Mun Su-rin (2)

I stepped into the cafe where Mun Su-rin was.

Cafe Nakwol.

"Welcome—!"

Several tables filled the interior, along with a staircase climbing to the second floor. The cozy, charming decor had exactly the kind of atmosphere women tended to love.

The menu was packed with drinks I'd never seen before. Green Shiraz Tea, Low-Fat Hell Strawberry Milk, Ralph Lauren Latte...

As I scanned the offerings, one item snagged my attention.

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I've heard of this drink somewhere...

Then it clicked. This was Mun Su-rin's favorite beverage — a drink even more polarizing than the mint chocolate of my original world.

"One Claire Rose Latte, please."

"Coming right up!"

I ordered my drink and took a seat a short distance from Mun Su-rin. Sitting too close would only make her suspicious, so I chose a spot that wouldn't look unnatural.

Judging by the way she was glaring daggers at her laptop, she had no intention of leaving anytime soon. All I needed to do was wait for a natural opening to strike up a conversation.

"Hk—!"

The notification that suddenly bloomed in front of my eyes nearly made me spit out my latte.

What the hell? I'd never heard of a Heroine Status Window.

It had to be related to Mun Su-rin, given that she was a heroine, so I decided to open it. The moment I willed the window to appear, it materialized before my eyes.

So this was the heroine conquest system, then. The original game had never had anything like it.

I spent about thirty minutes pretending to scroll through my phone, watching for my chance. Then I picked up my half-finished drink and started toward the counter.

Getting there from my seat meant walking right past Mun Su-rin's table. I moved as naturally as I could until I was directly in front of her — then deliberately stumbled, sending my drink flying straight at her.

And I made sure to shout as I tripped, so there was no chance she'd miss me.

"Whoaaa—!"

Fortunately, Mun Su-rin heard the scream. The instant she saw me trip and the Claire Rose Latte about to splash all over her, she threw up a mana barrier and stopped the coffee cold.

As expected of the chairman's granddaughter.

I'd been ready to drop to my knees if she failed to react and I actually soaked her — but of course a genius like her didn't let me down.

"I'm so sorry! I'm really sorry! Are you hurt?"

"Haa... No, I'm fi—"

She let out a sigh, clearly irritated that her concentration had been broken. Then she finally looked at my face properly — and her words died in her throat.

Of course they did. I'm the protagonist, and you're a heroine.

Even I, a guy, had to admit my face was shockingly handsome. Her ears had gone red. She'd realized she'd just gone speechless staring at me.

I'd been worried her tastes might be different from the game, but luckily I seemed to be exactly her type.

"What should I do? Is your outfit all right? I'll pay for the damages."

"Ah, no. It's fine. I blocked it."

"Just a moment. I'll grab a rag to wipe the floor."

"Stay still."

Mana poured from Mun Su-rin's fingertips. The spilled drink on the floor lifted into the air, compressed into a tiny sphere, and evaporated.

"Wow. Thank you."

"By the way... you're a new student at the academy, aren't you?"

"Huh? Yeah, I am. How'd you know?"

"I have every cadet's face at the academy memorized. An unfamiliar face means a freshman."

Every face memorized? That was the student council president for you.

"Ah, so you're my upperclassman. If we run into each other at the academy, I hope you'll look after me."

"...Yes, of course. This is fate in its own way. Let's at least say hello if we meet again. I'm Mun Su-rin."

Looks like she had no intention of mentioning that she was the student council president — or the chairman's granddaughter. People in power tended to enjoy these little pleasures. She was probably curious how I'd react once I found out.

She was expecting a surprised face from me, so I figured I should start practicing my shocked expression starting today.

"I'm Lee Ho-yeon. I'll be going now! See you next time!"

With that, I made a quick exit.

I'd cleared the sub-quest, and my original goal had just been to make her aware of my existence.

Because in the original game, Mun Su-rin was the easiest heroine to conquer.

I was so frustrated I could scream.

The man I called grandfather had dumped all his work on his granddaughter and gone off to enjoy himself. He didn't so much as glance at the academy. In the end, nearly everything fell to me.

Every time this happened, I resented the fact that I was even capable of handling it all. I'd learned the work from a young age to help my grandfather and father. At first the adults had thanked me, even apologized. But once ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠they realized I could manage everything on my own, the burden on my shoulders only grew heavier. These days I could barely tell whether I was a human being or a machine built for work.

And because of my personality — the kind that grew anxious unless everything was done perfectly — I couldn't even half-ass it. But the stress had now exceeded its limit. Part of me wanted to throw it all away and run, but I knew better than anyone that I couldn't.

If I kept working like this, though, I might actually lose my mind. I stood up from my office desk and walked outside, then headed for the cafe I always went to — the place I came whenever I needed to blow off steam.

I hoped the wide-open floor-to-ceiling windows would ease the pressure even a little. But there was another reason I came here. They sold a drink you could only get at this shop.

"One Claire Rose Latte, please."

Through the windows, I could see people out having fun, laughing and chatting. They all looked about my age. So why was I stuck in here like this?

"Haa..."

A familiar headache settled in. For a while now, just sitting in front of my laptop had been enough to bring it on. Maybe my brain knew that sitting at the laptop meant I had to work, and this was its way of rejecting it.

I was frowning at the endless pile of tasks that never seemed to shrink no matter how much I processed, when a strange scream erupted right in front of my table.

"Whoaaa—!"

A coffee cup and its contents came flying toward me. Thankfully the scream had come early enough that I could throw up a mana barrier before I got soaked. If my body had actually gotten wet, I wouldn't have let the person responsible off easy. So this was a relief.

"I'm so sorry! I'm really sorry! Are you hurt?"

"Haa... No, I'm fi—"

I lifted my head, ready to give the idiot who'd broken my concentration a piece of my mind — and my breath caught.

It wasn't just the honey-smooth voice. He was... really, incredibly handsome. Had I ever been stunned by someone's face alone? I'd met plenty of good-looking people in my life, but the man in front of me was handsome on a completely different level.

If a god existed, I wouldn't have been surprised to learn that a tenth of the time spent creating the world had gone into making this man. He was a perfect work of art.

Hah.

I'd just committed the rudeness of staring openly at someone's face. What was I doing?

"What should I do? Is your outfit all right? I'll ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pay for the damages."

Fortunately, he seemed too flustered to notice.

"Ah, no. It's fine. I blocked it."

"Just a moment. I'll grab a rag."

"Stay still."

I compressed the spilled drink on the floor and evaporated it with a burst of intense heat.

"Wow. Thank you."

"By the way... you're a new student at the academy, aren't you?"

"Huh? Yeah, I am. How'd you know?"

"I have every cadet's face at the academy memorized. An unfamiliar face means a freshman."

If it had been anyone else, I wouldn't have bothered continuing the conversation. But I wanted to talk with the man in front of me just a little longer. If he was a freshman at the academy, there was no way he wouldn't know who I was. Honestly, I was a little curious about his reaction.

"Ah, so you're my upperclassman. If we run into each other at the academy, I hope you'll look after me."

"...Yes, of course. This is fate in its own way. Let's at least say hello if we meet again. I'm Mun Su-rin."

"I'm Lee Ho-yeon. I'll be going now! See you next time, sunbae!"

He left those words behind and hurried off somewhere.

A freshman who didn't know I was the student council president?

"Does that even make sense...?"

A strange sense of disappointment and hurt settled over me. I'd thought I was fairly well-known even outside the academy — I'd done magazine modeling and plenty of interviews. Should I ramp up my influencer work?

No, wait. What am I even thinking right now?

How much unfinished work was piled up, and I was thinking about influencer activities? I'd probably just zoned out from working too hard. Back to work.

The drink that had spilled on the floor. It was definitely a Claire Rose Latte.

Does he like Claire Rose Latte too...?

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No. I couldn't focus. I couldn't concentrate on my work at all. Why did Lee Ho-yeon's face — the one that had just disappeared — keep floating in front of my eyes?

We'd only met today for the first time. There hadn't been any real interaction between us. So why did my cheeks burn every time I thought about that man?

Thump— thump—

I could feel my heartbeat picking up. Had I gone crazy from too much work and stress? Even I didn't understand why I was acting like this.

"Huh?"

The headache that always came when I sat in front of my laptop... was gone. Even renowned doctors had been able to tell me nothing more than that a stress headache could only be treated by eliminating the stress itself or finding a way to relieve it. And now it had simply vanished.

Lee Ho-yeon. That was his name.

I pulled the phone from my pocket and made a call.

The call ended with a click.

Why had I just ordered a background check on a man I'd met for the first time today?

"Ah, I don't know."

Mun Su-rin's cheeks were faintly flushed as she turned her gaze back to her laptop.