Breaking Up With the Heroine in an Otome Game

1 – Let’s Break Up (1)

002.

Romance Hero Academy.

It is a women-oriented role-playing(SRPG) game that I played in my past life.

The plot of this game is as follows.

The female protagonist, Jin Soyeon, becomes a hero by defeating monsters and villains threatening the world alongside handsome and capable male protagonists.

It follows the typical process of women-oriented dating simulation games.

However, there is one unique fact.

That is, Romance Hero Academy is a game that blends dating simulation and RPG properly.

As it claims to be half an RPG, the balance of strategy, combat, and nurturing is excellent, and the importance of exploration and collection elements is high.

Dungeon conquest, hunting monsters, suppressing villains, capturing characters, etc. The quality is really outstanding for a women-oriented game.

In my past life, I was also a gamer who accidentally got the chance to try playing once with a half-worried and half-expectant heart as I wandered the internet looking for RPG games.

But what is this?

Charming characters.

Excellent level design.

Threatening and powerful enemies.

A fantastic background set in Korea.

I didn’t expect much, but isn’t it more enjoyable than I thought?

That’s why I played it so passionately as if I had met my first love.

I saw all the endings, collected all the CGs, found hidden elements, farmed all the items, achieved all the achievements, repeated dozens of times, played with various concepts, and even made a 100% walkthrough video and uploaded it on the Internet….

I was hooked on this game for a really long time.

To the extent that I memorized around the protagonist, supporting roles’ character profiles, and the world-building.

I searched for every doujinshi, novel, and setting book on the Internet.

Well, I honestly lived half-crazy about this game, should I say?

But if you ask me if I want to be reincarnated in the world of Romance Hero Academy, I have no choice but to answer ‘no,’ of course.

That’s because this world is a dangerous one teeming with monsters and villains.

If you’re really unlucky, you could be brutally killed in an instant.

But why.

Why in the world.

Am I.

Reincarnated as NPC Lee Jin-hyuk….

“Ah, look at you, lost in thought again.”

“Ah.”

I regained consciousness at a girl’s clear voice.

When I slowly turned my head after escaping from useless thoughts, I noticed I was being looked at by a familiar beautiful girl.

That’s right, Jin So-yeon.

She was the heroine of this world.

“Do you know you’ve been acting a bit strange lately? You’re always spacing out.”

“Sorry, sorry.”

With a soft smile, I responded to Jin So-yeon, who raised a question with a slightly worried expression.

“I have a few things on my mind lately.”

As much as he had a lot on his mind, it would be rude to think about anything else while Jin Soyeon was in front of him.

Now, let’s fold away those unnecessary thoughts and focus on Jin Soyeon.

“Concerns? What concerns?”

This is Jin Soyeon’s room.

A clean, white desk and chair, a single-sized bed, various types of cosmetics, and a penguin doll I’d given her as a gift in the past.

Her room was somewhat simple for a girl’s room.

“Is it because you’re worried about life in the academy?”

Jin Soyeon sat on the single-sized bed, hugging the penguin doll gently.

She then buried her face in the penguin doll for a moment before quickly raising her head.

Her face looked as if something teasing just came to mind.

“Well, since our Jjinyeok barely passed with a remedial score, I guess that’s a reasonable concern~.”

Jin Soyeon was making fun of me with a mocking expression, but her words weren’t wrong.

That’s because the game character Lee Jinhyeok’s stats were truly the worst.

Childhood friend, NPC Lee Jinhyeok.

His talent was mediocre, without any background.

His parents had already passed away, and he didn’t have much wealth.

His constitution was so poor that he didn’t see much growth even after long periods of training, and he never awakened his unique ability.

The fact that I was able to enter Union Academy was mostly due to luck.

It means that I barely made it in on the additional acceptance list thanks to high written test scores and tactical simulation evaluations.

In short, my qualifications as a hero aspirant were very low.

Compared to Jin Soyeon, even the male protagonists have no competition.

Comparing abilities, wealth, background, and appearance, it’s a nonsensical comparison.

“Ah, there’s nothing we can do. Don’t worry too much. As you know, I’m ranked 257th, right?”

At this point, there might be one question.

What is the reason for the poor treatment and setting of NPC Lee Jinhyeok, which was strangely bad?

It would be that a childhood friend setting is usually quite popular, so it is common to give higher relevance and consideration to them.

But I, and NPC Lee Jinhyeok, are different.

That’s because the character of Lee Jinhyeok as an NPC was created with the assumption of retirement halfway.

“Being ranked 257th is only a middle-upper ranking at best. It doesn’t seem that great to brag about, does it?”

“Yeah~ Next is dead last~.”

To put it more bluntly, the character was meant to be sacrificed for Jin Soyeon’s mental awakening.

Well, why not?

Isn’t it a common setting in the superhero genre?

When the protagonist’s loved ones, such as their family, lover, or friends, die, they awaken hidden powers to defeat their enemies.

Also, it’s about the heartbroken female protagonist gradually opening up as handsome and cool men comfort her.

It’s really a cliché as clichés go.

In the past when I played this game, I vaguely remember accepting it as “This is so cliché~”…

But if this is my story now, it changes things.

It’s not a cliché, but a heart-pounding development that feels like my heart will burst.

“Of course, there isn’t a route where I don’t survive…”

“Anyway, it’s fortunate that we both passed the Union test. It would have been strange if only I passed.”

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For a moment, Jin Soyeon hugged the penguin doll and laid down on the bed.

“Right?”

I quietly watched the smiling Jin Soyeon with her head raised.

Although she seemed happy that we both passed the Union Academy test, I felt melancholic.

“Becoming a hero by entering the Union was your dream, Jinhyuk.”

“It used to be.”

In the past.

“Why is it in the past tense?”

“Just because.”

To be precise, it was a dream until about a month ago.

Entering the Union, the top hero training institution in Korea, and becoming the undisputed best hero.

But now I can’t.

Because a month ago from now…

I realized a certain fact.

“Like you said, I barely passed at the bottom of the ranks. I can’t help but feel like I don’t have the talent to be a hero.”

“Huh? Jinhyuk, why are you being so unlike yourself?”

In my previous life (前生).

I remembered the damn memories of my previous life.

“It’s not because I said a few words, right? Huh?”

“No way.”

As someone who knew that this world was strikingly, greatly similar to a female-oriented game, I could no longer enjoy my academy life with a mere goal of being a hero.

Because I knew about the numerous incidents and accidents that would happen in Union Academy later on.

And what would happen to me and Jin So-yeon as well.

I knew everything.

“By the way, So-yeon.”

“Huh? Why?”

For a moment, I quietly stared at Jin So-yeon’s clear eyes and soon sighed deeply.

Her curious eyes shimmered gold.

They seemed to have a demonic charm that drew in men.

“I have something to tell you.”

“Something to say?”

She licked her lips a couple of times and suddenly bit her lower lip lightly.

It was because I hesitated a bit, knowing that once the words were spoken, I couldn’t take them back.

However, after a month of pondering since recalling my past life, I came to the conclusion that it would be best to say this.

For me and Jin So-yeon. And to lead a normal academy life, it was essential to redefine my relationship with Jin So-yeon.

“What is it? What are you going to say that you’re taking so long?”

Jin So-yeon blinked her eyes.

Her head tilted slightly left and right.

With just a series of movements, her cuteness was fully displayed.

“…Huh?”

Then suddenly.

“Ji-Jinhyuk, you couldn’t possibly…”

Jin So-yeon wore a surprised expression.

At the same time, she hugged her body with both arms.

What’s going on? Why is she acting like that all of a sudden?

“I didn’t see you that way…!”

“What do you mean?”

And then, slowly.

She moved her hips, steadily increasing the distance between us.

“Taking advantage of Mom’s business trip…?”

“…”

“Kyah~ Pervert~! Beast~! Jinhyuk, I never thought you’d have such thoughts! Even if it’s you, some things are just not allowed…”

“…”

“Ah, umm. Jinhyuk, you’re not accepting it?”

“…”

As I looked at her quietly with a dumbfounded expression, Jin Soyeon awkwardly scratched her cheek.

“Hmm, making people feel uncomfortable.”

I stared at Jin Soyeon, who was pretending not to care while twirling her hair.

She muttered to herself, ‘Why isn’t he accepting my jokes these days?’ and sighed.

Jin Soyeon stealthily avoided my gaze, cleared her throat as she couldn’t pretend not to know anymore, and asked again.

“So, Jinhyuk, what were you trying to say?”

“Ah, well… it’s nothing important.”

It was delayed a bit due to Jin Soyeon’s untimely joke, but I should still say what I have to say.

Thanks to Jin Soyeon, though, the atmosphere has eased up a lot. Maybe that’s a good thing.

“Soyeon.”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s break up.”

“Huh?”

Just after the academy entrance ceremony that had just ended, marking the beginning of the game.

I declared our separation to Jin Soyeon, the heroine, and the protagonist of this female-oriented visual novel.