22 – Lily’s Shady Plan – 3
At 8pm, I headed to the back of the auditorium, as Seol-ah had told me in the morning. There was no trembling like the last time we first met, but I felt a slight tension.
“Are you a little late?”
“It came just in time.”
This time too, Seol-Ah came first and was waiting. I glanced at my watch, and there were still five minutes left until the appointment time. I brushed off her scolding for being late. She asked if my expression wasn’t very good.
“You don’t look very happy, do you?”
“I ruined the interview.”
The interview for the travel club in the morning lingered in my head all day and bothered me. She didn’t like the fact that she stuttered rudely after being confident, and the fact that she might not be able to join the club like Hestia and the fact that she might not be able to do the club she wanted to because of me.
“A club?”
“Yes.”
She burst out laughing at my answer. I was unaware of her speed and let her gleefully laugh at her.
“What is so funny?”
“Some big club will cut you off.”
“I thought so too and didn’t prepare.”
“A travel club?”
She laughed for a long time before stopping her laugh.
“Right.”
“Then, here I will give my collaborator the first information. You will join the travel club.”
Seola’s attitude changed suddenly. She was sure as if she had come to see the future. Is this the original information?
“How are you so sure?”
“The travel club also appears in the original work. It’s a club that Lily joins in her sophomore year. And she’s got a girl over there who put you in a weird pressure interview? Wear glasses She is the daughter of a viscount, yes. I have a personality that is very obsessed with principles. But there is no power within the club. You must have been terribly broken by the other seniors after the interview?”
“You are suspiciously detailed. Maybe in the original… ?”
“Right. In the original story, Lily uses her travel club to do all kinds of tricks. At that time, the girl with glasses tries to stop Lily by citing principles, but she is miserably crushed and expelled from the club. Why would you do that?”
“Please don’t do that.”
I was taken aback by Seola’s answer. How can it be so easy to say that innocent people are miserably crushed.
“That senior didn’t do anything wrong to me, really.”
“Is it necessary to think so hard? They’re just characters, and if we don’t like them, we send them off.”
I was creeped out by her jokes. I turned around and started a new story.
“So what did you ask to see me this time?”
“You don’t have to be so vigilant, right? Just talk a little bit about the current situation, and talk about the progress of the operation. Come to think of it, the last time we met, we were all excited and talked about our future plans, but we didn’t really have human-to-human exchanges.”
“You exchanged names and ages.”
“Isn’t it a little short of saying that it is human-to-human exchange?”
“I think that is enough.”
“If you push it that far, no matter how much I do, it will hurt a little.”
Seol-ah looks confused at my reaction. She is a welcome companion in this strange land and they share each other’s biggest secrets. However, she is also a dangerous woman who is insidious and puts herself in danger for her own plans.
“First of all, let’s talk about the recent situation. Don’t you have quite a few things you want to ask me too? You two haven’t had a chance to talk at this length since the last time we met.”
Seol-ah started talking about something else first, perhaps feeling like I was wandering without knowing what to do at the word human-to-human exchange. She certainly hadn’t had a chance to talk to her just the two of her. It was also true that there were many questions to ask.
“Then take off your school uniform first.”
“… Are you a pervert?”
“Don’t play around when you know each other.”
She was quite late, but she was still in her school uniform. The academy’s spring and autumn school uniform for girls consists of a shirt and knitwear. And you should wear a T-shirt underneath your shirt. Even if you take off your school uniform anyway, it’s just a t-shirt.
“It’s not fun.”
Seol-ah stuck out her mouth and groaned as she unbuttoned her shirt. I looked at her body without saying anything.
“Tada! How is it?”
At last, she undid the last button on her dress shirt. She tried to sneak over with her playful chuimsae, but I couldn’t take my eyes off her body. It wasn’t like s*xual arousal. It’s more like anger.
“Are you really crazy? What’s wrong with your body!”
Seol-ah’s arms exposed under the shirt had more scars than before. She has bruises in the shape of a hand, and marks from being beaten, and wounds that look like bites. The last time she heard that Wilhelm hit her for real, in the corner of her head there was always her concern about her current condition. I took her chance and confirmed that her condition was more serious than I thought. I grabbed her arms and shook them. She laughed bitterly at my reaction.
“If you hold it like that, it hurts, so let’s talk about it for now.”
But I didn’t stop. When I looked at her arm, I couldn’t see anything. This is not the time to point out Cordelia. I lifted her t-shirt slightly. Her white belly button is visible under the T-shirt. However, the first thing that catches the eye is, of course, the sparse bruises.
“Hey! Let go!”
Seol-A shouted at my sudden action and shook me off. I barely got away from her then.
“What is this?”
“I told you then. That bastard really hits me.”
Contrary to my anger, she has a calm attitude as if nothing happened. However, her voice or eyes were trembling enough that anyone could tell, unlike her demeanor.
“That’s not what I’m asking. Since when? Did you know we haven’t even started this operation in less than a week?”
“It’s none of your business. The operation is proceeding without a hitch.”
“Do you know that your voice is trembling right now? In less than a week, if this is enough, you know what the hell will happen later, right?”
“Never mind. As I’ve said before, Wilhelm is a guy who doesn’t know what to do with me if I don’t step in this time. I can bear this amount of pain for future development. And isn’t it your job to prevent something from happening?”
Seol-ah tried to say that it was okay, but I couldn’t understand. Her obsession with the original work is abnormal. Of course, if you know everything about how the world is going to go, you can direct it to the future you know in order to keep your information supremacy.
But her attitude is obviously strange. She is clearly suffering from the prince’s obsession. The scars left on her body and the trembling eyes and voice tell us that fact. Nevertheless, she is forced to carry out her plan.
“His development, original story, story! What the hell is that? Are you saying it hurts?”
“Why are you so angry? Every time I cling to you, you show that you are uncomfortable, so where do you hate me? Actually, do you care about me too?”
“Are you kidding me now?! And how can I not care?”
I shouted at Seol-ah, who was trying to pass it off as a joke even in this situation. This absurd strategy will undoubtedly eat away at her body and mind.
Seol-ah withdrew her smile and answered with a serious expression.
“As I said before, this is the only way to control Wilhelm. If you keep your distance from now on, where will you really be confined underground? The last train had already passed when you first agreed to my plan.”
“Oops… , If I knew this was going to happen, I would never have agreed to it.”
I wanted to refute what Seola said, but that was the end of what came out of my mouth. Certainly, the traces of Wilhelm left on her body revealed his perverted obsession. Could it be that she now wants to get away from Wilhelm? I felt like I was in a quagmire.
“I know. That’s why I deliberately didn’t go into detail. That I hid I have nothing to resent you for. You don’t have to suffer so much.”
“Now say that!”
“Now, now. Stop talking about this At most, it’s just a character. No need to overreact like that. It’s just that my body suffers a little.”
A character at best, an overreaction. Seol-ah’s words made me feel a great sense of incongruity. She feels like there is a huge twist between her and me that can’t be filled. When she was talking about the interview for the travel club earlier, the eerie feeling she felt runs through her body.
“So, let’s talk about the next operation.”
Seol-ah put on her school uniform that she had taken off. She opened her mouth as she buttoned up her buttons one by one. But I couldn’t ignore the creepiness and twist I felt earlier. I had a gut feeling that if I didn’t check it now, I would regret it greatly someday.
“You can tell by looking at my condition, but progress is faster than I thought. I have a feeling I will have an accident sooner or later.”
“Seol-ah. What do you think of this world?”
“I think I will have an accident within this month. If I’m absent, you can follow Wilhelm as he leaves school that day.”
“Do you really think that everyone here is simply a character in a novel? All fictional characters that do not exist?”
“If the trailing fails, you will have to search all the vacant buildings near the school. Maybe you can save a lot of time by going to the Bokdeokbang near the school and looking for the recently contracted building.”
“Is that why you just go out like that? Are they all fake anyway? Because you think you’re just someone’s imaginary figure?”
“Your role is the most important. I don’t think anything good will happen if it’s too late.”
“Seol Han!”
From nob le mt l dot com
My voice tore through the silence of the dark campus. But it was a moment, and then a heavy silence fell between her and me. Only the occasional sound of grasshoppers stinged into my ears.
Seola sighed and broke the silence. The words that came out of her mouth were the same as my bad premonition.
“Ha…. Okay. I think so. In this stupid world, the only real ones are me and you. Everything else is just fictional characters in the author’s head. All of these characters are moving as far as I know. Wilhelm, who is like a dog, says he loves me just like the original story, but is beating me up. Her family never notices me for who I am and just knows me as pretty, nice, smart Lily, and her damn princess puts political pressure on me all the time. You’re the only one in this world who moves differently than I know. Everyone except you is a puppet that moves according to the writer’s idea! I can’t understand it, but your beloved fiancée and Cordelia, who should have gone home after dropping out a long time ago, all move at the author’s will. The only ones with free will in this world are you and me.”
She almost howled as if the emotions she had completely built up from the middle of her explosion had exploded. I couldn’t say anything. Not only was she weighed down by her attitude, but also because what she was talking about was something she had never given any thought to.
“You asked if I cared about you earlier, you said you were joking? I’m not kidding. In this world, the real ones are me and you. Shall I be honest? Right now, I don’t feel much emotion for anyone other than you, or for the characters. Do you know what it feels like to be hit by Wilhelm? I feel like I’m hurting myself. Even though someone hit me and it hurts, that person isn’t scary, it just annoys me. I feel very dirty. That something is broken But do you know why I’m doing this ridiculous strategy while being beaten by Wilhelm? I did it because I wanted to put Wilhelm on the palm of my hand and get to know you. Even if I stick with you, the purpose is to make sure that bastard doesn’t say anything.”
“Seol-ah. Sorry, but I have a fiancé. You know.”
I rejected her confession, not her confession. Ironically, even in the midst of this, her heart pounds against her.
“Fiancé? What do you see and like your fiancé in the first place? It’s been a while since you entered that body. Don’t even think about lying. There is still a rumor in the capital, don’t deny it. No matter how long I hold it, it must have been less than half a year. It’s been a while since I’ve seen your fiancé. Are you saying it was love at first sight?”
“Yes. It was love at first sight.”
She laughed at my immediate answer, as if it were dumbfounded.
“Do you honestly feel that your fiancé doesn’t like you as much as you like him? What she feels for you is more her exclusive desire than her love. That she simply doesn’t want to give you to anyone else. Originally, it must have been because of Mikhail’s long cold treatment and lack of affection.”
“I know that too.”
To be honest, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel it. Although it was a short period of time, he was with Hestia and noticed her feelings to some extent. It’s not that he doesn’t like me at all. But her heart is closer to the greed of a child who doesn’t want to lose me.
“Is he still better than me? I like you more than he does, I’ll be helpful, and I’m your only understanding in this fake world?”
I nodded silently.
Seola smiled dejectedly at my answer.
“I was completely wrong about it all this time. I know that? In the end, the writer wants the love of Mikhail and Lily. The original story has already begun.”
“Still, my opinion does not change. I have an idea to help you escape from the original story.”
“Goodbye. See you on monday Come to think of it, in the end, human-to-human interaction was not possible.”
Seol-ah said something different and turned her back as if she didn’t feel worthy of responding to me.
I just stood alone and kept looking at her back.