I Don’t Want to be a Villainess – Chapter 112

It was a graduation ceremony that I wouldn’t have attended under normal circumstances.

Even if I had attended, it would have been better not to.

Throughout middle school, I was like a non-existent person, but strangely enough, my grades were average, and it was recorded that I had never missed school, left early, or been late.

It must have been to avoid drawing attention from others.

Yes, that must have been the reason.

If a chaebol’s daughter skipped too much school and got expelled because of it, it would have already been a scandal.

Whatever the reason, that person attended the graduation ceremony.

I was sure no one would have spoken to her the entire time she sat in the classroom.

Did that person also know the loneliness of being ignored?

And on the way back from finishing the graduation ceremony, a miracle happened.

“I see.”

I mumbled as I stared at the picture on the smartphone screen.

It wasn’t my smartphone.

It was Lee Soo-ah’s smartphone.

She said the photo was taken during our middle school graduation.

A picture taken together in front of the middle school gate, as if leaving behind evidence.

It must have been the first time she had taken a picture with someone other than her family, but ‘I’ was smiling softly.

On the contrary, Lee Soo-ah, who was standing next to me, looked more nervous, her face flushed and stiff.

The first person who spoke to me at school was Lee Soo-ah.

Perhaps that was what had stirred some emotion in ‘me’.

The emotion I felt while looking at the picture was joy.

It was so faint that I couldn’t describe it in detail.

Seeing Lee Soo-ah talking to me made me feel ‘joy’.

“You were the first person who spoke to me.”

When I murmured that, Lee Soo-ah’s face turned bright red, just like in the photo.

It was cute.

I found myself thinking that it would be nice to have a younger sister like her.

But that would mean having completely different parents.

…Maybe growing up in a different family wouldn’t have been so bad.

I had memories of my father.

But I barely had any memories of my mother.

Wouldn’t it have been better if I had been born into a more harmonious family, even if we didn’t have as much wealth?

I wondered what that person would have thought.

…Well, at the very least, no matter what situation or thoughts they had, they probably wouldn’t have given up and run away.

“No, it’s not just because I talked to you.”

Lee Soo-ah, her face still red, spoke as if to explain herself.

“I just spoke to you, but you were the one who accepted it…”

The bodyguard who had followed me seemed to want to prevent me from responding.

It was understandable.

That must have been the task they were ordered to do, and since they were paid for it, they had to fulfill that task.

But it seemed that person didn’t think the same way.

With just a few words, that person smoothly brushed off the bodyguard, took a cool photo with Lee Soo-ah, and left without any regrets.

…Although Lee Soo-ah didn’t express it exactly like that, based on her tone and the emotions in her words, she must have felt that way.

“I see.”

If it were me, I wouldn’t have been able to answer Lee Soo-ah either.

I might have missed the chance to make my first real friend in my life.

…No matter how I think about it, she was different from me.

*

“…”

I silently stared at Yoo Ha-neul.

Yoo Ha-neul, receiving my gaze, was sweating profusely.

Even Shin So-hee, who usually loved hugging me, seemed to sense something from my expression and quietly stepped back, clearing a path for me.

We were still in the classroom.

Although it was before class started, the kids were relatively quiet.

Well, it was always like this.

Whether I was there or not, the atmosphere was different from middle school where everyone chatted noisily.

It must have been because of that person who once took control of the entire school.

Not that it made much of a difference to us, as we didn’t really care.

“So, you’re saying I was on top of you?”

When I slowly opened my mouth and asked, Yoo Ha-neul nodded.

“Yes.”

“During class.”

“Yeah.”

“In front of everyone.”

“…That’s right.”

The other kids’ gazes on me were ones of ‘curiosity’.

Since they didn’t seem surprised, I probably did something like that at some point.

…Why?

“To draw attention from others.”

Yoo Ha-neul, seeing my expression, explained the reason.

“…”

I didn’t know how to respond to that.

It seemed that ever since coming to this school, that person had constantly tried to draw attention.

Disrupting the teachers’ classes or openly insulting them, it seemed like a kind of warning.

And the most obvious way to draw attention at school was to do something that ‘rationally, should never be done’.

Alright, I roughly understood.

I just didn’t expect that she would actually do something like that.

…It felt like the illusion I had of that person was shattering a bit.

How should I put it, I always thought of her as someone who carefully planned everything and handled things step by step according to her plan, but now I realized she just acted impulsively as things came to mind.

That didn’t mean I didn’t want to meet her, though.

“So, that…”

When I couldn’t finish my sentence, Yoo Ha-neul took a deep breath and spoke.

“Yes, that was the most ‘intense’ experience I had with you.”

Yes, I was the one who had asked her to tell me about her most intense memory.

And Yoo Ha-neul simply responded to that request.

I wanted to ask the kid sitting behind or in front of me to confirm, but I didn’t have the courage to talk to someone else yet.

“…Okay.”

Honestly, more than anything, I wasn’t sure if I could trust their words over Yoo Ha-neul’s.

So I had no choice but to accept it and move on.

As we fell into a brief silence, the classroom door creaked open.

The teacher entered without saying a word, and the class bell rang at the same time, right on cue.

“Alright, everyone, settle down.”

The teacher glanced in our direction before opening the attendance book.

As attendance was called and class began, I thought to myself.

The reason I was able to return to the surface was because I encountered my most intense memory.

Which means, if I can access the intense memories that person experienced while inhabiting this body, I might be able to reverse things.

After all, there’s no rule that says the process only works one way.

The most intense memory that person has is too dangerous to use.

It might take too long, and it’s uncertain if piecing together fragments of memories would even work.

…In that case.

What if I triggered one of those particularly intense memories?

“…”

To be honest, I felt a bit reluctant.

Not because I’d be doing this with a girl.

It was more… for emotional reasons.

Yes, it was because I had to do this with ‘Yoo Ha-neul’.

It’s not that I disliked Yoo Ha-neul.

If someone asked me if I liked her or not, I would answer ‘yes’.

But that feeling didn’t mean I wanted to do ‘that kind of thing’ with Yoo Ha-neul.

Still, if it’s the way to bring that person back without causing pain…

I had no reason not to do it.

Alright, fine.

I took a deep breath.

Then, pushing my chair back, I stood up.

“Ye Sara?”

I heard the teacher calling my name, but I ignored it.

Sensing that something was off as I walked toward Yoo Ha-neul, the teacher shouted something, but I couldn’t hear it.

My heart was pounding hard.

Was it because I was nervous about what I was about to do?

Or was it because I was getting closer to that ‘intense memory’, and that person’s memory was about to awaken?

I hoped it was the latter.

I felt a kind of embarrassment I wouldn’t have normally felt, coursing through my whole body.

The teacher was frantically calling my name, while the other kids stared at me with wide eyes.

As if they knew what was about to happen.

…Seeing their reactions, it seemed like Yoo Ha-neul’s story was true after all.

The three of us—Yoo Ha-neul, Shin So-hee, and I—had left the classroom several times.

I wondered what they thought back then.

As everyone stared at me, I tried not to tremble.

Then, I approached Yoo Ha-neul, who was looking up at me with wide eyes, and said,

“Would you mind pulling your chair back?”

Yoo Ha-neul, smart as she was, seemed to understand my request clearly.

“…Are you going to do it?”

“Yes.”

“…”

At my response, Yoo Ha-neul lowered her head and remained silent for a moment before nodding.

Screech.

The sound of the chair being dragged back echoed.

“…”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

Alright, let’s see what happens.

…The reason I’ve ended up making such reckless decisions is entirely that person’s fault.

…When I meet her, I won’t let her get away with it.

That’s what I decided.

I slowly spread my legs.

Then, in a slightly awkward posture, I lowered myself onto Yoo Ha-neul’s thighs.

They were softer and more supple than I expected.

It wasn’t uncomfortable.

Unexpectedly, the skirt and underwear seemed to be made of thin material.

The raw sensation and warmth made me shiver slightly.

My breathing became erratic.

Was it just because I was embarrassed?

“…W-What do I do now…?”

I asked with my eyes closed, and Yoo Ha-neul grabbed my hand without a word.

A foolish sound escaped my lips,

“Uhh.”

My hands must have landed on Yoo Ha-neul’s shoulders.

I felt hands wrapping around my waist,

“Ehh…”

And my upper body being pulled forward, close.

Warm air brushed against my lips.

“…Back then, Sara had her eyes open.”

“…”

Yoo Ha-neul whispered.

I could no longer hear the surrounding noise.

Only the sound of my heartbeat echoed in my ears.

“How about opening your eyes?”

Yes, all of this was to meet that person.

I took a deep breath and immediately regretted it.

The warm air that had touched my face rushed into my mouth, catching me off guard.

I was lucky I didn’t cough.

Holding my breath, I opened my eyes.

Yoo Ha-neul was staring directly at me.

Our eyes met head-on, and our heartbeats overlapped.

A ringing sound filled my ears.

…Slowly, I could feel my consciousness fading away.