I Couldn't Help Falling for You

A burst of static buzzed in my ear.

The system sounded like it had crashed.

I held the rose out to Hunter Peterson.

“For you.”

He was so caught off guard that he forgot to keep hiding the flowers behind his back.

Maybe he’d flirted with too many girls and had never been flirted with in return before.

After a moment, he scratched his head and finally regained his composure.

“Thanks.”

As he spoke, he brought the roses out from behind his back and handed them to me.

His eyes curved with that familiar flirtatious charm.

“In exchange.”

I shook my head.

I took his flowers, touched the two bouquets together, and somehow tied them into one.

Then I placed both bouquets back in his hands.

“You can have both.”

Apparently, he hadn’t expected there to be a second round.

Hunter stared at me.

“Why?”

The system finally recovered from its crash and immediately shouted,

[Host! This is when you need to play hard to get! Show some restraint. That’s how you keep Hunter interested!]

Restraint?

Got it.

It meant I shouldn’t cling to Hunter or try to force him to like me.

So I took a step back and said,

“Because I like you.”

System: [?]

Then, to make my reasoning perfectly clear, I added seriously,

“So I want you to have all the pretty roses.”

If embarrassment could physically manifest, I was pretty sure steam would’ve been coming out of Hunter's head.

He gripped the roses tightly without saying a word.

Then he turned around and walked away.

I caught sight of the tips of his ears.

They were bright red.

“System, did I do that right?”

The system was silent for a moment.

Then it said,

[...Impressive.]

In my previous life, I died onstage because my partner made a mistake during an escape act.

When I opened my eyes again, I was in this world.

Sure, I now had a mission to win over the second male lead and end up with him.

But I had also gotten another chance at life.

More importantly, I could perform magic again.

That was more than enough to make me happy.

So over the next few days, I happily continued pursuing Hunter.

The system told me that if I wanted to pursue someone, I should bring him breakfast and pay attention to him whenever I could.

So I did exactly that.

“Hunter, I brought you breakfast.”

I sat down at the desk in front of his and placed a boiled egg on his table.

Hunter stared at it.

Maybe what happened with the roses a few days ago had left him feeling a little less confident around me, because he gave a short, mocking laugh.

“You’re pursuing someone, and all you bring him is one egg?”

“What else do you like?”

He answered casually, “Bagel.”

I swept my hand lightly over the egg.

A bagel appeared beside it.

Hunter's eyes widened.

“I said the wrong thing. I meant latte!”

I waved my hand again.

The bagel vanished.

A cup of latte appeared in its place.

“What the hell? I meant mushroom soup!”

This time, I didn’t move.

When he saw that I’d finally run out of tricks, he leaned back in his chair and grinned.

“What happened? Can’t use your little magic trick anymore?”

I nodded.

“If you want mushroom soup, I can go downstairs and buy some for you now.”

Hunter fell silent again.

Then he slowly sat upright.

“Bring the bagel back.”

I waved my hand.

The bagel reappeared on the desk.

“This is enough. Why would you go buy more? What a pain.”

I looked at the tips of his ears, which had turned red again, and smiled.

[Host, didn’t you already buy mushroom soup?]

I answered,

“The most important thing about magic is making people happy and surprising them.

“Not making them angry.”

After I’d been pursuing Hunter for a while, the school held its first monthly exam.

When the rankings came out, Hunter wasn’t happy.

He didn’t say anything.

But that morning, he refused the breakfast I brought him.

I looked at the rankings posted for our grade.

First place: Jethro Neeson.

Second place: Hunter Peterson.

[The male lead and second male lead have always been rivals. They compete for first place academically, and later they compete in love too. Hunter is the female lead’s childhood friend, but he still loses to Jethro, the male lead who comes into her life later.]

I nodded.

The system had already told me that the female lead would transfer to our school soon because of Jethro.

Once she arrived, Hunter would become so distracted trying to win her over that his grades would drop.

He would never beat Jethro again.

After high school, Hunter would go overseas for college, hoping to become a better man before returning to pursue her again.

But by the time he came back, the female lead and Jethro would already be married.

Hunter would remain single for the rest of his life, waiting for them to divorce.

He would even interfere in their relationship a few times.

When it came to getting the person he loved, Hunter truly embodied the phrase “by any means necessary.”

Unfortunately for him, the male and female leads were completely devoted to each other.

In the end, the female lead cut Hunter out of her life.

It broke him.

From then on, he was miserable every day.

Even though his company eventually became hugely successful and made him incredibly wealthy, none of it could ease the pain he carried.

He died young.

From all of this, I reached two conclusions.

First, confidence was important.

I needed to help Hunter build his confidence.

Second, happiness was important.

I needed to make Hunter happy.

I found him skipping class on a bench beneath a large tree.

The moment he saw me, he closed his eyes.

“Can you not bother me right now?”

I didn’t answer.

I simply sat down quietly beside him.

Then I took out a small round bottle with a black lid.

“Hunter, let me teach you a magic trick.”

He opened his eyes, probably intending to refuse.

Then he saw me shake the single die inside the bottle and turn it into a pile of tiny dice.

He went quiet.

“The lid has another die hidden inside it, and the smaller dice are concealed here.”

Once Hunter understood the trick, he nodded.

I reset everything, screwed the lid back on, and handed him the bottle.

“You can try it.”

He took it.

“I just shake it?”

I nodded.

Hunter gave the bottle a shake.

But instead of the single die turning into a pile of tiny dice, it turned into a piece of candy.

His hand jerked slightly.

He refused to look at me.

Staring at the bottle instead, he took out the candy and muttered,

“Why do you keep doing all this pointless stu...”

He stopped the moment he unwrapped it.

There was a tiny note inside.

It read:

*You’ll always be number one to me.*

I had come up with the magic trick.

The system and I had written the note together.

[Host, do you think Hunter is going to be so touched that he cries?]

Before I could answer, the system started crying on its own.

[I’m already crying. Boohoo. Boohoo.]

Listening to its bizarre electronic sobbing, I ate the breakfast Hunter had refused that morning.

As it turned out, Hunter really was a seasoned flirt.

He kept his head lowered for a while, clutching both the candy and the note in his palm.

Then he stood up and started walking stiffly toward the classroom.

“Hunter?”

I followed him.

“Where are you going?”

“You’re so annoying.”

Even his breathing was uneven, and his eyes kept darting away from me as he spoke.

“Where else would I go? Back to class to study.”

Then he deliberately put more distance between us.

“Stop chasing me.

“I’m not dating anyone while I’m still in high school.”

I stopped walking.

“System, has Hunter never dated anyone before?”

[Correct, Host. Hunter has always followed one principle: flirt all you want, but never make it official.]

“Is this what people mean when they call someone a player?”

[Not exactly. Even though he flirts, he’s never really crossed any lines. The most he’s ever done is hug someone. He hasn’t even kissed anyone.]

The system paused.

[Actually, never mind. He’s a player.]

I nodded.

The first time I’d spoken to Hunter after transmigrating into this world was because he’d been bored and decided to flirt with me on a whim.

But lately...

I watched his retreating back.

He didn’t seem to talk to other girls much anymore.

“System, why is that?”

[Maybe you flirting back traumatized him.]

I nodded thoughtfully.

“I see.”

“That was my fault.”

“My name is Lucy Chandler. I hope we get along.”

At the front of the classroom, the female lead who had transferred in this semester was introducing herself.

I looked over at Hunter.

He had stopped working on his problems.

Instead, he sat there with his pen between his fingers, staring at Lucy at the front of the room.

Lucy looked toward Jethro, the male lead, who sat in the first row by the door.

Jethro lifted his head.

Then he looked at me.

Me: [?]

[Host! Host! Look away! Stop staring!]

Confused, I quickly pulled my gaze back.

I was just about to ask the system what was wrong when a voice drifted over from beside me.

“Who were you looking at?”

Hunter's voice was strangely quiet.