Breaking Up With the Heroine in an Otome Game

51 – Midterm Exam (3)

*26th, 01:02 AM. Edit of the previous call content.

051.

“Feels like we’ve come to take the college entrance exam, doesn’t it?”

Squirm, squirm.

The whispering of the kids seems endless.

They gaze at the exam hall with expressions of unease or anxiety.

“As if everyone’s a bit nervous.”

Since it’s the first midterm exam at the Union, renowned as the best in South Korea, tension grips the faces of the students.

Although these kids may have exerted some effort in their local neighborhoods until now, through months of academy life, they must have come to realize that they were tadpoles in a well.

After all, Union Academy was scattered with aspiring heroes hailed as geniuses from around the world.

As the first test to prove themselves among numerous geniuses, it’s no wonder the students are tense.

Especially because after this midterm exam, the official rankings will be decided.

Not some half-baked rankings for incoming freshmen, but the real deal.

An opportunity to leave a mark in the eyes of countless clans and the media, so they better give it their all.

“Siwoon, fighting! Fighting!”

“Hey, shouldn’t you be worrying about yourself instead of Siwoon’s worries?”

“Hmph, coming from someone who can’t even handle her husband.”

“What?”

As always, many kids gathered around Lee Siwoon.

Siwoon, with an indifferent expression, paid no attention to the first midterm exam.

By the way, I can’t tell if these girls came to take the test or to cheer for Siwoon.

“Daehan, after this exam, want to hang out with me?”

“Get lost.”

“Wow, so prickly.”

Kang Daehan, with a sullen expression, yawned and pushed away a girl who was chattering next to him.

Although he seemed annoyed, the girl’s face was beaming with laughter as if she found something amusing.

That girl must be Ju Jiyun from the Oseong Group.

She often appears as a jealous, brazen girl when targeting Kang Daehan’s route, but for now, there’s no need to pay attention to her.

The current Soyeon and Kang Daehan aren’t particularly close.

Perhaps.

“What are you staring at like that?”

“Ah.”

When I glanced away, I could see Jinsuyeon looking at me with a puzzled expression.

Slowly turning her head, Soyeon rolled her eyes towards the direction I had been gazing.

Gradually, she realized she was looking at Kang Dae-han.

“Why Dae-han?”

“Just, you know.”

I scratched my chin for a moment before casually throwing out a question.

“Oh, right. How’s your relationship with Lee Siwoon these days?”

“Huh? Si, Siwoon?”

Was it because of the sudden question?

Soyeon hesitated, squinting her eyes in bewilderment.

Well, judging by her reaction, something must have happened for real.

“Lately, the atmosphere between you two seems a bit subtle.”

“N-nothing happened. Don’t worry about it.”

“Really?”

“Um….”

Even though her response lacked persuasiveness as she eyed me suspiciously, I decided not to pry unnecessarily today, especially since it’s an exam day.

“Hey, Jinho.”

“Why?”

“If I hang out too much with completely different people… would it be a problem?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, these days, you know, like…”

Soyeon fidgeted with her slender fingers.

“There was the Changwon incident. I thought it might be better to be cautious…”

“Well, it might be a good idea. You do have a lot of guys secretly liking you, you know.”

I know you want to get along well with everyone regardless of gender, but I wish you would consider your appearance a bit.

You’re really pretty.

Honestly, I’ve never seen a girl as beautiful as you in my entire life.

“Is that so?”

“In the past, I played the role of a boyfriend to some extent, so it was tolerable, but not anymore.”

“Ah… the role of a boyfriend… right.”

As Soyeon mulled over the term ‘boyfriend role,’ her expression darkened gradually, forcing me to blink my eyes involuntarily.

No wonder her face was filled with guilt.

“Was being a boyfriend, uh, very difficult?”

“Well, a bit.”

“I see… I’m sorry.”

Soyeon pressed her lower lip, apologizing with a melancholic expression. Today, her emotions seemed to fluctuate intensely. I shrugged my shoulders indifferently.

“Don’t apologize. It was a decision made by mutual agreement.”

Having experienced playful romance with a childhood friend who was so beautiful that I wouldn’t dare to talk to her in my past life, it wasn’t that bad for me. A bit tiring, perhaps.

“It’s not that… it’s not a bit difficult…”

Soyeon mumbled with a hazy expression.

“It must have been really tough… I didn’t know, and to Jinhwan, you…”

“No, it wasn’t that hard.”

Just when I thought, “Why is Soyeon acting like this?”

“Good morning to both of you.”

Yuseolhyun approached us with a bright smile.

“Yuseolhyun.”

“Hello, Soyeon.”

“Uh, hello.”

The greetings were exchanged quite stiffly.

“Leaving that aside, Jinhwan.”

“Yeah? What is it?”

“How are you planning to approach this exam?”

“Study hard, I guess.”

The goal for this midterm exam was simple: to achieve excellent grades.

“Hmm, is that so?”

“I’m determined to do my best; I can’t stay at the bottom forever.”

To engage in activities with the protagonist’s group or other talented kids at the academy, it was essential to secure grades that wouldn’t hinder the collaboration.

At the very least, I needed to demonstrate grades and achievements that the kids could trust.

If a villain appeared at the academy, and they doubted or disobeyed me just because of low grades, it would be problematic in many ways.

“Also, I need to make it clear to the kids that I’m not to be underestimated.”

During the game, why did the character named Lee Jinhyuk receive unwarranted harassment from male protagonists and NPCs?

Was it because he was Jinsuyeon’s unique boyfriend?

Certainly, that was one reason, but there was a bigger one.

The reason was that the character Lee Jinhyuk was such a pathetic loser that it didn’t matter if he was harassed.

…It was a bit explicit, but it wasn’t wrong.

While male protagonists acknowledged each other’s abilities and boasted about their achievements, in the game, Lee Jinhyuk had no abilities, power, wealth, background, connections, etc.

From the perspective of male protagonists’ followers, he seemed like a tempting prey.

They probably didn’t think there would be any significant consequences for harassing an orphan with no abilities or achievements.

In the case of Kang Dae-han, he treated Soyeon as if she were a parasite attached to him.

But now, I’m a bit different.

I’ve built positive relationships, such as my connection with Yoo Seolhyun, demonstrated excellent grades during evaluations, and achieved various accomplishments like clearing the Yeongdeung Mountain dungeon.

Now, all that remained was to prove my substantial abilities and show that I was not someone to be taken lightly.

Even if something unpleasant happened with male protagonists and their followers, it should be difficult for them to casually pick on me.

“Do my best, huh? This won’t be easy.”

Yoo Seolhyun chuckles.

“…Even if Jinhyuk does his best, so what.”

Hey, you.

Jinsuyeon, are you subtly ignoring me?

You’re ranked 257th, right? Let’s see about that later.

“hehehe. Will he really do his best? Maybe my grades will turn out much better than yours?”

“What?”

“Oh, right, you didn’t know, did you? I forgot.”

Soyeon’s eye corners gently lifted.

Ah, Yoo Seolhyun is subtly teasing Soyeon again.

It seems like he’s enjoying making fun of her, as agreed, without going too far.

“Alright, I’ll go first. See you later.”

Yoo Seol-hyun, as if all her words were spoken, abruptly stood up and left.

As Yoo Seol-hyun disappeared into the distance, So-yeon pursed her lips and muttered with a discontented expression.

“What’s up with her? Acting like I don’t know anything.”

Looking at So-yeon, who was grumbling, I thought,

“Should I tell So-yeon too? The truth about having the ability to see the future.”

I had been hesitant to mention it because of a slight concern, but revealing this fact might be more effective in helping So-yeon grow.

“I should consider it at least.”

With such thoughts, I glanced at the clock.

Has time passed so quickly already?

The first practical exam is about to begin.

***

“Heh, lucky you, Lee Jin-hyuk. Being on the same team as me.”

“Yeah, right.”

“You’ve been quite friendly with Seol-hyun lately, haven’t you?”

“Are you jealous, by any chance?”

“No, no!”

With a smirk, Seo Na-ri, with her sturdy build and braided hair swinging left and right, continuously denied any jealousy.

Judging by the reddened cheek, it seemed like she was pricked at the core.

Anyway, it’s better not to mention it, since it’s a sore spot.

“Well, let’s quickly decide on the team leader for now.”

The first practical exam involves dungeon exploration.

With a team of five randomly assigned by the academy, the goal is to quickly conquer this dark cave-like dungeon.

Although the dungeon is not particularly dangerous for a test, various artificial monsters and traps are hidden to prepare students for real battles.

But for me, it’s useless.

Why?

Damn it, this is the main story, the main story.

It’s different from the situation at Yeongdeungpo.

Not only have I conquered this countless times, but I’ve also memorized novels, comics, setting books, wiki pages, and even created and shared strategy guides on the internet for this midterm exam-related dungeon.

Of course, I don’t remember everything perfectly, but it doesn’t matter.

The shape of the dungeon, the placement of traps, the types and weaknesses of monsters, I’m almost entirely familiar with the evaluation criteria.

All the information I need, it’s all there.