. . . loading : real-life otome simulator !

loading 2nd chapter : 45%

"Ooh! That's so innovative!! Twisted Wonderland's AI development is incredible, really."

"R-right?!" Idia's voice suddenly became louder, but Yuu only smiled at him, returning him back to earth, him feeling highly embarrassed. "Ughm."

They continued playing in silence interrupted only by the main heroine's voice trembling, giving she was scared of being locked up and chatting with an unknown man through her phone. Yuu adjusted herself on the floor, nearly brushing Idia's shoulder for a mere second, and got him squeaking in fear of being touched. She apologized for being inconsiderate, feeling embarrassment accumulating in her. She got so comfortable that she forgot they weren't friends, it was a pleasant acquaintance for sure, but nothing more than that, to her regret.

In any case, they proceeded further, and a mysterious man who was chatting with the heroine, threw her into another chat with people she didn't know. The players knew, though, since the characters were other love interests.

"Aww, look at K[4] being concerned about the heroine," Yuu mumbled, cupping her face in her hands and smiling.

"Ew, gross, stop," Idia cringed at her, quickly skipping the whole scene.

"Hey, wait, show me the log, maybe there was something important to the question we'll get soon!" She protested, considering grabbing his console, but Idia just brushed her off.

"Nah, another normie cringe flirting, set me free, 'kay? You'll be in charge of these lame things."

"I don't mind, but I still need to see what they're talking about!! How am I supposed to do it when you're skipping a whole scene?"

"Chill, I don't think there was something important."

"Argh, just how are you so sure!! Yo, give me the console, I'll check it real quick myself."

"Woah, normie, get yourself together. Me giving you my console? Not gonna happen."

And she thought the friendship was about to blossom despite every embarrassing interaction they had today.

She grumbled and furrowed her brows, not impressed by the Idia's sly grin. He stretched out his hand with the console, making it almost impossible to grab for her. She leaned over, causing Idia to jump out of his place, making him stand, and she did the same. Their height difference hit her hard, giving she was really small next to him. Yuu realized it only now.

Idia was tall. Like, really tall.

"Dude, I highly recommend you to not pick up fights with me!"

"Heh, what's with your casual confidence, normie?"

"Argh, don't tell me we're back to calling me normie!!"

Yuu decided to step closer, grabbing Idia's shirt and making him scream.

"G-g-g-geez, normie, stay back! Critical damage taken, need a HP recovery item asap..."

Console fell out of his hands, and Yuu managed to grab it in midair somehow, but an unusual sound came from the game, shifting their attention to the screen.

"Shit," Idia hissed.

There it is. The choice.

❑ :: you won't be able to proceed without answering the question!

⌜ Why K is the only one who isn't against of you coming over to a mysterious man? ⌝

✎﹏﹏ Type your answer here

"Urgh!!" Yuu sounded furious. "We skipped this whole scene, how should I know! I don't even understand what was happening for the last 5 minutes."

"Chill, I'll manage, look."

Idia escaped the game without saving, causing Yuu to frown, but when Idia entered the game again, they continued right where they stopped, the answer window still floating in the middle of the screen.

"What the..." he mumbled. "Wait a bit."

He opened the browser and showed her a bunch of comments saying one can't proceed without answering, and even deleting the game isn't helping. It's either one managed to guess correctly or one'll be stuck for god knows how long.

"Guess we're in this together," Yuu sighed in disappointment, placing herself on the floor again, when Idia visibly began trembling.

And what was he dragged into even?.. 

ー☆ notes

[1] - There's Supposed to Be a Cheat Code for Happiness - Yuzuki Yukari.
[2] - Member of kpop group called THE BOYZ
[3] - play on words, it's supposed to be Gintama (Gin means silver, while Kin means gold in Japanese)
[4] - V from Mystic Messenger reference

This 'true route' feature will have A LOT of references to Mystic Messenger so be prepared hhh

Yuu in this fic is much shorter than Idia.