The announcement came at sunset, painted across the academy's skyline like a dare.
> INITIATING: HEARTLOCK TRIAL
Pairs will be physically tethered via SyncBands.
Duration: 48 hours.
Goal: Maintain emotional harmony or suffer LP penalties.
Violation of proximity parameters = Instant LP Drop.
Assigned Pair:
Chae Luna & Han Leejun
Luna stared at her wrist, where a sleek silver band had materialized with a soft click.
Another band shimmered to life around Leejun's.
Then—
CLINK.
A glowing red thread connected them. Almost invisible. Almost.
Luna blinked. "You've got to be kidding me."
Leejun didn't even flinch. "Rules are rules."
"Whose idea was this trial?"
"Probably someone with a twisted sense of romance and no personal space issues."
---
Dormitory 7B – "Couples Quarters"
The room was warm, softly lit, embarrassingly cozy.
One bed.
One.
"Is this a prank?" Luna hissed. "There's one bed."
"System likely registered high synergy," Leejun said calmly, unbuttoning his blazer.
"Stop doing that!"
"Doing what?"
"Taking off clothes while sounding like a textbook!"
He raised an eyebrow. "I can sleep on the floor."
"No. You'll wake up with a negative LP for back pain."
They both stared at the bed. It stared back.
Eventually, they both climbed in—back to back, layers of blankets between them, tension so thick it could smother an entire simulation.
---
2:13 AM
Luna shifted.
So did Leejun.
Then, silence.
Until—
"Are you asleep?" he asked softly.
"No," she whispered.
He hesitated. "I meant what I said before."
She turned, barely able to make out his face in the dim light.
"You confuse me, Luna. And that's rare."
She swallowed. "And you scare me. Because I might be starting to… not hate this."
He turned toward her too.
Their hands brushed—electric.
The space between them shrank.
His breath tickled her cheek. "Can I…"
She didn't answer.
Didn't move.
Didn't blink.
And just when he started to lean in—
ALARM.
> WARNING: RIVAL DETECTED IN ZONE 7
RIVEN KAI ATTEMPTING ENTRY
"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE—"
Luna flung a pillow as Leejun groaned.
Riven's voice crackled through the door: "Sorry to interrupt your love nest! Just wanted to return Luna's jacket! Definitely not spying!"
Ping.
> +7 LP
Source: Jealous Interference
Leejun sat up, clearly done. "Next time, I'm locking the simulation."
Luna flopped back down, face burning.
"I swear this school is trying to turn us into a dating sim."
Leejun smirked. "If it is, we're winning."