The next morning.

“…It’s raining.”

I muttered while looking out the window before going to school.

The rain that had started last night was still going on. Of course, it might have stopped briefly at dawn, but I had no way of knowing that.

“The precious weekend is so gloomy.”

In the end, my prayers were not answered.

I sighed and picked up my umbrella.

Even after arriving at school, the rain showed no signs of stopping. The dark sky was pouring down with rain. The downpour was so cool that it felt chilly.

Summer rain…

The atmosphere seemed just right for telling ghost stories.

Perhaps because of the weather, the school was quiet overall.

Moreover, Yoo Hee Na, Seon Woo Jin, and Ban Ha Min were all absent today.

The only one present was Sung Ji Chan, but he was nowhere to be seen all day. Did he skip school too? Well, it has nothing to do with me.

‘Anyway, it will be peaceful for a change.’

Seeing the school, which was usually filled with all sorts of incidents, so quiet like this felt strange. It was as if I had returned to an ordinary school, not the world of a novel…

“Kyaa, it’s Ice Boy!”

Ah, never mind.

Of course. This damn school could never be quiet.

‘Did Sung Ji Chan appear?’

Judging by the kids gathering at the window, it seemed he had shown up in the schoolyard.

I peeked out the window.

At the school gate, there were a few guys from Haeseong High School on motorcycles. And a man, presumably Sung Ji Chan, was crossing the schoolyard and approaching them.

“What’s going on?”

“I think they’re going to fight!”

They’re saying exactly what I wanted to say.

There’s no way Sung Ji Chan would be playing house with the Haeseong High School guys, so it’s probably 99% because of a fight. What about the remaining 1%? I don’t know about that.

‘He’s going around picking fights again today.’

I wonder if he’ll be okay alone when both Ban Ha Min and Seon Woo Jin are absent today.

There’s nothing more pointless than worrying about Sung Ji Chan, the protagonist of this world… But since I know him, I couldn’t help but worry a little.

‘Forget it. I should worry about myself instead of him.’

Considering how he ditched me last time, Sung Ji Chan is not only immune to death as the male lead but also the type to avoid danger on his own.

I yawned and slumped over my desk.

‘But seriously, where can I get a stun gun?’

If not, then at least some other self-defense item.

Seeing Sung Ji Chan being harassed by the Haeseong High School guys made me think that I also needed a means to protect myself.

‘I should learn self-defense techniques if I have time.’

But where do I learn that?

I really don’t know anything.

Why did I have to be possessed into a world like a novel and suffer like this?

‘I want to be a nobleman in a romance fantasy world too.’

But considering my luck, even if I was possessed into a romance fantasy, I would probably be a commoner.

‘Ah, whatever.’

Let’s just live casually. What’s the big deal about life?

Reminding myself of my motto for the first time in a while, I fell asleep.

After spending time like that, school ended. I came out to go home and ran into a familiar face at the shoe rack.

“Oh, hello.”

It was Ji Seung Hyun.

For some reason, it felt like I hadn’t seen him in a long time, but maybe that was just my imagination.

Since the last time I saw him was in the hallway… It hadn’t been that long.

“Hi, Ju Eun.”

Perfect timing, I had something to say to him!

I grabbed Ji Seung Hyun, who was about to greet me and pass by.

“Hey, do you have a moment?”

The place I went with Ji Seung Hyun was a cafe in front of the school.

“What did you suddenly want to talk about that you stopped me?”

Ji Seung Hyun had his usual kind smile, but there was a hint of puzzlement in his expression. I opened my mouth.

“Well…”

How should I say this? After contemplating for a moment, I decided to be straightforward.

“I talked to Yu Bin.”

Ji Seung Hyun looked startled.

“What did you say?”

“I said I talked to Seol Yu Hwa.”

Ji Seung Hyun looked visibly flustered, as if he had not expected this at all. I drove the point home.

“You’re Yu Bin’s friend, so you knew they had switched places, right?”

“…How did you know?”

I gave him a brief account of what had happened to me.

That night, I accidentally witnessed Seol Yu Hwa beating up the delinquents from Haeseong High School, and I tried to ignore it, but Yu Bin’s name tag fell off, and I accidentally let it slip that I knew. Seol Yu Hwa, who saw that, tried to get rid of me, but I begged and pleaded, and she let it slide on the condition that I become her subordinate.

…Well, that was roughly the story.

“So that’s what happened. I had no idea.”

Did Seol Yu Hwa not say anything? In the original work, I thought they shared a lot and would have told him by now, but it seems that wasn’t the case.

Ji Seung Hyun smiled gently.

“Then you’re friends with Yu Hwa now too, right?”

“…If you can call that being friends, I guess so?”

But I don’t think so.

“Still, Yu Hwa must have liked you. Considering she told you her real identity.”

…Is that something you do to someone you like?

I’m scared to think about what would happen if she liked me twice.

I tried to keep a calm expression and lifted the corners of my mouth.

“Well, anyway, that’s enough about that. There’s something else I wanted to talk about.”

“What is it?”

I paused for a moment before speaking.

“Do you happen to know where Yu Bin went?”

Ji Seung Hyun flinched at those words.

“…Huh?”

“I’m talking about Yu Bin. I thought you might know since you two were close.”

Ji Seung Hyun made a bitter expression.

“We were.”

The use of past tense really bothered me.

I continued.

“I made a promise to Yu Hwa. That I would help find Yu Bin. But no matter how much I search, there are no clues.”

In fact, Seol Yu Bin had disappeared as if she had evaporated.

According to Seol Yu Hwa, she had searched the house where Seol Yu Bin lived, but there were no significant clues there either.

That’s why I chose Ji Seung Hyun, who was in front of me.

“So I was wondering, did Yu Bin leave you a letter or something?”

“A letter?”

Ji Seung Hyun tilted his head.

“She left me a letter before she left. So I thought you might have received one too.”

But Ji Seung Hyun seemed to have no idea.

“I don’t think Yu Bin left me a letter.”

Although he tried to act like it was okay, there was an undeniable bitterness in Ji Seung Hyun’s words.

“Hmm… Well, it can’t be helped.”

I had some expectations, so I was slightly disappointed to hear that. I asked another question I had prepared.

“Then, did Yu Bin ever mention a place she wanted to go to? Like a trip or something.”

“Well… I’m not sure. I don’t think she talked about that kind of thing recently.”

“What about when she was young? You know, she might have had a place she wanted to go to since she was little.”

It seemed he didn’t know anything about this either.

Ji Seung Hyun looked troubled.

“Sorry. I want to be helpful, but I don’t know anything.”

“No, it’s okay. I came to you because I don’t know anything either.”

I sighed.

“Then if you remember something later, please let me know. You can tell Yu Hwa directly too.”

“Okay, got it.”

With my business done, I had nothing more to say. While drinking coffee, I remembered to ask Ji Seung Hyun if he had gotten a health checkup. He said he hadn’t gotten one yet. I pleaded with him to please get one.

Damn it. A happy ending is really hard.

“Bye, see you later.”

“Yeah, take care.”

That’s how I parted ways with Ji Seung Hyun.

‘In the end, I gained nothing.’

I thought Seol Yu Bin would have left a message for Ji Seung Hyun. I didn’t expect there to be not even a single small clue.

‘Yeah, things can’t be solved that easily. Let’s just go home.’

I headed to take the bus.

‘But seriously, I can’t believe it’s still raining.’

When I went to school, I thought it would stop by the time I went home.

I even talked with Ji Seung Hyun, but it’s still like this.

The only fortunate thing is that the rain has weakened a lot?

In the morning, you couldn’t even walk around without an umbrella, but now it seemed okay to just get wet. Is this what they call a drizzle?

But that doesn’t mean I won’t use an umbrella when I have one.

I opened my umbrella. As I took a step forward, raindrops pattered on the umbrella.

I waited for about 5 minutes at the bus stop and got on the bus.

Perhaps because of the rain, the atmosphere inside the bus also seemed damp and droopy. It might just be my imagination though.

After passing a few stops, I finally arrived at the neighborhood where I live.

‘I want to get home quickly.’

Personally, I don’t really like rainy days. I hate the humidity caused by the rain. I’m not a fan of the gloomy atmosphere either.

I quickened my pace with the umbrella up.

‘What should I do today?’

Spending time with the Triplet Boys or Yoo Hee Na every day made spending the weekend alone feel awkward. It felt a bit empty…

Thinking back to when I first possessed this body and was eagerly waiting for the weekends, it was a huge change. I’m not sure if it’s a good change though.

‘Ah, I’m almost there.’

Once I turn the corner, I’ll be home. I increased my speed.

That’s when it happened.

Something grabbed my shoulder.

“Aaaahhhh!”

I screamed in surprise.

A large shadow loomed behind me. Without even getting a proper look at who it was, I let out a scream.

“Eek!”

I struggled like crazy and shook off the man.

In the process, I think I hit the man’s torso a few times, but I didn’t have the presence of mind to care about that.

‘What the hell is this!’

My heart was pounding. Feeling like I was about to cry, I swung my umbrella.

“Get lost!”

“Ack! Ow! Crazy! Lee Ju Eun!”

Huh?

“Ah, stop it! It’s me! It’s me!”

A familiar voice.

I put down the umbrella I was swinging wildly and blinked.

Only then could I see the man’s face.

The man rubbed the spot where I had hit him and muttered.

“It hurts like hell.”

The identity of the suspicious person who touched me was none other than Sung Ji Chan.