VNV Chapter 04

Posted by Lilac, Released on March 28, 2025

Chapter 04

I looked down at the floor. Inside the plastic bag, the cream bun had been smashed, with white cream oozing out in a messy spill.

“I wouldn’t take it even if you offered me gold.”

My heart didn’t ache. I wasn’t sad or angry.

[…..]

Min Yu-un remained silent. Though unseen, it felt as if faint, fleeting tears mixed into that silence. But I knew just how petty and cruel Min Yu-un had been. That’s why I couldn’t take his side.

“I’m sorry.”

I’m not the real Min Yu-un. So maybe this apology, spoken on his behalf, is also wrong. But maybe this hollow, goal-driven apology might help Min Yu-un somehow.

“I apologize. I’ve been wrong all this time.”

Still, I thought, I hoped that Min Yu-un wouldn’t get hurt any more than he already had. Was this sympathy? Empathy? Or consolation? I couldn’t tell. My face remained as calm as ever, and my heartbeat drummed steadily as usual. Seeing my unshaken response, Han Tae-ryeong stiffened in surprise, his lips parting slightly. I waited silently for whatever he was about to say next.

“Hah.”

A cold, mocking laugh pierced my ears.

“So now you’re trying to get my attention like this?”

Han Tae-ryeong’s icy gaze bore into me, his lips curling into a sneer.

“How stupid—”

I already knew how the rest of that sentence would go. There was no need to hear it.

“Min Yu-un?”

Having fulfilled my purpose of delivering both the apology and the cream bun, I turned to leave.

“Hey, Min Yu-un!”

As I was about to walk away, Han Tae-ryeong grabbed my wrist and spun me around.

“I’m not finished talking yet.”

So what? I met his eyes with a hint of curiosity. Perhaps because of the complete lack of tension in my gaze, he hesitated for a moment.

“I’m asking why you’re suddenly acting so differently.”

[I don’t want to! I don’t want to apologize either!]

Min Yu-un’s sharp, whining voice echoed in my head, making me frown slightly.

[Yoo Si-eon took what was mine first! Everyone left me and abandoned me, and now they—!]

“Apologize properly this time, Min Yu-un.”

I swatted his hand away without much thought, and Han Tae-ryeong glanced down at his empty hand as if unsure what to do with it.

“Sorry for knocking your hand away.”

I spoke quickly before he could respond. Han Tae-ryeong opened and closed his mouth as if struggling to find words, but no sound came out.

“You grabbed me first, so I figured it was only fair.”

By now, even Min Yu-un’s shouting had faded to silence. I exchanged a long, impassive stare with Han Tae-ryeong. Even on my tiptoes, the difference in our heights was noticeable, but I knew better than to expect him to stoop down to my level.

“And I’ve already apologized.”

Even if it wasn’t Min Yu-un’s genuine feelings—just my own hollow apology given in his place.

“With all my heart.”

Or rather, with all my heart’s desire to get this over with. I swallowed the unspoken words and, with that, turned away from Han Tae-ryeong.

[ Quest 1: Apologize to the main characters. (2/3) ]

(★TIP: A sweet tip for someone who’s never apologized before!★)

*How about gifting a cream bun as a gesture of your pure-hearted intentions to turn over a new leaf?

A system window flashed brightly in front of me.

❤️‍🩹

As soon as homeroom ended, I got up from my seat. Exiting through the school gates, I retraced my morning route in reverse. Just before reaching home, I stopped and glanced over my shoulder. Yoo Si-eon, who had been following me, froze in place with a creak.

“Why are you following me?”

I had already noticed someone trailing behind. I left it alone since there was a chance we were just heading in the same direction. But at this point, there was no mistaking it—it was definitely a tail. Yoo Si-eon narrowed his eyes slightly. Quickly shaking off his surprise, he approached me.

“Min Yu-un.”

[I apologized, didn’t I? Then why does he still hate me?]`

Min Yu-un muttered, sounding as though he truly couldn’t understand. I wasn’t sure whether to call him naive or self-centered. A world where a single apology could magically turn everyone into friends. Maybe that was the fantasy playing out in Min Yu-un’s head.

But as I mulled over how this quest alone wouldn’t solve the deeper issues, Yoo Si-eon opened his mouth to speak.

“What you said this morning—”

“…..”

“I know you didn’t mean it. So just tell me what you’re really up to.”

I rolled my eyes. Yet, no matter how many times I searched for another answer, there was only one.

“There’s no ‘up to.’ I meant every word.”

At my calm reply, Yoo Si-eon clenched his teeth, his gaze sharp as a blade. His simmering hostility prickled against my skin.

“You think I’m going to believe that crap?”

“You don’t have to. Just do whatever makes you feel better.”

With that, I turned to leave.

“This!”

Had it not been for the cream bun Yoo Si-eon thrust toward me, I would have kept walking.

“This thing you gave me—the expiration date has already passed.”

❤️‍🩹

Yoo Si-eon stood alone on the field, staring at Min Yu-un’s retreating figure before finally taking a step forward. Upon reaching the classroom, he glanced around, but Min Yu-un was nowhere to be seen. Biting his lower lip, he made his way to his desk, where a cream bread sat alone on top.

He hesitated for a moment, unable to sit down, then carefully picked up the bread.

“He told me to follow him, so I thought he’d throw some nasty threat at me again, but an apology, of all things?”

Staring blankly as Min Yu-un’s image replayed in his mind, Yoo Si-eon’s gaze dropped to the bread in his hand. The soft bun came into focus, and soon after, so did the black numbers printed on the top of the plastic wrapper. The expiration date. It had passed long ago.

He exhaled a breathless, bitter laugh.

“Of course.”

So that’s what this was all about. Did he really think I’d be stupid enough to fall for it? I’ve had enough, Min Yu-un.

There was a time when Yoo Si-eon had blamed himself and wallowed in sadness, wondering what he’d done wrong. But not anymore. Whatever warmth he might’ve once had for Min Yu-un had long since frozen over.

“I was a fool for expecting anything different.”

With that thought, he trailed after Min Yu-un after class, intending to confront him about the expired bread. Yet, for some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to speak right away. Was it because of the faint hope he still couldn’t fully let go of?

At that moment, Min Yu-un turned around.

Jet-black hair that rivaled the night sky and eyes even darker than that. Yet, for some reason, he looked oddly faint today, as if his presence had thinned. The sight of him stirred something within Yoo Si-eon’s chest. His languid gaze, his weary posture, his indifferent demeanor—everything about him felt strange, as if this wasn’t Min Yu-un at all.

❤️‍🩹

In the end, I let Yoo Si-eon into my home. I had no idea how the expired bread had ended up in his hands. Still, I couldn’t just brush it off as a simple mistake and send him away. Leading the hesitant Yoo Si-eon to the sofa, I said.

“Wait here for a bit. I’ll get you something to drink.”

Suppressing the heavy fatigue that begged me to collapse onto my bed, I spoke as calmly as I could. Yoo Si-eon looked up at me for a moment before shaking his head slightly.

“…No, it’s fine.”

“Alright then.”

Taking the opportunity, I sat down beside him. Although I still had to apologize, the stronger urge was simply to rest. I let out a yawn mixed with a sigh before finally speaking.

“Sorry.”

Yoo Si-eon’s gaze shifted toward me at the sudden apology.

“I’ll say it again—I’m sorry.”

My voice was calm, devoid of emotion. Yet beneath the surface, there was a faint thread of sincerity. Yoo Si-eon studied me with lowered eyes, and I thought his gaze seemed a little different from this morning.

“Why did you torment me so much?”

[I’ve already told him so many times, and he still doesn’t get it? How many times do I have to say it?]

The irritated, exasperated voice of Min Yu-un echoed in my mind, overlapping with Yoo Si-eon’s unexpected question.

[Because I was jealous.]

“…Because I was jealous.”

I took a steady breath and repeated Min Yu-un’s words, one by one.

“I did it because I was jealous.”

[Everyone likes you. They all love you.]

“Everyone seemed to love you.”

[They all abandoned me. They didn’t care how lonely I was—they only cared about you.]

“I thought I was abandoned because they loved you more, so I lashed out at you.”

I could understand how Min Yu-un had felt—the suffocating loneliness of being trapped in isolation. I had lived my whole life enduring that same solitude. Alone, with no one to lean on.

So yes, sometimes I, too, had felt that sharp pang of jealousy toward those who received love so effortlessly. I had wanted to take their place, to bask in the warmth they enjoyed. But I knew those desires were nothing more than selfish indulgences, so I buried them deep inside.

Min Yu-un, however, had been different. Too young, too immature.

He had never learned how to love, never been properly loved.

Of course, that didn’t justify what he had done. Not in the slightest. But… maybe, just maybe, I could understand him—just a little.

Breaking the long silence, I spoke again.

“It wasn’t your fault. I was stupid.”

“…..”

“So go ahead and leave. You don’t like being around me, do you?”

As I slowly rose from my seat, Yoo Si-eon quickly stood up as well, as if afraid I would leave.

“No, I—”

“I’ll give you a new cream bread. Sorry for the mistake.”

“…That’s not the problem here.”

Pausing mid-step, I turned to meet Yoo Si-eon’s eyes, and he flinched.