Ch.129The Resemblance Is Uncanny (1)

The morning I woke up and stood in front of the mirror, I was still the same Miss Ban Do-young.

A situation where consistency was not supposed to happen.

“Huh?”

I thought my eyes, still drowsy from sleep, were seeing a familiar face in the mirror.

After removing the eye crust and splashing cold water on my face, I stood in front of the mirror again.

*Tap*

A habit from my days as Miss Ban Do-young remained—I lightly tapped my forehead after washing my face.

With a slight uneasiness at the unusually clear and beautiful sound, I closed my eyes and spoke to the mirror as if casting a spell.

“Mirror, mirror, who am I?”

But once again, without fail, the mirror reflected not my original self,

but the most beautiful person in the world of “Half of Half-Island.”

“Excellent, Sister Ban Do-young.”

*Clap clap clap*

I found myself applauding that bare face tightened by cold water friction,

that soft and lovely face with slightly rosy cheeks.

*Clap clap clap*

“…but why am I still Sister Ban Do-young?”

Only after about 20 seconds of not-so-brief applause did I realize

the gravity of the fact that it was Sister Ban Do-young, not Mister Ban Do-young, standing in front of the mirror.

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“Strange… I thought I’d completed all possible events in this all-ages webtoon.”

I was half expectant, half anxious.

I thought I had done everything I could in this world.

But they say that even a 50-50 chance feels more uncertain than one in three when it comes to success.

That half-expectation betrayed me pleasantly by showing Miss Ban Do-young’s face in front of me when I woke up.

At least it was Miss Ban Do-young’s face;

if it had been even slightly less attractive, I would have driven my fist into that mirror without a second thought.

“Maybe I missed something besides the confession. We held hands, I let him use my chest and lap as pillows, even showed him my underwear that day I was late…”

The world of “Half of Half-Island” was strictly set in a modern, everyday youth romance.

There was no way status windows or quest screens would exist.

If they did, I wouldn’t have had to struggle to find a way back to my original world.

I wouldn’t have needed to form uncertain hypotheses about returning after receiving a confession from Do Ha-min and concluding the story.

“What else did I do… I took photos with my phone during all the good events… I even kissed him during midterms thanks to the April Fool’s buff… Oh, and I think I sent him a photo of me bathing.”

Without status or quest windows, I couldn’t rely solely on memory to review my actions.

I opened my phone gallery to look back at the time I’d spent as Miss Ban Do-young.

Half of the photos were taken with the intention of teasing Ha-min, capturing moments that would embarrass him,

but thanks to that, I had records of the major events to look back on.

“I’ve done all the big things. Except for giving my virginity, I think I’ve done everything…”

Soon it will be three months since I was possessed as Miss Ban Do-young.

Whether it was because I diligently fulfilled the main heroine’s role and progressed quickly,

or because the original work’s ending came faster than expected, I wasn’t sure,

but watching Do Ha-min gradually grow both physically and mentally,

I could tell that the world of “Half of Half-Island” was inching closer to its conclusion.

That’s why I had been gradually preparing myself.

“That socially awkward nerd has even taken off his glasses and changed his clothes and hair to match that girl’s taste…”

During preparations for the school trip, he even took the initiative

to plan a confession without any prompting from me.

The shy protagonist gradually changing to a more proactive attitude and growing—

it was clear evidence that “Half of Half-Island” had entered its climax.

Seeing how the boy who had been the shortest among the boys in class had even hit a growth spurt and started catching up with the others, anyone could guess the conclusion was near, with both mental and physical growth progressing steadily.

And somehow, after the confession, he had built up quite the prince charming image by saving Miss Ban Do-young from drowning.

“And they lived happily ever after” was a closing line meant for the ‘real’ Miss Ban Do-young, not me.

The role of someone possessed is to bring the work to its climax,

not to steal the happy ending meant for them.

“Unless…”

While thinking about what I still hadn’t done with Ha-min,

my gaze naturally drifted downward.

“Do I have to… give my virginity directly?”

Beyond my lowered gaze was the last unopened label.

The one named virginity.

“Student Ban Do-young! Good morning! I thought you might be hungry today, so I came early! I even made those rice balls you said were delicious yesterday…!”

While I was worrying about virginity,

Teacher Miso, who had been a virgin until a few days ago, came to my room with an energetic face.

“Oh? Student Do-young? Are you alright…? Why are you wrapped up in your blanket like that?”

“It’s nothing, I just felt a strange sensation from the cold air coming between my legs.”

“My goodness, is the morning air still that cold? Your voice sounds much better than yesterday, though.”

Teacher Miso placed the plate of rice balls down and brought her forehead to Miss Ban Do-young’s forehead.

“Hmm… you don’t seem to have a fever. Is there anywhere that hurts specifically?”

“Would it help if I told you about places that might hurt in the future?”

Like, for instance, the pain when losing one’s virginity.

Ah, should I ask the person right in front of me?

“If nothing hurts specifically right now, would you be okay joining the others for today’s activities? Sahyang, Hyerang, and of course Ha-min have all been very worried about you.”

“Ah, well… with this much energy, I should be fine once I get some sunlight…”

Just as I was about to agree to join the third day’s activities following Teacher Miso’s suggestion,

I remembered Do Ha-min’s face from yesterday when we parted after a slight argument.

“Ugh…!”

“Do-young! What’s wrong? Why are you kicking your blanket like it’s your enemy?”

“Aaargh! It’s like when you have a great time with a friend who’s transferring schools tomorrow, say ‘let’s meet again when we’re adults’ and part ways cleanly… only to awkwardly run into them at the crosswalk five minutes later…!”

“Eh? Wh-what are you talking about?”

With half expectation and half anxiety,

I had given Do Ha-min my final advice and farewell, fearing that if even half of my expectations came true, there would be no turning back.

I had even provoked his anger with clumsy lies to ensure a clean break.

But after delivering such farewell lines, the thought of shamelessly facing Do Ha-min again filled even the great Ban Do-young with embarrassment.

And to make matters worse, I had whispered to his back as he left that I had liked him more than I thought…

I simply couldn’t face Do Ha-min in my current state.

“I’m sorry, Teacher Miso. I don’t think I can go out today.”

And so I declined the third day’s activities and remained alone in my room.

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“Status window! Quest window!”

Perhaps they had existed all along but hadn’t appeared because I hadn’t called for them.

Left alone in the room, with my self-control weakened by medicine and lingering illness, I reached out into the empty air.

“Achievement window! Stat window!”

I didn’t care if people said it made no sense.

If not that, then at least let me hear the author’s comments or the voice of God.

“Help me, God, Buddha, passing Zelnaga!”

If it doesn’t end with receiving a confession,

at least tell me what ending I need to reach to return to my original world.

“Miss Ban Do-young… what exactly do you want from me? I’ve done everything. Ha-min is quite a decent guy now. Shouldn’t you come do the unboxing yourself? Or is his thing too big and scary, is that it?”

But raising my voice uselessly only made it hoarser.

True to its nature as a youth romance webtoon, the empty room was filled only with my lamentations borrowed through Miss Ban Do-young’s voice.

“If you stay silent like this and I actually develop real feelings for that guy, what are you going to do then…”

Neither the voice of God, nor the author’s comments,

nor the voice of the ‘real’ Miss Ban Do-young sleeping somewhere inside me—

none of these reached my ears.

“If there’s still something left to do, tell me now. I’ll ask one more time and then I’m never looking for you again.”

Even if no answer came, if someone was listening,

if my possession of Miss Ban Do-young was clearly someone’s intention,

I addressed whoever it might be into the empty air.

“Virginity window!”

“Stop it, you crazy bitch.”

My solitary rebellion ended only after Hyerang, who had returned from the excursion, responded—

not a status window, not God.

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And so, without finding any answers or goals,

I had to face Do Ha-min, who had brought a reconciliation gift for Miss Ban Do-young.

“Ban Do-young, I like you.”

“…”

I, not Miss Ban Do-young, had now heard that confession twice.

Those words of affection weren’t meant for me to hear.

There was someone more deserving to hear them.

“…Even if that were true, from now on you should like the ‘real’ Ban Do-young.”

“The Ban Do-young I like isn’t in the future.”

You should like her.

The future Miss Ban Do-young.

Much more than the current me.

“What if I tell you I don’t like someone like you, not even half of half?”

“Then I’ll have to create new reasons. Reasons for you to like me, Do-young.”

You shouldn’t create them with me.

The person you should be creating those reasons with is someone else.

What was lacking that she still hasn’t returned?

“Here. It’s nothing compared to what you’ve given me so far.”

“…What’s this?”

“Open it.”

Do Ha-min, who offered a small gift box seeking reconciliation even though it wasn’t his fault.

By now, I didn’t feel so bad about him being by Miss Ban Do-young’s side.

No, maybe that’s just my own delusion.

Perhaps I’ve finally developed feelings too.

But the more Do Ha-min grew into the proper protagonist of this world,

the more I felt that this gift wasn’t meant for me.

That nerdy Do Ha-min had grown this much.

Why was I still here as Miss Ban Do-young in this world?

I couldn’t shake that question.

“A bracelet…”

“It’s… a bracelet with words you want to say to someone you like. I chose one with what I wanted to say to you, Do-young.”

“…”

“The color is pretty and… it’s supposed to have a lime scent. I thought it would suit you well.”

I brought my wrist with his overly generous gift close to my face.

“The words you wanted to say to me…? ‘Love Your Family♥’?”

“…Huh?”

“And this… it doesn’t smell like lime, it smells like mango.”

A sweet fragrance hit my nose.

The exact same mango scent as the mango-flavored cola I despise wafted from the bracelet.

“Oh no, that’s the one I got for Scarlet… Why is that…”

“What? Who’s Scarlet? What kind of girl is she that she gets gifts like this from you, Do Ha-min?”

The orange bracelet that seemed less and less like something I should have with each look—

it truly wasn’t a gift meant for Miss Ban Do-young.

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On the morning of the fourth and final day of the school trip,

I was still here as Miss Ban Do-young, despite thinking I would have returned to my original world.

“This is the worst, seriously. How can you mix up gifts? It’s bad enough you got a gift for another girl, but you even switched them?”

“No… anyone would think a lime-scented green bracelet would be wrapped with a green ribbon. I definitely used different colored ribbons to distinguish them.”

“And you’re saying this now? Just because my eyes are green doesn’t mean my pubic hair is green too!”

“Th-that’s different! If you had to make a comparison, use hair color, not eye color!”

“Yes, great comparison! Why not compare it to a restaurant while you’re at it?”

It was truly the worst school trip.

The butler costume I worked hard to get had its chest buttons pop off,

I received a romantic confession only to nearly drown right after,

and not only did I fail to return to my original world,

but the gift I received was an irritating mango-scented bracelet.

I wonder if the real Miss Ban Do-young would be able to remember this high school trip fondly.

At least I’ll remember it as the worst of the worst.

“I-I know I was wrong, so that bracelet… you don’t have to wear it if you don’t like it.”

“No. I’m going to keep wearing it.”

“Why… why?”

Unlike yesterday when I couldn’t find my bearings,

I was beginning to see what unfinished business I still had.

“Because wearing this lets me spread rumors that Do Ha-min is such a nerd he can’t even keep track of gifts for his girlfriend.”

“Wh-what kind of reason is that?! That’s even more reason not to wear it! Take it off right now!”

“I don’t want to. I’ll take it off the day you completely shed your nerd image.”

Making Do Ha-min into a man that even the ‘real’ Miss Ban Do-young would accept—

that was probably the final task left for me.

Well, I guess I have no choice.

I’ll have to stay as Miss Ban Do-young a little longer.