The Entrance Ceremony
Let me make a bold declaration: in a yuri story, no one but beautiful girls should ever appear.
Not that I'm some hardcore yuri fanatic — I enjoy perfectly normal stuff just fine. But if we're talking yuri specifically, that's where I stand.
What is yuri, after all? Isn't it the sight of lovely girls so radiant you can't help but smile, chattering and giggling as they drift into something more than friendship and less than romance?
And no matter how little a male character might affect the relationship between two girls, the moment one shows up, something essential drains out of it. If he wasn't going to matter anyway, why not just make him an extra pretty girl? There's no reason he needs to be a guy.
Anyway — why am I suddenly going on about this? Simple.
I went from being an outsider watching yuri from the sidelines to becoming a beautiful girl who could enjoy it firsthand.
To put it more precisely: I got possessed into the game I was playing.
Astra of the Blue Sky — a dating sim. Calling it a masterpiece would be a stretch, but calling it merely average wouldn't do justice to its modest popularity. Honestly, by my standards, it just wasn't that fun. The story was generic, the characters were all so-so. Still, the fact that no one called it a flop or a disaster tells you it got decent reviews from people who played it. It simply wasn't my taste.
At any rate, being a dating sim, it featured five heroines besides the protagonist — though who they were hardly mattered. Because I had no intention of going to First Academy, the game's main setting.
Think about it. What is a dating sim? It's a game where a male protagonist flirts and falls in love with a cast of beautiful girls. Even if I had zero interest in getting involved with him, enrolling at the same academy would practically guarantee that some mysterious narrative force would drag me into his orbit. As our run-ins multiplied and our conversations piled up, I might find myself falling for him without realizing it — drawing hearts in my eyes and fawning over him just like the other heroines.
I really, truly did not want that. I was originally a guy, for crying out loud!
Of course, the classic move in these situations is to make a declaration like that and then get thoroughly crushed by that same narrative force, ending up as just another lovesick girl with hearts spinning around the protagonist. But I swear I had no intention of going down that road.
Because I wasn't going to enroll there at all. And even if I didn't enroll, hanging around the academy's vicinity might still get me snared by some "chance encounter" like a magnet pulling iron — but I had a solution for that, too.
"Ha-eun! Are you still getting ready?"
"Ah, yes! I'll be right down!"
Answering my mother's call from downstairs, I set my hands back to work. Essentials stacked neatly into the open suitcase in front of me — basic cosmetics, underwear, and spare uniforms. My hands paused when I reached those.
A yellow ribbon marking a first-year, and a pure white uniform. Unlike First Academy's buttoned formal wear, this one carried an air of purity and nobility. I smiled with quiet satisfaction.
I was not going to First Academy. Instead, I would enroll at Private Acacia Academy — a place that existed only in the setting materials, mentioned in a single throwaway line. A pure white garden where every last person, from the lowest staff member to the teachers and the headmistress herself, was a woman.
Of course, enrolling at Private Acacia Academy wasn't all roses.
It was what people called a finishing school for young ladies — a place that prized rules and etiquette, where conduct and speech were strictly managed. Smile wide enough to show your teeth and you'd earn demerits at minimum; in worse cases, corporal punishment. But that severity was exactly what I liked about it. Put another way: it meant the place was full of young ladies who lived by those standards without a second thought.
For someone who'd always loved yuri, it was a familiar and thrilling prospect. Everything I'd only ever watched from the outside, I could now experience for myself.
Getting in hadn't been effortless, though. True to its reputation as a school for young ladies, admission demanded rather high scores. I, who had never been particularly bright, practically burned through half my lifespan studying for the entrance exam. The effort paid off — I scraped through by the skin of my teeth.
Four years ahead of me. Coming home would mean only the holidays, and even then just about a week. For all practical purposes, the academy dormitory would be my new home.
I gave my uniform one last tidy, then hugged the suitcase to my chest and grunted my way down the stairs. Being short meant I couldn't see the steps below unless I held the suitcase against me. If only I were even a little over 160 centimeters!
Sighing at the thought, I stepped out the front door to find my mother already waiting in the driver's seat, smiling.
"Young lady, are we all ready now?"
"Please don't tease me."
I pouted and grumbled. After loading the suitcase into the trunk and settling into the passenger seat, Mother laughed softly.
"But it's amazing, isn't it? Who would have thought our Ha-eun would get into Private Acacia Academy…"
She was clearly remembering my wilder past. The original Yu Ha-eun had been a brash, spirited child — the kind who appointed herself boss of the neighborhood alley. By the time I possessed this body, I'd already set my sights on Private Acacia Academy and thrown myself into studying, so that side of her had mellowed somewhat. Still, to Mother, the old Ha-eun seemed as vivid as yesterday.
I turned my face away and said, a little stubbornly,
"I'm a girl too, you know."
"Well, you got into that school, so of course you are. Still… you're really becoming a 'young lady,' aren't you?"
Young lady. It meant a young woman, yes — but it was also the title for students of Private Acacia Academy. And those "young ladies" were typically the children of the wealthy or relatives of high-ranking officials. Getting in through the ordinary entrance exam was no small feat.
I had done it, though.
Mother's car left the city that housed First Academy and drove on for a long while. Private Acacia Academy sat on a vast plain far from any city — an entire district designated the Private Acacia Special Zone. A place made solely for "young ladies."
Forest paths thick with green foliage, parks, shopping streets, even modest entertainment facilities… it was practically a city unto itself. Realistically, no such place should exist — but this was the world inside a dating sim. Other academies were less extravagant, but they were built along similar lines. Even so, Private Acacia Academy stood in a class of its own.
As I was thinking that, a checkpoint came into view in the distance. We approached slowly, and women in black suits and black sunglasses stepped forward to tap on the window. A garden only women could enter — the image fit perfectly.
"This is a restricted area. Outside visitors are not permitted. If you are a student, please present your student ID."
"Ah, yes."
I calmly drew out my student ID. The card bore the three characters of Yu Ha-eun's name and a photo of me in the pure white uniform. The guard produced a scanner and swept it across the card. What on earth had they done to these IDs?
"Confirmed. Yu Ha-eun of Class 1-D. Congratulations on your enrollment as a new young lady."
"Thank you."
I smiled as I took the card back, and the guard returned the smile. With those oversized sunglasses, only her lower face was visible — and even that was a beautiful smile. Young ladies' academies really were the best.
As I thought that, Mother let out a short breath and murmured,
"…I'd heard the stories, but still. This is quite the academy."
"That's why it has such a prestigious reputation."
Simply graduating from Private Acacia Academy was a major career credential. Most of the student body came from wealthy families or high officials, so the connections alone were invaluable — and a baseline of competence was all but guaranteed.
Of course, whether I'd still be in this world of Astra of the Blue Sky by the time I graduated was another question entirely. In the original game, the ending branched two years after the protagonist enrolled — the choice of final heroine. Once you chose, you shared a heartfelt conversation with her (and if your affection was high enough, a steamy scene followed!), became a couple, and faded to black. Ending. Meaning that two years from enrollment, every story centered on the protagonist would be over.
A bit of investigation had told me I was the same age as the protagonist. And if I was preparing to enroll, so was he. In other words, this world might end in two years at most. Pure speculation — but I believed it.
I didn't feel the slightest regret. Two years was plenty of time to enjoy myself. And unlike a game that jumped weeks ahead with every choice, time here would flow honestly, day by day.
We reached the point where cars could go no farther. I got out, pulled down my suitcase, and turned to Mother.
"Mother, I'll call often."
"Even at the very end, it's still 'Mother'?"
The mild scolding made me smile awkwardly. From the moment of possession, I'd called her Mother rather than Mom, and she had every right to feel a little hurt. But I couldn't call her Mom. That word belonged to the original Yu Ha-eun, not to me.
I mumbled something noncommittal.
"Just wait three years."
"Why three years?"
Because by then, everything might be over, and the real Yu Ha-eun might come back. Instead of saying that, I smiled brightly and said with energy,
"See you over the holidays!"
"Ha-eun?"
Fleeing from Mother's call, I hauled my suitcase toward the academy. How long did I charge forward with my eyes fixed on the ground? Running without looking ahead, I finally collided with someone and went tumbling.
"Kyaa!"
I was falling. The weightless rush of freefall made my eyes squeeze shut on instinct. But instead of planting a passionate kiss on the pavement, I found myself suspended in midair. I cracked my eyes open carefully.
Someone had wrapped an arm firmly around my waist, holding me steady.
"Are you all right?"
"Ah — yes. Thank you."
I didn't know who she was, but the ribbon on her chest was pink. A third-year senior. Crashing into a senior this far above me before I'd even enrolled! The thought made my vision swim — but she spoke first.
"I'm glad you weren't hurt. However… at an academy that demands composure, running without watching where you're going simply won't do, will it?"
"I-I'm so sorry…"
My emotions had been so rattled that the rules hadn't even crossed my mind. I hung my head deeply, and the senior chuckled as she toyed with the yellow ribbon on my chest.
"A yellow ribbon — so you're a first-year enrolling tomorrow. Had you already been a student, I would have given you demerits on the spot. But since you've only just become a young lady, I'll let it pass."
"Thank you…"
I exhaled in relief. The senior set me properly on my feet, even smoothed out my clothes, then spoke again.
"Rather careless young lady — would you introduce yourself to me?"
"Ah — I, I'm Yu Ha-eun of Class 1-D!"
I pinched the edge of my skirt in a small curtsy. The senior returned the greeting with equal grace.
"A pleasure, Miss Ha-eun. I'm Han Seo-hee of Class 3-A, and currently serving as Student Council Vice President."
"V-Vice President?"
So on my very first day, I'd made a fool of myself in front of a senior of considerable standing — the Student Council Vice President, no less?
Despite having just been lectured on proper deportment, my mouth fell open without my meaning to.