The Main Character Killed The Villain

#040

There was no sound from outside even after I asked who it was. I wanted to go out and check, but I remembered Shin Haejun’s earnest request for me to stay quietly in bed.

“Come in!”

Thinking nothing could go wrong in a hospital, I called out. The door opened slowly, and the person who entered was a gaunt-looking Kim Sehyun.

“Kim Sehyun?”

Why does he look like that? I may be all swollen from the allergic reaction, but Kim Sehyun’s eyes were also hugely swollen.

‘Why, why does he look like that?’

Kim Sehyun stood silently at the door, staring at me. His eyes were full of resentment.

“…Did you do it on purpose?”

“What?”

Did he not learn the 5W1H in school? Why is there no context? I already don’t want to see his face after he nearly killed me, and now he comes here and speaks in an accusatory tone.

As I frowned and asked, Kim Sehyun muttered with a dark expression.

“You have a tuna allergy but ate it anyway. Was it to spite me? Do you know how angry Haejun got at me because of you?”

I opened my eyes wide. This was the first time I’d seen such miraculous logic. Even if I were the real Lee Jaeha and ate it to spite him, isn’t the person who said it in the first place at fault?

“Haha… Hey, are you really my friend?”

I couldn’t help but laugh hollowly before asking Kim Sehyun. Even to my ears, my voice sounded sharp, but Kim Sehyun didn’t seem to care.

“Shouldn’t you first ask if I’m okay when you see the state I’m in? I nearly died from airway obstruction.”

“You brought it on yourself!”

“What nonsense are you spouting? Why did you tell him to give me tuna in the first place?”

At my words, Kim Sehyun bit his lip. Then he shouted with a voice full of resentment and burst into tears.

“Because you keep hanging around my Esper!”

“What?”

“Are you really my friend? Why are you doing this to my Esper? Did you have to do this?”

I blinked blankly. I couldn’t understand why he was acting like the protagonist of a tragedy here. Kim Sehyun’s mood swings were even more extreme than mine, and I’m the one with depression.

“What did I do?”

I asked, genuinely not understanding. I never clung to Shin Haejun first, nor did I say I wanted to be his guide.

I’m not sure if this expression fits since we’re all men, but… Kim Sehyun was acting as if I had touched his man.

“…Today too! You deliberately tried to ruin my image with Haejun…! Didn’t you?”

“First, you have nothing to say about when and how I supposedly hung around Shin Haejun? And tell me, why did you recommend tuna?”

“Because I hate it! I hate that Haejun takes care of your meals, and I hate that he only thinks about you!”

Kim Sehyun stomped his feet and screamed, “Aaaaagh!”

It was quite a sight to see him screaming in frustration. I wanted to lash out at him, but Kim Sehyun’s raw emotions were so intense that I felt overwhelmed.

Anger, jealousy, inferiority, murderous intent.

I thought he was wearing a mask, but I only expected it to be moderately dirty. But Kim Sehyun’s inner thoughts were darker than I imagined.

‘He might as well just die.’

I hope it’s my misunderstanding, but it felt like that’s what he was thinking.

“…Why did you come all the way here? To vent your anger?”

“I came to warn you because it’s so unfair. Don’t go near Haejun.”

“Let me be clear, I’ve never approached Shin Haejun first. He’s the one who came to me first.”

“Then you should know your place! Make it so Haejun doesn’t seek you out or think about you!”

Kim Sehyun shouted like he was throwing a tantrum.

I had a feeling that today would really be the day our friendship, even if only superficial, would break. I nearly died because of Kim Sehyun, and Kim Sehyun sees me as an enemy. How can we maintain a friendship in this situation?

“No.”

“What?”

“Who are you to tell me that?”

Kim Sehyun probably wanted a different answer. But I had no intention of giving him the answer he wanted.

I might need to adjust a bit considering the plot development. But I didn’t want to accept everything from someone who deliberately triggered my allergy and then came to make a scene.

“I’m Haejun’s pair guide!”

“You’re his pair guide, not his lover, right? It’s a relationship bound by contract, so who are you to come here and verbally abuse me?”

“I… I! I’ll eventually become Haejun’s lover!”

Kim Sehyun said, clenching his fists. He can have a one-sided crush on Shin Haejun, but I don’t know what kind of delusion he’s having. From the first time I saw their relationship, Shin Haejun had no feelings or openings for Kim Sehyun.

“Then tell me after you become lovers. This is overstepping your bounds.”

My words came out cold automatically. I didn’t want to listen to Kim Sehyun’s unreasonable behavior anymore.

Honestly, I wanted to tell him outright that Shin Haejun and I were progressing towards a good relationship, but if I did that, I was afraid the author and Kim Sehyun might really lash out.

“A pair connected by a mere piece of paper? It’s a relationship that can be broken at any time. Do you think you have the right to interfere in Shin Haejun’s personal relationships by coming here like this?”

As I said this, I momentarily thought of Hyun Dowoon. I learned from him how fleeting a pair relationship can be.

Of course, it was a precious partnership. But it was only a constraint for guiding, not a relationship with any permanence. In fact, stories of breaking pair relationships and finding new partners occasionally appeared on the Awakened community.

It was a big misunderstanding for Kim Sehyun to act as if he had some grand relationship with Shin Haejun.

‘Honestly, if you think about it that way, the mercenary contract is a much more binding relationship.’

I don’t know from what point Shin Haejun started caring about and liking me. I knew that making the mercenary contract probably helped in the explosive progression of our relationship.

It was a perfect situation to think, “Oh, it’s thanks to the system,” and start digging a hole. But surprisingly, I didn’t think anything of it. Just because the beginning wasn’t a natural meeting doesn’t mean all the feelings are false. At the very least, I wanted to believe that his attitude and actions towards me were his own.

“You… Why are you coveting what’s mine? How could I…! How could I have gotten to his side…!”

Kim Sehyun’s face turned pale in an instant. He trembled, seemingly shocked that Shin Haejun and I had connected emotionally.

Knock knock.

As we glared at each other in a standoff, suddenly there was a knock at the door.

“Um… It’s the caregiver. May I come in?”

The caregiver auntie who had returned from her errand spoke in a cautious voice. It seemed she had heard the sound of our argument from outside.

“Come in.”

At my words, the auntie entered, looking nervous. This seemed to bring Kim Sehyun back to his senses a bit, and he changed his expression.

“Oh my, you look like someone I’ve seen on TV.”

The auntie tilted her head as she looked at Kim Sehyun. Kim Sehyun then bowed his head to the auntie with a kind smile.

“Auntie, I’m feeling a bit tired.”

Kim Sehyun wouldn’t be able to act out in front of the auntie anyway since his image-making is important to him. I spoke in a tired voice, confident that the auntie would resolve everything.

“Oh my, the patient shouldn’t be tired. It seems you haven’t been here long, but I’m afraid you’ll have to leave now.”

The auntie spoke to Kim Sehyun in a manner that made me wonder if she had heard our argument or not. Kim Sehyun nodded, still wearing his mask, seemingly unsure as well.

“I guess so. Jaeha, I’ll come again next time.”

Kim Sehyun quickly left the hospital room.

After he disappeared, the auntie whispered to me softly.

“He’s not a friend, is he? Seems like you had a fight. You won’t get better if you’re stressed.”

“Thank you, auntie.”

“You really look tired. I’ll dim the lights, so get some rest.”

I was glad the auntie was quick-witted. I nodded lightly to the auntie who turned off the lights, leaving only the mood lamp on, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

***

The day after I lashed out at Kim Sehyun in anger, my first worry was about the days to come.

I had shouted, ‘It’s just affection!’, but both Shin Haejun and I had already noticed that the dam had burst. We hadn’t explicitly said we were dating, but we had already implicitly progressed to a relationship that was no different from dating.

My relationship with Shin Haejun would cause a bigger ripple than when I formed a pair with Hyun Dowoon. A love affair with the main character would be much more critical to the story’s development than a partnership with a supporting character.

Even if it wasn’t explicitly described in the story now, it was clear that the author or readers would soon notice.

‘It would be fortunate if they just think of it as a simple sweet potato development…’

If not, the author might write a fatal plot for me.

The problem was that even if I wanted to give up, it was difficult to control the heightened emotions.

I certainly don’t love Shin Haejun with all my heart. But it was a bit more than just affection, and after acknowledging my feelings, I was falling for him much faster.

It was also because I didn’t know what changes this relationship would bring to me that I couldn’t directly say let’s date.

“Nine. I have something to ask.”

: Go ahead!

“How much can the author intervene in my life? How much do you think the future plot will change?”

: I don’t know about that.

“I guess you wouldn’t…”

I sighed with disappointment. But soon my eyes widened at what Nine said next.

: Hmm… Maybe big changes might be difficult…? The power of ??? affecting this world is growing stronger!

The fact that the power of ??? on my side is growing stronger means, conversely, that the author’s power is decreasing.

“Suddenly killing me outside the dungeon, or sending me to some remote mountain…”

: Such a despicable act! They can’t do that anymore!

Nine answered with a very angry face. I just need to defend myself as much as possible with the inventory in the dungeon, and it doesn’t matter as long as it’s not outside of that situation.

Above all, a thought suddenly struck me. If it’s an event significant enough to make me drop out of this situation mid-way, it would mean completely overhauling the plot, which would wipe out the latter half that’s already been planned, so they can’t do that.

I decided to act more according to my heart from now on, having found some clues.

***

After about three days of hospital life, I felt like I couldn’t take it anymore. I’ve never been particularly fond of hospitals to begin with. I only went to the psychiatric department because it was necessary for social life, but basically, I couldn’t stand staying in hospitals for long because it felt suffocating.

Intending to be discharged quickly before Shin Haejun could interfere, I had already spoken to the hospital and was now gathering the few belongings I had. These were things that Shin Haejun, who visited every day, had scattered around the room, saying I might need this and that.

While I was packing various things like mood lamps, wilting flowers, and fruit baskets, the caregiver auntie was anxiously trying to persuade me.

“Oh my, the young master said absolutely no early discharge.”

“My face has improved a lot, even though it’s still a bit swollen.”

Both my swollen face and the rash on my neck had subsided, making me look somewhat human again. The doctor said it would take a week to fully recover, but I wanted to stop wasting time blankly here.

‘It’s the perfect timing while Shin Haejun is in the dungeon.’

What can he do if I’m already discharged when he comes out of the dungeon?

“Aiyoo, then leave the hospital bill to the young master. Don’t think about going to the billing department to pay yourself.”

“I can pay it myself.”

“If I can’t even stop that, the young master will really scold me. No, no.”

As it turned out, the caregiver auntie was a household helper called from Shin Haejun’s family home. “I was getting a special allowance, which was nice,” the auntie said a bit regretfully as she stopped me from trying to pay the discharge fees.

‘I was a bit nervous because it was a VVIP room, but is this fortunate?’

It felt a bit wrong not to listen when she was insisting so much. I was also a bit worried about eating into my modest savings.

As I was blankly watching the auntie sigh and repack the things I had organized, suddenly the door burst open with a bang. Thinking it might be Kim Sehyun again, I turned around, but an unexpected figure stood at the door, staring intently at me.