Breaking Up with the Heroine of the Female-Oriented Game - Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Why You? (8)

The dark night sky, like a large curtain, enveloped the world, reflecting Jin Soyeon’s heart.

Thick clouds swallowed the moonlight, casting a pitch-black darkness over everything.

Her room, devoid of light, was filled with an inexplicable gloom.

There was no moonlight shyly smiling through the window as usual, nor any starlight scattering gentle glimmers.

Only the brilliant cityscape chased away the thick darkness, but Jin Soyeon’s neighborhood was unusually still tonight.

Is it already night…?

After finishing everything and returning home, Jin Soyeon quietly looked outside before collapsing onto her bed.

The soft bed’s embrace was the only thing gently comforting her weary heart.

“…Ha.”

She closed her eyes quietly in the dim shadows, without even turning on the lights.

As her heavy eyelids closed, the events of earlier replayed vividly in her mind.

‘Siwoon didn’t say anything.’

When she asked the foolish question of whether he was interested in her, Lee Siwoon chose silence.

T h i s w as c o pi e d f r o m ki n g m t l . or g
He seemed like he wanted to say something, moving his lips a few times, but in the end, he remained silent.

That brief, awkward silence between them spoke volumes.

Sometimes, silence can convey more than a thousand words.

Jin Soyeon, with an awkward smile, brushed it off as a joke, giving Lee Siwoon an escape so he wouldn’t feel uncomfortable.

There was no point in waiting for an answer that would only make Siwoon more uncomfortable.

T h is w as c op i e d f r o m k i n gm t l . o r g
At the same time, this revealed Jin Soyeon’s cowardice.

She had asked the question but backed out when she feared an unexpected answer.

Not hearing the answer was a psychological defense mechanism for Jin Soyeon.

By not hearing a direct response, she left room for herself to believe it was just her imagination.

Even though she knew the chances were slim, there was a world of difference between a 0% and a 1% chance.

Like a student hoping against hope that a wrong answer might somehow be right, Jin Soyeon clung to the slim possibility until the very end.

‘I’m really a coward.’

Yes.

Cowardly.

She asked the question herself and then ran away foolishly.

What was Siwoon thinking at that moment?

She couldn’t forget Lee Siwoon’s face when he received her sudden question. It made her feel guilty. She shouldn’t have asked that question in the first place.
T h i s wa s c o pie d f ro m k i n g m tl . o r g

‘I thought Siwoon would say no.’

Jin Soyeon sighed deeply.

Her chest felt tight and stuffy, forcing her to release the hot air inside.

‘Why did it turn out like this?’
T h is w a s c o p i e d f r o m k i n g mt l . o rg

Since she had known him since middle school, she thought they could be just friends, not a couple.

Especially since Lee Siwoon was handsome, rich, talented, and from a wealthy family.

Jin Soyeon thought he had grown up surrounded by much more beautiful, capable girls and wouldn’t be interested in her romantically.

Jin Soyeon was just an ordinary-looking girl from a modest background.

Siwoon had never shown romantic interest in other girls before, which reinforced her belief.

‘Even though there were rumors that Siwoon liked me, I dismissed them as just rumors.’

T hi s w as cop i e d f r o m ki n g m t l . o r g
Having suffered from various rumors herself, Jin Soyeon tended not to believe things unless she experienced them firsthand.

But now, that habit had come back to haunt her.

She had no idea what Siwoon really thought of her…

– Did you really not know?

Suddenly.

– You had some idea, didn’t you?

A voice within her mind, another part of her thoughts, shook her.

T h i s w as co p i e d f rom k i n gmtl . o rg
– Asking Siwoon if he liked you was intentional, wasn’t it?

Another voice of Jin Soyeon, revealing her raw emotions, struck her.

– You knew Siwoon wouldn’t nod his head easily in a situation where you were troubled by a stalker like Choi Changwon.

No, I…

– You wanted to make Siwoon say he didn’t like you himself, right? To use it as a psychological shield.

Jin Soyeon thought this subconsciously?

No way.

– You just wanted to hear him say he didn’t like you, didn’t you?

Ridiculous.

– Really? Can you honestly say you didn’t know Siwoon or Jinhyuk liked you? Didn’t you just pretend not to know?

Yes, I didn’t know, really.

– Common sense says there were rumors, and you must have seen and heard classmates’ reactions. Did you really not know?

Jin Soyeon wanted to cover her ears.

– You didn’t want to know? And you had to not know.

But the voice from her subconscious echoed in her mind relentlessly.

– Pretending not to know made you feel better, didn’t it? So you could later say, ‘I didn’t know.’

Unconsciously unfiltered emotions and thoughts buzzed in her mind.

The more she tried not to think about it, the deeper she sank.

– You’re just greedy and cowardly.

Slowly, very slowly.

– Afraid of friends’ confessions and losing relationships.

Like a snake, the voice slid into her ears.

– But you don’t want to give up on your hero role and friendships.

Eventually, the voice spoke clearly.

– Really…

Jin Soyeon heard it distinctly.

“…Aren’t you greedy?”

“W-What?”

Startled by the sudden voice in her empty house, Jin Soyeon was shocked.

What, what?! Who is it?

Thinking a burglar might have broken in, she was even more stunned to see the face sitting in the chair.

The person staring at her was someone she knew all too well.

‘It’s me?’

It was Jin Soyeon.

The woman with a calm face staring blankly was Jin Soyeon herself.

“W-Wait, what is this…?”

“Soyeon, Jin Soyeon.”

Before she could gather her thoughts, another Jin Soyeon approached.

Looking at the expressionless face of the other Jin Soyeon, she gulped.

“Your childhood friend and the rich boy both secretly love you… It’s like a plot from the women’s novels you used to read. Remember how you enjoyed those novels? You fantasized about them, didn’t you?”

“What are you talking about?! Who are you?!”

“Are you secretly enjoying this situation, pretending not to know?”

“Rubbish!”

Eyes.

Their eyes met.

The other Jin Soyeon’s eyes were quietly staring.
Th i s w a s c o pi e d fr o m ki n gm tl .o r g

Golden eyes that seemed to pull you in, not bright and radiant like usual but shrouded in shadows.

Those eyes were frightening for some reason.

They reminded her of her past self.

“Soyeon, let’s be a bit more honest.”

T h i s w a s c o p i e d f ro m k i ng m tl .o r g
Eyes are the windows to the soul.

Another Jin Soyeon looked through those windows.

It felt like those eyes were seeing through her soul.

Her face reflected in those eyes was hard as stone, her eyebrows trembling.

“You know how many people got hurt because of your selfish actions.”

“N-No, that’s…”

“How many boys can really just be friends with a girl as pretty as you?”

“What are you saying?”

“You knew it was hard for men and women to be friends. But you had to deny it to fulfill your desires.”

“That’s not true, it’s not.”

Jin Soyeon’s shoulders flinched.

“That’s why you made Jinhyuk your fake boyfriend, right? To stop boys from openly showing interest. Jinhyuk was the only one you could ask, and he wouldn’t refuse, making him easy to use.”

T h i s was c op i e d fr o m k i n gm t l . o r g
“…Shut up.”

“And you said you didn’t know Jinhyuk liked you when you asked him for that favor.”

“…Shut up.”

“Really? You never thought Jinhyuk might like you? Honestly?”

A whisper in her ear.

“You suspected a little, didn’t you… Ugh?!”

“I said shut up!”

Unable to contain her anger, Jin Soyeon rushed at the other her.

And then.

***

“Haa! Haa! Huh…?!”

She shot up.

Sweating profusely, Jin Soyeon raised her upper body.

Cold sweat trickled down her temples.

Her heart was pounding.

She gasped for breath, looking around.

The room was empty except for her. There was no other her. No figure, no voice—just silence.

The clock showed it was already 4 AM.

“Haa, what…?”

Was it…?

A dream?

A nightmare?

“I had a nightmare…?”

She didn’t know when she had fallen asleep, but the dream was deeply unsettling.

Fighting with another her spouting nonsense was creepy even now.

“Haa… Seriously. I must be under a lot of stress, to have such a terrible nightmare…”

Jin Soyeon sighed deeply and looked up.

In the dim light, she saw a full-length mirror.

Though the light was faint, her night vision was good enough to see her face looking extremely cold in the mirror.

With pitch-black hair absorbing all the light, her face was slightly contorted.

She looked so uncharacteristically cold that it was hard to believe it was her.

She was always smiling, making it easy to forget that when she frowned or had no expression, she looked colder than Lee Siwoon.

The Jin Soyeon in the mirror reminded her of her past self.

The self before meeting Lee Jinhyuk, filled with anger.

“……”

Jin Soyeon instinctively clenched her fists.

She knew it too.
Th i s w a s c op i e d fro m k in gm tl . or g

She couldn’t keep running away.

She couldn’t stay scared and do nothing.

“…Afraid of ruining friendships. That’s true. But.”

Jin Soyeon looked at the mirror, resolving herself.

“But I have to be clear. No more running away.”

She had to apologize to Jinhyuk for asking him to be her fake boyfriend without knowing how he felt.

She had to apologize to Siwoon if he liked her.

She had to be clear without pretending not to know.

Even if it meant damaging their current friendships.

Clearly.

– Really? You never thought Jinhyuk might like you? Honestly?

Before lying back down.

The words spoken by herself in the nightmare flashed through her mind, but she ignored them and went back to sleep.

Because she really didn’t know.

…Honestly.

End of Chapter.