How to get on the protagonist’s flower path

Thinking back to Min Jae-yoon’s awakening story in the novel, this is somewhat, no, it’s quite dangerous.

In the novel, the scammer and Min Jae-yoon met around the middle of the first semester. This means that after Min Jae-yoon was freed from the intense surveillance inspection team, she met with the scammer in Class A when Yggdrasil decided to take care of her.

Seeing Min Jae-yoon’s stats, the scammer realizes that her low confidence is what’s lowering her stats, and that her original stats are high.

Approaching Min Jae-yoon after recognizing her talent, the scammer treats her kindly, and Min Jae-yoon falls in love with him.

Later, seeing the formidable heroines around her, Min Jae-yoon begins to worry that if she remains weak, the scammer will abandon her.

After continuously feeling anxious, around the midterms of the second semester, Min Jae-yoon explodes when a student who previously rejected her starts clinging to the scammer.

At that moment, her abilities go berserk, and she fully awakens.

Ironically, it is only after using her curse to its fullest extent in an attempt to suppress it that she becomes able to control it completely.

However, now I’ve become Min Jae-yoon’s friend in this state where she is even more unstable and has an intensified obsession with relationships.

I looked into Min Jae-yoon’s eyes as I saw her gripping her device as if it might break.

Crack. The screen cracked.

“I was just looking at some items!”

“I see… That’s a relief…”

What I mean is that her current state is weak.

There’s a term in society called “yandere.”

It refers to people who commit extreme crimes out of a desire to possess their beloved, and Min Jae-yoon has the qualities of a yandere sleeping within her.

And in the novel, the moment Min Jae-yoon is able to fully control her curse, she awakens as a yandere.

Once she awakens as a yandere, every time she engages in romantic acts with someone else, she might say things like, “If we die together, we’ll be together forever, right?” while triggering her madness skill.

…That’s frightening.

Anyway, whether it was due to Min Jae-yoon being polarizing among readers or because the author found it hard to manage her, her significance gradually decreased.

After the awakening event, she was occasionally used a few times for atmosphere change through jealousy, and later, it became just a line or two like, “Min Jae-yoon was dispatched somewhere.”

And that level of minimal significance is exactly my goal.

Did she make too strong of an impression for that?

No way. In this novel, overflowing with heroine candidates, that’s just an early plot point that will soon be forgotten.

Look at Min Jae-yoon’s case. Even such a strong character quickly faded into obscurity as her screen time decreased! I can do it too!

While I was thinking that, Min Jae-yoon’s hand gently touched my cheeks.

“Nahyeon?”

Ah, this isn’t the time to have such random thoughts. I smiled brightly.

“Yeah? What’s wrong?”

As I patted her head.

“Nothing… Just…”

Right. I’m currently…

Giving Min Jae-yoon a lap pillow.

For the record, I’m only doing this because she wants me to.

I briefly considered what to do about this potential yandere who can sense when I’m having other thoughts, but I decided to abandon the thought.

I don’t know…

Just in case, I should look for more Haeju items that I can buy with meta points later.

I stroked Min Jae-yoon, who was snuggling into my belly. Her hair was fluffy, and it felt pretty nice to pet.

***

That night.

I browsed the meta point shop.

Min Jae-yoon’s magic is greatly influenced by her emotions.

Even with the Haeju bracelet, my fingertips turned dark, which means that as Min Jae-yoon’s obsession with me intensified, the curse she emitted became at least E-rank or higher.

So, it’s time to obtain a better-performing Haeju item.

However, with the money I currently have, it’s hard to buy a better Haeju item, so I have no choice but to use the meta point shop.

I skipped the Haeju skills. If I were to encounter the scammer, it would be better to appear as if I suddenly acquired an item rather than a skill. I could at least claim I bought the item cheaply by coincidence.

But…

[Ring of Divinity – 3000 points] – Defends against all shadow attribute skills and attacks.
It’s expensive. Really expensive.

…Should I just endure it?

For a moment, that impulse crossed my mind, but I bought it for safety’s sake.

[Current Meta Points: 5520 points]
I feel like crying. My points.

Anyway, since I’ve bought it, I should make good use of it. I put on the Ring of Divinity and lay down on the bed.

So, what will Min Jae-yoon do now?

There are two options.

First, leave it as is.

With the Ring of Divinity, the curse is now resolved. If she wants, I could just endure a bit of her obsession and then return to the original state.

But…

“I should just die…”

One of my beloved orphan siblings showed similar symptoms, and their face kept coming to mind, making it hard for me to make a firm resolution.

…Second, help Min Jae-yoon fully control her abilities.

Min Jae-yoon lacks confidence and thus cannot display her true potential. Conversely, this means that if that issue is resolved, she could become a formidable force.

Since this is already a novel and a game, and the original storyline has completely deviated, no one would complain if I helped improve Min Jae-yoon’s skills. New strong connections are always welcome.

It’s not just that…

I got up from the bed and sat at the desk.

“I’m so happy!”

That happy voice kept echoing in my mind.

Because of that, I kept realizing my sincere desire to stay close to her, even embracing her obsessive traits and the associated risks.

If my heart feels that way, I don’t want to have regrets.

I need to redefine our relationship while awakening Min Jae-yoon.

A relationship where she relies solely on me cannot continue as it is.

I cannot be tied to just Min Jae-yoon, so eventually, a day will come when this relationship collapses.

Therefore, what I can give Min Jae-yoon is a supportive friendship. I need to declare that and redefine our relationship.

I fiddled with my device, which had a crack on the screen due to Min Jae-yoon’s grip, and pulled out some papers.

How to awaken Min Jae-yoon?

[Interview Application Form]
I need to trigger Min Jae-yoon’s jealousy. Just like in the original novel.

***

The next morning.

Min Jae-yoon looked clearly flustered.

“Uh, um…”

“Hmm! Good! You have talent!”

Indeed, if a legendary hunter suddenly appears, grabs your hand, and praises you, anyone would be flustered.

While Min Jae-yoon’s eyes were spinning, Yggdrasil’s gaze turned to me, surrounded by the onlookers as I arrived at school.

“Have you come?”

Yggdrasil handed me a new device. He must have come to bring me the one I applied for during the interview.

“If you’re ready, let’s go!”

Yggdrasil grabbed my arm and led me away. Then Min Jae-yoon suddenly clung to my other arm.

“Nahyeon, um, where are you going…?”

“My family is coming to see me, so I’ll be back shortly.”

As soon as I said that, an anxious look crossed Min Jae-yoon’s face.

Her previously gentle expression turned into a pout, and I felt a pang of guilt in my conscience. However, I couldn’t indulge Min Jae-yoon’s childishness forever.

I carefully removed Min Jae-yoon’s hand and said, “I’ll be back.”

“……”

I felt a burning sensation on my back.

After a while, we arrived at the interview room.

Before entering, Yggdrasil took on the role of the guard, chasing away the real monitors inside the room.

Just then, I heard the sound of a chair rattling.

“Nahyeon!”

Seriously, these academy kids treat me like a complete sinner. I thought to myself as I looked at the glass partition that stood between me and the teacher.

“Are you hurt at all?”

“No, I’m fine. Are the kids all okay?”

“Yeah. Yggdrasil helped a lot. He even lifted the brainwashing…”

Fortunately, it seemed that Yggdrasil had removed all the brainwashing that Tornito had placed on the orphanage family.

The teacher shook her head, as if recalling a dizzying moment. But seeing her relatively calm expression, it didn’t seem like the kids were seriously injured. Thank goodness.

The teacher and I talked about what had happened while we were apart.

During that conversation, the topic of Kang Yoo’s surgery came up.

“By the way, about Kang Yoo. The surgery to prevent awakening is scheduled for this winter.”

I paused for a moment.

My orphan sibling Kang Yoo is a patient with “hyperawareness syndrome.”

In the case of mixed-blood races, innate awakening can occur from birth, where the awakened ability is too strong for the body to handle, leading to hyperawareness syndrome.

“…If she has the surgery, Kang Yoo won’t be able to become a Hunter.”

The typical treatment for hyperawareness syndrome involves inserting a device into the body that artificially interferes with the activation of the awakened ability.

Since it prevents awakening itself, it naturally makes becoming a Hunter impossible.

I recalled Kang Yoo’s shining eyes whenever she saw Hunters, especially when I was wearing the Guardian Academy uniform.

“I guess so. But I think living is the priority.”

The teacher smiled bitterly.

I quietly looked down at a window.

Elixir.

The legendary remedy said to be able to cure anything, passed down only through rumors.

And…

[Elixir – 10,000 points]
A remedy that might not shatter Kang Yoo’s dream of becoming a Hunter, and is within reach if I just stretch out my hand.

I stared quietly at those words.

“Teacher.”

“What is it?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

This isn’t the time to talk about it. If I manage to obtain the Elixir, then I will speak up.

“I just… can I have a tight hug for the first time in a while?”

“Hehe. Sure.”

The teacher looked at Yggdrasil as if asking for permission. Yggdrasil gave a hearty okay sign and…

“Ugh!”

Crash!

He cleanly smashed the glass window.

…That was quite a show.

Not even a bit shocked by that scene, the teacher smiled briefly and then came over to me without hesitation, pulling me into a tight embrace.

It had been a while since I felt the warm comfort of the teacher’s arms, and feeling calmed down, I hugged her back.

“Thank you.”

“It’s nothing.”

Seeing the teacher like that made me think that I needed to be stronger.

For the teacher and our family.

Not long after, the teacher, guided by Yggdrasil, exited through another door, and it was time for me to leave the interview room as well.

And the moment I stepped out of the interview room, I realized that now was not the time to think about other things.

“Nah, Nahyeon…”