The Heroine and the Villainess: Friends
The morning assembly was about to begin, with only ten minutes left.
Yu Seolhyeon, granddaughter of the legendary Yu Gapryeong, successfully rescues the trapped heroes?
The Yeongdeung Mountain Dungeon fully cleared! What is the next move of the Gaonnuri Clan?
"Rescues the missing heroes alive!" The cruel experiment lab of the half-human half-beast monster!
"Do academy students really need to help?" The Gaonnuri Clan's incompetence and reality.
Quite a few internet articles had already flooded out regarding this Yeongdeung Mountain Dungeon.
Internet articles, social media, community sites, blogs, and more.
The attention focused on Yu Seolhyeon was greater than expected.
She had only cleared one dungeon after all, but the reason so many people were interested was because she was the granddaughter of South Korea's legend, Yu Gapryeong.
Her status as a student at the academy and her status as a beautiful blonde beauty also made her a hot topic.
Among them, there were many positive articles, but also many negative ones.
It was only natural that some articles questioned it, because veteran heroes had failed the dungeon a few times and some of their members had gone missing.
Logically, bringing an academy student into a situation where important missing heroes needed to be rescued was bound to cause controversy.
Of course, Yu Seolhyeon's supernatural ability was very useful for dungeon clearing.
Setting aside the fact that she was an academy student, she was a decent choice on paper.
But there was no shortage of people in a large clan like Gaonnuri who could replace her.
Therefore, people were busy expressing their own thoughts in comments and tearing each other apart about why Yu Seolhyeon had been brought in.
Because it had been hastily assembled, not many heroes could be pulled out.
Because it was to build Yu Seolhyeon's career as a member of the Gaonnuri bloodline.
Because of internal power struggles, and so on.
'Still, my story isn't that interesting.'
Was all the attention really focused on Yu Seolhyeon like that?
I was also an academy student like her, had recently received a commendation, and had been one of the people who defeated the black-handed long-armed monkey.
There was nothing about me that didn't exist, but compared to Yu Seolhyeon it was only a drop in the bucket.
"Yo, Seolhyeon, Seolhyeon! You were active in the Yeongdeung Mountain Dungeon rescue, right?!"
"Whoa, you even defeated a monster that appeared at the academy recently?"
"She's just on a completely different level from the others!"
Over there in the distance.
The kids in Yu Seolhyeon's group were always like this, full of praise.
They chirped without rest, pouring out compliments and cheers like sparrows.
Naturally, I gave an inner smile at the sight of them with tongues smoother than usual.
Well, Yu Seolhyeon had been rising in popularity lately with academy monster subjugation, commendation awards, and the Yeongdeung Dungeon clearing.
At times like this, you had to keep appealing to get more treats.
'Heh... Anyway, since we safely cleared the dungeon, we can say the first crisis is over.'
If it had failed, what would have happened to Yu Seolhyeon?
I already knew the game contents, so I knew the answer better than anyone.
'It wasn't completely over, but it should be fine for a while.'
This event had built a somewhat positive relationship with Yu Seolhyeon.
Since Yu Seolhyeon was truly useful going forward, I was really glad we had safely cleared the Yeongdeung Dungeon.
"But, she took that guy too, huh?"
"Oh, Jinhyuk? Why did you go together?"
"That guy's tactical evaluation number one. Was that the reason?"
"Well, at student level, how could someone like that slip into a place full of veterans?"
Of course, it wasn't all good things.
The more attention Yu Seolhyeon got, the more kids would have negative feelings toward me.
"Oh, she also did the performance evaluation with that guy, right?"
"Recently they were seen alone at a cafe."
"Could they be dating for real?"
"Really? Damn, no way."
"No, no way. How could Yu Seolhyeon be with Jinhyuk?"
"If they're dating... was Yu Seolhyeon trying to build Jinhyuk's career?"
"Oh, Yu Seolhyeon's bus is getting sweeter."
Whisper, whisper.
Some of the kids continued the gossip.
They subtly glanced at me and expressed their opinions.
'Yeah, I guess rumors are inevitable.'
Thinking about it, our meetings with Yu Seolhyeon had been frequent so far.
If it had been the usual Yu Seolhyeon, she wouldn't have kept meeting someone like me, so the kids couldn't help but wonder.
During the performance evaluation, since we were on the same team, it was fine, but after that they saw us alone at the cafe, and this time she brought me along to the dungeon rescue... a lot of things had stacked up to reach the current situation.
Perhaps there's something between me and Yu Seolhyeon.
'Since they're kids, they're sensitive to issues like this...'
"Hey, Jinhyuk. I read the article."
Then a soft hand was placed on my shoulder.
I flinched at the gentle touch.
Thinking it was someone, I quickly turned my head, and there was my childhood friend with a pouty face.
Huh, it was Jin Soyeon.
"Aw, you said it would hurt, but it's ridiculous."
Jin Soyeon, her silky hair flying, sat on top of my desk and looked at me with displeasure.
Her mood didn't seem good.
"Did you join the dungeon with Yu Seolhyeon because you were on leave? Secretly?"
The way Jin Soyeon emphasized the name Yu Seolhyeon and the word secretly was weird.
I was silent for a moment, then opened my lips.
"...I already explained over the phone after the dungeon was over."
"Can't believe it. Can't believe it."
Jin Soyeon shook her head, then let out a deep sigh.
"Why did Yu Seolhyeon tell you and take you to a place like a dungeon? And why did you follow her?"
With eyebrows raised and an unhappy expression, she continued to complain endlessly.
"Veteran heroes even failed the dungeon and some went missing. Why would you bring an academy student to such a dangerous place?"
"Um."
"Even if Yu Seolhyeon is from the Gaonnuri Clan and has useful abilities for dungeon exploration, you... you have no supernatural ability."
"Um."
"You went to rescue missing people, so why follow her? How did you know what would happen inside the dungeon? You're weak. Didn't you think you might die?"
Dada dada.
Jin Soyeon's unique complaining like a rapid-fire assault rifle.
It had been a while since I heard such worry-filled nagging, so it felt fresh.
It was like the mother scolding a little child who had gone out to play alone by the river.
"But, Soyeon."
"Why?"
"You did a lot of reckless things back when you were young, right?"
"Huh?"
"You know, when you were a kid, some delinquent took someone's money and you went after them and forcibly got it back? Also, during a rainy day when you went into the flooded river to save a puppy that fell in, or when you threw yourself in front of a truck to save a kid."
It was basically the kind of thing that happened in a shonen manga protagonist's past.
"Every time I told you it was dangerous and not to do it, but you would scold me back, saying I couldn't just leave someone who needed help."
"Is that... the same as this?"
Jin Soyeon flinched slightly and stepped back.
"In a broad sense, it's not that different, right?"
I shrugged nonchalantly.
"When people went missing in the dungeon, Yu Seolhyeon asked for help related to it, and looking at the investigation materials, I thought I could help a bit, so I decided to participate."
I stared at her with eyes saying, 'If someone needs help, it's only natural to help, right?' and she pouted and turned her head away.
Then she muttered one word.
"...You say you're weak, but who can help who."
Hey, you, always saying weak, weak?
...Yeah, I'm weak.
"Originally, veteran heroes all approved it. It wasn't that dangerous."
I had no choice but to accept her because of Yu Seolhyeon's request.
But it was very, very dangerous.
However, that fact was not in the article.
It wouldn't be good to reveal that Jinhyuk and Yu Seolhyeon had almost died.
"To sum it up, by clearing this dungeon, my career was also built, so it wasn't bad. We saved people and built our careers. When am I going to clear a dungeon like this again? Right?"
"You sometimes look more reckless than me. Yeah, that's why you brought me back then..."
"Huh?"
Jin Soyeon lowered her head slightly and let her sentence trail off, making it hard to hear the last words.
I was wondering what she had said, so I glanced at her, but Jin Soyeon suddenly lifted her head quickly.
Jin Soyeon pointed at me with her index finger and continued.
"Anyway! In the end, what?"
"What?"
"Why did Yu Seolhyeon bring you to the dungeon?"
"I guess she took me because she valued my tactical ability during the performance evaluation. For dungeon clearing, having someone who can think tactically is more important than raw power."
"Hah."
Jin Soyeon scoffed with a dumbfounded look.
It was the reaction that came out when hearing something that didn't make sense.
Soon Jin Soyeon fired back with sharp eyes.
"Do you really think that's logical? Tactical evaluation? Theory top? Hey, idiot. There are veteran heroes there too. Why use a hero wannabe like you as an advisor?"
No, um.
Yeah, that's right. Honestly, it's correct.
There was no reason at all to use an amateur like me.
...Unless Yu Seolhyeon thought I was a future-sight anomaly.
"Even if you showed good tactical skills in the performance evaluation, taking an amateur like you to a place like rescue operations doesn't make sense. What was Yu Seolhyeon thinking?"
"Um... I just went because she said she needed help. I don't know what she was thinking."
Since it would be too much trouble to dig deeper, I passed it off casually.
"Haa."
Jin Soyeon twisted the ends of her hair, then let out a deep sigh.
"Hey, Jinhyuk."
"What is it, why so serious?"
"Noisy. I didn't want to say this, but... that Yu Seolhyeon girl..."
Jin Soyeon glanced at the other kids, then came closer secretly and started murmuring in my ear.
It seemed like she was about to say something she didn't want anyone else to hear.
"When she was in middle school, there were bad rumors."
"Bad rumors?"
"Yeah. That she would flirt with guys who had bad relationships with her."
There was such a setting.
Of course, she didn't really flirt; there were many cases where she just gave eye smiles a few times, and the guy would misunderstand and think 'Oh, Yu Seolhyeon likes me?' on his own.
Originally, the reason Yu Seolhyeon did it was because a few jealous girls spread malicious rumors, so she was half-hearted to mess with them.
Even though her eye smiles were quite intentional, there was a side that wasn't really flirting.
Actually, in the setting, Yu Seolhyeon was probably a scammer.
Um. Flirting with a scammer beauty...
That's a classic subculture setting.
"By the way, what is it? You're talking behind backs like this? Oh, you did it last time too, right?"
"I was wondering if the fact that Yu Seolhyeon is getting close to you lately is because of me."
"So, you're saying you were intentionally being friendly with me to mess with me?"
"...It's a bit odd to say it so bluntly, but I guess it's similar. Anyway."
"But we're just friends, right? Why me?"
"At first, you're my ex-boyfriend. That must be the reason."
I swallowed a bit at Jin Soyeon's words.
Jin Soyeon did seem to dislike Yu Seolhyeon.
Thinking about the future, their relationship needed to improve a bit.
"You didn't bring me along for some reason, right?"
"Not really."
"...Yeah, you're right. Dungeon clearing isn't a joke."
Jin Soyeon nodded slowly by herself, saying she had gone too far.
I was watching her when I suddenly spoke.
Because I didn't want her to hate Yu Seolhyeon too much.
"Anyway, don't hate Yu Seolhyeon too much."
"Huh?"
I had just gotten her to promise not to bother me with Yu Seolhyeon anymore.
"After talking directly, she's not that bad..."
"Eh, that's weird?"
Tap.
Jin Soyeon cut me off and looked at me blankly.
Her golden eyes calmly included my face in her vision.
"A ten-year childhood friend who has always been on my side is now siding with Yu Seolhyeon?"
"What, kids' stuff. Do I have sides or not."
"Hah. Being a guy, you fall for it when Yu Seolhyeon treats you well."
"No, it's not."
Oh, I guess I scratched an itch.
Because of poor talking skills, I seemed to have lightly touched her feelings.
Thinking about it, from Jin Soyeon's perspective, saying something that seemed to side with her might have upset her.
"Haa, yeah, fine, it's fine."
"Not sulky, right?"
"...Not sulky?"
Jin Soyeon got up from the desk she was sitting on and headed for the classroom door.
"Hey, where are you going?"
"To the bathroom, why?"
"The homeroom teacher is coming soon, right?"
"Hmph, I'll be back in a jiffy."
With that, Jin Soyeon ran off without looking back.
"...How am I supposed to improve the relationship between those two."
I just scratched the back of my neck while watching where Jin Soyeon had gone.
Thinking about making the heroine and the villainess friends.
***
'What is that guy? Just because I said a few things about Yu Seolhyeon, he immediately sided with her. Pretty girl acts friendly, so he falls for it?'
Jin Soyeon was washing her hands at the sink in the bathroom, displeased.
'She's a guy too. Until now, he had no interest in other girls, so why suddenly Yu Seolhyeon... Haa.'
If it had been anyone else, I would have congratulated him...
Yeah... I would have congratulated him.
I definitely would have.
Especially if it had been someone like Yu Seolhyeon.
That's why I was this upset.
If I had just been flirting with a decent girl, Jin Soyeon would never have felt this way.
'Still, why does Yu Seolhyeon keep bothering me...'
Creak.
With the sound of the bathroom door opening, someone entered.
The assembly time was almost over, so I wondered who it was and checked the back through the sink mirror.
"Hi, Soyeon."
Yu Seolhyeon was approaching with a smile.