Episode 1

I remembered my past life when I was twelve.

It happened after I fell during a tree-climbing race with my brother.

This world is inside a novel?

And my brother is the male lead?

Maybe because I see his face every day, I never thought he was particularly handsome.

At first, I didn’t think much of it.

Even if this is the novel I read in my previous life, I’m not the protagonist.

Why should I care about my brother’s love life?

But then, one day during school break, my brother brought a friend home from the academy.

“Oppa, who’s this handsome guy?”

That’s when I remembered how I ended in the original story.

“Deli, say hello. This is Alperen Ainruck, the young duke of Ainruck.”

“Alperen Ainruck.”

He stated his name plainly. It was hard to believe this clear, serene boy was the same sub male lead defined by the tags “angst, ache, and regret” in the original.

Hair like liquid moonlight and porcelain skin.

Blue eyes, as if studded with stars, shining cold like a winter lake.

If he had nothing to do with me, I’d have just enjoyed the view…

The problem was that my life gets ruined because of this man.

Will First Love Come True? is a triangle story where my real brother, Adrian, and Alperen fall for the same woman.

Torn between love and friendship, the two make different choices.

Adrian chooses love; Alperen chooses friendship.

As a result, Alperen marries his fiancée—the villainess—who is the Third Princess. The issue is that in the original, I was the one who had a crush on Alperen.

(Well, with a face like that, love at first sight is understandable.)

I looked at Alperen, standing there with a blank expression, and my stomach twisted.

In the novel, I fell for him at first sight and turned into a stalker.

A creepy one, tailing him from behind and making his life difficult.

Because I was his close friend’s little sister, he couldn’t deal with me harshly—making me even more of a headache.

Up to that point, it was a problem I could “solve” by simply not doing stalker things.

But the real problem was that the villainess poisons her husband, Alperen, and frames me for it.

I end up imprisoned in Kirpikan for murder, and within days, I take my own life.

It becomes one of the triggers for Adrian’s awakening, from the shock of losing both his sister and friend at once.

(So I’m just an extra, huh.)

Becoming a side character in a novel felt unfair all of a sudden.

Kirpikan Prison?

Only the worst criminals go there.

It’s infamous—no one ever comes out alive!

Going to prison for a crime I didn’t commit is beyond unfair!

But I can’t exactly monitor the villainess to stop the poison, and how am I supposed to interfere in a married couple’s business?

Right, a married couple’s business…

…Wait.

A second.

They aren’t married yet, are they?

A spark of hope flashed, and I stared at Alperen, eyes blazing.

Just then, Adrian muttered with a sulky face,

“Still, our Deli never once told her big brother he’s handsome…”

“That’s because you’re not.”

Is that really important right now?

Your little sister is on track to die in prison!

“So mean.”

Adrian pouted and grumbled, but I didn’t care.

My life was on the line.

If I can’t stop the poisoning, I just have to stop the marriage.

If he doesn’t marry the villainess, she’ll have a much harder time even attempting to poison him!

Maybe I’m a genius?

With a path to survival in sight, I started “educating” Alperen every time we met.

“Hello, Ren! The weather’s so nice today!”

“It’s raining outside…”

“Aha? Then why am I in such a good mood? Must be because I’m seeing you! By the way, do you like the color red?”

“Not particularly…”

“Oh! Perfect. A fortune-teller I met said red is your worst match. Especially red-haired women—beware.”

“You believe that stuff?”

“So keep disliking red, okay? Promise?”

“…All right.”

First, I planted a prejudice against the villainess.

“Ren, bad women are no good for anything. Kind girls are the best. Someone who says you’re amazing, praises you, and pampers you. And don’t even look at red! Especially red hair!”

I also spared no advice: don’t waste your life on a villainess.

“You’re engaged? No way! You should marry for love. Family alliances? You’re doing well enough without that—what’s there to worry about? And watch out for red hair today, too.”

I made sure to warn him not to be tied down by his family—just in case his father’s will or house interests made him hesitate.

In the original, Alperen valued relationships so much that he hid his feelings for the heroine.

Honestly, the heroine’s first love wasn’t my brother; it was Alperen.

If he hadn’t decided to “protect the friendship” and marry the princess, he would’ve been the main male lead.

It would technically get in the way of my brother’s romance, but what can I do?

I’m more important to me than my brother is!

And so, Operation: Make Alperen Break His Engagement began—carefully and thoroughly.

Eight years passed.

Sadly, despite my persistent brainwashing campaign, Alperen didn’t call off the engagement.

Why not?

It’s not like he even likes Nanael—so why won’t he break it off?

At this rate, the Third Princess—same age as me—will make her debut this year and marry Alperen next year.

After that, he’s destined to be poisoned by her.

Which means I get the prison ending anyway!

Ugh. I can’t let this happen.

Looks like I need a drastic measure.

But I can’t just drag the heroine here from another country…

While he was idly tossing a ball, Adrian asked,

“Deli, your debut is coming up. Anything you want?”

“No.”

“Don’t be like that—tell me. Your big brother will get you anything!”

He puffed himself up, and I gave him a dubious look.

Compared to the thunder-naked little wildling he used to be, he’d grown quite dignified, but in my eyes he was still a shaggy monkey.

Thinking about that clueless oaf acting all gentle with the heroine made my stomach churn a bit.

Just then, my eyes met Alperen’s.

He closed his book and asked lightly,

“Deli, do you have something to say?”

He called me by my nickname so kindly.

If the original Rodelia had heard it, she probably would’ve swooned.

Unlike the original, I’d become pretty close with him.

That was the result of not lurking in the shadows like Rodelia did.

“I do want something from you, Ren…”

“What is it?”

“Your breakup papers.”

“…That again? Haha.”

He chuckled and brushed it off like a joke.

He was always like that.

No matter how passionately I argued (disguised as breakup-talk therapy), his stubbornness didn’t budge. What am I supposed to do with that?

With this much sincerity, even the heavens should’ve caved by now!

“I’m serious. You know how willful the Third Princess is. There are even rumors she’s killed someone. And I told you, didn’t I? Red is your worst color!”

“But your hair’s in the red family too. It was even redder when you were little. Should I avoid you as well?”

“What?”

“I don’t want that.”

He lightly toyed with a lock of my hair and murmured.

Those blue eyes watching me felt especially flustering today. Was it my imagination?

Startled by the sudden closeness, I yanked my hair back and protested,

“H-how is this red? It’s pink! You need your eyes checked. If you can’t tell colors, that says it all.”

“Is that so.”

He stepped back as if nothing had happened and smiled lazily.

Then he asked,

“Then who do you think I should marry?”