Chapter 2

Translator and Editor: Gina and Tea

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Chapter 2

I couldn’t believe it.

I was used to the trope of the girl reincarnating or being isekaied to a novel and playing the role of villainess or heroine. If it was that kind of situation, it was easy to choose how to deal with it according to the genre.

But it was a BL.

What the hell can I do in the middle of two handsome men who claim they love each other…!

“This is not real…”

It wasn’t even a fresh campus drama but a freaking noir novel with bloody gunfights in every damn episode. I couldn’t even believe a gun was pointed at my heart. Even recalling it, I couldn’t help but close my eyes tight at the dizzying memories.

“Aren’t you acting too sly now?”

Overwhelmed by the murderous intent I felt for the first time in my life, I couldn’t lift a finger. It wasn’t that his actions were not understandable given the novel setting. The original Cha Yeonbyeol was so crazy about Baek Hawon to the extent that she liked his behavior because it meant he was paying attention to her. For him, she was just one of the nuisances brought by the woman who took the place after his mother died. And yet, she was a foolish woman who coveted his love.

“Boss, there was a commotion earlier. It seems that she must have made it, because the young Miss is out of her mind right now. She must have found this room just by luck.”

If Ji-woon hadn’t stepped in front of me, who was stiff and speechless, he might have really shot me. Baekcheon’s young boss, Baek Hawon, was a person capable of that for sure.

Fortunately, he paid no further attention to me and didn’t even ask about the commotion. Cha Yeonbyeol’s intrusion and yesterday’s pandemonium were nothing but small annoyances to him. The gun was removed from my face, and I was led from the room by Ji-woon’s hand. My head was so troubled on the way back to the room that I couldn’t think of anything.

“She’s so pretty… she should have met other men.”

My reflection in the mirror was awkward no matter how many times I looked at it. The hair, flowing to the waist and fluttering softly with every movement, shone greedily as if it had stolen the night sky. The sharp, cat-like eyes had an atmosphere that enchanted any gaze that met them, and whenever the plump, blood-red lips moved, they drew a breathtaking line.

When she had this killing appearance that could give her any men she wanted with just a snap of her fingers, I couldn’t understand why she was so obsessed with a man who didn’t even look at her.

“Haa…”

I felt a tingling sensation when I touched my throbbing head. ‘Wouldn’t it be great if I could just watch the story unfold while cheering for the love of the two main characters inside the novel I liked?’ Unfortunately, this body was doomed to die soon if the novel unfolded as I had read. Exactly, in the first meeting of Baek Hawon and Yu-gyeom.

“I cannot die here.”

Clap! As I clasped both cheeks loudly with my cold hands, I came to my senses. I opened the paper I barely found in the corner of the bookshelf and grabbed a pen. A specific plan was needed in order not to be dragged along the novel’s plot, and, most importantly, not die. I named it 《Happy Endings for Everyone! – The Project》

The main characters in the novel, Baek Hawon, and Yu-gyeom, could be described in one phrase as a modern Romeo and Juliet. Yu-gyeom was an illegitimate child born to a prostitute and the head of ‘Utopia,’ which was Baekcheon’s nemesis.

Baekcheon had always pushed it back, but Utopia invaded the stronghold to uncover its weakness and foolishly kidnapped Cha Yeonbyeol as soon as they entered Baekcheon’s base. Thus, to punish Utopia for its cheeky attitude, whether fortunate or not, Baek Hawon goes directly to Utopia himself.

Behold their (blo)holy first meeting.

[tl-n: Bloody/holy just a silly joke I guess lol]

‘I guess they didn’t think that the head of Baekcheon would come in person.’

Eyes that curved with a soft line. Snow-white ears full of sparkling piercings that he fidgets with like a habit. The moment Baek Hawon saw Yu-gyeom, he fell in love at first sight. Of course, it took him a long time to realize that himself.

Yet, if I reach that fate, I’ll surely die. At the hands of my bias Yu-gyeom, no more no less.

Baek Hawon became so obsessed with Yu-gyeom, that he didn’t care whether Cha Yeonbyeol died or not, and Yeonbyeol was never mentioned again as if she had never existed.

“Never get kidnapped.”

I wrote it, and emphasized each word, under the title.

《Happy Endings for Everyone! – The Project》

〈no. 1 DON’T EVER BE KIDNAPPED〉

I wrote it down pressing so hard that it wouldn’t have been odd if the paper was torn.

《Happy Endings for Everyone! – The Project》

〈no. 1 Don’t ever be kidnapped〉

〈no. 2 Don’t ever be kidnapped〉

〈no. 3 Don’t ever be kidnapped〉

“I’m the most precious… My life is so precious.”

I felt more relieved. I know the whole story, so preventing my kidnapping would be enough to stop it, right?

It took a while for their first meeting to go awry, but as the plot unfolded, their love had a sad ending anyway. In the end, I cried all night long at the scene where Yu-gyeom was shot to death instead of Baek Hawon.

‘I live! My bias lives! One stone, two birds, the perfect plan!’

While I was thinking about where to put the paper on which I wrote the plan…

“Uh?”

Something hit my foot and made a dull sound. As I lowered my head toward the sound, I saw a key lying in a corner. I reached out for it. Instantly, my gaze reached the spot where the key seemed to fit perfectly.

“Is it the drawer key?”

The three drawers from the top were unlocked. However, there didn’t seem to exist such a thing as categorization. Red lipstick, black leather gloves, crumpled stationery, a transparent bottle full of white pills, dried rose petals.…

‘What the hell? Is this a trash can?’ I tilted my head as I pulled out the last drawer. There was only a rattling sound, but the last drawer did not open. When I put the key into the hole, it turned and opened. However, the item in it was completely unexpected.

“A gun?”

A black gun that didn’t fit this room that resembled a poorly assembled collage.

The moment I held the gun in my hand, I had the illusion that the heat in my head was cooling.

* * *

Bang–!!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Whoo–”

I put down the gun and wiped the sweat from my forehead. I was very excited. The mouth of the man who —half-forced— guided me all the way here unknowingly opened in surprise.

“Damn, I’m screwed. Completely screwed.”

‘How can you be so bad at shooting?’ I knew Cha Yeonbyeol grew up as a precious flower under Baekcheon’s protection. I had never read about her shooting a gun in the novel, yet, as there was a gun in her room, and she grew up in a place like this, I had some hope. However, it was difficult to even withstand the recoil, so it was a natural result that all the bullets hit outside the target or somewhere unknown.

“Ha…”

I finally let out a deep sigh and sat down.

‘What if I really end up being kidnapped by Utopia as in the novel?’ In the original plot, Baek Hawon really goes to rescue Cha Yeonbyeol, but her safety, which had always been a nuisance for him, wasn’t his real interest. He didn’t go all the way with his killing skills, so she died.

In fact, I knew inside. The best plan to prepare for the kidnapping was to have Baek Hawon do everything in his power to save me. “Aren’t you acting too sly now?” Yet, recalling the cold eyes I had met didn’t give me the confidence to even try, even though I knew. I shook my head vigorously and buried my face in my lap.

Baek Hawon and Yu-gyeom’s first meeting happened on the most clichéd day of all: the day of the first snow.* Looking at the weather, it was clear that less than a month was left.

Plan no. 1 – Don’t be kidnapped. And in order to live, I think I should make Plan No. 2 〈Without Baek Hawon I won’t be able to live〉but…it was very unlikely I could devise it within a month.

“Greetings, Boss!”

“Boss! What are you doing here? Shall I drive everyone out?”

At that time, the gunfire stopped and loud voices rang throughout the shooting range. Startled, I lifted my head and looked around.

“What? Baek Hawon?”

I muttered faintly, hid behind a pillar, and peered toward the side where the sound came from. Contrary to the warm sunlight pouring down from the glass ceiling, Baek Hawon had a fitting cold ice-like expression on his face.

“Everyone, leave for an hour.”

Everyone at the shooting range went outside at Ji-woon’s words, and I, who had no intention of adding a new death flag here, did the same. But not long after, my steps halted.

Bang-!!! Straight angle, unobtrusive posture. The bullet pierced the center of the target with one shot.

“Woah…”

I quickly hid behind the pillar again. ‘Right, it would be better to watch and learn from the strongest guy.’ I took a comfortable seat and stared at Baek Hawon as hard as he stared at the target, focused on aiming his gun for the next shot. Not a single shot deviated from the center of the target. Of course, he wasn’t the Boss for nothing!

A lot of time passed like that. Baek Hawon lowered his gun and started walking after the last shot. I thought he was about to switch weapons. Nevertheless, at that moment, he, whom I thought was moving away, turned to where I was. Surprised, I hurriedly tried to hide behind the pillar.

Bang! An unreal situation unfolded in front of my eyes as if in slow motion. A gun was pointed at me, followed by an explosion-like gunshot that ripped through my eardrums.

“Kyaaaak!!” I collapsed to the floor, screaming. Even the hands that covered my ears were trembling. It was an instinctive reaction. Taking a deep breath, I slowly raised my head. A small bullet rolling down the floor caught my eyes.

‘BB gun?’[tl/n: a gun that uses air pressure to fire small metal balls]

The moment I checked it, a burning and churning sensation burst from my mouth, far from being called relief. It didn’t matter if it was live ammunition or a toy gun. He looked at me, he shot. Just when it became clear that that ridiculous sentence was my reality, my reasoning shook dizzyingly.

“Well, well.”

The voice that fell over my head was dry, as if he had turned off a switch and erased all his emotions. My curled fingers quivered at the hair-raising dryness.

“I thought you were a rat.”

Just like when you step on an ant while passing by, there was no emotion. As I met that gaze up front, I started to hyperventilate and broke into tears. Baek Hawon, crouched in front of me to meet my eye level, stretched out his hand and whispered,

“Why, were you surprised?”

His large hand covered mine. Baek Hawon’s smirk deepened as he took the gun that was in my hand, leaving only an icy sensation that flowed from my hand through my body like water.

“Didn’t you come here for this anyway?”

“…”

“Doing things to attract my attention no matter how crazy it is. You like it.”

It wasn’t an incomprehensible treatment. As he said, if she could get Baek Hawon’s attention once, Cha Yeonbyeol would have abandoned human ethics and done things outside of common sense. Nevertheless, despite all that, it was beyond my control now. ‘Why would I want to be in this kind of situation?’ The resentment of falling into this bloody damn situation turned into anger in an instant. Biting my lip, I lifted my head, grabbed Baek Hawon by the collar, and pulled him toward me. With the unexpected action, his body leaned by natural gravity.

“I’ll say it just once, so listen carefully, Boss.”

We were so close that we could feel each other’s breath. If everyone saw this scene, they would say that this lady finally went all cuckoo-crazy, but my mind was clearer than ever.

“My heart is out of here now.”

When I poked Baek Hawon’s chest, his forehead narrowed. I spit out every word powerfully, suppressing all the overwhelming emotions.

“I’ll be independent within this week, so please prepare a farewell party.”

It might have been impulsive, no. It was definitely impulsive, but it was a decision filled with sincere despair.

“I think it would be a blessing for Boss too, so making it as glamorous and luxurious as possible will be fine, right?”

As expected, let’s just follow plan no. 1.

——

*First Snow:There is a superstition that if you witness the first snowfall with the person you like, true love will blossom between both and it will be long-lasting. It’s the most common belief. Usually represented in k-dramas. But there are also other meanings such as being forgiven if you confess a lie on that day; buying alcohol for another person; making a wish and it will come true, and the last one is that if you paint your nails red (with a particular balsam flower. This flower blooms on the fourth lunar month, therefore, you must color your nails around late summer or early fall) and the color stays until the first snow you’ll find the love of your life.

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