I Became the Terminally Ill Character in My Friend’s Academy Novel – Chapter 44

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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Naturally, even in the Korea of this novel, there was a president.

However, when asked who held the true center of power in Korea, almost no one answered with the president or the members of the National Assembly.

How much influence could a politician elected by votes have in a superhuman society?

Though it was probably still better than countries where superhumans openly staged coups and ruled, or where heroes became presidents through popularity contests.

Anyway, based on the original story, the figures people considered the true rulers of Korea were as follows:

First, Cheon Mu-jin, the head of the Cheonhwa Group, Korea’s largest conglomerate.

As you could tell from the name, he was Cheon Yoo-hak’s father.

Next, there was Seo Ye-hwa, ranked number one in the official world hero rankings.

Of course, hero rankings weren’t solely based on strength, but even so, Seo Ye-hwa was a major reason why Korea, a small country with a relatively small number of heroes, was the third most powerful nation in this world.

If she wanted to, she could probably rule Korea.

And lastly, there was the leader of the Zodiacs, the head of the Villain Alliance. In the original story, most people hated this bastard, but his influence on Korea was undeniable.

He orchestrated the terrorist attack that devastated the supposedly impregnable Reilan Academy, commanded countless villains, and his twelve executives were all incredibly powerful.

Of course, since I had weakened them considerably, they probably wouldn’t grow into the massive Villain Alliance that they were in the original story. Maybe they would become something like the Gather, Little Rascals defense team*?

Now, you might be wondering why I suddenly brought this up in the middle of my family’s story.

The answer was simple.

My father was a man with crazy connections, and had dealings with all three of them.

A man who couldn’t become king himself, but could be a kingmaker.

That was Kang Hyun-woo, Kang So-hyun’s father and the head of Yoo-sung Group.

In the original story, he lost his judgment after his son’s death and perished after antagonizing both the academy and the Villain Alliance. But that future wouldn’t come to pass since I had possessed this body, so Yoo-sung Group wouldn’t be in danger.

And the Yoo-sung Group had a daughter to be proud of.

Kang Na-hyun.

A B-rank hero who rose to the top 5 rookies within a year of her debut thanks to her beauty and brilliant talent, and a near-celebrity who was building her career by appearing in dramas, commercials, and variety shows.

“…That’s your sister?”

“Yeah.”

Yes, I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth. Although my relationship with my family wasn’t very good.

“You’re lying, right?”

“Huh?”

“Seriously, So-hyun, would you believe it if you were me? Why would the younger brother of such a superstar dress so shabbily?”

Shabbily? You have no idea how cleanly I wash up because of you…! I can’t live without body wash now…!

“Your hair is at an awkward length, and you don’t even style it, just tie it back with a rubber band. And why are your bangs so long? More importantly, your glasses are tacky.”

“That’s discrimination against people who wear glasses.”

“Seriously, who would say anything if you wore nice glasses? There are a lot of nice frames these days.”

Hmm, I couldn’t refute that.

But Kang So-hyun dressed like this even before I possessed him, so it wasn’t entirely my fault.

I might be faithfully preserving the character’s authenticity.

…Of course, my fashion sense wasn’t any different before possessing this body, but anyway, it wasn’t my fault.

Kang Ha-ni suddenly approached me and brushed my bangs aside.

“It’s good that you’re clean, but if you put even just half that effort into your style, even if your face is average… huh?”

As I mentioned before, the average appearance level in this world was quite high.

Basically, everyone except the villains and the obvious loser characters was above average.

And among them, Kang So-hyun, according to our butt Kim Ga-eul, had a decent face.

“You look like this? Wow, what a waste. You have big eyes and long eyelashes? Why are you living like this?”

“…Mind your own business.”

“Wait, is it true that Na-hyun-sunbaenim is coming to see you then? Are you really Na-hyun-sunbaenim’s brother?”

Sunbaenim?

She could call her that since my sister was an academy graduate, but was that how people usually addressed her?

“Yeah.”

“Introduce me to her!”

Our Ha-ni’s voice was incredibly loud, as if she had eaten a train whistle.

“Ah, sorry, I got too excited.”

Thinking back, there seemed to be a similar setting in the settings book.

Kang Ha-ni grew up in a sheltered environment, but she was allowed to read books and newspapers with information about heroes for educational purposes, and thus, she had idealized some heroes.

It wasn’t prominent in the original story since she fell into villainy, but it wouldn’t be strange if my noona was one of the heroes she admired.

“Please introduce me to her, So-hyun! Please! I’m begging you!”

Yes, our usually cool Kang Ha-ni was quite desperate right now.

But wait a minute.

There was a trap here.

Ha-ni was obviously a girl, but she thought I, and by extension, Ha-ni herself, thought she was a boy.

But casually introducing her to my incredibly popular, almost celebrity-like sister?

It was a strange scenario.

“Han-hee, honestly, even if we’re friends… No, you don’t introduce your older sister to a friend.”

“…Huh?”

And Kang Ha-ni also seemed to understand how her words sounded from a guy’s perspective.

“No! That’s not what I meant! I’m asking you to introduce me out of pure admiration and goodwill!”

“Yeah, no. There’s no such thing as pure admiration and goodwill between a man and a woman who have never met. I don’t believe you.”

Kang Ha-ni muttered something in frustration, but since she couldn’t reveal that she was a girl, she just mumbled without refuting me.

Hmm, I shouldn’t tease her anymore.

“And actually, even if I wanted to introduce you to her, I’m not very close to my family. So I can’t.”

This time, Kang Ha-ni became quiet for a different reason.

She had been acting strange ever since the butler came to pick me up last time. It seemed like she was having some kind of delusion.

“Sorry.”

After saying that, she went up to the top bunk.

I wanted to clear up the misunderstanding, but honestly, I was a bit tired.

I was going to be busy tomorrow, so was it really necessary to correct her misunderstanding now?

Sleeping soundly right away versus correcting my friend’s strange delusion.

It wasn’t a difficult choice.

Ah, definitely the former.

Seriously, what could possibly go wrong just because she had a strange delusion?

I would correct her if something really happened.

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Why did humans keep repeating the same mistakes?

The price of choosing sleep last night without correcting the misunderstanding was incredibly sweet.

Again, it wasn’t bitter, but sweet.

“Ah, you’re awake?”

Waking up to a lavish breakfast spread, what else could it be but sweet?

“Han-hee, what is all this…? Even with this, I can’t introduce you to my sister.”

“Hey, what do you take me for? I just made some extra while making mine, so hurry and wash up so that we can eat.”

I would have preferred it if she had openly asked me to meet my sister, but what kind of delusion was she having to suddenly treat me so well?

“You call this ‘extra.’”

A breakfast table with homemade tteokgalbi wasn’t something you could just “make some extra.”

No, wait, how did you even prepare homemade tteokgalbi? What time did you wake up?

“Ah, hurry up and wash your face, then let’s eat.”

When I came back after washing my face in a daze, there were even sunny-side up eggs.

“Come and try it.”

As I hesitantly ate a piece of tteokgalbi, the rich, savory but slightly sweet flavor went well with the rice.

“Is it good?”

“Yeah, it’s good. But why did you go through all this trouble to prepare mine too?”

“Hey, if your friend made it for you, just eat it. Why are you being so self-conscious?”

Because you seem to have a huge misunderstanding.

“You’re eating well.”

“…You know, it’s really burdensome when you stare at me while I’m eating.”

“I’m just watching because you look so happy while eating. You have to endure it since I made it.”

She chuckled and popped a small piece of tteokgalbi into her mouth.

“Hmm, it turned out well.”

She nodded, praising herself, then spoke in a slightly serious tone.

“Hey, you miss home-cooked meals too, right? Let’s cook together from now on.”

“Huh? Isn’t that too much trouble? I can’t really help much.”

“I’m not expecting you to be a great cook. Just prepare the ingredients and chop them. And do the dishes sometimes.”

“I can do that, but wouldn’t it be tiring for you?”

“It’s also expensive to keep buying takeout. And it’s not very healthy. Or are you going to pay for my meals too?”

Well, it was true that eating out all the time wasn’t ideal.

Eating home-cooked food is good once in a while, but it gets tiring and makes me feel bloated over time.

“You’re the one who suggested this. I can only cook simple dishes, so don’t complain if it’s not good.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m not expecting much.”

“Hurry up and brush your teeth or else we’ll be late.”

“Ah, right.”

I didn’t know what kind of misunderstanding she had, but eating homemade food was good, right?

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Kang Ha-ni looked at his retreating figure as he went to brush his teeth, recalling the truth she had discovered last night.

-This year’s best rookie B-rank hero, Kang Na-hyun. She lost her mother before becoming a student and lived while taking care of her father and young brother.

-She sometimes fought with her brother due to stress.

It was from an interview with Kang Na-hyun, one of the heroes she admired, last year.

-My father is rather stoic, so it wasn’t unbearable, but I’m worried about my younger brother not receiving much affection.

She hadn’t thought much about it before, but now that she knew, she looked at him differently.

“The ‘younger brother’ must be So-hyun.”

The fact that his mother died before she became a student meant that it happened when Kang So-hyun was still in elementary school.

A stoic father focused on work and an older sister who chose the life of a hero even though she wanted to take care of him.

The young Kang So-hyun must have grown up craving affection, but was unable to express it, resulting in his needs not being met.

Although he was probably materially wealthy, how difficult must it have been for him as a child?

Thinking back, she could see the signs in his behavior.

His meticulous knocking from their first meeting and his basic manners all stemmed from his desire to not be disliked, and his occasional sharp remarks and harsh tone now made sense.

Yes.

Kang So-hyun was starved for affection.

Despite that, she admired his desire to help others and live a virtuous life, and she also felt sorry for him.

At first, she just thought he was a decent roommate, and later on, a frail, pitiful friend she had to take care of.

But after spending a little over a month with him, she now knew that he could step up when needed, and that he had a painful past.

“He probably doesn’t want anyone to know.”

She understood him since she also had a secret, although the weight of their secrets were different.

What would happen if it was revealed that he was from a wealthy, single-parent family, and that his sister was Kang Na-hyun?

Some would be jealous, and some would pity him.

He would become the center of countless rumors.

It was a trial her kind roommate didn’t need to experience.

“He must hate it. He must have told me about it because he trusts me.”

Judging by the Kim Ga-eul incident at the beginning of the semester, he clearly disliked being the subject of rumors and he even expressed his discomfort.

The fact that he confided in her despite that meant he considered her a close friend.

“What are you going to do, being so kind? What if I had bad intentions?”

Although she said that, she wasn’t displeased.

It meant her first friend at the academy trusted her that much.

“I should make sure he eats a proper breakfast from now on.”

Kang Ha-ni nodded, feeling proud while recalling him eating breakfast diligently despite being self-conscious.

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T/N – No big sis yet, but man is Ha-ni’s delusions going full throttle. MC’s mommies are growing by the day though, so I see this as an absolute win!

*No clue what this means. It didn’t show any results when I looked it up.

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