Prologue: The Sub-Heroine's Eraser Trap
One day, while frittering away my teens in a darkened room under the excuse of studying for the high school equivalency exam, a mysterious email arrived.
With no childhood friend at risk of being stolen away, I checked it out without a second thought.
Suspicious.
I had my little sister test it first, but no possession trigger or anything weird.
Well, no harm in it then.
I launched the game and immediately checked the heroine list first. In a visual novel, heroines are the alpha and omega. Like a restaurant menu. If there's nothing worth eating on the menu, the whole folder's trash-bound...
"Looks decent."
The characters were solid. Standard rom-com archetypes—clichéd, sure, but that made them comfort food picks.
All except one.
-Click
Name: Seo Seon-ha. Sub-heroine. Former student council president of Ium Middle School.
Age: 16 | Grade: 3rd year | Conquest Difficulty: Nearly Impossible
[Character Description] A woman who always pretends to be perfect, cold as ice. Born into wealth, top grades, elite background—she's always been one of the 'haves,' so she's never learned to care for others. She doesn't treat people as people. Keeps the useful, discards the useless. Her decisions are final. Others' opinions aren't even reference material—
"What the hell... ugh..."
What was this? Some outdated, mealy-mouthed noble lady straight out of a '90s drama? Cringe overload. Even for a sub-heroine, why include this? I'd pass.
And yet, my eyes kept drifting back to Seo Seon-ha's description. Not because of her killer looks.
'Conquest difficulty... nearly impossible?'
If it's impossible, say impossible. What's "nearly"? That tough, huh?
'Heh.'
In visual novels, you just shower them with the right favorability items, and whether it's a kingdom's princess, chaebol heiress, or polymorphed dragon, they all end up blushing eventually. A middle schooler? Pfft, how hard could she be?
"Okay. Let's do this."
Just this one. I'll conquer her.
"Could you move aside? You're in the way."
Three hours later, let's see if she says the same.
Time dragged on mercilessly.
Lived up to the name
For a sub-heroine...
On Valentine's Day, I grabbed some random chocolate from the convenience store.
"I have my own chocolate I eat."
Ended up flying to Ecuador for some $300-a-pop luxury stuff. Just eat whatever, damn it.
Tried the "rescue her from drowning" event by tossing her in a pond.
"You underestimated me, a silver medalist from the national youth swimming championships, with this pond?"
She swam better than me. Fail.
A single minor dialogue slip could tank hours of built-up favorability. Traps everywhere.
"You eat fish-shaped buns head-first? Beast. I hope I never see you again."
(For the record, tail and fins were wrong too. What was the right answer?)
But in the end... time favored the player, not the impregnable heroine.
Layer by layer, her heart's locks peeled away, the core now within reach.
"Heh, nothing can stand against me for long."
-Bang bang bang!
"Oppa! What the hell have you been doing in your room for five years!? Come out already!"
"Mind your own business."
Time flies. Two playthroughs and the world's changed. In-game, not even a year had passed. Rumor had it the release got canceled.
...
Just a bit more and it's the ending. Not the true ending since she's a sub-heroine, so no fancy production values, but it meant something to me.
"Took longer than expected... haa!"
I stretched. Great gameplay—planning a second run. Which heroine next? Lost in such trivial thoughts, I booted up the game and loaded my save as usual.
"Hello, Yeon-woo."
Seon-ha's greeting rang out. Listen to that softened tone.
The hell I went through just to hear that hello...
"...Huh?"
My kernel earbuds dangled from my finger.
...
I hadn't even put them in yet...? How was I hearing this...?
"Hello, Yeon-woo."
Blink. No monitor in front of me—a classroom. I turned toward the faint floral scent.
The upside of visual novels? You can romance cute schoolgirls without ever going to school.
The downside? Getting dumped into that world.
Challenge: True Ending
🎁 Reward: Return Home
"Got it."
A week in, time to accept it. I'd transmigrated into my five-year-old save file.
Good thing it's good.
At least it wasn't a total loss.
Lucky it happened mid-run. If it'd yanked me after maxing her favorability? Straight to sub-heroine ending (fake ending) without a fight. Dodged living happily ever after with her here. Chilling thought. I shouldn't whine about being kidnapped into a visual novel—I should thank my stars for the timing.
Besides, this isn't a thriller, right? Just a rom-com.
Don't overthink it.
So... from now on...
Find the main heroines... max their favorability... and get sent home? Should've researched their likes beforehand—
"Yeon-woo."
Seon-ha from the next desk called out. A week of deliberately avoiding her. Just in case her favorability ticked up.
"Could you pick up my eraser?"
Her pink eraser lay at my feet.
...
Eh, what's the harm? Once won't kill me.
...
[Seo Seon-ha's favorability has increased slightly!]
Now it's a thriller.