I Don't Want To Do a Romantic Comedy With a Villain! - Chapter 138

Episode 138

Min-seo spoke in an absurd tone as expected.

“Does that… even make sense?”

There was a mixture of laughter in the tone, which Min-joo found pathetic, making her face turn crimson with embarrassment.

“Fine, you won’t believe anything I say anyway. Leave. I have things to do.”

“Are you kidding me right now? Do you know how much I struggled to find you, looking for you everywhere? Even if you don’t feel sorry, can’t you be honest with me?”

“Then am I kidding?”

Min-joo’s face, stained with embarrassment, sorrow, and shallow resentment, was left speechless.

Although Min-seo knew it was unlikely, she wanted to believe that Min-joo hadn’t gone through something so unbelievable.

The moisture started to gather at the corners of Min-seo’s round glasses.

“Your phone was off, and there was no sign of you in your room. Your friend contacted me because she couldn’t reach you. It’s finals week, and you didn’t show up. You have assignments due, and there’s been no communication. I went to your place, and you weren’t there.”

It had been a long time since she had seen her sister cry. Back when they were in elementary school, she used to throw tantrums, begging to play with her, and crying when she didn’t get her way.

Since graduating from elementary school, Min-seo hadn’t cried. She hadn’t clung to her sister or thrown tantrums.

“I went to your place, and your phone and wallet were there, untouched. There was no sign of you leaving. The landlord asked me to vacate the room because the rent was overdue. I barely managed to persuade him by offering money instead. I tried to calm our parents down, and I searched for you. I’ve been searching for you for three months, everywhere. I’ve been looking for you all day, and then I came back to the apartment to clean up, and fill the fridge, just in case you came back!”

It sounded like she was blaming her sister, but there was genuine worry in her words.

Min-seo was not someone who worried about others.

She knew she was talented and always focused on her own work instead of worrying about others.

Min-seo wiped her tears with her sleeve under her glasses. Her voice was still choked with emotion.

“I don’t want to worry about you either. I don’t want to think that I have to protect you anymore.”

She had given up hanging out with friends to take care of her sister as soon as school ended.

‘Is it okay if you don’t hang out with your friends?’

‘Yeah, it’s fine.’

As she said so, she looked enviously at her peers who hung out together. It made her feel sorry.

‘What’s the point of getting 90? I stopped going to the academy because of you, but you’re not even studying properly and not even properly taking care of your sister!’

Min-joo continued to take care of Min-seo while not neglecting her studies, but she never argued back and just closed her eyes, hoping for it to end quickly.

And she cried silently through the night, lying under the flipped blanket, feeling helpless.

She felt sorry for her sister, who was always intimidated by their demanding parents, even though she was doing well enough.

At the same time, she felt foolish and regretful. She didn’t want to be like her sister, but her affection for her remained unchanged.

When she saw her sister crying alone, hurt by friends, family, or even her lover, she felt pathetic but believed she had to protect her beloved sister.

She hoped that she would succeed and earn enough money to take responsibility for her sister.

“Can’t you at least tell me?”

Min-seo pleaded tearfully.

She wiped the droplets off her round glasses with her slender fingers. Then Min-seo’s eyes blinked slowly.

“You won’t believe me anyway. So let’s just forget it, okay?”

Min-joo spoke gently, as she often did, like the affectionate sister that Min-seo loved.

Min-seo sniffled, frowning as if resenting Min-joo, and then sniffed again.

“Just talk to me, please.”

“You’ll believe me?”

“I’ll listen.”

Min-joo looked out the window beyond Min-seo. The hazy sky outside felt strangely unfamiliar.

* * *

“Do you think that makes any sense?!”

The voice of the furious man rang out sharply.

His flushed face showed no signs of cooling down.

“Min-joo left. And without a word!”

With a thud, he slammed his fist on the table, seemingly unaffected by the pain.

Permette’s eyes, reddened with anger, glared fiercely at Vehen.

Vehen decided not to confront Permette’s emotions because he understood his anger.

“It happened suddenly. I couldn’t even say goodbye.”

“But didn’t you see her leave?”

His trembling fist was pitiful to behold.

Vehen knew Permette’s emotions were not to be taken lightly. But Min-joo was Vehen’s lover.

He didn’t want to add to Permette’s loss by bringing up Min-joo’s departure when she was already gone.

Permette, barely holding back tears, furrowed his brow deeply and poured out his jealousy.

“You should have held her back. Your Excellency, you should have stopped her and told her to say goodbye to other people.”

His mind was on the verge of exploding, tangled in a mess.

He felt resentful toward Min-joo for leaving without a word.

He regretted not having the chance for a proper farewell.

He felt miserable because Min-joo didn’t search for him until the end.

He felt betrayed by Vehen, who saw Min-joo off alone without trying to stop her.

“You could have at least given her a proper farewell, held her back…”

Vehen had also failed to say goodbye, but he felt jealousy creeping in.

Permette pressed his trembling eyes with the back of his hand and stepped back.

“Rolfreme, calm down. The sorcerer said she would call her back to confirm that she had arrived safely. You’ll be able to see her soon.”

A bitter laugh escaped him.

Permette swallowed dry saliva to control his trembling throat.

It seemed like there was a hole in his chest, as the laughter didn’t stop.

“I suppose so.”

“Rolfreme.”

Vehen called Permette as usual, composed and indifferent.

It was bewildering. How could he be so unaffected?

Did it feel like he was the only one being left behind?

Permette struggled to contain the swelling emotions without any sign of subsiding and chewed on his lips.

“Do you think the sorcerer would bother to summon her back to check, I’m sure she’d say she’s done her job.”

Although he knew Vehen was not at fault, he couldn’t stop his outburst.

He felt so pathetic for being like this.

“I’ll… finish what needs to be done. There’s going to be a massive protest soon. I’ve been informed that it’s organized secretly by the reformist nobles.”

“…What do you think about Marquess Trimidri?”

Permette raised an eyebrow.

It was unusual for Vehen to ask for his opinion.

Permette touched his lips, trying to answer rationally.

“It’s bothersome. It feels like she’s interfering with our work.”

It wasn’t a wrong statement.

After becoming Ceteran’s confidant, she had seen enough evidence of the murder that occurred soon after she took office and the protests that were suppressed by force. There were also other suspicious incidents.

She persuaded Ceteran to seize power. Instead of Nelsie, it was Marquess Trimidri.

Perhaps Vehen had similar thoughts as he agreed with Permette’s response.

“I agree. Rolfreme, investigate Marquess Trimidri.”

He didn’t feel like working at all, but mechanically, Permette nodded.

Even if he had lost his heart, the world wouldn’t wait for Permette.

As if mocking his loss, the world continued to move on busily.

* * *

Min-seo laughed as if she had lost her mind.

She had been like that the whole time Min-joo was talking about what had happened.

She had thought she wouldn’t believe her, but she hadn’t expected her to laugh so freely.

Min-seo had been reluctant to believe it, even when Min-joo said she had been abducted by aliens and barely escaped with her life, but eventually, she accepted it.

She couldn’t explain it. Would it make sense in modern society for someone to disappear and reappear out of nowhere?

She didn’t fully believe it, but she just let it pass.

Min-seo concluded the conversation with her parents, assuring her that she would handle them herself, and left.

Min-joo gazed at the orange sunset now hovering above the ground.

“…Empty.”

She felt a hollow emptiness in her stomach.

She felt like Chichen would speak any moment and Genshtar would call her for dinner.

“If only I had said goodbye.”

Even if there were regrets, she wished she had said a proper farewell.

Memories and longing lingered, making it feel like time had stopped, or like she had suddenly woken up from a dream.

The time spent with them was still vivid.

Their faces, voices, and scents were clear.

Robert wouldn’t call her again. She had a feeling. She wouldn’t set foot there again.

‘I should have expressed more affection to Vehen.’

She regretted not accepting Vehen earlier without fear.

She had avoided it because she was scared of giving herself to him, afraid of the inevitable goodbye, but if she had known it would end like this.

She realized too late that she had already given her heart to him.

She sat on the cold floor for a long time.

She stared out the window blankly, without the energy or focus to change her clothes.

She had expected the night sky in Korea to be the same as everywhere else, but it was dark and dense.

“…I should do something too.”

The present Min-joo had chosen. Min-joo decided to come back here.

She changed into comfortable clothes and took a relaxed shower in the familiar bathroom.

She applied lotion and moisturizer generously, neglecting them for so long.

Min-joo scrolled through the piled-up messages on her phone and checked her grades.

With no exams, assignments, or attendance, Min-joo’s grades were dismal, and she couldn’t expect any scholarships.

She knew it was inevitable, but she felt miserable and helpless.

‘I can’t get a scholarship, so I’ll have to take a leave of absence to earn tuition fees. I shouldn’t care about the rumors spreading among my classmates…’

From the messages they sent, she could tell that her family had gone bankrupt, or she had fled abroad, or she was preparing to become actors under a contract with an agency.

It was nauseating.

Since she was going on a leave of absence, there was no need to contact anyone other than her close friends.

Min-joo put down her phone with a tired face.

‘I should look for a part-time job starting tomorrow…’

She had to submit the leave of absence form and say goodbye to her parents. She also needed to contact her friends. There was so much to do.

How would she explain the gap in her life?

She was tired. She just wanted to sleep deeply, without any thoughts.

The bed was soft, and the comforter smelled fresh and fragrant, like freshly dried in the sun.

As her blinking slowed down, she didn’t know when she fell asleep.

Just when she thought it was over, she found herself in the familiar black space.

“What?”

Min-joo approached the familiar beam of light as if possessed.

The scenario cover had turned pink.

From black to pink. She could guess what it meant.

‘Is it about my love feelings?’

The dream showed only Vehen, Permette, and Tedric, urging her to stick to the romance genre of the scenario.

Min-joo unfolded the scenario.

The scenario was written up until just before Min-joo returned here.

[Min-joo just before opening the door. She hides the emotions that seem like she’s about to cry and smiles.

Min-joo: Thank you. Really, everyone.

She opens the door and disappears. Vehen stands still, staring blankly at the door where Min-joo disappeared.

-fin-]

It was the end.

Min-joo repeatedly read the end of the scenario.

Beneath the word “end” was a blank space, followed by white paper.

It felt forced as if it had been abruptly ended.

As if saying, ‘Your love, your story ends here.’

“Who decided it’s the end…?”

Min-joo was not just a character. She was a human continuing her life.

The story Min-joo would create was still in its early stages and would continue until the moment she drew her last breath.

As the scenario ended, so did the predetermined future for Min-joo.

Realizing this, Min-joo set the scenario aside.

The pink scenario disintegrated into dust, like fading into the light.

“I don’t want to end like this.”

She wants to create her future, and she wants to end it the way she wants.

She misses Vehen.

She wants to finish the unfinished revolution perfectly.

In her own way.