008 Entrance Exam - Part 2 - Mark’s POV

So far, so good.

Strategy No. 2: Entrance Exam—Steal the Heroine!

According to Mom, there was supposed to be an event between the heroine and one of the love interests. A big moment. High tension. Great for bonding. And what was my role?

Simple. Steal the heroine.

We kept running, me in the lead, dragging her along as she tripped over her own feet. I didn’t slow down. We had places to be, and if the journal was right, we were heading for the safest hiding spot in the entire academy.

The rooftop of the staff dormitories.

At the edge of the academy, past the main buildings, the place was overlooked by almost everyone. The logic was simple: staff members were snitches. If students hid near them, they got caught immediately. So what happened if you actually managed to sneak past all the staff?

You disappeared.

And if I was good at anything, it was disappearing.

We reached the final staircase, and I kicked the door open. The rooftop was empty, just as I expected. An open space with a few air conditioning units, a maintenance hatch, and a couple of benches.

Perfect.

I let go of the girl’s wrist, finally giving her a chance to catch her breath. She staggered, bent over, and wheezed like she had just run a marathon.

"Y-you… absolute… psycho…" she gasped.

“Thanks,” I said.

She glared at me between ragged breaths. “That—wasn’t—a compliment—”

I ignored her and checked the area. No security cameras. No nosy teachers. And most importantly, no students.

It was quiet.

We were safe.

For now.

“My name is Mark,” I provided as I leaned against the wall.

Mirai lay sprawled on the ground, arms wide like a starfish, wheezing like a fish out of water.

“W-where are we??” she gasped between breaths.

“You should stand up. Or at least sit… It’s better that way, trust me.”

She let out a pathetic groan and—rather than standing—rolled onto her stomach like a dying sloth. Then she crawled, dragging herself to a half-seated position with all the grace of roadkill.

Was it really that bad? I was the one doing most of the lifting.

I sighed. “Rooftop. Staff dormitory. Best place we can hide. Perfect even, because my ESP affords us a great deal of… invisibility.”

She finally looked at me, blinking sweat out of her eyes. “Invisibility?”

“Not literally.” I waved a hand. “My power makes people… forget me. Or rather, it makes me irrelevant. The more people believe I don’t matter, the stronger the effect.”

A hint of wariness crossed her face. “That’s creepy.”

I shrugged. “It has its uses.”

She didn’t look convinced, but she was too exhausted to argue.

I glanced at the academy grounds from the edge of the rooftop. Below us, the game was still in motion. Students were scattered across the courtyards, dashing into buildings or hiding behind obstacles. Professors, acting as seekers, were already closing in on them.

Most of these people would be caught.

We wouldn’t.

I leaned back against the wall, hands in my pockets. “Relax. We’re in the safest place possible. No one comes here. No one even thinks to look here.”

Mirai groaned and flopped onto her back again. “I swear, if you kidnapped me just to hide on a roof, I’m gonna kill you.”

I smirked. Good luck with that.

“What’s so wrong with hiding on the roof?” I asked.

Mirai wasn’t looking at me. Not directly. Instead, her gaze flicked between the only exit—the rooftop door—and me, standing right beside it.

It wasn’t a coincidence. I’d positioned myself there on purpose. If someone managed to find us, I’d have the advantage of a sneak attack.

She swallowed, then hesitantly asked, “You… aren’t going to teach me a lesson?”

I frowned. “A lesson?”

Why would I—?

Oh.

A certain incident came rushing back.

A bicycle. A piece of bread. A girl speeding toward me like a damn truck.

And then—boom.

I’d blacked out.

And now, here we were. Because of Mom’s insane instructions.

If she hadn’t pushed me into following her absurd romance playbook, this wouldn’t have happened. Then again, I wasn’t any better. I was still here, playing along with her so-called Strategies, following them to the letter.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

I sighed. What the hell am I doing?

“So, Whitey—”

“I have a name,” I interrupted.

Mirai sighed. “Fine. Mark it is.” She stretched her legs out, glancing around the rooftop. “How long do we have to wait here?”

I checked my wristwatch. 1:45 PM.

The test would last until 5:00 PM. I knew this because Mom told me so. Practically spelled it out in one of her journals, right alongside the best hiding spots, potential scripted events, and ideal strategies to get close to the heroine. But obviously, I couldn’t just say that.

Instead, I answered, “Class schedules are usually from eight in the morning to five in the afternoon, so probably until five.”

Mirai groaned. “Seriously?”

“They’re going to find us no matter what,” I said. “They probably have a list of all our names. Maybe even a secret method to track us if they feel like cheating. This is more of an assessment test than a battle exam, anyway. The real goal is to last long enough to show our potential—what we can do with our ESP and stuff.”

It wasn’t about winning. It was about being evaluated. The academy didn’t expect students to fight their way through an army of trained ESPers. What they wanted was information—how we acted under pressure, how we used our abilities, how we thought.

That’s why hiding was just as valid as fighting.

And that’s why I was here.

The exam was called hide and seek for a reason.

Okay. This was a perfect moment… I guess?

Mom said it was important to do this no matter what. That was the exact phrasing she used. And when Mom said something was important, it usually meant life-or-death levels of importance. Was it actually life or death? No. Did I feel like I was about to die from sheer secondhand embarrassment before I even said it? Absolutely.

Mirai, sensing the tension on my face, became tense herself. Great. Now she thinks I’m about to say something serious.

"What is it, Mark?"

I hesitated, suddenly overthinking things. Maybe I should stall? Buy some time? Yeah, that sounded smart. "Mirai…"

Her eyes narrowed. "Wait, how did you know my name?"

"You left it in your letter, you know?" That little apology note she left me with the nurse.

"Ah, that one…" Mirai scratched her cheek, looking sheepish. "Sorry, I had to leave you like that…"

Breathe in. Breathe out.

I could do this. It was just a pickup line.

How hard could it be?

"Are you made of copper and tellurium?"

Mirai blinked. "Huh? I don’t think so…"

I steeled myself and delivered the punchline. "Because you're Cu-Te."

Silence.

Awkward, crushing silence.

Then, suddenly—

Mirai burst into laughter, practically doubling over. "Pfft—hahaha! W-wait, what?!"

I felt heat rush to my face. "Wait, don’t laugh—why are you laughing?!"

She kept going, full-on wheezing now. "I mean… haha… this psycho… I can’t…!"

Her shoulders shook, her laughter echoing across the rooftop.

I felt my soul leave my body.

This was not the reaction I expected. Mom, what the hell?!

According to her, the heroine would either find it charming or awkwardly endearing. Instead, Mirai was absolutely losing it, like I just told the funniest joke in the world.

I stood there, frozen in shame, as she clutched her stomach.

This was a disaster.

Mirai wiped a tear from the corner of her eye, still catching her breath from laughing at my disastrous pickup line.

Fine. Laugh all you want. I’d recover. I’d come back from this.

Or at least, that’s what I thought—until she suddenly straightened up, cleared her throat, and smirked at me.

"Are you gold?"

I blinked. "W-what?"

I wasn’t ready. I was not ready.

"Because you’ve got me saying—" She paused for dramatic effect, grinning ear to ear. "Auuu, damn!"

Oh. Oh no.

I felt heat rush straight to my ears.

A dumb noise almost slipped out, so I covered my mouth like it could physically stop my lips from betraying me.

Shit. She’s cute.

Mirai leaned forward, wiggling her eyebrows. "G-get it? Hahaha! Gold? Because Au? Auuu, damn!"

Her own joke cracked her up, and she burst into giggles.

I turned away. Avoided eye contact. Tried to focus on literally anything else—the rooftop railing, the sky, the distant sounds of other students running around below us.

She was too cute.

Stop it, heart. Stop.

Mirai waved a hand in front of my face. "Hey, where are you looking?"

Nowhere. Nowhere at all. Definitely not at her.

She was teasing me at this point—I could hear it in her voice, see it in the way she tilted her head and leaned in, determined to force eye contact.

I looked up at the sky, but she just stepped closer.

"Hey, why so quiet?" Mirai poked my shoulder. "You started this, remember?"

She stood on her toes, trying to match my height, her face now way too close for comfort.

I shut my eyes. Mom, help!

Then, I felt it.

Fwooo~!

She blew air into my ear.

I flinched like a spooked cat. My whole body tensed, I crouched—bad move—and in the worst possible chain reaction, I bumped into her.

We both lost our balance.

Mirai yelped, I grunted, and the next thing I knew, we hit the floor.

I groaned, rubbing my head. "Ugh."

Mirai winced. "Ouch."

The impact left me flat on my back, with Mirai on top of me.

Her legs straddled my stomach, and her hands were pinned under mine. We both froze, realizing the position we were in at the same time.

She tried to push off, but I instinctively held her wrists down. She was no longer riding on luck, so she had no chance of overpowering me. No way I’m losing this one.

A thought crossed my mind.

A terrible thought.

"Are you made of beryllium and gold?"

Mirai hiccuped. "W-what?"

I smirked, ignoring every instinct telling me to shut up. "Because you’re Be-Au-tiful."

Cringe alert. CRINGE ALERT.

I braced for impact—laughter, teasing, maybe even a punch.

But instead, Mirai’s ears burned red.

She averted her gaze, her hands curling slightly under my grip. She was flustered.

I blinked.

Victory.

…Victory?

I—I don’t know.

Pain exploded in my throat.

I barely registered the movement before my airways shut down.

Palm strike.

“Kuooghf—”

I let go.

Mirai scrambled to her feet and sprinted toward a vending machine. She jammed a coin in, grabbed a bottle of mineral water, and chugged it down like she had just run a marathon.

I groaned and pushed myself up, rubbing my sore throat. That… was a solid hit. She must’ve had some self-defense training.

“Uuuummm… I am sorry?”

She glared at me with burning intensity, her grip tightening on the bottle.

Then, just as quickly, her gaze softened.

Mirai sighed. "Why are you saying sorry, psycho?"

I opened my mouth. Nothing came out.

“W-w-m-m…”

What was I even apologizing for? No clue. It just felt like the right thing to do.

Mirai chuckled. “Weird. You’re okay with being called a psycho, but not Whitey?”

I blinked. Huh. Yeah, that was weird.

I let out a long breath, welcoming the distraction. “Probably because Mom… is a psycho.”

It was wrong to badmouth my mom. But…

I’d had so few interactions like this. Real conversations. Ones where I wasn’t just following a script or executing a strategy.

I felt… vulnerable.

At least when my mom was around, I knew she had my back. Evelyn Valentine was a force of nature. No matter what happened, I knew she’d bulldoze through anything in her way.

But here? Right now?

I was fumbling.

The words left my mouth before I could stop them.

"Do you know? My mom thinks we live in an otome video game. And that there’s this girl she must set me up with, no matter what, or else I’ll suffer a doomed fate.”

Mirai quirked a brow. “An arranged marriage, then?”

I froze.

That wasn’t… exactly wrong.

But it wasn’t right either.

I stopped myself before I spilled anything more. This was already dangerously close to strategy failure.

“…Yeah. Something like that.”

Mirai leaned against the vending machine, rolling the water bottle between her fingers.

"I think you're free to like who you want to like, you know?” She gave me a small, knowing smile. “People only have one heart, after all."

I swallowed.

For a moment, I didn’t know what to say.