Breaking Up with the Heroine of the Female-Oriented Game
In the Romance Hero Academy, the game I had once played in my previous life.
This was a female-oriented role-playing game (SRPG).
The plot went like this: the female protagonist Jin Soyeon would fight off monsters and villains threatening the world, alongside the handsome and capable male protagonists, and become a hero.
It followed the standard flow of a female-oriented visual novel game.
But there was one slightly unique fact here.
Romance Hero Academy had been created by mixing visual novels and RPGs in the right proportions.
Given that it positioned itself as half RPG, the balance of strategy, combat, and growth was excellent, and the emphasis on exploration and collection elements was high.
Dungeon clears, monster hunts, villain suppression, character routes—everything.
For a female-oriented game, the quality was truly outstanding.
In my previous life, as a gamer, I had wandered the internet searching for RPG games until I stumbled upon this one by chance.
I played it once out of curiosity.
But what the hell?
Charming characters.
Excellent level design.
Threatening and powerful enemies.
A great backdrop set in Korea.
Despite not expecting much, it turned out to be surprisingly fun.
That's why I dove into it like it was my first love.
I cleared every ending, collected every CG, hunted down every hidden element, fully farmed every item, achieved every achievement, replayed it dozens of times, tried various concept plays, and even created a 100% walkthrough video and uploaded it to the internet.
I had been completely hooked on this one game for a long time.
How deeply I had immersed myself? I could recite the protagonist, supporting, and minor character profiles and world settings like the back of my hand.
I searched the internet, hunting down doujins, novels, setting books, and all kinds of lore.
Honestly, I guess I was half-mad about this game.
But if asked whether I wanted to transmigrate into the Romance Hero Academy world, of course my answer would be no.
Why? Because this world was a dangerous place teeming with monsters and villains.
One bad day could mean an instant death.
Yet here I was.
Why?
Why was I reincarnated as NPC Lee Jinhyuk?
“Again? You’re zoning out again.”
“Ah.”
I jolted back to reality from my useless thoughts.
After shaking off the random ruminations, I slowly turned my head and realized I was staring at the familiar beauty looking back at me blankly.
That was Jin Soyeon.
The female protagonist of this world.
“You’ve been weird lately. Zoning out and all that.”
“Sorry, sorry.”
I answered Jin Soyeon’s slightly flustered expression with a faint smile.
“I’ve had a lot on my mind lately.”
Of course, there were plenty of worries weighing on me, but I wasn’t about to think of anything else while standing right in front of her.
Right now, I would set aside all useless thoughts and focus on Jin Soyeon.
“Worries? What kind?”
Right now, this was Jin Soyeon’s room.
A pristine white desk and chair, a single-size bed, various cosmetics, and the penguin plushie I had given her long ago.
It was a somewhat simple room for a girl’s space.
“Is it because you’re worried about life at the academy?”
Jin Soyeon sat on the edge of the single bed, hugging the large penguin plushie to her chest.
She buried her face in it for a moment before slowly lifting her head again.
Her expression suggested she was about to tease me.
“Yeah, well, Jinhyuk only barely passed because of a consolation prize, so it makes sense, right~?”
Jin Soyeon poked fun at me with a wry expression, but her words were accurate.
Because the setting for Jinhyuk in the game was truly abysmal.
NPC childhood friend Jinhyuk.
Talent at the level of an ordinary person, no background.
Parents already deceased, not much money.
Constitution was terrible, growth was minimal even after years of training, and he never awakened any unique ability.
That I had been able to enter Union Academy at all was purely by luck.
Thanks to my high entrance exam scores and tactical simulation evaluations, I had only scraped into the additional acceptance list.
As far as qualities for a hero aspirant, this was bottom-tier.
Jin Soyeon, the male protagonists, everyone lacked any foundation to stand on.
Comparing talent, wealth, background, and appearance was pointless.
“Uwaa~ Too bad. I’ll look after you, so don’t worry too much. You know, I’m ranked 257th, right?”
At this point, one might wonder why NPC Jinhyuk’s treatment was so poor.
The childhood friend setting naturally got a lot of focus, so that was only fair.
But I—and NPC Jinhyuk—was different.
Because the Jinhyuk NPC had been created with the premise of retirement in the middle of the story.
“257th is still upper-middle class. You don’t seem like the type to put on airs that much, though.”
“Yeah~ Next round of last place~.”
To put it more bluntly, Jinhyuk was the sacrificial lamb meant to trigger Jin Soyeon’s mental awakening.
Why? Wasn’t this a common trope in hero stories?
When the protagonist’s family, lover, or friend dies, the heroine awakens a hidden power and defeats the enemies.
The handsome and cool men gently console the broken-hearted heroine, slowly winning her heart.
It was an obvious cliché.
When I played the game before, I had shrugged it off with a “damn, too on the nose~,” but if it were my story, everything would change.
It wouldn’t be cliché at all; my heart would be pounding so hard it felt like it might burst.
Of course, there was no route without survival, but…
“Anyway, I’m glad you passed the Union exam. If it was only me, I would have been in trouble.”
Instantly, Jin Soyeon lay back on the bed, still hugging the penguin plushie tightly.
“Right?”
I silently watched Jin Soyeon raise her head and smile bashfully.
She looked genuinely happy to have passed Union Academy together with me.
But for me right now, it was just unsettling.
“Jinhyuk, you were always dreaming of entering Union and becoming a hero, right?”
“I was.”
In the past.
“Was? Why past tense?”
“Just….”
To be precise, it had been a dream for about a month.
Entering the country’s best hero-training institution, Union, and becoming an undisputed top hero.
But that was no longer possible.
Because one month ago, I had realized something.
“As you said, I barely scraped in at the bottom. I started wondering if I just don’t have what it takes to be a hero.”
“Huh? Jinhyuk, you’re not acting like yourself at all. Why?”
Previous life.
I had recalled the memories of my hated previous life.
“Don’t tell me you’re depressed because I said a few things. Huh?”
“That’s not it.”
As someone who knew how extremely similar this world was to the game world, I could no longer enjoy academy life aiming to be a mere hero.
I knew every possible incident that would occur at Union Academy in the future.
I knew what would befall me and Jin Soyeon.
I knew everything.
“By the way, Soyeon.”
“Eh? What is it?”
I quietly stared into Jin Soyeon’s clean, bright eyes for a moment before casually bringing up the topic.
Her golden eyes sparkled like they could swallow a man whole.
“I have something I need to say to you.”
“What is it?”
She licked her lips twice before suddenly nibbling her lower lip gently.
Once spoken, words couldn’t be taken back, so she hesitated a little.
But after thinking it over for a full month since awakening the memories from my previous life, I had decided this was the right thing to do.
For me, for Jin Soyeon, and for living a normal academy life, it was necessary to renew our relationship.
“What? What could be so important that you’re hesitating?”
Jin Soyeon blinked her eyes.
Her head tilted left and right.
Even those single movements were full of cuteness.
“……Huh?”
Then suddenly.
“Y-You don’t mean….”
Jin Soyeon’s expression turned startled.
At the same time, she wrapped her arms around herself.
Wait, why is she acting like that all of a sudden?
“I didn’t mean that at all…!”
“What?”
Then she slowly scooted away from me, moving her hips.
“You were thinking about Mom’s business trip and…?”
“……”
“Kya~ Perv~ Beast~! I never thought you’d have such thoughts! No matter how much, it’s still nooo….”
“……”
“Eh, well, Jinhyuk? You’re not going to reject me?”
“……”
While I stared at her with an expression of pure bewilderment, Jin Soyeon scratched her cheek, looking embarrassed.
“Heh heh. I feel so awkward.”
I twirled a strand of my hair and kept dodging Jin Soyeon’s gaze.
She was muttering to herself, “Why don’t you let her flirt anymore lately?”
Jin Soyeon avoided my gaze a little longer before finally giving up and clearing her throat.
“S-So, what did you want to say, Jinhyuk?”
“Ah, well… it’s nothing special.”
The topic had dragged on a bit thanks to Jin Soyeon’s silly teasing, but I still had to say it.
At least the mood had lightened a lot because of her, so I should be grateful.
“Soyeon.”
“Hm?”
“Let’s break up.”
“Eh?”
Today, the very day after the academy entrance ceremony that marked the start of the game.
I had declared my breakup to Jin Soyeon, the heroine and female protagonist of this female-oriented visual novel.