I Became a Villainous Character with a Limited Lifespan - Episode 98

Episode 98

Although he was sure he had never given out his number, people contacted Seung-hyun as if it were natural. He blocked most of them, but there were some contacts he couldn’t avoid.

[I will come see you tomorrow.] 7:12 PM

It wasn’t a saved number, but he could immediately tell who the message was from. Just from reading the message, it felt like he could hear the voice. The flat yet longing-sounding low voice.

Seung-hyun, who had been staring at his phone until the screen went dark, belatedly put it down. Was he thinking of reporting the progress after stirring up this kind of situation on his own?

He knew since meeting Seok-hyung last time that this kind of thing would happen. He had also anticipated that his tranquil daily life would be broken and he would be caught up in bothersome matters before long.

However, Seung-hyun did nothing and waited for Seok-hyung to make his move. It wasn’t simply because what he could do was limited.

Honestly, Seung-hyun liked his current life. Even knowing that his relationship with Jae-young couldn’t end beautifully, he enjoyed the time he spent with him and the peaceful days were delightful.

So he didn’t have the confidence to leave these serene days on his own. It was a dream too sweet to end with his own hands, a dream he didn’t want to break.

Although he couldn’t know exactly what actions Seok-hyung would take, he could roughly predict it. He would do exactly what the “Han Seung-hyun” in the original work would have done. He had also inwardly guessed that Seok-hyung would attack Tae-sung even if it meant using a self-destructive move.

And that prediction came true exactly. Since it meant making Assemblyman Park an enemy, in a normal situation, he would have looked for another method, but now it was a situation where he didn’t have to think about such things, so he had detonated the matter he had saved as a last resort.

“He’s acting as if there’s no tomorrow.”

It wasn’t that he had absolutely no concerns. Han Seung-hyun had no tomorrow, but Yiseok-hyung would have many days left, so was it okay to do this? He had such thoughts.

But that thought didn’t last long. Because it wasn’t a situation where he had the leisure to worry about others.

Seung-hyun suddenly recalled the moment he had sent Jae-young away. He had looked surprised by the sudden words to leave.

Because he was always kind and considerate of Seung-hyun’s condition, Seung-hyun had thought he would follow his wishes, but he seemed to have inwardly hoped Jae-young wouldn’t go.

At first, he thought he could cut it off easily. At most a year. He had thought there was no way he would have a special relationship in that short time.

He had thought this was like a bonus game, so he wouldn’t have any lingering attachments. He had thought about it so lightly. If he hadn’t met Jae-young, perhaps things would have flowed as he had expected.

He would have lived a life that was boring to the point of being leisurely and idle every day, making only light relationships where it was good to meet but not greatly missed if not.

Just like his past self, he would have lived aimless days, spending each day for the next.

He didn’t know because he had never had a deep relationship with others. That having a precious person, genuinely coming to like someone, could change a person’s life so drastically at once.

He had thought he had lived without desiring anything. He had realized too late that he simply hadn’t had the leisure to do so, that he was also a person with greed, that his greed was so great that he was just a weak human in front of desire to the point of walking the wrong path even knowing what was right and wrong.

In the end, he couldn’t sever this relationship with his own will. The wind stirred up by Seok-hyung would clearly become a strong gust that would swallow up even Seung-hyun, but he was fine with getting a little hurt.

He needed a situation that was inevitable. A situation where even he, who had become selfish not wanting to end this relationship, had no choice, a situation where Jae-young would be sick of even thinking about Seung-hyun.

He didn’t like being lonely, but he had no intention of dating anyone until the end of this life. This experience was enough even once, and being lonely would be better than being distressed.

‘He has probably heard about the situation by now. Seeing that there’s no contact, it seems he’s quite confused.’

No matter how disinterested Jae-young was, his family members were people who led the group. There were times when Jae-young grumbled about hearing bothersome things, so the immediate contact was clearly due to the impatience of the family members who knew about Jae-young and Seung-hyun’s friendship.

Even if he was confused right now, he would contact Seung-hyun before long. How should he answer then?

‘Just being close to me will cause bothersome issues. He said his mother and brother subtly pressured him, asking if he had nothing to hide even after I made such a fuss and left Chairman Han.’

Seung-hyun recalled Jae-young frowning, saying his mother and brother were worried unnecessarily. If they reacted like that just because Seung-hyun was by his side, it would be even more so now that he had become juicy gossip.

The current Seung-hyun not only couldn’t fulfill Jae-young’s wish to continue a peaceful life as long as possible, but he was also an existence that could disrupt the human relationships Jae-young had built up until now.

Considering the present and the future, it was truly the right thing to end it now. What was the point of struggling to stay by each other’s side while losing things big and small? Flailing to gain a fleeting moment compared to the long time the person left behind had to live was clearly a foolish act.

‘No matter how much I want to be greedy… this won’t do.’

Seung-hyun looked down at his hand, cutting off the thoughts that kept extending one after another. His nails that he had bitten in a short time were messed up to the point of being unsightly. Seeing his fingertips that had been neat for a while return to their familiar appearance, Seung-hyun sighed.

This was the right way to distance himself, Seung-hyun made up his mind. If they met again, he would truly say hurtful words then, but to do that, it seemed he needed a little more preparation.

Starting tomorrow, he truly had to act as if he had become “Han Seung-hyun”. So at least until today, he wanted to indulge in sentiments. Seung-hyun took out the cat doll from the display case with the shabby decorations.

It was a doll that had nothing to do with winter, and although it was well-maintained, it was clearly an item that had been cherished for a long time at a glance.

‘Didn’t he say he brought it because it resembled me?’

Seung-hyun fiddled with the doll and examined it. The small doll that could fit in one hand had upturned eyes.

But it didn’t feel threatening at all. Rather, the large upturned eyes made the doll look cuter.

Did he look like this in Jae-young’s eyes? Seung-hyun grabbed the doll’s tail and shook it for no reason. The cute cat character with a sullen expression swayed and met his gaze.

It had a highly wary appearance, but it was visible at a glance, so it wasn’t a threat and rather looked cute. Quietly mulling over the fact that this was how he looked to Jae-young, he felt a strange feeling.

He had tried to push him away in his own way, but he couldn’t push him away completely in the end. Even though he couldn’t cut him off decisively. He felt pathetic. Jae-young must have also found that behavior frustrating to see.

“He’s head over heels. Someone would curse if they saw this.”

But to think the item he brought saying it resembled him was something like this. Seung-hyun chuckled and carefully placed the doll back on his palm.

“…I can’t be seen like this.”

He could no longer remain a cute existence that wasn’t even a threat to him anymore. He had to become a bad relationship that was so detestable that it could be cut off without any lingering feelings.

“……”

After staring at the doll for a while, Seung-hyun put it deep inside a drawer. It was because he felt like he would recall this moment every time he saw the doll in the future.

‘It’s time to stop imagining things that can’t happen and tormenting myself. If I truly care about that person, it’s right to end it here.’

When he turned off the light, only the shape of the display case was faintly visible in the pitch-black room. Seung-hyun tried not to think about the small objects inside it and returned to the bedroom.

It was still too early to fall asleep, but he didn’t want to stay awake. If he stayed like this, thoughts that were worse than not thinking at all would surely haunt him one after another. Seung-hyun covered himself with the blanket and curled up tightly.

‘There’s no such thing as what if. So don’t think unnecessary thoughts and let’s sleep. It will truly become difficult starting tomorrow.’

As he repeated to himself, a sharp pain was felt in a corner of his heart. It was a bit different from the pain he felt from time to time.

If it were physical pain, the painkillers or sedatives he had kept within reach could have helped, but Seung-hyun, who curled up a bit more from the pain without medicine, tried hard to close his eyes and fall asleep.

A droplet that had flowed down his cheek wet the pillow. It was long after the mark left on the pillow had completely dried that Seung-hyun fell asleep.