‘Has He Still Not Given Up on Her?’
After hearing that Ban Eun-hyeol and Dana were dating, Do I-hyun thought she was slowly giving up on her feelings.
Even when Ban Eun-hyeol’s mood wasn’t good, she believed Do I-hyun was letting go of her unrequited love and felt sorry for her.
But to see her jealousy show so openly like this was surprising.
Kang Ye-dam, worried about her poor friend, gently pulled Do I-hyun’s hand away from her collar.
“Calm down first. There’s a reason they met separately.”
“What reason?”
Do I-hyun was upset seeing Kang Ye-dam take Dana to her parents’ café while she herself hadn’t even met Dana alone.
Under Do I-hyun’s sharp question, Kang Ye-dam glanced around before whispering softly.
“This isn’t the place to talk. Let’s go to the rooftop.”
Without caring if first period had started or not, the two headed toward the rooftop.
They were about to cross the hallway and climb the central stairs.
“Hey, where are you two going?”
Haemak-eum, who barely avoided being late, leisurely came up the stairs and waved cheerfully.
“There’s something.”
“What is it? Let me come too!”
“Just stay in class and listen to the lesson.”
Kang Ye-dam lightly pushed Haemak-eum’s shoulder toward the classroom.
This was clearly drawing a line for him.
Unless Do I-hyun, who already knew Dana’s identity, was around, Haemak-eum had no clue and couldn’t be told about the future.
To explain that, Dana’s identity would have to be revealed first, which couldn’t be done without her consent.
“Wow, leaving me out! I’m disappointed, huh?!”
Watching Kang Ye-dam and Do I-hyun’s backs as they climbed to the rooftop, Haemak-eum made a sour face as if upset.
“Let’s grab some tteokbokki during lunch. It’s on me.”
“Deal! I’ll be in class.”
Haemak-eum, who rarely opened his wallet for friends, made a big circle above his head to show how pleased he was.
‘Glad he lives up to his name,’ Kang Ye-dam muttered, shaking his head at Haemak-eum’s genuinely sunny disposition.
Do I-hyun ignored their exchange and kept heading to the rooftop.
No matter how much she thought, she couldn’t come up with a reason for Kang Ye-dam and Dana to meet alone.
Right now, her mind was filled only with the image of Dana and Kang Ye-dam sitting together at the café.
More precisely, Dana’s smiling face from that scene was magnified and drifting around her head.
“No one here, right?”
“No one.”
As soon as they reached the rooftop, the two checked if anyone was there and headed toward their usual corner.
Kang Ye-dam sat on the desk carelessly placed there and sighed upon seeing Do I-hyun’s serious expression.
“You really like that heretic, huh?”
“Stop with the nonsense and get to the point.”
“Right, it’s not really my business.”
As before, Do I-hyun tended to get sensitive when it came to the subject of her crush.
Deciding there was no benefit in pushing further, Kang Ye-dam took a deep breath.
Then, worried someone might overhear their conversation if they came onto the rooftop, he used a noise-blocking skill.
Do I-hyun immediately noticed and glanced around.
“It’s not something anyone should overhear.”
Shrugging, Kang Ye-dam looked out at Gamseong High, clearly visible from Iljin Sang High since no building blocked the view.
His gaze darkened as he stared at Gamseong High.
‘It all started there.’
The S-rank gate began above Gamseong High on the day all the nearby schools held their graduation ceremonies, spreading across Seoul.
Recalling that horrific scene made his body shiver.
“If another S-rank gate opens, what will you do?”
Facing the hot breeze, Kang Ye-dam looked at Do I-hyun standing in front of him.
“I’d do the same as last time. Kill monsters, protect people.”
“What if a gate much stronger than the one you’ve experienced opens?”
“Would anything change? I’d still try to close the gate. It’d be harder, but…”
Kang Ye-dam looked up at Do I-hyun with a bitter expression as if he expected that answer.
“What’s with that look?”
Though he came to ask why she was with Dana, Kang Ye-dam’s unusual mood made Do I-hyun silently decide to listen.
But she had never seen Kang Ye-dam’s eyes look like that before.
Not knowing exactly what it was, Do I-hyun’s eyebrows twitched, sensing it wasn’t good news.
“You… you know the heretic’s identity, right?”
“…What are you talking about?”
Do I-hyun’s tone suddenly turned sharp.
“You know the heretic is ‘me’.”
At that moment, Do I-hyun gripped Kang Ye-dam’s shoulders so hard it must have hurt.
Startled by the sudden force, Kang Ye-dam almost lost his balance.
Do I-hyun looked at him coldly and tightened her grip.
“A-Ah. Wait, let go of me.”
“What are you? Since when did you know?”
“I’ll tell you now. There’s a lot to explain, so just let go first.”
With a pained expression, Kang Ye-dam pleaded, and Do I-hyun loosened her grip.
“You, if you knew Dana was a vessel, wouldn’t you at least somewhat believe in that kind of thing?”
“…What do you mean?”
“I mean possession, regression, that sort of thing.”
“You’re a regressor?”
Trying to set the stage so her words wouldn’t be dismissed as nonsense, Do I-hyun guessed right away.
Kang Ye-dam’s eyes went wide in surprise as he stammered.
“Uh, how did you know?”
“You’re practically screaming it with your whole body. How could I not?”
“…You’re not bothered by it?”
“Should I be surprised?”
Do I-hyun’s indifferent attitude was typical of someone who deduced Dana’s identity while dozing on a desk.
But Kang Ye-dam, unaware of how she guessed Dana’s true nature, covered his mouth in shock.
‘Should I be happy about this?’
Of course, it was good not to have to explain everything in detail, but seeing her fully believe in being a regressor made him a little worried.
‘He won’t get scammed somewhere, right?’
Worried, Do I-hyun thought that if Dana was going to be swindled, she’d have to protect her herself.
Kang Ye-dam then began to speak.
He told Do I-hyun the future he had shared with Dana.
Throughout the story, Do I-hyun’s expression remained unchanged from the start.
Unlike Ban Eun-hyeol and the heretic, whose expressions shifted constantly as they listened.
But because this was so like Do I-hyun, Kang Ye-dam paid no mind and continued.
“…So, I’m supposed to die protecting Dana?”
After telling so much, what caught Do I-hyun’s ear the most was that he died saving Dana.
“Do you know how desperate I was then? I couldn’t even bring myself to tell the heretic this much…”
Even now, it appears in my dreams. You dying, others dying one by one…
Toward the end, Kang Ye-dam’s voice grew softer.
Remembering that horrific scene, he lowered his head deeply.
Do I-hyun stepped forward and gently tapped his shoulder.
“You went through a lot.”
Though she said nothing more, it felt incredibly comforting.
Kang Ye-dam suppressed the tears welling up and placed his hand over Do I-hyun’s on his shoulder.
Taking a deep breath, he choked on a cough before speaking in a hoarse voice.
“I hope you survive this time. Not just you, but everyone else too. Ahem, that kind of tragedy must never happen again.”
“…If Dana already knows the future, she’d try to change it somehow. Still, if that future comes, I think I’d make the same choice.”
Startled by such a thunderclap statement, Kang Ye-dam scolded Do I-hyun.
“Ban Eun-hyeol would save her! You have a boyfriend—why risk your life?”
“Because Ban Eun-hyeol couldn’t save her, so I did.”
It was true.
At that time, Ban Eun-hyeol was too far away to reach Dana in time, and Do I-hyun, nearby, risked her life to save her.
Even knowing that, Kang Ye-dam hated that his precious friend would throw away her life like that.
But how could he stop a friend who had jumped in to save the girl he liked?
What he disliked was one thing, but the choice was Do I-hyun’s.
There was nothing he could do.
All he could do was try his best to find a way to change the future.
“Anyway, I met with the heretic to tell him this. I think we’ll meet often from now on.”
Do I-hyun reluctantly nodded as if she had no choice.
Then she quietly stared at Gamseong High in the distance.
‘Dana knows this too…’
Even though she had just been told she would die in a few months, she was not greatly shaken.
After all, the future can be changed, and there must be a way to survive.
To find that way, she’d have to meet Dana.
‘Will she meet me?’
Do I-hyun had already sensed Dana was avoiding her.
But for something this serious, maybe Dana would talk.
After confessing everything about the future and pouring out the despair and fear she felt…
Do I-hyun quietly stayed by Kang Ye-dam’s side, fiddling with her phone.