Academy Heroine’s Right Diagonal Back Seat

Chapter 390

"If you don't have anything to do, who cares? Just marry Yoon Si-woo and be a full-time housewife, right?"

"Wow, that's right! So Yoon Si-woo works, and when he comes home, his wife always greets him with 'Welcome home'? Damn, that's so enviable…! All the heroes have married other heroes, but this is really a fantasy come true."

...Marriage? Wife? Me? With Yoon Si-woo?

Wait a minute, am I really being bullied here?

I thought to myself, given the unexpected comments from everyone.

Sometimes when teasing someone, you say things like, "Hey, your boyfriend is coming," just for fun, right?

But before long, I realized that the kids who had said that didn’t harbor any malice toward me.

Thinking about it, these were the same kids who helped me escape the city when I was a witch, so there was no way they would bully me.

So, it wasn't that they were trying to tease me...

That realization made me understand something monumental.

Maybe, just maybe, others might think Yoon Si-woo and I are actually dating!

As soon as I realized this, I quickly corrected the misunderstanding.

"Hey, guys? Yoon Si-woo and I aren’t actually dating or anything..."

As soon as I said that, everyone stopped for a moment, then giggled as if they already knew, saying:

"What? Oh, don’t be shy. We all know you two are living together, so of course, we assumed you’re dating."

So that was the misunderstanding...

I sighed inwardly and shook my head.

"Well, we’re living together, but it’s just like roommates..."

"Roommates?"

The kids, who had been confused by my words, froze for a second and then alternated between looking at Yoon Si-woo and me, as if confirming the facts. Then, one of them asked Yoon Si-woo.

"Is it true?"

Yoon Si-woo sighed and answered.

"...Yeah, it’s true. Just like Scarlett said."

I felt Yoon Si-woo’s gaze on me, so I looked at him, and he murmured with a half-smile.

"...I’m the one who likes her. It’s all one-sided."

At those words, the group went into a brief flurry of whispers before mumbling their apologies to us.

"Ah, sorry. I just assumed you were dating since you’re living together."

"I thought so too..."

"It’s okay, really. I can understand the misunderstanding."

Hearing their apologies, I reassured them, since I could see how someone might have thought that from the outside.

But I guess the conversation opened up a flood of curiosity.

"Hey."

Suddenly, the kids started looking at us with bright eyes, as if they were about to shout, "I’m curious!"

Feeling the intense focus on us, I froze for a second, but Yoon Si-woo quietly pulled out a chair and sat in front of me, as if signaling for them to ask him instead.

Then, as if on cue, the group surged toward Yoon Si-woo and started bombarding him with questions.

"So, Yoon Si-woo, you said it’s all one-sided, right? So, have you confessed to Scarlett?"

"I did, but she rejected me."

"She rejected you...!" "Oh my...!"

"Then, if you were rejected, why are you still in love with her...?"

"I couldn’t give up, so I’m confessing until she accepts."

"You couldn’t give up...!!" "Oh my gosh...!!"

"How many times have you confessed until now...?"

"As of this morning, 96 times."

"96 times...!!!" "Oh my gosh...!!!"

With every answer Yoon Si-woo gave, the group erupted in reactions, almost like audience members at a show.

Amid the girls' loud reactions, a voice came from the group of boys gathered together.

"...Honestly, isn’t it clear that if Scarlett rejected him so many times, she might not like him? Maybe she likes someone else more. Like, for example, Nara?"

At those words, the other boys in the group quickly scolded the one who spoke.

"Hey, hey... You gave up on her a long time ago, didn’t you? You complained about how unfair it was that your competition was someone like him. So why bring it up now?"

"Let it go. You’re embarrassing me too, man..."

"Ah, why...! When you guys asked me who I liked, I said Scarlett, and everyone else agreed! You all liked her before, so why are you only bothering me about it now?"

"Cut it out...! You shouldn’t talk about guys’ secret topics like that!"

"At least we know our boundaries... And honestly, if Scarlett wasn’t crazy, she wouldn’t be interested in someone like Yoon Si-woo over us."

Wait, what...?

There were other guys who liked me, too?

I was shocked by this new revelation, and as I was processing it, I overheard the girls' conversation.

"Heh, I didn’t know Scarlett was this popular? I thought Silvia or Marina would be more popular."

"Heh, you don’t know much about what guys like. Sure, Silvia and Marina are beautiful, but guys don’t like those aloof, unreachable types."

"Hmm? Scarlett’s just as pretty as them."

"But Scarlett has this casual vibe that makes her stand out. Plus, she’s really nice, treating everyone around her well. Guys are drawn to that kind of thing. If Yoon Si-woo hadn’t kept his feelings for Scarlett hidden since the beginning, I bet about two-thirds of the guys would’ve confessed to her by now."

"Heh, is that so? Wait, so that’s why you were copying Scarlett?"

"Eh...?! How did you...?"

"Why, didn’t you pretend to be all casual? But do you really think guys like that kind of woman? I remember you never got any confessions from the guys even when you acted like that."

"Ugh, stop... stop it..."

Listening to the girls’ conversation, I felt like my mind was starting to unravel.

This can’t be... how could someone like me be popular with the guys...?

Right? Please, tell me I’m wrong!

With desperate eyes, I looked at the boys standing nearby, hoping they would confirm that I wasn’t popular.

But when my eyes met theirs, they quickly looked away.

Agh...! Don’t give me those embarrassed expressions like my first love is being exposed!!

As I was mentally overwhelmed by the boys' reactions, Yoon Si-woo, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke.

"...If Scarlett prefers another guy, well, I can’t help that."

After saying this, Yoon Si-woo scanned the room and then quietly murmured.

"But I don’t think there’s anyone better than me."

As soon as Yoon Si-woo said that, the room exploded.

"Wow... Wow... Look at Yoon Si-woo, what’s with that smug attitude?"

"Hahaha... damn, he’s so annoying... but what he said is pretty true..."

"Ahhh! I think this is Scarlett’s fault for making Yoon Si-woo say that...!"

"As the representative of the Yoon Si-woo Fan Club at the academy, I fully agree with that statement!"

The room was filled with laughter and screams as the situation turned chaotic.

Then, the kid who had mentioned earlier that maybe I liked another guy asked Yoon Si-woo.

"Ugh, Yoon Si-woo, do you really think you’re better than any of the other guys?"

"Well... I don’t know if I’m better than them, but there’s one thing I know for sure."

Yoon Si-woo replied directly to the boy who had asked, his voice calm.

"I love Scarlett more than any other guy does."

Once again, the room exploded in chaos.

"Ugh...! I admit it, I accept my defeat!!"

"We accept this in our acknowledgment association as well."

"Ahhhhh!!!" "Oh my gosh...!!!"

"That’s so romantic...! What do we do now...!"

"Ughhh!!"

The bar was in complete chaos as everyone reacted loudly to Yoon Si-woo’s statement.

During this time, as I sat there, I realized something significant.

How did I end up being the one Yoon Si-woo openly confessed to?

How could I bear this public confession in front of all our friends?!

It was such an overwhelming situation that I almost couldn’t take it.

It was the worst kind of embarrassment... I felt like I could die from it!

Feeling my face burn hotter than ever, I grabbed the cup on the table and drank it down quickly.

"Ah, Scarlett. That’s my cup..."

"...Huh?"

And with the slight buzz from the alcohol, my consciousness faded away.

"Hehe... Silviaaa. I’m Anajo..."

"Yes, yes, Scarlett. I’ll hold you."

"Howw, so fluffy..."

Today's events...

"Ugh, Maeey... we're friends?"

"Yeah, Scarlett. We’re friends for life."

"Friends for life? Hehehe, so happy."

Scarlett turns cute when drunk. Extremely cute.

"Ahhh, she’s so cute, it’s killing me. Normally, she’s not like this, but now she’s so sweet it’s bad for my heart."

"Yeah. Ahhh, if only we could have one Scarlett in every household, crime would disappear from the world."

After getting drunk and turning into a child, Scarlett was being adored by Mae and Silvia, and Yoon Si-woo silently watched them while storing this new knowledge carefully in his mind.

But even as he kept an eye on the others, trying to prevent any other guys from getting too close to Scarlett, he still couldn’t stop feeling a strange sense of pride.

"Alright, don’t touch. Just enjoy it with your eyes. No photos or videos."

"What... Yoon Si-woo! Are you trying to steal the right to enjoy Scarlett’s cuteness from us?!"

"This is tyranny!!"

"I want to take photos too, but Scarlett recently had some bad experiences with videos... we shouldn’t do anything that might remind her of that."

"Ah, right... that’s true."

Hearing Yoon Si-woo’s words, everyone put away their phones.

And with a slightly disappointed look, Silvia, who had been holding Scarlett, patted her gently and said to Yoon Si-woo.

"By the way, we can’t just leave Scarlett like this here. What are you going to do?"

"Well, I’ll take her home and put her to bed. Alright, everyone, Scarlett and I will leave now. It was fun."

Yoon Si-woo said this while standing up, taking Scarlett from Silvia and carrying her on his back. As they left the bar, everyone stared at them.

"Wow, this is definitely an unusual situation. A guy is taking a drunk girl home."

"Even though everyone knows he has feelings for her, is it really okay to just let him take her like that?"

Half-jokingly, they said that, and Silvia laughed as she replied.

"Of course, it’s fine. Yoon Si-woo has been living with Scarlett and never once laid a hand on her. He’s harmless and trustworthy. He wouldn’t do anything inappropriate just because she’s drunk."

"Wow, hearing that, it sounds pretty impressive. At this point, I’m starting to wonder if we should suspect Yoon Si-woo has some problem."

"I’m perfectly fine!"

"Haha, right, right! Take care, but don’t do anything inappropriate with Scarlett just because you’re fine."

"I won’t!"

With that, Yoon Si-woo waved goodbye to the others and walked out of the bar with Scarlett.

Yes, Yoon Si-woo was, as they said, a trustworthy guy.

"Ugh... Yoon Si-woo?"

"Yeah, Scarlett. Let’s go home."

Even though Scarlett kept whispering soft, nonsensical words into his ear, Yoon Si-woo stayed calm.

"Ugh, going home... Our home, haha."

"...Yeah. Let’s go to our home."

As Scarlett pressed herself against his back, Yoon Si-woo repeatedly told himself that he could endure it.

"I can stand it. I can make it through," he muttered, trying to convince himself.

"Ugh... Yoon Si-woo. I’m feeling strange... my insides are... uneasy..."

"Eh? Really? What should I do? Want to try holding on a little longer? We’ll get home quickly."

Despite his strong self-control, Yoon Si-woo found himself struggling as Scarlett made her way toward a particular place.

"Ugh... not here... I can’t resist anymore... let’s rest for a bit..."

"Umm, there’s a place nearby we could rest..."

"There... over there..."

When Scarlett pointed to where she wanted to rest, Yoon Si-woo could only break into a cold sweat.

"That place...?"

Because where she pointed to was... the same shady motel he had encountered her at before.