Breaking Up with the Heroine of the Female-Oriented Game - Chapter 147

Chapter 147

Someone You Want to Have (1)

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Night enveloped the mansion of Yoo Seolhyun, the darkness thick and still.

The vast estate was cloaked in a deep silence, the only light coming from the soft glow of the moon filtering into the living room, now mostly consumed by a black, inky shadow.

In this quiet time, as even the stars high in the sky seemed to sleep peacefully, Jin Soyeon and Yoo Seolhyun sat facing each other.

For a brief moment, their gazes locked.

An inexplicable tension hung in the air.

It was Jin Soyeon who finally broke the silence.

“Talk?”

“Yeah.”

Yoo Seolhyun, sitting opposite her, crossed her legs and let out a soft chuckle, her elegant expression unchanged.

The smooth line of her legs, exposed beneath the hem of her dress, caught the faint light.

“Sometimes, it’s not bad to just… sit down and talk, right?”

Resting her chin on her hand, she smiled seductively.

“Don’t you think?”

“…….”

Jin Soyeon pressed her lips together.

She stared intently at Yoo Seolhyun’s face, which wore that same slightly brazen, quiet smile.

She’d always thought so, but Yoo Seolhyun’s smile carried a strange mixture of maturity and grace.

It was almost like it had a magnetic pull, subtly drawing others toward her.

That’s precisely why Jin Soyeon disliked that smile.

It was a smile that often appeared when he was near—Lee Jinhyuk.

Yoo Seolhyun might have smiled like that out of habit, but to Jin Soyeon, it was the smile of someone who effortlessly attracted men.

“Every time we’re alone like this, don’t we always end up fighting?”

“Hehe, yeah, that’s true.”

Despite Jin Soyeon’s blunt words, Yoo Seolhyun just covered her mouth and chuckled, as if finding the whole thing amusing.

As she said, whenever the two were left alone in a place like this, they always ended up arguing.

They rarely intended to fight, but somehow, it always devolved into a verbal clash.

It was enough to say that Jin Soyeon and Yoo Seolhyun were simply a bad match.

They were like enemies—constantly at odds.

Despite that, the reason they continued to interact was because they had a mutual connection in Lee Jinhyuk and begrudgingly recognized each other’s abilities.

As comrades-in-arms.

And, as frenemies.

“Come to think of it, last time we were together, we argued, too.”

“The last time…”

The last time the two had a private conversation was just a day before Jin Soyeon went missing.

Even then, they’d exchanged sharp words, stabbing at the other’s heart.

“Honestly, I felt a bit uneasy, thinking you made that choice because of me.”

Yoo Seolhyun had been feeling uncomfortable ever since, believing her words—blaming Jin Soyeon for Lee Jinhyuk’s death—had pushed her to make an extreme decision.

Had they not fought, maybe Jin Soyeon would have made a different choice.

“Don’t bother with it. It wasn’t your fault.”

But Jin Soyeon just shook her head.

“In the end, it was only a matter of time. Even if you hadn’t said anything, I’d already decided to move alone.”

While Yoo Seolhyun’s words had certainly been the final blow, even without the fight, Jin Soyeon would have eventually acted for the sake of avenging Lee Jinhyuk.

“So it’s fine?”

“Yeah.”

“If you say so…”

Yoo Seolhyun shrugged lightly.

“So, Yoo Seolhyun.”

“Hm?”

“What do you want? You didn’t ask for this time just to chat.”

“Hm?”

Yoo Seolhyun let out a small, playful hum as a sly smile spread across her lips.

“Well, first of all… Ah, right.”

As if she’d just remembered, she clapped her hands lightly.

“Soyeon, didn’t you say something the other day?”

“Something?”

“Yeah. You said if things had gone as they were supposed to, I would have become a villain.”

“Ah.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? Me? A villain?”

It had been a spur-of-the-moment statement she’d thrown out in frustration when they’d run into each other at that cult building some time ago.

“That…”

Jin Soyeon hesitated for a moment.

She wasn’t sure she should say it.

But Yoo Seolhyun already knew about Lee Jinhyuk’s ability to see the future, and in a way, they were cooperating now, so it probably didn’t matter.

Eventually, Jin Soyeon began to explain.

She recounted the contents of Lee Jinhyuk’s notebook about how things originally should have unfolded.

“Hm.”

After listening to Jin Soyeon’s story in silence, Yoo Seolhyun propped her chin on her hand, falling quiet for a moment.

It was certainly a shocking story.

After all, in the original future described by Jin Soyeon, Yoo Seolhyun had been portrayed as a despicable villain.

A typical villain, jealous of Jin Soyeon’s talents, beauty, and power.

And in that original timeline, they would even have failed the Youngdeung Mountain Hero Rescue Operation.

Come to think of it, Lee Jinhyuk had approached her and offered his help first, hadn’t he?

Why had he helped her?

Was it because he feared she’d become a villain and torment Jin Soyeon?

If so, that was really going the extra mile.

No matter how much Lee Jinhyuk valued her like family, who would willingly suffer so much for someone, with no recognition for their efforts?

“Well, it was interesting. Quite.”

Of course, she couldn’t trust Jin Soyeon’s words entirely.

But considering Lee Jinhyuk’s remarkable accuracy with his foresight, there was a high chance the story was true.

A villain, huh?

The thought shook her a bit since she had always dreamed of being a hero.

Yoo Seolhyun certainly didn’t have the best personality, but she’d never imagined she would fall that far.

“Now that you mention it, there were some strange things written in Jinhyuk’s notebook. Something like you being the ‘villainess’ and me being the ‘female protagonist.'”

“Is that so?”

Jin Soyeon muttered softly, furrowing her brow in mild confusion, and Yoo Seolhyun let out a small laugh.

The ‘female protagonist’? The ‘villainess’?

It was an amusing way to put it, almost like some kind of metaphor.

In Lee Jinhyuk’s view, perhaps Jin Soyeon really was the protagonist, and Yoo Seolhyun, the villainess…

“The ‘villainess.’ Sounds like something out of a romance fantasy novel, doesn’t it?”

“What? Yoo Seolhyun, you know about that stuff?”

“Sunari really likes genre novels, so I’ve picked up a thing or two from listening to her talk about them.”

Occasionally, whenever Sunari rambled about her favorite novels, Yoo Seolhyun had picked up bits of knowledge about such things.

“Lucky you, huh?”

“…What do you mean by that?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Jinhyuk must think of you as the protagonist.”

“Ah… um…”

Jin Soyeon scratched her cheek, looking slightly embarrassed.

Being referred to as the ‘protagonist’ like that seemed to fluster her a bit, but it didn’t seem like she minded all that much.

After all, it meant that to Lee Jinhyuk, she was truly someone important.

But…

“Oh, did you know this?”

Yoo Seolhyun’s smile suddenly grew more seductive.

“Typically, childhood friends are the ones who lose in the end.”

“What?”

Jin Soyeon frowned slightly at the sudden remark.

“That’s what Sunari says. Apparently, the trend nowadays is all about redeemed villainesses. Hehe.”

“You? Redeemed…?”

Jin Soyeon felt a strange wave of resistance as she sensed Yoo Seolhyun’s suggestion—that the childhood friend was just a fake heroine.

Wait, why was she even talking like this all of a sudden?

“Yoo Seolhyun, what are you even talking…”

“Soyeon.”

Cutting off Jin Soyeon’s rising frustration, Yoo Seolhyun continued smoothly, as if the interruption hadn’t happened.

“Lee Jinhyuk… He’s quite the man, isn’t he?”

Out of nowhere, the conversation took a turn.

Yoo Seolhyun, however, continued with a calm expression, her lips moving slowly.

“Not everyone is willing to risk their life for someone.”

Even for a hero, sacrificing oneself wasn’t easy.

“Let alone multiple times.”

And he’d done it for no one else but you, Jin Soyeon.

“When we found you, hardly anyone could move, seeing you drenched in blood like that.”

Except for one person.

“Lee Jinhyuk.”

Amidst the gruesome chaos, while others hesitated, he was the only one who, without batting an eye, stepped toward you.

“As a result, he got stabbed.”

“Ugh…”

At those words, a short breath escaped Jin Soyeon.

Though it had been an accident, the fact that she had hurt Lee Jinhyuk stirred a wave of guilt in her.

“And even after that, he never blamed you. He treated you as if nothing was wrong. A normal person would’ve felt uneasy about something like that, but Lee Jinhyuk didn’t show any sign of it, did he?”

That just showed how much he cared for her.

“Honestly, it’s enviable.”

To have someone who, without question, put you above anything else.

“At one point, I had someone like that too. But I always kept my true feelings hidden, hesitated for no reason… and in the end, it was too late.”

Yoo Seolhyun’s voice wavered for a moment as traces of old bitterness flashed across her face.

Her mother, the only pillar of support from her childhood.

Sick and frail, practically abandoned in that stifling household, she ultimately passed away under a series of unfortunate events.

And Yoo Seolhyun regretted it.

She had never fully expressed how much her mother meant to her while she was still alive.

“I always seem to regret things after I’ve lost them.”

When her mother passed.

When Lee Jinhyuk died.

Yoo Seolhyun let out a hollow laugh at the irony of it all—the way she only realized her mistakes after everything was already gone.

“I’m always worried about appearances, pride, that sort of thing. And because of it, I keep making the same mistake—being too late.”

In a family where she’d constantly battled her siblings for supremacy, displaying any vulnerability was dangerous.

That’s why she was so reluctant to speak her true feelings, fearing they could be used against her.

But once again, she didn’t want to live with those same regrets.

Not like before.

“So this time, I’ll be clear, Soyeon.”

Her gaze sharpened.

“You.”

“Lee Jinhyuk.”

A faint smile crept up her lips.

“Mind if I take him for myself?”

Her smile was daring, almost taunting.

End of Chapter