Tenth-Class Protagonist Promotion
I pouted like a duck, lips pushed forward in a sulk.
“You got my hopes up for nothing…”
I picked up my phone again and scrolled through the list.
“Who the hell am I even supposed to target, then?”
As expected, there weren’t many women’s names.
A few names that might have been elementary school classmates passed by, but honestly, I could barely remember them. Most of the people on the list were either plain or downright unattractive.
After going on a date with Yujeong and running into Jang Yehwa on the way back, every woman’s profile looked like a squid.
“Is there really no one…?”
I clicked my tongue in disappointment. The list was almost at the end now.
Just as I reached the very last entries, one name suddenly caught my eye.
“…Huh? Kang Sujeong?”
I stared at her profile.
Name: Kang Sujeong
Age, Gender: 22, Female
Occupation: Twibble TV Streamer, MeTube Creator
Affection: 09 Fated Connection: 11
“Oh.”
Now that I thought about it, I had completely forgotten about Kang Sujeong. The woman who lived right above me and did personal broadcasts.
I looked at the photo displayed in her profile.
“She really is pretty…”
Even though we didn’t get along, her face was genuinely beautiful.
In the profile picture, she stood with her arms crossed and a pouty, prickly expression.
Her deep brown hair cascaded down to her chest in natural waves, and her seemingly innocent yet sharp eyes amplified her charm. Her light brown irises were angled upward, as if she were looking down at me.
She wasn’t quite on the level of her friend Jang Yehwa, who had come over to visit, but she still possessed an exceptionally pretty face and figure.
What truly stole the show, though, was her chest. Even with her arms crossed, her breasts rested on top of them like perfectly ripened peaches. The sight was downright lethal.
“……”
It was probably thanks to that voluptuous chest and stunning face that she managed to keep her streaming career afloat.
I had tuned into her broadcast once out of curiosity. She mostly just played the 5v5 AOS game called Legend League all day without any special content, yet she still had a decent number of viewers.
Whenever she died unfairly, she would curse up a storm. Strangely enough, some of the viewers got excited by her swearing and even begged her to insult them.
“…Should I go for it?”
I slowly moved my finger over her profile.
Clicking on her now would make her my heroine.
What exactly happens when I set someone as a heroine?
Would I be unable to register her like Jang Yehwa because of some rank restriction?
All sorts of thoughts ran through my mind, but after a brief moment of hesitation, I tapped on her profile.
— Beep —
Would you like to register the individual Kang Sujeong as a Heroine?
This action cannot be undone once confirmed.
(YES / NO)
“Oh.”
It worked?
“So the app distinguishes ranks based on occupation?”
I tilted my head in confusion. Why couldn’t I register Jang Yehwa, but Kang Sujeong was fine?
The only clear difference between Kang Sujeong and Jang Yehwa was their occupation. Their age and gender were the same, and Yehwa’s Affection was actually higher than Sujeong’s.
Did that mean a streamer and MeTube creator had a lower rank than a building owner?
That didn’t make sense.
Building owners earned vastly different amounts depending on the property, and streamers’ incomes varied wildly too.
Of course, considering that Sujeong streamed from a small one-room apartment like this, she probably wasn’t making that much…
Maybe it wasn’t about the job itself. Perhaps the Heroine App had its own unique criteria for determining ranks.
I decided not to overthink it and tapped the YES button.
— Click —
Registering individual Kang Sujeong as a heroine.
Connecting the Thread of Fate.
Please wait…
Thump.
“What the…?”
Suddenly, a single red thread emerged from my heart.
The red thread wriggled around like a snake, then shot straight through the ceiling toward the floor above.
A moment later, my heart gave another powerful throb. The red thread vanished, and a new message appeared on the app.
Successfully registered individual Kang Sujeong as a heroine.
“So that’s it?”
I placed a hand over my chest.
What the hell was that thread just now?
My heart had pounded, the thread had appeared and then disappeared.
Before I could dwell on it, another message popped up on the app.
Entering Heroine Capture Mode.
Please select a Capture Style.
Each heroine has unique available Capture Styles. The chosen style will grant different Skills.
“Capture Style?”
I muttered without thinking. The moment the words left my mouth, the screen refreshed.
◆ 1. Temptation of Kindness
[Acquired Skills: Resilience, Kindness, Good Deed]
◆ 2. Dream Companion
[Acquired Skills: Stabilization, Encouragement, Support]
◆ 3. Villain of the Flip Side
[Acquired Skills: Black Room, Transformation, Summon]
◆ 4. Her Slave
[Acquired Skills: Masochism, Seduction, Arousal]
“What the hell is this?”
There were four styles in total. At first glance, options one and two looked the most normal.
“Which one should I pick?”
I rested my chin on my hand and pondered. Number four was obviously out. Between one and two, I couldn’t decide.
“Hmm…”
That was when it happened.
Ding-dong~ Ding-dong~
The doorbell suddenly rang.
“What now?”
I got up from the bed and walked to the door.
Click.
“Hello.”
“…?”
Kang Sujeong?
Standing in front of my door was the woman from upstairs, Kang Sujeong, arms crossed. Next to her was her friend, Jang Yehwa. Two beautiful women standing side by side made the shabby hallway of this old villa look surprisingly glamorous.
Sujeong’s eyes were narrowed like a cat stalking prey, while Yehwa wore a bitter smile as she looked at her.
When Yehwa’s eyes met mine, she gave me a small nod in greeting. I returned the gesture and asked with a puzzled look on my face.
“…What brings you here?”
“Um… How should I put this… Have you by any chance seen a red line or something?”
“A red line?”
“Yes.”
A red line? What was she even—
Ah!
Suddenly, a scene flashed through my mind.
Is she talking about that?
The red thread that had appeared from my heart when I registered her as a heroine. It had gone upstairs, so I figured it was connecting to her, but I never imagined she would be able to see it too.
“I haven’t seen anything… What exactly is this red line?”
I played dumb. Sujeong frowned.
“You know… a red thread? Anyway, it’s a red line. It definitely came from downstairs. You really didn’t see anything? You didn’t do something weird, did you!?”
Sujeong narrowed her eyes at me suspiciously.
“……”
I felt a twinge of guilt inside.
Yeah, I did do something weird. I set you as my heroine.
But I obviously couldn’t admit that. I put on an expression that said, What nonsense are you talking about?
“What do you mean, something weird? Ha… I was just relaxing at home.”
“Hmm…”
“Aren’t you just imagining things?”
“No! I definitely saw it! A red line flew straight into my chest! My heart started pounding like crazy at that moment…!”
I glanced at Jang Yehwa.
“She says she saw it. Did you see anything, Yehwa?”
“No. I didn’t see anything.”
She shook her head. I let out a silent sigh of relief.
So it seems only Sujeong and I could see it.
I nodded inwardly. Sujeong turned to Yehwa again.
“Really? You re~~ally didn’t see it?”
“Yeah.”
“I haven’t seen anything like that either.”
“That’s strange… Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
I sighed and answered. Sujeong then peered past me into my room.
Crap. My place is a total mess.
I quickly blocked her view with my body.
“What are you doing? Have you been drinking?”
“I’m completely sober! Can I come in and check?”
“No, what would you even check for?”
“The red line.”
Why would she need to search inside my apartment for something that had already disappeared? There was no risk of her finding it, but I still shook my head.
Honestly, I was embarrassed to show her my messy room. There were even used tissues lying around. I didn’t want to imagine the disgusted looks those two beauties would give me. Plus, they had shown up unannounced and it was getting annoying.
I waved my hand dismissively, pretending to be irritated.
“Ugh, seriously. There’s nothing like that. Just go already.”
“But I need to check—”
“You don’t. There’s nothing here.”
Bang!
I slammed the door shut.
When I looked at my phone, the screen was still waiting for me to choose a style.
I slowly reread the list of capture styles.
Temptation of Kindness, Dream Companion, Villain of the Flip Side, Her Slave.
“Hmm.”
I had originally planned to pick either one or two, but my mind suddenly drifted toward the third option.
Given her current attitude and how low her Affection toward me was, choosing something like Temptation of Kindness or Dream Companion seemed like it would be incredibly difficult.
Out of the four choices, I selected the third one.
Will you designate Villain of the Flip Side as the Capture Style for heroine Kang Sujeong?
This choice cannot be changed once confirmed.
(YES / NO)
I clicked the YES button.