Archive of Our Own ^beta

After class, behind the gym. The cherry blossoms flutter gracefully on the spring breeze. This late in the afternoon, the sun casts warm golden rays of light across Yoo Sangah’s features.

Han Sooyoung never imagined she’d be called to meet the student council president here. Of course she knows dozens of students in their school have confessed their love for her, but as far as she knows Yoo Sangah had never accepted a single one, much less been the person inviting them to meet her in the first place. So when Yoo Sangah had whispered, “meet me behind the gym after class,” in Han Sooyoung’s ear, her hand brushing against Han Sooyoung’s wrist, Han Sooyoung had no choice but to comply.

Now she stands, looking up at Yoo Sangah, watching the sunlight collect like molten gold in her soft brown eyes. Cherry blossoms frame her from behind. Han Sooyoung’s heart thunders away in her chest. Maybe… Could this be —

“Sooyoung-ssi,” Yoo Sangah finally says, “I’m starting to think the only solution is to kill you.”

“…Man, what the fuck.”

[Constellation “Lonely Soul Yearning for Love” demands a redo!]

As promised, Jung Heewon is waiting for them by the school gates. “Hey! Did it… No, well, I guess nothing worked, since we’re still here,” she sighs, when Han Sooyoung and Yoo Sangah approach her. “What did you do anyway?”

Han Sooyoung crosses her arms. “That’s not important.”

“We bumped into each other at the library, joined the same club, and met behind the gym,” Yoo Sangah dutifully recites, counting each one off her fingers. “I don’t really see the method behind these, though? I want to believe this scenario doesn’t require killing as much as you do, but at this point…”

“Ugh,” Han Sooyoung mutters darkly. Of course Little Miss Perfect doesn’t ‘see the method.’ Doesn’t she read philosophical texts for fun? And Jung Heewon probably doesn’t read at all, so once again it’s up to Han Sooyoung to save the day, embarrassing as it is to explain — and by extension admit she’s familiar with the genre. “Fine, listen up!” she snaps. “Seriously, I can’t believe you guys can’t get it! I mean, what’s the first thing you think of when you hear ‘high school?’”

Yoo Sangah blinks. “Entrance exams?”

Jung Heewon shudders. “Cleaning duty?”

“You’re both useless. It’s youthful love.”

“How unpleasant,” Yoo Sangah quietly remarks.

“Just think! It all adds up so far, doesn’t it? The setting, the roles, the messages those damn Constellations are sending? We just have to act out this scenario — this literal scenario — and then we can get out of here.” Han Sooyoung glances up at the sky, and as if on cue, an indirect message appears.

[Constellation “Lonely Soul Yearning for Love” nods emphatically!]

“Yeah, I bet. You…” Han Sooyoung squints at the Constellation modifier. “You’re this thing’s ‘writer,’ aren’t you?”

[Constellation “Lonely Soul Yearning for Love” sighs in regret.]

The lack of information had made it unnecessarily difficult to figure out, but it’s really just a strange yet simple scenario. A few days ago, Jung Heewon had discovered a scenario in Chungcheong Province, and it promised a rich reward — a star relic Han Sooyoung is pretty sure isn’t supposed to show up nearly this early — but aside from that and the time limit of two days, the only other information provided was the minimum required number of participants: three. Everything else were useless strings of ‘???’s. It was why Jung Heewon had asked Yoo Sangah and Han Sooyoung for help.

Well, she had actually only asked Yoo Sangah, then told her to bring someone reliable along. “Seriously? Han Sooyoung?” Jung Heewon had said, raising an unimpressed eyebrow when they’d showed up at the scenario area together.

“Seriously? Jung Heewon?” Han Sooyoung mocked.

“Oh, right, you guys are living together or something,” Jung Heewon seemed to remember, her disdain shifting into confusion. “Why, Sangah-ssi?”

Yoo Sangah just smiled. “About the scenario, Heewon-ssi?”

Whatever Han Sooyoung had been expecting, it had not been for the three of them to be swallowed up by light upon entering the scenario area, then suddenly transported into what was clearly a high school classroom, in the middle of what was clearly a math class. Han Sooyoung had blinked, head spinning from the transportation, and it took her a second to register the glowing scenario window before her.

+

< Sub Scenario — “Let’s ❤ Love” Official Anthology >

S■tt■ng: H■gh Scho■l

R■■■: Pr■■■■■■■■■

■■■…

■■■…

Excite the audience and do your best to act out this scen■rio to completi■n!

* Scenario data has been heavily damaged. Currently recovering information. Recovery progess: 9%

+

It wasn’t much, but it was enough to figure out what was going on here. “It’s basically like the Cinema — ahem, Theatre Dungeon scenario, if you remember,” Han Sooyoung explained, a few hours ago when they met up at the girls’ restroom during classes. Being classmates, she and Yoo Sangah had communicated as much, but it was a surprise to see Jung Heewon there too, though whether from actual intelligence or just old school habits Han Sooyoung couldn’t say.

Jung Heewon made a face. “Yeah, I remember. Will we be killing dinosaurs again? Or jumping off a sinking ship?”

“Are you stupid? Based off the scenario’s title, it looks like it’s an anthology work someone sold to the Star Stream.” Like Peace Land, Han Sooyoung privately added, barely resisting the urge to roll her eyes. If she was assuming correctly — and she’s always correct — then that meant the works in this anthology would be just as bad as Peace Land was. At least that also meant clearing this scenario would be a cinch, because: “We just have to be as cliché as possible.”

[Constellation “Lonely Soul Yearning for Love” is staring wide-eyed at the channel.]

[Constellation “Lonely Soul Yearning for Love” wants to die from embarrassment!!!]

This time Han Sooyoung really did roll her eyes at the indirect messages. Looks like they’d found the author of the anthology — or rather, the author had found them. And — once again, just like with Peace Land — they were a total wimp. “Alright. Yoo Sangah, just follow my lead,” she’d confidently declared, planting her hands on her hips. “Jung Heewon, you’re not our classmate, so just look around and find out what you can. Got it? Now go! If we stay here too long, our teachers are going to think we’re cutting class!”

Jung Heewon stared at her. “Who made you leader?”

“Yeah? You got a better idea on how to clear this, then? Your scenario data recovered more than nine percent?”

Yoo Sangah cleared her throat and stepped between them. “Why don’t we calm down. Heewon-ssi, I know Sooyoung-ssi isn’t the best at being nice—”

“I’m the appropriate level of nice for the apocalypse.”

“—but we might as well follow her lead for now until we understand what’s going on. Yes?”

Jung Heewon sighed. “Fine, fine. I just can’t believe I’m back in high school… Can’t we be in a kindergarten setting instead or something? At least I passed all my tests back then.”

And so, as Yoo Sangah had enumerated, Han Sooyoung had done her best to doctor the scenario with what she remembered from romance novels and manhwa. First they had to coincidentally but fatefully meet in a place that was special to both of them, so Han Sooyoung had told Yoo Sangah to ‘accidentally’ bump into her at the school library, then help her pick up the books she’d drop. Then they had to meet again signing up for the same club, which would determine the rest of their interactions with one another for the rest of the series.

Neither of these had worked, and all they did was bore their sparse audience of Constellations. So Han Sooyoung decided to kick it up a notch and go straight to a heart-thumping confession, which of course always took place behind the gym. And that might have worked, if Yoo Sangah hadn’t suddenly threatened to kill her like that instead of professing her love, damn it!

[Constellation “Lonely Soul Yearning for Love” swears they’d deleted this already, so why is it still here?!]

Han Sooyoung sighs. “Getting rid of stories isn’t so easy.”

“Well… like you said, I went looking around the place,” Jung Heewon reports now, frowning in thought. “I tried searching the building, but I got chased down by teachers thinking I was cutting class, so I went outside instead. But I can only go so far away from the school and some streets before invisible walls get in the way.”

“Hmph…” Han Sooyoung will bet those streets lead to their houses. Are they generic houses with generic parents, or are they facsimiles of their houses in the real world, before they were presumably crushed by rampaging monsters? She shakes the thought away. “So no progress on both our ends. Fine. I think we’re allowed two days in this scenario before we fail, so let’s see what we can find out on our own then get back to work tomorrow.”

But Yoo Sangah isn’t looking at her; she squints at Jung Heewon and asks, “So… you were cutting class, then?”

Jung Heewon squirms. “I mean — come on! What am I going to learn by sitting around listening to high school bio?”

“New things, I’d guess,” Han Sooyoung sneers.

“You’re not much better, Sooyoung-ssi — I saw you drawing on the textbook,” Yoo Sangah dryly remarks. “If the real clear requirement is ‘pass the upcoming exams,’ we might never get out of here.”

“A-At least I helped prepare for the cultural festival!” Jung Heewon protests.

Han Sooyoung scowls. “What do you mean, real clear requirement? Do you still doubt me? Look, this is obviously a high school love story. The main character and the love interest have to get together. That’s all there is to it! Besides, I could ace those exams in my sleep!”

Yoo Sangah taps her chin in thought. “In that case, who among us is the main character and the love interest?”

Han Sooyoung falters. “Well… That’s…” Were they designated character roles? She pulls the system menu open and checks the scenario information again, but the recovery process is still stuck at nine percent.

“Maybe the main character is Sangah-ssi,” Jung Heewon cheerily suggests. “You know, aside from how she’s pretty protagonist-like, isn’t she also the student council president in this setting? Isn’t that a central position?”

“But Heewon-ssi could also be the protagonist, since you’re apparently a delinquent-type,” Yoo Sangah points out. “Usually they’re the more interesting character.”

“Wait, what? I’m a delinquent? Says who?”

Yoo Sangah tilts her head, probably examining Jung Heewon’s untied neck ribbon, the blazer knotted around her waist, and how the top of her blouse is left unbuttoned.. “Isn’t it… obvious?”

Han Sooyoung can’t take this. “Both of you suck,” she says, one part exasperated and one part impressed at how they know absolutely nothing about literature. “Obviously the main character is someone more generic, so the readers can imagine themselves in their shoes!”

Yoo Sangah exchanges a glance with Jung Heewon, who says, for once without a hint of mockery, “Oh, so… it’s you, Han Sooyoung?”

Han Sooyoung blinks. “No, wait—”

“Great, so that’s settled,” Yoo Sangah decides, clapping her hands. “Either one of us could be the love interest, then. Is it like a competition between us? Maybe this is a love-triangle situation.”

“Hold on—”

“Tomorrow’s the cultural festival, so maybe we’re supposed to romance you then, Han Sooyoung?” Jung Heewon asks. “I mean, there’d be a lot more opportunity to do lovey-dovey stuff there than in the classroom. We’re not even classmates.”

“That doesn’t—”

Yoo Sangah nods. “That makes sense! Let’s do our best to win Sooyoung-ssi over, Heewon-ssi.”

“Listen to me!”

But they most certainly do not listen to her, as Han Sooyoung finds out the next day. For a while she’s distracted by the cultural festival — their class is putting on some kind of generic romance play, which is just par the course for a similarly generic high school romance, and Yoo Sangah is playing the damsel in distress while Han Sooyoung is in charge of lights and sounds, to her irritation. Part of her wants to sneak away and search the school building for any hints or hidden exits — the cultural festival will keep the faculty too busy to bother shooing her away, after all — but she also can’t risk leaving, just in case it fucks the scenario up. Cultural festivals are essential to high school stories, after all.

Unfortunately, watching Han Sooyoung learn how to operate a soundboard is far from entertaining.

[Constellation “Lily Blooming in Aquarius” wants to see what her incarnation-in-law is up to.]

[Constellation “Casanova-in-Training” complains this is boring reference material.]

[Constellation “Alone on a Friday Night” is searching for the remote to change the channel.]

“Oh, shut up,” she snarls, kicking the wall of the sound booth. “If you’re so bored, go find some other incarnations to stalk, damn it!” Although, based on that archangel’s indirect message, this channel might only be focused on Han Sooyoung, for some reason. She hates how that only further proves Yoo Sangah and Jung Heewon’s ridiculous idea that she’s playing the role of the protagonist.

Han Sooyoung shudders at the thought. She’s no main character, much less the main character of a love story.

The door to the sound booth suddenly slams open, startling her out of her chair. “S-Sooyoung-ssi! It’s an emergency!” one of her NPC classmates shouts. “Our main actor… H-He’s been… indisposed!”

This writing sucks. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“He sprained his ankle in the last show! How are we going to replace him?”

Han Sooyoung’s tempted to tell her to get that idiot up on stage, ankle and all, but then the girl gasps in realization. “Wait… Sooyoung-ssi, didn’t you write the script?”

“I did?”

“Doesn’t that mean you’re the one who knows the main character’s lines best? That’s perfect!” she cries, already pushing Han Sooyoung away from the sound board and towards the door. “Quick, go get changed! Our next showing’s in five minutes!”

“Wait — no — stop,” she hisses, but it’s too late, both because she’s already out the booth and because she stumbles right up against someone behind her. Someone who, to Han Sooyoung’s mix of alarm and horror and a secret third thing, wraps their arm around her middle and help steady her back on her feet.

[Constellation “Lily Blooming in Aquarius” sits up straighter.]

[Constellation “Casanova-in-Training” prepares to take notes!]

“Sooyoung-ssi.” Yoo Sangah’s voice, low and surprised, her breath warm against Han Sooyoung’s ear. “What’s wrong?”

Right now Yoo Sangah’s wearing her play costume, some lame dress they borrowed from the drama club, but of course, Han Sooyoung’s traitorous brain can only recall every single time she saw Yoo Sangah in her stupid form-fitting, body-hugging, curve-showing catsuit. With a garbled screech she scrambles away from the other woman and presses herself against the cool, calm, and decidedly un-sexy wall instead. “What’s wrong? Your co-actor is what’s wrong! What do you mean I have to replace him?!”

She realizes her mistake a second too late. Yoo Sangah’s eyes flash with curiosity. “Oh? So you’ll be his stand-in for the next show?”

“Uh. No, wait—”

But Yoo Sangah’s already got her wrist in a death grip and tugging her to the back, where the changing area is. “Come on, then,” she says, smiling sweetly the whole while. “No time to waste! You have to be on stage in just a few!”

“No, no, no—”

[Constellation “Lonely Soul Yearning for Love” is holding their breath!]

Han Sooyoung makes a sound of despair. Maybe there’s still a chance she’s not the protagonist? True, this turn of extremely forced events is pretty protagonist-like, but to perform in front of a crowd of NPCs?! Well, when Han Sooyoung just thinks of them as NPCs, she does feel a little better… but still! “No wonder this stupid anthology didn’t sell well!” she shouts up at the ceiling as Yoo Sangah drags her behind a curtain. “This story is shit!”

“This shit story is the story you have to tell right now,” Yoo Sangah says, pronouncing shit so delicately Han Sooyoung lets out a delirious laugh, “so just do it for the scenario, Sooyoung-ssi. Here: your suit.”

“My suit?”

“It’ll be a bit big on you, I suppose…” Yoo Sangah makes a face like she’s trying not to make a jab about Han Sooyoung being smaller and shorter than a literal high-schooler.

Han Sooyoung snatches the stupid suit from Yoo Sangah’s hands. “It’ll fit me like a glove.” Screw it. It’s just for the scenario, after all — and there are far more embarrassing scenarios out there, where actual, fellow incarnations can see them and remember all about how the Black Flames Empress had pranced around in an ill-fitting suit for a shitty musical.

Anyway, if this is really enough to send their audience of Constellations into a heart-thumping frenzy, then Han Sooyoung won’t pass up the chance to have more shares in the scenario’s reward!

In the actual story, Han Sooyoung’s sure the protagonist really does memorize all the character’s lines and stage directions, but Han Sooyoung herself hasn’t paid a smidgen of attention to the dialogue or the story; all she does know is that it’s as cheesy and cliché as a typical high school love story, which means it’s deathly easy to improvise. She breezes through her lines, guessing and adapting based on the other characters’ dialogue — especially Yoo Sangah’s.

“K-Kind sir, you saved my life,” Yoo Sangah murmurs, resting her head against Han Sooyoung’s chest as Han Sooyoung cradles her in her arms. She sounds every part the helpless maiden she’s playing, in contrast to the dark look she’s giving her prince. Probably because Han Sooyoung wasn’t meant to save her until the final scene or something, and they’re only twenty minutes in the play. “How can I ever repay you?”

Han Sooyoung rolls her eyes. So far she’s done a pretty good job at making herself the world’s worst main character. “Save your breath. I didn’t do this for a reward—”

“Of course,” Yoo Sangah breathes, cupping Han Sooyoung’s face in her hands with maybe too much force, “a kiss. For my dashing hero.”

“Um—”

To her credit, Yoo Sangah doesn’t hesitate: she kisses Han Sooyoung, clean and chaste, a simple press of lips on lips. Han Sooyoung makes a truly humiliating sound that would have been more appropriate from a dying bird. “W-Wait!” she gasps out, as soon as Yoo Sangah pulls back. The kiss couldn’t have been longer than two seconds, but Han Sooyoung’s pretty sure she’s never forgetting how that had felt. “That… That’s not… There’s no way that’ll do anything!”

Yoo Sangah tilts her head. “Why not? I thought it was appropriately romantic.”

“No way!” It wasn’t even a good kiss! Han Sooyoung doesn’t add. “I mean, wouldn’t there need to be more… more build-up, or…”

[Constellation “Casanova-in-Training” wants to see more!]

[Constellation “Lonely Soul Yearning for Love” is crying tears of joy!]

[Constellation “Prisoner of the Golden Headband” is peering curiously in the channel.]

[More Constellations have entered the channel.]

[The audience has been sufficiently excited! Scenario cleared!]

“…or not,” Han Sooyoung mutters darkly. Who the hell made her the main character? Yoo Sangah has the most protagonist power here! “Fine, whatever, at least it’s over now. So? Are we getting out of here yet?” She releases Yoo Sangah, one part glad to be rid of the extremely distracting feeling of her body against her and another part disappointed for the exact same reason.

Yoo Sangah doesn’t even have the decency to fall like an idiot, just flips herself up onto her feet as the light engulfs them. “Somehow, I don’t think so.”

“What? What do you—”

+

< Sub Scenario — “Let’s ❤ Love” Official Anthology >

Setting: Univers■ty

R■le: Pr■t■g■nist

The st■ry s■ far…

■■■…

Excite the audience and do your best to act out this scen■rio to completion!

* Scenario data has been heavily damaged. Currently recovering information. Recovery progess: 16%

+

“…You have got to be fucking kidding me,” Han Sooyoung groans.

The professor at the front of the lecture hall turns to give her a dirty look. “Do you have a problem with the lesson, young lady?”

Han Sooyoung supposes it makes sense. It is an anthology, which isn’t only composed of a single story… and of course they’d put the high-school story right before a university one. How unimaginative. This scenario information certainly isn’t helping explain anything beyond the setting, which would have been obvious even without it.

Having learned from the last story, Han Sooyoung ignores her scowling professor and fishes her phone out of her pocket. Thankfully, sandwiched between some random names Han Sooyoung’s certain the author got out of a name generator, she spots Jung Heewon’s name in the contacts. At least this means she’s not alone in this story or something, though for once Han Sooyoung would have preferred to speak to Yoo Sangah first. She’s usually better at assessing the situation.

Maybe her name’s here too? Han Sooyoung scrolls through the rest of the contacts but finds nothing, though one name stands out, mostly because it’s not a name. It’s “DO NOT CALL.”

…Obviously there’s only one thing to do. Han Sooyoung taps on the number and —

“Gah,” she mutters, answering the incoming call. She’ll just have to investigate later. “Oi, Jung Heewon.”

“Oi yourself, Han Sooyoung.” Jung Heewon sounds as hateful as ever. “Where are you? I’m in some… some kind of forest.”

“Forest?”

“There are a bunch of trees? Isn’t this a forest?”

“What the hell.” Maybe they’re on opposite sides of the world or something. “Okay, just stay there. I’m still in class, but after I’ll go look for Yoo Sangah and then — hey!” Han Sooyoung protests, clawing at the air. The damn professor looms above her, holding her phone well out of her reach. “I was having an important conversation there!”

“More important than this class, I see?” the professor sneers. “Are you like this in all your other classes, Miss Han? For the sake of your other professors, I’ll be keeping this. You can have it back tomorrow.”

“You—”

Han Sooyoung very nearly leaps out of her seat to clobber this man right here and now, but a familiar jolt of electricity runs down her spine. [Warning!] a yellow system message flickers before her. [Your actions are not following the intended storyline!]

[Constellation “Lonely Soul Yearning for Love” advises you to stick to the script!]

“…Rrgrrgh.” Han Sooyoung keeps her ass planted on the chair. “Fine. God. Am I still in high school or what?”

There goes her only mode of communication. While the professor stalks back to the front of the room, Han Sooyoung cranes her neck to search the faces of the other students, but no luck: Yoo Sangah isn’t with her this time. If Jung Heewon’s in a fucking forest, then is Yoo Sangah underwater or something?

Han Sooyoung buries her face in her hands. Before she can even go searching for them, she has to last who-knows-how-many more hours of General Mathematics.

Thankfully, Jung Heewon is not actually in a forest, or at least a big one. As soon as Han Sooyoung steps out of the lecture room, she discovers two things: that she’s somewhere on the seventh or eighth floor, and that she has a very good view of what looks like an overgrown garden beside a courtyard. Han Sooyoung jabs at the elevator buttons, waits five seconds, then gives up and races down the stairs instead.

“Jung Heewoooon!” she yells — or tries to yell, anyway, since after taking seven-or-eight flights of stairs and running across campus to get to the ‘forest,’ she’s more than a little out of breath. Nice to know her Level 78 Physique stat hasn’t transferred here. “Jung… Heewon! Where… Where are you?”

“Han Sooyoung?” a distant voice calls; Han Sooyoung skids to a halt and turns to head down the direction it came from. “Over here!”

Han Sooyoung nearly crashes into the other woman when she rounds a tree. “Hey! How’d you get here so fast?” Jung Heewon says, sounding happy to see Han Sooyoung for probably the first time since they’ve known each other. “Didn’t you say you were in class?”

“Yeah, it…” Han Sooyoung leans on a tree while she catches her breath. “It’s just… nearby…”

Jung Heewon frowns. “Near a forest? Are you… oh, I get it! You’re studying in a convent in the mountains!”

“No! This isn’t a forest, you moron, it’s just the campus garden! Did you even look at the scenario information?”

“Yeah, I’m your friend… or something. And this is a university setting.” Jung Heewon frowns. “Well… I thought I might be at an MT or something. University students go on those, right?”

Han Sooyoung squints at her. “Wouldn’t you know?” Somehow Jung Heewon feels like the sort of person who went on all sorts of MTs while she was at university. She even had a clear image of Jung Heewon cajoling her classmates or coworkers into some drinking contest or something. Not that Han Sooyoung knows anything about that, but it’s what happens in manhwa set in universities.

Jung Heewon shrugs. “I didn’t go to college.”

“…Oh.”

“I guess that means Sangah-ssi will be winning this one again,” Jung Heewon continues, either not noticing or not caring about Han Sooyoung’s idiocy. Then she gasps. “Wait, yeah! I didn’t even get to see what happened back in the high school before we got here. What did Sangah-ssi do to clear the scenario?”

[Constellation “Lily Blooming in Aquarius” whispers something to Incarnation “Jung Heewon.”]

Jung Heewon reads a private system message, then doubles over laughing.

Han Sooyoung grinds her teeth. “Now hold on. Even — Even if she did do that — why do you think it was Yoo Sangah who cleared the scenario and not me? You know, the protagonist?”

“Oh, now you’re accepting your role, huh?”

“And she didn’t win anything! This isn’t a competition!”

“Yeah, sure,” Jung Heewon says dismissively. “So, what do we do now? Look for Sangah-ssi so she can make your heart race again?”

“Who said she made my—” Han Sooyoung groans and runs her hands through her hair. “Never mind this. Let me see your phone.” At the puzzled look Jung Heewon shoots her, Han Sooyoung reluctantly explains, “Even if I didn’t get mine confiscated by some dumbfuck professor, I can’t call her there; she’s not on my contacts.”

“Huh. Weird. She’s not on mine either.”

Han Sooyoung blinks. “Really?” Does this mean neither the protagonist nor the protagonist’s friend know Yoo Sangah’s character? But shouldn’t the characters of the story at least be somewhat related…? “Well, whatever. Let me look at your phone anyway. It’s not like you’ve got anything to hide,” she adds, rolling her eyes.

Jung Heewon dutifully hands her phone over — to Han Sooyoung’s amusement, it’s an old and battered model — and walks around, musing aloud on what kind of campus tends to a garden like this, while Han Sooyoung looks through it. There’s quite the attention to detail, she’ll give the writer this: Jung Heewon(’s character) has hundreds of unread notifications on practically every social media app she has, and along with the default apps she’s got stuff like Tetris and Bejeweled downloaded. There’s nothing useful in the Notes app, and as promised Yoo Sangah’s name isn’t in the contacts list…

Han Sooyoung pauses, then checks the messages app.

Most of it is unread spam, but Han Sooyoung spots her own name quickly enough. Their messages are largely unhelpful, though: just them going back and forth to each other’s places, it seems, with Jung Heewon asking Han Sooyoung to come over one day and Han Sooyoung commanding Jung Heewon to get her ass to her place the next. Well, they are ‘friends,’ so it’s not that strange… but don’t friends usually talk about anything else? Maybe even in this story, their characters don’t get along that well.

In any case, there’s nothing to be gained from their texts to each other. She scrolls through the rest of Jung Heewon’s messages, and… “Score.”

“What?” Jung Heewon asks, peering over Han Sooyoung’s shoulder. “D’you find something? You know, these stories feel less like love stories and more like mystery stories.”

Han Sooyoung glares at the screen, just so she doesn’t think about Jung Heewon’s chin resting on her shoulder. “I found… something for sure.”

It’s a text conversation between Jung Heewon and an unsaved number — and the conversation had hardly been cordial.

im telling you to stay away from her

this is the last time im warning you

You can’t tell me what to do

Who are you to her anyway?

her friend

Just a friend?

better than a cheating ex

Lol

Before you go around telling me what to do, why don’t you ask Han Sooyoung what she really wants?

Jung Heewon whistles lowly. “Han Sooyoung, you’ve got a cheating ex? I guess that’s university life for you.”

Han Sooyoung rolls her eyes. “I’m not surprised I’ve got a cheating ex. I’m surprised it looks like you were defending me from…” She skims through the rest of the messages until — “Oh, shit. No way.”

just mind your own business already, yoo sangah

For a long second all Han Sooyoung and Jung Heewon do is stare at the name. Then they exchange identical scandalized looks. “No way,” Jung Heewon breathes.

“I-I know, right?” Han Sooyoung stammers. “Yoo Sangah would never… I mean, she doesn’t look like the type to…”

“…to hook up with you!”

“…Asshole.” Han Sooyoung types out a message to Yoo Sangah’s number — wru it’s us — then shoves Jung Heewon’s phone back in the other woman’s hands. “Okay, at least we know we’re all in the same world. Now let’s get out of here. Honestly, the forest…” She’d sent her apartment address in one of the texts earlier, along with a slew of curses that Jung Heewon would dare forget her unit number, so they can stay there for the time being, meet with Yoo Sangah, and figure out a plan.

Jung Heewon heaves a dramatic sigh. “I wish Sangah-ssi found me instead. You’re a serious pain.”

“Excuse you! I’m trying to get things done around here!”

“You could get things done without being a major asshole!”

With a snarl Han Sooyoung stalks away, not bothering to turn and see if Jung Heewon will follow. “Sorry you just can’t handle me! God. I bet if you did meet Yoo Sangah here, this stupid scenario will have been cleared in two minutes flat,” she fumes. “This forest would be a perfect place for you two to swap as much spit as you want.”

Resentment wars with her own satisfaction at Jung Heewon’s flustered stammering. “I — I don’t — I mean, that’s just — ugh!” she shouts, jogging to catch up with Han Sooyoung and falling into furious pace beside her. “It’s not like that at all! I just mean Sangah-ssi’s a lot easier to talk to than you are!”

Han Sooyoung makes a face. “That’s my line.” Then she makes another face. “I can’t believe you just made me say I prefer that woman.”

“Psh. So you’d rather kiss Sangah-ssi, got it.”

“What — no! It’s not like that, idiot! Anyway, we can’t clear the scenario by just kissing.” They’ve crossed over to the campus courtyard now, where other students are milling about. Han Sooyoung casts her gaze around for a security guard they could ask about the apartment she apparently lives in. “It has to be, you know… e-exciting!”

Jung Heewon crosses her arms. “This is ridiculous… Exciting?”

“Yes! Exciting, thrilling, heart-racing! Those sorts of things!” Han Sooyoung babbles. “So just any random kiss won’t cut it! It has to suit the story and—”

“Hold on.” Jung Heewon raises a hand, glancing at something to her right. Another private message, apparently. “Gabriel is saying something weird again. Oh, I see…”

“Don’t listen to a word that woman tells you.”

[Constellation “Lily Blooming in Aquarius” is trying to help you!]

[Constellation “Second-rate Novelist Climbing the Ranks” is curious about the advice.]

[Constellation “Casanova-in-Training” is calling their friends to come watch.]

Han Sooyoung makes a face. “Jung Heewon, are you listening to me? Look, I know you hate me and you know I hate you, so let’s not do anything stupid like kiss. There’s no proof it’ll actually work. Anyway, just because I’m the protagonist doesn’t mean anything has to happen to me,” she adds, realizing something just as probable. “Love stories like these have background couples all the time, so maybe something’s supposed to happen between you and Yoo Sangah instead! Yeah! Wouldn’t that be great? You two can fuck off into the sunset and—”

In one swift motion Jung Heewon slams her hand against a pillar right beside Han Sooyoung, startling an undignified squeak out of Han Sooyoung and then an even more undignified sound when Jung Heewon corners her against the wall, pushing her face closer to hers. “W-W-What… What…”

Jung Heewon frowns. “You really still want to go back to Sangah-ssi?” she asks. She’s so close now that Han Sooyoung can make out the flecks of blue in her brown eyes, the same shade of blue the skies of heaven are. “Why, when I’m right here?”

[Constellation “Lily Blooming in Aquarius” nods approvingly.]

[Constellation “Casanova-in-Training” is jotting this technique down!]

[Constellation “Abyssal Black Flame Dragon” declares this scenario beneath him and changes the channel.]

[The audience has been sufficiently excited! Scenario cleared!]

Jung Heewon’s frown deepens at that last one. “Yeah, well… I guess it is pretty lame,” she says aloud, apparently unaware of how Han Sooyoung’s heart is racing fast enough to give her an aneurysm. “Wait, Gabriel, is this the part where I kiss her? Or was it supposed to be before I said all that?”

[Constellation “Lily Blooming in Aquarius” is consulting Uriel’s notes…]

+

< Sub Scenario — “Let’s ❤ Love” Official Anthology >

Setting: Office

Role: Protag■nist

The st■ry so far…

You, Han Sooy■ung, are a new hire at X Corporation ■■■…

Excite the audience and do your best to act out this scenario to completion!

* Scenario data has been heavily damaged. Currently recovering information. Recovery progess: 30%

+

“So…” Yoo Sangah taps her chin in thought. “Did Heewon-ssi kiss you or not?”

“She did not!” Han Sooyoung hisses. “And thank god, too! I’ve already endured one horrible kiss for the rest of this scenario. This information is still completely worthless, by the way,” she adds, jabbing at the system window and its glitching interface. “I can tell I’m a new hire. Can’t you give us anything more useful, you amateur writer?”

[Constellation “Lonely Soul Yearning for Love” is giving you a pitiful look.]

[Constellation “Lonely Soul Yearning for Love” has sponsored 10 coins.]

“I don’t need your ten fucking—”

“Han Sooyoung! Slacking on the job again, I see?” a voice rumbles. Han Sooyoung swallows what would have been a very colorful word and turns to face her supervisor, who resembles her university professor in practically every way except occupation. No wonder this writer tanked. “Just because you’re new doesn’t mean you’re excused for not knowing how things work around here. Snap to it!”

With a flourish Yoo Sangah stands from her seat and bows, hands clasped politely before her. “Apologies, sir. I was just teaching her about some of the customs in the office. The fault is all mine.”

“Hrmph. Don’t let it happen again, Yoo Sangah-ssi. And don’t forget our meeting with the client company later today…”

When their supervisor storms off, Yoo Sangah sits back down with a sigh. “Wow,” Han Sooyoung says, raising an eyebrow. “Did you just cover for me? Why would you do that?”

“Well… wasn’t it romantic?”

[Constellation “Lily Blooming in Aquarius” says you’ll have to work harder than that.]

Yoo Sangah smiles grimly. “I suppose it wasn’t going to be that easy.” She turns to face Han Sooyoung. “Maybe we should kiss again. It worked last time.”

Han Sooyoung scowls. “Hell no.” She can feel an embarrassed flush coming on, so she adds, trying to sound as bored and unbothered as possible: “Why so excited? Do you just want an excuse to kiss me again?”

She’d been expecting a huff or a snort or a roll of Yoo Sangah’s eyes. Instead there’s silence, and only when Han Sooyoung realizes the pause has gone on a bit too long does Yoo Sangah clear her throat and look away, covering her mouth with her palm. “Um, no, of course not… that is, that’s not at all…”

“H-Huh?” Han Sooyoung says, stupidly. Is Yoo Sangah actually… shy? No, wait, does this mean she might actually… like…? No. Hold on. Maybe Yoo Sangah just likes kissing her, nothing else. Which isn’t so strange, Han Sooyoung tells herself. She is, after all, a beautiful, genius, and highly desirable woman. Anyone would be a fool to resist her feminine charms and elegant grace. So, really, this is no surprise — if anything, it’s been inevitable from the start!

Then Yoo Sangah frowns. “Nothing, huh…”

[Constellation “Lonely Soul Yearning for Love” says it has to come from the heart.]

[Constellation “Eyes Waiting for Tuesday Night” advises blushing a little more next time.]

Han Sooyoung stares at the messages, then whirls around to face Yoo Sangah. “You lying little…”

“Sooyoung-ssi, you should try it too,” Yoo Sangah suggests. She really isn’t blushing, even a little! “Based off the past two scenarios, it seems we don’t have to act the entire story out, just enough to make the audience’s hearts race.”

Han Sooyoung honestly can’t help but be impressed this woman can say ‘hearts race’ with a straight face. “Try what? Pick-up lines?” she sneers.

“Why not? Isn’t that how Heewon-ssi won last time?”

“She didn’t win, because this isn’t a competition.”

Still, much as Han Sooyoung hates to admit it — and she’s hated to admit this particular truth dozens of times now — Yoo Sangah has a point. The scenario-clear message had mentioned something along the lines of the audience being ‘sufficiently’ excited, after all, and nothing about the story itself.

[Constellation “Lonely Soul Yearning for Love” wishes the participating incarnations would at least look at the script…]

Plus, in the past two stories, it had been Yoo Sangah and Jung Heewon who, well, made the audience’s hearts race. And what had Han Sooyoung done? Stand there and let things happen to her like a useless damsel in distress?! She’s the protagonist, for heaven’s sake, she should be taking initiative and moving the story forward! Never mind that in most trashy love stories like this, the protagonist really does sort of just stand there and let things happen to them. She’s always hated those kinds of main characters, so she’s certainly not about to follow in their footsteps.

Fine. No problem. Han Sooyoung turns in her seat to face Yoo Sangah. Right now she’s supposed to be a new hire, right? In that case there are two kinds of popular categories for a new hire/transfer student/club member/etc.: the innocent and hopeful type or the mysterious yet charismatic type. However this also depends on the sort of dynamic the writer wishes to establish with the love interest, and Yoo Sangah is a calm and reliable upperclassman type, which means the former would be more effective than the latter in making the audience root for the protagonist…

“Sooyoung-ssi?” Yoo Sangah frowns, looking genuinely concerned. “Is there… something you need to say?”

Ugh. This protagonist has been staring at her love interest’s face for several seconds too long now. “I’m looking forward to working here!” Han Sooyoung exclaims, doing her best to sound enthusiastic and probably just sounding constipated. “P… P-Please… take care of me!”

She peeks at the corner of her eye for any indirect messages.

[Constellation “Casanova-in-Training” cringes.]

[Constellation “Lonely Soul Yearning for Love” cringes.]

[Constellation “Lily Blooming in Aquarius” cringes.]

“Why?!”

Yoo Sangah checks the messages, then says, “Maybe next time you could smile while saying that.”

“Shut up! There won’t be a fucking next time!”

Jung Heewon’s name isn’t on either of their contacts this story, and despite searching the building for any sign of her in the different offices or departments, they come up blank. Han Sooyoung can’t care less. Throughout the day she has enough trouble looking for opportunities to drop appropriately romantic lines or set up appropriately romantic situations: during a meeting, in the break room, even in the goddamn restroom. Yoo Sangah, in fairness, tries to play along with her, but…

“Ah! S-Sorry!” Han Sooyoung cries, forcing herself to trip over nothing on her way back to her seat in the meeting room. Her plan had been to spill some water on Yoo Sangah’s shirt, then gallantly shrug off her blazer and lend it to the other woman, but somehow she fumbles the glass in mid-air and spills freezing cold water all over herself instead. Through some miracle she manages to keep herself from cursing up a storm.

She does hiss “what the fuck” aloud when Yoo Sangah stands up from her seat, shoulders her jacket off in an absurdly, unnecessarily erotic manner, and drapes it over Han Sooyoung just as the water begins to seep through her thin blouse. “Are you alright?” she whispers, bending slightly to speak in Han Sooyoung’s ear.

The shiver that runs down her spine feels downright criminal. “I-I’m…”

“Wear this for now,” Yoo Sangah adds, drawing her jacket tighter around Han Sooyoung. She considers her words for a second, then adds, “No one else is allowed to see you like this except me.”

[Constellation “Lonely Soul Yearning for Love” screams!!!]

[Constellation “Prisoner of the Golden Headband” is impressed at Incarnation “Yoo Sangah’s” boldness!]

[More Constellations have entered the channel.]

“…But not enough,” Yoo Sangah murmurs, giving the stream of indirect messages a disappointed glance before looking back down at Han Sooyoung. “What’s wrong? You’re all red. The water wasn’t boiling, was it?”

“Y… You…” Han Sooyoung squeaks. “Oh, screw you…”

Their supervisor raps on the desk. “Han Sooyoung, Yoo Sangah-ssi! Can we get this meeting in order, or will you two fuss over some water for the remaining forty-five minutes?”

Then in the break room, when Han Sooyoung tried offering Yoo Sangah some snacks she conveniently found in her bag only for Yoo Sangah to ‘teasingly’ ‘invite’ her to a fucking Poppero game. In the restroom, Han Sooyoung had hoped to change out of her shirt — mostly dry by then, but for all her complaining it might as well have been soaking wet — to fluster Yoo Sangah and provide their voyeuristic audience of Constellations with some fanservice, but then her buttons had gotten caught in the fabric somehow and Yoo Sangah had to gently help her undo them. Those long, slender fingers brushed against the bare skin of her sternum about seven times until Han Sooyoung gave up, shoved her away, and climbed three floors to hide in the restroom there instead.

Every time Han Sooyoung tries anything, Yoo Sangah steals the goddamn spotlight. Seriously, why wasn’t she given the protagonist role? They’d have cleared this stupid anthology complete with three sequels and a spin-off work in half the time they’re currently taking right now.

Han Sooyoung washes her face in the sink for the third time, watches water drip from the ends of her hair, then sighs and heads for the door. Alright, she’s obviously lost in this story. Maybe in the next one she can… wait, no, she hasn’t lost, because this isn’t a goddamn competition —

“Whoa!”

“Ow,” Han Sooyoung complains, stumbling back when she turns a corner and crashes face-first against a brick wall — no, a person. A very tall person. A very tall person who wraps an arm around her waist and saves her from toppling over backwards and probably cracking her skull on the floor. “Goddamn, watch where you’re—”

“You watch where you’re going,” the very tall and very familiar person grumbles. Han Sooyoung looks up to meet Jung Heewon’s eyes, narrowed in annoyance then rapidly widening in surprise. “Wait, Han Sooyoung?”

Han Sooyoung freezes, then tries to pull away from Jung Heewon, mostly because she’s remembering the last time they were this close — hell, the last time they saw each other, even — and that’s not a memory she wants to reenact. But to Han Sooyoung’s alarm, Jung Heewon just tightens her grip on her, fingers digging against her waist. “Good. I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

“O-Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Jung Heewon’s gaze darts to the side before meeting Han Sooyoung’s eyes again. “When I buy this company, I’m gonna… I mean, I intend to buy you right along with it.”

Han Sooyoung’s brain nearly shuts down. “You… buy… the company?” she says, stupidly. One part of her recognizes exactly what kind of character type Jung Heewon is trying to act out here, but another part of her is in hysterics that she’d try to be a domineering CEO that her body feels paralyzed from the hilarity of the situation.

In fairness, Jung Heewon pulls off the domineering-CEO smirk so naturally it’s enviable. “That’s right. Don’t you know who I am? Only the director of the richest company in South Korea…” She glances at something to the side again, but when Han Sooyoung follows her gaze, it’s just the corridor wall. “And the director of your client company,” Jung Heewon adds. “So watch yourself! One wrong move and you might just be the reason this two-bit company of yours goes bankrupt!”

Han Sooyoung blinks, then rolls her eyes. “If our company’s ‘two-bit,’ then why would South Korea’s shining CEO contract with us in the first place?”

As she expected, Jung Heewon stares blankly down at her for exactly three long seconds.

[Constellation “Lily Blooming in Aquarius” is desperately trying to get Incarnation “Jung Heewon’s” attention!]

“Uh.” Jung Heewon clears her throat and very unsubtly looks at what must be a private indirect message beside her. “That is… well, it was merely a figure of speech. To remind you of your place.”

“Right,” Han Sooyoung says, drawing the word out. “So… can you let me go yet?”

Jung Heewon sneers and pulls her arm out from beneath Han Sooyoung’s back, looking like she dearly hopes Han Sooyoung gets a concussion this time. Fortunately Han Sooyoung had expected as much and steadies herself on her feet, crossing her arms and tilting her chin up to look Jung Heewon in the eye.

She already gets a kick out of picking a fight with Jung Heewon under regular circumstances, but now with her getting all nervous and confused about trying to be someone she’s not? It’s even funnier.

[Constellation “Lily Blooming in Aquarius” advises Incarnation “Jung Heewon” to stay calm.]

[Constellation “Guardian of Youths and Travel” is banging on the door of Constellation “Demon-like Judge of Fire’s” room.]

[Constellation “Friend of Justice and Harmony” is hurriedly searching through Eden’s confiscated books for information…]

“Okay, CEO-ssi, riddle me this,” Han Sooyoung crows, trying not to full-out cackle at the incensed look on Jung Heewon’s face. “What does your company even do?”

[Constellation “Commander of the Red Cosmos” has left the channel.]

“Ugh,” Jung Heewon mutters, emphatically. “Well, you know, it… it’s probably… some kind of business — medicine! It’s medicine. We’re in the pharmaceutical industry,” she dutifully recites, then gives the empty space beside Han Sooyoung’s head a glare as if wondering what nonsense she’s being made to spout. “The… richest one, too… and so on.”

“And so on,” Han Sooyoung echoes.

Jung Heewon lasts for another moment before slumping against the wall behind her. “I give up. I give up! Gabriel, Raphael, Raguel… Jophiel, though she left… thanks for helping, but I can’t do this anymore. Oh, man, stop laughing,” she groans, though she sounds more resigned than anything. Which is good, since Han Sooyoung wouldn’t be able to stop laughing even if she wanted to. “Honestly! Of all the people to make me act like, I had to remind myself of my own shitty boss! God, what kind of person would fall in love with an awful personality like that anyway?”

“Probably because it’s not about the personality,” Han Sooyoung says, still trying to catch her breath. “Well, Jung Heewon, you tried. And thank you for trying. That was the best laugh I’ve had in a long while.”

“Shut it. Where’s Sangah-ssi?”

“Why? You gonna try that on her? Knowing her, I think that’s the last thing she’s gonna find hot.”

Jung Heewon buries her face in her hands. “Don’t ever tell her about this. Ugh! Gabriel, I’m never listening to you again! Where’s Uriel when you need her?”

[Constellation “Lily Blooming in Aquarius” was just trying to help! Also, Constellation “Demon-like Judge of Fire” wouldn’t have done any better!]

Jung Heewon has to stick to the script and go attend some meeting, leaving Han Sooyoung to make her way back to her department alone. The ridiculous encounter with Jung Heewon is enough to have Han Sooyoung completely forgetting the whole reason she had been three floors away from the office, right up until she plops down on her seat and Yoo Sangah says, quietly, “Sooyoung-ssi.”

“G-Gyah. Fuck. Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

“Sneak up…? I was already sitting here. But anyway.” Yoo Sangah sighs. “Um, I should apologize. Even if I am doing… these for the scenario, I shouldn’t do anything to make you too uncomfortable. Please let me know if I ever go too far, alright?”

Han Sooyoung blinks, stares. It takes a second for her to even realize what Yoo Sangah’s talking about. “You — You mean your, like, pick-up lines?” she says, knowing full well ‘pick-up lines’ does not even begin to cover ‘helping another woman unbutton her shirt.’ But if she’s apologizing for this, does this mean… oh, shit. She probably thought Han Sooyoung ran off earlier because she had been uncomfortable.

Which, well, she sort of was. But not for the reasons Yoo Sangah’s thinking. Damn it, now Han Sooyoung just feels bad, when she should be gloating over an apologetic Yoo Sangah right now.

“I mean, I… Well… Look, don’t worry about it,” Han Sooyoung huffs, turning away. “Like you said, it’s for the scenario. It’s not like you did anything… awful, or… Okay, okay, I’ll say something if it gets too much, but it’s fine! I just… really… needed to take a huge dump back then!” she blurts out.

Yoo Sangah’s brows disappear beneath her fringe.

“Yeah, that’s right,” Han Sooyoung agrees with herself. “And I couldn’t exactly do that with you around. Anyway, more importantly, I ran into Jung Heewon on my way back. Did you know she’s apparently the CEO of our client company?”

“Oh,” Yoo Sangah says, faintly. She looks like she’s still stuck on the ‘huge dump’ part of Han Sooyoung’s words. “I see. Well… that makes sense. There are all those books with CEOs on the cover.”

“Of all things romance, that’s what you get right?”

“Because I used to always wonder what others saw in those kinds of books… or those kinds of people.” Yoo Sangah pauses, giving Han Sooyoung a thoughtful look. After enough times Han Sooyoung’s recognized this look as the ‘I’m about to give Sooyoung-ssi a heart attack’ look, and she braces herself for something potentially devastating, but instead she just asks, “So? Did Heewon-ssi make your heart race? If it’s her, she might have been a charming CEO.”

Han Sooyoung almost chokes. “C-Charming… I mean, sure, if you’re into total shambling failures…”

“Did she say she’d buy you?”

“Yes! Exactly! Wow, Yoo Sangah, you would’ve done a better job writing her lines than the Eden angels. Jung Heewon just made my heart race because I was laughing my ass off.”

[Constellation “Lily Blooming in Aquarius” resents that.]

Yoo Sangah laughs, too, looking so beautiful that for a second Han Sooyoung forgets herself and openly stares, letting her guard down. And maybe that was Yoo Sangah’s plan all along, because she chooses that moment to say, blushing cheeks and all, “She might try to buy your heart with money, but Sooyoung-ssi… your heart will always belong to me.”

[Constellation “Lily Blooming in Aquarius” is grudgingly impressed.]

[Constellation “Sleeping Lady of Brocade” would prefer the money…]

[Constellation “Lonely Soul Yearning for Love” is saying this is it!!! Yes!!! That’s the line!!!]

[The audience has been sufficiently excited! Scenario cleared!]

“…You little devil,” Han Sooyoung manages, face burning, right as the next page turns.

+

< Sub Scenario — “Let’s ❤ Love” Official Anthology >

Setting: Host club

Role: Protago—

+

“Nope. No, no, no, no,” Han Sooyoung says, shoving the system window aside and wishing she had a recycle bin to drag it into. Part of her had known the setting right away, but at the same time she hadn’t wanted it to be true! “I’m out of here!” she shouts, standing up from the couch — the plush, velvet couch she’d been practically lying down on, thanks to the woman trying to climb her like a tree. “Yoo Sangah and Jung Heewon can clear this shit on their own, I’m not doing this!”

The woman pouts and bats her lashes up at Han Sooyoung. “Oh, where are you going, dear customer? Leaving so early?”

“It’s midnight!”

What kind of setting is this? Of course host clubs aren’t all that strange in romance works, but they’re usually… well… risqué, to put it mildly. It also isn’t what Han Sooyoung had been expecting at all, based on the previous works! To go from high school to university isn’t so strange, and an office setting afterwards is normal too, but a host club out of nowhere? Has Han Sooyoung been reading this whole thing wrong, and this anthology is an adults-only work after all?!

But halfway across the room (club? bar? she has no idea) someone grabs Han Sooyoung’s arm, hard enough to have her skidding to an embarrassed halt. “Han Sooyoung! Whoa, we finally ended up in the same place again,” Jung Heewon exclaims.

“Yeah, yeah. Shit, does that mean you’re a—” Han Sooyoung makes the mistake of looking up at Jung Heewon. Jung Heewon, in a suit. Jung Heewon, in a suit that really shouldn’t be making Han Sooyoung feel short of breath or faint in heart or, well, wrong in the head. “A… A… h-host…?”

Jung Heewon makes a face. “Guess so. Don’t worry, I have no plans of reading Gabriel’s lines anymore,” she adds, though her eye-roll is accompanied by a fond smile, “so if you laugh at me, it’ll just be because these clothes are too damn tight.”

Han Sooyoung glances down at the fabric straining pitifully around her shoulders and especially across her chest. “Yeah, I bet they are. Where’s Yoo Sangah?”

“No idea. Maybe she’s our manager.” Jung Heewon frowns. “Or… you’re a customer, right, not a host? Maybe she’s your friend at school or work or whatever.”

“Maybe,” Han Sooyoung mutters. “Okay, I’m going. Bye.”

“What? Wait! Where are you—”

“I’m not doing this stupid setting! You and Yoo Sangah figure it out yourself! Aren’t some side-characters more popular than the protagonist herself? If you know what’s good for you, you’ll make this one of those stories!”

To her surprise, no system messages tell her to follow the script or shock her with probability sparks. In fact, Han Sooyoung makes it all the way home thanks to the ‘Lonely Soul Yearning for Love’ Constellation telling her to turn left in 300 meters like a damn navigation app. It’s a studio apartment that’s as messy as it is cramped, but it’s got a bed, and that’s all Han Sooyoung cares about: she collapses on the sheets and conks out to sleep for the first time since the high school setting.

About 20 hours later Han Sooyoung stirs awake to the incessant beeping of a system message; she opens her eyes just in time to see it go from orange to red. [Warning! Your actions are not following the intended storyline! After 4 seconds of inactivity, you will be automatically deleted from the scenario.]

“Fucking—” Han Sooyoung mashes the ‘OK’ button and sighs in relief when the last sentence disappears. “God! Can’t a girl get any sleep around here?”

[Constellation “Lonely Soul Yearning for Love” greets you good evening.]

[Constellation “Lonely Soul Yearning for Love” advises you to head to the host club to advance the story!]

“You again,” Han Sooyoung mutters, dragging herself off the bed. The last thing she wants is to get at all involved with the damn host club, but knowing how useless Yoo Sangah and Jung Heewon are when it comes to love and romance, she may as well see what she can to help. Every couple needs a wingman, right?

The thought makes her sigh again. Even with the ‘protagonist’ role slapped on her face, she’s relegated herself to a third-wheel role. Can’t say she’s not consistent.

The club is much the same as it was last night, which is stuffed to capacity. Han Sooyoung hadn’t noticed it before, but now that she’s no longer quite so alarmed, she can’t help but see how… pretty much everyone in there is a woman, hosts and customers alike. It would be more surprising if Han Sooyoung hadn’t already been in an all-girls’ high school and an all-womens’ university; the office setting seems to have been the one deviation from the author’s established norm.

“Guess you’re consistent too, huh,” Han Sooyoung mutters aloud, inching her way across the bar. Everywhere she looks there are women entangled with one another, something she’s only ever seen in movies and novels. Do people really act like this in nightclubs, or is this also just the author’s imagination? Han Sooyoung almost makes a vow to visit one herself — purely for reference material, obviously — before remembering, oh, right, apocalypse.

[Constellation “Lonely Soul Yearning for Love” comforts you.]

[Constellation “Lonely Soul Yearning for Love” points out you can experience all this and more now in their story!]

“I don’t want to experience it like this,” Han Sooyoung grumbles, though at the back of her mind she can’t help but acknowledge how even trashy love stories like these have their value in more than just entertainment.

To her mild surprise, she spots a familiar head of brown hair first, amidst a crowd of other women, and Han Sooyoung frowns in thought. Yoo Sangah is here, too? Is she a customer, then? Jung Heewon’s already a host, and in a host club setting, it might be strange to have two people in the same role. On the other hand, maybe it’s like that one Japanese anime, about a host club… but that was also in a high school setting, right? Damn it, if Han Sooyoung had just known she would be going into a stupid scenario like this, she would have gone on a binge-watching spree…

Oh, right. Apocalypse. No Internet. Han Sooyoung shakes her head. “Hey, Yoo Sangah! What are you…”

“S-Sangah… -ssi,” a customer whimpers, one hand curled shyly around Yoo Sangah’s arm, “listen — I did what you suggested, and my supervisor praised me at work today! You’re really amazing!”

Yoo Sangah smiles, sweet and sincere. “Really? That’s good. But don’t flatter me: I may have suggested it, but actually delivering the presentation was all you.”

“Eek…!”

“Yoo Sangah-ssi!” another customer cries, holding onto Yoo Sangah’s other arm. “How about me? I made my deadline yesterday with your support! You were right: pacing myself and taking breaks instead of pulling an all-nighter really did help!”

“Ah, I’m happy for you. Still, all I did was advise you: it was your own diligence that pulled you through.”

“Ahh…”

“Sangah-ya!” a third customer has the audacity to call, approaching from behind the couch Yoo Sangah — and several other customers — is seated on, draping her arms around Yoo Sangah’s neck and bringing her face close to hers. “Gosh, look at you surrounded by others… Didn’t you promise me I was special to you? At this rate, I’m going to get jealous…”

Han Sooyoung expects Yoo Sangah to edge away from such overt affection, but to her surprise Yoo Sangah only laughs quietly under her breath and reaches up to stroke the back of the woman’s hand. “Of course you’re special to me, just as how everyone else here is special in their own unique way. Isn’t that right, ladies?”

Han Sooyoung can only endure the “Eek”s and “Ahh”s and “Kyaa”s for a few seconds more before she turns on her heel and stalks away. Of course, Yoo Sangah chooses that moment to notice her, but Han Sooyoung only hears a confused “Sooyoung-ssi?” before she turns a corner and disappears down the first open room she sees, slamming the door behind her.

Why is she getting this worked up over that?! It’s not like she’s one of Yoo Sangah’s lovestruck customers or something, nor is Yoo Sangah… well… anything to her, really! It had just been so strange to see Yoo Sangah surrounded by all those other women, even if she’s just following a script…

Right! It’s just a script. Now that Han Sooyoung thinks about it, Yoo Sangah must be playing the ‘popular’ host, whose beauty drives everyone crazy and whose words sweep everyone off their feet. In stories where that character type becomes the end-game partner, doesn’t it usually mean the protagonist is someone genuinely special to them? So the problem here is…

“…That damn Yoo Sangah is just too good at her job…!”

Suddenly the door flies open, startling Han Sooyoung back. “Here you are!” Jung Heewon exclaims, stepping in the room and kicking the door closed behind her. “What’s with you? I saw you just run off like that. Stepped on a whole bunch of people’s feet too.”

“Che. Well, if the system didn’t call me out for breaking character, then I don’t care,” Han Sooyoung spits.

Jung Heewon frowns, crossing her arms. “So… who pissed you off this time?”

“Oh, shut up. It’s none of your business.”

“It’s kind of my business if you’re the protagonist, you know.”

“Didn’t I tell you to get it on with Yoo Sangah instead?!” Han Sooyoung shouts, jabbing a finger against Jung Heewon’s chest, just above a pair of buttons fighting for their lives. “I didn’t even want to come back here, but the stupid system… ugh! Anyway, look, now’s the perfect time to actually follow those crazy archangels’s suggestions. Yoo Sangah’s so obsessed with you, she’d probably swoon into your arms even — no, especially if you act twice as stupid as last time.”

Jung Heewon’s face goes through a rapid series of expressions, from annoyed to shocked to flustered. “What do you — I-I don’t — Sangah-ssi is not—”

[Constellation “Lily Blooming in Aquarius” likes this idea.]

Jung Heewon waves the message away. “Okay, hold on! F-First, Sangah-ssi isn’t obsessed with me—”

“You should see her when we’re at home, then,” Han Sooyoung mutters, then instantly hates herself for calling that dilapidated office building they’re staying at together with Lee Sookyung ‘home.’

“—and second, are you… could you just be jealous?” Jung Heewon asks, sounding both shocked and exasperated.

Han Sooyoung gawks at her. “Jealous. Jealous? Of who?”

“Oh, I don’t know, of the twenty other girls climbing over each other trying to hold Sangah-ssi’s hand? Look, I get it,” Jung Heewon admits, unexpectedly enough; the embarrassed blush on her cheeks is distracting enough that Han Sooyoung can’t even deny what she just said. “But it’s just part of the script. I found out earlier today that she has weekend shifts or something, and that’s why we didn’t see her here yesterday. Then when we got to work, we both got these system messages telling us how to do our job. So we thought working like usual would be what helps advance the storyline or something, since it wouldn’t be telling us about it otherwise. Right?”

Han Sooyoung gapes like a dying fish for several seconds before saying, “Right.” And then, “No, wait. I’m not — I wasn’t jealous or anything! Are you just projecting onto me? Are you the jealous one here?”

Jung Heewon goes a brand new shade of red. “No! I mean — I was just—”

“Where’d you even get the idea that I like — that I feel—” Han Sooyoung makes an inarticulate noise. “For Yoo Sangah?!”

Now Jung Heewon has the gall to look confused. “Um… you live together?”

“Yeah, with Lee Sookyung.”

Jung Heewon just makes a face as if wondering what that has to do with anything.

Han Sooyoung heaves a long-suffering sigh. “Whatever. The point is that I don’t like that woman. What’s there to like anyway?” she sneers, turning away. “Aside from her little-miss-perfect attitude—” although Han Sooyoung had to admit she’s a lot less ‘perfect’ than she thought — “and her, bah, her pretty face—” although ironically enough, Han Sooyoung finds Yoo Sangah a lot hotter when she isn’t smiling — “and don’t even get me started on her stupid fucking catsuit—”

“You’re not helping your case here,” Jung Heewon points out. “Like, at all.”

“Oh, sorry. Did you want to talk about her stupid fucking catsuit?”

“Will you just shut up,” Jung Heewon hisses, though judging by how her blush returns with a vengeance Han Sooyoung has a feeling she has quite a lot to say about Yoo Sangah’s stupid fucking catsuit. “And… And… Fine. I’m a little — no, I am jealous,” she says, fists clenched at her sides. “But… But not of the women around Sangah-ssi. I’m jealous of… S-Sangah-ssi herself.”

Han Sooyoung frowns. “Uh… Do you mean… You also want to be surrounded by women?!” she squawks. “Jung Heewon, you womanizer! But if that’s the problem, then literally just go do your job! This might be the first and last setting we get where you have to pick up girls to win!”

Jung Heewon stares at her, agape, then groans and runs a hand down her face. “No, not like that, you moron! I mean… right now, I…”

Han Sooyoung waits for about three more seconds, but when Jung Heewon just goes on stammering, she shakes her head and heads for the door. “Okay, whatever. I’m calm now,” she says, somewhat surprising as it is to say. Since when did talking to — well, shouting at — Jung Heewon calm her down? To be more accurate she feels better now, but she hardly wants to say that.

“Wait—”

“If you want to hook up with Yoo Sangah, be my guest. If you need my help, well — ugh, fine, it’s just for the scenario anyway.” She pauses to think, then says, triumphant, “I know! We could make her jealous! Go back to work, Jung Heewon, get mobbed by women and then Yoo Sangah will see what she’s missing out o—”

“Will you stop talking for a second,” Jung Heewon growls, slamming a hand beside Han Sooyoung’s head and caging her against the wall. “Listen to me!”

Han Sooyoung wants to say it’s very hard to listen to her when she is once again doing this stupid maneuver, but since Jung Heewon is, well, doing this stupid maneuver, all she can do is squeak out a pathetic, “W-W-What!”

There’s no other word for it. Jung Heewon’s gaze smolders. “I don’t want other customers or other women. You’re the only one for me, Han Sooyoung.”

[Constellation “Lily Blooming in Aquarius” is proud of Incarnation “Jung Heewon!”]

[Constellation “Guardian of Youths and Travel” is still supporting Incarnation “Yoo Sangah.”]

[Constellation “Lonely Soul Yearning for Love” is noting this down for future writing!]

[The audience has been sufficiently excited! Scenario cleared!]

“Hey, what’s that one in the middle?” Han Sooyoung weakly asks.

Jung Heewon sighs and leans back as the light begins to take them. “I did a pretty good job with that line this time, didn’t I?”

“You — That was a line—?”

+

< Sub Scenario — “Let’s ❤ Love” Official Anthology >

Setting: Historical fantasy

Role: Protagonist

The story so far…

You, Han Sooyoung, are heir to the throne of Y Kingdom. The king has recently passed away, and the townspeople resent the young princess for taking his place so quickly. They believe you to be an evil witch who killed and replaced the king’s real daughter in her h■nger for p■wer. Your fiancé is ■■■…

Excite the audience and do your best to act out this scenario to completion!

* Scenario data has been heavily damaged. Currently recovering information. Recovery progess: 71%

+

“…Ugh.”

How many stories has it been? Four… no, five? How many more do they have to clear before they can get out of this stupid scenario? Do they really have to finish the whole book? Han Sooyoung can’t even guess how many stories this anthology work may contain, since it varies from author to author and genre to genre and publisher to publisher… How much more of this can they take? Granted, it’s not a life-threatening scenario, but at this point Han Sooyoung would prefer that instead of this slow torture.

And now she’s a fucking princess. Sure. Han Sooyoung idly wonders if she can smother herself in her own canopy bed.

She drags herself off of it instead, staring morosely down at her slippered feet. Considering she doesn’t have a phone with a contacts list she can scroll through, she might as well explore the place and search for those other two idiots. They’re probably useless without her right now, after all.

Combing the palace reveals nothing, and of all things the system forbids her from breaking character by speaking to commoners, so Han Sooyoung is forced to head outside, more out of irritation than anything. The system message had said ‘at the moment,’ which implies some kind of redemption arc in the future, but… seriously? What sort of insanely unfair handicap is this right now?

She huffs and crosses her arms, and around her several other people walking down the road cross the street to avoid her, whispering behind their palms.

…Right. The people hate her. Maybe it’s not so strange she can’t speak to them yet, then.

The city isn’t anything special: paved roads, wooden houses, a stone fountain. Typical medieval style. It’s not so surprising, since the past few settings haven’t been terribly creative either, but Han Sooyoung wonders if, as is common in historical settings, there’s a more intricate plot beyond just love triangles and cheating exes. “There’s probably inter-kingdom politics, right? And a reason why people think I’m some kind of evil witch?” Han Sooyoung muses aloud. “After all, this is your… fifth work, and if these were arranged in order of when you wrote them, then you must’ve gotten better by now.”

[Constellation “Lonely Soul Yearning for Love” avoids your gaze.]

“Hey. Look at me when I’m talking to you.”

[Constellation “Lonely Soul Yearning for Love” says that in their defense — look out!]

“What…” Han Sooyoung turns around — and leaps back just in time to avoid a pitchfork to the face. “Whoa! Hey, watch it!”

“She’s got no guards! Now’s our chance!” the man yells, jabbing the pitchfork at her face again; Han Sooyoung takes several steps back, more aware than ever of her lack of stats and skills in this world. “Men! Charge! We shall rid the throne of this imposter if we must kill her ourselves!”

The amassing mob of other commoners carrying pitchforks, axes, and other assorted, equally threatening weapons roar in agreement.

“Ugh,” Han Sooyoung repeats, with feeling. “Don’t suppose we can talk this out — okay, fine!” she shouts, scrambling away when the pitchfork comes dangerously close to her face. Even if she could punch someone without injuring herself, she’d probably be going against the bullshit script, so annoying as it is Han Sooyoung turns and runs. Even here, she’s given the role where people hate her?

Complain if you’re liked by others, complain if you’re hated, she tells herself, ducking down alleyways and sidestreets at random. At least one of those makes more sense than the other.

Still, she can’t run forever — she doesn’t know this city half as well as its actual inhabitants do, and she’s already tiring out. If she could just get back to the palace, which she can actually see thanks to how it towers over all the other buildings in the city, she could hide behind its gates — except, of course, she has no idea how to get there without getting lynched. Han Sooyoung pauses to catch her breath, then creeps out onto what seems like a main street.

A passing newsboy blinks, then gasps. “Here! Her Highness is here!”

“For fuck’s sake,” Han Sooyoung groans, searching the street for other possible routes. Maybe she should just brave the straight shot for the palace? Honestly, even if there were a safer way to get there, she’ll probably get caught and die before she can find it. Decision made, Han Sooyoung takes a deep breath, then takes off down the street —

Only for someone to grab her by the back of her collar and yank her into a narrow alleyway.

“Fuck!” Han Sooyoung snarls, flailing wildly against her assailant’s grip and trying to bite down on their hand when they cover her mouth. She can’t die here. What are they going to tell the others? ‘Oh, yeah, Han Sooyoung’s dead, some random NPC sliced her throat and we don’t even have her body because she got absorbed into the story or some bullshit like that. What was the scenario? Uhh, something about love stories—’

“Shh!” the person hisses, and Han Sooyoung goes still. This voice… Could it be? “God, I knew the princess they were chasing had to be you. Haven’t even been in this world for more than an hour and people are already trying to kill you.”

Han Sooyoung whirls around. “Jung Heewon!” Her heart is pounding, and not entirely because she’d been running for her life just now. The woman’s wearing a full suit of armor, sans helmet, and Han Sooyoung wishes it made her look even just a little stupid. “You… Well, I can guess what you are.”

Jung Heewon squints at her. “And I can guess what you are. Are you hurt anywhere?”

She steps behind Han Sooyoung, shielding her from view from the mouth of the alleyway, and bends slightly down to inspect her for injuries. Han Sooyoung tries to back away, more out of instinct than anything, but Jung Heewon reaches out to grip her wrist, firmly but gently. “Looks like they didn’t get you,” she sighs, looking almost… relieved. “Okay. Glad you’re alright.”

Han Sooyoung blinks. “You… oh.” She rolls her eyes, glad she figured that out before she could make a fool of herself. “Those archangels are feeding you lines again, aren’t they? Are they giving you acting tips while they’re at it?”

But Jung Heewon just scowls. “Eden? No, not this time. Wow, can’t I be worried about you without needing someone else to tell me to do it? Of course I was worried,” she adds, voice flat, when Han Sooyoung just stares at her. Is she seeing things, or does Jung Heewon look just slightly embarrassed? “We don’t know what happens to people if they die in here, and you’re the protagonist. The scenario might just become completely unclearable.”

“Hah,” Han Sooyoung huffs. Sounds like the situation for a certain other protagonist she knows, just on a much bigger scale. “I wouldn’t have died… probably. Besides, wouldn’t you be way happier to see me get egged? Or… tomato’d?”

“Sheesh. Is that what you think of me?” Jung Heewon crosses her arms. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt, okay?”

“…Oh,” Han Sooyoung says, dumbly. Is that… really how she feels? This whole time Han Sooyoung had sort of enjoyed — or at least been content with — Jung Heewon’s stark black-and-white view of things, because at least that meant Han Sooyoung always knew where she stood and how Jung Heewon saw her, and it was the part she knew how to play best. In some ways it was almost reminiscent of when she and Yoo Sangah had first met.

In some ways it also kept her feeling safe. It was simply unrealistic to believe everyone in Kim Dokja’s stupid harem or whatever could like her. With Jung Heewon and her death threats around, Han Sooyoung could look that spark of hope in the eye and say: See? What did you expect?

But now — now.

“Well,” Jung Heewon allows, turning away, “maybe one egg.”

“Hey.”

“I think it wouldn’t hurt. Knock you down a few pegs. But anyway,” Jung Heewon says, presumably before Han Sooyoung can punch the smirk off her face, “come on, let’s get you back to the palace. Have you found Sangah-ssi yet? I figured she might be in there somewhere too.”

Han Sooyoung scoffs. “Why? Because she’s your princess?”

“What — N-No — Stop putting words in my mouth!”

To distract herself from… everything, Han Sooyoung tries to assess the situation. So Jung Heewon is a knight. This is beyond unsurprising. But it’s not a very popular trope in webnovels or manhwa, is it? Honestly, most of the time, love stories set in these historical or royal settings are all about bastard sons and scheming nobles and rebellious (foreign) princes; Han Sooyoung’s not sure if a knight’s ever been in a leading role.

[Constellation “Lily Blooming in Aquarius” thinks Incarnation “Jung Heewon” looks quite good in a knight’s armor.]

[Constellation “Master of Steel” is cheering Incarnation “Jung Heewon” on in her quest for love!]

…But of course, some fans like the underdog, and a knight’s unwavering, sometimes fanatic, loyalty to their liege is a popular trope in some circles. Han Sooyoung doubts that will be the case here, but if she’s learned anything by this point, it’s that these Constellations will eat up anything.

“You go on ahead,” Jung Heewon says, when they get to the palace gates. “I’ll just make sure no one’s tried to break the walls down or something. Look for Sangah-ssi, okay?”

“I already said I couldn’t find her,” Han Sooyoung sighs, but heads in anyway. Right now, she needs some time alone, because if she notices how several long strands of Jung Heewon’s hair have come loose from her bun and are draped lazily over her armor, she might snap once and for all.

Of course, because nothing in any of these stories has ever gone right for her, Han Sooyoung’s time alone lasts all of two minutes. There’s someone waiting for her in the garden.

From afar Han Sooyoung almost mistakes him for, of all people, Yoo Joonghyuk: he has the same sideswept wavy black hair, narrow eyes, angular face, and of course brooding look. But aside from how there’s obviously no way Yoo Joonghyuk would be here, up close there are some more obvious differences: for one thing, his eyes are an unnerving shade of American blue.

Han Sooyoung dislikes him on sight. “Hey!” she calls. He’s dressed in royal finery, and he has a slightly less generic design than the other NPCs, so he must be someone important. “Who’re you? Who let you in my garden?”

The man has the nerve to look shocked. “Who — Who am I? Why, Your Highness, surely you must know who I am. Your guards would never let just any riff-raff in, as you say, your palace.”

Han Sooyoung wants to grab this guy by the epaulettes and shake him back and forth. See if he’ll answer properly then. But she’d probably get flagged for being out-of-character, so she wracks her brain for the possible roles this man might play. Obviously not a knight, even a high-ranking one, and his uppity, casual manner of speech might mean he’s some kind of noble who’s on the same level as her… huh. On the same level as a princess, soon to be a queen?

“Oh, got it.” Han Sooyoung snaps her fingers. “You’re my estranged half-brother also vying for the throne, just recently arrived from whichever foreign country you and your family were living in before my parents died. In fact, now that I think about it, I bet you had something to do with their death and the rumors about me, don’t you? I’m gonna work together with whoever my love interest is to uncover your plot and expose you to the people to regain their trust in me, and… fifty-fifty on whether you’ll have a redemption arc or not. Alright, how many points is that?”

The man stares at her.

[Constellation “Lonely Soul Yearning for Love” cringes.]

“Your Highness,” he says, “I’m your fiancé.”

“…Oh,” Han Sooyoung says. “Hm. Yeah, I guess there was that, too.” The eyes did give her pause. Surely the universe would have cosmically rearranged itself to prevent her from sharing blood with an American. The next worst thing is marrying an American, though, so this doesn’t make the situation much better. “Just to be sure, our wedding isn’t in the next 48 hours, is it?”

He shakes his head. “My word! What has gotten into you today? First I hear you leave the palace grounds without so much as a squire for protection, and now you’re speaking nonsense… I certainly hope you haven’t come down with something, my dear.”

Han Sooyoung shudders. “Don’t call me that.”

“After all, our wedding is this week,” he continues. “I would hate for you to be ill during what must be the happiest time of our lives. In fact, I came to visit to deliver some more gifts; my men are moving the packages inside as we speak.” He has the nerve to reach down and clasp one of her hands in both of his, leaning down to smile at her. “We have plenty of time all to ourselves. Perhaps you’d like to invite me to your room for, ah, some tea and biscuits, Your Highness?”

Han Sooyoung snatches her hand away and takes a step back. “No, thanks. Get out of here while I’m being nice.” From the corner of her eye she spots someone entering the garden through the gates, and she silently wills it to be Jung Heewon finally back from her useless scouting.

To her disdain the man only takes a step forward. “But, my dear, we have yet to spend much time together since your parents’ funeral. Wouldn’t you like to speak—”

“For the love of — get away from me.” Could she make a break for it? The system hasn’t called her out for breaking character yet, surprisingly enough, so maybe she’s really meant to hate her fiancé; it wouldn’t be the first time a princess’s betrothed has been an antagonist. But if he’s telling the truth and his men are also in the palace, she might just end up trapping herself, and obviously going out into the city isn’t an option…

The man’s expression hardens. “Come now, Your Highness. I’ve had quite enough of this childishness. Ignoring my letters, turning me away at the gates, and now refusing me outright? As your fiancé, we really should—”

“Excuse me. She said no.”

Both Han Sooyoung and the man jolt. For a moment she sags with relief, Jung Heewon’s name on her tongue — only to balk when she turns to see just who had spoken. “You — How — When did you get here?!”

The man glances between them. “Do you know her, my dear?”

Yoo Sangah — dressed in royal finery just as if not more elaborate than the man’s and Han Sooyoung’s clothes combined, her warm brown hair swept back and adorned with a gleaming gold diadem — raises an eyebrow at the man. “Of course I know her. You called Sooyoung-ssi your… betrothed just now, didn’t you?”

The man draws himself up with a pleased smile. “Why, yes. Have you just heard about our engagement? As the heir of one of the most prestigious noble families in Her Highness’s kingdom, our union would mean progress and prosperity for the country in these pressing times—”

“Oh,” Yoo Sangah says, tilting her head, “so you’re just a noble.”

“J-Just—” the man sputters. “Whoever you are, I’ll have you know only the royal family themselves hold more power over the kingdom’s workings than me! I—”

“Alright, I’ve heard enough,” Yoo Sangah cuts in, somehow managing to still sound pleasant. “I’m sorry, sir. You may be her betrothed on paper, but…” She reaches down to — Han Sooyoung barely suppresses a scream — intertwine her fingers with Han Sooyoung’s, their palms sliding along each other. “Sooyoung-ssi and I… share a much more special relationship. I am the princess of the eastern kingdom,” Yoo Sangah declares, “and I am her fiancée.”

You have got to be kidding me, Han Sooyoung mouths.

The man looks similarly flabbergasted, his eyes wide and mouth agape as he looks between them with much more alarm than earlier. “What — Who — When—”

“Of course, you wouldn’t have known about us.” Yoo Sangah smiles down at Han Sooyoung, apparently unaware or uncaring of how much effort it’s taking Han Sooyoung not to spontaneously combust. “Sooyoung-ssi and I actually met when we were but children, while we were… on a… diplomatic visit here. Yes. We were each other’s first, fated love. No one else can come close to the… unique… connection we have.”

At this point Han Sooyoung can’t even be mad. Watching Yoo Sangah spew nonsense on the spot is weirdly compelling.

At least the man seems to buy it: he looks downright shell-shocked. Yoo Sangah also looks like she’s run out of ad-libs, so Han Sooyoung takes the chance to make a shooing gesture at him. “Alright, you heard the woman. Now get out of here before she embarrasses you again.”

“Y-You… This isn’t over,” the man stammers, though he’s already backing away from them. “Your Highness, I’ll be back! And we will be having a long talk about what this means for our marriage!”

At last he turns and storms down the garden path.

Han Sooyoung slumps against a nearby fence with a groan. “Really, Yoo Sangah? Who’s my first, fated love? Who’s got a unique connection? That was worse than the time I tried to get out of dishwashing duty.”

Yoo Sangah looks similarly relieved, the tension drawn out of her shoulders. “It worked, didn’t it?” she points out. “Though I don’t think he believed everything I said just now. I hope we don’t stay in this story long enough for him to make true on that threat of his.”

“Where’d you even come from? Are you actually on a diplomatic visit this time?”

“Um… I’m… in the process of figuring that out.” Yoo Sangah glances warily over her shoulder. “My, er, elder brother? I think he’s my elder brother? Well, he’s on the hunt for me after I jumped out of the carriage, so that’s why I went to hide in here in the first place. Also, being heir to the throne is a very protagonist-like role.”

“Eugh…” Han Sooyoung hates that she can’t argue with that. Looks like Yoo Sangah’s learning more about trashy romance novels against her will. “Well, if you were trying to hide, you didn’t need to step in! I had that under control!”

Yoo Sangah frowns. “It’s fine. It’s what I’m expected to do, after all.”

“Wow.” Belatedly Han Sooyoung realizes they’re still holding hands for some godforsaken reason, and she pulls hers back to herself. This stupid dress has no pockets for her to stuff her hands in, so she settles for clenching them into fists instead. “So you really didn’t want to do it.”

She’s not surprised. Yoo Sangah’s been playing her roles in these stories much better than either Jung Heewon or even Han Sooyoung, probably in the same way she used to play the role of the perfect woman back before the scenarios began. But still —

“No,” Yoo Sangah says, quietly. She reaches for Han Sooyoung’s hand again, then pauses and brushes her fingers against her wrist instead in a sort of invitation. “I wanted to do it. I don’t want to see you with anyone else.”

It’s a line for the Constellations’s sake, Han Sooyoung knows, but when it’s coming from that face, with that voice — well, she can’t be blamed for almost wanting it to be true. It doesn’t help that Yoo Sangah looks genuinely sincere for once, her expression a mix of despondent and imploring, and no matter how Han Sooyoung tries to make sense of such a combination she can’t, for the life of her, figure out how to respond to that. Not when, just a story ago, she’d been jittery with horrible excitement at being alone together with Jung Heewon in a room.

Then Yoo Sangah leans back, something like disappointment crossing her face for a moment before it’s gone, replaced by a small smile. “Did that make your heart race just now?”

“…You… What kind of shitty love interest asks the protagonist that?!”

“I wonder, though,” Yoo Sangah says, acting like she hadn’t given Han Sooyoung some serious emotional whiplash just now. “Is this really all we’re meant to do? Act out roles? What if we just keep going from story to story like this?”

Han Sooyoung sighs, crossing her arms. At least talking about the situation is far more welcome than… feelings. Or whatever. “Yeah, I thought about that too. So far I think we can just keep doing this until we either finish all the stories in the anthology or the system finishes recovering the damaged data.” After that they can worry about what to do next if they still haven’t properly cleared the scenario.

The uncertainty of such a solution makes her frown, though; they at least know the recovery process is over 70 percent now, but they have no idea how many works are left in the anthology. “Hey, amateur,” she calls, looking up at the sky, “how many stories does this thing have anyway?”

[Constellation “Lonely Soul Yearning for Love” avoids your gaze once more.]

“Do you want me to go call my fiancé back and make out with him? I’ll do it.”

[Constellation “Lonely Soul Yearning for Love” says they can’t remember! But they estimate it must have been… around… twenty?]

“Twenty?” both Han Sooyoung and Yoo Sangah exclaim, the horror on Yoo Sangah’s face echoing Han Sooyoung’s own shock. “What the fuck do you mean, twenty?” Han Sooyoung goes on, wishing this stupid Constellation had a symbolic body she could push around, manhandle, or throw into the ocean. “We’re barely making it to five, you useless writer, and you’re telling me you sold an anthology with twenty stories? Most readers can barely sit through two, you goddamn—”

“Alright, let’s calm down for a second,” Yoo Sangah says, placing a hand on Han Sooyoung’s shoulder. Not for the first time, Han Sooyoung wants to slap it off — and also not for the first time, it’s not because she hates the touch. “There has to be a more efficient method to clearing these scenarios. If the only criteria is for the Constellations to enjoy it, then maybe we can work from there.”

Han Sooyoung scowls. “Hate to break it to you, Yoo Sangah, but the only thing Constellations like more than these cheesy fucking lines would be actual fucking.”

Yoo Sangah goes a very faint pink. “Well. That’s.”

“Oh, thinking about it? You interested after all?”

She expects Yoo Sangah to give her a dirty look and change the topic, but to her alarm Yoo Sangah only looks at her instead, then takes a step closer. Han Sooyoung tries to back away then realizes the fence is behind her, and she has zero doubt trying to run around or vault over it will just have her stupid fancy dress getting caught in the wood. “Now that’s an idea,” Yoo Sangah murmurs. “Not my first choice, but if you’re bringing it up, Sooyoung-ssi, then that means you wouldn’t mind, would you? For the sake of the scenario.”

This is getting very dangerous very fast. “Uh,” Han Sooyoung manages, “um.” Yoo Sangah is close enough to touch now, and to drive this home she places one hand on the fence behind Han Sooyoung, trapping her in against her body. Her eyes are a dark, heated brown; her lips, rose pink.

The final touch is Yoo Sangah cupping Han Sooyoung’s chin with her fingers, tilting her head just slightly up. And Han Sooyoung can’t help it — when Sangah brushes her bottom lip with her thumb, she shudders in sudden, helpless desire, would have gone ahead and sucked Yoo Sangah’s finger in her mouth if she’d been an inch closer. As it is the slightest of distances only makes her want more, more, more, and the desperation of her own want would frighten her if she hadn’t already been painfully aware of it back when Yoo Sangah undid the buttons of her blouse, when Jung Heewon pushed her up against the wall.

“What,” Han Sooyoung snaps, when Yoo Sangah has the gall to look startled. “It’s all your fault — you and that damn Jung Heewon’s fault, okay! I’ve been getting tortured nonstop since we walked into this stupid scenario, and… and. God. What?” she repeats, absolutely humiliated, when Yoo Sangah just stares at her in some kind of wonder. “Don’t play humble with me, woman. You know what you’re doing.” The same probably can’t be said for Jung Heewon. It seems her brain is dedicated to swordsmanship and nothing else.

“No, um…” Now Yoo Sangah dares to bite her lip and look away. Han Sooyoung’s not sure how much more she can take of this. “I just didn’t expect you’d… no, never mind.”

“Expect I’d what? Get all hot and bothered when a woman tries to undress me? Don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy seeing Jung Heewon in a suit either. I don’t know how you — how either of you kept your hands off each other.”

“I — I should remind you that first one was your idea.”

“Okay, and then you jumped on it? Your point?”

Now Yoo Sangah’s really blushing, and Han Sooyoung tries to enjoy the sight while she can — she may be absolutely humiliated right now, but at least she got to pay it back a little — when, to her frustration, Yoo Sangah meets her gaze dead-on again and says, “Fine. Maybe I did enjoy it a little. And maybe I did enjoy seeing Heewon-ssi in a suit too. Happy?”

“…H-Huh.”

“If you don’t mind after all,” Yoo Sangah says, her fingers digging just slightly into Han Sooyoung’s jaw, and okay this is going from dangerous to life-threatening, “then maybe we should go ahead and give the Constellations a show. Hm?”

“Uh — um.” Hold on a second. Can’t Yoo Sangah be a little flustered for longer than two seconds? How is this at all fair? On one hand Han Sooyoung wants to tell her to wait, but on the other hand Han Sooyoung is also sure if she gets edged like this one more goddamn time —

Footsteps. “Han Sooyoung? You here? Hey, who was that guy who left just—” Jung Heewon stops dead in the middle of the path. “Oh. Wow.”

Yoo Sangah retreats an inch to face Jung Heewon, and Han Sooyoung tries not to feel cheated. “Heewon-ssi, there you are,” she says. Judging by how her gaze slides down and up Jung Heewon in her armor, Yoo Sangah’s probably feeling the exact same way Han Sooyoung did half an hour ago. “I see. So you’re Sooyoung-ssi’s knight. Well… I’m sorry, but I’ll have to steal your princess away from you now.”

“Since when was I her princess?!” Han Sooyoung protests.

Eden’s Constellations don’t even bother keeping their indirect messages private anymore. Jung Heewon skims over the wall of text that flashes before her, then sweeps them away and marches over, slinging an arm around Han Sooyoung’s waist and pulling her away from Yoo Sangah. “No way. I’m not losing again, even to you, Sangah-ssi!”

“For the last time, this isn’t a competition!”

“Oh, really?” Yoo Sangah keeps her hold on Han Sooyoung’s right arm. She’s frowning, but there’s an obvious glint of amusement in her eye. “And why should I lose to you? Listen well, Heewon-ssi… I mean, knight. You are speaking to the heir to the throne of the eastern kingdom. What can you give Her Highness that I can’t double?”

Jung Heewon looks flabbergasted. “Right… Uh… You’re a princess too, Sangah-ssi? Hey, why am I the only commoner here?”

[Constellation “Lonely Soul Yearning for Love” apologizes… but is watching the scene with bated breath!]

[Several Constellations are excited to witness the confrontation between the two love interests!]

[More Constellations have entered the channel!]

Han Sooyoung clears her throat. “Alright, enough of this,” she says, trying to tug her arms out of both their grips. “You know what I really hate in romance novels? Two idiots fighting over another idiot, just like this, except in this case it’s two idiots and one genius. So let me go and—”

“Hold on. I got it.” Jung Heewon points an accusing finger at Yoo Sangah. “What do you know about what Her Highness wants or doesn’t want? I’ve known her since we were children!”

“You too?” Han Sooyoung says, blankly. Do these people only know about childhood-friends stories? Did they watch the same shitty soap opera after school everyday or something?

Jung Heewon grins. “That’s right. I’m not just any knight, you know — I’m knight captain. Um, according to those guards at the gates.”

“Is that a real position…?”

“Your Highness, you were a horrible… I mean, unruly child, you know,” Jung Heewon says, shaking her head. “Your parents sheltered you and tried to keep you safe in the palace, but you would always sneak out to explore the city. That’s why I owe you my life. If you hadn’t been cornered by street thugs that fateful day, I wouldn’t have stepped in to save you, and you wouldn’t have insisted on instating me as a knight when we returned to the palace.”

It takes Han Sooyoung a second to absorb all that information. Then she casts her gaze skyward. “Are all of you this good at making up bullshit on the spot?”

[Constellation “Lily Blooming in Aquarius” is quite proud of this romantic backstory.]

Even Jung Heewon looks a little embarrassed, but to her credit she forges on. “You never wanted to marry that man your parents set you up with, and now you want to elope with this… this… foreigner?!” she exclaims, gesturing at Yoo Sangah, who has to disguise her laugh as a cough at foreigner. “Your Highness! I, uh, I’m but a lowly knight, and all I’ve ever wanted is your happiness. But… I’m not that strong. And I’m not that good of a person. I want to be selfish, too. I want you, too.”

For a moment, all Han Sooyoung can do is feel her face burn up — and watch Jung Heewon’s face burn up, too, her cheeks turning a blotchy red. “That was so embarrassing,” Han Sooyoung whispers.

“I know,” Jung Heewon whispers back. “Shut up.”

“Do you say that to all the other girls you want, you shitty knight?”

[Constellation “Lily Blooming in Aquarius” nods at this match-up.]

[Constellation “Prisoner of the Golden Headband” is placing his bet on Incarnation “Jung Heewon!”]

“Bets?” Han Sooyoung says. “What are we, horses?” But shit, Jung Heewon — well, Gabriel, really — sure knows how to utilize the knight’s devotion. Playing it up for a good chunk of the storyline before subverting it with her ‘selfishness…’ Han Sooyoung would pull her phone out to type that down in her notes right now if she had a phone.

“Hmph,” Yoo Sangah says.

Han Sooyoung stares at her. “You — You can’t just say hmph.”

Of course, Yoo Sangah ignores her. “Is that it? You’ve known her since you were children? Well, Her Highness and I are much the same.”

Jung Heewon looks genuinely shocked. “W-What…? Hey, Gabriel!”

[Constellation “Lily Blooming in Aquarius” insists these are two different types of ‘childhood friends’ stories! According to Uriel’s notes.]

“And though we’ve only met a few times since then, it means our connection is all the more unique. Haven’t you ever heard of distance making the heart grow fonder?” Yoo Sangah sighs, placing a hand over her heart. “That’s sort of how it is with Her Highness and I. And when we’re apart, we communicate via letters. Don’t you think there’s something even more intimate about putting down in writing what we feel, as opposed to spending every single day together but never truly speaking? Why, the things we’ve said to each other on paper would make anyone blush.”

“What the hell are you making me say in those?” Han Sooyoung hisses.

“She’s right. You’re blushing,” Jung Heewon observes.

“This doesn’t even touch on the political benefits our union would provide. And,” Yoo Sangah adds, looking pleased with herself, “Sooyoung-ssi and I were having some fun before you came barging in, you know… Are you saying she’s the sort of person who would come so close to me while in love with someone else?”

A long pause.

“Well? Defend my honor!” Han Sooyoung demands, shaking Jung Heewon’s arm.

“Uh, well…” Jung Heewon scratches her cheek. “It’s not that I think you’d cheat on your actual partner or anything, but Sangah-ssi has an effect on people, so I can’t really blame you…”

Yoo Sangah blinks, looking genuinely taken aback. Then, to Han Sooyoung’s exasperation, she goes a light pink in the face. “Oh… really? Heewon-ssi, what are you saying…”

[Constellation “Abandoned Lover of the Labyrinth” likes this turn of events.]

[Constellation “Commander of the Red Cosmos” has entered the channel.]

“I’m going to be sick,” Han Sooyoung informs them.

“Um, never mind that! So, Han Sooyoung?” Jung Heewon asks, almost shouting in her own embarrassment. “Decide! Who do you choose between us this time?”

“What?! I can’t just choose, it’s not like I’m picking between ice cream flavors—”

“Think about it, Sooyoung-ssi,” Yoo Sangah implores, clasping Han Sooyoung’s hand again. Han Sooyoung really wishes she’d stop doing that, since it’s doing the opposite of helping her ‘think about it.’ “Aren’t I better for you? Aren’t I better for your kingdom, too?”

“H-Hey, pull yourself together, woman. First of all, my kingdom hates me—”

With a huff, Jung Heewon wraps an arm around Han Sooyoung’s waist again. “Don’t listen to her. Are you going to follow your head or your heart?”

Yoo Sangah draws herself up. “It doesn’t matter. Both will point to me.”

“Yeah, right. I’m the one for Han Sooyoung.”

“Really, now? Heewon-ssi, please, you should understand—”

“No offense, Sangah-ssi, but we both know—”

“Oh my god,” Han Sooyoung cuts in, before her brain presumably leaks out of her ears, “why do I have to choose? If I like both, then why can’t I… have… both…!”

[Constellation “Lonely Soul Yearning for Love” is shocked!]

…Wait, what?!

She hadn’t meant to say that! She’d just wanted to tell them to shut up! But when Yoo Sangah and Jung Heewon both stare at her, wearing matching looks of surprise on their faces, Han Sooyoung decides she may as well stick to her words, despite how much she wants to melt into the ground. She’s not a quitter, after all, and…

Well, she’d be lying if she said she doesn’t mean what she said. “I-I mean — you know, I’m sick of love triangles in fiction!” she barrels on, now worrying her brain will get cooked from how hot her face feels. “It’s bad enough that the character has to choose, but every time it totally gets in the way of the story and then every other chapter will have some useless drama that could’ve been resolved in like, three pages, and halfway through the book it’s completely derailed the plot and blown any chance of it being any good! God! It’s like nobody knows what polygamy is anymore! And, shit, when there is polygamy, it’s written so badly, there’s this one American book — er, was it American? Anyway, it was in English, and let me tell you—”

“Sooyoung-ssi,” Yoo Sangah gently cuts in.

“What. What?”

Jung Heewon silently gestures at Han Sooyoung’s head — no, above her head. Han Sooyoung scowls and grudgingly looks up, annoyed she’d been interrupted right when she’d begun to really get into her speech — and then her jaw drops.

[Congratulations! Achieved secret clear requirement: “Capture the maiden’s heart!”]

[Sub Scenario ““Let’s ❤ Love” Official Anthology” has been cleared. Calculating rewards…]

“…What the fu—”

When the light fades, it takes Han Sooyoung a moment — and an aborted attempt to check the scenario information out of sheer habit — to realize where they are: back in Chungcheong Province, where Jung Heewon had found the scenario in the first place.

For a long while all is silent. Han Sooyoung stares blankly into the distance. Jung Heewon drops to sit down on a slab of concrete behind her. Yoo Sangah opens and closes her mouth several times, never speaking a word until a new system message pops up before them. “Well! That was… interesting!” she says, clapping her hands. “But at least it’s over. Look, our reward is here. Hmm, maybe Seolhwa-ssi could make use of this…”

Han Sooyoung can’t even tell them how the relic works; she’s so dizzy it feels like her head will spin right off her head. What just happened? What did she just say? What did that stupid scenario just decide for her — her heart, captured? No, that’s ridiculous. Fine, maybe she’d meant the part where she does ‘like both,’ but that hardly means her heart has been… her heart is… Now she feels light-headed. Any more thinking about this nonsense is going to make her faint — and swoon right into one of these women’s arms, based on her luck. Because that really would be the cherry on top.

Shit, she wouldn’t even mind. It’s not like she doesn’t already know how being held by either one of them feels. Han Sooyoung is seriously going to throw up.

Yoo Sangah touches her elbow, and Han Sooyoung jolts away from her like she’d been electrified. “Come on, Sooyoung-ssi, let’s go home.”

“I am not going home with you,” Han Sooyoung bites out. If she gets herself in a confined space together with Yoo Sangah, something evil will happen in that building, whether or not Lee Sookyung is around to chaperone them.

Yoo Sangah raises an eyebrow. “Oh, would you like to go home with Heewon-ssi, then?”

Jung Heewon laughs over Han Sooyoung’s sputtering. “Does that mean I win this time?”

“You—!”

“Okay, chill. I don’t mind if you come over, actually — both of you,” Jung Heewon says, glancing up. Han Sooyoung hadn’t noticed, preoccupied as she’d been with what happened some five minutes ago, but the sky is painted in streaks of pink and orange. “It’s pretty late, and it’s a long way back to Seoul from here. Actually, I wonder how much time passed here since we went in that scenario…?” She frowns in thought, then shakes her head. “Anyway, you can stay the night at my place if you want. It’ll be safer than traveling at night.”

She pauses, then rolls her eyes. “What’s with that look, Han Sooyoung? Don’t worry, I’m not trying to win your heart over anymore. Besides, haven’t we already succeeded?”

Han Sooyoung’s not sure if it works, but she tries to glare harder all the same. “Shut. Up.”

“We’d love to stay the night, Heewon-ssi,” Yoo Sangah says, nudging Han Sooyoung’s side. Then her smile grows a tad bit devious, and she adds, “And maybe you can tell me what you meant about the, ah, ‘effect’ I have on people, Heewon-ssi…?”

“T-That — Uhh — It’s not…!”

“Ugh. Get a room.”

“I’m afraid you’ll be right in there with us, Sooyoung-ssi.”

Han Sooyoung gags. She follows them back to Jung Heewon’s place anyway, because it’s not like she has much choice. Ignoring Yoo Sangah and Jung Heewon’s shameless flirting, she opens up her system menu to check they really did get their promised star relic, then to clear the notifications that piled up. One gives her pause.

[Constellation “Lonely Soul Yearning for Love” congratulates you on clearing the scenario!]

[Constellation “Lonely Soul Yearning for Love” would also like to thank you, from the bottom of their heart, for reading their stories, even if they were totally embarrassing!!!]

“…Psh,” Han Sooyoung mutters, swiping the message away. “Whatever. Now that you’ve learned from a genius writer like me, you better make a halfway decent one next time, you amateur.”