Chapter 15
Chapter 15
Episode 15 The Mob Character of the Yuri Game Ran Into Geum Taeyang.
A month passed after advancing to second year, and only then did both I and the rest of the class begin truly getting used to the new face among us—In Yuna.
A flower blooming atop a cliff, wrapped in an atmosphere so cold and expressionless like frozen ice that nobody could easily approach her. There had even been a period where the area around her remained eerily quiet like the eye of a typhoon because no one dared approach first.
That didn’t mean she was bullied or isolated in class, though.
At first, everyone hesitated because of her difficult atmosphere, but thanks to her sincere attitude and the way she politely answered every question, In Yuna gradually blended into the class.
And slowly, familiar faces that could be called a “group” began appearing around her too.
“Yuna, I tried the perfume you recommended before, and it smelled super nice. My nose is sensitive so I usually don’t wear perfume much, but the brand you recommended suited me perfectly.”
“Waaah, really? Tell me the brand too.”
“Well, it’s…”
The three girls gathered around In Yuna.
Kang Yuri, Park Sena, and Kang Yubin—the lively trio famous in our class as the “popular insider triplets,” who had already been best friends since first year.
‘They really got close.’
At first glance, the three didn’t seem like they’d match well with In Yuna at all, yet now seeing In Yuna naturally among them had become an ordinary sight for all of us.
“Yuna-chan~ You actually wore the hairpin I recommended before!”
“Yeah. It was pretty.”
“Kyaaaah! Hearing Yuna-chan say that means my life this round is officially blessed!”
“Grandma, stop acting so embarrassing.”
“Who are you calling Grandma!? Yuri-chan’s birthday is earlier than mine! If I’m a grandma, then Yuri-chan’s a great-grandma!”
“You seriously piss me off!? Great-grandma!? Fine, let’s settle this today!”
“Oho! Exactly what I wanted! Let’s wipe each other out right here!”
The chemistry between Kang Yuri, who had been bragging about perfume, and Park Sena, the wildest and most impulsive member of the trio, was already famous throughout the class, so everyone simply ignored their bickering.
The third girl, Kang Yubin, who had been quietly watching so far, stepped in as though trying to stop them—
“At the end of the day, both of you are grandmas anyway. Stop fighting over pointless stuff. It’s ugly.”
“What!?”
“You wanna say that again!?”
“Hehehe.”
Instead of stopping the fire, she poured gasoline all over it.
“Do girls actually have fun playing like that?”
“Probably only girls would understand.”
“Still, Kang Yubin’s secretly insane. She looks calm, but the way she stirs chaos is incredible.”
“If she’s your type, go hit on her then.”
“Don’t say creepy stuff.”
While exchanging impressions with Baek Daeji as we watched the girls fool around, my gaze settled on In Yuna standing among them.
On the surface, it looked like the three idiots were barking around In Yuna like noisy puppies, making me wonder if she secretly found them annoying.
But to my eyes, it looked different.
‘She’s happy.’
Surprisingly enough, even though In Yuna’s expressionless face remained unchanged, her eyes sparkled brightly.
Since she liked reading and naturally carried a quiet atmosphere, I assumed she disliked noisy environments, but maybe I was wrong.
‘It’s good she adapted well to the class.’
The moment that thought crossed my mind, I became dumbfounded with myself.
Why was I thinking like this when I wasn’t her guardian or boyfriend?
We’d grown close far too quickly, and before I noticed it, the amount of time I spent unconsciously watching her had increased.
Every time I realized my gaze naturally followed her whenever I had even a brief moment to relax, I became aware that her existence was slowly sinking deeper into me.
And if I stared at In Yuna too long—
“Heee~ naruhodo.”
“What do you mean naruhodo, Baek Pig?”
“Baka! I told you not to call me that!”
Damn this perceptive bastard.
He definitely misunderstood something after catching me staring at In Yuna.
This was exactly why I’d been trying to stay careful.
“So that’s the kind of taste our friend has.”
“Quit talking nonsense. Whatever you’re imagining is wrong.”
“What do you mean wrong? How does Yangyang know what I’m thinking~”
Haaah. This bastard really planned to cling to this forever.
I sighed internally at getting dragged into troublesome nonsense.
Outwardly, he looked like a same-sex friend curiously prying into another friend’s love life.
But the gleam in his eyes was unmistakably murderous intent, and the moment his suspicions became truth, I could practically feel his determination to kill me.
If he ever learned that I occasionally ate lunch together with In Yuna…
‘Absolutely cannot let him find out.’
If he did, I’d end up fighting my evil friend to the death.
“Yangyang. You free today?”
“If you mean after school, then yeah.”
“Perfect. Wanna hit the PC café for the first time in forever? Let’s call Jinhyuk too and hang out.”
“That sounds good.”
I hadn’t gone to a PC café since becoming a second-year, so the timing was perfect.
After constantly getting tangled up in yuri-game nonsense and hidden heroines, this was the perfect opportunity for some time with the boys.
And if Jinhyuk, who had become a junior at our school this year, joined too, even better.
“Oh right, Jinhyuk said he’s bringing a new friend he made. You cool with that?”
“I don’t mind.”
“Okay. I’ll tell him then.”
If it was Go Jinhyuk’s friend, then they were probably another first-year.
Honestly, hearing it was a freshman made me slightly uneasy.
Apparently first-years were the ones most likely to believe those ridiculous rumors about me, so what if the moment they saw me they screamed and ran away like that girl before?
Thankfully, the friend Jinhyuk brought to the PC café after school wasn’t the type to flee at the sight of my face.
“Huh?”
“So it was you.”
“Jihyuk, you’re free today, right? Obviously you are.”
“I haven’t answered yet though.”
“Then if you are free, wanna make time today? Let’s go to a PC café.”
After one month of first-year life, even the many worries I’d had began settling down somewhat.
At first, learning that almost all my knowledge of 【Yuri Garden】 was useless and belonged in the trash had left me feeling hopeless.
But maybe because I’d let go of my obsession with becoming a protagonist, once I relaxed and simply lived my life, I realized this life was far richer than my previous one.
Since this was technically my second run through life, even minimal studying let me keep up with classes easily, and objectively looking back at my previous life also helped me gradually fix my own flaws.
Aside from occasionally watching my fellow reincarnators passionately struggle over the world of 【Yuri Garden】 from afar, I was honestly enjoying a fairly satisfying youth.
One example was this classmate Go Jinhyuk, who always talked to me warmly.
After we became classmates, he approached even someone gloomy like me naturally, included me in his group, and never treated me differently.
‘Though sometimes he’s too proactive.’
Even though I tried hiding it, internally I was ecstatic enough to hear drums pounding when such a friend invited me to a PC café.
‘Going to a PC café with friends! This is youth!’
A completely new experience I’d never had in my previous life.
Back then, when everything felt dull and colorless, I’d never had a single friend to casually ask me to hang out like this.
But things were different now!
“Of course! Let’s go already!”
“Whoa, seeing you this happy actually makes the person inviting you feel happy too… well, whatever! Let’s go!”
“Oooh!”
This was pathetic—I was already getting excited.
I genuinely felt grateful I’d been reincarnated.
“But Jihyuk, do you play LoL?”
“I do.”
“What rank?”
“Still stuck wandering around Silver.”
I explained how I wanted to climb to Gold but constantly ran into trolls and lacked confidence in my own skills, so I remained permanently trapped in Silver.
Jinhyuk looked delighted hearing that.
“Sounds rough, my friend. Then today you’re finally experiencing the bus ride properly.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Well, it’s not just us going. Some hyungs I know are joining too. There happened to be one open spot, so I ‘persuaded’ you.”
“……Are they upperclassmen from our school?”
“Yep. Don’t be nervous. They’re all good guys. And one of them is insanely amazing. He’s Master rank.”
Master rank!
That was one of the highest tiers in LoL!
A heavenly realm completely beyond someone like me!
‘To actually meet someone from the heavenly ranks!’
I was genuinely shocked that my friend secretly had connections to top-tier players, and by this point I was already fully hooked.
“So? You’re coming, right?”
“Of course!”
When would I ever get another chance like this?
This was the perfect opportunity to finally escape Silver and reach Gold.
Today, I would absolutely climb out of Silver.
My heart pounding, I followed Go Jinhyuk into the PC café and—
“Huh?”
Why was Geum Taeyang here?
And wasn’t the guy beside him that second-year senior character who used to cling to the protagonist?
The very same senior who constantly fought with Geum Taeyang in 【Yuri Garden】, to the point they nearly grabbed each other by the collars—
Why were they standing side by side now?
“So it was you.”
“Taeyang Hyung, you know Jinhyuk?”
“Kiu, huh. So the junior I keep meeting during morning jogs was Jinhyuk’s friend.”
“Jogging? Jinhyuk, you did that too?”
“…I started doing it every day after entering school. Trying to build my body.”
“Jihyuk-ham looks cool~”
I never imagined I’d run into Geum Taeyang here.
Still, it wasn’t exactly shocking.
I’d already met Geum Taeyang several times by now.
Mostly during morning jogs, and at this point he’d become a familiar acquaintance.
But I never expected the “hyung” Jinhyuk mentioned to actually be Geum Taeyang.
‘Wait a second. Then could Go Jinhyuk actually be…’
The strange feeling that I’d seen his face somewhere before finally connected once I learned about his relationships.
‘No way!? The first-year lackey who worked under Geum Taeyang in 【Yuri Garden】!?’
Since he’d only been labeled “Underling 1” in the game and never named, plus his appearance now was much cleaner than in the game, I never recognized him before.
But Go Jinhyuk was definitely Geum Taeyang’s subordinate from 【Yuri Garden】!
‘Did Geum Taeyang turning good also reform his lackey Go Jinhyuk too!?’
Looking at it now, changing just one character really did affect every connected character too.
“So you were Yangyang’s acquaintance? Wow, what a coincidence. I’m Baek Daeji. Nice to meet you.”
“Ah, yes.”
“But if you keep running into Yangyang during morning jogs, then you’ve got terrible luck too. If you’re trying to keep pace with this guy, you should stop. For your own good.”
“You talk plenty of trash right in front of me.”
“What’cha gonna do~”
Watching Geum Taeyang and Baek Daeji casually bicker like close friends naturally made me realize how different reality was from 【Yuri Garden】.
“Since everyone’s here, guess we should grab seats now. With this hyung’s flashy hand skills, I’ll carry you all! Juniors, relax like you’re boarding a luxury cruise!”
“Just don’t feed kills while showing off.”
“Ah, um…….”
“What is it, Jinhyuk?”
“Actually… one more person’s coming.”
“You invited someone else too? Doesn’t matter. The more people, the more fun.”
“Hahaha, hearing you say that is a relief.”
Why did he look so awkward?
“Ah, there he is. Taeyang-ah~!”
“……Go Jinhyuk. Don’t tell me……!?”
“……I’m sorry?”
The boy who waved brightly while approaching froze the moment he saw us—
No, more specifically, the moment he saw Baek Daeji Sunbae.
His neat face twisted instantly.
At the same time, Baek Daeji clicked his tongue and glared back.
“Why the hell are you here?”
“That’s my line, you asshole.”
……Yeah.
Without asking anyone, I could already tell their relationship was absolutely terrible.