episode_0000

001.

“Welcome to the Hero Training Academy Union.”

I gazed at the podium.

The neatly dressed principal was delivering a speech.

Listening briefly to the principal’s words, I scanned the surroundings.

And then, the sight of the vast auditorium caught my eyes.

Numerous students sitting quietly.

Instructors standing with proper posture.

A banner hanging in the distance.

[(환) 2023 Union Academy New Student Entrance Ceremony (Eng)]

All of these were familiar sights to me, yet at the same time, they were unfamiliar.

“The representative of the 20th Union Academy new students, Lee Siwoon, please come forward.”

Was it then?

The principal called out a male student’s name.

Siwoon immediately stepped forward onto the stage.

The eyes of the students and onlookers were fixed on him.

It was as if all attention was drawn to him in an instant.

However, Siwoon calmly scanned the faces of the audience with an indifferent expression.

Ignoring the gaze of thousands of eyes.

“Hey, look over there. That’s Lee Siwoon, right? The grandson of the SL Group?”

“He’s really good-looking, isn’t he?”

“Yeah, he looks even better in person than in pictures.”

Whispers filled my ears.

They were coming from the female students sitting a little further away.

They were gossiping about Siwoon, admiring his looks, wealth, and talent.

A mixture of envy and admiration on their faces.

“Wow, he’s so handsome. Even guys would turn into squids next to him.”

“Life is so unfair. Talented, rich, and good-looking… damn.”

The male students clicked their tongues with awkward expressions.

Unlike the female students, they refrained from making comments.

Well, it was understandable.

Siwoon was almost perfect in every way.

Looks, family background, talent, abilities…

From a male perspective, it was hard not to feel a bit jealous.

In a half-joking manner, Siwoon seemed like a character that would only appear in a female-oriented genre.

“Lee Siwoon…”

I started to read the introductory statement as Siwoon stood on the podium, analyzing his face.

Siwoon.

Top student of the 20th Union Academy new students.

Grandson of a major conglomerate ranking 5th in Korea’s business hierarchy.

One of the disciples of a master swordsman and expected to be a prominent figure at Union Academy.

As you can see, his face stood out among the male students at the academy.

I remember he won first place in the male character category popularity vote two years in a row, right?

“Wait a minute. Is he perhaps Kang Daehan?”

“Kang Daehan?”

One female student who was looking at Siwoon widened her eyes in surprise, then tapped her friend’s shoulder and pointed to a male student.

I also shifted my gaze to the male student sitting far away.

“Oh, well…”

There sat Kang Daehan, with red-dyed hair, yawning lazily in a slouched position.

The sight reminded me of a delinquent or troublemaker.

But Kang Daehan was no ordinary troublemaker.

After all, he had the legendary hero Kang Cheolwoon’s bloodline.

“If he’s Kang Daehan… from the Hanryeong Clan?”

“The Hanryeong Clan has a bit of a bad reputation, but…”

“Still, they’re one of Korea’s leading clans, right?”

Kang Daehan.

5th place among the 20th Union Academy new students.

The son of the renowned hero Kang Cheolwoon.

He seemed to inherit his father’s violent temperament and animal-like instincts.

And that’s why he was quite a character.

The actual combat ability will be referred to as a tandem with Lee Siwoon.

However, due to poor test scores, I ended up entering the academy as the 5th seat.

Among female fans, there are mixed opinions about me, but I am gaining overwhelming popularity among some.

Many female fans like me, calling me a beastly man or a bad guy, due to my sharp and tough appearance.

It seems that I have ranked 1st to 3rd in the male character popularity polls several times.

“I never thought I would see those guys in one place.”

Lee Siwoon and Kang Daehan.

I know those two very well.

I can confidently say that I know them better than anyone else here.

Because those two are the most important ‘male protagonists (Heroes)’ in this world.

“Jinhyuk.”

As I sat there sneakily watching the male protagonists and getting lost in my thoughts.

“Why have you been staring at me like that?”

A gentle voice softly caressed my ears.

As I turned my head towards the source of the clear voice, I suddenly saw the figure of a doll.

“Ah~.”

A female student looking at me with a slightly mischievous expression and playful eyes.

“Are you looking for a pretty girl or something?”

I slowly gazed at the face of that female student, who was smiling warmly and showing endless intimacy.

Her hair was as dark as the night sky.

Her skin was as white as ivory and as soft as a newborn baby’s.

Her eyes sparkled and her long eyelashes stretched out.

‘Even after seeing her for over ten years, I never get tired of it.’

Her beauty was enough to melt a man’s heart just by quietly looking at her.

It was like a piece of art that a famous painter had devoted his life to creating.

It was enough to bring to mind the Chinese idiom ‘The Moon Palace’s Beautiful Lady’.

‘Well, to steal the hearts of countless male protagonists, you need to have that level of appearance.’

I guess you could say it’s a beauty that is ‘believable’.

“….”

After organizing my thoughts unexpectedly, I mentally analyzed the beautiful female student.

Her name is Jin Soyeon.

She is one of the many aspiring heroes who entered Union Academy as the 257th.

But it would be difficult to think of Jin Soyeon as just a hero with a beautiful face.

Because Jin Soyeon will become the top hero of the academy, receiving the affection of many male protagonists.

“What’s wrong? Why are you like that?”

She is the one and only female protagonist of the female-oriented game ‘Romance Hero Academy’.

“Did something get on my face?”

Because she is my one and only girlfriend.

“No.”

That’s right.

I was reincarnated as the NPC ‘Lee Jinhyuk’, who was left alone on the stage after suffering jealousy and torment from many male characters in the female-oriented RPG game I played in my previous life.