Ch.55. Reality Has No Foreshadowing

Rewinding time a bit, to the previous night.

“Huff.”

I was lying spread-eagle on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

It had been such a chaotic day that I wondered what all those things I experienced today even were.

“My head feels numb.”

If I closed my eyes quietly, I felt like I would fall asleep right away. So I rolled to the left.

I could see the gloomy black wallpaper. I reached out and stroked the wallpaper with my fingertips. It had a strangely rough texture. It felt more like sandpaper than wallpaper.

After touching it for a while, I rolled to the opposite side. The interior of the room came into full view.

The bed was black, the bookshelf and desk were black too. Why did he like black so much? The whole world was covered in black. Was he color-coordinating with his villain role?

“The atmosphere is nice though.”

But if the room is this dark, I probably won’t be able to see anything when the lights are off.

It was while I was having these pointless thoughts.

Suddenly, I wondered if I should really be this leisurely.

“…Isn’t this not the time for that?”

Thinking about it slowly, it really wasn’t.

Something’s strange. The events that followed the scenario I knew could be counted on one hand.

For some reason, the protagonist didn’t raise the homeroom teacher’s affection, and I—that is, “Han Siwoo”—even had a fiancée who didn’t exist in the original work.

So, who exactly is Hwa Nabi?

No matter how much I thought about it, she wasn’t a character from the original work. Spin-off, epilogue—she was a female student I couldn’t find anywhere in what I knew.

Would the conversation that Hwa Nabi and Han Siwoo had today have existed in the original work?

It wasn’t a question that would be answered by asking myself. That was beyond what I could guarantee.

Since the narrative perspective of the original “I Have too Many Girlfriends” was strictly first-person from the protagonist’s view, I didn’t know the details of events that happened “outside the story”—things that weren’t led by or involved the protagonist.

The only thing I could guarantee now was just one fact: the original story’s development had been twisted.

After reaching that conclusion, I suddenly got goosebumps on my forearm. But wasn’t this something that had been foreseen from the moment I decided not to fulfill Han Siwoo’s fate as a “villain”?

Han Siwoo in the original work was nothing but a villain who interfered with the protagonist. And not just any villain, but one who became increasingly vicious over time. Later on, he even committed kidnapping and blackmail, if I remember correctly.

For a high school villain, the scale of his actions was too large, and they were very unrealistic things. But don’t they say reality is stranger than fiction? All the crimes Han Siwoo committed were based on real events that the author had adapted.

I’ve been talking too much, but the point is that Han Siwoo would become an irredeemable delinquent in the near future. This isn’t slander—it’s just how the original story flows.

Han Siwoo probably, no, inevitably becomes a villain.

But I twisted that fate of Han Siwoo. The conflict with the heroine that was in the original work, the clash between Han Siwoo and the protagonist, became events that never happened.

With the original work changed like that, naturally the subsequent developments would be twisted too. In a way, it’s a natural flow. I was somewhat prepared for this.

But I never imagined things would get this complicated. Looking back now, I wonder if I should have just followed the predetermined course.

“…”

No, that’s not right either. If things had flowed according to the predetermined future, I would clearly have become a criminal before even finishing my first year. I’d rather die than accept such a future.

“Sigh…”

I interlocked my fingers behind my head. In the end, despite everything, it was a given that I wouldn’t play the villain.

In other words, the future would continue to change like this, and now even I couldn’t guarantee the flow of the scenario.

But just because the future has become unknown doesn’t mean I can sit back and wait.

After all, I haven’t completely escaped the shackles of being a villain yet. The event I avoided was just one minor incident from the early part of the story. To use a game analogy, I had just finished the tutorial.

There are still numerous incidents and accidents in the story that could make Han Siwoo a villain. Until I avoid all those villainous movements, I’m in a state where I could become a villain at any time—like a time bomb.

“Hmm.”

It feels a bit unsettling to compare myself to a bomb. Anyway, the time limit of this “time bomb state” that I’ve named myself is probably about a year from now.

Why a year? Because the “first-year graduation ceremony,” when the protagonist’s perspective jumps to two years in the future, is a year away.

When the protagonist’s “female friends,” who get flagged at a rate of almost one per month, reach twelve, the main story of “I Have too Many Girlfriends” ends. The narration about the supporting characters probably ends around that time too.

In other words, if I can get through until the first-year graduation ceremony without causing any trouble, I can finally escape the shackles of being a villain.

Then, what should I do first to create that safe future?

The first possibility that came to mind was transferring schools or dropping out. After all, the best way to avoid being a villain is to not get involved with the protagonist at all.

However, Han Siwoo’s parents would never allow it. Chungha Highschool is, according to the setting, the best high school in Korea—a private school that only the top 1% can enter, whether by grades or wealth. Even if I were Han Siwoo’s parent, I would strongly object to dropping out.

So this method is automatically rejected. My mind naturally moved to the next approach.

“I guess I’ll have to keep attending school.”

Actually, if transferring or dropping out isn’t an option, this is the only way. As I said, I’ll continue going to school but try to avoid getting involved with the protagonist as much as possible—that would be the next best option.

But that’s not as easy as it sounds. Excluding the heroines, the supporting character who gets involved with the protagonist the most is naturally the villain, Han Siwoo, which means they clash frequently.

If just one of the many conflicts from the original work becomes reality, I’ll be on the villain track at that moment.

To avoid such unfortunate events, I need to make all those incidents non-existent.

And the way to make those incidents non-existent is very simple.

“I just need to avoid them all.”

It wasn’t completely unreasonable. The conflicts between the protagonist and Han Siwoo in the story are finite, and if I know their origins and developments in advance, I should be able to avoid them.

For that, I first need to have a detailed understanding of the events and incidents in the story.

And trying to recall all of those things from memory each time has its limitations. Even though I understand almost all the events of the original work, human memory isn’t perfect.

I thought it would be better to write everything down somewhere before I forget. So I picked up my phone and opened the notes app. And as I moved my finger to type…

Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind.

“…Isn’t this a bit risky?”

Using a phone for such notes felt somehow unsafe.

It’s not just a simple exaggeration—the phone I currently have has lost all its existing contacts, photos, videos, and everything else due to some unknown magic.

Can I guarantee that the notes app would be safe?

I don’t know for sure, but it’s probably not 100% safe. It could disappear at any time.

Then where would be a good place to write it down?

As I was pondering, rubbing my chin, my eyes momentarily caught a notebook on the bookshelf.

“Ah.”

Right, why didn’t I think of this? If digital methods don’t work, I can just write it down by hand.

I immediately went to the bookshelf and pulled out a notebook. At first glance, it looked like a brand new notebook with no signs of use. Still, to check if anything was written in it, I flipped through it quickly.

Thud.

I closed the notebook in less than 10 seconds. The inside was so clean that I wondered if it really belonged to a student.

“Does he not study?”

It could have been kept as a spare, so I thought I might be judging too hastily. So I looked through several other books, including reference books and notebooks.

As a result…

“He really doesn’t study, huh.”

That was my conclusion. Well, if he had been the type to study hard, he wouldn’t have been openly suspected of cheating just because his test scores improved.

The interrogation I experienced today was at a level that would only be possible for someone who had completely given up on studying.

“Tsk.”

Well, whether Han Siwoo studies well or not doesn’t matter to me. Actually, it’s better this way. At least no one will suddenly come looking to peek at my notes.

I opened the notebook. The purpose was, of course, to write down everything I remembered.

On the first page of the unlined notebook, I wrote the word “Original” in the center. Next, branching out from “Original,” I wrote down the events that happened in the story.

Starting with what came to mind first, after writing everything down, about 10 minutes had passed.

“Why are there so many?”

I didn’t realize it when I was just recalling them in my head, but now that I’ve listed them in order, there are really a lot of events.

Just counting the major ones scheduled for the first semester: school trip, festival, exchange meeting with students from other schools, meeting with seniors…

True to being a school in a light novel, studying takes a backseat, and it’s full of events for meeting people. Parents would probably get angry if they saw the school schedule. With such trivial observations, I continued to fill in the details.

Events far in the future at the back, near events at the front. Following this kind of rule, I wrote them down. As a result, a calendar-like schedule for the future was completed.

“Hmm.”

Tap tap, I lightly tapped the notebook with my pen. First, the event right in front of me caught my eye.

The date is March 3rd. That’s tomorrow, and the event is “Class President Election.”

Chungha Highschool elects separate male and female class presidents and vice presidents. The reason is for the student records. The more you have to write, the better. It’s strangely realistic in this aspect.

“How did it go again?”

That doesn’t matter. What’s important is the result. After thinking briefly, I remembered right away.

The male class president becomes the protagonist, and the female class president becomes Jinhee. I don’t know who becomes the vice president. It wasn’t that important, as there was no separate mention of it.

Nothing much happens after that. Han Siwoo wasn’t the type to seek attention, so he didn’t run for class president, nor did he pick a fight with the protagonist over it.

Tomorrow will probably be an uneventful day. Still, I should be a bit careful just in case. Having made that judgment, I finished organizing and closed the notebook.

“Ugh.”

As soon as I lay down on the bed, drowsiness came over me. I didn’t resist and closed my eyes.

And then, the next day arrived.

*

Time passed, and it was morning assembly time.

“A transfer student is coming to our class?”

“Yeah, that’s what they said at the faculty office.”

As I was absentmindedly looking out the window, having no one to chat with, strange information flowed into my ears.

In light novels, new characters typically appear after the relationship between the protagonist and heroine has progressed to some extent. But a transfer student already, when school has only been in session for a few days? Something seemed off.

Of course, there are transfer students who come to Chungha High. But that’s not to Class A, but to other classes, and it’s scheduled for after April.

“But why transfer right after school starts? Isn’t that a lie?”

“What’s the point of lying about this? If you don’t believe it, go ask yourself.”

“We’ll see. If it’s a lie, I’ll rip your mouth.”

It was at that moment, while the students in front were exchanging fierce words…

“Good morning, everyone!”

With a cheerful exclamation that was hard to believe came from a teacher, the sliding door of the classroom opened with a clatter. Through the opened front door came not one person, but two.

One was the homeroom teacher of Class A, and the other was a female student with a somehow familiar face.

“Huh.”

My eyes widened involuntarily. Why is she here?

She’s a girl, she’s pretty, she’s wearing an unfamiliar uniform, is she a transfer student? And so on… Students began to chat among themselves. The whole class buzzed at the appearance of a new face.

“Alright, everyone, quiet! Suddenly, we have a transfer student in our class! Now, transfer student? Could you introduce yourself?”

“Yes.”

The way the transfer student walked to the podium, naturally flipping her hair, seemed like slow motion to me.

It wasn’t that I was newly smitten with her appearance or anything cliché like that… I just couldn’t believe the scene before my eyes.

“Hello everyone, as introduced, I’m a student who transferred today. My name is Hwa Nabi. I came from Yewol High School.”

After finishing her self-introduction, Hwa Nabi winked one eye. That gaze seemed to be directed at me, but it must have been my imagination.

“Okay, since it’s morning and we don’t have much time, the introduction ends here. If you have questions, you can have a Q&A session after the teacher leaves. Now, let’s see. For your seat… Ah, you can sit next to Siwoo. That’s the only empty spot.”

As she said, the only empty seat in the classroom was next to me. There were many other seats, but no brave soul wanted to sit next to a rumored delinquent. It was a natural result.

“Yes, thank you.”

Hwa Nabi approached with an indifferent expression and took her seat at the desk next to mine.

As if I didn’t matter at all. The series of actions—hanging her bag, taking out her writing tools, preparing for class—made me feel so dumbfounded.

So I said something.

“Was this what you meant by ‘see you tomorrow’?”

The answer that came back was even more shocking.

Hwa Nabi smiled at me and said:

“It was a surprise I planned. Did you enjoy it?”