Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: The Protagonist is a Girl? (2)
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Park Ha-yeon had lost her parents in a childhood accident and grew up with her younger sibling under her grandparents' care.
After the accident, she realized a special power had awakened within her.
The hero who saved her during the incident became her idol, and she dreamed of becoming a hero just like him one day.
From the moment she became aware of her ability, she trained relentlessly, day and night, to achieve that goal.
Ability development.
Physical training.
Studies.
Her unceasing efforts raised her overall D-rank rating to C-rank, leaving her peers in the dust.
But Park Ha-yeon wasn't satisfied. She set her sights on the academy in Seoul.
That was the only place where she could truly become a hero.
However, her grandparents weren't well-off enough to support her move to Seoul.
She persuaded them with great difficulty and got permission to go, planning to cover her living expenses with part-time jobs.
That led to her cafe gig.
Today, while working hard as usual, a guy suddenly asked for her number.
Blond hair, sharp features.
Piercings in his ears, too.
To someone like her who valued diligence above all, he gave off a bit of a bad vibe.
Still, he offered to buy her a meal, so she gave him her number without much fuss.
They were the same age, after all.
And she figured no one could harm a C-rank Awakener like her anyway.
Lately, Park Ha-yeon had been strapped for cash.
Her academy application fees and uniform had drained her account dry.
After her shift ended and she stepped out of the cafe, Shin Noda was leaning against the wall.
A handsome guy waiting for her—it stirred something in Park Ha-yeon's heart.
She followed him to a pasta place.
An upscale restaurant.
She was shocked when she saw the menu.
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Cream Pasta 22k
Shrimp Pasta 30k
Tomato Steak Pasta 35k
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'S-Spaghetti for 22,000...!'
She froze, unsure what to order, but Shin Noda just went ahead and picked the steak pasta with sides.
"Mind if I guess something about you, Ha-yeon?"
"Huh? Like what?"
"You're aiming for the academy, right?"
"Gasp! How did you know?"
Park Ha-yeon felt chills run down her spine.
'Is he some kind of stalker...?'
"I have good instincts. I'm an academy hopeful too. We'll probably see each other a lot, so wanna drop the formalities?"
"Yeah— I mean, sure!"
"Where you from? Seoul native?"
"Nope, Gangwon Province... You wouldn't know the details. It's the sticks!"
Shin Noda's eyes went wide.
"Your steak pasta and Italian pizza are up."
The pasta and pizza arrived on the table.
The food they'd ordered.
'Man, it's been forever since I ate out!'
Starving on triangle kimbap and instant ramen every day due to lack of money, Park Ha-yeon could only marvel at the feast before her.
She picked up her chopsticks and dug in.
"Shin Noda, thanks for the meal!"
"Yeah, yeah. Get whatever else you want. I'll order more."
Shin Noda had plenty of cash.
Over the past year, he'd been farming villains' corpses—and if you had any discernment, their wallets too.
He'd even hit the occasional safe.
With a smile tugging at his lips, Shin Noda thought it over.
From Gangwon, working at that cafe.
And an academy hopeful to boot.
This was definitely the girl.
'The protagonist turned into a chick. So what happens to the main storyline now?'
Watching Park Ha-yeon eat heartily filled Shin Noda with mixed feelings.
Shin Noda and Park Ha-yeon finished their meal and parted ways.
Back at her dorm, Park Ha-yeon rolled around in bed and opened her messenger app.
"Eeee! Was that a date?"
Having gone to a rural middle school with only about thirty kids total, she had plenty of guy friends but zero dating experience.
She told her group chat with her friends all about it.
[What? Ha-yeon went on a date?!]
[Went to Seoul for academy and snagged a boyfriend right away~]
[How is he? Hot?]
"Hehe."
In her eyes, Shin Noda was pretty handsome.
Taller than her peers, and pretty built too.
<[Yeah, think he's hot]>
Park Ha-yeon uploaded a pic of Shin Noda she'd sneakily taken while pretending to snap her pasta.
[Whoa, he looks like a celeb?]
[But kinda scary tho ㅠㅠ]
[So hot].[Hook me up!]
She felt a swell of pride.
[So what'd he say? Asked for your number, so obviously wants to date, right?]
Park Ha-yeon recalled their conversation with Shin Noda.
"Huh... He didn't say much. Netflix, MBTI, and... oh yeah, heroes too?"
[You just split? No texts yet?!]
[Guys who like you always hit you up first after!]
Come to think of it, not even a generic "You home safe?" had come through.
Park Ha-yeon tapped on Shin Noda in her messenger and glared at the empty chat.
"Why no message...? Did I not click with him? But he asked for my number..."
That night, too anxious about when Shin Noda might text, Park Ha-yeon tossed and turned sleeplessly.
***
Entrance exam day.
I woke up early in the morning and headed to the auditorium for the Hero Academy entrance exam.
The academy was as big as any university campus.
State-of-the-art buildings sprawled across an enormous plot of land—it was a sight to behold.
Looking around, hardly anyone was there yet.
I'd come a bit early.
Living in an officetel near the academy gave me a head start on the others.
Having arrived ahead of schedule, I pulled out my smokes behind the auditorium where no one was around.
A stress-reliever for the Park Ha-yeon situation and nerves about the exam ahead.
'Fuck. If the protagonist's a girl, what the hell happens to the romance arc in the main story?'
The game had tags like 'growth' and 'romantic comedy,' so the main storyline included love interests.
Some heroines wouldn't join your party unless you romanced them—they'd block progress with pretty boys otherwise.
I lit up and took a deep drag, filling my lungs before exhaling.
My worries seemed to drift away with the smoke.
"Sigh. Whatever."
I grumbled about the hopelessly tangled situation when someone butted in.
"What don't you get?"
"Huh? Who're you?"
The intruder was a petite girl with long silver hair.
Civilian clothes meant she was probably an examinee like me.
"I'm Yang Min-seo. Here today as an exam taker for this academy."
"Shin Noda. Same."
"You didn't answer. What don't you get?"
I figured her for persistent and brushed it off.
"No clue what's on the entrance exam."
Yang Min-seo furrowed her smooth brow, fixing her gaze on my face.
More precisely, the cigarette in my mouth.
"Smoking isn't allowed, you know."
Yang Min-seo.
Granddaughter of a big corp chairman, classic ojousama type.
C-rank, promising, cute.
But as you can see, a pain in the ass.
And above all...
She dies in the next chapter.
'No need to get chummy.'
"Mind your business. You a teacher or something?"
"I suspected, but you really are a delinquent! How'd trash like you pass the paper screening? This is Hero Academy, Korea's top Awakener training ground. Not a place for lowlifes like you."
The paper screening had been iffy.
Studying? I'd crammed enough to scrape by the cutoff—went to a decent uni, after all—but my truancy record nearly tanked it.
I'd barely met the requirements by showing up consistently at the end of senior year.
"Who're you to decide that?"
"Hmph. Best case, you're D-rank. Even if you barely squeak in, you'll flunk out fast. Better find a job unrelated to powers. Hero work's no cakewalk. Especially not for punks like you."
Oh yeah, her skill was 'Eye of Truth' or something.
Reveals target info.
She must see my rank.
"Guess we'll see."
The cig had burned down to a stub.
I tossed it and ground it under my heel.
I turned my back on her mid-lecture.
Get out of awkward spots quick.
"Wait! I'm not done talking!"
Some noisy racket followed.
I ignored it and headed into the auditorium.
Laura sounded exasperated.
[What an insolent wench.]
"First time we agree."
The auditorium buzzed with students.
The entrance exam was about to start.