hye-in gracefully took a seat in the empty chair in front of her.
“May I ask why you called for me separately?”
“It’s because of this.”
Yoo Ha-neul took out the notebook that Sarah had written in. It was a notebook he had brought with him under the pretense of reading it and pointing out areas needing correction, with only a few pages filled in.
“…”
Yang Hye-in took the notebook from Yoo Ha-neul and flipped through its pages while reading a few.
“This notebook is—”
“It’s Sarah’s notebook.”
Before Yang Hye-in could finish her sentence, Yoo Ha-neul interrupted.
“We got together to study today. This is what Sarah wrote.”
“…”
Yang Hye-in looked at the notebook once again. Her eyes widened slightly. Since she usually had a fixed expression, that change felt even more dramatic than it might have normally.
“Do you realize something is off?”
“…”
Yang Hye-in opened her mouth once and then closed it again.
Then, she carefully examined the front part of the notebook while flipping through the pages.
…However, there was still too little written in the front part to have been worth flipping through for several minutes.
“At this point, do you understand?”
Yoo Ha-neul said.
“If that’s Sarah’s handwriting.”
Yang Hye-in nodded. Although she hasn’t said anything yet, it was clear that her eyes were shaking a bit.
“Who wrote that will you showed me?”
…Yoo Ha-neul still wasn’t in a condition to run ahead like others.
Then, wouldn’t it be better to run toward the direction where others wouldn’t go?
That’s what she thought.
