Because there were far too many new students to keep track of, Lee Yura didn’t remember him — but Na Giyeon, who had fallen for her at first sight, had been counting down to today.
[ System ]
[ Ⅲ-1. The Bold Younger Guy, Na Giyeon]
[“I like you, noona.”]
“……Wow.”
He wasn’t there with them in person, so he had to watch through the System window. Na Giyeon’s bold opening line never got old no matter how many times he saw it. The guy shouted that she was pretty in the middle of the entrance ceremony, then actually tracked her down and straight-up confessed — with someone else standing right next to her, no less. He really was the character who best embodied the phrase “this is what zero hesitation looks like.”
[ System ]
[“……What did you just say?”
“I said I like you, noona.”
A boy whose name she didn’t even know confessed to her with a smile so wide his eyes curved into crescents. It doesn’t seem like a joke — is he actually serious? I don’t remember talking to him at the orientation day, so his confession is just baffling. What is with this guy?
“Oh! My name is Na Giyeon.”
“Na Giyeon?”
“Yes. Na. Gi. Yeon. Remember my name, noona.”
“……I’ll try.”
She said that, but what he’d just done was already burned so deeply into her mind that she had a feeling she’d remember it whether she wanted to or not. But apparently her answer didn’t sit well with him, because Na Giyeon stepped closer and thrust his face right up to hers.
“Aren’t I cute?”
“……What?”
“I’m cute, noona.”
……He’s a strange one. She’d never encountered this type of person in her life, and she had absolutely no idea how to handle him, so she just stood there blankly.
“If you remember me this way, you’ll never forget. ‘The one who said he’s cute.’ Na Giyeon.”
Honestly, Giyeon, I don’t think I’d ever forget your name even without all this. She didn’t want to keep talking to him — whether it was because of the poor first impression or not — and tried to slip away using the competition as an excuse, but Na Giyeon held out his phone and asked for her number. She wanted to say no, but he’d already placed the phone in her palm and was helpfully folding her fingers around it one by one.
“Please give me your number, noona.”
……This guy is seriously strange.]
[ System ]
[Answer.
- Give him your number, even if you’re not thrilled about it.
- No. You shouldn’t go handing your number out to strangers. Decline.]
Realistically, unless the person showing up to ask for your number happened to be your ideal type, it was only natural not to want to give it to someone whose face and name you hadn’t known moments ago. He understood that completely — but he still chose option 1.
A fair number of players had chosen option 2, but he knew that picking option 1 was what made the two of them grow closer faster. The start would be a bit rocky, but Na Giyeon was actually the capture target whose ending you could reach the earliest — so for him, option 1 was the only choice.
[ System ]
[Having the phone placed in her hand made it hard to refuse. If they were complete strangers, she’d say no — but did she really need to start things off on an awkward note with Na Giyeon, someone she’d be running into often for the next two years? She had no choice but to type in her number.
“Here.”
“Thank you, noona!”
“Eek!”
Na Giyeon thrust his face toward her again, and just as she moved back to avoid their cheeks touching, there was a small peck. Stunned by the sudden kiss, she stood frozen — and Na Giyeon cheerfully announced that his mom was waiting and walked off. The space he left behind felt like a storm had passed through it.
“……He must actually be out of his mind.”]
[ System ]
[Quest complete!]
[Na Giyeon’s affection for Lee Yura has increased by 6%.]
[♡26%]
[Lee Yura’s affection for Na Giyeon has increased by 1%.]
[♡1%]
This comes up later in the story, but Na Giyeon had actually spent more of his life abroad than in Korea. He knew Korean culture, so it wasn’t as if he was being entirely oblivious — but to him, the cheek kiss just now was closer to a greeting. Lee Yura, who didn’t know that, only registered it as an ambush kiss and was left completely dazed.
Meanwhile, unlike Choi Woosu and Han Bohyeon who had started with a decent baseline affection level, Na Giyeon’s affection for Lee Yura had genuinely begun from the absolute bottom. On top of that, seeing that 1% go up as if it were some generous gift made him quietly burst out laughing.
[ System ]
[Congratulations. The profile for the third capture target, ‘Na Giyeon,’ has been unlocked! Would you like to view it now?
Yes / No]
[ System ]
[Na Giyeon <Main Lead>
Age: 17.
Appearance: Cute face with large, round eyes and neat, well-defined features. Known for his bright pink hair and blue eyes, which are as striking as his fair skin.
Personality: Grew up as the youngest, so he’s affectionate and charming. Easygoing and sociable.
Physical: 176cm with a slim build. Still in a growth phase, so there’s a good chance he’ll get taller.
Notable: Good at singing. Has lived abroad for a long time, so he’s fluent in English and open-minded in many ways.
Likes: Singing. Animals. Lee Yura.]
He already knew all of it, but after pressing [Yes] to read through the profile, the world that had been frozen started moving again. He was watching the scene blankly when Yang Inho’s voice — whose presence he’d completely forgotten — suddenly startled him.
“Ugh, I don’t want to go to class!”
“Because of the homeroom teacher?”
“Yes!”
Yang Inho was chronically late to everything, so having Hakju as a homeroom teacher was his personal nightmare. Any other teacher might let it slide occasionally, but Hakju was a cold-blooded type who showed absolutely zero leniency — that was why Yang Inho hated it.
He played along with what Yang Inho said, but internally he was thinking, Just wake up ten minutes earlier.
“But that guy earlier was hilarious. Who in their right mind does something like that before the entrance ceremony is even over?”
“Right. He’s genuinely one of a kind.”
“This year’s going to be like walking on thin ice.”
“Why?”
“Choi Woosu is crazy about Lee Yura. It’s basically a given that those two are going to end up together, isn’t it?”
He spoke as if it were a certainty that Lee Yura would end up with Choi Woosu — but the one who actually had the power to make that happen had absolutely no intention of doing so.
His first priority was Na Giyeon, and if that didn’t work out, he’d pair her with Han Bohyeon. If both of those fell through, he’d make things work out with Go Jin. Of course, he couldn’t say any of that out loud, so for now he just played dumb.
The “walking on thin ice” description was apt enough — four guys were about to tear each other apart over one girl. It was fun when he was playing the game, but having to witness all of it up close in real time was a different story. He just hoped he wouldn’t end up as collateral damage in someone else’s war.
He barely dragged himself out of bed when the alarm he’d set for 7 AM went off. Even that was already a change from the 5:30 AM alarm Yeon Juwoo had originally set — but after living carelessly through the short break, mornings still weren’t coming easily. If I’d known it would come to this, I should’ve kept a regular schedule.
The reason for the early alarm was entirely Hakju’s doing. The normal arrival time was 8:30 AM, but Hakju had told them to be there by 8.
Even with as intimidating as Hakju was, having to show up thirty minutes earlier than every other class drew groans from everyone. But Hakju wasn’t the type to back down. He insisted that second year was practically the same as third year, that the beginning of the semester was when people got lazy, and that he was going to instill proper habits in them — and he wouldn’t budge by even a single minute. In the end, only their class had to start showing up by 8 AM from today onward.
