Chapter 4: Lee Rayun

Apart from the fact that it was a dating sim game full of unrealistically handsome men, I knew almost nothing about Love in the Moonlight.

That made the tutorial video my only lead for getting back to reality.

I focused on it with the grim determination of a soldier heading into battle.

Luckily, the tutorial video explained the game’s logic in a way that was both intuitive and detailed.

Maybe because I was so keyed up, the information sank in without resistance.

“So, if I fill this entire album within 100 days, I clear Private Mode?”

When the three-minute tutorial video ended, a photo album interface filled the screen.

The first page showed the player, ‘me,’ smiling while holding an empty bouquet.

‘Some kind of profile picture?’

The next four pages were blank.

According to the tutorial, I could fill them by taking photos with the capture characters at mission locations after reaching 70 or higher affection with them.

If I completed the album before the deadline, the game clear conditions would be met.

“Hmm… It’d be better to just target one guy and get it done.”

But no, I had to clear all four character routes.

Worse, while the player ‘me’ was a college student in the game’s setting, the capture characters had completely different jobs.

One was a junior at the same school, another was a team lead at a big company, and the others were a soccer player and a celebrity.

Their schedules and personalities were bound to be all over the place.

Was it even physically possible to conquer all of them in 100 days?

At least there was one mercy.

The 70 affection threshold, which also unlocked the solo route, was only the minimum needed to receive a confession.

The max affection for each character was 100, so 70 was neither too low nor through the roof.

Still, the thought of winning over all those impressive male characters right away made my mind go blank.

‘So I have to… seduce them?’

“C-can’t I just aim for human fondness instead of real romantic feelings?”

“Ugh… I won’t go all the way, so I don’t need any skinship, right?”

That was the very practical concern of a straight man.

“Gwaaah…”

It was truly a bolt from the blue.

I’d lived a decent life so far, so I couldn’t help but feel wronged.

I groaned and clutched my head.

[Tutorial mode progress: 98%]

If you successfully reach your home base, [University Dormitory], the tutorial mode will automatically end and the game will officially begin.

Just as I was about to flop onto the ground, a notification window popped up saying the tutorial mode was nearly complete.

Fine, I got it.

Yeah, a person can’t just do whatever they want all the time.

I clenched my fist and steeled my resolve.

With that not-quite-spiritual-victory spiritual victory, I followed the now-active map function toward the dormitory.

I stepped into the pitch-black dorm room and turned on the light.

The place was unfamiliar, completely new to me.

But after a day that had drained me in both body and mind, I fell into a deep sleep the moment my head hit the pillow.

“Hah!”

Whether because my dreams were troubled, I woke up in the morning soaked in cold sweat.

A faint ache of illness ran through me, raising goosebumps on my skin.

Still half-asleep, I rubbed my eyelids.

I desperately wished that everything from yesterday had been a dream, that if I opened my eyes wide, I would miraculously be back in my small, stuffy studio apartment…

“Chirp, chirp!”

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

Brilliant sunlight poured through the dormitory window.

A bird, unaware of my feelings, chirped brightly, announcing the fresh start of a lively day.

Blink, blink.

After blinking a couple of times, I quickly accepted reality and stood before the mirror.

Perhaps because it was a game famous for character customization, I ended up playing with my real face and body, which felt strange.

Beside my familiar face, an unfamiliar guide window floated up.

[Private Mode Play Day 1 (Time remaining: 99 days 23 hours 47 minutes)]

Looking at the timer, it seemed the official play had started from the moment I woke up.

Since there was no other way, I’d have to put all my energy into winning over the character starting today.

I tried to accept it as calmly as possible, but the shock of the task before me was still there.

‘Where exactly did things go wrong?’

Twenty-one-year-old Yeon Wooju, in a single morning, had ended up with the supreme goal of seducing a male human.

‘Ugh….’

No, let’s think of it as business.

Just business.

Isn’t it better to get along with the game characters than to force a fake smile at annoying customers?

They say you need to know your enemy to win.

I wanted to meet all the target characters first, but the only route currently open was the first one, Lee Rayun.

According to the tutorial video, other character routes would gradually unlock as the story progressed and the player accumulated enough charm points.

But 100 days was far too short to go through the steps one by one.

Roughly calculated, I’d have to raise affection to 70 within about 25 days per character.

If only I could meet all the characters at once and pursue them simultaneously.

“Ugh, I don’t have time to waste. No time.”

But even while I was grumbling about the lack of time, the time limit kept ticking down steadily.

I pulled myself together and clicked on the info for the first target, Lee Rayun.

There was only the most basic information beneath a pitch-black silhouette, likely because I hadn’t met them yet.

[Lee Rayun (20), Freshman in Business Administration at Korea University.]

Even if I did meet them, how would I recognize them?

Given the campus buildings visible behind the silhouette, Lee Rayun’s stage was likely a university.

Since I happened to be a student as well, I decided to head to school and look for them.

As I was packing my bag, I heard someone banging on the dorm door.

Thump, thump.

“Yeon Wooju, aren’t you going to school?”

Whack, the door opened and a man who looked to be in his early twenties poked his head into the room.

Judging by how he greeted me like someone who already knew me well, he was probably a friend of mine.

“Ah, I’m almost ready. I’ll head out now~.”

I shrugged and answered nonchalantly.

Sure enough, a system window reading [Hwang Byeongyeol: Player Friend 1] popped up next to his face.

Judging from his somewhat rugged appearance and character description, Hwang Byeongyeol didn’t seem to be a major character in the game.

“Ugh. You were all groggy yesterday too, did you sleep in?”

“I guess so, it must be spring fatigue since it’s spring these days.”

“You little punk, Wooju, you need to bulk up. You should come work out with your big bro.”

Clicking his tongue, Hwang Byeongyeol slung his arm around my shoulder.

For now, to adapt to the game, I obediently followed him out.

Even as we walked side by side toward campus chatting about trivial things, my mind was filled with thoughts of how I could meet Lee Rayun.

The campus was full of fresh spring energy.

Languid heat haze brushed past my fingertips, and the fresh scent of leaves tickled my nose.

“Yeon Wooju, hurry up! We’ll be late for class.”

“Yeah, if you keep spacing out, we’re going on ahead without you.”

Hwang Byeongyeol and Yu Hanna, walking a few steps ahead, urged me on.

At school, I had matched schedules with close friends and attended classes together.

I had followed the in-game friends around without much thought, but after finishing the major class without any real gain, I started feeling a bit anxious.

The next general education class was unusual from the course title onward.

Sure enough, the rather large lecture hall was packed with students from all kinds of departments.

Arriving just in time for the start of class, there wasn’t a clear spot for three people to sit side by side.

I glanced at the sparse remaining seats when Hwang Byeongyeol gave me a lazy wink.

He was saying he’d go sit up front with Yu Hanna.

In the end, I sat alone in the very back row, cut off from the rest of the group.

“According to Plato’s Symposium, the ancestors of humans were originally androgynous beings, a union of male and female. After the gods punished them by splitting them into two separate sexes, humans have since yearned for their other half, trying to become one again.”

The lecture didn’t quite resonate with me, but it might show up on the exam, so I diligently copied the PPT slides into my notebook.

About ten minutes into the class, the back door of the lecture hall opened and someone walked in.

“Huh…?”

I turned at the sound, and my vision instantly brightened.

A tall, handsome man was scanning the packed lecture hall with a slightly flustered expression.

His light brown hair had a slight wave, and beneath his soft double eyelids, his nose stood out sharp and straight.

He was so good-looking that even his awkward expression looked like a painting.

[♥️0]

But I couldn’t take my eyes off the heart and number floating above his head.

That’s my target character!

Maybe because I was staring at the affection meter too intensely, our eyes suddenly met.

His eyes went wide, and then he smiled as freshly as a sprout.

“Is this seat taken?”

He walked over to the seat beside me with long, confident strides.

Tilting his head, he opened his mouth wide and whispered as soft as a feather.

[Would you like to enter the route of target character Lee Rayun? – Yes/No]

Gasp, of course!

Afraid the system window would disappear, I frantically mashed the Yes button.

When I nodded vigorously, Lee Rayun gave a faint smile and quickly sat down next to me.

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