The Moment Everything Changes (2)
The moment the names of the three girls he knew so well—Lee Yu-ri, Jeong Eun-ji, and Choi Su-yeon—left my mouth, Gong Yeong-bae’s face twisted in shock. He whipped his head toward me, eyes wide.
Lee Yu-ri made sense. Everyone knew they walked to school together and that they were close inside the academy. But how the hell did I know about Jeong Eun-ji and Choi Su-yeon? And why was I asking who he planned to date while naming all three of them?
In that instant, a terrible possibility flashed through Gong Yeong-bae’s mind.
Han Seong-jin. The infamous delinquent whose name was known not just at Jinsu High Education Academy but across the entire district. Rumors said he ran with delinquents from other schools too, and that he slept around with their girls constantly. There were even unconfirmed stories about him throwing wild orgies. People whispered that if he liked a girl, he didn’t care if she already had a boyfriend—he’d still go after her. No way…?
Gong Yeong-bae swallowed hard.
No. That can’t happen. Absolutely not.
Yu-ri had been his childhood friend since they were little. He’d only known Eun-ji and Su-yeon for a year or two, but he already had feelings for them. The thought of this trashy thug eyeing the girls around him sent a chill crawling down Gong Yeong-bae’s spine.
“W-why are you asking that?”
He squeezed out what little courage he had and tried to push back. But instead of getting angry, I kept the exact same calm attitude as before.
“Because I need to know if I’m going to help you or not. Tell me. Which one do you like the most?”
“H… help…?”
That was when Gong Yeong-bae became certain. Han Seong-jin was after the girls around him. The words Han Seong-jin and help didn’t belong in the same sentence. He racked his brain for an answer.
“I… I like all of them.”
“Yeah, of course you do. Good attitude. But if you had to pick one to actually date, who would it be?”
Gong Yeong-bae’s heart pounded even harder. If he named one girl here, Han Seong-jin would either go after the other two or target the one he chose. In the worst case… all three. And more than anything, he already had his own rules about this.
“I’m… I’m not going to date any of them.”
The sheer absurdity of it hit me like a truck.
“You’re not dating any of them?”
“Y-yeah.”
“You just said you like all three.”
“I do…”
“Then why aren’t you dating any of them?”
“T-that’s my business…”
Gong Yeong-bae tried to brush it off. He clearly hadn’t realized that dodging the question would only make me more curious.
“I need to hear the reason.”
“Why the hell do you care?! This is our problem, not yours!”
“Tell me. While I’m still asking nicely.”
When it became obvious he wasn’t going to answer willingly, I switched to a more Han Seong-jin style of persuasion. I lowered my voice and let my face twist into a scowl. Fear flooded Gong Yeong-bae’s expression. My naturally vicious face combined with my massive build created an aura that most students couldn’t withstand.
“Hiiik! I-it’s because… if I date one of them, the other two might leave me…”
He raised both arms in a pathetic defensive posture as he finally stammered out the truth.
I paused, processing his words, then understood exactly what he meant. My scowl deepened.
“What the hell? So you’re not dating any of them because you don’t want to lose the other two? You like all three at once?”
“Uh…”
If this wasn’t textbook harem management, what was? This guy was a total scumbag. Well, I used to be one too, but still.
Thinking back, there had been moments like this in the original story. The heroines would say things so obvious that anyone could understand their feelings, yet Gong Yeong-bae would always respond with “Huh? What did you say?” I used to think it was just the typical dense male lead trope from rom-com light novels. But hearing it now, in person, it all clicked. It had been deliberate harem management the whole time.
He didn’t want to lose the affection of the remaining heroines by dating just one, so he made sure none of them ever got a real answer. He kept them all dangling on purpose.
“You son of a— Hey, did it never occur to you that they might meet someone else?”
“T-that would never happen. They all said they like me…”
Gong Yeong-bae shrank back but still had the nerve to spout such shameless bullshit. So the fish were already caught? He thought they would keep liking him forever even if he never gave them a straight answer? What the hell did this bastard think a person’s heart was?
I wanted to slam my fist into his face right then and there, but I took a deep breath and calmed myself before asking the final question.
“Haa… Why do you live like that?”
“Huh…?”
“Don’t you feel sorry for the girls? They keep looking at you, never getting a single answer.”
“I… I do feel a little bad, but…”
Gong Yeong-bae dropped his gaze to the floor and fidgeted with his fingers.
“Still… it feels good, so…”
“What? Speak clearly.”
“It feels good when they say they like me and stay by my side… That’s why…”
“......”
Now I finally understood the whole situation.
In the original Love in School, Lee Yu-ri, Jeong Eun-ji, and Choi Su-yeon were all heroines who liked Gong Yeong-bae. Even though it ended in that NTR drift, the main story had been a sweet, heart-fluttering harem romance between the male lead and the girls.
But this bastard… He knew they all liked him, yet he pretended not to notice. He refused to choose any of them because he was afraid of losing the rest. At the same time, he didn’t want to let any of them go, so he kept dragging things out without ever giving a single clear answer.
All those moments when the heroines suffered, clutching their aching hearts, anxiously watching each other, competing for his attention—every single one of them had been deliberately created by Gong Yeong-bae.
I couldn’t hold back my rage. I raised my fist.
“You fucking piece of—”
“Hiiik!”
I almost brought it down on his head, but stopped halfway.
Even if I beat the shit out of him right now, what would change? Sure, it was clear he was absolute trash. But if I beat him up, would the heroines’ feelings finally get answered? The answer was painfully obvious.
“Haa… Fine. Get lost.”
“Huh? You’re letting me go…? Then… about what we talked about earlier, you’ll keep it a secret, right…?”
“Get the fuck out of here before I change my mind and kill you.”
“!!!”
The vicious threat made Gong Yeong-bae flinch. He turned tail and sprinted back into the auditorium.
His childhood friend and heroine, Lee Yu-ri, had been terrified of me but still stood up to me to protect the guy she liked. Yet this bastard had hidden behind her earlier, then tried to use her feelings to build his little harem fantasy?
When I first read the NTR drift ending, I thought the author was mocking the readers. That’s why I caused such a scene. But now I realized the real victims who had been mocked were the heroines.
They had been pouring their love into a guy who used their affection for his own satisfaction while deliberately managing his harem, never intending to answer any of them.
I had originally planned to take pity on Gong Yeong-bae after the NTR ending and help him end up with his favorite heroine. If he said he wanted all three, I was even willing to make that happen too. Because all the heroines deserved to be happy.
But my mind had changed.
I now understood that none of the heroines could ever be happy with Gong Yeong-bae.
Gong Yeong-bae… This bastard doesn’t deserve their love.
In the original Love in School, no one ended up happy. But this time, things would be different. The story pretended to be a harem love comedy before slamming everyone with that NTR drift, right? Now that I’ve stepped in, the direction of this story is going to change drastically.
“If you had just said you were dating one of them, I wouldn’t have touched any of the girls… But you, Gong Yeong-bae, are beyond saving.”
Still, the heroines would never have to feel guilt or regret toward him. There would be no more sweet events with Gong Yeong-bae. No more agonizing, heart-fluttering love stories. None of the original events would ever happen now.
All of them… I would make them happy myself.
“Yeong-bae! Are you okay? What did he say to you? That bastard didn’t do anything weird, did he?”
“I-I’m fine.”
Lee Yu-ri looked at Gong Yeong-bae with deep worry, checking him all over for any injuries or bruises. Feeling her gentle touch, Gong Yeong-bae let out a quiet sigh of relief in his mind.
I thought he was going to try to dig up more information, but he only asked a few pointless questions and let me go. Thank god. I was scared because he’s such a famous delinquent.
He still had no idea why Han Seong-jin had called him out, but since it was over, there was no need to worry about it anymore.
Watching Yu-ri fuss over him with that worried expression, Gong Yeong-bae remembered what Han Seong-jin had said earlier.
Don’t you feel sorry for the girls? They keep looking at you, never getting a single answer.
Hmph. What would a thug delinquent know?
Gong Yeong-bae cursed me inwardly.
…I like all of them too, but I don’t want to lose any of them. There’s no reason I have to give them an answer right now.
He decided to enjoy this moment a little longer and bask in everyone’s affection. Completely unaware that Han Seong-jin had completely changed his mind.