Park Hayeon lost her parents in an accident when she was young and grew up with her younger brother under the care of her grandparents.
After the accident, she realized she possessed a special ability.
Revering the hero who had saved her during the accident, she aspired to become a hero like him someday.
Since becoming aware of her powers, she trained day and night without rest to prepare for her dream of becoming a hero.
Development of abilities.
Physical conditioning.
Studies.
Through relentless effort, her overall grade rose from D to C, surpassing anyone her age.
But Park Hayeon wasn’t satisfied; she hoped to attend the Academy in Seoul, knowing it was the place where she could truly become a hero.
However, her grandparents didn’t have enough financial means to fully support her move to Seoul.
After persuading them, she was finally granted permission to go, and decided to cover her living expenses by working part-time jobs.
Thus, she began working part-time at a café.
One day, while diligently working, a man suddenly asked her for her phone number.
He had blonde hair, sharp features, and even a piercing in his ear.
To her, who valued earnestness above all, he gave off a somewhat negative impression.
Still, since he offered to buy her a meal, she reluctantly handed over her number, thinking it wouldn’t hurt because she was a C-ranked Awakened One and he couldn’t possibly harm her.
Lately, Park Hayeon was struggling to make ends meet due to living expenses.
The cost of applying for admission to the Academy and buying a uniform had drained her account.
After finishing her shift at the café, she noticed Shinnoda leaning against the wall outside.
Seeing the handsome man waiting for her, she couldn’t help feeling flattered inside.
He led her to a fancy pasta restaurant.
Park Hayeon was surprised when she saw the menu.
——————————–
Cream Pasta: 22,000 won
Shrimp Pasta: 30,000 won
Tomato Steak Pasta: 35,000 won
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“Is… is spaghetti really 20,000 won…?”
As she hesitated over what to order, Shinnoda simply ordered the steak pasta and a side dish for her.
“Let me guess something about you, Hayean?”
“Guess what?”
“You’re aiming to enroll at the Academy, right?”
“Huh? How did you know that?”
Park Hayeon felt an eerie sensation crawl over her skin.
‘Is he a stalker or something…?’
“I’ve got good intuition. I’m an Academy aspirant too. We’ll probably see each other often. Should we just drop the formalities?”
“Yes, uh… sure!”
“So, where are you from? Are you a native Seoulite?”
“No, I’m from Gangwon Province… It’s a small village, so you probably wouldn’t know it.”
Shinnoda’s eyes widened.
“Our steak pasta and Italian pizza orders have arrived.”
The food was placed on the table.
‘How long has it been since I’ve eaten out?’
Due to financial constraints, Park Hayeon had been living off of三角 kimbap and instant noodles, so the luxurious spread made her eyes widen in amazement. She picked up her chopsticks to dig in.
“Shinnoda, this tastes great, thank you!”
“Of course! If you want more of anything, just say so—I’ll order it.”
Shinnoda had plenty of money. Over the past year, while killing villains, he had engaged in corpse farming, amassing wealth secretly. Though sometimes he picked pockets, other times he plundered safes.
Shinnoda smiled to himself as he thought. ‘She’s from Gangwon Province and works part-time at that café… and aims to enter the Academy. This is definitely her.’
‘If the protagonist is a girl now, how does that change the main story?’
Watching Park Hayeon happily eat filled Shinnoda with complicated feelings.
After finishing the meal, they parted ways.
Back at her lodging, Park Hayeon excitedly crawled into bed and opened a messaging app.
“Eek! Did I just go on a date?”
Having only ever attended small rural schools with around thirty students total, Park Hayeon had many male friends but had never actually experienced love. She shared the day’s events with a group chat of her friends.
<What? Did Ha Yeon really go on a date?>
<She must be doing great there in Seoul—already getting a boyfriend as soon as she arrived!>
<Was he handsome?>
“Hehe.”
She thought Shinnoda was rather good-looking and quite tall compared to her peers, with a well-built physique.
<<Yes, he’s quite handsome.>>
She pretended to take a picture of the pasta and sent a photo of Shinnoda alongside the dish.
<WOW! He looks like a celebrity!>
<But he looks kinda scary…>
<He’s definitely handsome!> <<Can you introduce me to him?>>
She felt a sudden surge of pride.
<Anyway, what do you think? Asking for a number at the end must mean he wants to date me, right?>
Recalling her conversation with Shinnoda that day, she mused.
“Oh… he didn’t say much, but we did talk about Netflix, MBTI, and hero stuff, didn’t we?”
<Didn’t you two split up already? No message yet?!>
<I heard that if they like you, they usually send the first message after meeting.>
Upon reflection, she realized that he hadn’t sent even a generic message like “Did you arrive home safely?” She stared blankly at the empty chat window with Shinnoda.
“Why hasn’t he texted? Does he not like me? But it was him who asked for my number…”
That night, Park Hayeon was so anxious about whether Shinnoda would message her that she hardly slept.
*
On the day of the entrance exam.
I woke up early and headed to the lecture hall where the Academy’s entrance exam would be held.
The Academy was no less impressive than any university campus.
Its sprawling grounds were filled with sleek, modern buildings, which were a pleasure to gaze upon.
Looking around, there weren’t many people there yet.
I must have arrived a bit too early.
Living in a serviced apartment near the Academy, I would naturally reach here faster than most others.
Having arrived a little early, I pulled out a pack of cigarettes from behind the mostly empty lecture hall to relieve the stress I felt over Park Hayeon and the upcoming exam.
“Damn it. If the protagonist is a girl, what happens to the romance part in the main storyline?”
Given that the game has clear tags like ‘growth’ and ‘romantic comedy,’ there was definitely a romantic subplot woven into the main story. Some heroines wouldn’t even join the party unless the protagonist convinced them, using charm or wit to open the door.
I lit the cigarette and placed it in my mouth. Inhaling deeply, the smoke filled my lungs before I exhaled. It felt as if my worries were dissipating together with the smoke.
“Huff. I don’t know.”
As I ruminated on the tangled situation, someone interrupted me.
“What is it that you don’t know?”
“Huh? Who are you?”
The intruder was a petite girl with long silver hair. Given her civilian clothes, she was probably another test-taker.
“My name is Yang Min-seo. I’ve come here today as a test-taker.”
“I’m Shinnoda. Same here.”
“You didn’t answer my question. What don’t you know?”
Thinking she might be persistent, I brushed her off with a vague response.
“What’s going to be on the entrance exam, I guess.”
Yang Min-seo furrowed her brow as she fixed her gaze on me—or rather, the cigarette in my mouth.
“Smoking is prohibited here.”
Yang Min-seo. She’s the granddaughter of a big corporate chairperson, a proper young lady archetype character.
Her grade is C, making her a relatively promising candidate, and she’s undeniably cute, though…
…she’s also a character who dies in the next chapter.
‘No need to get too close to her, I guess.’
“You should mind your own business. Are you some teacher here?”
“Hmph. I suspected as much, you are certainly a delinquent! How you even passed the document screening is beyond me. This is the Hero Academy, a premier institution for cultivating top-tier capable individuals. People like you shouldn’t be here.”
The preliminary screening was tight. Even though I was a graduate of a prestigious university, I managed to barely clear the cut-off score after some cramming due to excessive unexcused absences. I only met the basic requirements by attending school religiously during the final semester of my third year.
“Do you even have the authority to judge?”
“Well, your power rank is probably D at best. Even if you scrape by and enter the Academy, you won’t be able to keep up with the curriculum, and you’ll be expelled sooner or later. Honestly, it would be better for you to find a job unrelated to hero work. Being a hero isn’t as easy as you think. Let alone for someone like you, a delinquent.”
On second thought, Yang Min-seo’s skill must be ‘The Eye of Truth,’ which reveals information about the target. That seems to explain why she can see my rank.
“Guess we’ll see how it goes.”
By now, the cigarette had burned down to a stub. I tossed it on the ground and crushed it underfoot.
I turned my back on Yang Min-seo, who was still in the middle of lecturing me.
“Wait! I’m not done talking!”
I heard a noise in the distance but ignored it and headed toward the lecture hall.
Laura muttered sarcastically.
[What a presumptuous woman.]
“For once, I completely agree with you.”
As I entered the lecture hall, it was packed with students.
Now, the entrance exam begins.
