Chapter 45
‘I’m tired.’
Baek I-hae was yawning as she stepped out of the house, unable to rest even on the weekend.
On her phone, as she sent a message saying she was heading out, a sky-blue rabbit doll dangled. It was also a gift from the protagonist she was about to meet.
[Seul-gi: Yeah yeah hehe I’m already here. Take your time!]
‘I didn’t think she’d actually contact me, but does she really want to get close to me?’
Baek I-hae stared down at Jang Seul-gi’s reply. Of course, that didn’t mean she could read her true intentions.
‘It would be nice if inner thoughts popped up in a status window like with Seo Do-gyeom, all detailed.’
She wondered if she should practice accepting kindness more readily now. But naively believing it seemed questionable—could someone once labeled a supporting villainess change so easily?
‘On the other hand, doubting her to the end feels harsh since she even apologized, and she’s still young, so she could have made mistakes.’
Baek I-hae let out an inner sigh, unsure of her own feelings. She decided to meet her first, talk, and then make up her mind.
Having reached that conclusion, as she walked along, Baek I-hae faced yet another dilemma.
‘But that thing from earlier… it’s not just my imagination, right?’
Baek I-hae frowned at the discomfort she’d felt since leaving the house.
Pretending to check her face on her phone, she glanced back with her eyes.
At the edge of the black screen, an unfamiliar man.
‘If it’s not my imagination, he’s been following me at a steady distance since then.’
Wearing a black hat pulled low and a black windbreaker in the middle of this summer heat—what a getup.
He was practically advertising that he was suspicious.
‘Doesn’t seem like someone Uncle sent.’
At first, she thought maybe Seo I-heum had secretly assigned someone out of worry for her. He doted on her enough to put a tracker in her necklace, so this was within expected range.
But if it really was Seo I-heum’s doing, he would have given her a heads-up beforehand, concerned that she’d get scared.
‘Plus, it’s not a face I recognize, which makes it even more suspicious.’
It was only natural that the time she’d been kidnapped by Baek Yeong came to mind.
Baek I-hae tried not to let her stiffened body show as she organized her thoughts while looking at her phone.
At least she’d noticed early and stuck to the main streets.
‘What should I do? Leading him toward where Seul-gi is would be dangerous.’
No matter how much self-defense she was learning, confronting him directly was realistically impossible. So, the only option was to shake him off.
Baek I-hae pretended to check the time and started jogging lightly. Slowly enough not to provoke him, but to gradually increase the distance.
Her appearance, jogging lightly into the crowd, looked like someone hurrying because they were late for an appointment.
[Scenario #1 Quest Triggered!
‘Escape from the unidentified man tailing you!’ has occurred.
Success: Survival
Failure: Kidnapping and torture, Seo I-heum’s death]
‘….’
Baek I-hae’s face hardened. Her gaze was fixed on the penalty for failure.
‘Like with Chai Ryeong, why does it keep obsessing over Uncle’s death? Could this be Baek Yeong’s scheme again?’
Baek I-hae bit her lip. Her eyes, glaring at the status window as if to bore through it, were filled with venom.
‘You think I’ll fall for it again this time?’
Anyway, knowing it wasn’t Seo I-heum’s person eliminated any hesitation about fleeing. Baek I-hae picked up her speed and started running.
Thanks to the stamina training from Seo Do-gyeom all this time, her posture felt stable.
‘With so many people around, he’s probably watching to close the distance— I need to bolt while I can.’
Baek I-hae ran at her maximum speed. She wasn’t sure how long her stamina would hold, but this was the time to hope it lasted as much as possible.
[Conditions met.]
Where there’s a trial, there’s also the power given to overcome it.
Baek I-hae blinked at the status windows popping up one after another.
[‘Infinite Stamina Only When Fleeing! You won’t get tired no matter how much you run!’ activates!]
‘Who knew this would come in handy like this.’
When she glanced back, her eyes met the man’s, and he scowled fiercely. He must have just realized that Baek I-hae was deliberately escaping.
But the man gaped for a moment, then pulled his hat down low and turned around. It was an anticlimactic exit, almost disappointingly so.
‘What the heck.’
Still, Baek I-hae didn’t let her guard down, glancing back as she ran.
She circled the area around the meeting spot with Jang Seul-gi, and only when the man was truly out of sight did she finally relax a bit.
Just then, a call came in from Jang Seul-gi, who must have been worried about her tardiness.
-I-hae, why are you so late? Nothing happened, right?
“Ah, sorry. It seems like a strange person is following me, so I’m trying to shake them off. I’ll be there soon.”
-Strange person? Should I come pick you up? Where are you right now?
Jang Seul-gi, clearly startled, urgently inquired about Baek I-hae’s safety, her voice laced with concern. It was such an overwhelming display of worry that Baek I-hae felt a pang of guilt for having doubted her earlier.
“It’s fine now, so don’t worry. I’m… right in front of the hamburger place next to the department store.”
Baek I-hae glanced around briefly, spotting the hamburger shop across the street, and answered casually.
It was the place she was heading to anyway, so it wasn’t exactly a lie.
-But just in case, don’t hang up and come straight here. And avoid any areas without people around!
At Jang Seul-gi’s fretting, Baek I-hae let out a small laugh and replied that she understood. Then, as she waited to cross the signal, she suddenly halted her steps.
‘…When did that person get over there?’
The man who had turned away earlier was now standing in the alley beside the hamburger shop. As if waiting for someone.
Without realizing it, Baek I-hae took a step back. A chilling shiver ran down her spine.
-I-hae. I’m heading to the hamburger place now—is everything okay? Why did you go so quiet all of a sudden?
In that moment, only Jang Seul-gi’s chattering voice came through clearly.
Baek I-hae swallowed dryly, then forced an awkward smile as she responded.
“Seul-gi, I’m really sorry, but could we reschedule our plans? That person from before seems to be nearby, so I’m hiding.”
-Huh? For real?
“Yeah. So I’m going to ask… Dad to come pick me up.”
Baek I-hae decided to lie, figuring that mentioning Seo Do-gyeom or Seo I-heum would only drag the conversation out.
She then slowly slipped into the sports brand store right beside her, hiding herself. The employee who noticed her looked startled, eyes widening in surprise.
-Should we call the police? I’m so worried… I’ll come to you, I-hae.
“No, I’m really okay, and it could be dangerous for you too, so just head home quickly.”
-But…
Was it just a simple misunderstanding?
When the employee approached as if to ask what was wrong, Baek I-hae gestured for silence, and the employee, sensing there was a reason, nodded slightly in understanding. Still, unable to shake their concern, the employee lingered nearby.
“I’ll hang up now. I’m really sorry. Next time, I’ll treat you to something delicious!”
-I’m fine, so don’t worry about it—just text me as soon as you get home!
“Yeah, I will…”
-But which direction is that person in, where you can see them?
Baek I-hae pressed her lips together tightly.
An instinctive warning echoed in her mind, questioning whether this was truly just a mistake.
Jang Seul-gi, the one dubbed the supporting villainess. The player who had given her a scenario quest urging her to flee at all costs.
Baek I-hae stayed silent for a moment, then ended the call. Her heart was pounding wildly.
“Um, miss. Are you okay? If something’s wrong, should I call the police for you?”
The employee, confirming the call had ended, approached cautiously and asked Baek I-hae.
Faced with that expression brimming with genuine concern, Baek I-hae finally let her face crumple into a tearful grimace. With her hands trembling uncontrollably, she held out her phone and pleaded.
“There’s a strange person following me—could you please call my family for me? My hands are shaking too much.”
“O-okay. Just calm down first—who should I call? Mom? Dad?”
Baek I-hae shook her head from side to side. As she curled up as tightly as possible, the flustered employee murmured something like, “Then I’ll call this uncle with the heart saved here…?”—the words barely registering in her haze.
[Scenario#1 Quest Success!]
[You have survived safely this time.]
‘This time.’
At that phrase, impossible to brush off lightly, Baek I-hae squeezed her eyes shut tightly.
