“If you’re so curious, just ask him to send it to you later.”
I stared at him in disbelief, and Bohyeon held out a forkful of cake toward me like he was offering to feed it to me.
“Eat it. The cream’s melting.”
I reached out to take the cake he was holding out, then stopped.]
[ System ]
[Answer.
1. It happens to be my favorite flavor, so I just eat it.
2. I’m annoyed that he keeps trying to brush things off like this. “No thanks.”]
“What’s there to even think about — obviously option 1.”
I chose option 1, and Yura ate the cake Han Bohyeon held out to her, and just like that, the second quest came to an end.
[ System ]
[Quest complete!]
[Han Bohyeon’s affection toward Yura has risen by 5%.]
[♡38%]
The affection gauge that appeared above Han Bohyeon’s head was a number that could only draw amazement. Was there really another romance simulation game in existence that started a capture target’s affection at 38%?
[ System ]
[Yura’s affection toward Han Bohyeon has risen by 1%.]
“……No matter how many times I see it, that number is something else.”
I’d already noticed from when Woosu’s affection toward Yura went up by 2%, but raising Yura’s affection was no easy thing. It was low now because these were the early quests, but later it would go up by 5% or 7% at a time, so I figured I’d let it go for now.
[ System ]
[♡24%]
Still, Han Bohyeon’s base affection toward him was on the higher end, so even with just a 1% increase it was already above Woosu’s. If it had still ended up lower than Woosu’s affection even after the boost, that would’ve been genuinely heartbreaking — thank goodness they were childhood friends.
[ System ]
[Congratulations. The profile of the second capture target, ‘Han Bohyeon’, has been unlocked! Would you like to view it now?
Yes / No]
“Do I even have a choice?”
[ System ]
[No ^^]
“You’re seriously the worst.”
[ System ]
[8ㅁ8]
[ System ]
[Han Bohyeon <Main Lead>
Age: 18
Appearance: More of a ruggedly handsome face than a conventionally pretty one. Characterized by short black hair and vivid brown eyes that bring to mind a sunset.
Personality: Stiff as they come. Not a trace of warmth to be found — except for the rare tsundere moments that slip through toward Yura alone.
Physique: 188cm, muscular build. Noticeably tan skin overall, giving off a healthy, athletic energy.
Notable: Upper-mid academic standing. Yura’s childhood friend, and the only person he has ever liked in his entire life — a staggering devotion that makes him the quintessential ‘warm only for the female lead’ type. Prefers baseball, but joined the soccer team purely because Yura became its manager — proof of just how far his feelings for her go.
Likes: Lee Yura.]
True to being the devoted type, the only thing he liked was Yura. Han Bohyeon, with his setup as a handsome, well-built tsundere childhood friend who had eyes for one person only, wasn’t particularly popular in-game — but in reality he actually ranked second most popular, right behind Choi Woosu.
“So Woosu, why won’t you show me the photo? What’s the big deal?”
“Oh, that……”
“It’s a cake photo, why can’t I see it?”
“Because it’s a photo of you.”
“……Huh?”
“I was taking pictures of you. Sorry.”
“Why were you taking pictures of me……?”
“Because you look pretty when you smile.”
“Oh…… Um, I……”
……The quest is over, you two. They’d done plenty — they could stop now — but their tender little exchange didn’t end just because the system window had disappeared.
Getting the story moving forward was fine, but watching it was unbearable. If I’d known I’d be subjected to a scene like this, I wouldn’t have come to Yang Inho’s place, let alone this café. Mandatory after-school study hall was starting to sound more appealing.
“You just get so happy over cake, it was cute. That’s why I took it.”
Honestly, at this point it was practically a confession. Because you’re pretty. Because you’re cute. Looking at her with that lovestruck expression while saying those things — if that wasn’t a confession, what was?
“I’m sorry. Are you upset? I’ll delete it right now.”
“No! No, don’t delete it!”
Yura shot to her feet to stop him, and he looked up at her with a deflated expression. He was the picture of a large dog who knew he’d done something wrong. Yura’s face went bright red, and a CG of a volcano erupting appeared above her head.
[ System ]
[‘He’s, he’s so cute…… What is wrong with him? He’s way too cute!’]
How considerate of the system window to reappear and show us Yura’s inner thoughts. In a way, her flustered reaction was completely natural. There probably wasn’t a girl alive who wouldn’t fall for someone looking at her like that with a face so perfect even the heavens would groan at the thought of making another one. That’s exactly why he’d had an iron grip on the number one spot in the capture target popularity rankings.
Not that any of that mattered — Han Bohyeon casually reached out and ruffled Yura’s embarrassed head. The look in his eyes as he watched her was unmistakably fond. I’d expected him to be visibly uncomfortable, given that his romantic rival had just all but confessed — but he didn’t seem to care in the slightest. His composure was a relief, but also genuinely impressive.
Come to think of it, Yang Inho — who had proclaimed so confidently that he knew exactly what his mother liked — had gone completely silent for a while now. I looked over toward the counter with a vague sense of puzzlement, and what I saw made me rub my eyes several times in disbelief.
……Why is Go Jin here?
Even among the array of distinctive hair colors that seemed to come with being in a game, the deep red stood out sharply. Go Jin — the fourth capture target, the last one introduced, with so little overlap with Yura due to his tendency to skip school that his scenes with her were almost nonexistent. I’d known he had an after-school part-time job at a café, but I never would’ve guessed it was this one.
Yura, here as a customer with two capture targets — and Go Jin, working behind the counter of that same café. Two people who would someday develop feelings for each other and become entangled, currently not even making eye contact — I couldn’t look away from the surreal sight of it.
Seeing it like this, maybe the only reason they hadn’t recognized each other at school was because they’d never crossed paths there — because outside of school, they might actually have run into each other like this more than a few times. The depth of the developer’s vision was difficult to even begin to measure.
“If they’d put even a fraction of this effort into building something for Yeon Juwoo too, that’d be nice. ……Huh?”
I was sighing over my own pathetic situation when I accidentally made eye contact with Choi Woosu and flinched. At this rate, I was starting to wonder if he paid as much attention to me as he did to Yura.
Even after our eyes met, his gaze didn’t waver. I tensed up and swallowed hard. If he hated me so much his expression was rotting from it, he could just sit there and eat cake with Yura. Instead, Choi Woosu actually stood up and started walking over. I was desperately praying for anyone, anyone at all, to come get me out of here.
“Juwoo! Got everything——!”
“Let’s go!”
“Whoa, whoa! Hey, I’m gonna fall!”
Inho, bless you. I mean it, truly.
