Read As long as you're happy :: Chapter 7: Good luck[Nari Choi]

Last week came and went.

I stuck to my plan: observe Do-Yun and Ju-Won. In truth, I hadn’t found out much. I’d made a note of their friends, but they were all in different classes—and I only had names. It would be weird to go looking for them with no reason. I wasn’t ready to be seen as weirder than I already was.

Ha-Yoon took me to our favourite café over the weekend. We spent the whole day talking. For a few hours, things felt normal. Like the world outside had paused.

But normalcy was an illusion.

I still read the minds of two strangers on the way there. Three more on the way back. My brain was adapting to the noise—filtering voices like static, forgetting the guilt that used to come with it. Reading minds was starting to feel…normal. Expected.

But what my mind could forget, my body could not. Every time it happened, my hands trembled. My chest tightened. Like I’d swallowed something sharp and wrong.

I didn’t leave my house on Sunday.

It was Monday now. Ha-Yoon and I walked to class together, her voice soft and steady beside me. My phone buzzed.

Your father and I will be away for a week.
We’ve transferred your pocket money.
Don’t cause trouble.

I didn’t bother replying.

When I looked up from my screen, four girls were standing ahead—staring. Their thoughts filtered in before they spoke.

That’s her? She’s so… plain. Whatever. Not my problem.

One of them stepped forward, fake smile and a brown drink in hand. She moved like she was going to bump into me—spill it.

She would have— I shifted just in time. Her drink hit the floor instead.

“Watch where you’re going,” she sneered.

tsk. What a shame

“My bad,” I mumbled, grabbing Ha-Yoon’s arm and steering us away.

What was that? Did I know her? Had I done something to her before? I can't remember.

A burning sensation through the scar on my wrist snapped me out of my thoughts.

I tapped the scar instinctively—and a new system window popped up.

But it was different this time.

[SYSTEM NOTICE]
Congratulations[Nari Choi]
> Tutorial Complete: [15/15] Tasks Cleared.
> Current Level: [0]
>Reward Unlocked: [1]
➤ Click to view your reward.

I’d learned one thing: no one noticed when I interacted with the system. I could wave my hands around, tap the air, swipe invisible screens—people didn’t react. Not even Ha-Yoon. Not even my parents at dinner.

So I clicked the reward.

[REWARD ACCESS DENIED]
Item Status: [Locked]
This reward will unlock at [Level 1]
Please continue progressing through your designated path.

I scoffed. Of course. It was never that easy.

Not like I needed a reward. Or anything this system gave me.

I reached my desk and greeted Do-Yun. He didn’t respond—just nodded slightly. A rare win.

I turned back to Ha-Yoon, ready to pick up our conversation, when another system window appeared.

This one was blank.

I touched my wrist—again and again—but it didn’t go away.

Why isn’t it going away?

Then it blinked. A new message formed.

[SYSTEM NOTICE – MISSION ACTIVATED]
Mission Title: [Correct the flow of the story: The main character has strayed from the path due to a-system error!]

Segment [1/4]
You are now entering a time-sensitive scenario.
Please complete all mandatory objectives before the deadline.
Failure to meet mission goals may result in stagnation, rerouting, and complications in future developments.

Primary Goals:
> Ha-Yoon must share a[personal secret]with one of the designated love interests.
> Ha-Yoon must go on a[romantic encounter]("date") with one of the designated love interests.
> Ha-Yoon must encounter an[obstacle] before mission end.

Mission begins in:

[15]seconds

A timer started to tick down.

[14]

What? Segment 1? Are there more missions after this?

[13]

I kept pressing the scar, hoping the window would disappear.

[11]

How am I supposed to make Ha-Yoon reveal a secret? I can’t force her!

[10]

What is this even for?

[9]