School – 4:00 PM

  Ji-Soo couldn’t believe what had just happened, even long after it had happened. Instead of Seo-Yeon, Do-Hyun had been chosen as the class president. And even worse, she, someone who was supposed to be an extra, got chosen as the vice president?

  Isn’t Seo-Yeon the female lead? Is she not the one destined to be the protagonist of this romance world? How is she going to do that when the most important factor of the plot is removed?

  There are so many thoughts going on in Ji-Soo’s head at the moment that she didn’t even notice that Hana had snuck up on her and quickly wrapped her hand around her waist.

  “Hey–Hana?” Ji-Soo yelped, flustered. “What are you doing?”

  Hana laughed, unwrapped her arms, and leaned forward to peer into Ji-Soo’s face.

  “You seemed deep in thought. What’s on your mind, Madam Vice President?”

  Hana’s right, she must have been thinking too much. Why does it matter to her, even if the plot is changing anyway? She still had her own life to live, Ji-Soo thought as she started packing up her school belongings.

  “It’s nothing,” Ji-Soo answered. “I just hadn’t expected to be chosen as the vice president, that’s all.”

  It is only the first day.

  “Yeah, I hadn’t either,” Hana nodded, agreeing. “But that’s more responsibility for you, I guess. I believe you can do it.”

  Hana holds up a fist as a way of encouragement: Fighting!

  Ji-Soo: This girl…

  “Of course I can do it…After all, they’re just kid.”

  Hana raised her head in surprise, looking confused. “Kids?”

  “Ah–I just meant that they’re still young,” Ji-Soo answered, scratching the back of her head.

  “But aren’t you as young as they are, if not even younger?” ‘Why is Ji-Soo being so weird today?’

  Ji-Soo sweated. It wasn't like she could tell Hana that she was actually a thirty-year-old salaryman on the inside. Just imagining Hana's reaction gave her goosebumps.

  Just as she was about to keep explaining, someone’s hand reached out to her.

  “Vice president, can you help me with my English homework?” A male classmate asked, showing Ji-Soo his workbook. “There is this part that I don’t understand.”

  Despite asking about homework, the tips of his ears were pinkish. It makes some wonder what his true intention is.

  Ji-Soo, on the other hand, didn’t think so much. She was just happy to help.

  “Sure! Let me see,” Ji-Soo said, leaning over to the classmate’s side in order to see properly. “This is probably one of the only things that I am able to help you.”

  The sudden proximity caused the boy’s face to explode into a deep shade of crimson.

  The male classmate: She’s–she’s too close! He could even smell her hair…

  Other male classmate behind him bit their fingers, jealous of how Ji-Soo is being so affectionate. So, they ended up coming in bulk, asking her for homework help.

  “Ji-Soo~ please help me with this problem.”

  “Uh, sure?”

  “Ji-Soo, me too! Please help me!”

  “Me too!”

  “Can you see my homework?”

  Ji-Soo was quickly overwhelmed by the number of male classmates asking for her help. She know she’s good at English, but not so much that she guaranteed this much attention???

  In the end, she took another 30 minutes after class, guiding her classmates through their problems. It wasn’t incredibly hard. The feeling of being knowledgeable actually feels enjoyable, and receiving their genuine thanks gave her a warm, fuzzy feeling.

  But this was interrupted by her brother, who stood at the door.

  “Ji-Soo? You’re not going home yet?” Ha-Joon said, casually entered the classroom.

  Ji-Soo, who was still busy with a few of her remaining classmates, looked up.

  “Is that your brother, Ji-Soo?” One of the classmates asked as he warily rose up from his seat.

  “Yeah, he is,” Ji-Soo answered. “What brings you here?”

  Ha-Joon walked over and stood next to Ji-Soo.

  “I’m your brother. Shouldn’t I have the right to be here?” Ha-Joon said, pushing away a few classmates who were in his way. But the real reason he did that was that he simply didn’t like seeing them hovering around his sister.

  “Yeah, give me a minute,” Ji-Soo said, then looked at the few classmates around her. “Do you have anymore questions?”

  “Oh, no. We’re fine! You can go home with your brother.”

  “If that’s what you say,” Ji-Soo said, as she started to pick up her belongings again.

  When she was finally done and was ready to exit the classroom, a classmate from behind her said, “Thank you, Ji-Soo. We’re really happy you’re our vice president!”

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  Ji-Soo stopped in he track.

  “Really?” Ji-Soo asked, skeptical. In her own view, there were many people much more capable than her in this class. It made her feel weird when someone said that, even if she somewhat appreciated the gratitude.

  “Aren’t there other people more capable than me? Like Seo-Yeon, for example?” Ji-Soo continued.

  “I just feel like you’re easier to talk to?”

  “Yeah, I agree! Classmate Seo-Yeon isn’t exactly easy to talk to as you,” another classmate added.

  This came as a surprise to her. She always thought of herself as more of an introvert. She didn’t talk much, or does she like to. Unless it was someone she knew, she wouldn’t talk to them at all. And these classmates think she is supposed to be more approachable than Seo-Yeon, an extrovert? She doesn’t buy it.

  Wait… She seemed to realize something.

  ‘Does she actually just look like a pushover to them? Is that why they find it easy to approach her?!

  That is the reason, isn’t it?’

  Ji-Soo flashed her classmate a look of grievance.

  The classmates: What did they do???

  “Ji-Soo, do you want to go to an internet cafe with us?” Do-Min said, among the group of confused classmates.

  He was one of the few people in her class that she managed to remember the name of. She wasn’t exactly the kind of person who cared enough about others that she would bother to remember all of their names. If she only seen them once or twice, she’s very likely to forget. The only reason she remembered Do-Min’s name was because of how many times he pestered her about it. To Ji-Soo, he was a very annoying guy.

  But there’s no harm in going to an internet cafe.

  “What game?” Ji-Soo asked, genuinely curious. It had been a long time since she went to an internet cafe. All because she thought the game was ass. But who could blame her? She is once a modern person who had even experienced the age of AI; some lousy ancient game at this point in time probably wouldn’t have interested her. But since it has been a while, maybe she could somewhat enjoy it?

  “Counter strike. Wanna try it? I will carry you,” Do-Min said, smiling. He is happy that Ji-Soo was actually interested. Most girls he knew do not.

  The other classmates: Ji-Soo’s actually interested in gaming??? But why does Do-Min have to say it like that? Now she won’t be coming anymore (T_T).

  ‘Counter strike?’ Ji-Soo pondered to herself. Raising her chin with her fingers to show that it was something she deeply considered. As for Counter-Strike, she had heard it before. She had even played it as a teenager–back in her past life. She doesn’t know how well the game actually plays, but it doesn’t hurt to try.

  “Yeah, sure, let’s go,” Ji-Soo answered with a smile.

  Do-Min and the group of classmates hit a high five immediately. Overjoy. They can’t believe Ji-Soo actually decided to join. Now they will have even more motivation to fight.

  Hana also didn’t expect Ji-Soo to agree either.

  “You actually agreed to play those silly games with them? Didn’t you promise to go drink milk tea with me tonight?” Hana cried, heartbroken and dejected.

  “Oh yeah, I forgot. Lets do it next time, or you can just join us for a game,” Ji-Soo said, quickly waving behind her to signal for the other to follow.

  Hana’s face contorted slightly, looking like she had just experienced a great injustice, but still followed Ji-Soo anyway.

  They ended up walking through the school and stopped at the parking lots where their bike is located, including Ha-Joon’s bike. When Ji-Soo saw Mr. Guard, who often sits in his office all day, coming out and casually walking, Ji-Soo immediate wave her hand to greet him. After all, she had known him since elementary school.

  “Hi, Mr. Guard,” she said, her lips curled into a crescent smile. So enchanting that not only the group of classmates behind her, but also other students who were just passing by, froze in place, unable to lift a foot. Ji-Soo, of course, didn’t care about the phenomenon.

  Mr. Guard, on the other hand, noticed.

  “Why is it that whenever I see you, you always seem to become prettier and prettier?” Mr. Guard joked, amused by the situation.

  Ji-Soo froze at this question. Whenever this question came up, she would often get flustered, unsure of what to say. After all, she had once been a man. It feels weird to be called “pretty” like the neighbor's daughter.

  “I didn’t get prettier. It’s just your eyes playing tricks on you,” Ji-Soo said, smiling awkwardly.

  Mr. Guard offers a kind smile.

  “You’re here to get your bike? Do you need this old man’s help?”

  “No, my brother is getting it,” Ji-Soo said, looking in the direction of her brother.

  Mr. Guard nodded and sat down on a plastic chair nearby.

  “Where is Su-Ho? I always see him hanging around you. What happened?”

  Ji-Soo scratched her cheeks. Is she supposed to say that he had been rejected by his crush and is having an emotional breakdown?

  “I’m not sure either. I believe he should have some time to himself,” Ji-Soo said, hoping this would cut it.

  Mr. Guard isn’t so easily deceived, but he understands that there is a problem, so he doesn’t dwell on it. Finally, Ha-Joon and the other classmates came back with the bikes, and she was ready to go. She says a quick goodbye to Mr. Guard with a wave before hopping onto Ha-Joon’s bike with surprising agility. Hana, meanwhile, decided that she wanted to go straight home.

  So moody.

  Before leaving, she said.

  “It’s not that often that we have time alone with each other, and now you want to go to an internet cafe with some foul boys? Hmph! I’m not going to go with you anymore. Go by yourself.”

  After that, she just dashed somewhere on her own. But Ji-Soo cannot do anything about it. After all, playing games with the boys is more fun than hanging out with a girl. Even if Hana is her best friend.

  She just has to apologize to Hana tomorrow.

  ********

  After a bit of biking, the group finally arrived at the internet cafe. It wasn’t exceptionally fancy, but it does look clean and professional. There were no trash hanging all around or any seats that had a lubricated butt mark on them either.

  ‘It’s actually pretty good?’ Ji-Soo thought, glancing around the internet cafe.

  “So, where do you wanna sit? I just bought the pass,” Do-Min said, hooking his arm around Ji-Soo and Ha-Joon’s shoulders, who were right next to her.

  “Hands off!” Ha-Joon barked, clearly irritated.

  Ha-Joon didn’t like how affectionate Do-Min was, so he pushed Do-Min’s hands away, including the one on Ji-Soo.

  “What are the best seats you can get? Lets go there,” Ji-Soo tugged at Ha-Joon’s shirt, telling her brother to stop while she looked at Do-Min in the eyes.

  “Hm~” Do-Min seemed to ponder for a moment before he finally said: “Sure, follow me.”

  As Do-Min led them through the rows of computers, a classmate pinched his waist hard.

  “How dare you make a move before us?” One classmate murmured in Do-Min’s ears in a perfectly friendly manner.

  Yeah, yeah. How can you do that? The other classmates also agreed.

  Ha-Joon and Ji-Soo, who stood to the side: “...” We can hear you, you know?

  ******

  Once the group arrived at the seats that Do-Min deemed as the best he could get, everyone started to settle into their seats.

  Ha-Joon also ordered a bowl of noodles after he notified his mom about how he and his sister would not be home until 6:30.

  He got an earful from Mom for it.

  She said something along the lines: “How can you let Ji-Soo be out so late? You know her temper! What if she got herself into some trouble? What if you two get kidnapped?!”

  Ji-Soo didn’t care so much about what her mother had to say.

  ‘I’ll think about it later,’ she thought.

  Now, she just wants to enjoy her time. Sitting on her computer, she booted up the engine and powered on the game everyone was playing.

  Counter Strike, as it was called.

  An old game, definitely, but there might be some value in playing it.

  Once the game is up, Do-Min decides to take the initiative as the leader.

  “We will be playing a regular match for warmups, is that okay?”

  Everyone agreed, but then they turned to Ji-Soo.

  One classmate, whose name she still couldn’t remembered the name of, asked: “Is that fine for you too, vice president?”

  “Yeah, Yeah. It’s fine, but since I haven’t played this game before, I might not be that good.”

  “No, that’s perfectly fine! You being here is enough,” Do-Min said, waving his hand repeatedly.

  Ji-Soo: “Well, if that’s what you say…”

  Then, it won’t be her problem even if she dragged the team down like a dead weight later. Without guilt, Ji-Soo immediately joins the team. Since a team can only be up to five, Ha-Joon decided that he would play the next game while Ji-Soo enjoyed herself.

  “I’ll eat while you play. Enjoy yourself. You won’t have many chances to slack off like this once high school really starts,” Ha-Joon said, patting Ji-Soo’s head condescendingly.

  Ji-Soo swatted his hand away while glaring at him. “Stop treating me like a kid. You don’t know how old I actually am!”

  Ha-Joon shrugged.

  “Sure, sure. Keep telling yourself that.”

  Ha-Joon acted like he didn’t believe a single thing about her words, which made Ji-Soo very angry. Looking at him walking away just makes her pent-up frustration rise even higher. Hopefully, she can use this as fuel for her game. It is not like she can actually prove to him that she was once a thirty-year-old man…

  Do-Min, who noticed that Ji-Soo was distracted, spoke up: “Hey, are you ready? Everyone is waiting for you.”

  “Yes, I am,” Ji-Soo said before she immediately dived in.

  And just like she had expected, she was terrible. This body of hers had never typed on a computer before, so even if she had the memory of someone who had spent countless hours on the computer, it would still be useless. Her fingers move stiffly on the keyboard, and her character struggles to shoot properly.

  She died once. Then twice. Then three.

  And eventually, she caused the team to lose the game.

  Her classmates didn’t say anything, even though Do-Min did. He wanted to tell Ji-Soo about how trash she was, but quickly got held down by his classmates and only managed let out a muffled “Hmph, Hmph!” Sound.

  Even so, everyone had one thought in common: Ji-Soo is so fucking trash at this game…

  Ji-Soo knew what was happening, and her pride as a game veteran, at least up until her past life, could never allow that.

  “Hey, don’t be so discouraged! I will get better, I promised.”

  The boys: “...” Like we believed that…

  Suddenly, a loud, obnoxious voice echoed from the row of computers behind them.

  “Agh! So satisfying. That team just now was so fucking trash. I even thought the dude called ‘Soo’ was actually playing for us lol.”

  “I know, right?”

  Ji-Soo glared in the direction the voice was coming from. After searching through the crowded place for a bit, her eyes finally landed on a particular spot.

  There, sitting a few rows back with a headset on, was Jin-Woo.

  ‘That asshole?!’ Ji-Soo’s eye twitched. ‘Why do I seem to encounter the Male Lead everywhere I go today?!’