Episode 23
02. Second Year, Baek I-hae
During the change of seasons, quite a few things had shifted.
The biggest change of all was that Baek I-hae had regained her memories of the original story. It served as a guide for how to handle the upcoming developments, after all.
‘There’s a limit to human memory, so it’s inevitable that things fade naturally over time.’
She scanned the information densely packed into her notebook. It was a record of the original story details she’d jotted down as they came to mind.
There were notes on the overall plot flow, episodes, characters’ personalities, and traits, all listed out.
‘For starters, the episode with the old man’s death in our first year passed without a hitch.’
Thanks to that, Seo Do-gyeom and Seo-yeol were able to continue their studies smoothly, without any major deviations.
She rolled the ballpoint pen over her fingers.
After the pen spun around a few times, she gripped it properly again, and with a serious expression, Baek I-hae wrote down the details of the next episode.
‘It’s already second year. The day the female lead arrives.’
In a way, it was the biggest event in the original story, the true beginning of the tale.
‘She was mixed-race, so she had this incredibly flashy appearance. But contrary to her strong-looking exterior, her personality was super fragile, which gave her that twist of charm.’
She wondered if seeing her in person would feel like spotting a celebrity—there was a bit of anticipation bubbling up.
Anyway, once the female lead appeared, there would be a lot more episodes involving the male lead, Seo Do-gyeom.
‘Right now, his bangs are too long, making him look all gloomy, but once he gets tangled up with the female lead, his handsome features will come out.’
That might be a little disappointing.
It felt like having to share a hidden gem of a restaurant, leaving her a bit unsettled, but Baek I-hae scratched her head.
Even though she’d gotten close to Seo Do-gyeom, she shouldn’t feel possessive about him. His partner was already decided, after all.
“The events that happened in second year… were the midterms and the female lead bullying incident, right?”
At first, Seo Do-gyeom doesn’t show any interest in the female lead. If he were the type to care about looks, he would’ve taken a liking to Baek I-hae from the start.
Baek I-hae touched her own pretty face once and snorted dismissively.
‘She was first in the whole school, wasn’t she? Seo Do-gyeom reacts with surprise at how well the female lead studies, and then the teacher tells her to tutor him, which gets them involved.’
A male lead who struggles with studies and a female lead who’s a top student.
It was a classic scene from youth. Thinking up to that point, Baek I-hae was smiling contentedly when she turned her head at the presence she felt behind her.
“Now I can pick up on presences like this right away.”
It was Seo Do-gyeom, who had entered the room silently. They were close enough now that they came and went from each other’s rooms without knocking, so she had no intention of getting mad.
Baek I-hae let out a wry chuckle and said,
“Learning self-defense and all sorts from you, I feel like I’m picking up all kinds of random skills?”
“Not a bad thing.”
Change. Yeah, there was one more thing that had changed: Baek I-hae had started learning exercise and self-defense from Seo Do-gyeom.
Seo I-heum had suggested it, but after the kidnapping incident, she’d been the one to ask for it first.
Seo I-heum had offered to teach her himself, but for some reason, Seo Do-gyeom had stepped up and said he’d do it, which was odd.
“And you? Did you finish the homework I assigned?”
“Yeah, all done.”
Just as she was learning self-defense from him, Seo Do-gyeom was learning studying from her.
He felt bad just receiving help without giving back, and since Baek I-hae’s brain turned out to be sharper than expected, it was his way of repaying the favor.
Seo Do-gyeom seemed displeased about it, and Seo-yeol had long since bailed, but Seo I-heum appeared quite satisfied with the situation.
‘Gangsters can’t solve everything just by being good with their bodies. Knowledge is power, after all.’
It kind of felt like she’d stolen the female lead’s position, but oh well, what did it matter.
Feeling Seo Do-gyeom’s gaze fixed openly on her, Baek I-hae stood up from her seat. Today was their first day back at school in second year.
As she stepped out of the room, Seo-yeol, who seemed to have been waiting for her, looked up from his phone.
“Why are you so late, noona? Did you take a dump or something?”
“Such a charming way with words.”
Seo-yeol scampered over and linked arms with her, saying it in a annoyingly cute way.
The affectionate gesture wasn’t unwelcome, so she grabbed his lips and shook them, and Seo-yeol grinned mischievously with a “hee hee.”
Then, noticing the slight change in eye level, Baek I-hae felt a fresh wave of admiration.
‘I was worried what would happen if he was the only small one in the family, but he’s growing like a weed day by day. He won’t end up taller than Seo Do-gyeom or the old man, will he?’
Nah, no way, she thought, but for now, Seo-yeol was still shorter than her, which made him adorable, so she patted his head.
He squinted his eyes and smiled under her touch, like a cat that had let its guard down—it was pretty endearing.
“Baek I-hae.”
The one who grabbed Baek I-hae’s hand was Seo Do-gyeom.
Startled, she looked up.
‘Come to think of it, he seems a bit taller too.’
She hadn’t grown at all, so why were the brothers on both sides shooting up like that?
Harboring a bit of resentment, Baek I-hae just blinked innocently.
“Why?”
But despite calling her name, Seo Do-gyeom didn’t reply. He just interlaced their fingers with the hand he’d taken and led her along.
Left behind all of a sudden, Seo-yeol let out a dumbfounded laugh before shouting and following after them.
“Ah, hyung, seriously! You don’t even think about yielding to your little brother!”
Why was yielding suddenly coming up?
It seemed like there was some possessive streak toward their female sibling. Baek I-hae scratched her nose at their overflowing love for family.
It was embarrassing and awkward, but it didn’t feel bad.
Baek I-hae’s fluffy, good mood vanished after arriving at the classroom and spotting the transfer student the teacher introduced.
‘…This is exactly like the female lead’s entrance scene, right?’
The name written on the blackboard and the teacher’s introduction that the transfer student was mixed-race. Up to here, it was identical to the female lead’s transfer scene in the game.
Baek I-hae stared toward the podium. The shirt was white and crisp, as if trying to show off that it was new. And the student possessed a height tall enough that she had to lift her gaze to see the face.
Maybe it was only natural. The transfer student was a guy!
‘No, why has the female lead turned into a male? Did the genre change without me knowing?!’
Seo Do-gyeom propped his chin up and watched Baek I-hae’s silent scream with a look of curiosity. He didn’t even glance at the transfer student, seeming completely uninterested.
But still, that was the female lead… no, the destined partner whose identity had been denied.
“You’re not interested in the transfer student at all?”
Baek I-hae whispered softly. As she leaned in to ask, Seo Do-gyeom mirrored her by lowering his head, bringing his face close enough that she flinched without meaning to.
Because of the way he’d tilted his head, his bangs fell forward, and she met his eyes head-on.
“Not interested.”
His straight gaze held only Baek I-hae. Interpreting it as him being interested only in her, not the transfer student, was probably overthinking it.
For some reason, her face felt hot. As she fanned herself with her hand, he blinked and asked,
“Hot?”
And then, with his much larger hand, he started fanning her too.
Seo Do-gyeom was a bad guy. He was kind even to women he had no intention of giving his heart to.
“Then, Eun-seol, you can sit right behind I-hae over there. I-hae, could you raise your hand?”
Baek I-hae had been staring only at Seo Do-gyeom’s face when the sudden call of her name startled her, and she jumped up from her seat.
In an instant, everyone’s eyes turned to her. Seo Do-gyeom’s gaze from the seat beside her, and the transfer student’s too.
“You didn’t have to stand up, but that enthusiastic attitude is nice to see. Eun-seol, just take the empty seat behind that friend.”
“Yes, understood.”
The transfer student’s gaze landed on Baek I-hae and quickly fell away. Soon, she saw him bowing at the waist to greet the teacher.
As he started walking, the distance closed. Without realizing it, she was staring blatantly, and Seo Do-gyeom lightly grabbed her wrist and pulled.
“Sit down.”
“Ah.”
Only then did she realize she’d been standing there like an idiot, and she blinked in surprise. As she flustered to sit back down, the transfer student, who had already approached right in front of her, cast his eyes on her once more.
Brilliant blond hair, with black eyes. Beautiful pupils that gave off a slightly bright vibe.
‘Is it because he’s mixed-race?’
Perhaps because he was the character who had been the female lead in the game, his beauty was different from Baek I-hae’s. If she had a small and cute image, the transfer student had a flashy beauty that captured attention in a single glance.
Their eyes met through his calmly lowered long lashes, and he gave a faint smile.
Ye Eun-seol.
‘To return to the original world, I need to create a happy ending.’
It was the name of the protagonist who would become the object of Seo Do-gyeom’s obsession.
‘My friend is gay.’
Homo, what the heck is this!
