How to Survive as a Supporting Male Lead

There were plenty of other memories, but there was no point in mentioning them when he was sure Iann wouldn’t remember. It was a fruitless exercise in nostalgia.

“But I do remember one thing.”

At last, Iann spoke up first. Kallian, drained of energy, threw a dart without much care. He didn’t expect much from this.

“What is it?”

“About five years ago. When you went completely dark mode or whatever.”

“Dark mode?”

“How do I explain it… You don’t remember? You’d disappeared for three years, then showed up again. You looked like you were a villain about to destroy the world.”

Iann let out a soft laugh, remembering that time. Kallian had looked like the ultimate brooding villain. Like he wouldn’t have seemed out of place shouting, ‘The Black Flame Dragon lives within me!’

“Oh, that.”

Kallian recalled it, and seeing Iann’s small smile, he let out a dry chuckle too.

It wasn’t far off from how Iann described it.

* * *

It had been five years ago, when Kallian had turned twenty. It was when he had finally killed the old Duke of the North, his father—and returned to the North.

He’d been wandering aimlessly through the streets, unable to fully believe it. That wretched man had spent his dying breaths cursing him, vowing to torment him to the very end.

Kallian had driven a blade through the man’s throat. Blood had gurgled out, and only when the Duke’s eyes rolled back in his head did those curses finally stop.

It was the end of a long, bitter tie.

But did final words have some kind of power? The Duke’s dying curses lingered in Kallian’s mind the entire way as he returned to the North.

“You damn bastard! You’ll live the rest of your life like this. Alone, with nothing and no one. Wretched and tormented, in endless agony! Everyone will hate you, and you’ll never know love. Everything around you will break and rot away. May you writhe and die in that despair!”

The Duke hadn’t been wrong. In the three years Kallian spent preparing to kill the Duke, he had lived exactly that way. Alone, trusting no one, tormented, miserable. Not knowing if he was dead or alive. No, better dead than alive.

“…Ah.”

Only when the lively festival noise hit his ears did Kallian realize he’d arrived in the North, right in the middle of the festival.

And that was it.

He trudged on, heading for the ducal mansion. Not because he wanted to, though. If anything, he didn’t want to go there at all. That place was nothing but pain and tears.

But was there anywhere else he could go?

Ah. Maybe it’d be better to just die.

“Hey! It’s great I’ve run into you!”

And then, suddenly, Iann appeared in front of Kallian again.

“Hey, where the hell have you been? And what the hell are you wearing? You look like some kid of the darkness or something. Like you’re advertising that you’re the young Duke of the North. Seriously, your fashion sense—”

Iann fired off words like bullets the second he saw him, exactly the same as always. But something had changed: Kallian didn’t even have the energy to care anymore.

“What do you want?”

“Wow, your voice is completely shot. Are you sick?”

Maybe he was finally dying. Iann leaned in close, and Kallian instinctively flinched away, frowning. Iann had always been the one to hurl insults at him, to find amusement in his misery. Surely he was just like everyone else, eager to see him suffer.

“Don’t bother.”

“Alright.”

See? He gave up on him so easily. Kallian let out a bitter smile. But he was wrong.

“Hey. But can’t you play darts with me if you don’t have anything better to do?”

“No.”

“Do you have something to do?”

“No, but I don’t want to do anything with you.”

“Aw, come on! I don’t have anyone to play with. Derrick’s busy working.”

“Please, just stop this!”

Kallian’s sudden outburst startled Iann, whose eyes widened in surprise.

“Weren’t you the one who said I should take care of myself?

“Uh…”

His emotions burst out all of a sudden. Perhaps it was because he had been holding in so much anxiety and agony, that it had built up, only to be unleashed on Iann. Kallian gasped for breath. That should have been enough to make Iann turn and walk away. But.

“What, you scared or something?”

Iann didn’t back down. Rather, he stared him down with those unbothered eyes, acting like Kallian’s anger was no big deal. Kallian could only stammer.

“What?”

“Hey, if you think you’re going to lose, just say that’s why you don’t want to. That’s what a typical jerk is like. Acting all petty.”

“Scared? I’m not scared.”

“Then what is it?”

Iann’s eyes were clear, like he genuinely didn’t understand. And just like that, all of Kallian’s anger evaporated, replaced by pure absurdity. The stronger emotion had won out.

“Hey. Don’t make excuses. If you’re scared, go home. I’ll find someone else.”

“I’m not scared.”

“Sure. I don’t want to hear cowardly excuses.”

“Let’s just do it. Let’s get it over with.”

Kallian strode forward and picked up a dart. It was the same red one he always used.

“You should’ve just done that from the start.”

Iann grabbed a blue dart.

It was just another day, exactly like three years ago.

Kallian lost to Iann at darts. Of course he did. After just killing the former Duke and dealing with all his people moments ago, there was no way his arm still had any strength left.

But somehow, his heart felt lighter. And so, Kallian went back to the ducal mansion. And he’d kept on living to this day.