[Weak Hero X Reader] Romance 101 [OLD VERSION]

Friendly Advice

"Alistair?" You asked as you stared out at the sky as the plane flew by the large marshmallow clouds.

"Yeah?" Alistair was struggling with a Rubik's cube.

"Why?"

Alistair shifted some squares around. "Why what? You gotta be more specific, [Your Name],"

"Why do you consider me your friend?" You turned to face him. "I always denied us being friends. Aren't you angry with me? Don't you hate me? I called the people I met in South Korea my friends and some of them my brothers, but I've known them less than I have known you. Doesn't that piss you off?"

"Of course it pissed me off," Alistair claimed as he tried to force the Rubik's cube one way. "I was hurt. I was jealous. But no, I did not hate you. I was pissed off, but being angry does not equate to hating someone. Fighting is normal in a friendship and even in romance,"

"Why do you consider me your friend?" You repeated. "I didn't consider your feelings when I told you that we weren't friends over and over again. I thought that you didn't care because you always laughed and smiled,"

"I was a cruel reminder of what you wanted to leave behind," Alistair said softly. "I'm chained to the Desert Kingdom mafia. I still cherish the times we spent together when we were not doing anything illegal. I consider you to be my friend because you protected me,"

"I was ordered to by your brother," You pointed out.

"I considered you to be my friend because you listened to my rants and how I cried about how some things were unfair,"

"Yeah," You smiled at the memory. "You really were a crybaby. You whined about not being allowed a pet so in the end, you adopted a rescue alligator. How's Chompy by the way?"

"Some guy broke into my house while I was watching a movie with Chompy. Let's just say, Chompy had a full meal that day rather than just movie snacks,"

You were silent for a few moments before finally asking, "Do you think I'm being unfair to Donald?"

"Nope," He held up the Rubik's cube with pride. "That bastard beat up your friend. Well, he sent people to beat up your friend but it's pretty much the same thing as if he had been the one to do it,"

You pointed at the center square of each of the six faces of the cube. None of the centers matched up to the squares surrounding them. "Is it unfair to be angry at him when I hurt you?"

"I wasn't sobbing the entire time you were gone," Alistair said. "Okay, I was crying for like the first three days after you left, but after that I found some hobbies. Everyone reacts to events differently. You need time to decide if you will forgive him, or if you won't give him another chance,"

You felt hot tears streaming down your face. "I made the choice to leave him, but I'm sad. Why do I feel sad? Why am I crying? Why do I miss him?"

"You probably still have feelings for him," Alistair shrugged as he ended up messing up the Rubik's cube to its original state before he had began to solve it. 

"How do I get over him?" You wiped at your tears with the sleeves of your jacket. "My chest...it hurts! I don't want this pain!"

"Nobody wants pain unless they're a masochist,"

"Isn't there any medicine to make this pain to go away!?"

"Please only take the correct dosage of painkillers," Alistair grew frustrated with the Rubik's cube and threw it to the floor, breaking it into multiple tiny pieces.

"You have to clean that up," Craton, who was seated further down the plane, told his brother. He walked up to Alistair and your seats. "Break ups are painful, [Your Name]. You should give yourself some space and time away from him. It takes time for the pain to fade. Don't contact your ex and don't answer any of his calls or text unless it's an emergency. Don't turn to alcohol or drugs to ease the pain. Instead, focus on a hobby or something,"

You and Alistair stared at Craton as if he had grown another head. "Alistair, that's not Bon dressed up as your brother, right?" 'There is no way that this is actually my boss! He does not give romantic advice or breakup advice like this! This is out of character and not something he would talk about!'

"I am not Bon," Craton scoffed and then returned to his seat.

You refused to help Alistair clean up the broken Rubik's cube. "Hey, why didn't you tell me about Damien being Donald Na?"

"The same reason that you didn't tell him about the guild,"

You raised a brow. "I didn't tell him about the guild because Craton would probably have killed him because he considered him a liability,"

"Okay, the reason I didn't tell you is because it wasn't my secret to tell," Alistair finished sweeping up the bits of Rubik's cube and tossed them into a trash can. "I thought he would change for you. I thought that after hearing how much you hate the Union, he'd change his ways or disband the Yeongdeungpo Union. But I was wrong. I've read too many stories. This world isn't fiction. People don't magically change,"

"Do you think even if he did know about all the blood on my hands," You hesitated to ask, fearing the answer. "Would he still love me? Would he still accept me? Or would he be disgusted? Or would he fear me?"

"Honestly, I don't know him enough to answer that," Alistair said. "But you've changed. You've become more outgoing and got close enough to people to consider them your brothers. Besides, it wasn't like you killed for fun. It was for your own survival. But they say love conquers all. If he truly loved you, he would be able to look past your past,"

'Love conquers all...'

"By the way, you're not going back to the guild just yet," Alistair spoke up. "I asked Craton to not give us any missions for the rest of the school year. You and I will truly get to enjoy a peaceful high school life. It won't be permanent, because once the school year ends, we'll have to go back to our jobs, but at least we can forget about our darkness and enjoy the peace while it lasts,"

Bon is a member of the Desert Kingdom mafia guild and is also a reference to Bon Clay from One Piece.

Please note that I do not have any romantic experience so the advice Alistair and Craton give may not be completely helpful.

Omake
Not canon to the actual Romance 101 story

"Hey [Your Name]," Alistair asked. "Don't you find it weird?"

"Don't I find what weird?"

"Everyone we met in South Korea had an English first name but a Korean surname," He brought up. "Why don't they have Korean first names too?"

"They do," You said. "But since this fic is in English and the Webtoon English translation uses different names, it's easier to use English given names,"

"What do you mean this fic?" Alistair gave you a puzzled look. "What do you mean Webtoon English translation?"

"Oh, you don't know?" You smiled. "You're not real. Why do you think you always call me Your Name?"

"Your name isn't your name!?"

"No, who would name their kid 'Your Name' like the movie!?" You rolled your eyes. "My name is [Your Name] and we're in a reader insert fic,"

Alistair proceeded to have an existential crisis.