MTL NOVEL Chapter 1: The Blue Screen That Changed Everything
Sung-Min trudged down the cracked sidewalk, his backpack slung lazily over one shoulder. The late afternoon sun beat down on Seoul's bustling streets, and the air smelled faintly of fried chicken and exhaust fumes. Another day of college lectures had drained him dry—three hours of Professor Kim droning on about statistical models, followed by a group project meeting where he'd done all the work while his teammates scrolled TikTok. Typical.
"Man, I need a nap," he muttered, kicking a stray pebble into the gutter. At 22, Sung-Min wasn't exactly living the dream. Average grades, average looks—short black hair, a decent jawline if he squinted in the mirror just right—and an utterly average social life. No girlfriend, no prospects, just a growing collection of doujinshi stashed under his bed and a subscription to every hentai streaming site he could afford.
As he turned the corner toward his cramped apartment, something bizarre happened. The world flickered—like a bad Twitch stream lagging out—and a glowing blue screen popped into existence right in front of his face. Sung-Min yelped, stumbling backward into a lamppost.
"What the—?!"
The screen hovered there, crisp and futuristic, with bold white text scrolling across it like some kind of augmented reality prank.
[Greetings, Sung-Min! I am the Netori Protagonist System. Congratulations, you've been selected as the protagonist of your very own netori doujin life!]
Sung-Min blinked. Then blinked again. He waved his hand through the screen, expecting it to vanish like a hologram. It didn't. The text shifted, as if responding to his confusion.
[Objective: Steal other men's women. Seduce them. Claim them. Make them yours. In return, I'll grant you rewards based on your performance. Skills, stats, items—you name it, I've got it. Ready to become the ultimate villain of love?]
He stared, mouth hanging open. "Is this… some kind of scam? Did I get hacked by a porn pop-up ad?"
[No scam. No virus. Just fate. Accept or decline. You have 60 seconds.]
A countdown timer appeared in the bottom corner: 59… 58… 57…
Sung-Min's brain short-circuited. Netori? As in that netori? The glorious, morally dubious art of stealing someone else's girl and making her scream your name instead? His heart thudded. This was the stuff of his wildest fantasies—literally. He'd read enough hentai to know where this was going, and damn if it didn't sound tempting.
But then reality kicked in. "Wait, wait, wait. I'm no Casanova! I can barely talk to the cashier at the convenience store without sweating!"
[45… 44… 43…]
The system didn't care. The timer ticked on relentlessly. Sung-Min ran a hand through his hair, pacing in a tight circle. "Okay, think. If this is real, I get rewards. If it's fake, I just look like an idiot talking to myself. No big loss, right?"
[30… 29… 28…]
"Screw it," he blurted. "Yes! I accept!"
The screen flared bright blue, and a cheerful ding! echoed in his ears.
[Contract accepted! Welcome, Sung-Min, to the Netori Protagonist System. Let's get you started. First mission: Seduce your neighbor's girlfriend. Target: Park Ji-Yeon. Difficulty: Easy. Reward: +5 Charm, Basic Seduction Skill.]
Sung-Min froze. "Park Ji-Yeon? As in the Park Ji-Yeon? The hot chick from 3B who's dating that meathead Tae-Ho?"
A new window popped up, displaying a profile: a photo of Ji-Yeon, all long legs and pouty lips, smiling in a sundress. Below it, a stat sheet listed her likes (coffee, romantic dramas), dislikes (arrogance, bugs), and relationship status (taken, 6 months).
"Holy crap," Sung-Min whispered. "This is real."
[Mission begins now. Good luck, protagonist! Tip: She's home alone tonight. Tae-Ho's at the gym.]
The screen vanished, leaving Sung-Min standing there, heart racing and palms sweaty. He glanced up at his apartment building, a dingy five-story relic with peeling paint. Ji-Yeon lived two doors down from him. He'd seen her a dozen times—always with Tae-Ho, always out of his league.
"Okay," he said, cracking his knuckles. "I've got no game, no plan, and no idea what I'm doing. But I've got a system now. Time to be the bad guy."
He took a deep breath and marched toward the building, a grin tugging at his lips. If this worked, college was about to get a hell of a lot more interesting.