Possessor #2 Just Wants to Fangirl Chapter 35

“W-with me? D-dinner?”

“If you don’t have anyone to eat with, come with us. Don’t want to?”

“N-no! I’d l-love to!”

“Where should we go?”

“I-I’m fine with anything! Wh-wherever you want to go…”

The decision was passed to me.

There were plenty of places I wanted to go and lots of things I wanted to eat, but today wasn’t the time for a restaurant tour.

‘I need to raise intimacy quickly.’

Han Boram was also on my bias ranking.

She might be in the lower ranks, but she was a precious party member of the destruction prevention squad.

I needed to become her friend as quickly as possible.

I needed a setting where we could really bond…

“How about the campus store?”

“No.”

My suggestion was immediately shot down by Yeom Juwan.

“Why?”

“You need to take vitamin B12, iron, and folic acid every day. Otherwise you’ll get anemia.”

“I’ll order a salad.”

“The campus store food has way too many carbs too. You know even a little bit spikes your blood sugar right away.”

My baby could be a nutritionist.

Yeom Juwan was like this in the original work too.

He had all kinds of seafood, meat, vegetables, fruits, and grains stocked in his inventory, and even when camping he insisted on meals covering all five major nutrients, so his nickname was Yeom-jumma.

I thought it was a device to add unexpected depth to his character, but…

‘It was because of Yeon Sora.’

It was because of his twelve years of being Yeon Sora’s caretaker.

Yeom Juwan had looked after his childhood friend’s meals every day, and even after Yeon Sora died, he couldn’t shake the habit.

How touching.

But Juwan, I absolutely have to go to the campus store.

“I won’t eat carbs.”

“The campus store food is also low on protein.”

“They said they sell kraken-yaki. That’s protein.”

“The batter is carbs.”

“I’ll peel off the batter and just eat the kraken.”

After a long, hard negotiation, Yeom Juwan’s permission was granted.

“Haah… just for today, seriously.”

And so we arrived at the campus store.

The academy’s campus store looked like an ordinary convenience store.

It was nothing special, but Han Boram was looking around with enchanted eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing! I-it’s just my first time somewhere like this…”

Good thing we came here.

Han Boram had never eaten out with classmates before.

This girl had never had a single friend.

There was a reason for that.

Han Boram would eventually become the strongest sorcerer in <On the Brink of Destruction>.

A broken character equipped with abilities to change weather, create barriers, and even something like necromancy for controlling corpses.

But she’d suffered greatly because of those outstanding abilities.

Her powers had manifested passively since childhood.

Just as prophets have prophetic dreams before awakening, she’d used her abilities without being aware of it herself.

The problem was…

Han Boram’s specialty was curse magic.

She was a child who cast curses without even knowing it.

When Han Boram entered elementary school, her small frame made her a target for pranks.

Elementary school pranks like pulling her hair or tripping her.

The price was steep.

The kid who pulled her hair had their hair get caught in an escalator and nearly lost their life.

The kid who tripped her fell while walking down the street and had a car run over them, losing both legs.

One mysterious accident after another piled up, and the terrified children started treating Han Boram like she was invisible.

It wasn’t bullying.

To bully someone, you have to acknowledge their existence.

The children refused to form any connection with her whatsoever.

No bonds, no grudges.

In the end, Han Boram dropped out of elementary school and continued her education through homeschooling for nine years.

A thoroughly isolated existence.

When Han Boram learned she was an awakened, she was overjoyed.

The academy was a place with only awakened people.

No one would fear her.

She enrolled bursting with hope that she could finally make friends… but even at the academy, Han Boram was someone to be avoided.

Only Gyeon Junhwi, who recognized her usefulness, showed her kindness—and Han Boram grew into a splendid yandere heroine, obsessing over Gyeon Junhwi.

She was willing to do anything for Gyeon Junhwi, and she actually did everything.

Well, she was a broken character after all.

‘She would’ve been perfect without the frustrating elements.’

Han Boram’s only flaw was that her anxiety kicked in whenever Gyeon Junhwi so much as exchanged words with another woman.

When Han Boram entered a state of psychological instability, she would indiscriminately hurl sabotage curses—raining typhoons and earthquakes on what was otherwise smooth sailing.

The problem was she didn’t do it intentionally; they were subconscious curses.

But now that I’ve possessed, I can’t just sit by and watch!

The Frustration Prevention Committee is here!

The frustrating elements Han Boram causes can actually be fixed quite simply.

I just need to become her friend and give her psychological stability.

That much, even I can do!

* * *

Ding—

Our order number appeared on the display, and Yeom Juwan stood up.

“I’ll go get it. You two stay here.”

Left alone together, Han Boram fidgeted with her fingers as she asked,

“S-so Sora, what’s your relationship with Yeom Juwan?”

“Childhood friends. We’re living together due to circumstances.”

“I-I see. I figured…”

“Figured?”

“There’s this vibe like… I can’t get between you two…”

It’s true that Yeom Juwan is my spiritual glue-on-your-side, but I needed to give Han Boram room to fit in.

“Juwan is like family to me. And other than him, I don’t have any friends.”

“N-no way! Someone as pretty as you, why…”

“Because my smiling face looks like this.”

When I personally demonstrated my eye-level smile, Han Boram trembled. I put on a shy expression and delivered an important line.

“You’re my first friend too.”

“Wh… what?”

“So let’s get along well from now on.”

“Y-yeah!”

The basics of bonding, step one.

“Huh? You too! Hey, me too!”

Both Han Boram and Yeon Sora had been ostracized, had lived isolated lives, and had never had friends outside of family.

Appealing through similarities was effective.

【Viewing intimacy with characters.】

…

▷ [NEW!] Han Boram (Lvl. 99, Intimacy 76%)

I’d hit 76 intimacy in one go.

Given my recent streak of negatives, this was a number worth prostrating in gratitude for—but ideally, I wanted to hit at least 90% by the end of today.

Starting tomorrow, Han Boram would be glued to Gyeon Junhwi, going through the yandere procedures.

“Food’s here.”

Now that our order had arrived, shall we move to the next step?

The basics of bonding, step two.

Looking after them and giving special treatment.

I picked up a round kraken-yaki ball with a toothpick and handed it to Han Boram.

“Try it. They say it’s a specialty here.”

“O-oh… thank you…”

Unfamiliar with this kind of thing, Han Boram received the skewer reverently with a bow of her head. She nibbled at it with her small mouth, then her eyes went wide.

“Dewishush!”

Oh how adorable!

Like a chick just hatched from an egg!

Han Boram’s expressions had no filter.

How should I put it—raw curiosity and joy were written all over her face.

After swallowing what was in her mouth, Han Boram skewered a kraken-yaki ball and held it out to me.

“S-Sora, y-you try some t-too!”

Her hands were trembling.

This was probably the first time she’d shown goodwill to someone other than family.

That kraken-yaki wasn’t just kraken-yaki.

It was a symbol of hope and courage she’d been gathering like a spirit bomb for nine years!

And she was offering it to me right now—

“Yeon Sora can’t eat the batter.”

—when Yeom Juwan intercepted it.

My baby placed the symbol of hope and courage on a plate, completely dismantled the batter, carved out only the flesh, and handed it to me.

“You said you’d only eat the kraken, right?”

“One piece should be fine…”

“You had tonkatsu yesterday. If you eat this on top of that, you’ll definitely break out in hives.”

Han Boram was staring at the massacred kraken-yaki with a world-crumbling expression.

‘It’s not like Yeom Juwan did it on purpose…’

My Juwan wasn’t the type to cruelly trample on someone’s hope and courage. In his eyes, that kraken-yaki just looked like junk food.

After looking devastated, Han Boram moved her chopsticks this time.

“S-Sora. T-try some gimbap t-too.”

“Sora is allergic to cucumber.”

That gimbap was also intercepted midway.

With skilled chopstick work, Yeom Juwan dug through the gimbap, removed the fresh green cucumber, and popped the tattered remains into my mouth.

But instead of giving up, Han Boram gripped her chopsticks with trembling hands again.

‘It’s okay! You can do it!’

It was like watching a baby deer taking its first steps.

A baby deer falling and getting up again on trembling legs.

I wanted to help, but if I intervened carelessly, my baby might never learn to run on her own.

The key was letting her stand up by herself.

To give her the next opportunity quickly, I hurried to swallow the gimbap—

“Want more?”

“I-I’ll do it!”

Yeom Juwan and Han Boram moved at the same time.

Their hands collided in midair.

Physical contact had occurred.

Oh no, that’s going to be a problem…

“S-s-sorry!”

Sure enough, Han Boram hastily withdrew her hand.

Her pupils were shaking violently.

“I-I should g-go first… s-see you tomorrow.”

She was already in escape mode, but I couldn’t let Han Boram leave like this.

Without hesitation, I walked over and grabbed Han Boram’s hand.

“Eek!”

Han Boram let out a short scream and squeezed her eyes shut.

Then, a few seconds later,

“A-are… are you okay?”

She cracked her eyes open and asked worriedly.

“With what?”

“Y-your… hand… is it okay?”

It wasn’t.

It felt like three thousand spiders were crawling over my skin.

This was another reason Han Boram had failed to make friends.

Han Boram’s mana had such strong yin energy that physical contact produced an unpleasantly creepy sensation.

But it was just disgusting—not actually harmful to the body.

I maintained my poker face as best I could and tilted my head quizzically.

“What’s wrong with my hand?”

“N-nothing! Nothing at all!”

“There’s a souvenir shop next door too—let’s look around after we eat.”

Han Boram stood there blankly for a moment, then hastily wiped away the tears pooling in her eyes and smiled brightly.

“Y-yeah! S-sounds good!”

This felt like some kind of turning point…

Just to check, I opened the window again—

【Viewing intimacy with characters.】

…

▷ Han Boram (Lvl. 99, Intimacy 91%) (⇧15%)

I’d broken past 90 intimacy.

* * *

Excited that she could have skinship with me without any issues, Han Boram linked arms with me and hopped around the souvenir shop.

“S-Sora! Th-this pen! It says you can write on holograms with it!”

“Isn’t this h-hoodie cute? Want to get one each? C-couple… n-no, I mean f-friendship look…”

She was chattering enthusiastically, but sorry—I could barely hear her.

‘Th-there’s this much official merch!’

What’s the tragedy of a devoted reader whose favorite novel is unpopular? No merchandise comes out even after waiting ten, twenty years.

For me, who’d only grown up in barren merch wastelands, the souvenir shop was too much stimulation.

A mug with the academy crest? This hoodie has the crest too! There’s a fountain pen? I’ve never used one, but why not try it now? New experiences are always important! Oh, this plushie is cute too!

I was sweeping everything into my basket when suddenly I felt a firm grip on my wrist.

Yeom Juwan was looking at me strangely.

“You’re going to buy all that? Did you see the prices?”

“Prices?”

My baby, what are you even talking about?

When you’re on the fence about merch, you buy it. And the golden rule is to hit purchase before the ink in your bank account dries.

You can’t be a proper fan if you think about prices!

…I was about to say, but then I remembered my Juwan was a muggle.

Right. He wouldn’t understand.

Let me come back when Juwan isn’t around.

“I’m not buying them.”

“Then why’d you put them in your basket?”

“Apparently just putting things in your basket can satisfy the urge to buy. I’m going to put them back.”

Behind Yeom Juwan, I could see Han Boram backpedaling while holding two hoodies.

A moment later, Han Boram came over empty-handed and linked arms with me.

“I-it’s too expensive here. S-Sora! Want to go sh-shopping this weekend? I-I wanted to buy makeup too!”

“What day? I’m training with Lee Hyojun on Saturday.”

“Is Yeom Juwan going too? M-makeup shopping would be boring for him…”

“It’s fine, I can wait outside the stores.”

“……”

“Sora, she might collapse if her condition gets bad.”

“……”

Han Boram was silent for three seconds, then belatedly put on a smile.

“O-okay then! But Sora, which dorm are you in?”

“Dormitory 2. You?”

“Dormitory 1. W-want to come hang out in my room today? I-I’ve always wanted to try a sl-sleepover…”

A sleepover?

At this level, we weren’t friends—we were best friends?

Surprised by the rapid progress, I noticed Han Boram flash a victorious smile at Yeom Juwan.

“B-but boys aren’t allowed in the rooms, s-so Yeom Juwan can’t come!”

Did Han Boram dislike my Juwan?

They didn’t get along in the original either, but that was because Yeom Juwan had gone dark after losing his childhood friend.

My current baby was a kind, cute, considerate, responsible, lovable, and gentle being.

“S-Sora, what do you think?”

“Not today. Sora has to go to the medical wing.”

Medical wing?

“We scheduled a mana examination. I contacted them this morning, and they said the specialist would be in tonight, so we’re going at 7.”

When did my Juwan arrange that?

Would you look at this!

Where else would you find someone who does these kinds of troublesome things for their childhood friend without even being asked!

My baby really is an angel who lost his wings and fell to earth, isn’t he?

Sorry, but I hid those wings. No, I actually burned them.

So now you can’t go anywhere!

“S-Sora, are you sick somewhere?”

“Health matters are personal information, so it’s not good to pry like that. The person being asked might feel uncomfortable too.”

It wasn’t me who answered, but Yeom Juwan.

“I know you’re worried because you’re friends, but let’s be careful when we need to be careful. We’ll head out first. See you tomorrow.”

What he said was fair…

And he said it with a very kind smile…

But my angel was strangely firm.

Was it just my imagination?