Episode 1: The Heroine Stole My Regression

Episode 1: Gaon (1)

I couldn’t sleep a wink.

No matter how hard I tried, sleep wouldn’t come. I greeted the day of the entrance ceremony with open eyes.

The main story begins here, with the academy’s entrance ceremony.

This scene marks the prologue of the game and the moment the protagonist first reveals himself to the world.

Seated in the grand auditorium, I looked around. Beneath the dazzling chandelier, a line of bright talents took their places. Amid the mix of tension and excitement, I gazed toward the opposite side of the auditorium.

“There he is.”

My gaze landed on a corner on the far side of the room.

Silver hair glimmered faintly in the light. His eyes were intense yet carried a subtle unease.

His rank and skills were nothing remarkable for now, but his appearance alone was enough to make him stand out, even from across the hall.

The protagonist of this game—he was there.

I had worried the story might have changed, but thankfully, the protagonist existed. That was a relief.

But that relief didn’t last long.

“Oh, seriously.”

My thoughts quickly snapped back to reality.

My ability to regress after death was gone.

After possessing this body, I’d spent the last ten years painstakingly laying out plans to clear the story through regression.

The outline was simple.

I would assist the protagonist and heroine in their growth, using all the knowledge I had to help them.

Whether through chance encounters or rigorous training, I was prepared to use every method available.

I couldn’t die, so I planned to take on the most dangerous roles in battles while the others focused on finishing the job. I’d even tailored my combat style to fit that role.

-----

[Talent: Renaissance Individual]

① Polymath (Universal Genius)

Possesses exceptional aptitude in all areas.

----

This talent, aside from regression, was the one gift I still had.

Thanks to this talent, I managed to survive the last ten years and prepare for almost any situation.

But to stick to that plan in a world where I could no longer regress?

…I’d die.

I’d actually die.

Such an extreme approach would see me buried six feet under before I even graduated from the academy.

I needed to revise my plans.

I would still support the protagonist and the key characters, but only as passively as possible…

Ah, damn it.

Clutching my throbbing head, lost in thought, I felt a light tap on my shoulder accompanied by an unfamiliar voice.

“Are you worried about something?”

Startled, I instinctively turned my head. I gasped.

Seated right next to me, so close I hadn’t even noticed her arrival, was a girl.

‘Way too close.’

She was so near I could hear her breathing. Despite the proximity, her appearance was flawless.

Her strikingly defined features, crystal-clear eyes, and soft smile—all perfect.

For a moment, I considered leaning back but found myself rooted in place, staring at her.

She didn’t back away either.

Our eyes locked at this uncomfortably close distance for what felt like an eternity. Finally, she smiled gently and leaned back slightly.

‘Cheon Yeoul.’

The thin fabric neatly draped over her head, like a symbol of faith, instantly revealed her identity.

The academy’s incoming students are treated like celebrities. If you have the looks or the skills, your popularity skyrockets. Naturally, such a character is bound to be one of the main cast members in the story.

She was one of the protagonist’s heroines.

And here she was, appearing before me exactly as described in the story.

But why?

She shouldn’t exist in her current form at this moment.

Cheon Yeoul is a heroine who changes through her encounters with the protagonist.

She’s not the type of person to show interest in someone first. And especially not to an ordinary male student like me, who isn’t even the protagonist.

Cheon Yeoul tilted her head slightly and asked softly.

“Can’t you tell me? You don’t look so good.”

“There’s a bit, yeah.”

Now including you.

I stayed silent for a moment before shaking my head.

“But it’s nothing serious. No need to worry about it.”

“…I see.”

She raised one eyebrow slightly as she looked at me, then broke into a playful smile.

Just then, a voice echoed through the auditorium speakers.

“The entrance ceremony is now concluded. New students, please follow your guides to your assigned classes.”

The auditorium began to buzz as students rose from their seats one by one.

I quickly stood up, leaving Cheon Yeoul behind. I had no intention of getting involved with her at this point in time.

Suddenly, the watch issued by the academy vibrated on my wrist. Glancing down, I saw my assigned class displayed on the screen.

“Class B.”

To be honest, this information didn’t mean much.

In the game, classes were assigned randomly each playthrough. The charm of the game was that your classmates changed every time you replayed it.

The problem is, what’s fun in a game isn’t necessarily fun in real life.

If I ended up in the same class as certain key figures, it wouldn’t be the most pleasant experience.

With my heart pounding, I headed to Class B.

When I opened the door, the classroom was filled with the chatter of students.

To gain admission to Gaon Academy, exceptional ability is a prerequisite.

Most students here were elites who had undergone rigorous education at prestigious academies or training centers. That’s the setting, after all.

In other words, almost everyone knew someone else here—except for me, who had gotten in through a kind of loophole.

It’s lonely, but what can I do?

I quietly found an empty seat and scanned the surroundings.

Fortunately, there was a spot in the corner by the window. Places like this should legally be reserved for people like me.

“Let’s check the members.”

The position allowed me to overlook the entire class, making it ideal.

There were 10 classes in total, from A to J. The important thing was how many key characters were in my class.

Oh?

A silver-haired pretty boy—the protagonist. Not bad.

Being in the same class would make it easier to keep an eye on him.

He flung the front door open and strolled in leisurely, as if the entire lecture hall were his stage.

His demeanor made it clear he couldn’t care less about the attention pouring in from the front rows.

Then he plopped down in the very center of the front row.

…Was he always like this?

Depending on the player’s style, his personality could vary, but he never exuded this much confidence by default.

It didn’t really matter, though. His personality wasn’t the important part.

Just as I was about to continue scanning the room, I sensed someone approaching and turned my gaze sideways.

“What the hell?”

It was Cheon Yeoul.

She quietly approached, sat down next to me, and smiled as she asked softly.

“Is it okay if I sit here?”

It wasn’t really a question. She’d already taken the seat and was just making a statement.

Her voice was gentle, but there was an oddly commanding undertone to it, as if rejecting her wasn’t an option.

This… something about this is really off. This doesn’t make sense.

Without even looking at her, I tapped my fingers lightly on the table and spoke in the most nonchalant tone I could manage.

“Are you sure about this?”

She tilted her head, puzzled.

“Huh? Sure about what?”

“You’re a candidate for Saintess, right? I heard you don’t like men.”

I asked her more directly.

Cheon Yeoul paused at my words, then let out a small laugh.

Her tone was natural, but there was an oddly relaxed confidence to it.

“Oh~ that’s right, wasn’t it?”

Cheon Yeoul.

In the original story, it wasn’t just that she disliked men.

It was outright hatred.

Until she met the protagonist, she refused to even speak to any man.

And yet, here she was, talking to me. Smiling, even. Not only that, but she initiated the conversation.

Her playful expression, as she tilted her head and dragged out her words slightly, might have seemed charming to others. But to me, it only heightened my tension.

“But I’m fine now. There was someone I’m thankful for.”

She looked me straight in the eye and smiled.

“Because of that person, I’ve changed a bit.”

Her words made my fingers freeze mid-tap.

Who?

Had she already met the protagonist?

If so, it would make some sense, but… just the idea that there was a development I didn’t know about was already giving me a headache.

“Then why don’t you sit next to that person?”

I gestured with my chin toward the front. The protagonist, Sung Siwoo, was sitting in the very center of the front row, arms crossed and eyes closed.

“…That person?”

Cheon Yeoul followed my gaze forward.

In that fleeting moment, her expression changed completely.

Damn it.

I saw it. That icy glare.

The same coldness that radiated like frost in the early stages of the original story whenever she looked at men.

For a brief moment, that same frostiness returned as her gaze swept past Sung Siwoo.

“Didn’t you say you’d gotten over it…?”

My fingers trembled slightly.

Cheon Yeoul might wear the mask of a saintess, and she did have a genuinely gentle personality. But the sharpness hidden beneath that façade was always one of the most challenging aspects of her character in the story.

On the surface, she was kind and soft-spoken, but paradoxically, she was the hardest heroine to win over in the entire storyline.

Swallowing my curses, I rested my fingers on the table.

Cheon Yeoul quickly recovered her soft smile, as if nothing had happened, and shook her head slightly.

“No… it’s fine.”

Her voice was firm yet oddly gentle.

“I’m fine right here for now.”

She remained seated beside me, her smile calm and steady.

There was no trace of the so-called “hatred for men” from her established character.

Instead, her gaze held an inexplicable warmth, even a faint hint of excitement.

“Do you mind?”

Her clear voice tickled my ears.

It was a gentle question that was impossible to find offensive, yet it carried an intangible pressure. I couldn’t explain why.

Something about this was very, very wrong.

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