I Don't Want To Do a Romantic Comedy With a Villain! - Chapter 39

Episode 39

Permette would have killed many people. 

Starting from the family, he would have killed those ordered by Vehen and Ceteran, tortured, and harassed.

Min-joo realized that the questions asked by the man were some sort of comfort. Clumsy and sloppy, she burst into tears.

The man with ashy hair gently smiled and wiped Min-joo’s lips with his thumb. Cookie crumbs clung to his thick and rugged fingers.

“Isn’t it better to kill no one, harm no one, and run away?”

Humanely, Permette murmured. The words spoken by a character who was more inhuman than anyone else in the story felt quite alienating.

Min-joo looked at Permette, forcing back the tears that blurred her vision. In the moist, shimmering sight, Permette’s guilt was visible. Very faint and subtle, an emotion that she might not have seen if there were no tears.

A droplet formed at the chin and fell. Thud, the sofa soaked along with the falling droplet.

“Was it painful?”

At Min-joo’s disorganized question, Permette lightly tapped Min-joo’s eyes with the sleeve of his shirt. It was the usual unruffled behavior and expression.

Permette shook his head slightly.

“No, it wasn’t painful.”

“Why?”

“Guilt is something that people feel.”

Because he’s not a person. Because he’s an obedient tool.

Permette did not feel guilt. Min-joo thought of Permette as someone pretending not to be human to become a tool.

Getting rid of unnecessary things to become a tool, discarding even humanity, only then can one become a person.

Min-joo felt the touch of the hand wiped her eyes and closed them quietly. A rough but careful touch, pouring attention.

“Min-joo, do you regret running away?”

“…Yes. A little.”

“If you hadn’t run away, wouldn’t you have regretted it?”

Min-joo opened her closed eyes.

Yes, she might have regretted it.

Even if she overcame the fear felt on stage and in front of the camera, she still might have regretted whether this path was right, or whether she should have chosen a different path sooner.

After that, she might have felt a sense of disgust looking back at herself who concentrated on appearance rather than the ability to avoid losing the praised appearance.

When Min-joo couldn’t answer and hesitated, Permette swept Min-joo’s white cheek with his thumb.

“Weren’t you happy after running away?”

“No, it was quite… satisfying. Directing, and aligning the story, was fun in its own way. I…”

The moments when they gathered to shoot the video for the assignment were memorable. Not just the actors, but the entire crew—cinematographers, lighting, sound, and other directors—coming together and working tirelessly all day. It was an enjoyable time, saving sleep time, and carrying heavy equipment was not so difficult.

Min-joo looked at Permette’s face. 

The flickering light of the yellow candle, dust floating in the air, ashy hair turning yellow, and the faint sound of breathing heard up close. All of it felt like a scene from a movie. Like a scene from the video, she had carefully unfolded her dream.

“I think I liked the movie itself.”

Though she ran away, she didn’t drift away from her dream. Only the direction to reach the dream changed.

What Min-joo ultimately wanted for the future was for a movie she collaborated on with others to be shown in theaters. Whether it was the process of being an actor or a director, it didn’t matter.

Min-joo was bound by the self-loathing of running away, unable to see her essence. It was okay to run away. It meant she had the opportunity to explore different paths. Even now, running away might not be entirely a bad thing.

The woman smiled lightly, holding back the constant flow of tears. At that moment, Permette thought Min-joo was incredibly beautiful. Someone who regains her smile while reclaiming her dream.

Permette didn’t know what his dream was, what he wished for, or even who he was. 

Despite feeling envious, Min-joo found him charming.

“Permette, thank you. I feel a bit better now.”

Had he ever heard those words of gratitude before?

Permette absentmindedly swept Min-joo’s bangs. Passing through the fine strands of hair behind her ear, the man’s thick hand touched her cheek, and Min-joo’s black eyes sparkled softly.

Then, gradually, her black eyes folded in half, and a smile appeared. 

A genuine smile that Permette cherished and held dear.

“You are a good person. Acting badly, doing many wrong things, but still, a good person.”

By uttering those words, Min-joo turned Permette into a good person. He pierced through the essence he had not known, whispering affectionately.

The celestial being, unable to become human, realized it as he sat in front of the woman, trying to swallow back her tears.

The reason he had wished for her acknowledgment ultimately ended up consuming him. He had tried not to be a person. A tool who could harm others without feeling a shred of guilt, stretching comfortably to sleep even after causing harm, and losing his humanity while remaining indifferent to curses filled with malice.

Born with the qualities of a tool, he could have grown up as a person, but he chose not to.

The head of the Rolfreme family had to be a tool serving the Duke of DeVirté, and he had to be an evildoer capable of committing wicked deeds without hesitation.

And so, he lost it all. The emotions of being a human, the opportunity to become a good person.

After losing, he longed to regain what he lost, but it had been so long that he couldn’t even identify what he had lost. That’s why he hoped that Min-joo, who keenly saw through things, would find it for him.

What Permette lost, what his essence was.

‘I was human.’

Min-joo revealed it. Permette was human. Not a beast, not a tool, just a human.

The taste of the leftover cookie still lingered on the tip of his tongue. His chest swelled as if about to burst.

Permette brought out the sentence lingering with the sweet taste inside his chest. It was not affection but love.

Without seeking help, even trying to return what he received, he, who gradually revealed the deeply buried things as they became closer, became someone she liked.

She has come to like him. 

He wanted to become a person.

6. The wicked with a reason is a cliché.

Unable to embrace or kiss Min-joo, Permette delicately touched her cheek with his fingers.

Min-joo closed her eyes tightly, suppressing her tears, and pressed her lips together, wrinkling her face.

Feeling sorry for her crumpled forehead, Permette swept Min-joo’s eyebrows with his thumb.

“Please.”

“…No, I won’t cry.”

“You can if you want. I may not be able to comfort you, but I can be here beside you.”

Min-joo bit her lips harder.

As soon as Permette finished speaking, tears began to flow like rain.

It was better this way. It was more comforting to have someone by her side. She felt like she should stop crying if comforted.

Permette silently stood by her side without uttering words of reassurance, occasionally wiping Min-joo’s face with his shirt sleeve. Min-joo sobbed silently throughout.

Apart from occasional deep breaths or the sound of stifled sobs escaping her throat, Min-joo poured out her tears without making a sound.

“I… Honestly, it’s so hard being here.”

“…Yes.”

“Not being able to use the internet is hard, not being able to meet friends is frustrating, missing family, having to submit assignments and receive scholarships… and even hearing the sounds of women serving. I can’t stay here forever. It’s so different from the environment I used to live in. I am… it’s too hard.”

Opening a part of the chest where she had kept things, Min-joo found something else she had stored.

She opened up another secret she had tightly closed beside her.

“I am trying to bring Min-joo back.”

Permette didn’t understand Min-joo’s words, but he could sense her struggle.

Trying to provide some comfort, he mentioned looking for a sorcerer. It wasn’t entirely wrong. Min-joo continued, feeling a scratchiness in her throat.

“If we find a sorcerer, can I go back? I’m not sure. Besides, I have no status, no money, and no abilities. How much longer can I live here… There’s no way other than depending on you or Vehen… I feel so pathetic. Even if I can predict the future, I cannot change it. I don’t have enough money to not worry about living expenses. I’m just an outsider with no status or background. There’s nothing I can do. I want to go home.”

Permette seemed to be about to say something.

Min-joo barely opened her swollen eyes and looked at Permette. Without hesitation, the man wiped Min-joo’s face with his shirt sleeve, not even considering the shirt that had come undone.

Unbeknownst to Min-joo, Permette even wiped away the runny nose and smiled affectionately.

“I’ll catch a sorcerer and interrogate him for you. Torture is not my expertise, but I’ll do my best to find a way to send you back.”

Laughter erupted. It couldn’t be more reassuring. Promising to catch a sorcerer and even suggesting torture.

Permette had no choice but to give such an answer. As Min-joo tried to hold back her tears and sniffed loudly, a small laugh echoed beside her.

Permette extended his arm playfully.

Seeing it as if he was offering his sleeve to blow her nose, Min-joo turned her head sideways.

She has a conscience.

How could she blow her nose into his clothes?

Using her own sleeve, Min-joo hastily wiped under her nose and lifted a teacup to clear her throat.

“I can’t offer you money or abilities, but I can provide you with status.”

As she took a sip of tea, she burst out laughing. Unable to spit on the table, she accidentally splashed tea on the carpet, causing a fresh burst of laughter from beside her.

If it were Vehen, he would surely have scolded her.

When Min-joo awkwardly turned to look at Permette, he was smiling like a twenty-year-old.

His playful face, the slightly wrinkled forehead in his hearty laughter, and the open smile that revealed his teeth felt refreshingly genuine. Min-joo once again realized that Permette was a twenty-year-old young man.

Permette couldn’t stop laughing and rubbed his chin. Each time he laughed, his broad shoulders and chest vibrated.

“Shall I wipe the tea for you?”

“No, no. It’s okay. I’ll do it myself.”

Min-joo wiped her chin with the other sleeve, not the one she used to blow her nose. Being given a status—how on earth? Wasn’t that the most difficult thing?

“If it’s about status, what…?”

“As my relative. As you know, since I didn’t enter noble society, the information available is limited.”

“I understand.”

“As a relative of the Rolfreme family, no one knows who I am, what business I do, or how I live.”

“Live as a commoner with a family tree. That’s it.”

“Yes. At least, I can offer you protection.”

Permette stopped laughing and reached out. Min-joo flinched, hunching her shoulders, then exhaled as his index finger skimmed the tip of her chin.

There was still some tea not wiped away on Permette’s index finger. And that finger brushed through Min-joo’s skirt. Just something he did. Min-joo laughed in disbelief.

“I’ll consider it. Being a fundamental commoner doesn’t seem much different from the current situation.”

“Then it’s okay if you become my sister.”

It was an absurd proposition. The one who had killed all his family suggesting she should have a family. Min-joo burst into a bitter laugh, and Permette laughed brightly.

“I’m thinking of an elder sister.”

“Then go ahead and have an elder sister.”

Ridiculous. Min-joo laughed heartily, smashing her head against the back of the sofa.