Chapter 3
Chapter 3
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Moon Soo-rin (2)
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I entered the cafe where Moon Soo-rin was.
Falling Moon Cafe.
"Welcome!"
The interior featured several tables and stairs leading up to the second floor.
It had a cute, cozy vibe that women would probably love.
The menu board listed a bunch of drinks I'd never seen before.
Green Shiraz Tea, Low-Fat Hell Strawberry Milk, Ralph Lauren Latte...
As I scanned the menu, one item caught my eye.
[Clair Rose Latte]
'I've heard of this somewhere before...'
I remembered.
It was Moon Soo-rin's absolute favorite drink. Even more polarizing than mint chocolate back in my original world.
"One Clair Rose Latte, please."
"Sure thing!"
After ordering, I took a seat a short distance from Moon Soo-rin's table.
Not too close to arouse suspicion, but near enough not to seem odd.
Thankfully, she was glaring at her laptop like it had personally offended her, showing no signs of leaving anytime soon. All I had to do was wait for a natural opening to chat.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Would you like to open the Heroine Status Window?] "Gah!"
The sudden system alert nearly made me spit out my latte.
What the hell? Heroine Status Window? First time hearing about this.
It seemed tied to Moon Soo-rin, the heroine, so I decided to check it out.
Thinking 'Open Heroine Status Window' in my head brought up a window right in front of me.
💖 HEROINE STATUS 💖 ★ Heroine Status Window [Moon Soo-rin] Favorability: 20 Lust: 15 Appetite: 30 Fatigue: 70 Current Status: Ah, I don't want to work. This must be the heroine strategy system. The original game didn't have anything like it.
About thirty minutes of pretending to scroll my phone while keeping an eye on her, I picked up my half-empty glass and headed to the counter.
My path to the counter took me right past Moon Soo-rin's table.
I walked up as casually as possible, then deliberately tripped, spilling my drink all over her!
I let out a loud yell as I stumbled to announce my presence.
"Whoa—!"
Thankfully, Moon Soo-rin heard my scream and reacted instantly. Seeing the Clair Rose Latte flying toward her from my stumble, she conjured a mana barrier to block it.
As expected of the Chairman's Granddaughter!
I'd been ready to drop to my knees if the coffee stained her clothes, but talent never let me down!
"I'm so sorry! Really, I'm sorry! Are you hurt?"
"Haa... Yeah, I'm f..."
She sighed in annoyance, her focus shattered, then finally looked up at my face properly—and her words caught in her throat.
Of course. I'm the protagonist, and you're the heroine.
Even I, as a guy, had to admit my face was stunningly handsome.
Her ears turned red; she realized she'd frozen up at the sight of me.
I'd worried the game might differ, but luckily, I hit her type spot-on.
"What do I do? Is your clothes okay? I'll compensate you."
"No, it's fine. I blocked it."
"Hold on. Let me grab a rag to clean the floor."
"Stay right there."
Mana flowed from her fingertips.
The spilled drink on the floor floated up, compressed into a small orb, and evaporated.
"Wow, thank you."
"But... you're a new student at the Academy, right?"
"Huh? Yeah. How'd you know?"
"I have all the cadets' faces memorized. Unfamiliar ones must be freshmen."
Memorizing every face—truly the Student Council President.
"Oh, you're a senior then. Please take care of me if we run into each other at the Academy."
"...Yeah, sure. Since we've crossed paths like this, we can at least say hi next time. I'm Moon Soo-rin."
She wasn't mentioning being Student Council President or the Chairman's Granddaughter.
People in power often enjoyed these little thrills.
She'd probably get a kick out of my reaction when I 'found out' later.
Since she'd expect shock from me, I'd have to practice my surprised face starting today.
"I'm Lee Ho-yeon. Well, I'll get going! See you around!"
With that, I quickly slipped away.
Sub quest cleared, and I'd made my existence known—that was the goal.
Because in the original game, Moon Soo-rin was the easiest heroine to strategize.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ It was so frustrating and irritating.
Grandpa dumped work on his granddaughter and went off to play. Dad was too busy running the guild to even glance at the Academy.
In the end, I had to handle almost everything.
Times like this, I resented having the talent to get things done.
I'd learned to work from a young age to help Grandpa and Dad. At first, the adults thanked me and apologized, but once they realized I could handle it all alone, the burden piled up more and more.
Now I could barely tell if I was human or a work machine.
On top of that, my perfectionist nature made me anxious if things weren't done flawlessly—I couldn't half-ass anything.
But my stress had finally hit its limit.
Part of me wanted to drop everything and run, but I knew better than anyone that wasn't an option.
Still, if I kept going like this, I might lose my mind. I stood from the office desk and headed outside.
And made my way to my usual cafe.
The place I always came to vent stress.
Partly hoping the wide-open windows would ease my tension, but mostly for the drinks they sold only here.
"One Clair Rose Latte, please."
Through the cafe window, I saw people laughing and enjoying themselves outside. They looked about my age—why was I stuck here?
"Haa..."
The familiar headache hit. Lately, just sitting in front of my laptop triggered it.
Maybe my brain was rebelling because it knew work awaited.
I endured the pain, frowning at the endless tasks, when suddenly a weird scream erupted right in front of my table.
"Whoa—!"
A coffee cup and liquid came flying at me.
Thankfully, the quick scream let me block it with a mana barrier before it soaked me.
If I'd gotten wet, I wouldn't have let the culprit off easy—good thing I reacted.
"I'm so sorry! Really sorry! Are you hurt?"
"Haa... Yeah, I'm f..."
I looked up to chew out whoever broke my focus—and my breath hitched.
His voice was like honey, smooth and sweet, but... damn, he was gorgeous.
Had I ever been stunned by someone's face alone?
I'd met plenty of handsome people in my life, but this guy was on another level.
If gods existed, maybe they'd spent a tenth of the time creating the world on sculpting this man—a perfect work of art.
'Gasp!'
Staring blatantly at him like that—what a rude thing for me to do.
"What do I do? Is your clothes okay? I'll compensate you."
Luckily, he seemed flustered too and didn't notice.
"No, it's fine. I blocked it."
"Hold on. Let me grab a rag."
"Stay right there."
I compressed the spilled drink on the floor and vaporized it with high heat.
"Wow, thank you."
"But... you're a new student at the Academy, right?"
"Huh? Yeah. How'd you know?"
"I have all the cadets' faces memorized. Unfamiliar ones must be freshmen."
Normally I'd end the chat there, but I wanted to talk to him more.
As a new student, he had to know me—or at least, I was curious about his reaction.
"Oh, you're a senior then. Please take care of me if we run into each other at the Academy."
"...Yeah, sure. Since we've crossed paths like this, we can at least say hi next time. I'm Moon Soo-rin."
"I'm Lee Ho-yeon. Well, I'll get going! See you around, senior!"
He said that and dashed off somewhere in a hurry.
A freshman who doesn't know the Student Council President?
"Does that even make sense...?"
An inexplicable pang of disappointment hit me.
I thought I was pretty famous outside the Academy too—magazine model gigs, interviews. Maybe I needed more influencer work?
'Wait, what am I even thinking?'
I had piles of unfinished work, and here I was daydreaming about influencing?
Guess I'd overworked myself into a daze. Back to it.
The spilled drink on the floor. Definitely Clair Rose Latte.
'Does he like Clair Rose Latte too...?'
No. Can't focus!
I couldn't concentrate on work. Why did Lee Ho-yeon's face keep flashing in my mind?
We'd just met today—no prior connection—and yet thinking of him made my cheeks burn.
Thump-thump.
My heart raced.
Had overwork fried my brain from stress? I had no idea what was wrong with me.
"Huh?"
The headache that always came when I sat at my laptop... was gone.
The famous doctors could only say stress headaches were treated by 'eliminating the stress or finding relief'—and now it vanished just like that.
'Lee Ho-yeon, he said.'
I pulled out my phone from my pocket and dialed someone.
"Yes, Secretary Kim. Could you look into one of the new students for me? Yes. Name's Lee Ho-yeon, and..."
Click.
Why did I just order a background check on a guy I just met?
"Just curious why my headache's gone, that's all."
Moon Soo-rin's cheeks flushed faintly as she turned back to her laptop.