VNV Chapter 07

Chapter 07

 

Jin Ha-seong’s eyes widened, but he swallowed his words obediently. The annoyance that had barely stayed off my face now wrapped around me in full force. After confirming that Jin Ha-seong had gone quiet, I turned my head toward the other two.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything.”

I quickly blurted out the words and took a moment to steady my breath. If I just threw out what I wanted to say and ran off, it might cause unnecessary misunderstandings—like I was only apologizing to get it over with, or that I had plotted something with Jin Ha-seong. The frantic pounding of my heart began to slow.

“I have nothing to do with him. He acted on his own, and I’m sincerely reflecting on everything.”

“Ha! Reflecting? You think anyone here is dumb enough to forget how you and that bastard used to torment Yoo Si-eon?”

I swallowed hard, unable to refute that. Releasing Jin Ha-seong’s mouth, which I had been covering, I took a step back, keeping my expression composed.

“We’re not anything anymore. We cut ties, didn’t we, Jin Ha-seong?”

“W-What?”

“Right?”

Locking eyes with him in a gaze as sharp as a blade, I tilted my head slightly. Jin Ha-seong stammered but eventually nodded.

“Y-Yeah! We’re done!”

Watching him made me want to smack my forehead. We were telling the truth, but why did he have to sound like we were putting on a bad play?

“Well, we weren’t even friends to begin with, so what ties are there to cut?”

I muttered under my breath. You could only “cut ties” with someone if there had been a connection in the first place. But there had never been anything like that between us—just power, money, and nothing more. Jin Ha-seong might have worshiped Min Yu-un, but Yu-un had never truly opened his heart to him.

Lost in thought, I felt a prickling gaze. Turning my head slightly, I met Yoo Si-eon’s eyes. His expression was hard to read, and when our gazes locked, he quickly looked away and spoke.

“Han Tae-ryeong, just drop it and go.”

“Yoo Si-eon—”

“What, are you trying to be some kind of petty tyrant? Demanding someone kneel and beg for forgiveness?”

At that, Han Tae-ryeong’s lips twisted into a cold smile.

“Then sure, I’ll be a tyrant. So, until he kneels, I’m not letting him go.”

Yoo Si-eon’s brow furrowed into a deep scowl. Even Jin Ha-seong, who had been silent, seemed ready to jump in. It looked like this argument wasn’t ending anytime soon. The tension that stretched between us all had begun to wear me down.

At this point, I was just tired of everything. I had no idea how else to explain myself. What did I have to do—smack Jin Ha-seong across the face? My eyelids felt unbearably heavy.

“Maybe I should just kneel—ugh.”

As I began to lower myself, a faint gasp escaped my lips.

“Why the hell are you kneeling?”

Yoo Si-eon’s hand clamped around my wrist to stop me. The pain that shot through me at his touch was sharp and immediate—leftover from Jin Ha-seong’s earlier rough handling.

“That hurts, Yoo Si-eon.”

Cautiously, I spoke up. Yoo Si-eon flinched and quickly let go, guilt flashing across his face.

“Ah, s-sorry.”

I rubbed my wrist, which still throbbed faintly.

“It’s fine. You don’t have to apologize.”

For some reason, my words made his eyes flicker with a strange light. As we stared at each other, the bell rang, signaling the start of class.

Without hesitation, Yoo Si-eon grabbed my arm again—gentler this time—and pulled me into the classroom. Han Tae-ryeong didn’t try to stop me anymore, and Jin Ha-seong had already disappeared, probably having bolted to his own class as soon as the bell rang. Yoo Si-eon pushed me lightly toward my seat.

“Let’s talk at lunchtime.”

There goes my chance to get some sleep, I thought bitterly.

I sighed softly as I watched him head to his seat.

❤️‍🩹

As soon as the lunch bell rang, I shot to my feet, determined to escape before Yoo Si-eon found me. I needed a break—just a moment to breathe and gather my thoughts. But my resolve was short-lived.

“Min Yu-un.”

I froze, head slowly turning to see Lee Soo-hyeon standing there. Without hesitation, he closed the distance between us. His breath was slightly ragged, as if he had rushed to catch up. After a moment of hesitation, he finally spoke.

“Stay with me.”

“…Huh?”

I blinked, not immediately understanding his words. Lee Soo-hyeon ran a hand roughly through his hair, clearly frustrated.

“I heard there was some incident this morning. You don’t want any more drama, right?”

“…..”

“So stay with me during lunch.”

I could guess what he meant. Stop messing around, don’t provoke Yoo Si-eon or Han Tae-ryeong, and just sit quietly where I can see you.

Honestly, I understood. And I was willing to comply if that’s what it took to keep the peace. I lifted my head, meeting Lee Soo-hyeon’s gaze.

He seemed uncertain, looking anywhere but at me, until he finally asked—

“…Why? Is there something on my face?”

“No, it’s just that you weren’t smiling.”

At those words, Lee Soo-hyeon faltered as if I’d caught onto something.

It wasn’t easy to guess what was going on. A non-smiling Lee Soo-hyeon was like some unknown creature beyond imagination. Lee Soo-hyeon was always smiling. Both in the moments I’d witnessed and within the novel itself. No matter how vile Min Yu-un’s actions had been, Lee Soo-hyeon had never lost his smile.

“Ah.”

Lee Soo-hyeon let out a small exclamation. Eventually, he managed to form a smile, but the corners of his lips trembled slightly. I frowned faintly. It didn’t look right.

“Lee Soo-hyeon.”

Calling his name, I reached out my hand. My index finger touched the corner of his mouth, pressing down on the quivering curve.

“Don’t smile.”

“What?”

“I said, don’t smile. You don’t have to.”

Lee Soo-hyeon’s lips slowly relaxed, his expression melting into one of dazed confusion.

“…Say that again.”

“You don’t have to smile. So stop forcing yourself.”

I quietly lowered my hand. Lee Soo-hyeon’s gaze followed my fingers as they drifted through the air.

“Or just… don’t smile at me.”

Perhaps it was unexpected because Lee Soo-hyeon stared at me as if trying to decipher the meaning behind my words.

“What… do you mean by that?”

“You know what I mean. I’m not someone who deserves anyone’s smile.”

This time, it was Lee Soo-hyeon who frowned.

“What are you—”

“Oh, right. There was something I wanted to say.”

My eyes wandered slightly as if searching for a system window that still hadn’t appeared. Yet, the previous quests hadn’t vanished. They still existed, and I had cleared them all.

“You don’t have to be my friend.”

[Wait a minute, Seong Yu-un. What are you doing?]

I ignored Min Yu-un’s disgruntled voice echoing in my head. I didn’t want to tie Lee Soo-hyeon to me. The quest was over, after all. It was better to sever things cleanly. It was a decision I made after considering various factors. Lee Soo-hyeon had helped me purely out of kindness. I didn’t want his compassion to damage his relationships with Yoo Si-eon or Han Tae-ryeong. And, on another note, I was afraid I might start expecting something from him—like I had this morning.

“I can’t do that.”

Lee Soo-hyeon clenched his fists tightly as if he had no intention of letting me go.

“Relationships can never be one-sided. Not when they begin, and not when they end.”

Well, all the relationships I had experienced were entirely one-sided—from start to finish. So I couldn’t empathize with his words. Or rather, I couldn’t believe them.

“So no, I won’t.”

“Lee Soo-hyeon.”

“I clearly said no.”

“….”

Being the one in the wrong, I had no grounds to argue. I pressed my lips together and neither affirmed nor denied his words.

That’s when the system window popped up without warning.

[ Quest 3: Draw out a positive emotion from Han Tae-ryeong. ] (★TIP: A sweet tip for the socially awkward you★) *When you don’t know what to talk about, why not bring up something you like?

I furrowed my brows slightly. An absurd quest. Of all people, with Han Tae-ryeong? To elicit positive feelings from the person who loathed and despised me the most?

“Min Yu-un?”

Lost in my thoughts, I didn’t register when Lee Soo-hyeon called my name. Perhaps, deep down, I hadn’t wanted to respond. After all, ‘Min Yu-un’ wasn’t my real name.

“…Yu-un-ah.”

I snapped my head up.

“What did you just call me?”

Lee Soo-hyeon only bit his lip without answering.

❤️‍🩹

Thank YOU for reading! ♡

Much ♡ to bloomin for helping with the editing. ( ੭ ˘ ³˘)੭‎°｡⋆♡‧₊˚