Due to the previous lives' constant wishes from the depths of their hearts, Chunhee's wish was finally granted. He didn't exactly know how he was able to unbind himself from the plot god's puppet strings, but finally, one night, he woke up and suddenly gained 'consciousness'. He dreamt of the previous past lives, all the horrible experiences mingled with unending sufferings and unjustified deaths and therefore concluded and decided: he wouldn't let it happen again.
He wasn't just a mere side character anymore. In this life and world, he could do anything he wanted. Thinking of this, he might be able to live truly and freely. He just needed to avoid one thingー
He must never fall in love with Yujin and vice versa.
Actually, if he thought about the current circumstances, it was easy as a piece of cake. The present Chunhee slash 6th Chunhee was currently deeply in love with his fiancé, Yujin. However, Yujin wasn't giving him the best attention. In the contrary, he was ignoring Chunhee most of the time, only engaging with him when they were with their mutual circle of friends or when their families decided to meet and have dinner together. Although he never said it upfront that he was against the engagement, Chunhee's heart felt his coldness increasing day by day.
Chunhee's eyes shone a particular glint as he thought about it. Perhaps, Yujin wasn't truly interested with him. As long as he continued ignoring Chunhee, then there wouldn't be a problem. Their bond would eventually fall, or maybe they would be still friends, but not lovers. They absoluitely couldn't be lovers.
"Young Master, here's your warm milk," a maid came in to his room to give Chunhee his usual night drink.
In the past days, the maids would always find the teenager thinking deeply, murmuring to himself words they couldn't understand. Chunhee's parents were currently overseas because of some business matters. They also brought Hanna with them, leaving only Chunhee and some maids and guards in the mansion. In a few days, vacation will be over and the classes will start.
Chunhee was bound to go to school and there, he was destined to meet Yujin. Of course, he couldn't simply change schools. That would be surely look suspicious and may greatly affect the overall plot. He had once read a book where the transmigrated reader tried to change the plot was quickly killed on the spot. Perhaps, this was just like that situation.
The plot god may notice of the big change and kill Chunhee's character instantly when he noticed Chunhee was now 'conscious'. After all, Chunhee knew in this life and world, he was just a simple person living a 'fated' life designed by the Creator slash Plot God. If Chunhee dared to commit huge actions wishing to change his predestined fate, judging by how powerful this creator was that mercilessly killed him five times in the past, the consequences would be severe. Unless he was able to hack the world's system and cheat his way through, his future won't be guaranteed safe.
Thinking of this possibility, Chunhee didn't dare to move recklessly. He needed to calculate his moves in order not to die. So the options 'going abroad and starting a new life', or 'changing schools to avoid crossing paths with that person', were simply crossed out. Considering the fact that he had died before he reached the age of 25 in his past five lives, Chunhee calculated that he would need to pass through that age first before he could do as he wishes without worrying about the plot god noticing him or ending him.
Sighing, he took a sip of his drink then glanced over the maid. "Um, when are mom and dad coming?"
"The Master and Mistress have encountered some trouble and said they most probably will not be able to return for another week. But Young Master doesn't need to worry. Your parents said you can focus on preparing for the party instead," the Head Maid said with a gentle smile.
"Party?" Chunhee asked dumbly.
The maid paused and stared back. "Yes. Has the Young Master forgotten about it?"
Chunhee tried to rack his brain. After going through the past lives and seeing the future, some memories of this current body became a blur. He was thinking maybe it was the cost of being able to hack the plot.
"What party is it?" Chunhee asked in defeat. Who cares what kind of party it was anyway? As long as that someone wasn't involved, he would be fine, right? Yes, if that―
"It's your engagement party with Young Master Park Yujin," the maid respectfully said.
The name instantly made Chunhee halt, his body shivered, his heart covered in a thick layer of ice. Just hearing it already gave him the unpleasant memory of his deaths. It was truly horrifying.
He listened to the head maid's explanation first before finally asking for his personal time. According to the head maid plus his own memories, Chunhee already has been engaged with Yujin since they were kids. Because they were still too young, the agreement was just done in family talk and papers. Now that his 18th birthday was fast approaching and Old Park, Yujin's grandfather, had already thought of retiring, both families decided they would announce the official engagement of the two boys. According to the maid, the engagement party would be a week from now.
Chunhee's heart pounded in agitation. Although the engagement didn't guarantee the romance success, it still played a big role on the two characters' romance development. After the engagement, admirers and potential love interests would back away, thinking they couldn't be romantically interested in Yujin and Chunhee anymore because the two just so perfectly belonged to each other. Plus, there was Chunhee who would show his happiest expression on school every day after the party, showing off that he – after being secretly in love with Yujin for so many years – was finally engaged to him! Of course, it was natural for other students to feel intimidated and not bother on making any advances to either Yujin and Chunhee anymore.
Not only would this engagement lead him to ruins, this would also give zero chances for Chunhee's own love life to prosper!
In truth, Chunhee wasn't against love. He just wanted to have a peaceful life. If he was able to meet a proper man who would love him until the end with no pain or betrayal, only then he could finally live and die in peace. So just thinking about the impact of this engagement would do to his life, Chunhee was already anxious and depressed.
He simply couldn't accept it.
In two days time, they would meet at school. Perhaps, he could talk to Yujin first. For the sake of him not dying, he would face his number one enemy. . .
Then in a blink of an eye, at long last, the day finally arrived.