The Villainess's Guide to Winning the Male Lead

Chapter 59

We arrived at the company.

“You’re really unique...”

Hans commented, seeming puzzled.

Wanting to visit the company before going back might indeed seem peculiar.

But what could I do? Since we were here, I wanted to see the faces of the viewers I usually interacted with. Hans had already contacted the angels I was close to in advance.

“Nuna―!”

As soon as we got to the company, PleaseShakeACarrot greeted me at the entrance.

He grabbed my hands and shook them up and down. He was clearly excited.

“Why suddenly? You should’ve told me earlier!”

“I came to hang out with Hans.”

“Oh, you’re calling him by his name now. You must have gotten pretty close?”

Poppopo also showed up from behind.

“Where’s OnlyFinley?”

“She’s busy, locked up in her office.”

“OnlyFinley will cry―”

PleaseShakeACarrot said, giggling. OnlyFinley was quite fond of me, so she would be disappointed not to see me because of work.

“Hans, what’s with you? Allowing a human to call you by your name.”

“That’s unusual. You never let anyone call you by your real name before.”

“She kept insisting, so I had no choice but to agree.”

Hans replied grumpily. He was still a shy person.

“Let’s go out and have fun, okay? I’ve been really lonely not seeing you lately!”

“Sorry, I’ll stream more often from now on.”

“What happened, really? Your streaming frequency noticeably decreased.”

As expected, the angels were worried about me. My streaming suddenly became less frequent, so they were understandably concerned, as they could only know my situation when I was streaming.

“It’s nothing. Like I said, I was busy moving and things were chaotic...”

“Is that all?”

PleaseShakeACarrot looked up at me, questioning.

“You moved quite some time ago. And it’s still like that?”

“......”

He hit the nail on the head.

That excuse didn’t last long.

Was I left with no choice but to lie? I awkwardly smiled and said,

“...Actually, I’ve been going through a bit of a slump lately and wanted some rest.”

“Whoa!”

Although my slump period had long passed, this seemed like the most suitable excuse.

“Then you should rest!”

“Right, we can wait as long as it takes.”

Telling lies to such kind people made my conscience prick me.

“......”

Hans was just watching me. His expression was unreadable, deep in thought.

Since we were here, we entered the company building to meet the other angels. I wondered if it was okay for an outsider to visit so frequently.

Everyone was busy, but I met as many people as I could. I even greeted angels like Stress and Something whom I often chatted with but hadn’t met in person.

Each one of them was worried about me.

“I should stream more often.”

“That’s right.”

The manager seemed to get it. There are so many people looking for me.

As we walked, we came across a familiar figure.

“Ah.”

It was the white-haired man I had seen before, the one who had been in Hans’ office.@@@@

His appearance was striking, in a good way.

Hans frowned immediately upon seeing the man, indicating a strained relationship. In contrast, the man greeted us with a bright smile.

“Nice to see you again.”

It was directed at me.

“It’s my first time seeing you two together. Are you visiting?”

It made sense since he had only seen me alone before. This was probably his first time seeing us together.

Hans responded with caution.

“Don’t pretend you know her.”

“It’s not pretense, we really do know each other. Right, Jiha?”

The man was casually using my name, displaying his cheeky nature.

OnlyFinley took the stack of papers she was holding and rolled it up.

Then she put it to her mouth and ran off in the opposite direction.

“Guys! Breaking news, breaking news! Huge breaking news!”

“Ah, how are all of them exactly the same!”

Just like before, Hans chased after her. I watched the two of them, waving from behind.

* * *

Thanks to OnlyFinley’s swift actions, the news spread quickly.

Everyone gathered in what appeared to be the largest room, likely a lounge. As expected, it was mostly viewers I regularly interacted with. Everyone except Ian seemed to have assembled.

“So that’s why you couldn’t stream lately?”

“It’s all Hans’ fault in the end.”

“Hans messed up.”

“Right, it’s the manager’s fault.”

“Be quiet.”

The angels unanimously blamed Hans. They were all on my side.

“But it feels refreshing to finally reveal it. I’ve been itching to tell because of all the secrecy.”

“I was the first to hear it―”

OnlyFinley was hugging me tightly from behind, resting her chin on my head. Moreover, she was playfully pinching my cheek as one would with a baby.

“So, you two are dating?”

“What did you hear about our story?”

Isaac replied to Hans, who seemed incredulously taken aback.

“It just happened that we ended up pretending to be fiancés, nothing more. And we’ll soon stop even that pretense.”

“Eh, I don’t like that.”

“You, be quiet.”

I obediently shut my mouth as Hans instructed.

“Don’t be like that to my Nuna!”

“Who are you to interrupt Heo Jiha while he’s speaking?”

“Fine, it’s all my fault.”

At this point, I actually felt sorry for Hans.

“Anyway, I won’t give up the 120,000 points.”

“Does that mean you’ll do to Hans exactly what you were doing to Bates?”

“Yes.”

“Wow.”

The angels were very intrigued.

“Interesting.”

“Fun. Yes, this is what we needed.”

“It’s making up for all the broadcasts we missed in one moment.”

As expected, the sanity of my broadcast’s viewers was questionable.

“Give it your best!”

“Our Heo Jiha is so cute, he’ll definitely make you fall for him right away!”

“Hans, pay attention.”

“......”

Hans looked as if he was getting a headache again.

The brief gathering was over. Everyone was busy, so it couldn’t be helped.

Anyway, now that I could confidently have Hans by my side during the broadcast, it was a pretty good harvest.

“I really want to go back soon.”

“You really are... Maybe broadcasting is your true calling.”

“I hear that a lot, that phrase.”

It felt like I only discovered my true talent after dying, which I hadn’t known in my previous life.

“What will you do now, Hans? It’s all out in the open.”

“Well... I’m just relieved that the kids aren’t teasing me as I expected.”

Everyone seemed too happy about me resuming the broadcast to tease Hans.

“Can’t help it. Until we stop pretending to be engaged, you’ll have to show your face on the broadcast.”

“Ah, that’s so great.”

I smiled, filled with a sense of happiness.

“What’s so great about it, really?”

“Just everything. This whole situation right now.”

“......”

Hans stared intently at me. Then, he finally asked me.

“Do you really like me that much?”