System: Warning – MILF #1 is showing signs of emotional leakage.
Proceed with caution. Or chaos. Your call.
Rika wasn't on the rooftop.
That was weird.
For three straight days, same place, same silence.
I stood there, a thermos in my hand. I brought tea this time. Thought it'd be funny. Or maybe charming. Probably stupid.
"She's not here today," a voice said behind me.
I turned.
It was Aki. My classmate, the only person I kinda vibed with.
Tall, easygoing, way too sharp for his slacker energy.
"You got it bad for her already, huh?"
"It's complicated."
"She's a teacher. You're sixteen."
"She's broken. I'm older than I look."
"Still sounds like a hentai setup."
"You say that like it's a bad thing."
We both laughed.
Aki sat beside me.
"You really not from around here?"
"Let's just say I took a long-ass nap and woke up in a teenager's body."
"You're weird. I like it."
"You're nosy. I tolerate it."
System: Friend Affinity: Aki +4. Title Unlocked: "Ride-or-Die Homie."
I found Rika after school, walking through the courtyard, her heels slow against the tiles.
She looked tired. Not her usual tired—this was bone-deep.
I didn't call out. Just matched her pace, walking a few feet behind.
Finally, she noticed.
"You stalking me now?"
"Only if you want me to be."
"God, you're relentless."
"That's the military training. We don't give up."
She blinked. A little frown creased her brow.
"Military?"
"Another life."
She didn't ask more. Just kept walking.
Then outta nowhere—
"Today's my wedding anniversary."
Silence.
I didn't flinch. Didn't offer some hollow "sorry."
Just walked beside her.
"He died?"
"Might as well have. He left. Five years ago."
"Damn."
"Yeah."
We sat at a bench just outside the faculty parking lot.
She lit a cigarette. First time I'd seen her smoke.
The way her hands trembled though… that wasn't about nicotine.
"I was twenty-one when I married him," she said.
"He was twenty-nine. Charming. Dangerous. Made me feel… seen."
"And then he stopped seeing you?"
"No." She exhaled. "I stopped being someone worth seeing."
System: Emotional Vulnerability Spike Detected.
Chance to say something real: 89%.
I leaned forward.
"Bullshit."
"Excuse me?"
"You're still someone. A person. A woman. Not just some teacher behind a desk."
"Don't try to rescue me."
"I'm not. I just want to remind you—broken doesn't mean useless."
"You sound like someone who's been there."
"I died there."
Silence.
She put the cigarette out.
Looked at me, really looked this time.
"You don't act like a boy."
"Maybe I'm not."
"Don't make me believe in people again."
"Too late."
System: Affection Progress: 41%
Passive Unlock: "Emotional Drift" – Rika will unconsciously think about your words and presence even during unrelated scenes.
She stood up.
"Same time tomorrow?"
"You bringing tea or do I?"
"I'll pretend I didn't enjoy it."
She walked away, hips swaying just enough to make me wonder if that was intentional.
That night, I couldn't sleep.
I kept replaying her voice in my head.
"Don't make me believe in people again."
Was that fear? Or a dare?
The system pinged in the background like a silent buzz. Almost respectful for once.
I stared at the ceiling.
My new body may have been sixteen, but my mind was still that of a fifty-year-old man.
I knew trauma when I saw it.
And I saw it in her—in the way she checked her phone without expecting messages, in the tired drag of her smile, in the fact she smoked only when no one else was watching.
System: Simulation unlocked. File: "Rika Memory Echo #001."
A flicker.
Her. Younger. Happier. Twirling in a sundress in a cheap apartment.
Her husband—faceless, blurry—but his laugh clear. Deep. Confident.
Then the echo shattered. The image cut to her sitting alone on a couch, staring at a wine glass, crying silently.
I sat up, heart pounding.
"Don't show me that unless I ask."
System: Copy that. Just thought you needed the fuel.
New Quest Available: "Break the Pattern."
Objective: Interrupt her routine of sadness. Make her do something impulsive.
Reward: Bonus affection + chance of touch.
Next morning, it rained.
Hard.
Most students hid indoors. But I found her under the old school overhang near the gym, staring at the sky.
She didn't even seem surprised to see me.
"You really don't take a hint."
"Maybe I'm the hint."
"To what?"
"To start over."
I held out a small umbrella.
She didn't take it.
Instead, she stepped forward, under the one I held.
Too close.
I could smell her perfume—light, floral, mature.
"You think you're smooth?" she asked.
"Nah. But I'm persistent."
She didn't smile.
But her eyes softened.
"Tell me a joke, soldier boy."
My brain stalled. Then:
"What's a MILF's favorite classroom activity?"
"God, no."
"Extra credit... if you stay after class."
She laughed.
It was small, reluctant, but real.
System: Quest Complete: "The First Real Smile."
Bonus Reward Unlocked: Underwear Color Insight – "Dark red lace."
Affection Level: 47%.
She looked away quickly.
"You're such an idiot."
"But I'm your idiot now, right?"
She didn't answer.
But she stayed under that umbrella until the rain stopped.
And didn't walk away until I did.
[To be continued…]