Chapter 6
When I got back home alone, there was some stranger sitting on the sofa watching TV. Was I surprised? Hell yeah. But was it a total curveball I hadn't even considered? Nah, not really.
Me—well, Joo Hyowon now—I'd just turned twenty and enrolled at Big Team Academy. No job, no parents. For a kid like that to have her own place meant there had to be a sponsor pulling strings. …The issue was whether this person was really that sponsor.
It'd be great if my knowledge from the original story kicked in here, but nothing clicked. The game was strictly first-person from the protagonist's view, so anything she didn't know or care about left massive holes in the worldbuilding.
Without knowing the relationship between her and this stranger, it was tricky to react. So, what would original Hyowon do in a pinch? I replayed footage from my playthroughs in my head and picked the safest option.
"What the hell are you doing in my house?"
Play it rude for now. Big Team Academy justified the protagonist's asshole behavior somehow, and all the capture targets had shitty social skills anyway. Hyowon was no exception—she was a total brat until you seriously romanced her.
And this choice felt pretty close to canon.
"Your house? Who's the one paying your rent?" She said it like a parent busted sneaking into their kid's room, all defensive.
That one line gave me a rough sense of their dynamic. I peeked over the sofa. Her face was androgynous—could've been a handsome woman or a pretty guy. Water-drop bob haircut. Voice hovered perfectly between masculine and feminine. She looked about five or six years older than Hyowon. And even from afar, her height was imposing when she stood up.
Then she turned to face me fully.
Oh, definitely a woman.
Like spotting a long-haired guy in a public bath and clocking his junk—it was that obvious. Guess the masculine vibe was just her face.
"How was it?"
"…What?"
No hostility from her, but I stayed guarded. Who knew how an offhand comment might backfire?
"What do you mean, what? The academy, obviously. First day of school and all. You went properly, right? Didn't skip?"
"……."
"You never even went to high school, so hanging with kids your age must feel fresh after forever. Fun, right?"
"……."
How to play this? I mulled over my words. She took my silence as quiet rebellion, flashing a wry, disappointed smile.
"No loyalty to answer even that? Still resenting me for forcing you into the academy?"
Forcing her in? Uncharted territory, but the game hinted at it. Hyowon distrusted and hated pro heroes, so there had to be backstory for why she'd join anyway.
And this woman was the one who'd shoved her in, kicking and screaming.
…Maybe ease up a tad? Didn't know her true motives, but there was clearly a bond here too big to ignore. Staying prickly might backfire.
I twirled a strand of hair around my finger and shrugged. "Eh, it was okay. Pretty boring, nothing special."
"The academy? Heh, not many could say that after scouting the whole country."
She laughed like my answer amused her, then softened with relief. "Still, glad to hear it. I figured you'd bite my head off. You sure threw a fit when I made you apply—swore you'd never set foot in some useless old-school institution."
Yeah, sounds like her. Academy wasn't spotless, but calling it incompetent and rotten was overkill. Total high-schooler tantrum: "I don't need college to thrive!" Fitting, since she skipped high school altogether.
"So~ one more question. How's it feel hanging with people your age? Not bad, huh? Way better than getting used by creepy old uncles and aunties. Right?"
"…Maybe."
Vague affirmative. Best move with intel this thin.
Her voice flowed like gentle waves. "You're an adult now. But right now, you're just grown-up in body. To truly mature, you've got too many missing pieces. Hope you find them at the academy. Things you couldn't with us around."
Sounded like sincere advice from an older sister to her kid sibling.
This woman's alright. Too soon to judge? Maybe, but my gut said so.
Being dropped into this game world alone, no one to lean on—her warmth hit hard, even if it wasn't really for me. My walls softened.
As if sensing the debate raging in my head, her kind face twisted into a sly grin. "And one of those pieces is romance. See any cute boys?"
"What? No."
Instant buzzkill. This body might be a girl's now, but my mind was manlier than most. No way I'd catch feelings for hormonal teens a decade younger. Hormones changed 'cause of the body? Bullshit excuses from weaklings. It's all mental fortitude.
"Whoa, no need to get defensive! Dating guys at your age is totally normal. Hell, encouraged. …Or wait, do you need a girlfriend?"
"Neither. I don't need that crap. Don't ask weird shit."
"What's there to be shy about? Romance enriches life. If a good guy—or girl—comes along, go for it. Might heal those scars of yours?"
Her foxlike smirk grew sleazier. "Hell, you could even get laid. You're a full adult now, not a kid."
Disaster waiting to happen. Did she know what kind of body this was? One fuck and I'd go full simp, gutting myself for some dude? No way this pussy was that pathetic.
Pushing sex on her would be aiding dignity suicide.
"Never! Not ever! No matter what! Got it!?"
"…Hmm. No need to snap like that. Chastity training too hardcore? Eh, whatever. Better than falling for some loser chump."
She muttered to herself, then strode right up. Up close, she towered. My current body was tall for a girl, but she had a full head on me. The size gap pressed in oppressively.
Then she wrapped those long arms around me in a tight hug.
"Ugh…."
Her soft curves molded against me. Plump breasts squished vividly into mine. A guy might've popped a boner. Not possible now, but….
"Thanks. No matter what I said, if you'd refused flat-out, no academy for you. You griped, but deep down you got it."
"……."
"No reason for a bright young thing like you to rot in the shady underworld forever. Graduate fair and square, become a hero fair and square, avenge your parents fair and square. Got it?"
"……."
I had no clue how to respond. Those words were for the original Hyowon, not me. She couldn't imagine the real soul had evaporated, replaced by some alien ghost from another world.
I'd done nothing wrong, but guilt still crept up. And I let it—why fight real feelings sprouting in this chest?
"Don't worry. I'll handle it just fine."
Best I could do: channel Hyowon, string together what she'd say.
"Heh, yeah. You always do. Not my place to meddle."
She ruffled my hair roughly, then headed for the door. Pausing at the threshold, she glanced back.
"Become a great hero and avenge your parents, Hyowon-ah. See ya."
Like we'd never meet again.
I stared at the closed door and muttered, "Should've asked her name."
I'd learn it a few days later.