"I can serve mother and father," Yunho suddenly said, standing up and looking at Irene. Her face was one of surprise and confusion. There was silence at the table until Countess Rosetta spoke.
"Are you dumb? Did you not hear your brother? He actually knows how to pay respect to his parents without being asked, and he's recovering from being sick!" The woman ordered, shooing Irene who sat back down in her seat. The girl sent a look of slight suspicion towards Yunho.
Yunho meekly smiled and began serving everyone at the table. It was embarrassing, but he couldn't let them just boss around the female lead like that! Plus, back with his parents, he also wanted his siblings to stand up for him.
—
The awkward lunch finally ended and after some light-hearted scolding from the Lady, he was sent off. He considered going back to the butler to be led back to his room (he had not managed to memorize at all), but he spotted Irene leaving the dining hall. Maybe this could be his chance to try to ask for forgiveness? But wouldn't the complete 180 freak her out? Well, who cared? Yunho wasn't trying to throw away this second chance at life!
He tailed Irene as she left the dining hall, avoiding the butler and his personal maids who were most likely looking for him now that the lunch was over. The girl was walking down the halls when she suddenly whipped around.
"Why are you following me?" Irene said, her eyes narrowed.
Yunho froze. How could he be so stupid? Did he think that she wouldn't hear his footsteps behind her? Now he looked really suspicious. Well, he had no time for regret now.
"I'm really sorry for everything I've done!" Yunho blurted out, bowing. He glanced at Irene's expression for some feedback. Her face was a mix of confusion and vexation. Was this not enough? Yunho dropped to his knees.
"I really am sorry!" He repeated, hoping that this would hopefully be enough for the female lead's future mercy. There was silence between them. Yunho sucked in a breath. Was Plan Ask for Forgiveness a success?
Suddenly, the sound of approaching footsteps came from down the hall, then a loud voice.
"Yunho, are you-" there was a pause, "IRENE! What are you forcing your brother to do?" The Lady's heels clacked loudly on the floor as she suddenly grabbed Irene's arm. Yunho looked up, and his mind was racing. When did *she* get here? What was she even doing in this random hall of the house? It lacked the same opulence the rest of the manor did, and Yunho guessed led to Irene's room. And most importantly, how did this look right now?
Yunho tried to speak up and clarify what was going on, but Lady Rosetta was already dragging Irene off somewhere.
"You're going to the stables for this! Clearly, your insolence has grown too much," the woman yelled. Some maids had peeked into the hallway, hearing the commotion but immediately fled, seeing what was happening.
Irene sent Yunho a scornful look as she was dragged off.
"I should've known better than to think you would apologize with pure intentions," she said quietly with disdain.
Yunho helplessly stared as the pair disappeared out of the hallway. She thought he orchestrated this!? He couldn't blame her for thinking that. In the book, Iris would always try to get one over her for no reason other than being spiteful. But still, couldn't she be a little more charitable?
"I think I just screwed up...badly"
—
Yunho was lying down on the large bed. He was in the bedroom again as the butler finally found him from the commotion and escorted him back. The bright, afternoon sun rays pouring from the windows had turned the silver threads of moonlight, and it was late at night. However, Yunho couldn't sleep.
How could he fix things? Now if he tried to apologize, Irene would think he was setting something up again! But he couldn't just let the story progress as it is. Iris ends up banished and rotting in the countryside with no money nor position. The book never even gave the readers full closure of what happened to his character. Yunho could NOT let that happen.
But how would he stop it? His attempt today was a total failure. If this was a videogame, Yunho could already see the -10 on Irene's relationship meter. He could try again, but he didn't want a repeat of the absolute disaster today was.
Lady Rosetta said she'd take Irene to the stables! In the book, that meant she'd be locked in there for two days with only one meal. Yunho could free her, but one, there would be maids keeping watch, and two, taking today as proof, he felt that doing that would just lead to graver consequences.
The youth tossed in his bed. What to do…
—
Birds chirped outside, and there was the fresh scent of morning in the room. Yunho's eyes fluttered open. He didn't remember sleeping, but one could only think so much before they got tuckered out.
The mattress sunk comfortably under Yunho's movements, and the sounds from outside were like the "24 hour nature sounds" videos the nurse used to put on for him. Yunho wanted to stay in bed, but he knew he had to get up. Since the maids hadn't come to wake him up yet, it had to be earlier in the morning. He was going to use this time to plan.
Yunho slowly got down from bed and made his way to the desk by the window. He hadn't used any of the papers originally there, so there was still many for him to use.
Yunho let out a breath and sat down. He reached for a piece of paper and the pen.
How did these things even work? Yunho sighed and dipped the pen in the ink. He put the pen to the paper and began to write, but his hand stopped in surprise.
The writing on the page was foreign to him, but he could understand it? Yunho hadn't seen any writing since his transmigration, so he didn't notice this before. Was this a gift from who or whatever brought him inside the book? Yunho couldn't help but be thankful. Imagine he had to learn an entire new language just to live in this world?! Plus, how would he explain that?
Yunho had some questions but now wasn't the time to look for the answers. He focused his attention back on the paper and wrote in large characters on the page: "HOW TO CHANGE MY FATE".
Yunho paused pensively. Asking
for forgiveness hadn't worked, so he needed a new plan.
What would make her forgive him or at least not feel compelled to banish him later? Yunho bit his lip in frustration. His mind was blank. He gripped the pen harder and racked his mind until he thought of a question.
Well, what did he want his parents or siblings to do? Yunho paused at this thought. He wanted some sort of apology from his parents and maybe some reparations, but what about his older brother and sister? They weren't the reason he was unloved, but Yunho couldn't help but feel bitterness for all the times they could've spoken up bit didn't. But all of that was in the past now, if they wanted to amend things, what would Yunho want.
"I'd just want them to leave" He said quietly to himself.
It was true. There wasn't much point of them apologizing to him, and they didn't have much connection. Since Yunjin, his sister, and Yunsu, his brother, were healthy and could consistently go to school unlike him, they never had a true "sibling connection". It would be the best for everyone if they all went their own, seperate paths, peacefully coexisted. Then one day, Yunho would be ready to build their family relationship.
Yunho had been deep in thought and was mindlessly scribbling some of the words going through his mind down. Wasn't that like the situation he was in? Though Iris was hostile in the novel, he wasn't the prime reason for Irene's suffering. If he simply got out of the way, wouldn't that show his sincerity?
He couldn't make things worst if he simply wasn't there! Yunho suddenly became spirited, ready to write down his thoughts on the paper when he saw he had marked it up subconsciously.
Yunho flipped the page and wrote with vigor: "Plan B: Leave!"
He looked at the words with a smile on his face. This was it, his key to success! That's when a thought suddenly hit him.
Where would he even go?
***
End of chapter 5