Breaking Up With the Heroine in an Otome Game

9 – Preparation for Performance Evaluation (3)

010

“Uh? Huh?”

With an utterly surprised face, Jin Soyeon blinked her eyes and alternately looked at me and Yu Seolhyun.

Her expression seemed like she couldn’t understand it at all.

Well, that’s because there was no reason for Yu Seolhyun to form a team with me.

“So… is it a joke?”

Dragging the end of the sentence, she slowly turned her head towards me and casually licked her lips.

It was a look that demanded an explanation.

“A joke? There’s no way.”

As Yoo Seol-hyeon answered with a faint smile, Jin So-yeon pouted, seemingly unsatisfied.

“But you have good grades.”

“Yeah. So?”

Yoo Seol-hyeon smiled slyly and motioned for her to continue talking.

“Jin-hyuk’s practical skills aren’t great, and his training performance is just so-so. Why not choose someone else? Wouldn’t it be better to work with other kids?”

“Ah, that might be true.”

Yoo Seol-hyeon glanced at me.

With a slight hint of amusement, she slowly began to move her lips.

“But since middle school, haven’t there been no one else who could keep up with the theories?”

“Well, Jin-hyuk is strong in theories, but… it’s useless.”

Hey, Jin So-yeon.

Do you talk too much?

“We only needed one more person for the head role because our team’s power was enough with just me and Nari. We don’t know what kind of test it is.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Jin So-yeon looked at Yoo Seol-hyeon with a slightly uncomfortable gaze, yet seemingly convinced.

Yoo Seol-hyeon only maintained a courteous smile and made eye contact.

“But So-yeon, why did you want to team up with Lee Jin-hyuk?”

“Huh? Well, uh…”

Jin So-yeon sneakily glanced at me.

She licked her lips a few times.

“I just wanted to take care of him. Can you see him training? Would he even have a teammate to go with?”

“Are you unusually harsh today?”

As I grumbled, Jin So-yeon grinned mischievously, then spoke in a triumphant voice.

Her expression suggested she was about to bring up an old story.

“Oh? Who was on the bus during the practical exam in the past? If it weren’t for me, wouldn’t you have almost failed?”

“Then you always whined about helping you with studying for the exams.”

“Wh-when did I do that?”

“You cried and begged me all day, saying that if you fail this written test, your allowance might be cut off…”

“Ah, I- I can’t hear you!”

Jin Soyeon covered her ears and turned away.

What are we, kids?

“hehehe.”

At our little joke, Yu Seolhyeon flashed an enigmatic smile.

“You two seem to get along well. I heard you guys broke up.”

“Well, you know,”

Jin Soyeon trailed off and glanced at me.

“But who suggested breaking up?”

“…Why do you care?”

“No ill intentions. If I made you feel bad, I apologize. Sorry.”

“…”

Jin Soyeon’s eyebrows twitched, seemingly a little annoyed.

Yu Seolhyeon seemed to enjoy poking her gently on purpose.

Anyway, she has a bad personality, Yu Seolhyeon.

“Oh. It’s already this late? I’ll go ahead then.”

Yu Seolhyeon checked her wristwatch for a moment and then looked at me and Jin Soyeon as if she had finished saying everything, and said goodbye.

“See you next time. Jinhyuk, Soyeon.”

With that, Yu Seolhyeon walked away, and Seo Nari, who had been quietly listening until now, followed behind her.

Jin Soyeon quietly watched their backs.

Then she suddenly turned her gaze towards me.

“You seem to have gotten pretty close with her?”

“Close? We’ve just talked a few times.”

“Really?”

She grumbled with her usual moody tone.

“You look very close from that little interaction. Was there really something going on with her?”

“Something? I don’t think so.”

“Anyways, don’t you think Yoo Hyun is a bit strange? Is he doing that on purpose?”

“What?”

“No, I mean…”

As I pretended not to know, Jin So-yeon made a frustrated expression. Then, she soon let out a deep sigh.

“Sigh… never mind. It’s nothing.”

Jin So-yeon muttered to herself quietly, “Seriously, he doesn’t have a shred of tact.” Who’s the one without tact, though?

“They don’t seem to get along well. Considering they even talk behind each other’s backs.”

“It’s not gossip, okay?”

Jin So-yeon glared at me sharply.

“Oh, so is it jealousy? Gosh. This popularity of mine.”

“What are you even saying?”

With an expression of disbelief, Jin So-yeon snorted and nervously brushed her hair back.

“Jealousy? What kind of nonsense is that?”

“Well, if it isn’t, then it isn’t. Why are you so sensitive about it?”

“Because you’re saying things that don’t even make sense.”

Looking at Jin So-yeon, whose eyes were narrowing in anger, I thought to myself.

She must be more uncomfortable with Yoo Seol-Hyun than I initially thought.

“So, how are things with Lee Shi-Woon lately?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I’ve heard rumors that you’ve been getting along well with Lee Shi-Woon.”

“What?”

For a moment, Jin So-yeon bit her lower lip.

“That’s nonsense. There’s no way.”

“Really?”

“Are you the type to believe those rumors?”

I shrugged my shoulders at Jin So-yeon, who was whispering and gazing into my eyes.

“Not really.”

“Good? Well, that’s it then.”

With an unreadable expression, Jin So-yeon stared at me and gently nodded.

Although we seemed to have become much closer than in middle school, it appeared that there was still a long way to go.

Fine. So be it, then.

Should I put a bit more distance between myself and Lee Si-woon, so we can have more time together?

***

Jin So-yeon’s dream was to become a hero.

This dream had continued since her childhood, and it had never wavered or changed until now.

That day’s events had sprouted the seeds of heroism in her heart.

The turning point in Jin So-yeon’s life, which she would never forget even for the rest of her life, was that eventful day.

And so, Jin So-yeon entered Union Academy with her childhood friend, Lee Jin-hyeok, all while holding onto her dream of becoming a hero.

To be honest, she was on pins and needles, worrying if Jin-hyeok would pass the Union exam. But he made it into the Union with flying colors, proving all her worries unnecessary.

…Well, sure, it was by a hair, but he made it into the Union with the supplementary announcement.

But what mattered was that he got in, right?

So Jin So-yeon was genuinely happy.

That she could attend Union Academy together with him.

Of course, their school life would be quite difficult since Union Academy was the top hero-training institute in South Korea, and taking one step closer to their dreams together with Jin-hyeok made her all the more excited.

They both thought there would only be good times ahead.

But then…..

“Let’s break up.”

Jin-hyeok’s unexpected choice of words came as a shock.

“Once we graduate from the Academy, our school life will be over, and shouldn’t we at least try a real relationship?”

Jin So-yeon was momentarily taken aback by Jin-hyeok’s playful remark but soon understood and accepted his point.

Even if they decided to put an end to their pretend relationship, she firmly believed that their bond wouldn’t change.

After all, they had been childhood friends for over a decade now.

They’d gone cherry blossom viewing together back in elementary school and held each other’s hands while watching fireworks on summer nights.

They’d been caught drinking makgeolli together behind their parents’ backs and have spent countless nights chatting away at each other’s houses.

The relationship they’d built up for so long wouldn’t change just because they decided to stop pretending.

They’d been together since they were very young, and they would continue to be together in the future.

Half-jokingly, Jin So-yeon and Lee Jin-hyuk were like a sort of family to each other.

So everything would be fine.

Their relationship wouldn’t change.

That’s what they thought.

However.

“Jinhyuk, let’s go to the store~ I’ll buy you some bread.”

“I’m a bit busy now. It seems like Eun-woo is free right now, so why don’t you go with her?”

When did it start?

“Let’s go eat. There’s steak today!”

“Oh, my stomach isn’t feeling good today. You can go with the others.”

Jinhyuk stopped accepting her invitations.

“Do you want to play a game after the academy?”

“There’s a lot of homework today. Let’s do it next time, next time.”

Lately, his rejections had become more frequent.

He used to hang out with her every day in middle school.

Was there something that bothered him?

However, his speech and behavior seemed no different from usual.

When she approached him and talked to him, he responded well and accepted her jokes, so it didn’t seem like he was upset or bothered about anything.

Then what could be the reason?

While she was lost in her thoughts, the homeroom teacher asked them to choose their group members for the performance evaluation.

Group members, group members…

Jin So-yeon smirked to herself.

Who else would take care of that kid if not her?

Jinhyuk was very weak in practical evaluations.

If she could be part of his group, he would be grateful.

Jin So-yeon didn’t mind being with Jinhyuk either.

They had been together for a long time and harmonized well. Teamwork is the most important thing in group performance evaluations, right?

…With that thought, she approached him to ask, but

“I’m in the same team with you.”

Isn’t it strange that Yu Seol-hyun smiled and answered like this?

She didn’t know why Yu Seol-hyun had formed a team with Jinhyuk, but if he was with someone like her, he wouldn’t get a failing grade in the performance evaluation, so it might not be bad for Jinhyuk.

However, after that day, the number of times the two of them talked had increased a lot.

The performance evaluation was the following week, so it was understandable that they had a lot to discuss as team members, but something about Yu Seol-hyun’s attitude bothered her.

She couldn’t pinpoint it, but it was an uncomfortable feeling.

Should I say that he subtly smiles with his eyes?

What about him casually touching my shoulder and making skin contact?

Moreover, Jinhyuk just keeps laughing awkwardly.

“……”

While having such thoughts, I suddenly recalled a recently opened cafe that had an opening sale.

This time, I should take Jinhyuk there and enjoy some sweet cake. Sweet food is the best remedy for stress.

I won’t back down if he rejects me again today.

“You know, there’s a new cafe near the terminal? They’re having a discount these days, let’s go together this Saturday.”

“Ah, this Saturday? I don’t think I can.”

“What now? Again?”

“Sorry, sorry. I have an appointment. And besides that, I think I will be busy this week due to the practical assessment. I have a lot of materials to look for.”

“As if you’d actually do that.”

He has time to hang out with Yoo Seolhyun, though.

“Anyway, I’m sorry. Let’s meet next Monday.”

“Wait.”

As soon as class ended, Jinhyuk quickly ran out.

Jin Suyeon stared at his retreating figure, displeased as she bit her lower lip. What urgent matter could make him rush like that? Does he not want to talk to me?

“Fine, whatever.”

Jin Suyeon snorted and visited the cafe alone.

She intended to relieve some stress by enjoying some sweet treats.

As she stepped into the cafe, however.

But.

“Huh?”

A familiar face appeared inside the cafe.

“…Why are they here?”

It was Lee Jinhyuk and Yoo Seolhyun.