I always believed emotions were like wires. Some are live, some are grounded, and most? Exposed.
Once you figure out which ones spark, you don't feel your way through relationships. You engineer them.
Right now? I was playing electrician with two live wires:
Mina Kurosaki, the tomboy ex-childhood friend who definitely didn't like me (but kept hovering)
And Sakura Inoue, the shy, soft-spoken gamer girl I hadn't even spoken to since middle school… until now.
[Classroom 2-B | Morning]
"Reiji," Mina said, sliding into the seat beside me without asking. "Are you ignoring me?"
"Am I?"
"You didn't reply to my message last night."
"What message?"
She frowned. "The one where I asked if that 'mystery guy' advice actually works."
I opened my phone like I was checking. In reality, the Flirt Academy system had flagged her last message as "emotional probe".
I looked up and smiled. "Must've missed it. You want me to give you real-time coaching instead?"
She narrowed her eyes. "You're annoying today."
"And yet you're still sitting here."
"Ugh."
She turned away but didn't move.
[SYSTEM UPDATE]MINA: Emotional Turbulence DetectedStatus: JealousyMission: Exploit comparison loop using indirect praise.
Time to twist the blade.
"So," I said casually, "Ayaka looked really nice yesterday, didn't she?"
Mina froze.
"What?" she asked, voice a little too sharp.
"The way she asked me to help her. Her posture, the way she softened her voice—textbook feminine disarming."
"You're analyzing how girls talk to you now?"
"It's part of the course."
She blinked. "Course?"
"Flirt Academy," I said with a wink.
She punched my arm again, less playful this time.
Emotional Spike LoggedJealousy Level: 42%
Good.
"But don't worry," I added. "You don't need disarming tactics."
She turned back slowly, cautiously.
"You've got that 'accidental charm' thing going for you."
"What does that even mean?"
"It means you don't try to be cute," I said, resting my chin in my hand. "You just are."
She went red instantly.
I looked away, pretending to check my notes.
Let them simmer. Mystery is attraction.
[Lunch Break | Empty Clubroom]
I didn't know what to expect when I saw the message.
Sender: Sakura Inoue[Hey... wanna come see something cool?]
We hadn't spoken since middle school, but I remembered her — soft-voiced, always in the back of the class, twitchy fingers glued to a handheld console.
I was curious.
I stepped into the empty clubroom and found her sitting cross-legged on the floor with a laptop and two cans of cold coffee.
"Hey…" she said without looking up. "You came."
"I was promised something cool."
She giggled. "Right. I made you a character in my new game mod."
Pause.
"What kind of character?"
"A flirty rogue with maxed-out charisma and emotional manipulation stats."
I blinked.
She coded me?
"It's based on real people. You're the NPC that causes the most chaos in the village."
"And the most kisses?"
Her ears turned pink. "I'm still working on that mechanic."
SYSTEM ALERT:Target: SAKURA INOUEStatus: Quiet ObsessionEmotional Hook: Recognition → Escape Fantasy → Real Emotional VulnerabilityMission: Create emotional resonance through shared isolation.
Interesting.
"Why me?" I asked, sitting beside her.
She shrugged. "You're like me. You watch people."
"And?"
"And no one notices us… until we're useful."
I stayed quiet. That hit harder than I expected.
I looked at her — really looked — and saw not a shy girl but a lonely genius building love simulations to cope.
And she made me the chaos agent?
That was dangerously flattering.
"Wanna play your own role?" she asked, eyes twinkling.
"What's the objective?"
She smiled. "Steal the princess without ever touching her."
Now that was sexy.
[SYSTEM]Emotional Sync: Sakura – 23%Status Shift: Curiosity → Emotional Magnet
Time to test something.
I leaned in, close enough to feel her breath stall.
"You do realize," I whispered, "that you're more dangerous than you let on?"
She looked down quickly. "Is that… bad?"
"No," I said, brushing her hair back just enough to let my fingers graze her cheek. "It's terrifying. And very attractive."
Her screen flickered.
She was too distracted to control her own mod.
And I was the bug in the code.
[Later That Day | Hallway Outside the Library]
As I exited the room, I ran right into Ayaka.
Literally.
She bumped my chest, bounced back, and immediately regained composure like a queen in a courtroom.
"Oh," she said, cold as ever. "You're… still around."
"Miss me already?"
"I was curious," she admitted. "About what you said."
"Which part?"
"The part where you claimed people fall into patterns."
I tilted my head. "You've been thinking about that?"
"I don't like it when someone says something that lingers."
Good.
[SYSTEM UPDATE: AYAKA]Emotional Loop Detected – Mental Replay ConfirmedStatus: Curiosity → Internal Conflict
She looked around. "Have you… said anything to anyone else?"
I smiled. "That depends."
"On what?"
"On whether or not you're jealous."
Silence.
Then—
"No," she said, too quickly. "Of course not."
"Then why are you following me?"
"I wasn't. I just happened to be here."
I stepped closer.
"Coincidence… or longing?"
She blinked.
My hand brushed the locker beside her head — not touching her, just close enough to tilt the scene.
SYSTEM: Emotional Proximity Triggered – Response Loading…
She didn't move.
Her lips parted slightly — like she wanted to say something, deny something, but couldn't form the words.
So I whispered, just for her to hear:
"You're trying so hard not to feel anything, it's adorable."
Then I walked away before she could reply.
[Night | Room | Flirt Academy System Dashboard]
Girls Active: 3Ayaka – Status: ConflictMina – Status: JealousySakura – Status: Obsession (Emerging)Yue – Dormant Interest (Low Interaction Today)
Bonus Challenge Progress: 2/3 Girls Dreaming(✓) Ayaka: Confirmed(✓) Sakura: Confirmed( ) Mina: In Progress
Only one more to go.
Tomorrow, I focus on Mina.
Childhood friends carry emotional landmines.
All I need to do is step on the right one.
And then, they'll all start to unravel.
But the most dangerous thing isn't what they'll feel for me.
It's what I might start to feel for one of them.