Chapter 10 : Chapter 10

"It's not going to work."

Saying something won't work while looking at someone's face seems a bit rude.

I squinted my eyes and looked up, but Yoo Ha-neul, who had already gotten used to my expressions in just one day, didn't show any sign of fear.

"Sara, your stamina is too weak."

Yoo Ha-neul bluntly pointed out the fact.

"I admit it."

That was certainly true.

Ye Sara's body was indeed excessively weak.

Perhaps it was due to the effects of mental abuse, as she didn't seem to have been able to properly eat the three meals that were regularly provided to her.

How long had it been like that for her to reach a state where even after I entered this body, it was difficult to eat solid meals because of the weakened stomach?

It wasn't just that she ate a little, but there must have been many times when she didn't eat at all.

Maybe that's why Yang Hye-in insisted on spoon-feeding me porridge, worried that I wouldn't eat it even if it was given to me.

That's right.

Now that I found myself in someone else's body, I had become a master at self-objectification.

Since I wasn't originally this person, it was only natural for me to see things objectively.

Yoo Ha-neul seemed a bit flustered by my frank acknowledgment.

Maybe she thought I'd argue back at least a little?

"Uh, uh, yeah…?"

Yoo Ha-neul, rolling her eyes slightly as she listened to my words, soon shook her head as if trying to regain her composure.

"No, you can't just accept it like that. You need to build up at least a little stamina. Otherwise, you'll definitely collapse someday and seriously injure yourself."

Unless someone suddenly appeared and hit me on the back, that probably wouldn't happen.

Recently, I've been diligently eating.

Even Yang Hye-in, the maid, had been showing an expression of disbelief every time I ate.

Of course, I had yet to finish a meal completely, but compared to a month ago, at least a little weight had…

I thought I had gained some weight.

In fact, there was no reason to refuse meals.

The food prepared at the mansion was always delicious.

And the school's meals, considering how expensive the tuition was, were equally impressive.

Seriously, a buffet for school lunch?

This school probably didn't receive any free lunch aid.

Just from one meal today, it was clear that subsidies couldn't cover this.

It wasn't even one of those buffets that had a lot of variety but tasted terrible.

Instead, each dish was made with care, even if there were fewer options.

Even in this school, filled with wealthy, snobby people, the buffet lunches managed to dazzle the students.

The meals were a buffet, but the cafeteria looked no different from a typical school dining hall, which was somewhat jarring.

But who cares?

As long as the food was good.

…Honestly, it was probably because the game creators didn't bother drawing a detailed background and just used a generic school cafeteria as a background CG.

Still, even with the buffet, I could barely manage a single plate.

But could I sit down now?

Standing in the cafeteria like this was making everyone stare at us.

Since no one was approaching us, it only made us more noticeable.

Thankfully, Yoo Ha-neul, who seemed to have understood something, nodded to herself and sat back down.

"That's true."

Once Yoo Ha-neul sat down, Lee Soo-ah, who had been quietly listening to our conversation, chimed in.

"You're going to call that a meal?"

…She was right.

I had said 'one plate,' but in reality, the amount of food I had taken didn't even fill half the plate.

It was just some salad and a few pieces of meat.

I hadn't even bothered with dessert or snacks.

It's not like I could eat everything even if I took it, and wasting food would be a shame, right?

Meanwhile, both Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Ha-neul had piled their plates so high that it threatened to shatter the image of what high school girls usually ate.

Lee Soo-ah had neatly arranged mostly sweet foods on her plate, while Yoo Ha-neul had piled on a random assortment, like she hadn't been to a buffet in a long time.

Their expressions made it clear that they were determined not to leave any food behind.

Well, whether it's boys or girls, there's no real difference during adolescence.

It's a time when you're supposed to eat a lot.

The strange one here was me, eating so little.

"I'm already full."

I said, but it didn't look like Lee Soo-ah believed me at all.

No, really, I wasn't just pretending.

I might even leave some of what's on my plate right now.

As I was thinking that, Yoo Ha-neul suddenly moved a piece of meat from her plate onto mine.

"I really can't eat—"

Before I could finish my sentence, Lee Soo-ah also placed a chunk of meat from her plate onto mine.

"…."

In an instant, the amount of food on my plate tripled.

What was this?

Some kind of hazing ritual?

I frowned slightly and glanced back and forth between Yoo Ha-neul and Lee Soo-ah, but they were both smiling brightly.

At least with Yoo Ha-neul, I could guess half of what she was thinking.

It felt like looking at a grandma who keeps serving more food, even when you insist you can't eat anymore.

"Meat is the best for building stamina."

"Exactly. You need it to get stronger."

I wasn't a vegetarian, so I knew that too.

I considered saying something about my meal portion again, but instead, I just let out a deep sigh.

Fine, I'll eat.

Seeing me sigh and start using my fork and knife, both of them smiled with satisfaction.

I'm not your granddaughter, you know.

And of course, I couldn't even finish a third of the meat on my plate.

*

"Ugh."

Just as I expected, I felt unwell for the rest of the afternoon classes.

Although I stopped before I pushed myself too far, to the point of throwing up, I still felt sick for a few hours.

Maybe I should start carrying some digestive pills.

Surprisingly, it was kind of nice that no one acknowledged me.

Even though it wasn't out of kindness, I appreciated that they all ignored me despite my periodic "Ugh" sounds.

"Are you okay?"

Of course, there were exceptions to the people pretending not to notice.

Yoo Ha-neul, the culprit behind my current state, didn't ignore me.

She had been checking on me constantly, asking about my condition after every class.

"I'm fine…"

To be honest, I wasn't fine at all.

But when someone is genuinely worried about you, it's hard to admit it.

"I'm sorry. I should have listened to you at lunch."

Right?

That kind of response almost slipped out, but I held back.

Neither Yoo Ha-neul nor Lee Soo-ah had done it with any ill intentions.

They simply didn't realize how little I could eat.

By the end of the school day, I was feeling much better.

I'd even been asked if I wanted to go to the nurse's office, but I declined.

Since the teachers didn't pay any attention to me other than during attendance, I doubted the school nurse would be any different.

It seemed better to just go home and get treated at the mansion instead.

So, I was just waiting for the school day to end—

"Um, excuse me…"

"There's club recruitment starting today…"

In Korea, high schools don't usually focus much on club activities.

Unless it's something like a sports team that directly contributes to your career, club activities are often just seen as an extension of classes, something to pass time.

So most people just follow their friends, half-heartedly pick a club, and spend the activity period killing time.

But of course, this was different in the world of a dating sim.

Well, it's probably the same in regular schools in this world too.

Hwayoung High School just happens to be special.

While not mandatory, students here actively seek out clubs they want to join.

Though joining a club won't necessarily help your resume later, it's still a place where students engage in personal hobbies, like reading, watching movies, or drawing.

But the students attending this school weren't your average students.

They used their free time, even during lunch or breaks, to network and expand their connections, laying the groundwork for future wealth and power.

This meant club activities were crucial for them as well.

Since many clubs revolved around hobbies, they became a prime opportunity for students to bond with others of similar status.

Naturally, I had no intention of joining any clubs.

Even if I did, I would just be treated like an invisible person.

It would make everyone uncomfortable.

Wasn't it better to just go home after school?

"But Sara, you go straight home after school, and it's not like you exercise once you get there."

"…."

Yoo Ha-neul, who seemed to have figured out my plan exactly, struck me with another fact.

Honestly, I had planned to just go home and laze around in bed.

"So, are you saying I should join a sports club?"

Somehow, Yoo Ha-neul had gathered a whole stack of club recruitment pamphlets.

Softball, basketball, volleyball, track… All of them were tough sports just by name alone.

These weren't clubs I could possibly join.

I skimmed through the pamphlets and gave Yoo Ha-neul a puzzled look, to which she enthusiastically nodded.

"If you do basic training with the sports club, your stamina will improve quickly!"

"…."

Wouldn't I die?

No, seriously.

I wasn't sure Ye Sara's body could handle that kind of workout.

But it seemed Yoo Ha-neul had already made up her mind.

She was already walking down the hallway, swinging her arms enthusiastically.

I glanced over at Lee Soo-ah for help, but she just gave me a slightly apologetic look.

…It seemed she agreed I needed to build up my stamina too.

*

I had always hated exercise.

I didn't even do light stretches at home.

While I agreed that Ye Sara needed to build stamina, I thought I could do that by eating more.

After all, if I ate well, gained some weight, I'd at least have the basic stamina to get through life, right?

But Yoo Ha-neul firmly believed that stamina must be built through exercise.

…And considering I knew the game's storyline, I could somewhat understand her thinking.

In the game, almost all the choices to increase the "stamina" stat involved exercise.

So, with that kind of mindset, it wasn't surprising that she thought that way.

But, fortunately for me, exercise seemed to hate me as much as I hated it.

Or more accurately, it was the "sports clubs" that hated me.

"Sorry, we're serious about baseball here. You can't just join because you feel like it."

This was the fifth rejection.

The captains of the sports clubs would smile brightly at the sight of Yoo Ha-neul, but as soon as they saw me standing behind her, their faces turned pale.

It was understandable.

After all, 'Ye Sara' had come to apply for a club.

Forget sports, she hadn't ever been part of a club before.

Given that Ye Sara had people constantly following her to sabotage her social life, it was no wonder.

The recruitment pamphlets hadn't even been meant for me but for Yoo Ha-neul.

The club captains, who didn't yet know the nature of my relationship with Yoo Ha-neul, had approached her during break time to recruit her with enthusiasm.

And Yoo Ha-neul, thinking she could drag me along to build up some basic stamina, had probably accepted with good intentions.

But it couldn't be helped.

We had been rejected everywhere.

"Shouldn't we just stop and go home now?"

I asked, but Yoo Ha-neul shook her head.

Then she handed me the last remaining pamphlet.

"There's still one left."

What is this, are you Won Bin?

*

The last club Yoo Ha-neul led me to was, of all things, the soccer club.

Soccer?

I was confident I'd lose if I had to fight a soccer ball.

Even Lee Soo-ah, who had been in favor of me joining a club, hadn't expected it to be the soccer club.

Didn't this school separate the soccer teams by gender?

Well, maybe they had separate boys' and girls' teams.

"…."

And then I froze stiff when I saw the person who was apparently the soccer club captain.

With his hair dyed yellow and slicked back, he looked exactly like a senior character straight out of a dating sim, the kind who would play soccer or baseball.

Despite running around the field, his pale skin didn't seem sunburnt at all, and his green eyes were staring straight at us.

"So, you want to join the soccer club?"

"Yes!"

"I only invited you, though."

"Ah, they're…"

Before Yoo Ha-neul could even respond, the senior glanced at Lee Soo-ah and then at me.

His shirt was completely unbuttoned, revealing the white undershirt underneath, making him look like a delinquent, but strangely, his face also seemed to emit a faint glow.

This was the first time I'd seen such a phenomenon on a guy's face since I came to this world.

Maybe it was because he'd just been running, but there was no sign of his jacket or vest.

Was he the kind of person who loved to move around, so much that he'd start running even before changing into gym clothes?

Normally, other students would've just ignored me, but this senior character was staring directly at me.

And from that look, I became certain.

This guy was definitely one of the capture targets from If You Wish.

One of the three male character routes.

His name—

"Tsk."

…was Nam Da-un.

As soon as he saw me, he clicked his tongue in obvious displeasure.

I stared at him in confusion—

"Well, whatever. All three of you, follow me."

He said that and immediately turned around, walking off toward the field.

What's with him?

Is he nice or mean?

Could he just stick to one thing?

"We did it!"

Yoo Ha-neul, oblivious to the senior's attitude, started bouncing around excitedly.

...

I once again shot a desperate look at Lee Soo-ah, but she just gave me an awkward smile.