Chapter 05 …
Spring, after the last cold snap had faded away.
The classroom atmosphere was gloomy after the March mock exams.
“Not that it’s any of my business.”
It’s not like I was planning to go to college again.
I was just happy school ended early…
“Hey, Sanha. You came?”
“Yes.”
The next day after class, my homeroom teacher called me to the staff room.
“It’s our first time meeting here like this, huh? Have a seat. Want something to drink?”
“I’m fine.”
“Still… here, have this.”
Her ringed hand handed me a bottle of vitamin drink.
This year’s homeroom teacher was a young woman with a gentle face.
“Not quite my age—maybe about five years older?”
Her soft eyes looked terribly worried.
“Sanha, it’s not that I wanted to see you for this, but… about the mock exam.”
“Yes.”
“I happened to see your answer sheet while grading…”
Oh, no way.
“You bubbled everything as number one, didn’t you?”
“Yes…”
“I checked your other subjects just to be sure, and…”
I could guess the rest easily.
“Those were all number ones too.”
Maybe I should’ve gone with number five instead.
Not that it would’ve made her any less shocked.
“Anyway, I’m finishing the route and leaving soon, so why bother solving anything properly.”
Of course, even if I took it seriously, my score wouldn’t have been much better.
“Are you focusing on early admission? Even so, mock exams are a good chance to check your skills. You should take them seriously.”
If I take them seriously, my score will drop further.
“I’ve literally forgotten the subject names.”
Elective subjects? What are those again?
There was no way I’d do better guessing than actually trying in this state.
“Also, with your grades from last year, it’s not like you have to give up on regular admission either.”
The teacher said earnestly.
“You ranked ninth in the whole school last semester.”
“I did?”
“Huh?”
“Oh, yeah. I did, I guess…”
“Why was I working that hard back then?”
It’s not like I’d ever use my high school grades one or ten years from now.
“Guess I didn’t know that back in first year.”
By the time you’re twenty-eight, you forget not only math formulas and English grammar, but even faces and events.
“Is something going on at home?”
“No.”
“It’s okay, you can tell me. Maybe I can help… Oh, if you’re uncomfortable talking here—”
“No, really, there’s nothing. I’m fine.”
My repeated denials nearly brought her to tears.
“Sanha, I just wish you trusted me more. Is that too hard right now?”
“No, seriously, there’s nothing.”
“I heard from Mr. Joo, your last homeroom teacher… At the graduation ceremony. You don’t seem like the kind of student who’d act out.”
Now even my first-year teacher’s being mentioned.
“Well, of course they’d notice.”
After all, a student did suddenly change after class reassignments.
“Did something happen in February?”
Something did.
“I went ten years back in time…”
Along with a random system window telling me to reach some ‘ending.’
“There really wasn’t anything. But thank you for worrying.”
It wasn’t something I could explain—or wanted to explain.
“I’ll go back once I finish the ending anyway.”
No reason to care about grades or any of that.
Unfortunately, my teacher disagreed.
“Sanha, don’t be like this.”
“I said I’m fine, really.”
“I know you might not trust me, but still—”
“No, seriously, I just…”
Ah, damn it.
A sharp pain suddenly pressed against my eyeballs—not an emergency, just—
“Ugh, penalty!”
What’s a penalty?
According to what I’d read, it’s a restriction that limits your skill or experience gain.
In this “Heart-Throbbing Whatever” game, the penalty was—
“Crazy eye dryness.”
Some kind of physical torment, apparently.
It felt like gravel was rolling around inside my eyes. As I blinked, tears poured out uncontrollably.
“No, not like this!”
Now I just look like someone with a tragic backstory!
As expected, the teacher’s face filled with pity.
“Poor thing, Sanha. It’s been really hard, hasn’t it?”
No! Seriously, it hasn’t!
The sweet scent of perfume closed the distance between us.
The young teacher wrapped an arm around my shoulders and gently patted me.
“You can tell me anything, okay?”
“Well, um, actually…”
Ugh, I’m doomed.
If I kept denying it, she’d just worry more.
In that case—
“Uh, my mom’s… really sick.”
Time to sell out my mom.
“I just thought it’s more important to stay by her side than study right now.”
When lying, you’re supposed to mix in a little truth.
“And it’s not totally false.”
I explained as tears kept falling.
“I just want to be with my mom as much as I can right now.”
“I understand how you feel, but… your mother wouldn’t want you to give up on studying either.”
“No, my mom—”
“Still, you should go to college…”
After a moment of silence, the teacher suddenly offered something else.
“Maybe I should ask another student?”
“Pardon?”
“You know, the top student in our class. I’ll ask them to help you. Since it’s been hard for you to focus lately, it might help to have someone like that around.”
They’ll hate it.
“And so will I.”
Why study high school material again, of all things?
“Teacher, I really don’t—”
“Yehyun! Oh, perfect timing. Come here for a second!”
Black hair. Pale, flawless skin. Cold eyes.
A familiar face approached.
“He’s the top student?”
No wonder our old homeroom teacher fawned over him.
“Do Yehyun, huh? Figures.”
I waited silently for the teacher to finish persuading him.
“So, can I ask you a favor?”
“Her?”
“Yeah. Sanha’s really motivated, but she’s been having trouble lately. It’d be great if you could help her a bit—just keep an eye on her, maybe. Think you can?”
Those cold eyes glanced at me.
They clearly said, ‘I know you sleep in every class, so what’s the point?’
“Well, guess it’s happening.”
I wiped away my tears and gave a small wink.
His white forehead creased in irritation.
“Just for a while, when you have time.”
“I…”
“I’ll write you a good recommendation and add volunteer hours.”
“…Understood.”
And just like that, the mentoring began awkwardly.
The next morning, Do Yehyun handed me a few sheets of paper that looked suspiciously like test papers.
“Let’s start by checking your level.”
“Okay.”
“These are English and math. Fifteen minutes each.”
“…Sure.”
Honestly, fifteen or five wouldn’t make a difference.
“What… are you doing?”
I mean, I didn’t know anything anyway.
When he saw my pitiful results, he pressed his lips tightly together. And then…
[Affinity with ‘Do Yehyun’ has decreased by 1.]
“Oh, for f—seriously.”
I thought spending more time together would increase his affection.
“With this level, what are you even trying to do?”
Do Yehyun was a strict mentor.
Not that he seemed particularly interested or gifted at teaching either…
But that wasn’t the real problem.
“Wait, don’t you take the same classes as me?”
“How can you not know this…?”
“Just tell the teacher you can’t do this.”
[Affinity with ‘Do Yehyun’ has decreased by 1.]
[Affinity with ‘Do Yehyun’ has decreased by 1.]
[Affinity with ‘Do Yehyun’ has decreased by 1.]
“But I don’t even zone out in class anymore!”
At least I’d figured out how his affection system worked.
If you were lazy in class, it dropped.
“If you sleep, daydream, or fail to answer questions…”
I was even stabbing my thigh to stay awake at this age, and still!
Every mentoring session, his affection tanked.
Do Yehyun | Affection: -19
At this point…
I decided to avoid him.
“I need another target! Someone else!”
The only reason I’d focused on Do Yehyun was simple—
We were in the same class.
“I thought it’d be easy to build affection early on.”
But…
“I haven’t seen the others at all.”
Even after wandering the halls during every break since the semester started, I hadn’t run into them once.
Originally, I thought I’d have time to relax while progressing his route, but now…
“No more of that.”
If I couldn’t find them myself, there was only one thing left to do.
I stared at the empty air and shouted internally—
“Hey! Where are the others? You said youth and romance, didn’t you?!”
<Doki Doki♥ School Attack ~Captivate a Boy’s Heart~>
cheers for Ms. Yeon Sanha’s bright and beautiful youth♡romantic school life!
“Right, exactly. So at least let me meet them!”
If they were going to throw me ten years into the past, the least they could do was cooperate.
Just as I was about to curse them out—
MISSION: You’ll know it when you fall in love!
Follow the special scent and you might encounter your destined one!
