Chapter 4.

Why This Man Has to Be the Male Lead (1)

“You… I told you to stay out of my sight, didn’t I?”

Eunho’s brows furrowed deeply.

Realizing that I was sitting on top of Eunho and had managed to get on his nerves yet again, I hurriedly got to my feet.

Eunho looked utterly dumbfounded as he brushed off his clothes.

“What the hell have you been doing all day? Why do you keep picking figh—”

“That’s not it, Eunho. There’s been a misunderstanding.”

“What misunderstanding?”

“Just a second!”

I was about to apologize to Eunho for my sudden behavior when I heard a familiar voice behind him.

I immediately turned toward the sound.

Among the brightly blooming flowers in the flower beds, I spotted Semin drawing while Dogyeom talked to her.

“What misunderstanding? I’m asking you to explain yourself—!”

“Just be quiet for a second!”

I sat down on the spot and covered Eunho’s mouth with my hand. Then I strained my ears, trying to listen in on Semin and Dogyeom’s conversation.

“Damn it, I can’t hear a thing…”

“Mmph! Mmph!”

The two of them were too far away, and the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves made it even harder to hear what they were saying.

I narrowed my eyes and watched Dogyeom smile as he talked to Semin.

A sense of unease began to rise inside me.

The smile on his face was different from the one he’d given me earlier.

Even though I had taken Semin’s role to prevent the two of them from meeting, they had somehow ended up alone together anyway.

“So an extra’s interference can’t change things that easily…”

As I watched the two of them, my field of vision quickly shifted toward Eunho.

I glanced at the hand Eunho had caught, then looked at his face, which was filled with displeasure.

He had grabbed the hand I was using to cover his mouth and pulled me toward him.

I stared blankly at Eunho’s face, now much closer to mine.

Good heavens. How can someone be this handsome?

“What the hell is wrong with you? You called me your favorite, then immediately started swearing at me. And now, on top of sitting on me, you’re covering my mouth?”

“Eunho, that’s not it. I…”

“Why are you doing this? Do you think I’m a joke, too?”

“Well…”

Because I’m so happy to see you. Because I’m overjoyed that I can finally see you in person after you saved my life.

I knew exactly what I wanted to say, but all of it was nothing more than a one-sided confession on my part.

Besides, I’d already made such a terrible first impression on my favorite character that I couldn’t even come up with an excuse.

As I opened and closed my mouth without saying anything, Eunho let out a deep sigh.

He lowered the hand that was holding mine.

“I’ve got enough problems even without you. Please, just leave me alone. Okay?”

“……”

“This is your last warning.”

Eunho stood up and strode away from the rooftop with his long legs.

Just then, the bell rang, signaling the start of class.

Still sitting there in a daze, I looked back and forth between the places where Semin, Dogyeom, and Eunho had been. All three of them were already gone.

\*

The chaotic day finally came to an end.

As I walked down the stairs with heavy, exhausted steps, I spotted a familiar figure in the distance. Even from far away, there was no mistaking who it was.

“Semin!”

It was Semin.

At my shout, she turned around. She looked flustered, apparently surprised that her class president, someone she’d barely even spoken to, was calling out to her.

I casually walked over to her and quickly took some of the handouts she was carrying.

“Oh, thank you.”

“Come on, it’s nothing. Oh, you know me, right? I’m…”

“I know. Moon Yerim, our class president.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. But I didn’t think you’d know me…”

“Why wouldn’t I? You’re good at drawing!”

At my words, Semin blushed and shook her head, insisting that she wasn’t that good.

I’d been so distracted by my favorite character, Eunho, that I’d forgotten just how cute my second favorite, Semin, was.

Cute Semin and handsome Eunho. They were such a perfect match…

Once again, I criticized the author’s questionable judgment, then casually brought up what had happened on the rooftop as though it were nothing.

“Semin, I saw you going up to the rooftop earlier. Do you like it up there?”

“The rooftop? Oh, I go there often because no one thinks it’s strange if I’m alone.”

“Right~ So you weren’t meeting anyone or anything like that? You just go up there by yourself to relax?”

“Yeah. Oh… but I did see the transfer student earlier.”

“Dogyeom? What did he say to you?”

“Oh, so his name is Dogyeom?”

“Oh, so his name is Dogyeom?”

Even though I’d tried to keep the two of them apart, things were still unfolding just like they had in the novel.

After all, even when Semin had shown Dogyeom the teachers’ office, she hadn’t known his name. She only learned it later.

“He asked me to… show him my storyboard sometime…”

Ha! He certainly knows what’s beautiful when he sees it.

When had he even noticed that Semin was drawing storyboards?

I went with Semin to the teachers’ office to drop off the handouts, and then we walked down the hill together.

It had only been a short time, but I felt as though Semin had opened her heart to me just a little.

In Welcome! Summer Film, Semin was introduced as a complete loner.

She had been bullied in middle school, which had caused her to close herself off from other people.

I supposed it was impossible for us to become close friends right from the start.

“Semin, are you taking the bus home? If you are, let’s go together!”

“Ah… I’m taking the subway.”

“Oh, I see. Then I’ll see you tomorrow!”

“Wait!”

Just as I was about to head toward the bus stop, Semin stopped walking and turned around to call after me.

She hesitated for a moment before speaking cautiously.

“Thank you… for talking to me.”

Apparently embarrassed, Semin quickly turned and walked away toward the subway station as soon as she finished speaking.

I watched her retreating figure with a pleased smile before turning around to leave.

That was when I spotted Eunho waiting for the traffic light to change.

I immediately waved both hands enthusiastically, hoping to apologize for what had happened earlier.

We definitely made eye contact, but Eunho deliberately looked away.

“Eunho! I want to talk to you!”

This time, Eunho started walking in the opposite direction from where I was standing.

He’s really going to leave me behind!

I hurried after him, trying to catch up, but keeping pace with his long legs wasn’t easy.

In the end, I was practically panting by the time I managed to grab his arm and stop him.

“Hey, is bothering people your hobby or something?”

“That’s not it. I’m really sorry.”

“Sorry?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry for suddenly swearing at you this morning… and for sitting on top of you. I’m also sorry for ignoring what you wanted and covering your mouth.”

“Wow, what a busy day I’ve had.”

“…Even if I had ten mouths, I wouldn’t have enough words to apologize.”

At first, I’d been thrilled to find myself in this world and see my favorite and second-favorite characters with my own eyes.

Then I’d wanted Eunho to become the male lead.

But no matter how much I tried to interfere from the sidelines, nothing changed.

Of course it didn’t. A supporting character—no, an extra—had no power to change the story.

Was the only reason I wanted Eunho to become the male lead really because he was my favorite character and the person who had saved my life?

I continued apologizing, unable to shake the strange, uneasy feeling inside me.

After hearing my desperate apology, Eunho let out another deep sigh.

That was right. Eunho wasn’t a coldhearted person.

His eyes had softened considerably compared to earlier.

“Be more careful next time. And I was a little too harsh earlier, too…”

Screeeeeech!

It happened in an instant.

Amid a deafening noise, Eunho instinctively pulled me toward him.

It was a familiar sound.

The sound of car tires grinding against the road. The sound of something scraping and wearing away. The sound of something being smashed to pieces.

“Hey, are you okay?”

I slowly turned my head and looked at the vehicle involved in the accident.

The car had crashed into a utility pole, and smoke was billowing from it.

The driver got out, looked at the wrecked car, and wore an expression of utter despair.

Fortunately, no one appeared to be seriously injured, but my heart was pounding violently.

“I’m really sorry, sunbae.”

“Where are you? Please, don’t hang up. Okay?”

“I feel like I’m nothing but a burden to you, sunbae… Noona.”

“No, you’re not. I’m telling you, you’re not!”

Memories of that horrible day flashed through my mind.

The junior’s repeated apologies, followed by the deafening sound of a car crash.

And just as it had been described in the epilogue, the fading light in Eunho’s eyes, alternating with the fading light in his junior’s eyes.

Only then did I finally understand the reason behind the unsettling feeling that had been clinging to me all this time.

“Now I understand.”

“Understand what?”

“The reason you’re my favorite isn’t simply because you’re the second male lead or because you saved my life.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“If you end up staying in the second male lead’s position here, too…”

For the sake of Eunho, my favorite character and the person who had saved my life, I wanted to prevent that car accident at all costs.

Once had been more than enough.

To make that happen, Eunho couldn’t remain the second male lead. He had to become the male lead.

I grabbed both of Eunho’s arms as he tried to pull away from me.

“Eunho, listen carefully.”

Yes, there were limits to how much an extra could change the story, especially its ending.

But if I couldn’t completely rewrite the story because I was only an extra…

“I’ll make you the male lead.”

Then the only thing left to do was find a way to make Eunho, the protagonist, take action himself.