Chapter 10.
The Ten Conditions for Becoming the Male Lead (4)
“Did you hear? Apparently, Bae Eunho went to Moon Yerim and demanded that she pay his hospital bills.”
“Why her? Did something happen between them?”
“How would I know? I heard he beat up the Class 8 president…”
“Anyway, I feel sorry for Moon Yerim. Of all people, she had to get mixed up with Bae Eunho…”
“W-Why are you suddenly acting like this?”
Before the rumors could spread any further, I grabbed Eunho’s arm and dragged him out of the classroom.
This couldn’t be happening.
Why was he saying the lines that were supposed to mark the beginning of his relationship with Semin to me?!
Eunho looked down at me for a moment before raising his cast-covered arm with an indifferent expression.
“Then did you think I was going to let it go? This hand got hurt because of you, didn’t it? So you should take responsibility.”
“I-I didn’t know that was what you meant… I can transfer the hospital expenses to your account…”
“Hmm, not like that.”
Eunho shook his head, wiggling his finger from side to side.
Another ominous feeling crept up my spine.
This reaction was…
“I’ll pay for the dry cleaning all at once…”
“No, not like that.”
“…Huh?”
“Stay by my side.”
“……”
“Because you’ve started getting my attention.”
There was no way he was about to say the lines meant for Semin to me, was there?
I might have looked pretty cool yesterday, but still…!
I swallowed nervously and waited for Eunho’s next words. His lips slowly parted.
“Pay me back by volunteering.”
“Volunteering?”
“I’ve accumulated a lot of penalty points for being late. I have to do volunteer work in the library to get rid of them, but as you can see, my hand is in this state because of someone.”
“……”
“Starting tomorrow, after lunch.”
Having said everything he wanted to say, Eunho confidently walked past me and left the gym.
I stood there alone, turning his words over in my mind.
Thank goodness he hadn’t said those lines to me instead of Semin, but…
“Is he seriously making me do his penalty-point volunteer work for him?”
Never in my life had I imagined that I would end up taking care of my favorite character’s penalty points!
Fortunately, the rumors died down after lunch.
Eunho hadn’t returned to our classroom even once since leaving that morning, so there had been no new developments to fuel the gossip.
After eating lunch, I asked a friend for directions and headed to the library.
The librarian was in the middle of organizing some things when she heard me approach and looked up.
When I told her I was there to do volunteer work, she glanced toward the back of the library.
“Oh, there’s a pile of books stacked up in the back. Just arrange them in numerical order. I’m going to get lunch, so keep an eye on the library for me.”
“Yes, ma’am. Enjoy your lunch.”
After receiving my instructions, I walked farther inside and began checking the identification numbers on the books piled onto a cart one by one.
Looking around, I realized that no one else had come to the library yet.
It would actually be easier to organize everything while it was quiet.
Muttering to myself, I picked up a book.
“You’re here?”
“Ah! You scared me!”
A familiar voice came from between the bookshelves.
When I looked ahead, Eunho emerged from the shadows.
Startled, I accidentally threw the book I was holding.
Eunho caught it skillfully and checked its number.
“Why are you here?”
“Why else? You said I had to do this to get rid of my penalty points.”
“So I’m doing it.”
“What? Hey, Moon Yerim.”
Bae Eunho began walking toward me.
Just being alone in the library with my favorite character was enough to make my heart race. Watching him approach little by little made me instinctively curl my toes.
Eunho reached behind me, took another book, checked its number, and slid it into the appropriate spot on the shelf.
“Do I look like the kind of person who dumps all his volunteer work on other people? I just thought we could do it together since I probably couldn’t finish it alone.”
Since he wasn’t wrong, I quietly picked up another book.
Eunho seemed accustomed to volunteer work. He found the right spots and placed the books on the shelves without hesitation.
After watching him for a moment, I started organizing the books even faster.
For every book Eunho put away, I shelved three, so we finished much more quickly than expected.
Once I had arranged all the books in front of me, I reached out to help with Eunho’s pile.
He widened his eyes in surprise and handed me the book he was holding.
“How are you so good at this?”
“Of course I’m good at it! When I was in college—no, I was in the school library club when I was in middle school.”
I had almost let my nursing-school experience slip out.
Back when I was studying nursing, I used to work in the library, so I could have shelved books with my eyes closed.
Thanks to my quick hands, we had neatly arranged every book fifteen minutes before the lunch break ended.
Eunho headed to the circulation desk to have his volunteer hours recorded.
While he was away, I examined the books on the shelves one by one.
“What do the students here like to read…? Huh? This book!”
The author really was a cultured pervert. How had they even thought to include Director Ahn’s screenplay collection here?
Every time I read the novel, I could tell it had been written by someone who loved movies. But I had never imagined that they would put an actual screenplay collection in the library’s arts section.
It was out of print and almost impossible to find in my original world. Yet here I was, holding Director Ahn’s screenplay collection in pristine condition, without a single scratch or blemish.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you leaving?”
“I was about to. But I want to borrow this… Is there any way I can?”
“What is it?”
I had no idea how to borrow books at this school.
Eunho took the screenplay collection from my hands and examined it from different angles. Then he looked at the librarian’s desk, glanced at me, and scratched the back of his neck.
“You can borrow it if the librarian is here. Do you have your student ID?”
“Huh? I don’t have it with me…”
“I can’t borrow books for a while because I have too many penalty points. Just come back another time and read it here.”
“That’s too bad.”
“You like this book that much? It’s nothing but dialogue and stage directions. It looks boring at first glance.”
“No, it isn’t. Look.”
I opened the screenplay and showed Eunho my favorite part.
“You think you’re living your life the right way, don’t you? You’re not. You’re living the way other people see you.”
That line was from one of the most iconic scenes in the movie. It was also my favorite line.
Eunho looked back and forth between the screenplay and me, wearing an expression that showed not even a third of the emotion I felt. In fact, he seemed completely unimpressed.
“Isn’t it amazing? Maybe we’re all living according to how other people see us without even knowing who we really are.”
“…Maybe.”
Eunho still looked unconvinced.
At that moment, I remembered the rumors about him that had spread around school, as well as the ones I hadn’t known about before.
“Eunho, have you ever… broken the door to the judo club?”
At my question, Eunho’s large eyes filled with surprise.
A few seconds later, he nodded.
My heart sank.
“Why?”
“A senior… kept hitting the other students under the pretext of making them toughen up. I tried to stop him, but I fell against the door.”
“Huh?”
“That was also why I got injured and quit judo.”
“W-WHAT?!”
Thinking about it carefully, I realized that nowhere in the web novel had it clearly explained how Eunho had gotten injured.
Since Semin was the protagonist, the story had focused more on how he overcame his injury and what happened afterward than on the circumstances that caused it. It made sense that the details had been left out.
But I had never imagined the truth would be so absurd.
“D-Do you know that people have been misunderstanding you because of that?”
“Yeah. I know.”
“Then why don’t you correct them? Just like yesterday… You were the one being treated unfairly!”
“I don’t care how people see me.”
“Why don’t you care?!”
Before I realized it, I was shouting at Eunho in the library.
“Whoa! You know we’re in a library, right?”
“Eunho, listen. I know this might be difficult, but… couldn’t you try relaxing your eyes a little, lowering your eyebrows, and being friendlier to the people you meet in the hallways? Couldn’t you try being a little more gentle?”
“What are you suddenly talking about?”
“I want you to be a little kinder and friendlier to other people. That way, they won’t misunderstand you, and you’ll be able to get along with them. Okay? I’ll help you.”
“Why should I have to do that?”
Unlike before, Eunho’s expression visibly darkened.
I knew it. I knew my words and meddling were probably annoying him and making things more difficult for him.
But still…
“Because I know.”
“……”
“I know that you’re a warm and kind person. I know that even if you’re not good at expressing yourself, you quietly do what needs to be done without asking for recognition. I want other people to see the real Bae Eunho instead of the person they’ve heard about through rumors.”
“…Hey, Moon Yerim.”
“I know it’s exhausting to correct every rumor and misunderstanding. But words can be really frightening… When everyone around you sees you a certain way and keeps saying that’s who you are, you can actually become that kind of person. We experienced that yesterday, didn’t we?”
“Did you hear? Nurse Oh…”
“Ugh, I don’t even want to talk about Nurse Oh. She’s absolutely horrible.”
What hurt the most wasn’t all the rumors themselves. It was the fact that Eunho had grown accustomed to them.
I wanted my favorite character, the Eunho I cared about and rooted for more than anyone, to try just a little harder so that he could end up with Semin.
I truly did.
That was what love meant.
A brief silence settled between us as a cool breeze drifted through the open window.
It was finally spring.
“Then teach me.”
At Eunho’s words, I clapped a hand over my mouth.
Wait… Did Eunho really just say that?
“Teach me how to seem kinder to people.”
Success!
As long as my favorite character was willing to try, anything was possible!
I grabbed Eunho’s uninjured hand and nodded vigorously.
“Eunho, just trust me!”
