I’ll Live as a Villain Obsessed Over by a Magical Girl

The story from Lee Taehwa, who sat across from me, began. A story that matched what Noah had told me flowed out.
And then the problematic situation.
The story of when Taehwa lashed out at Noah.
“So. Why did you do that to Noah back then?”
“…I was feeling really bad.”
“Feeling bad?”

Taehwa slowly nodded.

“How could I feel good?”
“…”
“My close friend ended up like that because of me.”

Saying that, Taehwa took a sip of her drink. She seemed to be boiling inside.

I stared at her expression. There were various emotions, but the strongest among them were regret and apology.

Taehwa stared back at me and asked.

“Mister. What do you think you would have felt?”
“About what?”
“If Noah tried to help you and ended up getting slapped and falling to the ground.”
“…Terrible.”
“That’s exactly how I felt.”

Grip.
Taehwa’s hand holding the cup tightened.

“Noah went through that because of me. So… if she hadn’t been friends with me, she wouldn’t have experienced that. That’s why I did it on purpose. If Noah distanced herself from me, those guys wouldn’t bother her… that’s what I thought.”
“There’s no guarantee that would happen.”
“Yes, you’re right. Those guys, they actually got worse.”

She had a resentful expression.
She looked like she wanted to punch those guys right now.

“They were really vicious. From then on, they openly bullied only Noah.”
“…”
“No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t prevent it all.”
“Did you try to apologize to Noah?”
“I tried to. After realizing what I did had no effect, many times.”
“And Noah didn’t accept it?”
“It’s not a matter of not accepting. Noah kept avoiding me.”

The situation was somewhat clear now.
Taehwa did what she did for Noah’s sake.

She became emotional after seeing Noah get hit, and thought it was because Noah was friends with her.
She judged that if Noah distanced herself from her, she wouldn’t experience such things. So Taehwa deliberately said harsh things to Noah…

And Noah, thoroughly angered by this, avoided Taehwa, leading to the current situation… is that it?

I couldn’t help but sigh.
“…Haah… are you two idiots?”
“What?”
“Just talk to each other! If you had just met and talked properly once, this would have been resolved a long time ago!”
“That’s… true.”
“You’ve been dragging this simple issue all this time? I’ll have to say something to Noah later too. That kid, when she gets upset, it lasts a long time.”

Most problems are like this. If people meet, talk, and understand each other, they get resolved.

If Noah and Taehwa had talked, they would have resolved this problem long ago.

…Well, considering that even wars break out due to lack of communication, this is relatively mild.

“So, is Noah still a precious friend to you?”
“Of course! Noah is… hah… I don’t know why I did that. So foolishly.”
“You did it thinking about Noah. You thought that if you did that, Noah would be able to live well.”
“It didn’t work out well, did it?”
“That’s hindsight. Anyway, Noah is a precious friend to you, right?”
“Yes. A really, really precious friend of mine.”

Hearing her confident voice, I took out my phone from my pocket.
I spoke towards the phone that was in the middle of a call.

“Did you hear that, Noah?”
“Huh?”

Taehwa’s eyes widened in surprise seeing my action. It wasn’t an act.

“Mister, wait a minute… Noah?”
“Yes.”
“You were on a call with Noah!?”
“Well, I forgot to hang up.”
“You expect me to believe that-”
“I’m not usually picky about my methods.”

Click.
The call ended and a message came in.

[Noah]
[Mister wait there I’m coming right now]
“Oh.”
“What is it?”
“Looks like she’s thinking of coming in person?”
“Wh-what should I do?”
“What do you mean? Since you’ve already said everything, you should properly reconcile this time.”

I’ve set the stage. This should be enough to fulfill my promise faithfully.

Now what matters is what they’ll say on this stage. That will determine the relationship between Noah and Taehwa.

‘I should step back.’

I’ve done what I could. It would be nice if Noah reconciles…

‘But even if she doesn’t, that’s Noah’s decision.’

Either way, it’s a matter for Noah and Taehwa to figure out themselves. I sucked my coffee through a straw and waited for Noah.

The cafe door opened and a white-haired girl entered.
It was Noah.

She was now.
“Woah…”
“…Hic…”

She had an expression so cold it sent chills down my spine.

‘So scary…’

I understood why she had the nickname “Snow Woman.” I turned to look at Taehwa.

She had the eyes of prey just waiting to be devoured.

+++++

“Th-then, you two talk. I’ll step out.”

As Shin Hyun disappeared as if escaping, Noah took his place.

“…”
“…”
“…”
“…Haah.”
My throat was dry.

Noah finished the coffee that Shin Hyun had been drinking. The feeling of coffee coming through the straw somewhat relieved her thirst.

Even so, her expression remained as cold as ice.

“Noah, did you hear everything?”

Nod.

“About why I said those things back then too?”

Nod.

“Um… are you still very angry?”

Shake shake.

“…Only a little angry.”
“So you are angry…”

Instead of answering, Noah kept her mouth shut.
Seeing this, an anxious Taehwa couldn’t hold back and opened her mouth.

“…I’m sorry. I think my method was wrong.”
“…”
“I shouldn’t have done that to you.”
“…”
“Saying ‘I did it for you!’ while hurting you. I was really stupid, wasn’t I?”

Shake shake.
As Noah shook her head, Taehwa unknowingly smiled.
“…No.”

It felt like the ice had melted slightly.
Once her mouth opened, what followed was fluent.
Taehwa bowing her head several times and Noah quietly maintaining her expressionless face.
Earnest apologies and her inner feelings.
Very slightly, tears welled up in Noah’s eyes.
It was water formed as the ice melted.
“Why are you crying?”
“…”
“You haven’t changed.”
“…What?”
“You’re the same. You were like this in the past too. You look like an ice witch on the outside, but you’re soft inside and cry a lot.”
“That’s not, true.”
There was moisture in Noah’s voice as she said this.

“I was just a bit upset.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You did it for my sake. Then, you shouldn’t have said those things.”
“It was my mistake. I thought if I did that, they wouldn’t touch you.”
“…You’re a fool.”
“I am a fool.”
Noah said this while laughing inside.
Who was calling whom a fool?
She recalled what the mister had just said.
‘Just talk to each other! If you had just met and talked properly once, this would have been resolved a long time ago!’
“…Haah… I’m sorry for getting upset and running away.”
“I’m sorry too… for saying those things…”
The two girls continued their conversation after that. About things they felt hurt about and things they were sorry for.
As they talked, the conversation flowed naturally. It was amazing.
Even though it had been almost 2 years since they properly talked, they were still friends who got along perfectly.

To the point where they wondered why they hadn’t done this sooner.
It even felt somewhat futile.
“Why did we act like that all this time?”
“I don’t know… no, I’m still not fully over it, you know?”
“I’m sorry, Noah… what should I do? Should I pay you back with my body?”
Taehwa slightly lowered the neck part of her top.
Noah made a disgusted face at that.
“No thanks.”
“Ah… come to think of it, you have a boyfriend.”
“Boyfriend?”
“That mister. He’s your boyfriend, right?”

While on the subject, Taehwa asked what she had been curious about.
“Is that mister really your boyfriend?”
“…”
“Is that mister your first love, Noah?”
It didn’t make much sense.
First love? Boyfriend?
After thinking for a while, Noah soon recalled. The fact that she had introduced the mister as her boyfriend when she first met Taehwa again.
‘This idiot!’
She needed to explain quickly.
If she wasn’t careful, she might really be mistaken as that mister’s lover.
‘Huh…?’
But why didn’t she want to deny it?
Th-this wasn’t right. They should just be like a good uncle and a young niece.
While hesitating for a moment due to this strange feeling, Taehwa’s eyes sparkled.
She seemed to have taken the silence as confirmation.

“Being lovers with your first love… how romantic.”
“…He’s not my first love.”
“Huh? Then?”
“I’ve never experienced first love yet. So, we’re not lovers either. The mister is not my boyfriend.”

Taehwa showed a surprised expression at those words.

“He patted your head. You even fed him with your mouth open saying ‘Ah~’. You looked really happy.”
“That’s… something anyone close would do… right?”
“Noah.”
“Yes?”
“How far have you gone, tell me quickly.”

Noah felt the positions had suddenly reversed.
Noah started to get flustered by that persistent gaze.
After hesitating for a long time, she confessed to Taehwa about her meetings with him.

“…He pats your head, hugs you, and even slept in the same bed, but you’re saying you’re not dating?”
“…Yeah.”
“Noah, are you sure that mister is okay?”

Taehwa started to worry about Noah.
She seemed to be suspicious that there might be some dark ulterior motive.
When she thought about it, it made sense.
A relationship where he did such things to a minor and now frequently visited her home. On top of that, she even said they slept in the same bed yesterday!
“He’s… a good person.”
“Specifically.”
“He took care of me when I was sick, bought me soup, often p-pats my head…”
“What else.”
“When I cried yesterday, he even made an arm pillow for me!”
“Did you like it?”
“…I did. My heart was racing, and it felt like my body was floating on clouds…”
“And you still say he’s not your boyfriend? Not your first love either?”
“…Yeah.”

Taehwa, having heard this.
Staring at Noah, she says.

“We usually call that love.”
“L-love?”
“Yes, that mister is Noah’s first love, I see.”
Flushhh.
Noah’s face turned as red as a strawberry.
“No way.”
“Huh?”
“My first love absolutely cannot be that mister.”