To Live Again, For the First Time!

Chapter 53 - Meeting Pt II: (Otome Game...?)

Gen POV:

I made my way to the meetup spot that I had previously specified to Kayden. My heart pounding against my chest with excitement.

'I have to get Doorii to teach me his ways. I won't leave with a no!'

His gameplay was a mesmerizing scene and as a fanatic, there was just no way I was going to miss out on the chance to learn from a gamemaster. Even if Doorii didn't say it, it was almost certain that he was a pro.

It was strange that he wasn't in the rankings, but it was very common for pros to have alts.

I even cleaned myself up to make a good first impression. Hopefully, it will increase my chances of learning some of those sick maneuvers.

Coming from behind, I could tell right away that it was Kayden at the bench ahead.

He wore the same jacket that he always wears, the red one. I can't remember since when, but it feels like he's been wearing it since forever.

Whenever I see him, he's wearing it.

Sometimes I wonder if he has multiple or if he just never washes it, but I don't know if I want the answer so I just don't ask.

As I got closer I finally noticed what was happening, a shocking scene to say the least.

Kayden… was kissing the other man?

Kayden brought his face up to the person he sat across from, his hand, holding the other's cheeks, their foreheads seemingly touching with their lips meeting in the middle.

It was clear that Kayden was the one taking initiative.

[Note: This could be said to be a beautiful misunderstanding as from Gen's POV, from where she stood, she truly believed that what she saw was what was happening. Refer to the last chapter if you are unsure of what led to this misunderstanding.]

'So it's like that huh. Wowza, calm down Kayden! No PDA allowed when I don't have a boyfriend.' I snickered.

I considered enforcing it as a law, but then I rejected it.

I like dog food.

So it's ok.

I could wait.

It was only after Kayden moved out of the way that I was able to see 'Doorii'.

"Oh, he's hotter than I expected." I couldn't help but blurt out what was on my mind, but since the words were already out, there was no point in being embarrassed now.

There was some small talk in which he introduced himself.

Theodore was his name, I'm pretty sure I heard it before when we were playing, but then my brain promptly decided to forget.

Names are hard.

This was especially true since people from different origins considered vastly different names common. From where I'm from, though Ginevra wasn't the most common name, it wasn't particularly out of place either. Meanwhile, these top schools that hosted only the people at the peak of each nation were as good as a hub for various cultures. 

In conclusion, this is me trying to justify not being good with names.

Moving on.

'How does he have enough time to become a gaming pro while also building those muscles.'

Though he was on the lean side, he definitely had abs.

Why is the world so unfair... based solely on my imagination, he was clearly supposed to be a cute, but introverted nerd. 

How come he's this hunk of hotness?

And also, sadly gay.

I couldn't concentrate very well as I looked at the man's chiseled face and his eyes. A pair of mesmerizing hazel eyes. Those could just eat one's soul right up.

Too bad he was both gay and taken, the nightmare of all girls.

Seeing as I had already made a fool out of myself, I didn't mind keep making a fool out of myself I couldn't help but express my sentiments again as if the man in front of me didn't already know that he was good-looking. I'm sure he did.

As for my original goal... That wasn't a priority right now.

It was then that I heard my name coming from Kayden.

"Hm. You're right, he is hot and he has a brain too, the world isn't as fair as you thought Gen."

What's truly not fair is that all the hot and smart guys are either taken, gay, or bastards. I thought that these crazy ideas were blown out of proportion due to the novels and mangas I normally read, but seeing this, it seems like I had to reconsider my original hypothesis.

He was someone I would imagine to have come out of a book.

Not that I would have gone for Doorii either way.

What was his name?

Doorii...

Dior?

"I never said the world was fair, I just said that these cases should be in the minority is all." I refuted, giving up on brainstorming the names that could possibly be his.

At this point, I was going to have to figure out his name without having him catch on that I had forgotten it. Should I just ask?

Then the alluring man talked.

"Do you guys always do this?" 

"No. I don't usually stare at guys as if I were gay, which I'm not, not that I'm against anyone that is." Kayden said.

'Yeah right... I'll just sit here and pretend I didn't see anything earlier. Mr. Handsome clearly didn't push Kayden away either.'

'Kayden! Do you have to be so obvious, clearly no one said you were gay and here you are 'denying it'. Ah, what a guilty heart does to a man.' My heart was screaming. It was truly painful.

Painfully amusing.

I almost couldn't stop the corners of my lips from ascending to the heavens. Ah! I always imagined having gay couples around, but I didn't think it would have been Kayden, I thought one of the others would have made it first.

Do you know the scene where the parent simply walks in and asks how their child's day went and then they go on to say 'I didn't eat that cookie that I wasn't supposed to eat and then the parent has to suppress both their laughter and a facepalm? 

Yeah, that's what this was right now.

But I also felt a little bad for Kayden.

It was true that in the past couple of decades, there were many more gay couples, both male and female and it was generally accepted, but there were still a few families that didn't have the same views.

This included Kayden's family. 

He was from a strict family that valued lineage and heritage, so though they wouldn't openly oppose anything, there would be no positive reaction either, and I knew that, so I gave him some leeway so that he could figure things out on his own. 

It wasn't my problem in the first place. I wasn't going to tell him what I thought would be right.

"But as for the staring, I can't say the same for Gen. She has a thing for good-looking guys, not that she actually has a thing for them..." 

'You just had to drag me into this, but seeing as you were just trying your best, I'll let you off just this once.'

"Just shut up." I understood what he meant, there was no need to keep going on.

'I'll keep your little secret.'

"What he means is I like looking at handsome guys but I don't date them. Eye candy you know. Like in a fan kind of way." 

It was true. 

I do like eye candy but I won't hang out with dumb eye candy.

It was about time to move on from this topic.

"So what were you guys talking about."

"Our last class, there was a master who came in and gave us a test to finish by next week. Apparently, he's looking for a disciple," Mr. Captivating said.

What a bunch of lucky little freshmen. Not even a week and they've already met a Master.

"Really? Who?" 

"Master Sungcha." Handsome replied.

HIM???

Noo waaaaay!

He was like an unmovable mountain last time he was asked to take a student, now he's suddenly taking in a disciple??

"What's the test like?" I asked, not revealing my interest in my voice nor on my face.

"Now here's where it gets interesting." Kayden immediately entered gossip mode, I could tell it was going to be good.

"Master Sungcha gave us a game to play and he said that the two people to beat the would have the right to become his disciples." He explained.

"A GAME!" Kayden emphasized with some hand gestures.

"Of course, though they have this choice, chances are no one would reject if they have the opportunity unless it's a profession they really don't want to get into. Even so, we still have to try right?"

"We don't even know what Master Sungcha specializes in yet." 

Kayden jumped around in his little speech, but it was still coherent enough.

"Can I see it?" I asked.

Before I knew it, a phone screen was already in front of me with the application open.

'...'

'HOLY SH*T.'

'This guy...'

I'm sure at this moment, my eyes were sparkling.

Uncle Sungcha, you're now my idol. I can't believe you set this as the requirement for becoming your disciple. And I could tell that uncle Sungcha was the one who developed the game from the logo at the corner of the display screen.

"Shocked right? Me too. And from what I've seen so far, at least half of the capture targets are Yandere [1]." The hot guy said. 

Gosh, he's just getting more and more perfect. Kayden hit the jackpot this time. It's clear that he was a veteran weeb and he was a pro at Mobba too.

"Have you started playing?" I asked.

He shook his head, which left me a little confused.

"No, you can tell just from the character design. Look at this brunette. He's clearly the cute one, which means this blond one that looks like he would be the cute one if the brunette were not here is probably a Yandere character." I couldn't help but nod my head in agreement as Mr. Professional Weeb continued his analysis.

"And this one with the black hair and the robes, if he isn't a Yandere character, then no one is." I let a chuckle slipped out. He had a point.

"Though I have to say, I wonder what exactly Master Sungcha's objective is. Just what does he have to specialize in for this to be necessary, and I doubt this game is as simple as just finding the right routes, there's just no way." As he kept talking, I couldn't help but feel like he was talking to himself, as he started mumbling a little, rather than talking to me and Kayden, but I didn't mind it.

"After all, what kind of Master would set beating an otome game [2] as the requirement for accepting a disciple, after all, the disciple is the one that inherits their legacy right?" He continued.

[1] Dictionary- A YANDERE is often sweet, caring, and innocent before switching into someone who displays an extreme, often violent or psychotic, level of devotion to a love interest.

[2] Wiki- An OTOME GAME, sometimes contracted to otoge, is a story-based video game that is targeted towards women. Generally one of the goals, besides the main plot goal, is to develop a romantic relationship primarily between the female player character and one of several traditionally male characters.