Love for love's sake [ENG TRANS]

Chapter 28

[Tae Myeongha's POV]

[ Q: What is necessary for a happy life?
A: Stable housing and income. ]

The subsequent message that appeared was similar to what I had seen before. Even what appeared to be my own handwriting.

[ Sub-Mission: Raise Cha Yeowoon's midterm ranking to 10th. ]

10th? School ranking? I didn't think it would be the class ranking. Just like the previous Sub-Mission, it was vague. Finding Cha Yeowoon a friend and now raising his grade. The timing felt like someone was reading my thoughts. If I remembered correctly, the last time after this was...

[ Accumulated fondness: 130 ]

[ Hint triggered. ]

As expected. Last time, the accumulated fondness was 15, and now it was 130. It was difficult to guess the meaning behind the number. Rational suspicion crept back in. Could this system, the same who had appeared after I was thrown into this novel-like world to complete various tasks, had some will of its own?

"Why are you suddenly asking me to do this?" I heard a voice as if it was answering a question.

Looking around, of course, it was just me and Cha Yeowoon. I felt a slight shiver down my spine. The voice was unnervingly familiar. It was mine.

"Because there's a purpose for everything. Write it diligently." Then another voice continued the conversation. This one, too, was a voice I was familiar with.

As expected, this was the 'hint' provided by the system window.

"I'll write because my hyung told me to."

"The word happiness is too vague, so the criteria is important. Right?"

Hyung. The moment I realized who the main character of the conversation was, I felt like I had been hit on the head. The person who had written and with whom I had spoken to before awakening here. It was the voice of my hyung.

"If you set your own criteria, you won't feel unjust."

A grinning smile suddenly came to mind. Just that. I couldn't remember what my hyung looked like. We were definitely close. Despite me still being a lonely person at the age of 29, I was close to him. By the way... What was his name?

"Hyung."

As my confused thoughts cleared, I saw Cha Yeowoon in front of me.

"What's the matter?"

"...It's nothing."

"Is something wrong? Are you sick?"

When he looked at me with concern, I shook my head. It did hurt–my head. But worrying about it now wouldn't solve anything. I decided to do as I had learned in life. Sometimes, you had to set aside what you couldn't solve for the time being. Mulling over an issue that had no immediate solution wouldn't help. Focusing on the task at hand was more effective.

This time, there was even a deadline. The midterm exam. Although there was the problem of there being less than three weeks, it was best to try before considering other possibilities.

"Cha Yeowoon, starting now, I'll teach you how to study." I declared while holding on to both of Cha Yeowoon's shoulders. However, his reaction was unexpected.

"...Sunbae, do you study?"

"Hey. What do you really think of me?"

"You missed school today again."

"Well, that's true."

"There aren't many workbooks or textbooks at your house either."

"That's true, too. But I've solved it all when I was younger."