Is the Last Resort the Only Option?

    When I called out Kim Minsoo and he growled, the atmosphere at the table chilled instantly.

    Time to clear out the women. Since my real objective was to deal with Minsoo, there''s no point in keeping them around.

    "Sorry, we need to talk. Could you give us some space?"

    "Uh, y-yeah, let''s go."

    "Uhm, okay."

    The women on the other side couldn''t disappear fast enough. They were clearly eager to escape.

    Who could blame them? Hanging out with a guy who starts talking about sex fantasies right off the bat is ridiculous. That''s just how he is.

    I remembered my first encounter with Minsoo vividly—he couldn''t even introduce Yoomin as his girlfriend. He stood there like an idiot outside the academy gate while I was screwing his girlfriend. He used to be the clueless romantic comedy protagonist, unable to express his feelings. Now, he''s morphed into a villain, spouting bizarre tactics learned from PureDiaryAuthor.

    Given his constant mentions of PureDiaryAuthor while drinking, it''s obvious he''s been getting a steady stream of relationship advice. The Kim Minsoo crafted by his creator was always insecure. But with the extra knowledge pumped into him, his personality took a nosedive.

    "What? Calling me ‘hey'' isn''t enough? Now you''re driving away the ladies too? Taeok, you''ve crossed the line. If you knew who I was, you''d be terrified... If you realize your mistake and apologize, maybe I''ll consider letting it slide..."

    "Kim Minsoo."

    "Huh? Oh, w-who''s that? I''m Dark Hero."

    As soon as I mentioned his real name, Minsoo''s panic was palpable. His legs started trembling, and he kept darting his eyes around nervously. Yet, he still managed to deny it, which was almost impressive.

    "You''re Minsoo."

    "Ugh... Um... if you keep this up, I won''t hold back. You think you''re tough, but you can''t keep acting like this towards me. Whether I''m Kim Minsoo or not, the moment I said I''m the Dark Hero, you should have realized how dangerous I am."

    "What are you going to do about it?"

    "Excuse me?"

    It was pointless to keep insisting "you''re him, aren''t you?" to someone in denial. Minsoo kept boasting about his identity, trying to paint himself as dangerous. Using that would be the fastest way to put him in his place.

    "Well, you keep threatening me, so I asked them to leave."

    Honestly, I wanted to flatten Minsoo and beat some sense into him. But since I couldn''t start a fight here, I focused on verbally jabbing him.

    "No... You just did whatever you wanted, Taeok. Don''t you have a social life? You didn''t catch the hints... A-And what if I really am Kim Minsoo?"

    Minsoo quickly turned back into a slob. He acted all high and mighty with some booze and women around. But as soon as they left, his bravado vanished.

    "Regardless of who you are, your behavior is disgusting. Who asks such things at a first meeting?"

    "What...? Why?"

    "We''re not sure... The guards went to the rooftop for a break and found someone lying there. They removed the mask and saw it was him."

    "What? Is he hurt...? Do we know who did it?"

    "No, um... his face is quite swollen and there are signs he took a lot of hits to the stomach. It seems like whoever did it knew how to hit without leaving obvious marks..."

    "What are you trying to say?!"

    "Uh, yes, um... Minsoo''s not severely injured, but he got beaten up enough to knock him out and we can''t identify who did it."

    "Okay, you can leave now..."

    "Yes, sir!" The lackey quickly exited, seeing the chubby man''s face and jaw trembling rapidly. He feared what kind of rage might be unleashed upon him if he stayed.

    "With Baek Taeyang not around, what the hell is this now..."

    Among the various reasons behind the Noble''s social gathering, the primary one was to keep Baek Taeyang away. The likelihood of his attendance at an event exclusively for the born awakened was nearly non-existent.

    I didn''t see his name on the guest list.

    "Even if he did come, I''d boot him out... So, naturally, Minsoo should''ve been the life of the party... But now, he''s out cold..."

    The ideal scenario was for the party to continue until Minsoo regained consciousness, but the clock already showed midnight. According to his research, the sweet spot for social butterflies to thrive in clubs and stylish hangouts was from 11 PM to 2 AM. Before that, they''d be surveying the landscape, and during the prime hours, they''d latch onto a partner before fluttering off to the next destination.

    "So, Minsoo should be strutting his stuff right now... He needs to cozy up to Melanie..."

    Yet, no sign of Minsoo waking up anytime soon. With the author''s supposed expertise and Minsoo''s supposed charm, he could supposedly win over any woman in twenty minutes. Or so he thought.

    "I don''t know who screwed this up, but to derail my flawless plan like this..."

    The plan was to make Minsoo the party''s heartthrob, then smoothly transition to him wooing Melanie. After that, he would triumphantly approach Yoomin, flaunting his newfound relationship and telling her he''d found someone better.

    I spent three sleepless nights devising this plan. But I didn''t see this coming...

    Thinking that the party was the only way to make Minsoo the center of attention was a grave mistake. He was the author. The greatest power of an author is the ability to steer the story in the desired direction. Even though his influence had weakened and made it harder to forge new paths, it didn''t matter.

    "Minsoo will do anything for me."

    The chubby man cleared the table of the current plan and laid out a fresh sheet of paper. He began scribbling down various notes while muttering to himself.

    "This time... I will definitely give Minsoo a romantic experience..."

    At the very top of the plan, the word "Story" was boldly inscribed.