IYBML 04

Chapter 04

Why This Man Has to Be the Male Lead (1)

“You… I told you not to let me see you.”

Eunho’s brows furrowed deeply.

I realized that I had been sitting on top of Eunho and that I had once again gotten on his nerves, so I hurriedly got to my feet. Eunho brushed off his clothes as if he couldn’t believe what had just happened.

“What the hell have you been doing this whole time? Why do you keep picking a fight with me…?”

“That’s not it, Eunho. There’s been some kind of misunderstanding.”

“What misunderstanding?”

“Just a second!”

Just as I was about to hurriedly apologize to Eunho for my sudden actions, a familiar voice came from behind him.

I immediately turned my gaze toward the sound. Among the brilliantly blooming flowers in the flowerbed, there was Semin drawing a picture, with Dogyeom talking to her.

“What misunderstanding? I’m telling you to explain…!”

“Just be quiet for a second!”

I sat down on the spot and covered Eunho’s mouth with my hand. Then I pricked up my ears to eavesdrop on Semin and Dogyeom’s conversation.

“Damn it, I can’t hear a thing….”

“Mmph! Mmph!”

But they were too far away, and the sound of the wind mixed with the rustling leaves, making it difficult to hear anything.

I narrowed my eyes and watched Dogyeom’s expression as he talked and laughed with Semin. An uneasy feeling began to rise inside me. He was wearing a different smile from the one he had given me earlier.

Even though I had taken Semin’s role to prevent the two of them from meeting, they had still ended up alone together.

“So even an extra’s interference can’t easily change things…?”

As I stared at the two of them, my field of vision quickly shifted toward Eunho. I looked once at the hand of mine that Eunho was holding, then at Eunho’s face, which was filled with displeasure.

Eunho had grabbed the hand covering his mouth and pulled me toward him.

I stared blankly at Eunho’s face, which had suddenly become much closer.

Good grief. How could someone be this handsome?

“What the hell are you? You said I was your favorite, then you suddenly started cursing at me, and now, on top of sitting on me, you’re even covering my mouth?”

“Eunho, that’s not it. I….”

“Why are you doing this? Do you think I’m a joke too?”

“Well….”

Because I was so happy to see you. Because I was so happy that I could finally see the person who saved my life like this.

The words I wanted to say were clear in my mind, but all of this was nothing more than a one-sided confession from me. Besides, since I had already made such a terrible first impression on my favorite, I couldn’t even come up with an excuse.

As I merely opened and closed my mouth, Eunho let out a deep sigh. Still holding my hand, Eunho lowered it.

“I’ve got plenty of problems to deal with even without you. So please, just leave me alone. Okay?”

“…….”

“This is your final warning.”

Eunho stood up and walked off the rooftop, his long legs swinging with every step.

Perfectly timed, the bell signaling the start of class rang. I sat there blankly, taking turns looking at the spots where Semin, Dogyeom, and Eunho had already disappeared.

*

The hectic day finally came to an end. As I walked down the stairs with heavy, exhausted steps, I spotted a familiar figure in the distance. Even from far away, there was a kid who immediately caught my eye.

“Semin!”

It was Semin.

At my shout, Semin turned her head. She looked flustered, apparently surprised that the class president, with whom she had barely exchanged a word, had called out to her.

I naturally walked over to Semin and quickly took some of the handouts she was carrying.

“Ah, thanks.”

“Come on, it’s nothing. Oh, you know me, right? I’m….”

“I know. Moon Yerim. Our class president.”

“You know me?”

“Yeah. But I didn’t know you’d know me….”

“Why wouldn’t I? You’re good at drawing!”

At my words, Semin blushed and shook her head, saying she wasn’t that good.

I had forgotten how cute my second favorite, Semin, was because I had been too busy looking at my favorite, Eunho.

Cute Semin and handsome Eunho. They were such a perfect match….

Once again criticizing the author’s terrible judgment, I casually asked about what had happened on the rooftop as if nothing had happened.

“Semin, I saw you going to the rooftop. Do you like it up there?”

“The rooftop? Ah, I go there often because it doesn’t feel strange even when I’m alone.”

“I see~ So you weren’t meeting anyone or anything? You just went up there by yourself to relax?”

“Yeah. Ah… but I did see the transfer student earlier.”

“Dogyeom? What did he say?”

“Oh, his name is Dogyeom?”

[‘Oh, his name is Dogyeom?’]

Even though I had separated the two of them, things were still proceeding exactly as they had in the novel.

Semin, who had shown him where the teachers’ office was, hadn’t known Dogyeom’s name either, and only found out later.

“The storyboard… He asked me to show it to him later….”

Ha. He sure knew how to recognize something pretty.

When had he even seen Semin drawing her storyboard?

I went to the teachers’ office with Semin, left the handouts there, and walked down the hill with her. It had only been a brief moment, but I felt that Semin had opened the door to her heart just a little.

In <Welcome! Summer Film>, Semin appears as the ultimate loner.

She had been bullied during middle school and had closed her heart to other people. There was no way she could become completely close to someone from the very first day.

“Semin, are you taking the bus? Let’s go together if you are!”

“Ah… I’m taking the subway.”

“Oh, I see. Then see you tomorrow!”

“Wait!”

Just as I was about to head toward the bus stop, Semin stopped walking and turned around to call me back. She hesitated for a moment before speaking to me carefully.

“Thank you… for talking to me.”

Perhaps because she was embarrassed, Semin quickly walked away toward the station after saying those words.

I watched Semin’s retreating figure with a pleased smile before turning around.

Then I saw Eunho waiting for the light at a crosswalk.

I immediately waved my hand vigorously, wanting to apologize to Eunho for what had happened earlier. We had definitely made eye contact, but Eunho looked away.

“Eunho! Talk to me for a second!”

This time, Eunho started walking in the opposite direction from where I was.

Was I really going to let him get away like this?

I hurried my steps and tried to catch up with Eunho, but it wasn’t easy to beat those long legs. In the end, panting heavily, I barely managed to grab his arm and stop him.

“Hey, is bothering people your hobby?”

“That’s not it. I’m really sorry.”

“Sorry?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry for suddenly cursing at you this morning… And I’m sorry for sitting on you and crushing you. And I’m sorry for ignoring what you said and covering your mouth.”

“How did today get so busy?”

“…Even if I had ten mouths, I wouldn’t have enough to say.”

At first, I was simply happy that I had fallen into this world and could see my favorite and second favorite characters with my own eyes.

Then I wanted Eunho to become the male lead.

But no matter how much I interfered from the sidelines, nothing changed.

Of course it wouldn’t. A supporting character—no, an extra—had no power.

Was the only reason I wanted Eunho to become the male lead really because he was my lifesaver?

With an inexplicable sense of discomfort weighing on me, I continued apologizing.

At my earnest apology, Eunho let out a deep sigh.

Right. Eunho wasn’t a cold-hearted kid.

His eyes looked much softer than they had earlier.

“Be careful from now on. And I was a little too harsh earlier….”

Screeeeeech.

It happened then.

With a deafening roar, Eunho instinctively pulled me toward him.

It was a familiar sound.

The sound of a car’s tires grinding against the road.

The sound of something scraping.

The sound of something being smashed apart.

“Hey, are you okay?”

I slowly turned my head and looked at the vehicle involved in the accident.

The car had crashed into a utility pole and was billowing smoke. The driver got out and stared at his car with a look of despair.

Fortunately, no one had been seriously injured, but my heart was pounding rapidly.

[‘I’m really sorry, senior.’

‘Where are you? Please, don’t hang up. Okay?’

‘I feel like I’m just causing you trouble, senior… Noona.’

‘No. I told you, you’re not.’]

The horrible memories of that day flashed through my mind.

The junior’s repeated apologies, followed by the deafening sound of the car.

And just as it had been described in the epilogue, the image of Eunho’s fading eyes overlapping with the junior’s fading eyes.

Only then did I finally understand the reason for this uncomfortable feeling that had been gripping me.

“Now I understand.”

“Understand what?”

“My favorite isn’t just a second male lead, or simply my lifesaver.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“If you continue to remain the second male lead here too….”

I wanted to prevent the car accident, at the very least, for Eunho—my favorite, and the person who had saved my life.

Once was enough.

For that to happen, Eunho couldn’t be the second male lead.

He had to become the male lead.

I grabbed both of Eunho’s arms as he tried to pull away from me and spoke.

“Eunho. Listen carefully to what I’m saying.”

Yes, there had to be a limit to how much an extra could change, all the way down to the ending.

If I couldn’t completely change the story because I was just an extra—

“Eunho, I’ll make you the male lead.”

Then the only way was to move Eunho himself, the protagonist.