Student Council President Moon Sulin (4)
"…Yes. It's fine. I understand."
Moon Sulin ended the call in the hospital corridor and squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. A deep sigh escaped her lips. Something stabbed at her insides like a knife from the depths of her chest.
Standing before Lee Ho-yeon's room, Moon Sulin slowly steadied her heart. It felt like it was tearing apart. The thought of him fooling around with a woman who wasn't her. The idea that he was showing sides of himself to others that he never showed her. Imagining him tangled up with another woman… It made her so sad, so heartbreakingly sad, she thought she might go mad.
But what she hated even more was the thought of him resenting her for it. She knew that liking someone could sometimes hurt that person. Lee Ho-yeon was popular. A kind, handsome, capable man. There were truckloads of women lining up for him. She was just a creepy girl collecting his photos from afar or recording his voice.
"…Yeah. There'll be another chance later."
Relationships between men and women were as fickle as reeds. Life was long, and there was plenty of time to make a move. Even if he was with other women now, her opportunity would come eventually. She had to steel herself. He was a patient. Because she liked him so much, she didn't want to burden him. Seeing him suffer because of her would be worse than her own pain.
Far better to bear it herself. Besides, Moon Sulin was afraid. Afraid that if he noticed her feelings, he'd push her away.
'Noona… I'm sorry. I already have a girlfriend….'
"Eek."
Moon Sulin shook off the voice echoing in her ears. If she heard something like that, she really wouldn't be able to hold on. It would snap the fragile thread of her sanity.
She ran a clean hand over her face. She hoped it would ease the discomfort in her heart a little, but it had no effect. Her chest still stung like it had been pricked by a needle.
"Hoo. Hoo…."
Moon Sulin took another deep breath to hide her turbulent emotions. And she smiled. She didn't want to burden him.
She knocked on the door. Knock knock knock.
"Hoyeon-ah. Can I come in?"
*
"Hoyeon-ah. Are you feeling okay?"
Moon Sulin entered the room, dusted off a chair, and sat down.
"Yeah. Thanks to you, noona."
"You looked so badly hurt…."
Moon Sulin carefully scanned my body.
"I have regeneration abilities."
"That's a relief. I was so worried."
It really had been a close call. Without my natural healing, it would've been over for me.
Moon Sulin hadn't even changed clothes—she was still in the crop top and jeans from the memorial event. I propped myself up slightly against the bed and took her smiling hand.
"Noona, thank you so much. If you'd come just a little later, I really would've died."
This was true. I'd clawed my way through so much just to nearly die to some extra. A major crisis, no doubt.
"No, you should thank Ellis or Da-eun. Lucy and Lumi too. They all worked so hard."
Moon Sulin smiled faintly, saying everyone else had severe injuries except me, and stroked the back of my hand.
"You're amazing, noona."
She'd let everyone else go first for checkups, getting hers last. Even after fighting hard herself, her consideration was impressive. She was the perfect fit for student council president.
"By the way, what were you doing?"
"Uh… just resting."
I'd actually been talking to the chairman, but… I didn't feel like telling her.
"I see?"
Moon Sulin chuckled softly and stood from the chair. She walked lightly to the open window and levitated something with her mana. It looked like thin dust, hard to make out.
"Then what's this hair?"
"…What's that?"
"It's my grandfather's hair."
"…."
"It's on the chair, along the path to the window, and on the window itself. Why is Grandpa's hair here? Hmm."
Haa. I closed my eyes and shook my head. That old man was useless. He looked young on the outside but couldn't stop his baldness? He should've put up a barrier or something.
Moon Sulin returned to her seat, rolled up the hair, and tossed it in the trash.
"The chairman came by, didn't he?"
"…Yeah. Right before you came, he left."
No point lying—it'd be found out anyway. She seemed to already know for sure.
"Ahem, I see. What did you two talk about?"
"……I heard about Sulin noona's situation."
I decided to be honest to the end. From her expression, she seemed to know I knew the gist.
The chairman had probably bolted because he'd gotten wind from Moon Sulin. Something like don't tell him…
And yet he'd come anyway and gotten caught. What a guy.
"That my dad is a mine?"
"…Yeah."
"From your face, you heard I'm worried too, huh."
"Yes. I heard everything."
"Did he ask you to look after me or anything?"
"…No. He didn't say that."
I had at least that much tact. Had to deny it here.
"Haa. Really…! I told him not to say anything. That old man's words don't matter—I'll handle it myself, so don't worry about what Grandpa said."
"…."
Moon Sulin shook her head vigorously. Then she smiled like it was no big deal, as if brushing it off as a light joke.
"Anyway, Ellis got really hurt too."
"Yeah?"
"Did you see Da-eun? Her hand is…."
After that, Moon Sulin kept talking about the other heroines. How Lucy and Lumi had sobbed while waiting for me, how devastated Nam Da-eun had been, how Ellis had collapsed. She seemed cheerful on the surface, but… something felt off. Different from usual.
Moon Sulin had never talked about other women like this before. Sure, not never, but she wouldn't praise them like this.
'This is weird.'
Normally, praising same-sex rivals in front of someone you like is odd. Especially for a heroine like Moon Sulin.
Current Status: Hoyeon has other women.... I need to step back.
"…."
Reading the status window made it click. Something was wrong. Definitely wrong.
Moon Sulin knew about me and the other women. Why? How?
'…That's not the point right now.'
How she found out could wait. First, focus on the Moon Sulin in front of me. She was smiling outwardly, but if I were her, how would I feel? Her father, whom she'd searched for over ten years, was a mine. The man she liked was seeing other women.
'That'd feel… pretty pathetic.'
Originally, the stalker incident was meant to be my chance to be her pillar of support. But that route had fallen apart. In the end, I hadn't properly conqured her.
Lucy and Lumi got tangled with mines or drama between the twins. I rescued Nam Da-eun from Buyer Guild and satisfied Baek Ayoung's unique lust. I fixed Ellis's congenital mana disorder.
But Moon Sulin was the only original heroine I hadn't conqured. That was my inner anxiety.
"By the way, Hoyeon, you…."
I looked into Moon Sulin's eyes as she continued smiling.
"Sulin noona."
"Yeah?"
The faint tremble and anxiety in her pupils. That smile looked painful—it wasn't my imagination.
"Wanna grab some food later? I'm hungry."
I tossed it out casually. It was what we always said when we met. We'd eaten alone plenty of times. She should say sure.
"Uh? Um. I'd love to, but…."
But Moon Sulin hesitated. Wondering if she should accept.
Current Status: He's saying that just to take care of me. But then the other girls….
"…Tsk."
This was bad. She still had feelings for me, but she was agonizing over my other relationships. And that crazy old man getting caught made her think it was just pity.
"Sulin noona."
"Yeah… huh?"
I gripped her hand tightly and pulled. Bringing her close to my chest.
This was a gamble for me. I hadn't solved her worries, caught the stalker, reunited her dramatically with her mine-turned father like in the original, or cured the chairman's illness.
If I saw Moon Sulin as just a game heroine, this was a total failure. Might as well restart.
But even if conquring heroine Moon Sulin failed, I could still be human Moon Sulin's support. That had nothing to do with conquring. The minor issue of supporting multiple women was fine—I'd planned to from the start.
"Ho, Hoyeon-ah."
I smirked at her wide-eyed gaze and wrapped my other arm around her waist.
"Wh-what's this all of a sudden? Huh?"
"I always told you. Just trust me."
"Yeah, yeah. But…."
Moon Sulin's eyes darted around in panic at our closeness, like a cat searching for escape.
'Should've done this sooner.'
Her affection had signaled it was possible long ago. I'd just lacked confidence.
But now I knew. No matter how many women I had, Moon Sulin would be happier here.
"I like you, Sulin noona."
"Y-you… Hoyeon-ah…?"
At my following words, Moon Sulin gasped in shock, swallowing hard.