NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 232
“I might’ve taken enough time to think it over, but now I’m sure of it. Minho is clearly avoiding me.”
It’s been about a week since I started observing him, right from the day after enrollment. So, yeah, since the very beginning.
The reason? Well, I have no clue. There shouldn’t be any specific reason for him to avoid me.
It can’t be my looks. If I were to rank the people in this world based on beauty, I’d definitely say I’m in the top 0.001%.
Women would envy me and men would be captivated by my face and body—I knew this all too well.
So maybe it’s my behavior? That might be part of it. No matter how stunning I might look, a normal person would probably find the attention of a complete stranger a bit overwhelming.
Still, if I had received the favor of such a stunning goddess for a whole week, you’d think his heart might have softened a bit.
There wasn’t really anything strange about his sexual preferences. At least as far as I knew, there were no hidden homosexual inclinations.
Besides, he wasn’t the type of guy who distrusts women due to being hurt too much by them.
With common sense, he could be suspicious for the first few days, but dodging me for a whole week was just plain odd.
He was actually quite proactive when it came to the opposite sex. So him persistently rejecting my interest made no sense at all.
Unless he had some intense desire to date the original heroines or perhaps his status window—the ability he has—was malfunctioning.
But beyond that point was an area I couldn’t see, so it would just be speculation.
It’s clear there’s something I don’t know, but I couldn’t grasp what that problem was or its identity.
Normally, I could figure out what was wrong within an hour if I approached things as usual, but I couldn’t exactly torture the protagonist.
Frustration was building up. It was maddening to not be able to know the inner thoughts of a weak human I could easily dispose of.
That gnawing frustration was piling up in my heart, and from those lumps emerged a creeping anxiety.
I had to find out. Why was he avoiding me?
I needed to get close to him so he’d willingly help me with my revenge.
Having organized my thoughts, I approached him while he was training in the practice field.
The moment he saw me coming, his expression hardened. He was clearly on guard, just like yesterday and the day before.
“Um… Blanca? Is there something you want to say?”
He stumbled over his words, clearly nervous, which was unlike how he usually treated heroines.
“Yeah. I came because I wanted to talk. Minho, could you follow me to the rooftop after class?”
“The rooftop? Why there…?”
Was he unhappy about the location? Probably not. He just didn’t like the idea of being alone with me. What a pity.
I’m putting so much effort into winning your favor, yet all you send my way is caution instead of interest.
But I could endure it. If it’s about patience, I’m more confident than anyone else.
Once I offered a specific timeframe, even he nodded as if that was something he could spare. Still, he kept giving me a suspicious look, but that was fine.
I just needed to figure out what was bothering him and do it in a way that wouldn’t rub him the wrong way.
“Thanks for listening. So, see you after class?”
Not forgetting to flash him a smile, I waved my hand, and he awkwardly returned the gesture.
I just hoped he would realize that I wasn’t his enemy, but it seemed like that’s still a long way off.
— — —
When the promised time arrived, I didn’t have the courage to head up to the rooftop. I couldn’t figure out what Blanca was really trying to say.
After a week of trying to figure her out, I still couldn’t grasp anything. The more I delved into it, the more questions piled up.
At this point, it felt like her status window would be better off not existing at all. It showed some actions or items that could increase her favorability, but they only made me more curious.
If a girl who likes a specific type of nail polish suddenly increases her favorability just by talking to me, what in the world should I respond with?
A big part of why I was avoiding her was because of this whole situation. It felt suspicious and ominous. Something was definitely off.
But I couldn’t keep avoiding her forever, so I decided to respond to her call…
What on earth is she planning to say? Is she annoyed that I’ve been avoiding her? Or is there something else on her mind?
If not that…
Has she figured me out?
So many negative thoughts flooded my mind, but hardly any positive ones. What exactly could she want to say?
…I guess I’ll find out when I go. I can’t procrastinate forever, so I finally opened the door and headed to the rooftop.
As soon as I stepped out, I noticed the soft breeze and saw Blanca waiting, her gaze turned slightly towards me, with the sky dimming and taking on a faint orange hue.
She looked like she was waiting just for me, swiftly turning her head to glance at me. Her lips were smiling but her eyes held an eerily empty expression, and…
She was beautiful. Watching her silver hair sway in the gentle wind felt surreal. It looked almost like a painting.
“You’re a bit late. Did something happen?”
But that moment of admiration didn’t last long. Her voice pulled me back to reality.
I remembered I didn’t come up here for a date—I was here for something akin to an interrogation.
Yes, she was pretty, but I couldn’t let myself be entranced.
“S-Seolhwa and Lapiz asked me what I was doing tomorrow, so I got a bit delayed answering them. Sorry, I didn’t think it would take this long.”
In reality, I got stuck procrastinating, but there was no need to reveal that truth and risk her anger; a little white lie would do.
Besides, she was probably lying to me as well, so it was only fair.
“I see. That can happen. I understand.”
If anyone else said that, I would take it at face value, but her tone seemed to carry some hidden agenda.
How convenient it would be if I had mind-reading powers right now.
“The reason I called you is… it seems like you’ve been avoiding me. I noticed it during the week, so please don’t make excuses, okay?”
Blanca asked directly, determined to get to the point as promised.
“Why are you avoiding me? I hope you can be honest.”
She still held that smile, but it didn’t feel genuine at all. If anything, it filled me with fear. Her mouth barely moved while she spoke, which felt unsettling.
A viper. Yes, I felt like I was being scrutinized by a snake.
Be honest. Should I really lay it all out on the table?
But looking at Blanca’s demeanor and character, being honest might actually be the way to go.
Though I wasn’t sure, she appeared somewhat clumsy at reading emotions.
“A stranger suddenly approaches me without any clear reason. And since I couldn’t figure out what her intentions were, I didn’t feel like approaching her.”
She was indeed beautiful.
If her status window had shown her as normal, or if she had approached more naturally, I would have opened my heart right away.
But she was neither.
Unfathomable and unsure of her intentions. Responding to her chat like this was only because she was a heroine and exceptionally beautiful; otherwise, I would’ve treated her as a complete stranger long ago.
Blanca was still staring at me without changing her expression. I couldn’t tell if she didn’t like my answer or if she was processing it.
I genuinely had no idea what was going on. How did such a girl get involved with me? There was no reason for that.
Finally, she must have finished organizing her thoughts as she took a step back.
“I’m sorry. I’m a bit clumsy at reading other people’s minds or feelings. I wanted us to become closer, but I ended up making you uneasy.”
And then, out of the blue, she offered an apology.
“U-um? That’s not necessary…”
She suddenly approached me, and now she was unexpectedly apologizing. I was at a loss for how to respond to her erratic behavior.
“But I genuinely want to be friends. I hope you can understand that.”
She communicated her desire to be friends while seeming both earnest and a bit shy.
…This doesn’t make her feel like an enemy anymore.
Maybe she genuinely harboring innocent affection for me, and just struggles with expressing it.
Yeah, people might have quirky preferences and struggle with their social skills.
And there’s no way she could have figured me out. If she had, she wouldn’t be so relaxed while talking to me now.
What if she was just pretending to be friends and planned to eliminate me instead?
“So that’s what it was… I got it. But Blanca, let me give you a piece of friendly advice: Approaching someone completely out of the blue like that isn’t a good idea.”
“As a friend… Okay, I understand. I took too long. See you tomorrow.”
After hearing that, she smiled genuinely—not the usual forced smile—and passed by me.
Looking at her, she was indeed lovely, but as soon as she opened her mouth…
“Oh, by the way. Minho, just to ask… Did you see it?”
…
“…What do you mean, ‘see it’? Her face?”
Chilled to the bone, I blurted something random in a panic.
“No, nothing at all.”
Thank goodness my nonsense seemed to work, as Blanca continued to walk away.