Chapter 71

“Why did you call me all of a sudden?”

The woman who had been dragged into the inner room of the revolutionary of Busan’s birthplace asked the boy who brought her there with a voice tinged with irritation.

Though called the “inner room,” this place was a tourist site and therefore had doors without any locking mechanism. It was structured such that anyone who entered could eavesdrop on their conversation.

However, the woman with emerald-green hair in the room—Inna—was not particularly concerned that someone else might overhear the story she was about to tell.

It wasn’t because she thought no one would come this far, nor because the story was something anyone could hear. It was because she believed that the chances of the cute girl currently lounging on a bench nearby waking up and coming all the way here to listen were extremely slim.

Moreover, she was confident that even if someone overheard and relayed the conversation to that girl, she wouldn’t believe it. If it wasn’t something she saw or heard with her own faculties, the girl—Erica—would always find a way to consider it unreliable, whether before or after losing her memory. Inna knew this for certain about Erica.

Besides, as long as the story wasn’t about Erica, Inna didn’t care if anyone else heard whatever tale this boy intended to tell.

“Let’s say I brought you here because there’s something I want to ask you. How’s it going with Erica?”

As if proving Inna’s assumption that the boy had summoned her here for a reason related solely to Erica, his first topic was about Erica.

However, the woman’s face, who had already anticipated this subject, was colder than ice. It wasn’t something anyone else could ask, but the boy in front of her, of all people, should not have dared to inquire.

“Do you really think it’s okay for you to ask me this right now?”

Inna’s plan had been simple: she would maintain kindness toward Erica while encouraging others to keep tormenting her, ensuring that Erica would depend solely on her. That way, she believed she could most likely make Erica hers.

But how had things turned out? Unexpectedly, Erica had moved in with her, a supposed celebrity or something was trying to befriend Erica, and her own friends had stopped participating in bullying Erica. Even worse, she had followed the “advice” of the boy in front of her, freeing Erica from her relationship as a couple with the student council president, someone Inna had believed she’d never lose. And the result? Worse than imaginable, close to the worst possible outcome.

“You remember why I don’t say or do anything against you—it’s not because you’ve built a good reputation at school, but because I’m grateful for what you’ve done for me in the past. Keep that in mind.”

This was Inna’s veiled warning: stop indirectly mocking her about Erica.

Knowing Inna as someone who could become frightening over matters involving one girl, Kim Ha-neul was aware she could escalate things if provoked, yet he wasn’t overly fearful.

Put differently, while the threat of her becoming frightening was real when it came to talking about Erica, it also meant she could be easily appeased by handling Erica’s story well.

“I think it’s about time we moved to the next step.”

“The next step?”

The next phase of the Erica conquest plan.

Inna tilted her head so sharply that her long hair swept across Kim Ha-neul beside her, checking the side before confirming that no one was outside. Satisfied, she urged him to continue the conversation.

“Tell me, just me, for once.”

The woman who had earlier shown irritation now had a face glowing with anticipation, as if expecting something.

If anyone in the school were asked who was the best at romance, everyone would unanimously declare it to be Kim Ha-neul. There’s no denying that he was admired by many girls in school. Though Kim wasn’t female and might not understand relationships between women, his knack for capturing the heart of one woman was something he’d demonstrated time and again.

Even though Kim Ha-neul once failed to meet Inna’s expectations, the history of his previous successes in courting others still stood.

The gleam in her eyes now, shining as brightly as ever with the belief that she could win Erica’s love, bore resemblance not to the sun or a snake’s piercing gaze, but rather to the twinkle of a star.

“… Since Erica has let her guard down, thinking you’re safe.”

Kim Ha-neul continued his words at a slightly slower pace—an almost imperceptible delay that wouldn’t be noticeable to Inna.

Her confidence in him stemmed from the expectation that through him, she might win Erica’s love. This hope ultimately derived from her acceptance that, on her own, she couldn’t get Erica to love her. It stemmed from her acknowledgment that competing equally with others for Erica’s affection would result in failure.

However, the woman didn’t care one bit about the pitifulness of relying on others when she couldn’t win someone’s heart alone.

Because to Inna, the mindset was: though it’s best to secure love independently, if that’s not possible, then gaining love with someone else’s help is completely fine.

“This trip might be the right time to start reinventing your image.”

“Image reinvention? Like clothing? I did bring a few outfits…”

The woman began silently selecting the right clothes to match the idea of her image reinvention, as if all earlier tension had dissipated.

Although it might seem like she’d forgotten the earlier friction, she was, in reality, one of the strongest supernatural ability users among the sub-heroines—a person powerful enough to bend the world’s very mechanics to her will.

With one ability triggering absolute power when she’s threatened or maintaining unwavering stability, and another, weaker in raw strength but reaching omniscience, allowing her to obtain any information she desires, she possessed powers typically befitting a main heroine. However, considering she lacked the necessary conditions to activate these powers, Inna could be said to hold abilities better suited to a main heroine—potentially stronger than the main heroine herself, in some ways.

What did this mean?

“Busan…means the sea. And the sea means…—”

“—Impossible! You can’t seriously suggest using that forbidden technique!”

Inna’s eyes widened in realization at Kim Ha-neul’s words. Looking at her, he thought inwardly.

Indeed, her abilities were the closest of any heroine he’d encountered to the true heroine, the one destined to eventually intersect with the world’s protagonist.

This meant she was the closest to his own objective. She was someone whose advice couldn’t be disregarded despite having lost her lover, her memory, and seemingly her powers—all due to him.

“But among the places tied to the Revolutionaries of Busan, the only relevant one is the Busan Port Terror Incident, where it might be inappropriate to use the forbidden technique.”

“I’ll leave that to me. If the location isn’t suitable for using the technique, then we move the location, right?”

Although it wasn’t clear how a predetermined location could be changed, Kim Ha-neul, with his silver tongue, might make it possible.

So, all she needed to do was allure Erica with her charm. She’d eliminate her rivals—those lingering aimlessly near Erica without revealing their true feelings—with Kim’s help, once and for all.

Though they had their own hidden motives, Kim Ha-neul and Inna smiled at each other.

The end of their parallel dreams always came when one revealed their true intentions. With the summer of their second year approaching, and the time until graduation fast approaching, it was evident their time was running out.

*

The woman who had come back as a transfer student just to torment Erica and followed her even on the school trip stood at a distance, watching Erica conversing quietly with a hooded woman.

“…This is boring.”

For the former queen who felt bored, there was no one coming to relieve her tedium.

The school queen was no longer Kang Yu-ri but Inna, and the pseudo-religious cult leader position Kang Yu-ri had abandoned was already shattered when Erica was abducted.

Boredom. So she wanted to bother Erica. But if she approached, the hooded woman was very likely to interfere.

After much thought, she remained away from Erica, watching her with gradually dimming eyes. At this point, another woman approached the former queen.

“Hey, if you’re bored, why don’t we chat for a bit?”

The woman’s posture was impeccably straight.

Her eyes, covered by Kang Yu-ri’s veil of “falsehood,” focused sharply on Kang’s face.

“You seem to have something you want to discuss with me too.”

This was one of the two people who had been by Erica’s side even before the reckless s*icide incident, someone who claimed she would d*e if Kim Ha-neul didn’t return to her.

The current school queen, Inna,

“Hmm~ Why do you think I’d want to talk to you, Student Council President?”

The current student council president, Lee Seo-ra.

Possessing the absolute antithesis of Kang Yu-ri’s ability to distort truth, she had approached the woman currently closer to Erica than herself.

“Because you’re an immature person who sulks when your crush doesn’t reciprocate your attention,” she teased slightly.