Breaking Up With the Heroine in an Otome Game chapter 77

77 – Love (1)

077.

‘Ah.’

Jin Soyeon flowed carefully through the stream of consciousness.

Beyond the fragments of memories spread out dizzyingly, Jin Soyeon reached out her hand carefully.

If she retraced the footsteps of her first memories carefully, she eventually arrived at the memories of her childhood.

Was it when she was attending kindergarten?

At that time, Jin Soyeon wasn’t as cheerful as she is now, and she wasn’t a selfless person.

She always had a sharp gaze and a cold expression, rejecting approaching children hastily.

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Her appearance was like a hedgehog raising sharp thorns to protect itself.

‘Back in the old days…’

Jin Soyeon came from what is known as a stepmother’s household.

Her mother raised Jin Soyeon alone at a young age after her father passed away.

However, on weekdays, her mother was busy with work, coming home late at night and taking naps during weekends, exhausted.

It was a challenging environment to give a lot of attention and love to a child, just like any other ordinary family.

Moreover, the fact that it was a stepmother’s household became a significant weakness.

For kindergarten kids, Jin Soyeon was just a tempting prey. Because young kids can be endlessly cruel.

Instinctively, Jin Soyeon realized that she was a vulnerable person who couldn’t receive proper protection from adults.

In the case of boys, they would tease and torment Jin Soyeon, treating her like a joke.

It was the behavior of a stubborn child who could only express the embarrassment of his heart toward a beautiful girl he had never seen before through teasing and harassment.

In the case of girls, they would ostracize Jin Soyeon out of jealousy for her appearance.

A few boys who secretly had an interest in her were giving her friendly pranks, which only irritated her.

Moreover, even when handsome boys approached her, she rejected them as if she found them bothersome, making the girls dislike Jin Soyeon even more.

Just because of their faces, just because they pretended to be impressive, that’s all she thought.

“It must have been tough.”

The kids teased Jin Soyeon for various reasons.

Whether mixed with kindness or malice, torment was torment in the end.

As a result, Jin Soyeon couldn’t help but have a significant aversion to getting along with the kids.

Jin Soyeon wasn’t consistently cold from the beginning, but the harassment eventually had a profound impact on her behavior and attitude.

Initially just a pretty girl with few words and a cool expression, over time, she became increasingly distant.

Due to the resentment that had built up in the children, she often reacted more roughly than necessary, and sometimes even fought with them without suppressing her anger.

As a result, Jin Soyeon found herself isolated in kindergarten.

Isolation at kindergarten, combined with being partially neglected at home, led Jin Soyeon’s thinking and behavior to take a negative turn.

The environment was a crucial factor in shaping the tendencies and personalities of children, so in Jin Soyeon’s bleak world, negative experiences repeated one after another.

Her mother did care, but being too busy with work made it practically impossible to take meticulous care of Jin Soyeon.

Jin Soyeon also didn’t explicitly mention the incidents at kindergarten, and the kindergarten tried to downplay the situation.

Since the children didn’t overtly harass Jin Soyeon, teachers often dismissed it as just a minor disagreement among kids.

In fact, through long experience, they had realized that helping a child with no father often yielded little in return.

Ultimately, a cycle of negativity.

Gradually, malice seeped into Jin Soyeon’s heart.

She instinctively felt that sticky and gloomy emotions were quietly taking root in the depths of her soul.

Amidst being immersed in this vicious cycle,

One day, a boy transferred to the kindergarten.

The boy, named Lee Jinhyuk, quickly assimilated into the group shortly after his arrival.

With a warm and altruistic personality, he gained some popularity among the kids.

Unlike Jin Soyeon.

“When I first met Jinhyuk, it was, how should I put it, a bit strange.”

At that time, Jin Soyeon didn’t like Lee Jinhyuk.

She disliked his smiling face and his attempts to be friendly with her.

No matter how many times she expressed her refusal, he persisted in trying to help without erasing the smile from his face.

Usually, one would get angry or give up, but Lee Jinhyuk never knew how to give up.

Even when he was cursed at, he would nonchalantly shrug his shoulders and approach Jin Soyeon, extending a helping hand without hesitation whenever she needed it.

Whether it was searching together when the girls playfully lost their indoor shoes, sharing his belongings when she forgot her supplies, or rushing to her defense when others mocked her, Lee Jinhyuk not only assisted Jin Soyeon but also put effort into improving her relationships with the kindergarten kids.

He went to those who had troubled Jin Soyeon, persuading them earnestly to resolve the issues positively. Moreover, he continuously facilitated connections to ensure that Jin Soyeon could get along with the other children.

The intrusion of one boy into Jin Soyeon’s insular world brought about gradual changes in many aspects of her life. The kindergarten, once distressing and challenging, and the lonely, dark household—these two places constituted Jin Soyeon’s entire world and, simultaneously, everything to her.

However, the seemingly gloomy kindergarten life became quite enjoyable with the presence of the boy, and whenever she was alone in the dark house, the boy would come and brightly illuminate her surroundings.

Isn’t it remarkable how simply being together can transform a once dark world into a bright one?

Lee Jinhyuk, referring to himself as a neighborly cousin, invited her to his home, where she could experience the warmth of an ordinary family. His parents treated Jin Soyeon kindly, as if she were their own child, offering her the love and attention she had missed from her mother.

From Lee Jinhyuk, she learned how people connect and interact. Occasionally, they might quarrel, but she learned to reconcile in the end. She learned to play, laugh, and converse with friends, as well as how to smile kindly instead of wearing a frowning face. She learned the joy of helping those in need.

From a young age, Jin Soyeon had been watching Lee Jinhyuk by her side. For a chick that hadn’t learned much from her single working mother, he became a guide and a benchmark.

He served as a standard for discerning right from wrong, determining good and evil, and distinguishing between what should and shouldn’t be done.

Lee Jinhyuk had firmly established himself as a reference point in Jin Soyeon’s heart.

Suddenly, Jin Soyeon thought,

“I want to be like Lee Jinhyuk.”

And so, she began to imitate him.

When he helped others, she, too, lent a helping hand. When he dreamed of being a hero, she dreamed of becoming one too. When he set Union as a goal, she too made Union her goal.

Lee Jinhyuk was not just Jin Soyeon’s family, friend, or object of admiration; he was someone she wanted to look at the same places and walk the same paths with.

Always smiling, getting along well with others, and being a person who could offer help when needed—she wanted to become such a person.

She wanted to live a heroic life with Lee Jinhyuk, helping others along the way.

But when she thought Lee Jinhyuk had died,

Jin Soyeon realized.

The sense of loss that she wouldn’t see him again, the fear that he had fallen, bleeding, and the guilt that he came to save her but faced death—she had no choice but to awaken to these feelings.

The feeling of wanting to become like that wasn’t merely rooted in longing, fondness, and gratitude.

The desire to resemble him, to walk with him, and to be together was too significant to be confined within the framework of childhood friends.

The goodwill and affection towards him was not just as a childhood friend.

At that moment, Jin So-yeon felt as if the world was collapsing.

Everything she had built up until now crumbled into chaos, unable to find its form.

She couldn’t talk to Lee Jin-hyuk anymore, couldn’t laugh and chat with him, couldn’t exchange trivial jokes. Her heart turned pitch black at the thought.

She had never imagined a life without him.

Lee Jin-hyuk was always by her side.

It was natural and something that had to be.

But Jin-hyuk died?

Can I never talk to him again?

Not by my side?

With that thought, her mind became dizzy and she couldn’t even breathe properly because of her trembling heart and shaking arms and legs.

It was difficult to control her body due to her pounding heart and trembling limbs.

Her mind became half-blurred, and she felt as if the loss and guilt would cause her stomach acid to back up.

It was only after losing him that she truly realized.

Lee Jin-hyuk was not only someone who should always be by her side, but also a far more precious existence than she had ever thought.

Beyond family, friends, and longing, he carried emotions even greater than that.

He was an existence that should never be lost.

So Jin So-yeon clearly understood.

He was not only So-yeon’s family, friend, and mentor, but also the person she loved.

Lee Jin-hyuk was both the missing half that occupied most of So-yeon’s life and the companion she must have in the future.

“Oh, I…”

The affectionate feeling she had deeply hidden in her heart until now.

No, this feeling she thought was affection was not actually just affection.

Calling it affection was too trivial, and calling it goodwill was too endearing… Jin So-yeon had tried to conceal this feeling under the name of friendship, but now she would proudly reveal it.

The true identity of the feelings she had harbored for a long time towards Lee Jin-hyuk.

Because she didn’t want to regret it anymore.

Because she didn’t want to lose it.

Because she wanted to be together.

Therefore, Jin Soyeon decided to be honest with her own feelings that she had been sneakily observing in the depths of her heart.

She liked Jinhyuk.

No, she loved him.

“…I miss him.”

The moment she thought that, Jin Soyeon could finally open her eyes.

Beyond the remnants of her consciousness, she was able to meet Lee Jinhyuk again.

—

“Huh?”

“…Jin, Jinhyuk?”

“Soyeon! Are you awake now?!”

As she struggled to lift her heavy eyelids, she could vaguely see Jinhyuk’s face through the blurry vision.

“…Jinhyuk, where am I?”

“In the hospital! How long do you think you’ve been unconscious?”

Lee Jinhyuk exclaimed in surprise.

“Wait, wait a moment. Let me call the doctor and nurse first.”

She stared intently at Jinhyuk rushing to press the call button.

Perhaps due to seeing Jinhyuk’s face after so long, she could feel a strange warmth on her cheeks.

Thud!

“Huh, huh?”

Thud-thud!

“W-what, what’s happening?”

Why is my heart doing this?!

Why am I trembling like this? What’s happening? Did something malfunction?

Realizing her affection and love for the first time in her life, Jin Soyeon’s foolish heart trembled uncontrollably.

Because she hadn’t adapted to this feeling of love, she futilely scolded her palpitating heart.

“Soyeon, are you okay? Are you in pain anywhere?”

“N-no, I-I’m fine!”

You fool, you bit your tongue!

Jin Soyeon, you fool! Why do you keep doing this?

It’s Jinhuk, Jinhuk! … Don’t make such a fuss. Stay calm, like usual, calm.

But, isn’t it unusual for me to wake up after such a long time?

What if my face doesn’t look good?

Is there a mirror around?

…No, no! Wait a moment!

Why do I keep thinking about such things!

Let’s just act like usual, as usual!

“Since you’ve called the doctor and nurse, just endure a bit, okay?”

“Yeah, okay….”

Just by looking at her, Jinsuyeon’s face slightly brightened, and she awkwardly averted her gaze, swallowing dry saliva.

“If you had woken up a bit earlier, Yuseolhyun would have seen you off; that’s a bit disappointing.”

“…Yuseolhyun?”

In an instant.

The heart that had been happily beating tightened suddenly.