How to Tame the Cat in an Erotic Game

The memories of playing that old adult game suddenly resurfaced. Back when I first started dating A-yeong, everything had flowed so smoothly that I never had a spare moment to dwell on those recollections.

But the moment I faced Lee Ha-rin, who treated me with that icy demeanor and kept her prickly attitude firmly in place, the faded memories from my past came flooding back in vivid detail. A flood of information rushed into my mind.

First, the status window for Lee Ha-rin.

That was roughly how I remembered it.

…It really was a memory from another life.

I thought I had fully adapted to this world and would never recall those details again. Yet the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠moment I encountered a heroine who felt strangely familiar, the information flashed through my mind like lightning. I was surprisingly excited.

At the same time, a question arose.

If I used those memories to raise her favorability even in this reality, could I normalize my relationship with Lee Ha-rin?

In the original adult game, even if a heroine started off disliking you or outright ignoring you, there were countless cases where performing specific actions or giving gifts she liked would increase her favorability and unlock her route.

So, could those same interactions work in the game-like reality I now lived in?

I decided to test it out on a whim. A perfect opportunity presented itself right away.

“Hey, A-yeong. About that club membership application you submitted—the homeroom teacher wants to see you…”

I wasn’t sure what the issue was, but apparently there was a problem with the form A-yeong had turned in. The homeroom teacher had called for her.

“Ah… Hajun, Ha-rin, I’ll be right back!”

A-yeong quickly promised to handle it fast and dashed off toward the staff room.

I watched her retreating figure and briefly considered following, but… the homeroom teacher was a woman, and it was broad daylight. Those kinds of perverted events didn’t happen often in the middle of the day.

So I stayed in my seat in the classroom and began staring intently at Lee Ha-rin, who sat in the desk right beside mine.

Apparently bothered by my gaze, she spoke to me for the first time.

“…What is it?”

Her tone was still curt, and she used that polite, distant speech to draw a clear line between us.

I didn’t know exactly why she disliked me so much, but her guarded attitude actually made her the perfect test subject.

Keeping my expression casual, I pointed at the bag next to her instead of looking directly at her.

“That turtle doll hanging on your bag.”

Ha-rin’s eyes followed my finger. She frowned slightly and asked,

“…What about the turtle doll?”

Her tone had softened just a little. A positive reaction.

I took it one step further and started talking about the doll in more detail.

“Isn’t that Ggubugi?”

I wanted to prove that I wasn’t just making random conversation—I genuinely knew and cared about it.

“…It is.”

Ha-rin’s eyes widened slightly, as if she hadn’t expected me to know that specific detail.

Riding that momentum, I dug through my hazy memories and began reciting one of the character’s signature lines that she used to love.

“This is the line it says, right?”

Imagining myself as a little green turtle, I recited,

“Helping each other flip over our shells is the duty of every turtle!”

Of course, it was a rather childish line that kids would enjoy.

“…….”

Whether she genuinely loved that line or not, this time Ha-rin couldn’t hide her excited expression. She stared straight at me.

…Did it work?

Just as that thought crossed my mind, she spoke again.

“…You imitate it pretty well.”

She made an obvious effort to compose her face before answering.

It was probably too much to expect a massive favorability boost from a single first conversation. Still, I had seen a glimmer of hope, so I decided to wait for the next opportunity.

“Haa… Guys, I’m back.”

A-yeong had finished fixing the paperwork surprisingly quickly and returned. I greeted her warmly.

“There was a problem with the signature section on the club application…”

I listened to her story, then stood up from my seat.

The next time we crossed paths was after lunch.

“A-yeong.”

When I called her name, A-yeong, who had been picking out snacks at the school store, beamed and walked over to me. Naturally, Lee Ha-rin—who was practically glued to her side—followed along.

“What were you doing?”

Today’s lunch had been disgustingly bad, so I figured she was buying some chips or chocolate to tide her over. I could have guessed without asking, but that wasn’t the point.

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Being in a relationship wasn’t about efficiency.

Even pointless conversations like this—showing interest, asking questions, and receiving a bright, happy answer in return—were part of what made it special.

“…This!”

A-yeong held out a bag of honey potato chips with a sunny smile. I chuckled softly as I looked at them.

“Looks good.”

She laughed with a bright “Hehe—” and asked,

“What are you getting, Hajun?”

Out of habit, I reached toward the drink section for a blue lemon soda, but after a moment’s thought, I moved my hand sideways.

[Strawberry Milk] [2 + 1]

It was literally a two-plus-one deal. I grabbed three cartons.

I ignored A-yeong’s puzzled look at my choice of strawberry milk, set them on the counter, and paid.

“…That’ll be 3,200 won.”

The cashier auntie scanned the barcode and gave me a strange look, clearly wondering why a male student was buying three ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cartons of strawberry milk. But when she noticed A-yeong standing beside me, her expression softened into a warm smile.

As expected, I handed one carton to A-yeong.

“A-yeong, a gift.”

“Uweh… W-what?!”

She clearly hadn’t imagined I would give her one. A-yeong accepted the strawberry milk in surprise.

I smiled at her and explained,

“It’s two-plus-one. It’d feel like a waste to only buy one.”

“Ah…”

A-yeong nodded as if she understood.

“Thank you… I’ll enjoy it.”

Seeing how tightly she hugged the carton to her chest, I felt glad I’d bought it for her.

I held onto the remaining two cartons and offered one to Lee Ha-rin, who was standing beside us.

“There’s one left over. Want it?”

At first, Ha-rin looked ready to refuse the kind gesture outright. But then A-yeong chimed in from the side,

“…Ha-rin, let’s drink them together.”

Plus, it wasn’t a gift prepared solely for her. I had given one to A-yeong first and was only offering the leftover. There was no real reason to turn it down.

“…Thank you.”

So Ha-rin accepted the strawberry milk, and the two of them began walking slowly together.

I watched their retreating figures with satisfaction.

…Just as planned.

“How about eating at the pavilion behind the education center?”

I naturally suggested it as the two of them started heading back toward the classroom. Ha-rin seemed to hesitate for a moment, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but when A-yeong nodded enthusiastically beside her, saying,

“…Yeah, I’d love that!”

Ha-rin reluctantly agreed and followed us.

“Wow…”

A-yeong looked around the garden behind the education center as if it were her first time seeing it, her eyes sparkling with wonder.

“It’s nice…”

Even Ha-rin, standing beside her, relaxed her expression and gazed at the garden with curiosity.

While the two of them were distracted, I slipped behind the pavilion and returned with a calico cat that had been sleeping peacefully.

I crept up behind A-yeong as quietly as possible, then thrust the cat forward with a loud,

“Meow!”

“Ah… huh?”

A-yeong flinched in surprise at first, but when she saw the adorable cat, her face lit up with a bright smile.

“What is this? Where did you get it?”

“It’s a kitten that lives back there. I met it when I was giving it snacks earlier.”

Since A-yeong was a girl, she naturally loved cute animals. She spent a long time stroking the cat and smiling happily. The same went for Ha-rin standing beside her.

“Hwaa…”

The cool, composed image Ha-rin had maintained all day completely melted away. With an expression that had gone utterly soft, she could no longer hold back. She stepped closer to the calico cat and began gently stroking it.

“So cute…”

“Yeah, it’s incredibly cute.”

The two of them spent quite a while enjoying the healing sight of the cat.

Before long, I realized lunch break was almost over. I picked up the now-docile cat and returned it to its original spot.

“We should head back soon. Looks like we’ll have to eat the snacks later.”

It was getting late, and even though the cat was used to people, it was still dirty. I couldn’t eat snacks with hands that had just touched it.

“That was so wonderful…”

Even so, both girls looked more satisfied from petting the cat than they would have been from eating snacks. Especially Ha-rin.

“Later, I… ah.”

She started to say something but quickly shut her mouth and shot me a glare.

What a shame. She had almost completely fallen for it.