Fated to Die in an Academy Novel – Chapter 139

—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
—————————————————————–

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

After crying my eyes out at the dance, I made an excuse and went out to the rear garden.

If I had bawled my eyes out, the others would have at least teased me, asking if the nightmare had scared me. But since the tears just streamed down my face without me even realizing it, even I couldn’t make a joke about it.

I was truly sorry and grateful to them.

“Huu.”

I passed the rear garden and found a familiar staircase.

This staircase led to a rooftop with a great view of the night sky. Yoo-hak and I couldn’t go up here before because we were still children back then.

Well, I wasn’t going up to see the night view this time.

It was just a hunch.

I didn’t know why, but I felt like she would be there.

It didn’t matter if I was wrong, but I hoped I was right. Driven by that simple feeling, I climbed the stairs.

It was early summer now.

The night air was quite warm, and the breeze felt good as I climbed higher.

I went through the open door, and there she was, a girl sitting there.

Was she watching the parade?

“Ah, hello?”

“…Yeah, hello.”

Chae Yoo-jin.

She still gave me a neat impression, with her hair tied back low.

The girl I seemed to run into every time a major incident ended.

The girl who somehow resembled my friend.

The girl who tried to get involved with me, yet desperately maintained her distance.

And in my memories, she was the new body you created for yourself.

“It’s the middle of the birthday party, why are you here? Ah, you must be uncomfortable with dancing!”

It seems like you don’t want to end this relationship yet. Or maybe you don’t know that I’ve already regained my memories.

…Or maybe this was all just my delusion.

So, I had to check.

“Seo-ha.”

She froze. She shook her head. A clear denial.

“Did you forget my name? That’s so mean. It’s me, Chae Yoo-jin…”

“Seo-ha. You know. That’s why you’re here. Let’s stop.”

The mischievous smile on her face vanished, replaced by resentment and malice.

It was you. And for some reason, you came back too.

I had a feeling you would.

“…Don’t say my name with that mouth.”

“What are you talking about? Are we not even on a first-name basis? No one’s listening, so if you’re so upset, just call me Ha-neul.”

The Authority in my heart squeezed my heart tightly.

It must be flustered, realizing I had tricked it, but now, with its original owner in front of it, it was probably confused.

It looked like a puppy, unsure of who to follow.

“Let’s talk.”

“…Stop acting like Ha-neul in front of me. I’m not falling for it.”

“…What are you talking about? Are you crazy?”

Then who am I? Did you hide a second Ha-neul somewhere?

“I saw it clearly. Ha-neul’s soul shattered from the shock of regression. So, you’re not Ha-neul.”

…How should I explain this? It was shattering, but someone pieced it back together? Could I say that?

“I’ll get him back. I’ll do whatever it takes to get Ha-neul back. I won’t be tricked by a fake like you. That person promised me. If I destroy this world one more time and offer you as a sacrifice, they’ll bring Ha-neul back.”

“…You’re not the type to fall for that. I’m here, so why are you trying to get me back by sacrificing me? That doesn’t make sense.”

I didn’t know who made her regress, but they seemed to have a terrible personality.

“Yeah, my soul was shattered, but someone pieced it back together. You knew that, so you created the noise to block my memories, didn’t you?”

“No, I just didn’t want to see you pretending to be Ha-neul. I knew you’d act like this if you had your memories.”

“You’re lying. But why are you trying so hard to protect me?”

“Do you know the Ship of Theseus?”

What’s this all of a sudden?

“Well, I do.”

The hero Theseus’s ship, over time, was repaired with new parts until there were more new parts than original ones, leading to the question of whether it was still the same ship.

“Good, then it’ll be easy to understand. Even if you gather the shattered pieces of a soul, there will be missing parts, and if you forcibly piece it together with other fragments to restore its form, can you still call it the same person?”

What was she talking about?

“Sorry, but you’re the one who’s being tricked. I’m not mixed with anyone else.”

“Yeah, you’d think so. Kang So-hyun.”

“…You’re still at it.”

“You might not know it, but I can see the form of your soul very clearly. You’re closer to Kang So-hyun than Ha-neul now. Should I still consider you Ha-neul?”

“That’s just a side effect of regression. You heard it too.”

“I’m going back. I’ll get him back completely. I received so much from him, and he ended up like that because of someone like me. I can’t let Ha-neul become a half-assed version of himself like you.”

Seriously, she wasn’t listening. I was so happy to see her.

“Well, alright. Let’s say you’re right. Let’s say I’m not Ha-neul, but a knock-off Ha-neul with 20% Kang So-hyun added.”

There was no end to this if we kept arguing over useless things.

“So what are you going to do?”

“I told you. I’m going to destroy this world one more time. And I’ll get you back in your complete form.”

“Hey, you just said you’ll get me back.”

“Ugh…!? That’s not what I meant!”

Look at her blushing. She knew, but she was just being stubborn.

“Why don’t you just come here?”

“…What?”

“At first, it was a world we created, but it’s not just that anymore. The people here are all alive. We don’t have the right to destroy them just because we created them.”

Parents didn’t have the right to harm their children.

So, even if we were their creators, we didn’t have the right to destroy this world.

“Let’s do it again. I’m confident this time. We can just prevent the world from being destroyed. And then…”

“No.”

“Ah, don’t be so stubborn…”

“I said no…!”

It was almost a scream.

“Hey, I’m just going to think of you as Ha-neul for a moment. Listen carefully. Do you think I want to do this…? But what can I do? This is the only way to get you back. What am I supposed to do?”

“…What are you talking about? If we save the world…”

“That’s your thought. You already paid the price and got your wish. And you were even damaged in the process. You’re closer to being a resident of this world than your original world now.”

“…So?”

“You can’t go back even if you save the world. You have to live as Kang So-hyun in this novel world.”

…Oh. I see.

I had expected it when I regained my memories. I was hoping for a miracle, but I guess it was impossible.

“So what if it’s a lie that they’ll bring you back? What can I do? This is the only possibility I have left. There might be another way? What if you break down even more while I’m looking for it?”

“But this isn’t right.”

“My ruined novel is more important than this world to me. No, honestly, I don’t care if this is a real world. You’re the most important thing to me. I can’t live without you. You’re all I have left. You ended up like that because of me. I won’t hesitate this time. I won’t be late.”

I thought I could persuade her, but she was too firm.

“…Can’t you reconsider?”

“Absolutely not.”

She probably knew my intentions, just like I knew hers.

“You’ve always been like this. Why can’t you just give up on things that don’t concern you? You can’t even properly say you like someone, yet you meddle in everyone’s business. You’re like Lilac.”

“You’re being too harsh.”

“You don’t plan on going back, do you?”

“…Well, I can’t if there’s no other way.”

“Why not? It’s something you’ve done before. We can just destroy it again. Or better yet, you come with me. Let’s do it again.”

“That’s not a solution. If it were, I wouldn’t have come back.”

“Is this fake world more important than me?”

“This isn’t about what’s more important. And it’s not fake anymore. The moment things we didn’t set started to exist, it became a world where real people live. We don’t have the right to do whatever we want here anymore.”

“I don’t care.”

“Then who does?”

The negotiations failed.

“…I already took care of the Twelve Zodiacs. And the Creator’s Authority was scattered throughout the world when I regressed. How are you going to destroy the world?”

“I also have some remaining Authority. And stop acting like you know everything about this novel. There are settings I didn’t show you.”

“…Huh? Really? That’s a bit disappointing.”

“Ah, sorry. But there were too many embarrassing things written there… No, what am I saying to a fake?”

“You said you’d think of me as the real Ha-neul.”

“…It’s over. It’s unpleasant. Stop imitating him.”

Ah, I felt like I was going to laugh. She probably thought she was being serious, but it wasn’t that different from our usual conversations.

“How can you tell me not to imitate myself? What kind of logic is that?”

“Anyway, there are plenty of settings you don’t know about. Be prepared. I’ll do anything to get you back.”

“Yeah, and I’ll do anything to stop you from breaking down even more.”

We looked at each other for a moment. I was the one who broke the silence.

“Are you not coming to the academy anymore?”

“…Of course not. How can I go after my identity was revealed?”

“I’ll pretend not to know, so come whenever you want. I want to see you. If you don’t want to be treated as Seo-ha, I’ll treat you as Ms. Chae Yoo-jin.”

“…You’re ridiculous.The novel is more important than me, isn’t it, Mr. Kang So-hyun?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m doing this because you’re precious, because there’s nothing more precious than you, so you don’t do something you’ll regret.”

Her face, which had been red from the wind, became even redder when I said that she was precious.

Of course…

“We’re friends, aren’t we?”

“I hate you. Go away. You haven’t changed at all since we first met…! Idiot…! Stupid…!”

Hmm, it felt like she would give in if I held her now.

Just as I thought that and took a step towards her—

[I’m sorry, but that’s as far as you go.]

A red-haired woman in a butler’s uniform appeared between us.

I couldn’t forget that masked figure.

“Oh, it’s you. It’s been a while.”

[Yes, I think you mistook me for her at first. Hmm, I see now. You’re nothing like you were that day.]

“That’s true, but I don’t think I can beat you.”

No, a method came to mind after I regained my memories, but it was a last resort, even more final than Assimilation with Sun Wukong, and I didn’t want to use it without knowing her hand.

[Yes, I’m not here to fight today, so I’ll just take her with me.]

“Wow, you’re really not coming with me? Don’t act tough, you’ll just come crying to me later~ ‘Ms. Chae Yoo-jin’.”

“…You’re so slick, even at a time like this. You’ll be the one regretting this, ‘Mr. Kang So-hyun’.”

[Shall I get her for you? If you wish, please ask.]

“It’s fine. I don’t have many requests left. I’m not going to waste one on this.”

[That’s a shame.]

“Hey, can you really just say that out loud in front of me, that you have a limited number of requests?”

“…Ugh, I don’t know!”

The moment our author was embraced by what I said, the masked woman bowed her head slightly to me.

And when I blinked, the rooftop was silent, as if no one had been there.

“She left already. How cheap.”

You probably felt like you were watching me all this time, but to me, it felt like we just met after a long time.

Well, at least a lot of my questions were answered.

I was wondering why she was acting like that, but her goal wasn’t to protect me, but to break me.

She was pushing me away and calling me a fake even though she didn’t believe it herself.

“…Seriously, she’s as foolish as I am. As expected of my friend.”

Hey, don’t just leave like that, at least make a joke.

“The thing we always said, like ‘Next time we meet, we’re enemies.’ Something like that, you know?”

I felt really disappointed.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

When I returned to the hall, the dance time was already over, and some kind of talent show was going on.

“Ah, you’re finally here.”

“Hey, so why did So-hyun cry? You should at least give me an answer so I can comfort you.”

“Ah~ I had a nightmare, so I was scared.”

I made up a vague excuse, and Ha-ni grumbled with a dissatisfied expression, but she didn’t press further.

“But a talent show wasn’t on the original schedule, was it?”

“Well, since things were already ruined, my father said that we might as well go all out.”

“Is there a prize or something?”

“It was decided on the spot, so probably not.”

“Well, knowing my father’s personality, he probably won’t completely ignore it.”

As Lilac and Cheon Yoo-hak answered me, I scanned the stage.

They were all dancing or singing, but they weren’t that good.

“Should I go up?”

“…Huh?”

“Really…?”

Yoo-na and Kang Ha-ni, no, not just them, but everyone else looked at me with incredibly surprised expressions.

“What, you guys? I feel like doing this sometimes too.”

When I signed up, Cheon Mu-jin called my name cheerfully and led me to the stage.

Well, I wasn’t a very good singer.

My friend, Seo-ha, always told me that no one but her could stand my singing, so I should just stick to screaming songs.

But a calm song should be fine on a day like this.

The others weren’t that good either.

I would just sing calmly, enough to wash away this unpleasant feeling.

Shortly after I started singing, the noisy hall gradually became quiet.

Was I that bad?

After I finished singing and slowly bowed and left the stage, a round of applause erupted a beat later.

They were so generous, applauding for me like this. Was it praise for someone who couldn’t sing but had the courage to go up?

But when I returned, everyone was staring at me with dazed expressions as if I had been possessed by a ghost.

…What was wrong with them? Did they think that my singing was bad?

Anyway, the long and short birthday festival of Cheon Yoo-hak finally came to an end.

It was time to return to my daily life.

“Why are you so good at singing!?”

“You only sang screaming songs when we went to karaoke last time!”

“Wow, So-hyun! One more song! Just one more song for me!”

…Or not?

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

T/N – Oh wow, what a twist! Who still remembers Chae Yoo-jin? She’s like the first girl ever introduced in the novel right after the entrance ceremony mini arc. Last time I remember her appearance was during the club joining mini arc. Damn, that was such a long time ago.

If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.