Chapter 5: Strategy

“Could you show me that notebook?”

After a while of rustling sounds, someone tapped my shoulder.

I turned to see Lee Rayun, gesturing toward my notebook with a shy expression.

“Yes, of course!”

So the capture target approaches me first.

I swallowed hard and slid my notebook, filled with tiny handwriting, toward Lee Rayun.

He looked at it and let out a small laugh.

“Why?”

“Because your handwriting is so round.”

I let out a short gasp at that.

I looked down at the notebook.

My handwriting did look round.

It probably wasn’t intentional, but his way of talking was oddly distracting.

“Oh, I see…”

I muttered in embarrassment, but Lee Rayun only gave a faint smile and said nothing more.

Since he was the capture target, I kept sneaking glances at him throughout the class.

His face, focused on the lecture, carried a calm and intelligent air.

Unlike his soft impression, his shoulders were broad and squared.

At that moment, the wind blowing through the half-open window swept Lee Rayun’s light brown bangs.

At the same time, his long eyes narrowed slightly, creating a dramatic effect.

In the languid, dull afternoon classroom, Lee Rayun alone stood out vividly.

“I’m Lee Rayun, a freshman in Business Administration. Thank you for today.”

“No, I didn’t really do anything.”

As soon as class ended, Lee Rayun greeted me politely.

When the bright-faced handsome man smiled, I felt oddly proud.

“I’m Yeon Wooju. I’m in Western Painting, a sophomore.”

“A sophomore? You don’t look like it at all.”

“Huh? Yeah… yeah, uh-huh…”

“You’re my senior, so feel free to speak casually.”

Lee Rayun shrugged slightly and spoke in a low voice.

His languid expression carried a calm, composed air.

Captivated by his mood, I stared at him intently.

“By the way, where were you coming from before class?”

“Oh, I do some modeling as a hobby. The shoot ran a little late.”

“That figures… If I were a photographer, I’d want you as a model.”

His long lashes cast shadows that were just as gorgeous as the rest of his face.

I understood right away.

He even laughed out loud at my trivial remark.

Relieved, I smiled back at him.

“Yeon Wooju, what are you doing? Get over here!”

Just then, Yu Hanna, standing at the lecture room door, called me in a booming voice.

Of course, the ‘me’ in the game had a social life to keep up, but building affinity with Lee Rayun was more important to me…

Still, I couldn’t completely ignore the urgent shouting, so I just rolled my eyes.

“Oh, sunbae, I think your friends are calling you.”

“Huh? Oh… I guess so?!”

“Go ahead, they seem to be waiting.”

Lee Rayun glanced at the lecture room door and gestured with his chin.

Ah, was our first meeting going to end like this?

Strictly speaking, we weren’t even in the same department, just taking one elective together.

I’d only happened to sit next to him.

If this were reality, I shouldn’t cling on unnecessarily… but.

“Rayun, could you give me your number?”

I had an unavoidable reason to push myself on Lee Rayun.

This was for the sake of the game playthrough, so it couldn’t be helped!

I mustered my courage and asked for his number, as if I’d lost my mind.

“We just met today, so why are you buying me a meal?”

Lee Rayun stared at me with a hint of puzzlement.

His thick lashes blinked slowly.

‘Right, we really did just meet today…’

His words were completely correct, so my flustered heart gave an embarrassed throb.

“It’s not like I want to get closer to you?!”

‘Ah, what kind of nonsense is this, Yeon Wooju.’

The shame of acting awkward from the very first meeting with the first character washes over me.

[♥️3]

The number above Lee Rayun’s head flickered, and his favorability rose to 3%.

Lee Rayun’s eyes widened in surprise, and his expression brightened more than before.

‘Wow, so this is how favorability goes up!’

“Okay, if we get the chance, let’s have a meal together.”

Lee Rayun readily handed me his phone.

In case he changed his mind, I took it and quickly entered the phone number I use in the game.

Then Lee Rayun called, and his number appeared on my phone.

“Yeah, see you next time, Rayun!”

“Haha, got it.”

I waved at Lee Rayun as he walked away.

It was a shame to say goodbye, but since we go to the same school and exchanged numbers, we’d probably see each other a lot.

This was a decent start.

“Huh? What the, Yeon Wooju!”

As soon as Lee Rayun left, Yu Hanna, eyes wide as bells, patted my shoulder and made a fuss.

Looking utterly surprised, she alternated between eyeing Lee Rayun’s round head and my face.

“Are you close with Lee Rayun?”

“No, not really? We just said hi for the first time today.”

“Really? You two looked super close earlier.”

Yu Hanna’s eyes narrowed, not easily buying my words.

They’re in different grades and departments, but for some reason, Yu Hanna seemed to know a lot about Lee Rayun.

“Is Lee Rayun popular or something?”

Since we’re already on the subject, maybe I should gather some info.

I tilted my head slightly and probed Yu Hanna casually, trying not to seem too curious.

“Yeon Wooju, did you not know? He’s basically a celebrity on social media. There was a big fuss when he enrolled. Plus, I heard he came to school in a chauffeured limousine on his first day?”

“Oh, his face really is handsome. I just didn’t know it was to that extent…”

“I was surprised to see the two of you laughing together. Everyone says he’s kind of hard to approach…”

Yu Hanna trailed off and glanced back for no reason.

She seemed to be interested in Lee Rayun, the envy of campus, too.

Well, everyone’s eyes are the same, so it wasn’t like Lee Rayun only looked handsome to me.

Anyway, since he was such a celebrity, it was a relief that I’d managed to get his phone number.

“Hey, whether Lee Rayun is a jerk or not, is he going to feed us? Cut the useless talk and let’s go eat lunch.”

Hwang Byeongyeol, clearly irritated, cut between Hanna and me.

I ended up being half dragged along to lunch by my friends.

After going through my first day of play, ‘I’ attended school with a fairly regular routine.

That was probably why Lee Rayun, someone I could naturally encounter on campus, was the first target.

Back in my dorm room after sunset, I checked the game progress on my phone.

[Lee Rayun (20)]

[Freshman, Business Administration, Korea University]

[Affection: 3/100]

[Route entry condition: Meeting in a liberal arts class]

On the screen, which had been nothing but a silhouette until this morning, there was now Lee Rayun’s profile picture.

They said he was a famous model on social media.

I couldn’t help but admire his face, smiling under the cherry blossoms in full bloom on the spring campus.

I had been surprised by the high-quality illustrations before entering the game, but now I saw that they didn’t fully capture his real-life impact.

The character info tab automatically reflected new details I learned about Lee Rayun as the game progressed.

Hmm, as expected, to capture a character within the given time, I’d need a more strategic approach.

I started writing my play notes in the memo tab underneath the character info.

[Campus celebrity. Puppy type. Languid impression but looks a little cold. I’ve heard he’s hard to approach?]

After a few lines, though, I hit a wall.

Today was the first time I’d ever seen Lee Rayun, and it was only a brief meeting.

You can’t make a proper move on someone you know nothing about.

The Strategy

I boldly wrote “The Strategy” in bold and underlined it, but my mind went blank right away.

If I’d known I’d end up inside a dating sim, I would have at least had a fling or two back then.

I’d never even properly dated a woman, let alone a man.

I didn’t have a single ounce of romance skill.

Still, in this game, it wasn’t romance.

It was business.

Yeon Wooju, think of something!

After thinking hard with all my focus, I repeated the cycle of writing and erasing words.

The Strategy

First, get close to him!

That one humble line was the best effort I could make.

After all, a good start is half the battle, and I had successfully met the player.

Wasn’t that already a lot?

Day one of play, I hadn’t made any huge gains, but I tried to hold on to a feeling of accomplishment as I went to bed.

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