Organizing My Thoughts
I pushed the sweet moments we shared to the back of my mind. Back home, I sat alone, wrestling with a flood of thoughts that made my head throb.
Perhaps it sounded too philosophical.
But the moment I added a few words in front, the meaning shifted into something strangely different.
The phrase took on an entirely different weight.
I scratched my head and drew a large circle around the sentence.
First of all, there was no doubt that the world I had fallen into was an erotic game. The proof was the existence of the Future Talent Academy, a facility that could never exist in ordinary reality. And inside it, I had met Jo A-yeong, the heroine I remembered from the game.
My thoughts branched out like limbs, connecting to smaller circles.
The A-yeong I met was, just as I expected, being bullied outside the auditorium. In the original story, she would have received no help there, returned to the classroom in torn clothes, and become nothing more than eye candy for the male students. That had been her fate.
But my intervention changed that destiny.
I recalled the information from the game and seduced A-yeong first—someone who couldn’t easily refuse favors or requests—making her my girlfriend. By gaining me as her boyfriend, she was now living a slightly better life than the tragic future that had awaited her.
The evidence was clear: in the original plot, she would have already been swept up in multiple tragic events by now. Yet here she was, living her school life completely fine.
Of course, in exchange, I had been the one tormenting her a little…
Well, wasn’t that still better than being tormented by strangers?
With that thought, I extended branches from the small circle labeled Jo A-yeong.
From now on, A-yeong would be my girlfriend for life. I had no intention of letting anyone steal her away. If I stopped drawing here, the mind map would already be complete.
There was a time when I was completely obsessed with her, thinking only about how to deepen our relationship.
But that changed the moment another female student appeared.
A classic cat-like beauty who, for some reason, seemed to dislike me just a little. I poked her name repeatedly with my ballpoint pen and pondered.
What should I do about this slightly prickly yet undeniably cute girl?
If I didn’t possess future knowledge, I probably wouldn’t have paid her this much attention. Of course, when it came to looks and figure, Lee Ha-rin was certainly attractive enough. But…
When compared to A-yeong…
In my personal opinion, A-yeong—who could make my head spin with just a glance—was far superior to Ha-rin’s slender frame.
So if I knew nothing, there would be no reason to show interest when I already had a girlfriend who was more than I deserved. The problem was that she was also one of the heroines in this erotic game I had fallen into.
Therefore, in a game whose main genre was heroine corruption and abuse, her fate would be…
I didn’t even need to explain it. Everyone could guess.
She would face countless hardships and ordeals, and at the end, a bad ending awaited. Every conclusion I remembered was the kind that couldn’t be spoken of in an all-ages version.
So the question arose: was it really okay to leave Lee Ha-rin, A-yeong’s friend, to such a fate?
I drew another branch with the ballpoint pen in my hand and wrote beside her name.
Writing it like that made me feel oddly uncomfortable, as if I were cursing her. But what could I do? That was reality.
Just this afternoon, she had been an ordinary student I spent time with. Yet in the blink of an eye, she would reach such a horrific conclusion. Even though she had been a bit curt with me, it felt too heartbreaking to simply abandon her for that reason alone.
Besides, the fact that she was close friends with A-yeong also weighed on my mind.
Looking at it positively, maybe that prickly personality of hers applied not only to me but to other men who approached her as well. If so, she was definitely a heroine worth helping.
With that, I decided to assess the situation later and set the matter aside for now.
Next thing to consider:
Excluding Lee Ha-rin, if this world really was the erotic game I thought it was, I would inevitably encounter more heroines in the future. The question was how I should act each time.
A simple solution would be to think, They’re complete strangers anyway, so I can just leave them be. But when I actually faced those characters in reality, my conscience wouldn’t allow me to ignore them so easily.
I thought about it for a while. Lee Ha-rin was A-yeong’s close friend, so that was one thing. But what about the remaining heroines?
Hmm…
This wasn’t an easy decision to make either.
I postponed the issue, promising to deal with it later.
…The future me can handle these difficult problems.
It was an incredibly irresponsible solution, but simply tossing it aside made me feel much lighter.
Now I moved on to the final issue and prepared to wrap up the mind map.
…Clubs.
It was about the Trouble Counseling Department that A-yeong and I had applied to join together today.
We will solve any worry by any means necessary.
On the surface, it looked like an ordinary club. But inside, its activities carried a slightly more dangerous meaning.
As the phrase “We will solve any worry by any means necessary” suggested, this club would use any method available to resolve whatever troubles students brought to them within the academy.
That was why, even in the game, it was a hidden route that could only be accessed in the second playthrough. There was also a condition that you had to build a certain level of relationship with the heroine A-yeong from the very beginning in order to join.
Originally, it was a club I shouldn’t have been able to enter.
But luckily, I was currently A-yeong’s boyfriend.
I figured I would at least pass the club interview.
…Though it would be unfortunate if I didn’t.
Because the entry conditions were so strict, once you managed to get in, the club possessed the power to shift the game’s genre from heroine corruption and abuse to heroine salvation.
My goal was to borrow that power to protect A-yeong more safely. But if I thought about the events that would unfold in the future, it seemed this club might also give me opportunities to help others.
I drew a small circle beside the club entry and wrote:
I finished the mind map by adding that rather childish phrase.
“…This is exhausting.”
It didn’t feel like I had solved anything major, yet simply listing the problems made my scalp tingle.
“…Tingle, tingle.”
Feeling like a complete idiot, I tossed the notebook onto the desk and flopped onto my bed.
…I wondered if A-yeong knew how hard I was working for all this.
The moment that thought crossed my mind, I suddenly wanted to hear her voice. Listening to her kind and gentle voice would probably make me feel a little better.
I carefully picked up my phone and sent A-yeong a text.
The number one text sent by a lingering ex-boyfriend.
But since I wasn’t an ex—I was her current boyfriend—the reply came back almost immediately.
[That’s…]
How should I explain this…
I couldn’t exactly say, I realized this world is actually inside an erotic game and I’m working to save everyone.
[Can I call you for a bit?]
I just begged outright. I knew the usual A-yeong wouldn’t refuse a request like this.
But contrary to my expectations, A-yeong seemed to be hesitating. She didn’t reply right away.
I waited anxiously for her message, and when it finally arrived, I couldn’t help but smile.
Obviously, seeing her face was much better than just hearing her voice.
I quickly typed a reply.
And just like that, a late-night stroll event was decided.