The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 66



65 – The Main Heroine’s Love and Hate

I quickly ran to Sharin’s side.

I took her to the nearest bathroom.

“I should at least get some water.”

It seems she doesn’t know her own drinking limit.

She’ll suffer from a hangover tomorrow.

I went downstairs to get some water from the dormitory.

As I grabbed a bottle of water preserved by freezing magic.

I saw a familiar face.

“Ah.”

She recognized me too and let out a short sound.

Between her honey-blonde hair, I saw her slightly flushed cheeks.

The sweet scent of alcohol wafted from her body, tickling my nose.

As Sharin said, Isabel seemed to have drunk quite a bit too.

‘She looks better than Sharin.’

At that moment, Isabel covered her face with both hands.

“Ah, I just drank a little to fit the mood.”

Isabel looked extremely embarrassed.

I felt a strange sensation from her actions.

‘This isn’t a feeling of love, but…’

It seemed like a different emotion.

“Isabel.”

When I threw her the water bottle, Isabel caught it with her hand.

“Let’s talk for a moment.”

“Uh, uh?”

She widened her eyes, clearly not expecting me to initiate a conversation.

“Before that.”

I pointed upwards.

“Let’s get the drunkard to the room.”

Let’s move Sharin, who had turned into a dolphin in the bathroom.

＊＊＊

After safely bringing Sharin to the room.

I walked out onto the terrace of the lodging with Isabel.

The characteristic sound of summer insects could be heard from all around.

In the distance, the blue sea sparkled under the starlight.

Swaaah-

The sound of waves carried by the wind made me feel at ease.

After taking in the sight of the sea, I turned my head.

There, enjoying the summer breeze that seemed to have sobered her up a bit, was Isabel.

Isabel, dressed casually with a cardigan over her outfit, looked as beautiful as a painting.

As the main heroine, she possessed exceptional beauty.

But she did not meet my eyes.

To be precise, Isabel avoided my gaze.

I stared at her quietly and then spoke.

“Isabel.”

“Ah, yes.”

Isabel responded to me a beat late.

After a brief silence, I asked.

“Why are you avoiding my gaze?”

Isabel’s shoulders flinched.

She wrapped her arms around herself.

It was a defensive action people do unconsciously.

“…Avoiding your gaze, who is?”

“Even today, at the beach, or after drinking.”

Isabel’s lips quivered.

Her face turned beet red, perhaps embarrassed that I had seen through everything.

I looked at Isabel for a moment and then leaned against the terrace railing.

“Go ahead, speak. If there’s a reason, I’ll listen.”

“……”

Normally, she would have just turned away.

But perhaps because of the alcohol, Isabel didn’t turn away immediately.

She opened and closed her lips repeatedly.

It seemed like she couldn’t find the words right away.

I waited patiently for her.

Finally, her lips parted.

“……I didn’t want to disappoint you.”

Disappoint?

I looked at Isabel with a puzzled expression.

Her face turned even redder, and she turned her head away.

The night breeze blew again.

Golden threads scattered like the Milky Way in the night sky.

The unique scent of the sea tickled my nose.

Among the sea scent, Isabel’s sweet fragrance and the smell of alcohol were mixed.

“……You know, it’s embarrassing, but I thought of you as a rival.”

She was thinking the same thing I was.

“I don’t like how you criticize Lucas, but I admired your determination.

Honestly, I also wanted to move forward like you.”

Alcohol makes people honest.

Especially once the reins of the lips are loosened, they can’t stop.

“But now, playing happily with the kids like this, I wondered if this was right.”

Isabel gave a slightly bitter smile.

It’s a kind of compulsion.

The reason Isabel could survive and live again was because she had a rivalry with me.

In such a situation, if she played around carelessly, she couldn’t accept it herself.

“Such a pointless worry.”

And I dismissed it as pointless.

Isabel looked at me with a slightly irritated expression.

“Aren’t I just playing around right now too?”

Isabel blinked.

Isabel is resting now.

I am also resting at the same resort as her.

“Isn’t that enough?”

“…It’s because I’m falling behind.”

“One more day of training won’t let you catch up to me.”

In fact, if you think about it, I don’t really feel like I’m ahead.

It’s just that Isabel thinks so.

“Isabel, people need to rest too. I don’t know exactly what your mindset is.

But at least you should have the opportunity to see if you’re on the right path, don’t you think?”

“……”

Isabel quietly chewed over my words and then suddenly laughed.

When I frowned, Isabel waved her hand apologetically.

“No, it’s just that it seems like this is the first time you’ve been kind to me.”

“…I just did it because it was annoying to watch you being so cautious.”

“Right, that’s probably it.”

Isabel said that and looked back at the night sea.

“…Well, you’re dating Hania too. I guess I can catch up in the meantime.”

Isabel smiled with a hint of drunkenness.

Her face held bitterness and loneliness.

“I’m sorry, but that’s not going to happen.”

So I decided to break her smile a little.

“Dating Hania is just a fake.”

“What?”

“It’s just a situation. Do you really think Hania would date me?”

Even if others don’t know.

It seemed better to give Isabel a hint.

If she aimed for me.

I had to become a goal so high that she could never reach.

Only then could a rivalry continue to form.

“Above all, I have no intention of dating anyone.”

From the beginning, I was not Hanon.

Dating someone in this form is an impolite story.

Isabel blinked her big eyes.

Eventually, after a moment of silence, she gave a gentle smile for some reason.

“Yes, that’s how it was.”

It was a smile that somehow even looked relieved.

My eyes slowly opened.

Unintentionally, I opened my mouth and then closed it.

‘This is.’

Sharin might mistakenly think this is love.

Isabel was in a psychologically unstable state.

This was due to losing Lucas, whom she relied on.

I filled that void with anger and resentment.

Isabel endured half a semester relying on anger and resentment.

And in the process, she leaned on me, the target of her anger and resentment.

This hit my thought that I could at least be the moon if not the sun, Lucas.

“Indeed, you are.”

But here.

An unexpected result came from Isabel.

There is a word called love-hate.

A psychological state of having both affection and hatred simultaneously.

This indicates that affection and hatred are surprisingly close.

One day, you might harbor hatred for someone you were full of affection for.

Conversely, you might harbor affection for someone you were full of hatred for.

“It seems like you’ll stay by my side until the end, without leaving.”

Emotions are that complex.

“Ah, staying by your side means being there for you.”

Isabel had to rely on me psychologically.

Even if it was a terrible emotion like anger and resentment.

She had to rely on me to survive.

And in the process, I ended up taking too deep a place inside Isabel.

‘The innate possessiveness and exclusivity that people have.’

Even the emotions that were originally meant for Lucas.

Before I knew it, I had replaced him.

‘This is what Sharin meant when she said Isabel sees both me and Lucas in her.’

Isabel was not yet healed.

She was just holding on by seeing me as Lucas.

If I were to disappoint her and leave, she would not be able to bear the sense of loss again.

So she has been desperately trying until now.

‘When she heard that Hania and I were dating.’

The anxiety Sharin felt from Isabel was not jealousy.

Whether as lovers or whatever.

From noble mtl dot com

It was the anxiety that I might lose interest in her in any form.

‘That day, when the kids asked about our relationship and she got furious.’

Maybe her psychology was unconsciously revealed.

Isabel’s eyes met mine again.

Her eyes smiled brightly.

“I think I’m talking a lot today. It’s because I’m a bit drunk, so you don’t have to listen too carefully.”

Is that smile really bright?

I felt like there was no light in her eyes.

But I couldn’t see a way to solve Isabel’s problem right away.

Really, is this direction okay?

Isabel’s smile was so bright that it made me think that.

When she realizes someday that I am not like Lucas.

Could she endure it?

I don’t know.

Swoosh-

The sound of the night sea waves echoed within the question.

＊＊＊

Maybe it was because Isabel’s laughter lingered from yesterday, but I couldn’t sleep well.

“Haahhh.”

I let out a yawn full of fatigue as I slowly got up.

Then, Iris’s arm, which had been hugging me, slipped off.

I made sure to cover her well with the blanket so she wouldn’t get cold, and quietly slipped out.

On the opposite bed, Hania was sleeping with a face full of resentment.

It seemed she was quite upset about losing her spot next to Iris.

I wonder if I’ll get stabbed by Hania out of jealousy soon.

As I walked outside, the morning air felt fresh.

I lightly stretched my body as part of my usual routine, and soon started running outside.

Now, if I miss a day of running, I feel uneasy.

Running along the coast, I saw a few others running as well.

Well, the people here are students of Jerion Academy.

Training habits were ingrained in them.

‘Refreshing.’

The morning run helps clear my mind.

The frustration from the conversation with Isabel last night seemed to dissipate a bit.

Tap- tap-

At that moment, I heard footsteps next to me.

Someone who was jogging in the morning caught up with me.

Running hard, huh.

I moved slightly to the side to make way.

However, the person didn’t avoid me and kept running beside me.

Realizing this, I turned my head with curiosity.

There, I saw a boy with short black hair.

My eyes slowly widened as I saw that face.

“Hello, it’s our first time meeting in person, isn’t it?”

He smiled brightly as he faced me.

Damn it.

‘I thought they might send someone from the First Prince’s side.’

But I never expected this guy to come.

The identity of the person running beside me.

He was Hanon Airey.

Not me, but the real Hanon Airey.