Chapter 5.

Why This Man Has to Be the Male Lead (2)

“I’ll make you the male lead.”

“Male… what?”

“The male lead!”

Eunho stared at me blankly before furrowing his brow.

Then he carefully removed my hands from his shoulders.

One step backward.

Two steps.

Three.

By the third step, Eunho stretched out his hand to keep me from coming any closer.

“You’re completely insane.”

“Huh? Me?”

“Don’t come any closer. And don’t pretend you know me. What was your name again…? Mun Yerim?”

Eunho’s eyes quickly darted toward my name tag.

I hurriedly tried to cover it, but it was pointless.

Eunho shook his head.

“Mun Yerim, I don’t know what version of me you liked, but I’m not someone who can become the protagonist anymore. You saw it this morning. The banner falling.”

I naturally looked toward the school gate where Eunho was pointing.

The banner that had hung there until this morning had been neatly removed, and the name of a student who had won another competition was proudly displayed in its place.

“So stop buying falling stocks and find someone else.”

Eunho left me with that cool line before turning around, his gym clothes fluttering behind him.

What a joke.

Since when did you even invest in stocks?

I shouted loudly at Eunho as he walked away.

“Eunho! Life is about long-term investing, you know? Long. Term. Investment! Just wait and see. I’ll definitely make you the protagonist!”

I almost added that he should see the stock I’d held onto and eventually made a profit from through long-term investment, but I stopped myself.

Eunho was already running away in embarrassment because of my shouting.

And it wasn’t just Eunho.

The students heading home were whispering as they looked back and forth between the two of us.

I didn’t care.

I waved at Eunho and called out that I’d see him at school tomorrow.

As expected, I received no answer.

But I wasn’t disappointed.

It was always difficult to get the attention of your favorite character.

If I wanted to turn Eunho into a male-lead candidate, becoming close to him had to come first.

I couldn’t introduce Eunho to Semin or do anything else unless I became friends with him first.

After that day, I visited Eunho’s classroom every single day, trying to get closer to him.

But contrary to all my efforts, Eunho continued avoiding me.

The cafeteria.

The library.

The classroom.

Even the rooftop.

There wasn’t a single place where I could catch him.

It really drove home the fact that Eunho had been an athlete.

After three days passed without accomplishing anything, I gradually began to feel anxious.

Eunho needed to make an effort before Dokyeom and Semin became any closer….

At the same time, I was worried because Eunho, who was going through his rebellious phase, wasn’t coming to school very often.

Mom ladled some more soup into my bowl as I ate.

“Last time, your father couldn’t come pick you up because of work. He said he’ll definitely come today. So take the driver’s car to your academy, okay?”

“Mmm-hmm.”

“You seem to have your appetite back. You haven’t been eating much lately.”

“I do?”

“Yeah. Have you been stressed about something? If something’s bothering you, tell Mom.”

My chest tightened at Mom’s calm advice.

My parents had passed away when I was young, and it had been a long time since I’d heard warm words from a mother.

Suppressing the sudden lump in my throat, I ate the side dishes Mom had put on my plate.

“Mom, then….”

“Hmm?”

“If there’s someone you want to become friends with, what should you do?”

‘Koreans believe food gives you strength. Ask them to have a meal with you.’

Following Mom’s advice, I decided to have a meal with Eunho today.

Since he was still young, maybe he’d understand if I explained things to him properly.

But Eunho’s seat was empty.

When I asked his classmates, they said he’d left as soon as the bell rang.

I couldn’t believe it.

Fine.

Keep avoiding me like that.

Do you think I’ll give up?

“I’m just going to stick to you even more! Just you wait. I’ll be very affectionate and—”

“Yerim, who are you talking to?”

“Waaah!”

I jumped in surprise at the unfamiliar voice and turned around.

A man in a suit was standing beside a sedan, smiling at me.

“What is it? You look like you’ve seen something you shouldn’t have.”

“Wh-who…?”

“Huh? Are you upset because I haven’t been able to pick you up lately? What can I do? Uncle isn’t exactly all-powerful.”

Uncle?

Haven’t been able to pick me up?

I carefully went over the context of our conversation in my head.

From the moment I’d first been possessed until today, I recalled everything Mom had said.

‘You were always complaining about how much you hated taking public transportation, and now you’ve forgotten everything. You’ve forgotten everything. Wait for the driver at the back gate after school. He’ll come pick you up.’

‘Last time, your father couldn’t come pick you up because of work. He said he’ll definitely come today. So take the driver’s car to your academy, okay?’

Ah!

That day, Dad hadn’t been able to pick me up in the end, so I’d gone by myself.

But I hadn’t minded.

If the driver had come, I wouldn’t have been able to talk to Eunho.

I bowed my head toward the driver.

He smiled kindly and opened the rear passenger door for me.

I looked at the students passing by outside the window.

I’d go to the academy, sit through a few classes, then go home and make a plan for how to turn Eunho into the male lead.

“Huh?”

It was the moment the car passed through an intersection.

Between a convenience store and an alleyway, I caught sight of a familiar sports jacket and naturally wavy hair.

Bae Eunho?

I pressed my face closer to the window and looked at the bespectacled boy standing beside Eunho.

Judging by his uniform, he went to our school too….

“Ah, why does this feel familiar, but I can’t quite remember…?”

[‘That’s Bae Eunho, right? The guy who quit judo and supposedly became a delinquent….’]

[‘Yeah. I heard he beat up a boy from our school last time and almost got forcibly transferred.’]

[‘The guy with the glasses?’]

[‘Yeah. He’s the class president of Class 8!’]

I remembered.

Those were the things the students had whispered when Eunho quit sports and was wandering around aimlessly.

Judging by the timing, the bespectacled boy Eunho was leading into the alley right now….

He really was the Class 8 president from the rumors.

“We’re here. I’ll come back at ten.”

“Thank you!”

I immediately got out of the car and ran toward the back entrance of the academy.

Then I started running toward the intersection where I’d seen Eunho.

If Eunho beat that kid and word got around, it would definitely reach Semin’s ears.

And Semin would become afraid of Eunho.

No!

At the very least, I wanted their first meeting to go well!

“You bastard, have you lost your mind?!”

Just as I entered the mouth of the alley, an unfamiliar voice rang out loudly.

Another boy wearing a different school uniform was throwing punches at someone.

I stopped running and hid myself.

Soon, kicks came from the opposite direction as well.

I cautiously stuck my head out and squinted, trying to get a better look at the person on the other side.

As expected, the person fighting back from the opposite side was Eunho.

I wanted nothing more than to run over, grab Eunho, and stop him immediately.

But then I saw something in the other boy’s hand, and I changed my mind.

That’s….

A wooden club.

Seriously?

He’s crossing the line.

Who uses a weapon in a fight? That’s cowardly.

For cowards like that, the police were the answer.

I hurriedly pulled out my phone, ready to demonstrate what a model citizen I was.

“Uh, uhhh!”

Before the ringing tone could even finish, I slipped on a can behind me and fell flat on my face.

And, of course, I took dozens of boxes stacked like a tower down with me.

“What the hell are you?”

I reached out for my phone on the ground.

One of the boys spotted the screen displaying 112 and gave a hollow laugh.

“Hey, that chick called the cops on us?”

Ah.

I’m screwed.

Seriously.

I awkwardly raised my head.

Eunho and the bespectacled boy were staring at me.

“…Are you seriously following me all the way here now?”

“No, it’s not like that. I thought you were… beating him up….”

“What? What do you take me for…. Hey, you tell her. Did I hit you?”

“N-no! Eunho saved me. They were trying to take my money!”

“What?!”

Then those rumors had all been false?

Author, you should’ve included a scene correcting the rumors in the novel!

I jumped to my feet and looked at the Class 8 president hiding behind Eunho.

He really didn’t have a single bruise on him.

“It’s true….”

“Do I look like a thug? Like I’d go around beating people up?”

“No, I—”

“You bastards…. Are you looking down on us right now? And who the hell are you to interfere?!”

The boys on the opposing side, having lost control of the situation, seemed angry at being ignored and shoved me in the back.

I lost my balance at the sudden movement and stumbled.

Eunho quickly grabbed my arm.

“Take him and get outside. I’ll handle this.”

“You can’t fight them! I already called the police. You come outside too.”

If Eunho got involved with these guys, things would definitely get worse.

I grabbed both Eunho’s hand and the Class 8 president’s hand and tried to lead them out of the alley.

But one of the boys raised the wooden club in his hand.

“You little bitch!”

So this is how I’m going to die after only a few days of being possessed.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

But then….

I didn’t feel anything hit my body.

I cautiously opened my eyes.

The wooden club that had been threatening me only moments ago had been snapped cleanly in two and was lying on the ground.

I turned my head toward Eunho.

“Who do you think you’re touching? How many times do I have to tell you? I’m your opponent.”

Eunho said it as he ran a hand through his hair.

Semin.

No, Author.

Even after thinking about it again, I still couldn’t believe our Eunho wasn’t the male lead.

Eunho had every single quality of a perfect male protagonist!