* * *

One hour, two hours… Yeongdeok sat by the stairs, motionless, even after the time when he would have usually opened his store.

Three hours passed, then four, until finally…

A sharp creak echoed as the metal door opened, scraping against Yeongdeok’s eardrums.

The door to the emergency stairs on the desolate fourth floor had begun to open.

“Cha Dowon.”

A murky voice slipped through the crack in the door, followed by the tip of a shoe, and then the man Yeongdeok had just seen at the signing event strolled inside.

As he sat motionless like a stone, Yeongdeok pressed the record button on his phone and slowly rose to his feet.

With each step Roran took down the stairs, the sound of his heels hitting the floor resonated through the space.

When all other sounds faded, Roran stood directly in front of Yeongdeok.

“Sorry I’m late. I didn’t think I’d keep you waiting for four hours, though.”

He didn’t seem remotely apologetic; he merely acted the part, adding a smirk for show.

“Now that we’re face-to-face, I’m at a loss for words. Well, for starters….”

He extended his hand as if to shake Yeongdeok’s.

And with the words that followed, any hint of formality vanished.

It was as if he deemed Yeongdeok unworthy of respect.

“Hello, my dear Cha Dowon. I knew you’d respond to news of my signing event.”

Yeongdeok neither took Roran’s hand nor spoke; he simply stood there, surrounded by the charged silence between them.

When Yeongdeok didn’t accept his handshake, Roran withdrew his hand with a smirk.

“Look at you, being all cold. That’s so typical of Cha Dowon.”

“……”

“So, how do you feel, meeting me in person? You were so eager to get revenge on me, weren’t you?”

Yeongdeok stayed silent, refusing to respond to Roran’s mocking question, observing him as if he wanted to devour him whole.

Roran’s amused expression gradually twisted into something more menacing.

“Why aren’t you saying anything? Didn’t you come to my signing, that of a detestable writer, just to meet me?”

Yeongdeok had plenty he wanted to ask PetitRorang.

How could he not?

Questions filled his throat to the point of almost spilling over.

When did you start controlling this story at will again?

Was it you who posted those things on social media?

Why did you come to my store and do that?

What’s the point of holding a fan event?

Was it all to provoke me?

But setting all that aside, if you’ve regained the author’s authority, why haven’t you restored the story to its original state?

Even if he didn’t expect PetitRorang to give a proper answer, it would have been effective to ask.

Yet, the words that escaped Yeongdeok’s lips weren’t rational—they were emotional, a resentful murmur he’d bottled up since he’d learned the truth about this world.

“Why did you kill me?”

“What? Ahaha! I didn’t expect that to be your first question. But you already know the answer, don’t you?”

Indeed, Yeongdeok knew why.

Because the author had caved to pressure, because they altered the plot, because in the revised storyline, the villain Cha Dowon had to be dealt with.

Because Yeongdeok wasn’t human but a character in a novel. Yet, he wanted to deny that reality.

“My name isn’t Cha Dowon anymore.”

“Right. You changed it to Cha Yeongdeok, didn’t you? But even so, you’re still just Cha Dowon.”

Roran seized Yeongdeok by the chin, tugging him close, his gaze glinting with amusement.

“Because you’re merely a character who moves as I dictate.”

“No, I am no longer your puppet.”

Yeongdeok leaned back, wrenching himself free from Roran’s grip.

Standing there, defying PetitRorang, pulling away from him—it was all an act of his own will. Yeongdeok believed he was alive.

“I’m human.”

“What? Ha! Hahaha!”

Roran clutched his stomach, laughing uncontrollably at Yeongdeok’s words, wiping a tear from his eyelash as he tried to catch his breath.

“You think you’re human? Do you really believe that?”

Roran stepped closer, leaning down to meet Yeongdeok’s gaze, his posture menacing, yet Yeongdeok stood firm, his neck stretched proudly.

“Every arrogant word you speak, your background, the people around you, even this very world—I created it all. Can you truly claim you’re a living, breathing human?”

Roran tried to manipulate Yeongdeok, to sow doubt in his mind with pointed questions that would blur his sense of self.

“You’re nothing but a character in my story.”

This time, Roran’s hand settled on the back of Yeongdeok’s neck.

He pulled him close and whispered directly into his ear.

“Don’t get cocky. Know your place.”

Roran chuckled as he stepped away.

No matter what degrading words Roran threw at him, Yeongdeok stayed silent, waiting for him to finish.

“I hold no particular grudge against you. I just find it laughable, the way you harbor this pathetic thirst for revenge.”

“…….”

“You’re like a fly that I could kill with a mere flick of my finger. Don’t you think it’s foolish to act this way toward me?”

With that, Roran seemed to have said his piece and withdrew, letting silence fall between them.

But that quiet didn’t last.

“Is that all you had to say?”

Yeongdeok’s voice, unheard until now, echoed through the stairwell.

“So, if I sum up your message, here’s what it is.”

“…….”

“I’m nothing but a character in your story, so I should behave and fall in line.”

“Smart character setup, huh? You’re good at summarizing.”

Roran clapped his hands mockingly.

His approval drew a cold smile to Yeongdeok’s lips.

“And do you know how I can interpret this differently?”

Yeongdeok took a step forward, unyielding.

“You have no power to control Cha Yeongdeok, so it’d be best if I played along on my own.”

“…….”

“I thought authors could do whatever they pleased. But I guess that’s not quite the case. Thanks for the clarification.”

If he truly held complete control over the story, he wouldn’t have needed to summon Yeongdeok here just to argue.

He could have simply erased Yeongdeok’s identity, shattered his memories, and shaped him to his own will.

An author was supposed to have absolute authority over a story, after all.

“So why are you in this story? Is it to restore the original version? To get revenge on me?”

“There’s no purpose. This is all just a dream.”

“A dream?”

“Yes. How could this possibly be reality?”

Roran’s gaze held no doubt as he dismissed this situation as a dream.

The pulse in his chest, the breath felt on his cheek—it was all so vivid to Yeongdeok, yet PetitRorang seemed genuinely to think of it all as nothing more than a dream.

In response, Yeongdeok felt the most intense emotion he had ever known.

A dream?

Maybe to this damn author, but to Yeongdeok, this was his reality.

The faint grinding of his teeth escaped from between his clenched jaws.

“And… your attitude is beginning to irritate me.”

Roran’s eyes sparkled with a dangerous glint.

When Yeongdeok flinched and braced himself, a faint tremor began to shake the floor, the area around him noticeably quivering.

“An earthquake?”

Disasters, by nature, strike without warning.

But this time, the timing was just too perfect.

Above all, Roran’s calm demeanor made it easy for Yeongdeok to suspect that this was his doing.

“Cha Dowon, do you know why I haven’t killed you yet?”

Roran didn’t lay a finger on Yeongdeok.

However, Yeongdeok felt an immense pressure, as though something was gripping his shoulders and forcing him downward.

This wasn’t a mere illusion; his body was indeed collapsing under the weight.

There was no explanation for it other than supernatural power.

“It’s because you never even mattered to me.”

“You…!”

Yeongdeok braced himself against the wall, determined not to kneel before this man.

As he glared at Roran with bloodshot eyes, Roran chuckled softly.

“Not even a groan. If it were anyone else, they’d be moaning in agony.”

Roran reached out, snatching Yeongdeok’s phone to stop the recording app capturing their conversation and deleted the file.

He then handed the phone back to Yeongdeok, who was still struggling under the pressure.

The casual way he acted felt out of place in the situation.

“So, what are you feeling right now? Fear of death? Am I scary?”

“…”

“You don’t understand the emotions everyone naturally feels. You don’t even lead a normal life like they do. Because I set it up that way.”

“…”

“That’s the nature of a possessive yandere, isn’t it? A character who can’t live a normal life without their main love interest. And that’s exactly what you are.”

Roran spoke as if drilling into Yeongdeok that he wasn’t human.

Soon, the vibration from the ground stopped, and the oppressive force pinning Yeongdeok down vanished.

He staggered momentarily before regaining his footing.

“Forget your ridiculous revenge and keep living as you were. You can’t have any effect on me, after all.”

Believing Yeongdeok had grasped his message, Roran turned to leave.

* * *