Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Episode 5 The Protagonist of the Yuri Game Has a Mental Breakdown.
Recovering the memories of my previous life came with a violent shock that rattled my brain.
“Uwah!?”
“Chaewon!?”
Maybe it was fortunate that I lost consciousness before I could even properly feel the pain from the sudden impact.
Thankfully, I didn’t feel any pain at all, and when I woke up, nothing hurt.
Mom of this life, thank you so much for giving birth to me with a sturdy body. Though if possible, it would’ve been nice if you’d made my head smarter too. Still, thanks to my thick skull, I survived safely.
“Chaewon-ah!?”
“Thank goodness! You’re alright, hngh⎯!”
Friends who sincerely worried about me clung to me, while Mom embraced me tearfully. Having just regained consciousness, I couldn’t properly react to any of it.
It wasn’t because my mind was foggy after waking up.
Rather, at that moment my consciousness was clearer than ever before, and the memories of my previous life that resurfaced after waking up tangled my thoughts into chaos.
‘Na Chaewon…. Don’t tell me, I… became the protagonist of 【The Pure White Flowers Bloomed by Maidens】!?’
As I awakened to the previous life I had never realized until now, memories of my former life came flooding back.
In my previous life, I was an ordinary civil servant without a single outstanding strength. But just as I lacked special talents, I also lacked glaring flaws. I wasn’t defective or anything—I was simply one replaceable cog among society’s gears compared to truly exceptional people.
Unlike elites who could understand ten things after hearing one, I could only understand exactly one thing after learning one.
That’s why every day of my life was spent desperately keeping up with work and focusing solely on surviving through it.
And for someone like me, the one ray of light that became emotional healing—
Was 【The Pure White Flowers Bloomed by Maidens】.
At first, I wasn’t into that kind of thing either. I admired ordinary romance with men and once dreamed of finding a boyfriend and living happily ever after.
But as life went on, I kept seeing the ugly sides of men. Men who loved showing off, treated women like trophies, and coworkers who crashed and burned after failed relationships.
Bit by bit, my interest in the opposite sex faded.
And before I knew it, I had become interested in same-sex romance.
That led me to buying a highly ranked game from a game site and deciding to try it.
That game was exactly 【The Pure White Flowers Bloomed by Maidens】.
The game of my life.
Its beautiful and gentle art style, abundant CGs, and the gorgeous performances created by the talented yet unknown voice actors and heroines instantly captivated both my eyes and ears, completely drawing my heart into the game.
……No, seriously, was it true that this was made by an unknown director and unknown voice actors? Even now, the quality felt unbelievable.
My life, which had been withering like dried grass under the burden of society, changed after encountering 【The Pure White Flowers Bloomed by Maidens】.
No, “revived” was probably the more accurate word.
Before entering society, back when I had lived a bright campus life filled with dreams and hopes for the future—that youthful version of myself.
While playing the game, I could return to those days once more.
‘Oh my god! I became the protagonist of 【Yuri Garden】!?’
Kyaaaah! Reincarnating as the protagonist of my favorite game!? This was the greatest honor possible for a fan! Was I going to die from happiness!? Ah, right. I already died. That’s why I reincarnated in the first place.
‘Aah, but suddenly getting hit by a falling car back then really wasn’t fair.’
Recovering my previous memories wasn’t entirely good.
Remembering my death so vividly made me feel depressed too.
Thankfully, I didn’t remember the pain itself.
‘Wait a second. If I’m the protagonist of 【Yuri Garden】……’
That means I can personally experience those kinds of relationships with the heroines!
“Kyaaaaaaaaaah!”
“Chaewon!? What’s wrong!? You’re not hurt anywhere, right!?”
“! N-No, Mom! I’m sorry. It’s nothing, so don’t worry!”
“……Really?”
“Yes! Of course!”
“……Alright then.”
After hearing my scream of joy, Mom opened the door and came into my room. Even as she left, she still wore a suspicious expression.
“That was dangerous.”
No matter how happy I was, I really needed to stop screaming so loudly.
Mom was already worried enough because I got hit by a baseball.
No, seriously, what kind of luck was that? Of all places, it hit me exactly there.
Though thanks to that, I recovered my memories of my previous life, so maybe it wasn’t entirely bad luck.
First, let’s organize my thoughts.
For starters, the world I reincarnated into was almost certainly 【Yuri Garden】, the game I once played in my previous life.
Sure, maybe it could’ve simply shared the same name by coincidence, but looking at my reflection in the mirror confirmed it.
Comparing my appearance, body measurements, weight, background details from the fanbook, and even the protagonist’s childhood CGs from the game, there was no doubt.
I was definitely the protagonist.
‘No discomfort with my body.’
Well, I had always lived in this body, so that was natural.
Still, I’d worried that recovering memories from my previous life might create some sense of discomfort with my body.
Thankfully, there was no such issue.
Then again, this wasn’t possession or anything, so what problems could there be? Maybe the reason I felt no discomfort was because just like my previous life, I was still flat ches—
‘No, don’t think beyond that.’
Absolutely do not think any further.
That path only leads to pain.
For now, I needed to focus on more immediate concerns.
“Since I’m currently in my third year of middle school, the main story starts in less than half a year.”
Summer vacation had already passed, so there wasn’t much time left.
In that case, what I needed to do now was review everything carefully.
I absolutely needed to revisit the story of the main game and organize what I needed to do, what I needed to be careful about, and what future events I’d face.
“First, there are the five main heroines.”
The first capture target was Lee Hayoon, the cheerful and refreshing heroine who first opened up to the protagonist after entering high school and showered players with adorable charm.
The second heroine was the athletic heroine Jeong Misook, overflowing with healthiness and incredible athletic talent.
The third heroine was Kang Yena, possessing both clumsy little-sister energy and an irresistible need to protect her.
The fourth was Vice President Park Eunseo, affectionately treated by the fandom as an adorable puppy.
The fifth was Yu Arin, the student council president and queen-like figure known as the school’s charisma.
Each of the five heroines had distinct personalities and unique charms that delighted both the eyes and ears.
Most importantly, the game had spicy scenes too, which definitely deserved bonus points!
Of course, nothing explicit was shown because of ratings restrictions, but even taking that into account, it was still an incredible masterpiece.
And then—
The heroine whose popularity surpassed even those five heroines combined.
The hidden heroine officially acknowledged by the writers as having the highest difficulty in the game.
The cool beauty heroine who practically represented the game’s true ending route, possessing an oddly eccentric charm—
In Yuna!
“I’m the protagonist…… which means with the heroines…… heheh.”
Ah, no~ My expression’s melting apart.
Even though I knew I shouldn’t, I couldn’t stop the pink fantasies flooding my mind.
Ah, what should I do?
To think I became the protagonist of a yuri game.
And not the one being conquered, but the one doing the conquering!
“My heart’s pounding……!”
I hadn’t even entered high school yet, but I was already looking forward to a school life overflowing with blooming yuri flowers.
“! This isn’t the time to melt into fantasies, Na Chaewon! You can’t already be drowning in dreams. If this really is the world of 【Yuri Garden】, then that bastard exists too.”
The excitement filling my chest instantly cooled, my skin turning cold as if ice water had been poured over me.
If I truly was the protagonist of 【Yuri Garden】, then naturally that trash also existed in this world.
The protagonist’s greatest obstacle.
The worst villain in the story.
The bastard officially hated by countless players.
The dark-skinned bastard who caused over a hundred bad endings and tainted the purity of yuri itself.
I burned with righteous fury toward the villain I hadn’t yet met.
A justice born from anger. An unbreakable resolve that would never forgive evil!
“Prepare yourself, Geum Taeyang! I’ll definitely stop you!!!”
There was no way I’d let our precious heroines fall into your hands!
I’d absolutely defeat you and reach the happy ending where everyone becomes happy!
And for that, I needed to start training now!
Geum Taeyang might be trash, but frustratingly enough, his stats were completely maxed out like some final boss.
Even Na Chaewon, who became the perfect overachiever through the best route in the game, could never defeat Geum Taeyang head-on.
She only managed to overcome him thanks to bonds with the heroines, friendships, and Geum Taeyang’s own carelessness.
Not once did she ever truly beat him directly.
‘But it’s okay! I still have time!’
Recovering my memories before the main story began was an incredible stroke of luck.
Now I had time to grow stronger.
These days, it’s common sense that if a late-blooming protagonist realizes their fate before the main story begins and focuses entirely on self-improvement, they’ll level up enough to crush the final boss!
Surely regaining my previous memories was a divine revelation telling me to save the pitiful heroines from Geum Taeyang’s clutches!
——That’s what I thought.
“What the hell is this!?”
Everything’s already completely derailed from the very beginning!
I never heard about developments like this!
Why did Geum Taeyang become such a refreshing handsome guy!?
Why isn’t his skin dark anymore!?
Did Geum Taeyang become White Taeyang instead!?
“How did he become close with In Yuna so quickly……!?”
In Yuna, the heroine famous for having the highest capture difficulty in the game, the one people joked was impossible to romance at all—
And he was eating lunch with her!?
This is a nightmare! It’s definitely a nightmare!
“And yesterday too…….”
Yesterday’s staircase scene should’ve been the first encounter event between the protagonist and In Yuna.
Na Chaewon—that is, me—was supposed to slip down the stairs and nearly get seriously injured, only for In Yuna to support me, leaving behind her mysterious impression as her first appearance.
“So why did Geum Taeyang appear there!?”
Originally, the one who caught me—caught me!—was supposed to be a cool and mysterious beautiful girl!
Why was some guy catching me like a prince!?
My heart skipped a beat⎯ no, no it didn’t! Absolutely not!
“Get out of my head, evil spirit!”
The thought that Geum Taeyang’s evil influence was reaching even me sent chills down my spine.
“What the hell is going on…… How did Geum Taeyang turn into some refreshing prince-type guy!?”
The original Geum Taeyang had a solid physique and was definitely handsome—which was why he had such a large fanbase—but he was also dangerously narcissistic, treating women like trophies to prove his strength or tools to satisfy his desires.
Ironically, those dangerous qualities were exactly what attracted some fans to him.
There were even insane people claiming getting conquered by Geum Taeyang was the true ending.
‘It was kind of hot though.’
No, stop getting distracted by useless thoughts.
Right now, Geum Taeyang’s changes were the highest priority.
“And not just yesterday. This morning too…….”
This morning, I was supposed to wake up early, go jogging, and experience the event where I’d accidentally meet the athletic heroine Jeong Misook and raise her affection.
But instead, I witnessed something unbelievable.
Geum Taeyang and Jeong Misook running side by side while chatting happily……
That scene didn’t exist in the game!
Why did things turn out like that!?
Their relationship was supposed to be the absolute worst!
To Jeong Misook, Geum Taeyang was supposed to be the root of all evil who forced her to give up volleyball—the very thing that defined her life.
He was supposed to be the villain who trampled her dreams beneath his feet. An object of terror and unforgivable hatred.
Yet the two I saw this morning gave off the atmosphere of a close older brother and younger sister.
And Jeong Misook seemed to trust Geum Taeyang deeply.
And then at lunch, he even spent such a warm moment with In Yuna, the hardest heroine to capture……!
“Why did things turn out like this!? The story’s completely ruined……!”
This isn’t the 【Yuri Garden】 I knew!