This is a story where the second lead finally gets the girl.

The patient, kind, selfless second male lead. The one who lives for the female lead's happiness, even when it's not a happiness that she shares with him. The one who is no means less of a man than the male lead—the one in this story anyway—yet he is an unwitting plot device, a catalyst for the indecisive first leads, a reference to make the male and female leads appear more desirable, sometimes more than they really are.

The romance-drama genre is overpopulated with glorified man-child male leads that tap into a woman's Messiah instinct—the altruistic hope that maybe for her, he will change for the better. A classic case of art imitating real life in most cases.

So is it any surprise that I am afflicted with the second lead syndrome?

We are each the first leads in the unique story of our own lives. But mine took a fantastical turn 17 years ago, before the private jet I was in suspiciously exploded, plunged into the ocean, marking my untimely demise on Earth—and the beginning of my strange new life. 

Here and now is the world of I Will Make You Love Me, the fantasy-romance-drama web novel that I was reading on that unfortunate flight. I woke up as an infant, in my original appearance, with all my memories intact. I never got to read the ending. But this time, I get to create my happily ever after.

Meet present-day Kalel, the second male lead of I Will Make You Love Me. A thirst-quenching tall glass of water at 6 feet 4. A man with an icy kind of beauty not unlike the immortal pretty boys in the xianxia genre. Long silver hair down his back and piercing red eyes that sparkle like the finest rubies on a heart-shaped face with delicate features. A lean frame that is surprisingly muscular and strong, bringing androgynous grace to a perfectly tailored suit.

In the original timeline, his character design donned violet velvet robes—he was a wizard of the tower, a powerful force in this world where magic exists.

By some twist of fate, the demon crown prince-turned-wizard became my butler in my timeline.

It's a fine summer afternoon now and he is expertly pouring me a cup of drip coffee. (Yes, not tea. I was never really a fan of the latter and normalizing coffee in this household was one of the first changes I implemented when I was old enough.)

The gentle water pressure, the angle of the wrist and tilting of the pot—it’s all perfect. His skin is creamy under the warm afternoon soon. What an ideal side profile. His Cupid's bow appear moist—and now they move.

“Lady Catherine,” his honeyed voice is sweet to the ears. “You are drilling a hole right into my head." 

I followed the I Will Make You Love Me series for a year, even if it seemed no one else knew about it. What a grossly underrated tale. Written by a mysterious, anonymous writer, something about the story just pulled me in. 

And then I read about Kalel. I always have second lead syndrome; my ships never sail. But unlike the other stories I read, I found myself daydreaming fanfics with Kalel in my mind, of what I would do if I had the chance to become the woman he loved.

It’s probably the subconscious talking, stemming from a lifetime of lukewarm romances and an absent father…

Kalel’s eyes shift to my face without moving his head. I feel my face and ears warming up and realize I've stopped breathing. It makes him smile.

We've been at this chase for a year now and there's no point in playing coy and concealing my feelings. I let out a sigh. "I just can't get used to it.”

He chuckles and sets his eyes back to his task. "Well, I'm not going anywhere.”

"Can you blame me? You appeared just over there, out of the blue. Who's to say that you won't disappear on me just as suddenly, too?”

I was on this very gazebo facing the great maze garden of Eton Hall, the estate that is now my home and the seat of the Duke of Westburgh, my father in this world. I remember everything about that day. I was reeling, not from the success of my debutante ball just the night before, but because the duke ditched his death flag. It was only then I realized that my transmigration has completely transformed the story. 

I was sipping coffee that I prepared for myself—those were the days!—and leafing through a modern architecture book, getting acquainted with this new world, when a pillar of light descended from the skies, down to the great maze garden.

I had been waiting for this moment. It's the fateful first encounter of Ashley and Kalel. Reborn into the universe of I Will Make You Love Me, I took the place of its cookie-cutter female lead character Ashley. I of course asked my name to be changed to my Earth name as soon as I could finally speak. 

So when Kalel finally tells me he loves me, it will be my name on his lips.

In the original story, innocent Ashley could only force-feed Kalel her tea when she found him passed out in the entrance of the maze. Ashley touched his face, and it made such a big impression on him who never knew that he craved another's warmth until then. When the butlers and maids showed up in the original story, she hid Kalel under her roomy balloon skirt, and when the coast was clear, she lifted it up to find him gone. 

Original timeline Kalel was flustered by the unexpected intimacy that he mistakenly teleported into an old wizard's home, the head of this world's magical tower. This wizard was no saint. He took advantage of some of Kalel's apparent powers—teleportation, telekinesis, superhuman strength—and even conducted painful experiments on him once he discovered his fast-healing constitution. 

Kalel persisted through it all, hanging on to that one moment with Ashley, until he was completely healed and all grown up. When he turned 16, he defeated the old wizard, beat all competition, and assumed leadership of the tower as a wunderkind this world has never seen. He had to return to his world and take back what is his. 

But he just couldn't leave poor helpless Ashley on her own, spending years by her side as a confidant, saving her from near-death situations that—forgive me—could have been avoided with some common sense. As a typical heroine, jealous noble ladies and plotting relatives kept coming for this damsel in distress. It was during one of these situations that Kalel met his anticlimactic demise. The female lead and the male lead's happily ever after was at the expense of the second male lead's life.

Kalel's voice snaps me out of my melancholy. I come to with moist eyes.

“Wha—did you say something?" I asked, blinking the near-tears away.

He momentarily knits his brows. It was so quick that only I could notice before his expression smoothes over back to his default poker face.

“Your worries are unfounded, my lady. I already belong to you and you cannot put me back. I will always be by your side.”