Chapter 9: Side Character x Mafia Boss (9)

Soon, night fell over the city.

Inside the cozy Moonlight Café was finally closing its doors for the day. Lyra stretched her sore arms high above her head before glancing through the front glass window one last time.

The black luxury car that had been silently parked across the street all morning and afternoon... was completely gone. The curb was now totally empty.

She secretly let out a quiet sigh of relief. Thank goodness... she thought to herself. Maybe I really was just overthinking things and being totally paranoid.

She turned around on her heel- only to jump back in complete surprise!

"Ah!"

Elena was standing right behind her, her dark eyes filled with gentle curiosity. "What are you looking at out there so intently, Lyra?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

Lyra laughed awkwardly, nervously rubbing the back of her neck. "O-Oh, nothing at all! I was just checking the dark sky to see if it was going to rain later. I completely forgot to bring my umbrella today."

Elena turned her head and looked outside at the gathering darkness. The sky above the city was heavily covered with thick, dark grey clouds. "You’re definitely right," Elena noted softly. "It really does look gloomy tonight. We should probably head home before it starts pouring down rain."

Lyra nodded her head quickly. "Yeah, definitely. Let’s hurry."

Just then-

Ding!

The System’s mechanical voice echoed inside her mind.

[ Host. ]

[ Make sure the Female Lead takes the correct route home tonight. ]

[ According to the original storyline, the Male Lead will appear on that exact street tonight. ]

Lyra’s casual expression instantly became dead serious. "I understand completely," she whispered back in her thoughts. "I won’t let her stray off course."

The System paused for a brief moment before speaking again.

[ Good luck, Host. ]

Then without any further warning the glowing digital interface went completely offline again.

"...Seriously?!" Lyra shouted in her mind, her jaw dropping in frustration. "You always vanish at the worst possible moments!"

Of course, there was no reply from the silent system.

The two young women locked up the front door of the café and left together, walking side by side down the quiet, dimly lit streets. As they strolled under the flickering streetlamps, Elena chatted happily about her day.

"...And then the clumsy customer accidentally spilled his lukewarm coffee all over his own lap," Elena explained, letting out a sweet, melodic laugh. "It was kind of funny, to be honest. ...Lyra? Are you even listening to me?"

"Huh?" Lyra blinked, snapping out of her intense daydream. "O-Of course I am!"

In reality... she hadn’t heard a single word Elena had said. Her entire mental focus was completely consumed with remembering the exact details of the original novel’s plot structure.

We just need to reach the main intersection down the road... Lyra planned frantically. Then Elena has to take the left fork toward her apartment... Everything will happen completely naturally after that!

Finally, after a few more minutes of walking, they arrived at the grand crossroads. Lyra smiled brightly to herself. Perfect. Mission complete.

Then... she noticed something deeply wrong.

Elena... was still walking straight beside her, ignoring the left turn entirely.

"Huh?" Lyra stopped dead in her tracks, her mouth hanging open. "Um... Elena? Aren’t you supposed to take that road over there?" She pointed her finger straight toward the left street.

Elena blinked in surprise, turning around. "Oh! No, not tonight. I’m actually visiting my aunt tonight. Her house is this way." She pointed her finger in the exact opposite direction.

Lyra froze completely on the spot.

Nooooooo!! she screamed violently at the top of her lungs internally. System! Emergency! Help me right now!

The System instantly popped back online with a soft chime.

[ Host? ]

"What on earth do I do now?!" Lyra panicked in her head. "She’s changing her route!"

[ Do whatever you must, Host. ]

[ The main plot cannot be ruined again. ]

Lyra took a deep, shaky breath, her brain working at maximum capacity. Think, Lyra... think fast!

Then, a sudden, bright smile spread across her face. "Oh! Actually, Elena... I heard from a customer earlier that that specific road is completely closed for construction today! So sadly, you probably can’t visit your aunt tonight after all." She let out a very nervous, awkward laugh. "And look up at those dark clouds! A massive storm is coming too. Maybe you should just go straight home today and visit her tomorrow instead?"

Elena looked genuinely surprised. "Really? The road is closed?" She paused, pulling her smartphone out of her purse. "Wait a second. I’ll just quickly call my aunt and check."

Lyra’s bright smile instantly stiffened into a frozen mask.

"..."

"...No," Lyra squeaked out. "...Please don’t call."

It was already far too late. The call had connected after only two rings.

"Hello, Auntie?" Elena spoke sweetly into the receiver. "I just wanted to ask... is the main road near your house closed for repairs today?"

Lyra covered her whole face with both hands, sinking into utter despair. I’m completely finished. The universe hates me.

A few moments later... Elena smiled warmly into the phone. "Really? Okay, great! Thank you, see you soon!" She hung up the call and looked at Lyra with a deeply grateful expression. "My aunt said everything is completely open and the traffic is totally fine! So it won’t be a problem at all. Thank you so much for worrying about my safety, Lyra!"

Lyra forced a wildly awkward, pained smile onto her face. "Haha... Y-You’re so very welcome..."

Inside her mind, absolute panic was raging like a wild forest fire. Plan A... completely failed.

She slowly looked up at the dark, stormy night sky, her eyes narrowing with desperate determination.

"..."

Time for Plan B.

Lyra forced another nervous, desperate smile.

"U-Um... actually, Elena..."

"Hm?" Elena tilted her head, her soft eyes looking back at her.

"I have to go down that road too," Lyra stammered, pointing her trembling finger straight toward the dark left street. "...And I’m kind of scared of walking alone in the dark at night."

She scratched her cheek awkwardly, looking down at her shoes. "So... could you maybe accompany me for just a little while?"

Elena blinked in complete confusion. "But... isn’t your apartment in the exact opposite direction?" She pointed back behind them toward the safe, brightly lit main road.

Lyra’s brain instantly short-circuited and stopped working entirely.

"..."

Then, out of absolute desperation, another sudden burst of genius inspiration struck.

"O-Oh!" Lyra gasped, clapping her hands together. "I just remembered!"

"I suddenly miss my aunt too!"

"Hehe..." She let out a fake laugh so outrageously awkward that even she didn’t believe a single word coming out of her own mouth.

Elena stared at her in silence for a few long seconds.

"..."

Then, her face softened into a remarkably warm and gentle smile. "Okay. I’ll walk with you for a bit."

Lyra almost burst into tears of pure relief right there on the pavement. She actually believed me?! Female lead... you are way too innocent and pure for this world!

The two girls turned and continued walking down the quiet, deserted road together.

The farther they walked down the winding street, the fewer people there were around them. The tall streetlights became dimmer and flickered unsteadily, casting long shadows across the cold pavement. A chilling wind blew past them, rustling the leaves on the trees.

Lyra wrapped her arms tightly around herself, shivering. Please... no dead bodies falling out of the sky today... please, universe...

Without realizing it, Lyra unconsciously slowed her steps down. Then she slowed down even more. Eventually... she was practically crouching and using Elena’s body as a human shield.

Elena noticed the lagging and turned around, looking bewildered. "Lyra? What happened? Why are you walking all the way behind me?"

Lyra forced another weak laugh. "N-Nothing at all! I just..."

Before she could finish her sentence-

"HELP!!"

A loud desperate scream tore violently through the silent night air.

Both girls instantly froze dead in their tracks.

Elena whipped her head toward a pitch-black, narrow alleyway just ahead. Somewhere deep inside the darkness, a voice was shouting in sheer terror.

"Please!"

"Someone help me!"

Elena’s eyes widened in horror. "Oh no! Someone’s in terrible danger!" She immediately took a bold step forward toward the entrance of the alley. "Hurry! Call the police!"

Lyra’s face instantly turned as pale as a ghost.

"I..."

"Y-You..."

She pointed her trembling finger completely at random into the night air. "Y-Yes! I’ll... I’ll go get help right now!"

Without waiting another single second-

Lyra turned around on her heel... and ran.

She ran as fast as her legs could possibly carry her,

"Lyra?!" Elena called out in complete shock behind her.

But Lyra refused to stop.

Inside her mind, the System suddenly materialized, its mechanical voice shouting with urgent panic:

[ Host! ]

[ Run as fast as you can before the Male Lead sees your face! ]

Lyra nearly sobbed out loud into the night air. "I’M FREAKING RUNNING AS FAST AS I CAN!" she screamed back in her head. "CAN’T YOU SEE THAT MY LEGS ARE A BLUR?!"

Her legs moved faster than they ever had in her life. She didn’t dare look back over her shoulder. She utterly refused to look back.

Please let the original plot happen normally this time... Please let Elena meet him instead of me... Please don’t let that crazy, terrifying Mafia Boss recognize me ever again...