Chapter 66

"Hmm."

'...Am I hot-tempered?'

That was the thought that suddenly struck me as I sat in the hospital.

To be honest, thinking about it...

‘I did come off pretty rude from the very first word.’

Whether it was with Lee Soo-Rin or that guy earlier, I always seemed to instinctively draw a line when interacting with people.

‘Tsk. I’ve always lived with a “my way or the highway” attitude. Maybe it’s time to change.’

Sometimes, I even had a tendency to pick fights preemptively with my tone.

No wonder I didn’t have any friends.

But why am I only now thinking about this?

“What the hell are you looking at, you bastard? Can’t you lower your eyes?!”

A man sitting in the waiting area suddenly barked at a passing nurse.

What the hell. All she did was glance at him for a second. His drunken state in broad daylight was pathetic.

"...Hmph."

-What are you looking at?

A fleeting memory passed by. Ugh, I’ll need to properly apologize for that later.

As I scratched my head, lost in deep reflection about my own personality flaws, my mom approached me, gesturing with her hand.

"Son, let’s go."

I glanced at her hand and saw the medical certificate and receipt she was holding.

‘Ugh, why am I at the hospital so often?’

With a sigh, I got up from my seat.

‘I really stirred up quite a mess this time.’

Suddenly, a wave of self-doubt hit me. Tears felt like they might well up in my eyes.

‘But hey, it’s not like I started it. That jerk messed with my sister and Hong Ye-Hwa first.’

That thought immediately dried up the tears. Yep, I’m not the problem here.

As I followed behind my mom, lost in various thoughts, my phone buzzed.

Bzzzz.

[Hong Ye-Hwa: How’s your face? Are you okay?]

Hong Ye-Hwa had texted me, concerned.

I thought about replying with a simple emoji or some short syllables but decided otherwise.

‘Hmm.’

[Me: Other than the cut from earlier, nothing’s wrong. I’m fine.]

[Hong Ye-Hwa: That’s a relief. Still, watch your mouth next time. Honestly, Ha-Eun, your mouth seems to get you into trouble a lot.]

It might really be time to work on my personality.

If I don’t, I’ll probably run into bigger problems when I step out into society.

[Me: Isn’t that part of my charm, though?]

[Hong Ye-Hwa: Sounds like a middle schooler’s excuse. You’re way too much of a lone wolf.]

[Me: ...Really?]

If even someone like Hong Ye-Hwa said that, it must be something worth addressing.

As I exchanged texts, my unsettled thoughts churned.

"Son, you’re sure there’s nothing else bothering you, right?"

Unlike her earlier pale expression, my mom’s face had returned to normal. She raised her eyebrows as she looked at me.

"Nope. Nothing to worry about."

"...?"

"What? Why?"

"It’s just, normally you’d answer, ‘Nope,’ without elaborating."

Mom blinked her eyes wide as she looked up at me.

"Oh. Well, I dunno. Just thought I’d try to adjust my personality a bit."

"What are you even saying? Pfft."

Scratching the back of my head, I looked up at the night sky.

Suddenly deciding to change my personality... yeah, that was probably going to be tough.

‘Is this just a personality trait, or am I simply rude?’

Either way, fixing even just one of those would probably help.

Then maybe the trouble I attract would finally stop.

‘Come to think of it, most incidents do start because of me.’

Whether it’s me being an easy target or me starting the fight, I’m usually the trigger.

‘Hmm. Maybe just giving up on relationships altogether would be faster.’

Maybe I should also start behaving a little more decently.

The way I always slouch around and talk with a tone that pisses people off—it’s no wonder I invite trouble.

I realized I needed to be just a little more careful.

***

We returned to the building where the banquet hall was located. Dad had gotten a bit busier dealing with the aftermath of the earlier incident.

‘Ugh, I’ll have to apologize when he gets back.’

After all, it all started with me.

Yoon was apparently waiting for us in her room at the lodging.

"Oppa!"

Yoon ran up to me, grabbing my face and turning it this way and that.

Her pouty expression was so adorable that I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Ugh! You’re laughing in this situation?”

With her eyebrows furrowed, Yoon glared at me as she spoke.

"Sorry. But look, I didn’t get hurt that badly. Cut me some slack."

"...?"

"What’s with that look?"

"I don’t know... Oppa, you’ve gotten really calm all of a sudden."

Next to us, Mom chimed in, "Right? Right?!" enthusiastically agreeing.

Wait a second, just how bad was my usual image for them to say something like that?

"Not long ago, you seemed like some reckless troublemaker living life carelessly."

"What nonsense is that?"

I laughed it off and ruffled my sister’s hair lightly.

"How can someone change so much in just a few hours...?"

Watching the two of them mutter with serious expressions left me at a loss for words.

All this talk about realism and character consistency or whatever—what on earth were they murmuring about?

I took a deep breath and stepped out onto the balcony of our lodging.

Gazing up at the barely visible stars, I let myself get lost in thought.

‘The court case will be over soon anyway, so I don’t need to worry too much. As for that guy... well, no offense, but Dad will probably handle it.’

Sure, that guy started it by throwing the first punch at me, Lee Ha-Eun, but still, I was the one who initially said something to provoke him.

‘But still, what’s done is done.’

I, Lee Ha-Eun, was still not fully “socialized.”

***

[Breaking News: Assault Breaks Out at Banquet Hosted by S Group!] - 1.279M views

[Perpetrator is 22... Victim is a 17-Year-Old High School Student?] - 3.192M views

[Who’s Right and Who’s Wrong? Let’s Discuss...] - 427K views

***

"How do I fix this part?"

"Start from the right and draw the curve slowly. Okay, good job."

Peace returned not long after the incident.

‘Though, calling it an “incident” might be a bit much.’

Lee Ha-Eun, in the midst of reevaluating his personality and philosophy, was still full of complaints.

Since I was the victim, I got to see that man again in court.

-“Well... let’s settle this. I admit I was at fault too.”

For the first time, the selfish and arrogant Lee Ha-Eun admitted his own mistake.

Dad, who had been helping me through the process, looked shocked but nodded in understanding once he realized my intentions.

While scrolling through YouTube, I came across a few comments criticizing me, accusing me of having a “god complex.”

There weren’t many of them, but the content wasn’t easy to brush off.

‘To be fair, I do have a bit of a superiority complex.’

Even I could admit that I tended to look down on others.

This personality of mine was probably something I was born with.

Reincarnating with all my past life memories intact made me far more skilled than kids my age.

Maybe because of that, my personality had become not just a little but extremely arrogant.@@novelbin@@

Sure, even if I decided to change now, who’d believe me?

Still, I had to try.

"Ha-Eun, what do we do next—"

"Hey! It’s my turn now!"

"No, it’s mine this time."

As I was momentarily lost in space, the voices of the girls around me snapped me back to reality.

Red, yellow, and black hair came into view one after another.

God, they never change.

Here I was, struggling to change myself.

With summer vacation nearing its end, Choi Ye-Seo decided we should hang out one last time.

Succumbing to her persuasion, the two of them had effectively kidnapped me.

Where to? An art café.

‘Ha Soo-Yul carried me on her back, drawing every curious gaze in the neighborhood.’

Well, whatever. It was comfortable, so I couldn’t complain.

And now, I was killing time by helping the three of them with their drawings.

“Ughhh, this sucks! Why are there only three days of vacation left?!”

Stretching her arms with a grumpy face, Choi Ye-Seo complained loudly.

Her words made the other two exchange confused glances.

"...Other schools started two weeks ago, though?"

"Ye-Seo’s such a brat."

Choi Ye-Seo, hit with a jab, turned to look at me with a defeated expression.

I averted my gaze and scratched my cheek.

"I think you’ve had plenty of fun already."

She’d gone to the U.S. and partied as much as she wanted, hadn’t she? What more could she want?

“But still... something feels... missing!”

With no one taking her side, she eventually exploded.

Poor thing... Guess it really wasn’t enough for her.

"And you, Eun! You’re the weirdest of all!"

"That hurts my feelings a little."

"No, no! That’s not what I meant!"

What’s up with her today? Could it be... that time of the month?

"You usually look so bored, but today you seem so... normal?"

"What are you even talking about?"

Choi Ye-Seo paused, counting on her fingers, and rested her chin on one hand.

Oh no. That’s exactly what Mom used to do.

Then, after brooding over it for a moment, she clutched her head dramatically.

"It’s weird!"

Weird how? She shouted it straight at me.

I stared at her with a flat expression.

"Normally, you’d have this annoyed look on your face and say something like, ‘I didn’t want to come today,’ or, ‘This is such a hassle.’”

"Thank you for your thoughtful evaluation of me."

When I raised the corners of my lips into a faint smile, the room fell silent.

"...Wow. That’s the first time I’ve seen such a clear smile."

"Yeah. You usually look so tired when you smile."

"Smile more often, okay?"

They took turns marveling at me, which was honestly a little embarrassing.

Especially Ha Soo-Yul, who stared at me with her red eyes gleaming as she gave a small smile.

Why was she being so scary? I wasn’t smiling any differently than usual, was I?

I lifted a hand to touch the corners of my mouth but didn’t notice anything strange.

Oh well. If they liked it, that’s all that mattered.

We spent the rest of the day making the most of our time together before vacation came to an end.

Oh, and those thrilling drawing lessons with Ms. Lee Ah-Reum continued.

That “thrilling” part was literal. Whenever I attended, I felt like my energy was being completely drained.

Come to think of it, Ms. Lee was an incredible chatterbox.

How could someone talk non-stop for an entire session without taking a single break?

Not that it was annoying, though. It just reminded me of a chirping chick. Although, the size didn’t quite match.

Also, I’d set up weekly art lessons with Hong Ye-Hwa for the weekends.

Aside from that, finding free time was next to impossible.

And lastly...

I’d been thinking more about changing my arrogant and prideful personality recently.

Even with memories of my past life, I’d inherited my parents’ personalities.

But somehow, I ended up with a nature completely opposite to theirs.

Now that I thought about it, I had a theory worth investigating.

Looking at my phone screen, I saw an image of a painting.

[Angel]...

It was the masterpiece I’d drawn in my previous life, the last one before I died.

[Angel] was inspired by the fallen angel Lucifer.

And Lucifer’s other name?

‘The Demon of Pride.’

Something about that felt... strangely fitting.