Chapter 7:

The Ten Conditions for Becoming the Male Lead (1)

As Semin carried her lunch tray, her vision began spinning round and round, as though she’d ridden an amusement park ride dozens of times. By the time she came to her senses, she was lying flat on her back in the middle of the cafeteria.

The students stopped eating and leaned over to check on her. Haein, who was sitting diagonally across from her, covered her mouth and tried to hide her smile.

Semin’s hands were empty. The food on her lunch tray had spilled all over the clothes of the man sitting across from her and slid down them.

“Hey, what the hell is wrong with you?”

Semin swallowed unconsciously.

Bae Eunho, who seemed to get into conflicts with everyone he encountered at school, was staring at her with a twitching eyebrow. The entire cafeteria fell silent in an instant.

From Welcome! Summer Film

Eunho and Semin’s first meeting hadn’t gone well at all. Semin had accidentally spilled her lunch all over Eunho’s clothes. You could tell just how terrible their first impression of each other had been from the sentence describing how the cafeteria had fallen silent.

‘Why do you keep picking on me…?’

‘Are you seriously asking because you don’t know? You have to pay for the dry cleaning. You ruined my uniform!’

After that, whenever Eunho saw Semin, he would glare at her with narrowed eyes, demand that she pay for the dry cleaning, and relentlessly follow her around.

It wasn’t until much later that readers realized his behavior was actually a sign of love. But just imagine how terrifying it must have been for Semin, the female lead!

What was he, a loan shark or something?

[Comment: Eunho has absolutely no appeal as a male lead. Is a male lead supposed to scare the female lead at the beginning? That guy is destined to be the second male lead forever.]

The world had changed.

For a character like Eunho to become the male lead, the story needed to follow the proper progression.

Of course, the most important thing was Semin’s feelings. After all, in Season 1, Semin had chosen the kindhearted Dogyeom…

Which meant Eunho needed to become a little kinder.

So, what was Eunho like right now?

There was no need to explain.

“Did you hear Bae Eunho skipped class again today?”

“They say he spends all his time on the rooftop.”

“Is he the guy who smokes on the rooftop?”

“I’m talking about Bae Eunho. Apparently, he got into another fight yesterday.”

“That’s seriously scary. How does he even come to school?”

Ever since Eunho quit sports, the rumors surrounding him had snowballed.

Ignoring the students’ gossip, I sat in my usual seat and prepared for self-study as I always did.

Actually, I’d wandered around Eunho’s classroom as soon as I arrived at school, but it seemed he hadn’t shown up yet.

I was planning to bring him some pain-relief patches and antiseptic supplies, so I decided to wait until the next break.

Remembering how noisy the classroom had been throughout the lesson, with everyone talking about Bae Eunho, I found myself glancing sideways at Semin, who was sitting in a secluded corner.

I was worried that those rumors might influence her opinion of him.

“Um…”

I’d been thinking about Semin to myself when I suddenly heard her voice.

The break had already started.

When I looked up, Semin was tapping my shoulder and waiting for me to respond.

She was so cute that I immediately asked her what was wrong.

Semin glanced nervously at the people around us before speaking.

“Do you want to go to the school store with me?”

There was no way I could turn down Semin when she was looking at me like a little rabbit.

I decided I’d visit Eunho during the next break instead. Besides, he was always late to school anyway. What difference would it make?

Semin handed me a chocolate bun and a carton of chocolate milk.

What an overwhelmingly sugary combination.

Then I reminded myself that I was a high school student now.

Semin was holding the exact same combination and gave me an awkward smile.

“This might be a little awkward, but I wanted to thank you for talking to me that day.”

“Don’t mention it. I wanted to become friends with you.”

“Really? Actually, I wanted to become friends with you, too… from the moment I first saw you.”

My second-favorite character wanted to be friends with me!

Oh Young—no, Moon Yerim—was one lucky girl!

Semin and I sat together in an empty seat, eating our bread and drinking our milk while chatting about this and that.

How far we lived from school. Whether there were any side dishes we particularly liked in the school cafeteria.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, I cautiously brought up a question I’d been wanting to ask Semin.

“By the way, do you still draw on the rooftop these days?”

“Hm? Oh… yes. It’s quiet up there.”

“Then… have you ever seen a boy up there with sharp, intense eyes who’s handsome, looks like he has a terrible personality, but turns out to be kind of cute once you get to know him?”

If Semin had already encountered Eunho on the rooftop, my entire plan would have fallen apart.

Semin stared at her chocolate bun for a moment, took a bite, and shook her head.

I unconsciously let out a sigh of relief.

“I haven’t seen anyone like that… but I sometimes see the transfer student.”

“Oh, the transfer student~ Wait! Han Dogyeom?”

At my sudden outburst, Semin choked on her milk.

I quickly grabbed some tissues and helped her. Semin gestured that she was fine and then nodded.

“Yes, but he doesn’t talk to me. He just gets some fresh air and goes back downstairs.”

“Oh… I see. That’s all, huh? If he ever does talk to you, um… could you tell me?”

“Hm? Why?”

“W-well, because you’re my friend. I’m just c-curious.”

What a ridiculous excuse.

I’d lived longer than this girl, and that was the best excuse I could come up with?

Still, Semin seemed perfectly happy with my nonsensical explanation. She smiled and agreed.

Good grief. What am I supposed to do with this adorable little bunny?

A brief silence followed. The break was almost over.

Semin fiddled with the wrapper of her finished bun and glanced at me hesitantly.

That kind of behavior usually meant someone had something they wanted to say.

Just as I’d expected, Semin slowly opened her mouth.

“Hey, I was wondering if your father…”

“Yerim!!!”

At that moment, a boy came running toward me from a distance, calling my name.

I leaned forward to get a better look at him. As he drew closer, a familiar pair of glasses came into view.

That guy is…

‘Eunho was helping me!’

Wasn’t he the Class 8 president from yesterday?

The moment I recognized him, the class president sank to the ground, gasping for breath as though he’d run all the way here.

He raised a hand as if he were trying to tell me something, but I couldn’t quite understand him.

I bent down to hear him more clearly.

“What? What’s going on?”

“Haah… R-right now… in the teachers’ office…”

The moment I heard his words, I rushed straight to the teachers’ office.

As soon as I opened the door, I saw several parents dressed in expensive coats surrounding one student and hurling harsh accusations at him.

And the student silently enduring their complaints was…

Eunho.

“Those boys from yesterday filed a complaint because they think it was unfair that the police took them away… so their parents came here. They’re making a huge fuss and demanding that Eunho’s parents be summoned, too. They want him disciplined immediately.”

“But didn’t you explain what happened? He was helping you, wasn’t he?”

“They won’t listen… They keep saying that doesn’t justify violence, and apparently their kids’ noses are all broken.”

You’ve got to be kidding me!

Despite the teacher’s attempts to restrain them, the parents continued to rage furiously.

And from what I could see, the only teacher actually trying to stop them was the student affairs teacher. The others simply shook their heads and went about their business, as though Eunho were exactly the kind of troublemaker they’d always expected him to be.

“So you used to be a successful judo athlete, and now you think you’re above everyone else? How dare you throw your fists around so recklessly! Is that how your parents raised you?”

“I’m absolutely not letting this go! I’ll spend every last penny I have to get you forcibly transferred! Do you understand me?!”

“How pathetic… Just because you’ve ruined your own life, does that mean you have to ruin someone else’s, too?”

No, this was going too far.

The more I listened, the more vicious their insults became. There was no way I could just stand by and let them continue.

Despite all the verbal abuse, Eunho held his head high and looked at each of them one by one.

Finally, the man in the suit who had been raging the loudest raised his hand toward Eunho.

“You little punk! What do you think you’ve done right to deserve to look me in the eye like that?!”

“That’s enough!”

At my shout, everyone in the teachers’ office turned to look at me at once: the teachers, a student who’d come to run an errand, the furious parents, and even Eunho.

“They were both in the wrong, so why are you picking on only our guy?”

“And who are you to butt in, student? Are you his girlfriend or something?”

“Don’t you know who I am?”

“Who are you supposed to be?”

One of the parents folded his arms and approached me.

I folded my arms, too, and raised the corners of my mouth, refusing to be intimidated by him.

Then I casually moved Eunho behind me.

I couldn’t stand watching my favorite character get insulted any longer.

The student affairs teacher looked utterly bewildered and gestured for me to come over.

I firmly shook my head and spoke.

“I’m one of the victims who almost got hit with a wooden plank by your son. I guess he forgot to mention that part, didn’t he?”

“W-what?”