Breaking Up with the Heroine of the Female-Oriented Game - Chapter 176

Chapter 176

Afterword: Let’s Date (1)

***

After school had ended at the Academy.

“Let’s date, Jin Soyeon.”

A very handsome male student confidently approached Soyeon and dramatically confessed to her in front of all the onlookers.

“Someone like me isn’t bad, right? Isn’t that true?”

I blinked my eyes and stared blankly at the brazen boy’s face.

The boy’s name was Rex Green.

He had transferred into the second year of Union Academy.

Originally, he would have ended up becoming one of the main characters.

He was supposed to continue the legacy of Lee Siwoon and Kang Daehan as one of the important male leads, not to mention his outstanding potential and impressive family background.

His father was Robert Green, a legendary single-ranker who made his name in Britain.

I heard that he now lived in Seoul with his Korean wife.

Rex had adopted an appearance that leaned more towards his British lineage, giving him an exotic charm, even if his look was a bit too slick for some people.

His always overconfident and self-centered nature, coupled with a slight narcissism, made him stand out. But the girls couldn’t help themselves; they were completely smitten by his good looks, squealing and swooning whenever they saw him.

Should I say he had what people called a “narcissist prince” vibe?

Since he transferred, Rex quickly made his name as one of the top three best-looking boys in the second year, a reputation that became well-known throughout the academy.

“Hehe. What’s your answer?”

Rex asked with a look brimming with confidence, as if he had already assumed that his confession would be accepted.

He no doubt knew that Soyeon had rejected many other boys before, but Rex seemed convinced that he was different.

Given his handsome face and stellar family background, he likely believed he was more than enough to win her over.

After all, countless girls had fallen head over heels for him in the past, thanks to his looks and connections.

His personality had naturally molded around this fact.

“Oh my goodness, look at that!”

“Wow, did Rex just confess? Jin Soyeon’s amazing.”

“So jealous. If only I could be confessed to by a hottie like that…”

The first-year students murmured amongst themselves.

Seeing one of the second-year’s top heartthrobs confidently confess in front of the entire class seemed to have grabbed their attention.

“Wait, they call him one of the second year’s best-looking guys, but doesn’t our senior Jin Hyuk look way better?”

“That’s just bias talking.”

Ha Yua shook her head with a baffled expression at what Lee Cheong had said.

Ah, no, Ha Yua, to be honest… he is better looking.

Are you always going to overestimate me like this? Always? It’s a bit embarrassing when you do that in public.

“Why aren’t you saying anything, Jin Soyeon? Are you just too nervous? Well, I guess you could be. After all, you’re the first girl I’ve ever confessed to directly…”

“Haah.”

Suddenly, Soyeon let out a deep sigh, shaking her head as though the whole situation was troublesome.

After a brief pause, she looked up, letting out a single word.

“Sorry. I’ll pass.”

“W-what?”

Rex’s eyes widened in disbelief at her immediate and clear rejection.

“W-wait, what?”

“What’s with the reaction? Seriously…”

Soyeon seemed almost dumbfounded by how taken aback Rex was.

“Wow… is she really blowing him off? Does she think she’s better than him because of her looks?”

“Even Rex got rejected? Does she hate men or something?”

“Come to think of it, I heard a rumor that she likes Jin Hyuk.”

“Well, whenever she’s around Jin Hyuk, her face softens up. And when I talk to Jin Hyuk, she glares at me like I did something wrong.”

The students whispered amongst themselves as they glanced from Soyeon to Rex.

Rex bit his lower lip slightly, his pride clearly stinging.

Getting rejected in front of an audience this big had to be embarrassing.

“Jin Soyeon, you…”

“And another thing.”

Soyeon interrupted him, raising her head swiftly.

Just moments ago, her expression had been one of mild annoyance, but now she stared at Rex with a rather cynical look.

“Hey.”

“H-huh?”

Startled by the sudden change in her demeanor, Rex blinked.

“Confessing in front of an audience like this? Super inconsiderate, you know that? Now, by tomorrow, there’ll be all kinds of pointless rumors flying around.”

“Th-that’s…”

“And for the record, I already have someone I like. So stop bothering me, okay?”

“……”

It was as if Rex had never been criticized by a girl in his life. He stood frozen, silent, as Soyeon scoffed and turned her attention elsewhere, completely unbothered by the broken-hearted Rex and the curious gazes of other students.

Unfazed by all the students whispering and watching, she walked right over to me.

“Ugh, thanks to him, I’m leaving late. Let’s go, Jinhyuk.”

“Oh? Sure.”

Casually, Soyeon told me it was time to head home and walked out of the classroom with me.

And shortly after, the classroom buzzed with the story of Rex’s confession and Soyeon’s cold rejection.

***

“Phew…”

Back home, I sat on the couch thinking about what had just happened.

‘In the past, she probably would’ve turned him down in a way that made sure things wouldn’t get awkward between them later.’

But today, Soyeon had rejected Rex in such a blunt, almost cynical way, not caring at all about what everyone might think.

‘She really has changed a lot.’

I sank deeper into the comfort of the couch, lost in thought.

‘Even so, Soyeon’s popularity hasn’t faded in the slightest.’

She might not get as many confessions in front of a crowd, but it seems like she gets more than I can imagine behind closed doors.

Word about her beauty has spread all throughout the academy.

Guys can’t help but fall for Soyeon—her beauty is captivating, and all she has to do is sit there, making girls and boys, regardless of grade, blush just from looking at her.

When they unofficially voted for the academy’s top beauty, Soyeon triumphed over other powerful contenders like Yoo Seolhyun, Roxanne, and Ha Yua.

She was undoubtedly recognized as the top beauty of the academy.

‘As time goes on, her popularity will only increase, won’t it?’

On top of her celestial beauty, she also possesses unrivaled potential and skills that surpass even the top single-rankers.

She’s keeping her abilities somewhat hidden for now, not wanting to attract too much attention, but once she graduates and starts her hero career, she’ll eventually reveal her full potential.

By then, her popularity will truly skyrocket.

It will far surpass what it is now.

“Huh? Jinhyuk, what are you doing just sitting around on the couch?”

“Hm.”

I turned my head slightly in response to the voice of Soyeon, who had come out of the kitchen munching on ice cream.

She was wearing a short, spaghetti-strap top and pink hot pants, walking slowly towards where I was.

She plopped down next to me on the couch.

“You’re wearing that… again.”

“Ah—why~? It’s summer~.”

Soyeon playfully dragged out her words and gave her clothes a little shake.

Every time she did, her pale, smooth skin flashed in view.

“If it’s so hot, just turn on the air conditioner.”

“Come on, that’s wasting electricity.”

Since when did you start caring about the electricity bill?

“Still, I didn’t expect Rex to suddenly confess like that. It was a bit of a surprise, to be honest.”

Soyeon abruptly changed the subject.

“Oh, just so you know—there’s really nothing between us, okay? He just showed up out of the blue and blurted out that confession.”

She glanced at me cautiously, as if to emphasize that Rex’s confession had taken her by surprise as well.

“So don’t get any ideas, okay, Jinhyuk?”

Soyeon was quick to justify herself, as if trying to tell me not to misunderstand the situation or assume it was her fault that Rex had confessed.

“Got it?”

“……”

I glanced at her without saying anything, and she awkwardly scratched her cheek, looking a bit embarrassed.

“No, I mean… I’m just saying…”

“……”

“I-it’s not my fault the guy confessed to me because I’m pretty, right? Ahem!”

“Soyeon.”

“Huh?”

Ignoring her slightly boastful comment, I began speaking more quietly, which made Soyeon set her ice cream aside.

“I guess you’re still popular.”

“You’re plenty popular yourself.”

“Not as much as you.”

Sure, I have a decent amount of fame, but when it comes to romantic interest, Soyeon clearly garners far more attention.

“I’ve seen you get confessed to many times over the years.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Back then, it didn’t really bother me, but now…”

“But now?”

Up until a year ago, Soyeon had just been a character from a game and a dear childhood friend to me.

While I held some slight feelings of attraction towards her, I thought it was better to leave her to hang out and have fun with the other male leads.

But today, when Rex confessed to her…

I felt an unfamiliar and uncomfortable emotion.

An emotion I had never felt before.

And I knew exactly what it was.

As much as I didn’t want to admit it, pretending this emotion didn’t exist wouldn’t be mature considering all my experiences, including those from my previous life.

That emotion was possessiveness—or perhaps, jealousy.

“Well, let’s just say it… bothered me a bit. I usually pretend not to care, but… I guess I was a little worried about the fish I’ve already caught running away.”

“Oh—w-what?”

When I admitted that it had bothered me, Soyeon’s words trailed off, and she looked somewhat stunned.

Maybe she hadn’t expected me to admit that it bothered me.

“W-why all of a sudden? Jinhyuk, since when…?”

“Soyeon.”

For a while now, I had been thinking about it ever since my confession a while back.

I was stuck on how to respond to both Soyeon and Yoo Seolhyun.

The truth was, I had feelings for both of them, but I wasn’t sure if accepting their confessions would be the right decision.

Not to mention the issue of choosing between the two.

But the more I thought about it, the more I came to one conclusion.

“Since we’re already talking about it…”

I looked Soyeon straight in the eyes.

“Remember when you confessed to me?”

Soyeon blinked, gulping nervously as she stared back at me, her lips parting slightly.

“It feels like I’ve kept you waiting too long. I wanted to give you an answer now.”

“Right now? All of a sudden? Don’t you think this is… a bit abrupt?”

“What’s wrong with it? It’ll only take a moment.”

Soyeon looked momentarily overwhelmed, but I continued before she could protest.

“Soyeon.”

“Y-yeah?”

Calling her name slowly, I went straight to the point.

“Sorry.”

“……Oh.”

Her face, which had seemed a mix of anticipation and anxiety just a second ago, suddenly turned rigid.

For a brief moment, she froze like a statue, and then she bit her lower lip with an unfocused expression.

“Oh… I see. Well… I figured as much…”

Tears started forming in her eyes, though she tried to hide them by forcing a playful smile.

“S-still, you really startled me for a second there! Since you rejected me before… I kind of expected that answer… honestly…”

Her lips quivered as she glanced downward, her head lowering little by little.

“S-so… did you say this just to make me give up? Because you felt uncomfortable with me still liking you? Is that why, Jinhyuk?”

It seemed like the second rejection hit her hard.

She was trying to laugh it off, but the growing tears in her eyes were impossible to miss.

“I… I—”

“No, that’s not it.”

“Huh?”

“I just hadn’t told you clearly before. It must’ve felt like I was stringing you along.”

“Oh…”

Taking a deep breath, I continued.

“That’s why I wanted to be clear with you now. Soyeon, I think I like you. No—I love you.”

“W-what? What?”

Her eyes grew wide as saucers at my confession.

“You told me before that you couldn’t imagine living without me. Well, I feel the same.”

Soyeon had shared half of my life with me.

From the days at kindergarten, to eating, playing, laughing, joking, and chatting together.

What would it be like if she weren’t by my side anymore?

I had thought before that just staying friends would be enough, but maybe an undefined relationship like this wasn’t something that could last forever.

“Truth is… I can’t really imagine a life without you, Soyeon.”

“Wait, hold on.”

A promise had been made to Soyeon in the future.

I wasn’t going to leave her alone.

I didn’t want to end up rejecting her only to later watch her drift away, feeling regret for the rest of my life.

And I definitely didn’t want to end up looking back, wondering what could have been.

…Sorry, Yoo Seolhyun. But if I had to choose, it would be Soyeon.

“Will you go out with me, Soyeon?”

“……”

“Soyeon?”

“……”

Without responding, Soyeon bit her lip hard, trembling where she stood.

I was about to call her again, but then—bam! She flung herself into my arms.

“Idiot! Of course!”

“Y-yeah?”

“Don’t even think about saying it’s a joke now! I’ll never forgive you if you do!”

“I-I wouldn’t joke about something like this…”

“Anyway! No take-backs now, got it?”

“Y-yeah, sure.”

Feeling her warmth, I thought to myself.

Ah… so this is how it ends.

Well, I guess I’m okay with it.

Even the priest had told me to follow my heart.

I won’t regret this decision.

“Jinhyuk, Jinhyuk.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“From today on, we’re officially dating, right?”

“Yeah, we are.”

“…So now it’s okay if I get a little jealous, right? I’m your girlfriend, after all. You better not go fooling around with other girls. If you do, you and I are both dead.”

“……”

Ah… well, maybe I will regret this a little…

***

The next morning.

“Just so you all know—Jinhyuk and I are dating now, so don’t even think about coming near my boyfriend, alright? Got it?”

With her arm tightly linked around mine, Soyeon cockily paraded this news in front of Lee Siwoon, Kang Daehan, Yoo Seolhyun, Roxanne, Baek Yoorin, Sunari… practically anyone and everyone in sight.

End of Chapter