I Don’t Want to Play Villains Anymore - Chapter 38

The first day is always difficult.

Han-Dae High School, the best arts high school in Korea, consists of a total of six departments: Entertainment, Dance, Practical Dance, Practical Music, Fashion Modeling, and Film Production.

Of course, other departments are famous as well, but the most renowned are the Entertainment and Practical Music departments.

There’s a joke that just the idols and actors who graduated from Han-Dae High School could create several entertainment agencies on their own, highlighting the tremendous status of the Entertainment and Practical Music departments.

However, getting into Han-Dae High School itself isn’t an easy task. The students who rise through the competition of hundreds and thousands of applicants are the elite.

From trainees raised by agencies to practical geniuses and entrance exam experts, it’s a place where such individuals gather under one school uniform.

However,

despite that,

the differences in class always exist.

No matter how excellent someone’s acting skills are or how remarkable their talent is,

if there’s even one child who is genuinely ‘of a different class,’ you can personally feel how the atmosphere within that bubble changes.

And right now,

after the entrance ceremony, it’s time to find one’s class.

In front of the classroom, where the sunlight falls on the top of the head through the window, stood that figure.

“…Look at that.”

Someone said quietly.

“Isn’t that amazing… wow.”

After that sigh of mixed admiration, the students began to turn their heads in one direction.

And,

there,

Baek Ha-neul was standing.

Her silver hair flowed naturally over her shoulders.

The naturally wavy ends shimmered with a clearer tone than silver whenever they caught the light, evoking the feeling of frost on the sunlight in a winter morning.

The hair color was clearly unrealistic, making Haneul’s very existence feel out of place.

Beneath her fluttering bangs, her striking blue eyes were fixed in a chilling gaze.

Her features were exquisitely crafted and her eyelashes were long and thick.

Her skin could only be described as flawless; clear and smooth like white porcelain.

The texture of her skin was serene, not just her complexion.

Her lips were small and thin, tightly closed.

Her expressions conveyed everything through her eyes and demeanor.

So whenever she lifted her head or blinked, those around her held their breath.

The school uniform was always the same.

A standard Han-Dae High blouse paired with a black skirt.

And a pleated skirt that fell slightly above the knees.

However, the uniform Haneul wore seemed to perfectly match her stature, almost as if it was designed anew by a different designer.

It gently captured the ripe curves without being vulgar.

Her gestures were quiet.

Her walking speed and the movements of adjusting her bag were subtle.

Shrunk down to a minimal level, those slight movements entrapped everyone’s gaze.

That was Baek Ha-neul.

“…Is this a competition?”

“She’s prettier than the idols.”

“This doesn’t make sense…”

Admiration burst forth.

The whispers of ‘pretty’ that came out like sighs seemed trivial at first glance but were limits of emotion.

It meant they had completely forgotten the poetic expressions and had no more words to describe their feelings.

Haneul neither ignored nor focused on all those gazes.

She merely passed by.

Knowing fully that she was breaking or shaking something yet pretending not to notice while walking by.

The classroom was quiet.

The only thing not quiet was Haneul’s heart.

‘Ah. What a burden.’

During the time from the entrance ceremony to her classroom, countless gazes were directed at her back.

There was no way she wouldn’t notice.

The meanings mixed in each of those gazes: curiosity, scrutiny, jealousy, longing.

Haneul could read all of them with crystal clarity.

She slowly sat down in a chair.

Gathering her knees, she quietly placed her bag down and put her hands on the edge of her desk.

She took a small breath.

But that didn’t calm her racing heart.

‘Right. I didn’t expect to live a normal life anyway.’

At least it’s fine because it’s the arts high school; it’s terrifying to think about what it would be like in a regular school.

Beginnings always brought an excess of interest.

People only remember Baek Ha-neul’s name.

They don’t know the burden that name carries for her.

Genius, child lead, record viewership ratings.

Mesmerizing performances that emerged from child ab*se controversies.

A setting where a five-year-old child killed a character without a single blink.

And acting that felt even more real than reality.

Everyone mentioned it.

Everyone remembered her.

‘Middle school. She did well. Baek Ha-neul.’

Proud of having escaped that terrible spotlight, Haneul kept nodding her head.

A few students followed her cue and nodded along, almost as if they were brainwashed.

Sitting still was more difficult than acting.

Now, becoming accustomed to simply sitting still felt unfamiliar.

‘But I have to endure.’

Observing each face around her, she scanned them one by one.

On one side, someone whispered and turned their head; on the other, there was a child deliberately looking outside to avoid eye contact.

One child was openly holding a cellphone, while another snapped a picture of Haneul’s reaction.

‘Right. This is the expected response.’

As if not realizing that her expression during the entrance ceremony was filled with that signature cold demeanor.

Baek Ha-neul pretended to be the tragic heroine within herself.

Didn’t they know that anyone would feel scared observing their faces like that?

At that moment.

“Haneul!”

“Huh…?”

When Su-a appeared and rushed towards Haneul,

Haneul’s passive reaction was a very simple one-liner.

To be precise, it was the sound of an excited gasp that followed that one line.

With something suddenly hanging from her arm, her center of balance shook, and the stillness of the classroom shattered like a fragile glass.

“Phew… You’re from the Practical Music Department, right? You’re coming here soon…”

Haneul looked at the small being suspended on her arm.

Golden hair brushing against her silver locks and blue eyes, the cute lips adorned with coral-pink lip tint were breaking into a smile.

“Ah~! Did you come to see me?”

It was Lee Su-a.

A promising candidate to be responsible for the next generation of idols, belonging to ChokSong Entertainment.

Though she looks light-hearted, she is, in fact, a thoroughly trained talent from vocalization to acting.

And the only person Haneul couldn’t refuse.

“…Ha.”

Haneul’s calmness was subtly shaken.

She was all too aware that the question of whether she would be there soon was meaningless.

This child always lived in the ‘now.’

Carrying that ridiculous name, she was someone who could shake an entire classroom.

Su-a, while clinging tightly, exclaimed.

“I’ve been worried since this morning! Ah, what should I do about Haneul? I’m shy! What if I have no friends?!”

“…I don’t mind being shy.”

Haneul replied softly, but no one heard.

Especially not Su-a.

“So I came charging in! Hmm~ as expected! You’re sitting alone!”

“Uh, it just happened that way…”

Finally, Su-a turned her head while still clinging to Haneul.

Still attached to Haneul’s arm, she swept her gaze around the classroom.

“Ah, so this is Haneul’s class? Hmm~ it’s nice! Oh~ Haneul’s friends~”

‘No. I never said anyone was my friend,’ the words almost made it to her lips, but Haneul resolutely held them back.

Haneul was skilled at restraint, but Su-a held a remarkable talent for testing Haneul’s patience.

It was that moment.

Whispers came from the back of the classroom.

“Looks like Baek Ha-neul is acting like that.”

“I thought she was a cold-hearted girl.”

“She’s acting all cute, huh…”

Indeed.

Haneul’s expression had shattered.

It wasn’t her usual calmness but was mixed with embarrassment, agitation, and surprise.

Her eyebrows knit slightly, and the corners of her mouth turned daintily upwards.

That was a very human expression.

Not that of a genius actress but that of a ‘seventeen-year-old embarrassed in front of a friend.’

Upon seeing that, the children quietly but wholeheartedly gasped.

‘Ah, she’s also human.’

For Haneul, it might have been the first and last time she felt ‘disarmed.’

Thanks to this, Haneul was remembered as a being who could draw a little closer to her classmates.

“Ah, come on.”

Whimper.

“Ugh!!!”

Bam!!!

“Geez.”

“Wow, that’s crazy…”

“Is she okay?”

“Don’t talk to her…”

Until she brought Su-a down with a gentle take-down.

…

“Ugh…”

Tap tap.

Brushing off the dust from her hands, she watched Su-a’s retreating figure.

That girl Su-a is getting stronger as the days go by; I wonder if it’s because she practices dancing.

If she hadn’t learned some self-defense for her dance performances in her previous life, she might have been overwhelmed strictly by sheer physicality.

‘As expected, it must be an arts high school; even the kids here are pretty.’

Glancing around, it seemed like the entertainment department after all.

There were indeed a number of well-tuned individuals among them.

‘These days, plastic surgery is quite advanced.’

It seems like apart from me, everyone else is artificial.

What was certain was that everyone had a famous face.

There were a few familiar faces lingering in memory.

That’s the one who appeared in the snack commercial last time… that one is for cosmetics, right? That one played the role of the son sitting behind a car… what was that one again?

While recalling such memories,

“Um… Haneul.”

A child sitting in the back with sparkling eyes looked at me.

With a black ponytail and thick-rimmed glasses; I’m sorry to say, but she’s not that pretty.

Who is she? I don’t recall her.

“Oh. I’m Han Min-ji from the Film Production Department. I came to tell you something important.”

“Something important?”

The Film Production Department is right here with us.

The teacher will come in soon, so it’s dangerous.

“That. You were super famous and had a great run as a child actress… but there was a gap, right? Do you have anything lined up for a comeback?”

“Um. No, not yet.”

There’s a movie which is scheduled for production next month, but it’s still a bit far away, so I’m not busy right now.

Is there anything trending around this time…

“What if you made a comeback in a drama with Lee Su-a?!”

“…Huh?”

That caught me off guard.