The Heroine Stole My Regression-Chapter 103
"Alright."
Yu Serin accepted Jeong Haein’s condition of “three questions.”
After all, she’d been rejected before—getting even this much felt like a miracle.
Come to think of it, this wasn’t a place just anyone could attend.
It wasn’t the kind of event a student would usually be at.
“But... how did you end up coming to this party?”
She asked, a sudden curiosity rising to the surface. Jeong Haein gave a short laugh and replied,
“Is that one of the three questions?”
“No! No, absolutely not!”
Yu Serin waved her hands in a panic.
Usually, Yu Serin liked to lead conversations with her signature, leisurely pace.
That was her style—and it worked with most people.
But for some reason, when talking with Jeong Haein, her rhythm always seemed to slip.
‘He’s just a student, but...’
It didn’t feel like he was dragging her down.
It was more like... she was just getting pulled in, almost effortlessly.
“...You’re very different from what I expected.”
She muttered, almost to herself. Jeong Haein tilted his head.
“Different how?”
“I thought you’d have a much sharper vibe.”
Jeong Haein chuckled briefly at that.
Then he shook the can in his hand and said,
“Must be the beer.”
“Beer changes your whole vibe now?”
“Well, maybe not me—but it does shift your mood.”
He took another sip, smiling faintly.
Yu Serin didn’t smile back. Instead, she narrowed her eyes.
Then she spoke.
“Okay. I’ve decided on my first question.”
“Let’s hear it.”
Jeong Haein nodded.
Yu Serin took a quiet breath.
Then, carefully and clearly, she asked each word.
“Why did you reject Lotus?”
There was no teasing in her tone. No test.
She was sincerely asking.
Before joining the scouting department, Yu Serin had reviewed the records of how Lotus first approached Jeong Haein.
She hadn’t been involved at the time.
But the traces it left behind were disgusting.
Utterly typical. Pathetically underhanded.
She had resolved to change that.
At the very least, to eliminate that kind of approach—and she had, until recently.
Though today, she’d been pushed aside again.
So she asked.
“It was the way Lotus first reached out to me,” Jeong Haein began.
Yu Serin looked down for a moment.
So that was the issue.
And yet... it felt like that wasn’t all.
Jeong Haein continued.
“But if I say that, it probably won’t satisfy you.”
He paused, took a breath, and looked up.
His eyes pierced directly through her, without hesitation.
“Do you think a flower can bloom in a trash can?”
He asked with a playful tone.
Yu Serin instinctively furrowed her brows.
She knew, somehow, that the “flower” he mentioned wasn’t referring to himself.
Jeong Haein tilted the can in his hand once.
He didn’t drink—just rolled it gently.
“Most would probably just die, wouldn’t they? I’m not a flower. I don’t have deep roots. So... I guess a trash can’s not for me.”
Despite using the blunt word "trash can,”
His voice wasn’t shameless or combative.
It came across simply as a calm conviction.
That’s how it felt to her, anyway.
Oddly refreshing.
Because, honestly, she already knew.
Yu Serin let out a quiet breath.
“Let’s say Lotus is a trash can. Then who’s the trash?”
Jeong Haein tapped the top of his can with his fingertip.
He let out a short laugh.
Only his lips smiled—his eyes didn’t.
“You [N O V E L I G H T] already know.”
Yu Serin inhaled sharply.
She opened her mouth—then closed it again.
“...I’m withdrawing that question.”
“Alright.”
His tone stayed level.
From beginning to end.
Yu Serin looked at him for a while longer, then spoke again.
Her second question.
“Then... if we take out the trash, does the trash can become clean?”
At some point, her questions had stopped being about Jeong Haein.
They were the kind she asked herself every day.
The kind she wished someone else would answer for her.
Jeong Haein held his half-empty can in his hand, mulling it over.
“The trash can probably didn’t know it was going to be one when it started out.”
“......”
“It probably started as a flowerpot—holding beautiful plants and trees. But then, somehow, plastic got in. Then trash. And eventually...”
He smiled faintly as he spoke.
“...its essence changed.”
He set the can down and continued.
“Even if you empty it, that won’t last long. It’ll just fill up with trash again.”
Yu Serin knew he was right.
She had come to that conclusion herself countless times.
And yet... and yet...
She had to ask anyway.
“Why... are you so sure?”
Her voice trembled slightly.
She forced herself to stay composed.
Jeong Haein looked genuinely apologetic for a moment.
“...Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”
There was real regret on his face, even if just for a second.
In a way, it was Jeong Haein who had defined Lotus as a trash can.
He felt indebted for that.
Tears welled up at the corners of Yu Serin’s eyes.
She wasn’t crying because she wanted to.
She didn’t mean to cry—but the tears came anyway.
Not just because of this conversation.
From morning to evening—
All the emotions that had been weighing her down finally overflowed and broke her dam, bringing her down with them.
Jeong Haein didn’t say anything.
He simply turned his head and looked out at the city skyline.
A few minutes passed like that.
The third question still remained.
But Yu Serin didn’t speak.
Jeong Haein didn’t push her.
He just waited quietly for her to compose herself.
By then, his beer can was empty.
He rolled the can with his fingertips and finally broke the silence.
“Starting to feel alive again.”
He set the can down on the table.
“I prefer beer like this over the wine they serve at parties.”
At that, Yu Serin lifted her head.
For some reason, the words hit her right in the chest.
She felt the same.
Wine was just for show.
The taste she truly knew—what actually fit her—was cheap beer.
Yu Serin looked at Jeong Haein, still seated, propping his chin on one hand as he gazed at the night sky.
Objectively handsome, with a face that combined both softness and sharpness.
But more than his looks, his eyes, his posture, even the tapping of his heel—
All of it was attuned to her.
‘He’s been watching me this whole time.’
Even while saying things that cut her to the core...
He had been worried about her.
Only now was she beginning to see it.
Before, she had been too broken to notice.
Now her senses were finally coming back.
“Pfft.”
A small laugh slipped from her lips.
Jeong Haein turned to look at her.
“What’s funny?”
“Nothing.”
Yu Serin brushed her chin lightly.
“Haein, you must be pretty popular with the girls, huh?”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
He smiled faintly as he answered.
Now, it was time for the final question.
Yu Serin reached deep into her heart, pulling out the question she had hidden there.
‘Then... what should I do?’
She wanted to ask.
Because she felt like Jeong Haein would have an answer, somehow.
Like he would give a perfect reply, effortlessly.
But instead...
She swallowed the question.
It stopped at her throat—then slid back down quietly.
She smiled and lifted her head.
“Jeong Haein. Or rather, Haein.”
No more “student.”
She was no longer a scout—just a vice guildmaster.
They were both adults.
Human to human.
Why not speak plainly?
“What’s your relationship with Kang Arin, the Vice President?”
Clatter, clatter.
The empty beer can rolled from Jeong Haein’s fingers onto the floor.
It slowly spun its way toward Yu Serin.
His expression stiffened slightly.
That wasn’t the question he was expecting.
He had thought she’d ask, ‘What should I do?’
And he was ready to give her some easy, light-hearted advice.
But this?
The beer can spun to a stop right at her feet.
Yu Serin reached down to still it and smiled at him.
It was the first time she’d truly caught him off guard.
“W-What kind of relationship?”
Jeong Haein stammered.
Yu Serin shrugged slowly.
“That’s my question~~”
She was already back in her rhythm.
And then—
Creak.
The quiet rooftop door opened.
Click, clack. Familiar high heels echoed on the floor.
“Jeong Haein.”
It was Kang Arin.
She walked in through the door and quickly scanned the surroundings.
Her brow furrowed slightly.
“I told you to take a short break. Not to abandon your partner.”
She took a breath and strode toward Jeong Haein.
“The party’s over. Let’s go.”
“Already?”
Jeong Haein responded calmly.
Only then did Kang Arin’s gaze shift to the person sitting beside him.
Yu Serin.
Despite all her efforts to avoid this meeting, it had happened anyway.
She expected it—but seeing it in person made her blood simmer.
Yu Serin, however, showed no sign of retreat.
On the contrary, she smiled sweetly, stretched out her legs, and leaned back with complete ease.
“Vice President~ Long time no see~”
“Yes.”
Kang Arin replied curtly and looked away.
She’d never had patience for this kind of thing.
She reached for Jeong Haein’s arm.
Squeeze.
Naturally, she linked her arm with his and pulled herself close.
“I was just worried your ‘partner’ might’ve wasted the Vice Guildmaster’s precious time.”
“Oh, not at all~”
Yu Serin smiled brightly.
“It was lovely, actually.”
“Haein tends to be friendly with everyone. No need to read too much into it.”
“Is that so?”
Yu Serin smiled again, her eyes crescent-shaped.
Kang Arin didn’t respond further—she simply tightened her grip on Jeong Haein’s arm.
And just like that, the two of them left the rooftop.
Silence returned.
Only the breeze remained.
Yu Serin kicked off her heels and rose onto her toes, gazing up at the night sky.
The emotions that had been on the verge of collapse finally settled again.
She looked up at the stars.
“Beautiful night~”
She murmured, nudging the empty can with her foot.
Clatter, clatter.
It rolled in the same direction Jeong Haein’s had earlier.
“Oh?”
It kept rolling... then stopped right beside his.
“Ahaha!”
Yu Serin laughed out loud.
A short, bright, bubbling laugh.
.
!
Chapter 103
Comments