BJ Villainess

I reached out and quickly turned off the dreadful alarm.

“

.” A sigh escaped me automatically.

Today was Monday. It was a school day.

After falling asleep at Ozworld’s house on Saturday, I woke up in my room. Wondering how that happened, the auntie who brought breakfast explained.

Following her advice, I spent all of Sunday in my room. I turned off my phone and studied all day to avoid thinking about Ozworld’s soft lips pressing against my forehead, whispering ‘Good night’ like a lover.

“This is driving me crazy.”

I didn’t want to go to school, but there was no time to delay. If I didn’t leave early, Ozworld would be waiting in front of the house.

I quickly got ready and pedaled my bike to school at dawn, arriving very early. Then I threw my bag into the classroom and fled to the library. It was because I wanted to avoid being alone with Ozworld. It would only work until the bell rang, but it was better than nothing.

I wasn’t like an omniscient and omnipotent regressor from a story. Even though I was smart, I wasn’t a genius, and my grades were only slightly better than in my previous life. My physical abilities were barely average. However, if there was one area where I had improved significantly after regression, it was my social skills. Even so, I had zero experience in the realm of romance.

Question: What is the correct response when a childhood friend confesses and kisses you on the forehead while thinking you’re asleep?

My answer was to avoid them until you could think of a better solution.

“Jiwoo…”

So when Ozworld tried to call me, I quickly called Hamin. “Hamin! Want to go to the cafeteria?”

“

? Yeah, sure.”

Even though I knew it wasn’t the best approach, I couldn’t think of any other way to handle the situation. I even asked the constellations for their opinions, but none of them were helpful.

[Sender: Boarding on OxJ Ship]

[Just date him.]

[Sender: Picky for Male Lead]

[Should you go for Oz now…? Seems like you already did…]

[Sender: Romance Pass]

[Stay calm and kiss him first. It’s not too late to think about it later.]

[Sender: Rotten Taste]

[At your age, it’s good to try different things, gain experience, and improve your judgment.]

I shook my head and put my phone back in my pocket. The idea of dating Ozworld was like dating a dolphin. It was an issue far beyond the realm of possibility.

“

.”

How much longer could I keep this up? If I wasn’t mistaken, Ozworld didn’t seem ready to give up on his feelings.

* * *

My suspicion was confirmed over a week of data. I had openly avoided Ozworld since the forehead kiss incident. Honestly, I thought Ozworld would find a way to stop me from avoiding him. But Ozworld was patient. He watched me but didn’t approach, contact me, or visit my house.

Ozworld wasn’t known for his patience.

From what I knew of him, he had never tolerated anything in his life.

Given his advantageous social position, it was expected.

He was the opposite of me, who had to endure and adapt.

Even though we spoke the same language, we had to interpret each other’s words.

Ozworld changed situations to his advantage instead of enduring them.

Our mindsets were different. That was the right way to put it. Despite being mismatched, we had spent nine years adjusting to each other like mismatched puzzle pieces.

My nine years of intuition told me Ozworld was holding back a lot right now. I sensed an irritation in his gaze that others wouldn’t notice. That gaze made me rely more on Hamin and Jin Wonwoo to avoid Ozworld.

I was heading to the cafeteria with them to avoid Ozworld’s sharp gaze.

“Hey, Chae Jiwoo. Did you hear what I said?”

I must have missed something while thinking about Ozworld.

“Lee Jonghyup dropped out of school.”

“The senior who confessed to Jiwoo?”

“Yeah. Isn’t it shocking?”

I stiffened as I recalled Ozworld’s sinister expression when he had confronted Lee Jonghyup. It made me nauseous thinking about how Lee Jonghyup had been crushed beneath him.

Surely Ozworld didn’t have anything to do with it…

Hamin seemed to have lost interest in Lee Jonghyup and noticed my discomfort. She asked with a curious expression. “Did you fight with Ozworld?”

“No.”

He confessed to me, but we didn’t fight.

“Then why are you avoiding him? Did something happen? Did Ozworld—”

Before Hamin could finish, Jin Wonwoo interrupted. “Want to go to the internet cafe today?”

Fortunately, Hamin’s attention shifted to Jin Wonwoo’s suggestion.

“Should we? I don’t have anything to do at home anyway.”

I shook my head. “Sorry. I don’t feel like going to the internet cafe.” The internet cafe reminded me of that day, and I didn’t want to go.

“Then how about coming to my place? No one’s home today.” Jin Wonwoo tempted me, saying that he also had console games in his home.

Hamin was all for it, and I agreed too. I was quite excited because it was rare for me to play with friends other than Ozworld.

It showed how much space he occupied in my mind.

Suddenly, feeling a pang of melancholy, I impulsively asked.

“Hey, I have a question.”

“What is it?”

If friends date and break up, can they go back to being just friends?

“…Never mind.”

“What? Come on, let’s head to Jin Wonwoo’s place after school.”

“Okay.”

As classes ended one by one, Ozworld still didn’t approach me. I thought another day would end awkwardly as I packed my bag and went to meet Hamin and Jin Wonwoo.

“Where are you going?”

Ozworld broke the pattern of the past week by blocking my way. His voice was low and tired. Maybe because it had been a while since we talked face-to-face, he looked quite gaunt.

I felt a slight guilt, thinking it was my fault, and answered hesitantly. “I’m going to a friend’s house.”

“Jin Wonwoo’s?”

“Yeah. With Hamin too.”

Why did it sound like I was making excuses?

His gloomy expression made it seem that way. Ozworld’s beautiful features made any expression look dramatic.

Determined not to be swayed by his appearance, I spoke coldly. “If you don’t need anything, I’ll be going.”

Ozworld grabbed me as I tried to pass by. His hand felt like fire.

“Jiwoo, I’m in pain.”

What? Was he really sick? That was hard to believe. In my memory, Ozworld had never been sick. I almost asked where he was hurting, if he had been to the hospital, and if he could walk, but I stopped myself. This was because I needed to draw a line so our relationship wouldn’t get tangled anymore.

“Take your medicine.”

“Jiwoo.”

“The others are waiting, so I have to go.”

“Can’t you take care of me?”

This was bad. I felt my resolve weakening.

I avoided his gaze and shook off his hand. “You have housekeepers.”

Seeing that my attitude didn’t change, Ozworld stopped pretending to be pitiful. “Don’t go.” His cold command was almost a relief.

He was lying about being sick to stop me from going.

I walked past him with a firm resolve.

* * *

“Jiwoo… Chae Jiwoo!”

“

?”

“What are you thinking about? Hit the exit button.”

“

, right.”

Jin Wonwoo’s urging brought me back to reality, and I saw the game had ended. We had lost. I couldn’t remember anything about how I had played.

Come to think of it, how did I get to Jin Wonwoo’s house? I vaguely remembered Hamin saying she had to leave for something.

Jin Wonwoo, noticing my distraction, suggested. “Let’s stop playing games. Want to watch a movie?”

“A movie…”

A movie, of all things. It would make me think of him again.

I rubbed the arm Ozworld had grabbed me earlier. His hand, which had stopped me so I couldn’t walk away, had felt like a burning flame. Besides, he even said he was sick. What if it was true? Logically, I told myself it couldn’t be, but my mind kept replaying the image of him collapsing on his way home.

Rather than sitting with this uneasy feeling, I thought it might be better to see with my own eyes that Ozworld was fine.

“Sorry, but I think I need to head home.”

“Already? It’s only been an hour since you got here.”

“Sorry. Let’s hang out next time.”

After refusing Jin Wonwoo, who had offered to see me off, I quickly left the apartment complex. That’s when I spotted someone who shouldn’t have been there.

Ozworld was leaning against the wall, staring at me.