The loud alarm woke the slumbering youth.
He instinctively reached toward the sound, fumbling to find the phone that was screaming.
“Where is it?” His hoarse voice was filled with frustration.
After nearly a minute of failing to find the source, he reluctantly sat up.
He struggled to open his heavy eyelids, squinting as he glanced around, only to find the square device flat on the floor.
It had been a week since he woke up in this body.
If it weren’t for his department’s sudden error, he wouldn’t have to deal with all this nonsense.
[Mission: Prevent the TARGETS from becoming lovers with this world’s protagonist.]
You are ridiculous.
The system’s daily notification sounded in his mind.
[Master Zane, you are wasting precious time.]
“I get it.
You don’t have to be so obnoxious about this every damn day.”
[I can’t do that when you are not making progress.]
Zane couldn’t help but curse his department again for their fucked ups.
He worked for the Novel Management Network in the department of Cannon Fodder Character Monitor.
Just a week ago, they had been making great progress, collecting successful life stories of the cannon fodder throughout different novels.
Their job was to monitor and course correct stories, making sure that the written characters followed their plots.
Everything was well and dandy until one of the interns grew attached to the character they were currently monitoring.
Their pity led them to alter the cannon fodder’s lives, giving them a golden halo and causing an error in the progression of the original plot.
The higher-ups immediately flagged their department, pausing all operations and sending in their top Plot Recovery System to fix the deviated plot.
As punishment, every single employee was forcibly bound to unique individual systems and sent out on their system-related missions.
“Is it too late to quit and apply to the Film Network?” His job as a monitor was different from those who did the groundwork.
He didn’t have to enter the novel, live, converse, or deal with any of the characters face-to-face.
Those who did the groundwork had to be bound to a system, which he actively avoided when he applied for the job.
[Answering: Master Zane is currently on probation and has no other choice than to complete his respective mission.]
“Why is everyone in trouble when that idiot was the one who triggered the error?”
[I suggest you stop asking questions you have answers to and complete your mission.]
“Cold-hearted bastard.” Ever since being bound to this system, he has been berated every day in a monotonous voice.
“Why is your system like that?
Couldn’t they bind me to a cool system like the Hero System or something?”
[You are being delusional.]
Feeling annoyed, Zane decided to stop conversing.
He got out of bed and headed for the bathroom to freshen up.
As the system stated, he had been here for a week now as one of the side characters in the novel.
The owner of this body, Zane Lee, was a poor college student who worked three jobs.
It was well known that when someone is sent to these worlds, the system will automatically change the original body’s name and face to match its host.
This makes it less jarring when they have to complete their quest.
In the novel, the original character was briefly mentioned when the protagonist and his two childhood friends visit a coffee shop where he works.
Aside from that, his character had no relation to the main plot whatsoever.
He stared blankly at the handsome face in the mirror, wondering how he was supposed to complete the mission when his features weren’t as delicate as the protagonist’s.
“System, do I have to make the targets fall for me?”
[Answering: Not necessary.]
“I was fretting over nothing.” He breathed a sigh of relief and hopped in the shower for a quick wash.
As someone who couldn’t stand sleeping dirty or spending the day dirty, he showered before bed and when he woke.
The system could only watch speechlessly as its host scrubbed his body clean in a jolly mood.
A sudden urge to shatter its host’s peace overtook it.
[I have to remind you that the mission is to prevent them from becoming lovers.
Just because you manage to prevent it today, doesn’t mean that they won’t reunite five years later.]
[It is advised that Master either find a forever love for the targets or become lovers with the target themselves to prevent future pairing.]
“…” After a moment of silence, the system listened to the string of curses from its stupid host with delight before returning to the TV series it had been watching.
The bright 0% of the mission progress hung in the air, taunting Zane.
He sat with his elbow propped atop the table.
His fingers were webbed together as they carried the weight of his head.
I’m fucked.
His long, muscular legs were crossed under the table, and his abs clenched from the stress of having to come up with a game plan.
He would probably be similar in size to the two targets, making it impossible to attract attention like the cute pocket-sized protagonist bottom.
Judging by how early it was in the school year, Zane was confident that the two targets had yet to reunite with the protagonist.
In the novel, the protagonist was sent abroad for most of his high school years, only returning for college.
The three were childhood friends, having grown up as neighbors.
While the protagonist had secretly fallen for the two male leads, they treated him like a friend.
Thanks to their time apart, seeing each other again made them see the protagonist in a different light.
The push and pull, nonsense misunderstandings, rivalry, and the presence of a villainous character helped progress their romance.
“Wait…the villainous character?” Zane was hit with a sudden epiphany.
If the two male leads fall for the villainous character, his mission would be considered done.
“I’m a fucking genius.
BWAHAHAHAHAHA!”
[…] The system opened its board to write a complaint about the host to the higher-ups.
It had never been paired with such a narcissistic idiot before that it suddenly understood what a headache felt like.
After gloating over his own brilliant plan, Zane left his apartment for the cafeteria on campus.
He thanked the original owner for living within walking distance, saving him from the crisis of muscle aches if he had to travel a long distance.
He was already dirt poor, unable to afford transportation of any kind without breaking the bank.
As a scholarship student, he didn’t have to worry about his tuition.
As for where the money from his three jobs went, the original owner has a sick younger brother who is in hospice care.
The original owner was an archaeology major, and thanks to his outstanding academic abilities, his professor offered to cover his food expenses at the campus cafeteria.
With the issue of food expenses solved, Zane has been silently praising the original owner for the last week.
[Reminder: The protagonist and the two TARGETS have already confirmed their feelings for one another.
Due to the protagonist requesting more time to choose who to date, there is an estimated one-week window before Master fails the mission.]
Seeing the host’s drool as he patiently waited for the lady to scoop his food of choice, the system calmly stated.
WHAT!?
HOW COULD IT HAPPEN ALREADY!?
The mutual feeling confirmation came once the trio entered their second year of college.
Zane swallowed his spit in panic as he quickly sat down with his tray of food.
It’s only the first year!
SYSTEM!
[Just because Master is starting his first year, doesn’t mean that the TARGETS are also starting their first year.]
FUCKKKKKKKKK!
[You only have yourself to blame.]
YOU USELESS SHITTY SYSTEM!
After another stream of curses and multiple stomach growls, Zane decided that he had to now seriously work on completing the mission.
[…] The system watched its ‘serious’ host take his time eating his breakfast and decided to file another complaint.