Chapter 208. Elise (3)
"...."
Watching Elise's retreating figure, I tilted my head.
Her status window floated in front of my eyes.
★ Heroine Status Window
[Elise]
- [ Affection: 68 ]
- [ Lust: 50 ]
- [ Appetite: 40 ]
- [ Fatigue: 55 ]
Current Status: I need to get ready at home. First, send Sebas-chan away....
She was definitely prickly.
Even with her affection score at 68.
That's around the same level as when we had our one-on-one duel, but her reactions felt different now.
'Yeah, the issue is with the girl this time.'
If the man is the flower and the woman is the bee, Elise is the queen bee.
[It's only natural for bees to swarm to a capable man. I can allow that. But don't forget—I'm the queen bee.]
That's a line Elise says to the protagonist in the original story.
She's a heroine who's surprisingly tolerant of harems, but the key is that she must be the queen bee.
She wasn't talking about workers working, soldiers fighting, queens birthing—none of that literal stuff.
What mattered was being the queen among the bees.
If the man is a flower, she has to be the top among the bees chasing him.
That was Elise's worldview.
'Maybe I should've gone after Elise first.'
It would've made things easier.
Still, I don't regret it.
Baek A-Young, Nam Daeun, Lucy and Lumi—they all mattered to me.
Besides, a lot of unexpected events popped up that I couldn't control.
"Well, I'll just have to figure it out again."
At least the massage route is open, so I need to pursue that.
All I can rely on are magic and fingers.
When I returned to the classroom, Lucy and Lumi were waiting for me.
They were talking to each other face to face.
"Lumi. Tteokbokki for lunch? Come on... oh? You're here."
"Hoyeon, where should we eat lunch?"
"I said we should get burgers, but Lumi wants tteokbokki. You decide, Lee Hoyeon."
Receiving their sparkling gazes, I picked up my bag.
"Let's go get gukbap."
"Ehh?"
"I'll go wherever Hoyeon wants."
"Hey, Lumi! You can't just say that! You were totally against my burger idea!"
A familiar mood.
I definitely felt most at ease when bantering with the twins.
We kept bickering playfully as we headed off for lunch.
After class ended.
Lucy and Lumi hurried off somewhere.
'Looks like they went to the clubroom.'
How do I know? Because I was heading there too.
On my way to the student council, I saw Lucy and Lumi giggling and walking ahead of me.
Since they told me to expect something, I walked behind them to avoid running into them directly.
After confirming they entered the building, I sent a message through my smartwatch.
- Me: Surin noona. I'll stop by the student council to celebrate your discharge.
It's been a while since I visited the student council.
I'm technically part of the PR department.
Though I haven't done much recently... not like I could help that.
The PR team was something Moon Surin created just to pull me into the council.
Both of us had been too busy lately, so of course there'd be no real activity.
Anyway, it had been a while since I stepped into the club building.
"Feels awkward."
I was curious what Lucy and Lumi were up to in the clubroom, but I had a decent guess, so I left them alone and headed for the elevator.
The student council room was on the 17th floor, the top of the club building.
The elevator hummed as it moved.
An outsider like me being in the student council... even now, it still feels surreal.
- Ding. Floor 17.
Slide—
The elevator doors opened, revealing the student council office, president's room, lounge, and other facilities.
It felt more like a corporate office.
'Anyone I know here?'
As I stepped out and looked around, a female member working on a hologram monitor caught my gaze.
"Oh? It's the junior!"
"Huh? What are you talking abou—eh? It really is."
A few senior members I got close to when I first joined recognized me and approached.
"Been a while. Just dropping by since I got discharged."
"Tsk. Our junior got famous so fast, now it feels awkward pretending we're close."
"Right...?"
"Still, we're your seniors in the council. Should be fine acting casual, right?"
"Then you go first."
"...Nah, pass."
They exchanged glances and scratched their heads.
Well, I guess I did become pretty famous.
'This isn't going anywhere at this rate.'
I smiled and kept the conversation going.
"Haha... is the president around? I wanted to say hi."
They're nice people.
But Moon Surin's more important.
Sorry, everyone.
"She's in the president's room now. Probably working. Is that okay?"
"Since Hoyeon's here, it should be fine. Try knocking."
"Sure. Thanks."
I bowed politely to the kind seniors.
They seemed busy and just waved me off before returning to their desks.
Knock knock—
"President. I'm here."
No reply.
'They said she was inside, though.'
I pressed my ear against the door and focused my mana.
Gradually, I could hear sounds from inside.
Scribble scribble—
"Fucking bastard... Shin Dongmin, that damn bastard... How am I supposed to do all this alone?"
Scribble scribble—
Hearing the quiet muttered curses made me flinch.
"...."
Surin noona's voice sounded really scary.
I glanced back; the other seniors were focused on work.
Eyes glued to their monitors, fingers flying across keyboards. Definitely not a mood for interruptions.
What the hell—oh. I get it.
'No wonder it's so empty. Looks like everyone bailed.'
Recently, a bunch of articles exposing Vice President Shin Dongmin came out, pushed by Moon Surin.
Since he was VP of the student council, the academy distanced itself quickly to save face, and his whole faction got purged.
"Yeah, half the council disappearing overnight would suck."
No wonder those seniors looked so dead inside.
'Hmm...'
But still, she can't stay holed up like this.
I knocked again.
Knock knock—
Still no answer.
"...Noona. I'm coming in, okay?"
I gently turned the knob. The door opened, revealing Moon Surin frowning at her paperwork, pen in hand.
She won't get mad at me for this... right?
Moon Surin hadn't even noticed the door opening, fully absorbed in her work. I quietly approached her from behind.
Her platinum hair swayed, hiding the top of her head.
Her curvy figure straining against her neat cadet uniform caught my eye.
I got close enough to feel her breath.
But her eyes were still glued to the documents.
She should've noticed me by now... must be super stressed.
"Shin Dongmin, you son of a bitch... fucking bastard... fuck..."
"Noona. I'm here."
"Kyaaaah!"
I stopped her before she cursed any worse.
I placed a hand on her shoulder and spoke, making her jump with a weird scream.
At the same time, the papers on her desk began floating via telekinesis.
This could get dangerous.
"Uh... Noona. It's me. Lee Hoyeon."
"Kyaa—huh? H-Hoyeon? When did you get here?"
"I knocked, but you didn't answer... so I came in. Sorry if I startled you."
"No, it's fine. Not startled at all."
The papers floating in midair neatly organized themselves onto the desk like they were meant to be that way, and Moon Surin brushed her hair back to meet my gaze.
"You came since you were discharged. You could've told me ahead of time."
"I sent a message, but you didn't reply."
"...Sorry. Been too busy."
The dark circles under her eyes confirmed it.
"It's okay. Have you been doing alright?"
"Yeah. I've just been waiting for you to get discharged. I even made a reservation at Poongmidang."
"Hahaha... I'm always down for that."
We chatted casually and caught up.
Today, I needed to use this natural conversation to get some clues for her capture route.
"Has anything been hard lately?"
"Like what?"
"Hmm..."
The stalker culprit might be gone, but Moon Surin's mental state might still be affected.
She did express disgust about stalking before.
Though she later contradicted herself... it's still worth probing.
"I've been really stressed by reporters lately. They swarm me over the tiniest thing... I even had to hide when I was discharged. What about you, Noona?"
"...I guess I'm used to it. I'm a celebrity, after all."
"...."
Not to be rude, but she really shouldn't be getting used to it.
If the heroine meant to be captured through a stalker event gets used to attention, what am I supposed to do?
"...I kind of understand how those people feel now. Like... fan feelings."
"Huh?"
"Nothing. Forget it."
No matter how you look at it, it's definitely not nothing.
★ Heroine Status Window
[Moon Surin]
- [ Affection: 88 ]
- [ Lust: 50 ]
- [ Appetite: 40 ]
- [ Fatigue: 73 ]
Current Status: I'm sorry, Hoyeon....
'What the hell is this?'
Why are you sorry to me, Noona?
And why does your affection keep rising?
If you keep progressing on your own, what am I even here for?
I stared at Moon Surin in frustration, but she avoided my gaze and spoke.
"Ahem... anyway, I'm fine. Don't worry."
Her profile as she continued speaking looked...
Like she was apologizing to me.