The Main Character Killed The Villain

#031

A brief silence fell inside the measurement room.

Shin Haejun, who was as surprised as I was, quickly removed his hands from the machine and picked up my result sheet with a serious expression.

“Matching rate… 99.9%?”

Shin Haejun’s face went blank. In an instant, the gazes of Shin Haejun, myself, and the examiner met.

“Could the… could the machine be malfunctioning?”

The examiner mumbled absentmindedly.

“A 99.9% matching rate is impossible. It’s the maximum possible matching rate, this is really impossible… what’s going on?”

The examiner muttered in a confused voice. And Shin Haejun’s hand holding the test result sheet trembled.

“Mr. Shin Haejun, are you oka– Ah!”

“This is destiny.”

Shin Haejun, trembling all over, exclaimed with a bright face. He tightly grasped my hand and smiled brightly.

“I knew you were my destiny.”

“Um… Esper Shin Haejun. There’s a possibility that there’s a problem with the machine…”

“What do you know? The machine is right, isn’t it?”

Shin Haejun, who had been rejoicing, glared fiercely at the examiner when he tried to pour cold water on the situation. The examiner, overwhelmed by the aura of an S-class Esper, shut his mouth with a gulp.

‘Why is he acting like this…’

My mind couldn’t process the whirlwind of events that had just occurred. I finally snapped “Hey!” in anger and snatched the result sheet.

The first thing that caught my eye was indeed the matching rate. There was no way to miss the bright red numbers written in large font.

The matching rate between Shin Haejun, the main protagonist, and Kim Sehyun was 98%. Even this was considered extraordinary and had caused a commotion. But 99.9%?

Considering that even genetic tests and other similar tests never show 100%, this situation could be considered almost fateful, as Shin Haejun was pleased to believe.

‘What about my grade?’

After all, what I wanted to confirm wasn’t the matching rate, but the grade. I quickly raised my gaze to read the complex text written at the top.

[Esper: S-class / Guide: Unmeasurable]

…Unmeasurable?

“You see? Didn’t I say the machine preparation wasn’t complete?”

The examiner shook his head as if he had expected this and explained.

“The machine is designed to always display results from F to S. For it to show this means there must be a test error.”

“What if it’s not a test error? Damn it, you should buy a new machine or something.”

Shin Haejun, who had been listening with furrowed brows, burst out angrily. Then he pointed at my face and said,

“Look at this kid’s face. He’s gone pale now. Isn’t this all the center’s fault?”

“Ah, no…! I clearly said the machine preparation wasn’t complete…!”

As the examiner tried to defend himself, Shin Haejun rubbed his forehead and waved his hand dismissively.

“Prepare for another test.”

Shin Haejun rushed in and made a fuss. The examiner sighed deeply with a more aged face.

“Stop it. We’ll have to do the test again on the re-verification date anyway for it to be valid.”

I stopped Shin Haejun, who was raging at the examiner. I thought he only lashed out at me, but it turned out he was a warrior ready to fight everyone. As I calmed down Shin Haejun, who seemed like he could become an excellent keyboard warrior if put in a game, with a cold gaze, the examiner wiped his forehead with his fist and spoke carefully.

“The center director said he would conduct a grade test soon anyway.”

“Even if we retest now and any grade shows up, people won’t believe it. If we’re going to do it, we need to get a proper verification.”

Even if it turns out that I’m definitely F-class.

Anyway… I need to talk more properly with Hyun Dowoon to confirm what procedure will be used for verification.

While at it, I decided to honestly talk about the emotions I’ve been feeling recently. That I’d like him to treat me with a bit more distance. That I’m so starved for affection that I misunderstand things when someone is just a little nice to me. That I’d prefer if he didn’t say things like wanting to marry me or calling me his personal guide.

‘I don’t want to be the only one suffering.’

Because if Hyun Dowoon looks at me with those kind eyes and whispers again, I’ll end up believing him just like that. Even if it’s embarrassing, it was something I had to address once.

Since he’s someone who knows how to separate work and personal matters, and is kind to everyone, he’ll probably consider what I say.

I decided to go up to the center director’s office, bringing some juice from a nearby cafe.

***

After finally shaking off Shin Haejun, I went up carrying coffee for myself and two bottles of juice for Hyun Dowoon and his secretary. When I arrived, the door was slightly open.

‘Is there… a visitor or not?’

I could hear murmuring voices from inside. I carefully observed the situation inside, thinking I might have to wait if necessary.

Just as I was about to leave, sure that someone was there, my name suddenly came up from inside. Despite knowing I shouldn’t eavesdrop, my steps stopped abruptly.

“Keep Lee Jaeha’s results secret. Until the official results come out, no one should know about this matching rate. Be especially careful not to let Kim Sehyun hear about it.”

“Understood.”

The voice following Hyun Dowoon’s was that of his secretary, which I had heard a few times before. As I was considering whether to knock and enter, an unexpected conversation caught my ear.

“But Director, what do you plan to do if Lee Jaeha’s results turn out to be true?”

“Even if Jaeha turns out to be F-class, it doesn’t matter. I didn’t make my decision based on grade.”

“Then why are you doing a re-verification? Couldn’t you just reveal the reason why you formed the pair?”

“I formed the pair for a reason. However, to reveal that, we need to re-verify the grade and check our matching rate, so we’re doing it now.”

“Did you think the matching rate would be high? So you formed the pair for a rational reason. To be honest, seeing your attitude, I imagined something more… romantic.”

Having heard this much, I turned and left with my heart pounding.

‘Could it really have been because of the item?’

I couldn’t know the truth, but was there any other reason to choose me?

I didn’t have the courage to hear Hyun Dowoon’s answer. And at the same time, I felt that it wasn’t just my pure misunderstanding. If even the secretary spoke like that, if it was noticeable to others, then Hyun Dowoon really did act strangely, right?

‘It wasn’t just my misunderstanding. I’m not the only one being weird!’

At that moment, I realized my hand holding the coffee was trembling, indicating another seizure had started. Although I felt pathetic for expecting too much from others, getting disappointed, and riding an emotional rollercoaster alone, I couldn’t control the seizure.

When I came to my senses, I was sitting in a chair in the psychiatric ward of the medical center with my hand soaked in coffee. The last clear memory I had was of bursting into the reception area in tears and meeting several people.

I remember someone taking away the coffee, putting a small pill in my mouth, and making me drink water, but I couldn’t remember exactly who it was.

As I blinked my eyes while slumped in the chair, someone quickly sat down next to me. A medicine bag entered my field of vision. Slowly turning my head, I saw Shin Haejun sitting there.

“Why are you here?”

“I was waiting for you and saw you moving, so I followed.”

What? I received the medicine bag. As I fumbled to combine it with the juice bag on my wrist, Shin Haejun held out his hand.

“Give it to me.”

“Why?”

“Why, is there a reason you can’t give it to me?”

Well… there isn’t. Although I bought the juice to give to Hyun Dowoon, I no longer had the heart to deliver it.

But somehow feeling uneasy, I clutched the juice bottle tightly.

“It’s not yours, Shin Haejun.”

“Why isn’t it mine? I like the apple juice they sell at that cafe.”

Shin Haejun said, holding out his large hand. Then, with a slightly embarrassed face, he muttered,

“Actually, I like yuzu too. I shouldn’t have thrown it that time.”

“Shouldn’t there be something you should say before talking about what you like?”

“Sorry.”

Shin Haejun whispered softly and then tapped my knee with his knee.

“Can you make it for me again next time? Or we could make it together.”

“Why would I cook for you? Ask Sehyun.”

“Why Kim Sehyun?”

“He’s your pair, isn’t he? You’re closer to him than to me.”

Of course, there are pairs like Hyun Dowoon and me who feel distant despite being pairs.

Whether it was the plot’s manipulation or not, Shin Haejun did briefly say he liked me.

Anyway, Shin Haejun was destined to end up with Kim Sehyun. I wanted to avoid giving Kim Sehyun any reason to question why Shin Haejun was by my side.

“What does being a pair have to do with it? I’ve been telling you that I like you, haven’t I?”

“Is it because of the matching rate we saw earlier? I told you, that’s probably an error.”

Earlier, when the examiner and I insisted it must be an error, Shin Haejun had denied it to the end.

Anyway, it’s only a 1.9% difference from the 98% match with Kim Sehyun. S-class Kim Sehyun would be much better than F-class me, so I don’t understand why he keeps acting like this just because I’m 99.9%.

When I spoke sulkily, Shin Haejun unexpectedly burst into laughter.

“I’m happy because it seems like our relationship is 99.9% perfect, but honestly, I don’t care what the truth is.”

What…

“There’s no way my grade will go up. Sehyun’s grade went from F to S, but there’s no guarantee that mine, as his friend, will go up the same way.”

“Why not? It could happen. To be honest, I don’t really believe that Kim Sehyun is S-class. I’ve rarely felt like he was S-class except for once or twice. Ah, should I make him get re-verified too?”

“You don’t have faith in your own pair?”

“I’d find it more believable if you were S-class rather than him.”

Shin Haejun, seemingly recalling Kim Sehyun, smirked and muttered,

“Actually, I don’t care if you’re not my pair. I just want the results you want to come out. Even if that’s not the case, I like you anyway.”

Shin Haejun had an uncharacteristically gentle look in his eyes.

Suddenly, my vision wavered.

He’s the protagonist meant for Kim Sehyun anyway. I don’t even like men. But…

‘No one has ever said something like this to me before.’

Since my parents passed away, truly no one had said such things to me.

I like you, I hope your wishes come true, it doesn’t matter what your abilities are.

‘Hyun Dowoon said he didn’t mind if I was F-class, but he probably hopes for a higher grade.’

But Shin Haejun seemed to genuinely not care if I was F-class if that’s what I wanted.

As I felt my heart truly skip a beat this time… I suddenly realized Shin Haejun had snatched the juice from me.

***

: *Finding Pieces of Truth*

Quest Grade: A

You have completed the quest. A reward will be given!

Reward: 1 Character Setting View Right

The same reward I had received before appeared before my eyes. The same reward as when I was D-grade.

: Here is the list of characters you can choose from!

Shin Haejun

Hyun Dowoon

Kim Sehyun (NEW!)

Lee Jaeha

Shin Serim

And next to Kim Sehyun, whom I had viewed once before, there was a ‘NEW!’ mark, as if indicating I must see it.