Breaking Up with the Heroine of the Female-Oriented Game

In a grand Hanok, traditional Korean house, that exuded the ambience of ancient times, a mightily impressive pine tree stood proudly in the spacious front yard, evergreen throughout all seasons.

In a small pond encircled by a stone fence, golden carp swam amongst the ruddy lotus flowers spread out in full bloom.

Surrounding this traditional house that embraced the philosophy of Baesanimsu, meaning “with a mountain in the back and water in the front,” numerous guards stood watch with an iron-clad vigilance.

This place, protected by dozens of servants and a 24-hour security system, was referred to as the “giant residence” of Yoo Gamyeong. It brought to mind the abode of a king.

“…”

The relatives of Yoo Gamyeong sat quietly at the dining table set on the maru, the wooden floor of the living room, partaking in their evening meal.

Click, clack.

The only sounds to be heard were those of chopsticks and spoons, along with the rustling of breath. An unfathomable silence filled the room, the air itself seemingly heavy.

“…Yoo Seolhyun.”

The grave voice of Yoo Gamyeong resonated.

The family members flinched slightly, while Yoo Seolhyun alone placed her spoon down calmly and lifted her head to look at Yoo Gamyeong.

“Yes.”

The stern, inscrutable eyes of Yoo Gamyeong met hers.

“How is your academy life?”

His question was laden with multiple implications.

“It’s fine.”

The first exams, the matches, the sudden intrusion of monsters, the commendations…

…Although Yoo Seolhyun had much she wished to discuss, she chose to bow her head in silence without further elaboration.

“That’s good. Then that’s enough.”

Yoo Gamyeong didn’t press further, as if her reply were sufficient.

“I will retire first. Continue your meal with the children.”

“Yes.”

After the polite answer from his second daughter-in-law, Yoo Gamyeong moved away slowly. She watched his retreating figure for a moment before raising her voice. It was Seolhyun’s stepmother.

“Seolhyun, I heard you received a commendation?”

“Yes.”

“You weren’t hurt, were you?”

“No.”

Yoo Seolhyun responded with brief answers to her stepmother’s perfunctory questions and set down her utensils.

The stepmother slightly furrowed her brows at Yoo Seolhyun, but outwardly, she maintained a cheery smile.

“I’ll retire now as well.”

“Oh? Already?”

Soon after, Yoo Seolhyun departed as well.

She could hear the family’s chatter behind her but chose to ignore it, knowing it was likely disparaging remarks about her.

“…sigh.”

Having reached her own room, Yoo Seolhyun buried her face in the pillow.

“So suffocating.”

Despite returning to her family home after a long time…

Just seeing those people’s faces made her diaphragm hurt. She wanted no further entanglement with these family members who didn’t feel like family at all.

“…”

Yoo Seolhyun clutched the plush pillow tightly, staring powerlessly at the ceiling.

Gazing at the beautiful patterns on the ceiling, she slowly closed her eyes.

The recent events briefly surfaced; the performance evaluations, the battle with the monster, the commendation…

There were many things to remember, but the most vivid was certainly the fight with the monster.

“…I really could have died, couldn’t I?”

A bitter smile crossed Yoo Seolhyun’s face. It was her first encounter with a monster of such level. It felt like encountering a wild beast in the mountains in the middle of the night.

In the thick, almost suffocating aura of killing intent, not only Yoo Seolhyun but also the other students couldn’t calm their hearts.

Lee Siwoon, Sunari, Yuliya, and Jin Soyeon, without exception, all became increasingly submerged in an incomprehensible fear.

…Except for one.

‘Come to think of it, Lee Jinhyuk seemed pretty calm, didn’t he?’

Lee Jinhyuk.

He appeared to be fairly composed.

How could he be unaffected when exposed to such intense killing intent on his first real battle, while even acknowledged geniuses of the academy were floundering?

And he was too calm.

‘…Thinking about it, there were many strange things about Lee Jinhyuk.’

The abilities and weaknesses of the opposing team he had shared during the performance evaluations. Startlingly accurate strategies. His composure despite being in his first life-threatening real battle. His eyes always seemed certain.

‘And especially that last arrow…’

That one arrow.

It was that one arrow, rushing forth like a beam of light, that refused to fade from her memory. It struck with such force that the monster vomited blood and went into a frenzy. Despite being relatively unharmed by other attacks, how did that one arrow cause such an impact?

‘Lee Jinhyuk had brushed it off as a lucky shot, but that doesn’t make sense.’

His arrow was meant for sparring. Blunt and not easily imbued with magic, meaning it shouldn’t have been lethal.

‘But how?’

Question upon question.

Asking him would yield no straight answer. She wanted to press further, but owing her life to Lee Jinhyuk from that incident held her back from pushing too hard.

‘Could it be a supernatural ability?’

It would make sense if it was a supernatural ability. There are all sorts of supernatural abilities in this world, after all. Could it be that Lee Jinhyuk was fortunate enough to possess an extraordinary one?

But Lee Jinhyuk was a non-supernatural ability user. Someone who hadn’t awakened any such abilities.

…Unless he was deliberately concealing it.

“Ah. My head hurts.”

Yoo Seolhyun sighed.

No matter how much she thought about it, it was unclear. There was no use in pondering now. While it was true that Lee Jinhyuk seemed to have much hidden and was a suspicious character, that alone wasn’t evidence of him concealing a supernatural ability.

…Though Yoo Seolhyun was half-convinced he was.

‘Well, anyway, Lee Jinhyuk seems to be quite a talent.’

Regardless of whether he had a supernatural ability, he maintained composure throughout the first real battle. Some people, no matter how skilled, lose their cool in actual combat situations, while others can judge more coldly, enhancing their abilities.

Lee Jinhyuk seemed to be the latter. He was the quickest to assess the situation and calm the others down. Such a talent and quality were essential for an operator.

Yes, quality.

Quality is a domain not easily altered by effort. One must be born with it.

‘The more talent around, the better.’

Yoo Seolhyun was aware of her limits as a hero. It wasn’t a matter of lacking talent. She could confidently say she wasn’t far behind even when compared to Lee Siwoon.

But it wasn’t a supernatural ability.

Her supernatural ability wasn’t suited for combat. It was closer to that of a supporter.

That’s why Yoo Seolhyun longed for a team. A team that could fill in each other’s shortcomings. A team where each person’s abilities and talents could synergize. Currently, Lee Jinhyuk might be a bit lacking, but depending on what he was hiding, that could change.

“Let’s see how it goes.”

Yoo Seolhyun hoped he was concealing many more secrets.

As mentioned before, the more talent, the better.

And if it was Lee Jinhyuk…

Well, she was quite confident she could recruit him.

***

“That’s it for today. Don’t mess around and go straight home.”

The homeroom teacher concluded the day. Despite having recently fought for their lives against a Minotaur, they seemed surprisingly well. In the original storyline, they would have been lying in a hospital bed by now.

“Soyeon, Soyeon. Want to hit the karaoke today?”

“Ah, should we?”

After class, Jin Soyeon was invited to karaoke by a few students and sneakily glanced my way. Then the kids laughed and came over to me as well.

“Hey, Jinhyuk, wanna join us for karaoke?”

“Ah, I have something to do today.”

A male student kindly invited me, but unfortunately, I didn’t have time for karaoke.

Because today…

That event is supposed to happen. The very first incident that leads to Yoo Seolhyun’s downfall into villainy.

“Don’t be like that; come with us.”

“Sorry.”

“Ah, this guy’s acting pricey again.”

Jin Soyeon grumbled with dissatisfaction. I could only offer a wry smile.

“I’m sorry, I really have urgent business today.”

“What, you always have urgent business. Last time it was because of the performance evaluations, then it was study time, ugh, never mind.”

Perhaps because I recently turned her down a few times, she seemed a bit miffed. Always making a big deal out of nothing.

“Don’t get too upset. I’ll get you a nice present later.”

With those words, I hurried off.

Jin Soyeon continued to mutter behind me, but today I couldn’t afford to care.

“There she is.”

Leaving the Academy building, I saw Yoo Seolhyun and a few girls in the distance.

I approached Yoo Seolhyun.

“Yoo Seolhyun.”

“Ah, it’s you. What’s up?”

“Just need to talk for a minute.”

“To talk?”

“Yeah.”

I gave a nod and Sunari’s eyes began to rise sharply, then suddenly she glared fiercely.

“Don’t tell me you’re confessing to Seolhyun!”

“Ah, is that it? Haha.”

Sunari’s nonsense was met with amusement by Yoo Seolhyun. I was completely flabbergasted.

A confession, really?

“Sorry, Lee Jinhyuk. Like I said before, your face isn’t my type.”

“It’s not a confession.”

Rejected a second time.

This felt familiar, didn’t it?

“It’s something important.”

“Important? Like what?”

“Dungeon.”

I couldn’t discuss it openly with Yoo Seolhyun’s group watching.

So I gave her a hint to catch on.

“It’s about the Youngdeung Mountain Dungeon.”

“!”

Yoo Seolhyun’s face instantly stiffened. Since it was confidential information related to her, the fact that I came to her directly with this would naturally raise suspicions.

“I have a proposal regarding that. What do you say? Can you spare some time?”

“Huh? What’s he talking about all of a sudden, Seolhyun?”

“…”

Sunari blinked in confusion.

The other girls were the same. Only Yoo Seolhyun remained silent.

“Alright. Shall we move somewhere to talk?”

“Wait, Seolhyun. Your next schedule is…”

“It’s fine. I’ll adjust the schedule myself. Go ahead, Nari. I’ll talk with him for a bit and catch up. You go on as well.”

“Uh, okay, got it.”

After sending Sunari and her followers off, Yoo Seolhyun fixed her eyes on me.

Then she spoke.

“What’s with you?”

“What do you mean?”

“How much do you know? Why are you bringing up the Youngdeung Mountain Dungeon to me…?”

“We should probably find somewhere more comfortable to talk before we get into that. There are too many eyes here.”

This was the Academy.

We needed to find a different place.

“I know a nice cafe. Let’s go there.”

“Fine. Let’s do that.”

***

“Soyeon, Soyeon.”

“What?”

“Do you have a thing for Jinhyuk?”

“What? No, no. It’s not like that between us.”

“Right? Because you have Siwoon.”

“Siwoon and I are not like that, how many times do I have to say it?”

“Huh, maybe playing the field? You really are living up to your looks.”

“Ugh, let’s drop it, alright?”

“Hey, just kidding, don’t be mad~.”

The girl giggled.

“But you know, lately Jinhyuk… huh?”

“What’s wrong?”

Suddenly, the girl peered intently towards the window of a cafe and cocked her head. Jin Soyeon followed her gaze.

“Huh? Jinhyuk? What’s he doing in a cafe…”

Suddenly.

Jin Soyeon’s words halted.

Because the person Jinhyuk was with was all too familiar. Could it be…

“Yoo Seolhyun?”

No.

Why would she and Jinhyuk be meeting separately again?

The performance evaluations were over, right?

Why?