SOS! I’m Being Forced to Be a Villain - Chapter 45

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 45

Yu Baek-hwa, who was found after wandering around the second floor, was not alone.

‘With Lee Chung-hye…’

Two women with unfamiliar faces. Seo Jung-hoo’s eyes narrowed as he spotted them.

Since it was Seo Jung-hoo and Kwon Tae-min who had dragged him to the bookstore, there was no way Yu Baek-hwa could have made plans to meet someone else here. So these must be people he just happened to run into by chance.

Lee Chung-hye was someone Seo Jung-hoo was quite familiar with, so he could overlook that, but the ones standing across from her were not. No matter how closely he looked, he had no memory of them.

Moreover, he had never heard or seen that Yu Baek-hwa had any close friends of the opposite sex who would exchange greetings after supposedly running into him by chance.

While Seo Jung-hoo didn’t know everything about Yu Baek-hwa, it was a well-known fact that he didn’t have a single proper friend.

Besides, those two women were showing somewhat awkward behavior, as if they were meeting Yu Baek-hwa for the first time. Their fidgeting, glancing around nervously, and blushing while smiling prettily was clearly visible even to Seo Jung-hoo from quite a distance.

Seo Jung-hoo’s brow furrowed slightly. For some reason, it felt like an unpleasant knot was boiling up from deep in his chest.

Soon, Seo Jung-hoo let out a small sigh and tried to collect his emotions. First, if he approached where they were, he could directly observe what the situation was.

However, Seo Jung-hoo had to stop again before he could even take three steps.

“…A phone?”

Seo Jung-hoo’s facial muscles twitched as if having a spasm. It was a clear expression of rejection.

One of the two women, not Lee Chung-hye, was holding out her phone toward Yu Baek-hwa. The woman with bashfully curved eyes was moving her lips. Though he couldn’t hear her voice, he could easily guess what she was saying.

‘Is she asking for his number?’

Yu Baek-hwa’s?

‘…Right. She could ask for his number.’

When he thought about it, it wasn’t strange at all. Yu Baek-hwa was excessively pretty, cute, and… anyway, sufficiently attractive even from Seo Jung-hoo’s perspective as another man. So to the opposite sex, such advantages of Yu Baek-hwa would be even more pronounced.

Until now, those around Yu Baek-hwa all knew about his impulsive nature and behavior, so they didn’t try to get closer than necessary. But if you excluded Yu Baek-hwa’s temperament and just looked at his decent appearance, he had a face that could attract popularity no less than Seo Jung-hoo, Kwon Tae-min, and Lee Chung-hye.

No, to be precise, even at Seolam High School, there wasn’t an atmosphere of unconditionally rejecting Yu Baek-hwa. Rather, he was closer to being everyone’s idol who secretly attracted favor from behind the scenes.

Yu Baek-hwa had a rough mouth but didn’t pick fights recklessly, and he didn’t grab just anyone and cross the line regardless of reason. Though he occasionally acted violently and caused incidents, most had understandable triggers and circumstances.

It was the same on the first day of high school when Yu Baek-hwa got angry and threw his textbook. According to what was heard, the other student’s fault was greater than Yu Baek-hwa’s, so everyone was more protective of Yu Baek-hwa rather than criticizing him. Of course, violence couldn’t be justified, but Yu Baek-hwa had diligently carried out the school service he received as discipline, so it was as good as paying for his crime.

That said, he didn’t act like a delinquent like other troublemaking groups. Rather, Yu Baek-hwa was closer to being a model student who participated earnestly in classes and assignments. His grades hovered around the middle rather than the top, but even that only worked as a favorable factor for Yu Baek-hwa.

‘…Rather than everyone’s ideal type, he’s more like a stray cat that has settled down at school.’

Famous for having a fierce temperament, so everyone can’t approach carelessly, and he often scratches people and causes wounds, but no matter how much trouble he causes, he’s not entirely hateful – that kind of existence.

Seo Jung-hoo more often thought of a hedgehog when looking at Yu Baek-hwa, but objectively speaking, he had an appearance and personality that resembled a cat much more.

Anyway, whether because of that or thanks to it, Yu Baek-hwa was quite a popular figure. Only he didn’t know it, but there were few who unconditionally hated or feared Yu Baek-hwa.

Enough that stories like “Should I try talking to him once?” came up quite often behind the scenes.

And until now, there had been exactly three people among all the students who had really made up their minds to approach Yu Baek-hwa and talk to him.

Seo Jung-hoo, Kwon Tae-min, and Lee Chung-hye. People who had been firmly marked by Yu Baek-hwa for the reason of talking to him once and showing interest.

‘Of course, we didn’t really talk to him just once.’

Seo Jung-hoo twisted his lips crookedly and rolled his eyes.

‘Yu Baek-hwa has never shown me that kind of expression before.’

Seo Jung-hoo’s gaze reached Yu Baek-hwa, who was hesitating, not knowing what to do about the phone thrust in front of his eyes.

His sharp eyes had crumbled stupidly. His red lips, which would snap at strangers without discrimination, were just moving silently. Seeing Yu Baek-hwa like that made the displeasure he had barely calmed down surge even more.

‘Why?’

What am I lacking compared to those people?

‘Aren’t I pretty enough too?’

Seo Jung-hoo’s brown eyes sank coolly. Soon he traced his chin, cheeks, straight nose, and around his eyes with his fingertips in order.

When he was young, he only heard compliments all day long about how gentle and pretty he looked. After gaining masculinity and growing taller with a broader frame, he heard more that he was handsome, but there were still many who called him pretty.

Compared to Lee Chung-hye who was naturally delicate-featured, Seo Jung-hoo didn’t have the kind of appearance you’d call ‘pretty,’ but he was still confident in his own prettiness. However, Yu Baek-hwa had never once complimented Seo Jung-hoo’s appearance, or even admired him openly or stared at him intently.

‘Does he have high standards?’

Well, considering his own face, that would make sense.

Having thought that far, Seo Jung-hoo suddenly lowered his head and buried his face in his palms. His ears burned at the sentence that had reflexively crossed his mind. His heart, which had been pounding with inexplicable irritation just moments ago, now held a subtle tickling sensation.

‘…This isn’t the time for this.’

Seo Jung-hoo belatedly came to his senses and quickly raised his head.

He must have been lost in thought for quite a while, as the others had gone somewhere and he could see Yu Baek-hwa left alone with Lee Chung-hye. Before he could guess whether Yu Baek-hwa had ultimately given his number to the other person or not, an even more shocking scene than the previous one entered his view.

Just like the woman who had approached earlier, Lee Chung-hye was holding out her phone in front of Yu Baek-hwa and shaking it as if urging him.

‘Why…’

It might have been for a simple and innocent reason. Yu Baek-hwa and Lee Chung-hye shared the same age, school, and friends – they could be considered quite close.

But it didn’t seem at all like Lee Chung-hye was requesting Yu Baek-hwa’s number for purely innocent reasons.

Lee Chung-hye was a consistent person. She disliked Yu Baek-hwa behind his back, and disliked Yu Baek-hwa even more in front of him. Recently, she had been showing behavior of pretending to be frail in an unconvincing way, as if she was having major mental problems, but that couldn’t have been Lee Chung-hye’s true feelings.

Yet that same Lee Chung-hye was directly asking for contact information from none other than Yu Baek-hwa.

Seo Jung-hoo stared blankly at the scene of the two bickering. Then, whether he had given up or resigned himself, he saw Yu Baek-hwa, who had pressed his lips tightly together, input his number into Lee Chung-hye’s phone.

“…Ha.”

Another hollow laugh escaped through Seo Jung-hoo’s teeth.

It had been just a moment ago that he thought Lee Chung-hye had a face as pretty as a woman’s. Could that be the reason?

‘…Is Yu Baek-hwa okay with men as long as they’re pretty?’

His mind, caught in baseless anxiety, didn’t try to look at the contradictory evidence right before his eyes.

Such as Yu Baek-hwa’s face that was still completely crumpled, or Lee Chung-hye’s expression that had no trace of excitement, or even Yu Baek-hwa’s hands roughly pushing Lee Chung-hye’s back.

Instead, Seo Jung-hoo’s mind went in a completely different direction.

‘If men are possible as long as they’re pretty, then what about me?’

Going round and round, it was the same destination as before. Seo Jung-hoo’s questioning heart had deepened even further.

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