SOS! I’m Being Forced to Be a Villain - Chapter 40

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 40

“…Never mind, I just need to go home early.”

Seo Jung-hoo let out a shallow sigh. He turned his head as if he’d humor me and brought up another question.

“What time do you need to be home by?”

“That’s…”

It was a limitation I hadn’t really considered. I had only thought that I’d hang out with the two of them and return home at an appropriate time, that I needed to be careful not to wander around with them for too long.

When I couldn’t finish the trailing sentence, Kwon Tae-min jumped in as if he’d been waiting.

“So you don’t know exactly what time you need to be back home?”

“…Well.”

“That’s understandable.”

Before I could make any excuses, this time Seo Jung-hoo interrupted again. Then he shot a quick glance at Kwon Tae-min.

“Then we’ll have to move as quickly as possible. To enjoy it to the fullest. Right?”

Before I could even react, the two of them approached close enough to block both my sides. Seo Jung-hoo on the left, Kwon Tae-min on the right. Hands extended from both sides carefully wrapped around my hands that had been floating defenseless in the air.

I flinched in surprise and opened my eyes wide. I looked back and forth between the two with confused eyes, but they didn’t offer any proper explanation, let alone excuses.

Instead, Seo Jung-hoo took the lead and started walking.

“Let’s go this way. I’ve looked into several fun places.”

“What…”

“I’m sure our Baek-hwa will love them too.”

“Wait, hey…!”

I tried to put strength in my legs out of bewilderment, but even that wasn’t easy. With both hands caught by different people – to exaggerate a bit, by those twice my size – standing firm alone was no easy task.

In the end, I moved forward dragging both feet. But in this position, the soles of my shoes would soon be completely worn out, so I reluctantly followed their steps.

* * *

We walked for about ten minutes. During that process, my instincts and impulses forced by the System tried to shake off their hands several times and spewed sharp curses. However, Seo Jung-hoo and Kwon Tae-min steadfastly led me as if giving up wasn’t in their dictionary.

As this continued, the relatively quiet surrounding scenery gradually changed.

“You need to get some fresh air like this from time to time for ventilation. Both people and atmosphere.”

I half-listened to Seo Jung-hoo’s rambling while looking around.

Though I’d been living in this area for a while, this was the first time I’d come out to the middle of such a bustling main street. I always just went between school and home, or the supermarket or small mart in front of my house. Since I had no particular complaints about such daily life, I’d never even thought about wanting to come out to busy streets.

The ear-piercing sounds of people talking, car horns, and motorcycle exhaust weren’t particularly pleasant to hear, so my ear muscles kept twitching.

Rather than having my ears suffer from such harsh noise, it seemed better to listen to Seo Jung-hoo’s meaningless chatter. As I focused on listening to the occasional conversation between Seo Jung-hoo and Kwon Tae-min, the street scenery suddenly caught my eye.

‘…There are a lot of people out with their families.’

Perhaps because it was the weekend, I could see quite a few parents who had come out for outings with their young children.

‘…Since when did I care about families and such things.’

I bit my lip for no reason, then averted my gaze as if avoiding something.

Soon, where we stopped was a three-story building at the corner of an L-shaped intersection. Unlike other shops in the area, it seemed to be built independently, with a unique building design and exterior appearance.

The building’s exterior walls, made entirely of dark brown wood, were decorated with various colorful flowers that seemed to be artificial, climbing up like vines. Through the glass windows beyond, countless books stuck in huge bookshelves could be glimpsed.

“It’s a bookstore that opened about two months ago.”

“…A bookstore?”

“Yeah. Baek-hwa, you like reading books.”

I stiffened in surprise. Then I narrowed my brow and traced back through past memories. No matter how much I thought about it, I had never revealed to Seo Jung-hoo that I liked reading.

As I glared at Seo Jung-hoo with narrowed eyes, Kwon Tae-min, who was standing beside me, pushed my back with a gentle touch. Pushed by the weak but firm force, I opened the bookstore’s glass door and stepped inside.

The inside of the building, which had reminded me of castle walls, was like a landscape in itself. It was a scene that could be introduced as a mysterious fairy’s house from a-filled fairy tale or a cabin harmonized with nature.

The bookstore was quite spacious, but it was bustling with just as many people. This place with such eye-catching design even had a small cafe in one corner. Thanks to that, it seemed to have become even more famous by gaining popularity among those who wanted an atmosphere that wasn’t completely silent but was cozy and peaceful.

Because of this, anxiety began to creep up on one side. If I were to suddenly scream or spout curses in a place like this, not only would I immediately draw attention, but there would be no greater nuisance than that.

Of course, this bookstore wasn’t a space focused solely on reading, so it wasn’t completely solemn and silent. Thanks to the small cafe, there were quite a few people chatting quietly. But it also wasn’t as noisy and bustling as the street outside, so if I caused trouble recklessly, I might end up being known as the troublemaker of this area.

I clenched my mouth shut with force. If it came to a point where I couldn’t endure with my own will, I was prepared to bite my tongue.

It was then that the warm temperature that had been wrapping around both my hands disappeared as if it had been waiting. When I turned my head with a sour expression, the two were already a step away from me.

“I’ll be looking at books over here.”

“I’ll be over there.”

Seo Jung-hoo and Kwon Tae-min pointed to corners in different directions. I couldn’t tell if they had coordinated beforehand to scatter in different directions, or if the books of the genres they wanted were really in completely different places.

After Seo Jung-hoo turned his back and walked away first, Kwon Tae-min added to me.

“If anything happens, come find me right away.”

“…What am I, some kid? Are you my guardian?”

“No. I’m…”

“Ah, forget it. Get lost. Go quickly.”

I spat out the words forcefully in a low voice. Then I turned his large body around and pushed firmly, and Kwon Tae-min glanced at me until the last moment before slowly moving his steps.

He seemed anxious that I might run away taking advantage of the gap when surveillance and restraint disappeared, after bringing me all the way here. If it were the usual me, I would have undoubtedly attempted to escape, but fortunately, I didn’t feel like doing so now.

‘…It wouldn’t be bad to just look around a little.’

I blinked my eyelids rapidly while looking around the bookstore. Then I climbed the stairs leading to the second floor with lighter steps.

No matter how powerful the System was, it wouldn’t send black-clad men to such a crowded place and try to drag me outside or attempt violence.

So inside this bookstore, it should be okay to move around separately from those two for a while.

Soon, having reached the second floor, I wandered around here and there with sparkling eyes.

The second floor was narrower than the first floor and mainly displayed minor books.

I browsed around, touching a few books, then turned my steps. Then I discovered sunlight streaming through a large glass window and stood beneath it, enjoying the warm light.

If this place weren’t just a bookstore, I would have immediately lain down on the floor where the sunlight was shining and enjoyed a languid rest. Then I would have dozed off into a nap and entrusted my body to the happy warmth.

Coincidentally, there was a long sofa placed right in front of the window. It was wide enough for several people to sit, so I hurried to move my feet. Then I suddenly noticed a man sitting at the end of the sofa with his head down, reading a book. His blonde hair shining particularly brightly in the sunlight…

…Blonde hair?

“Lee Chung-hye?”

As if responding to the call, he looked up from his book. His blonde hair, sparkling in the lighting, also fluttered attractively.

Soon, Lee Chung-hye’s and my gazes met with mutual displeasure.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————