I've Reincarnated as a Love Rival !

Prologue

"Woahhh she's so cute!", Highschool student Jooheon Kim, 17, exclaimed loudly in awe at the character sprite on her phone screen.

"Oh, is that another otome game of yours?", peeped her friend who was seated at the cafeteria table across from her.

"Yeah! How did you know?"

"Seriously? You're only ever that enthusiastic when it comes to those games. Usually, you're all quiet and mature, like an ideal student."

Jooheon could only nod in response, her eyes were still sparkling in joy. It can be told from one glance that her friend's words went in one ear and out the other.

"Not to mention, she looks exactly like her brother! They're part of a prestigious noble family. They share beautiful silver hair and gentle pale eyes."

At the mention of their appearances, Jooheon flipped her phone around to proudly display the artwork to her friend.

The fellow scholar's friend chuckled at her detailed remarks.
"So, what's this story about ?"

Jooheon beamed at the question, and words flew out of her mouth like she's been waiting for this moment her whole life.

"The story takes place in an unnamed fantasy world containing magic and all sorts of mythical stuff. They lack modern stuff like phones.

The main character, who we play as, is...well, your average heroine. Her name is Liana and she's sort of plain looking, dark hair and dark eyes. She's heroic in nature, but also a naive doormat. Of course, since it's an otome game, she's surrounded by guys!

Liana is supposed to be a runaway slave, she has such a tragic backstory. Despite her low status, she was taken in by the royal family, and from there, she starts a new life. The 5 guys she meet are protective of her since she's so fragile yet brave.

Depending on the choices you select, you can end up with different endings. There's good endings, bad endings, and secret endings.

People who get in the way of your romance are love rivals. There's different ones depending on the male lead you go after. They can get annoying pretty quickly. "

Jooheon's friend nodded as she stirred her drink, "so...is that female character you were exclaiming about earlier a love rival?"

"Oh, her? Well I just sort of started on this game, so I'm not sure what her role is. I just know that she's the sister of one of the male leads. I think she'll be friends with us, since she's just so nice!"

If only Jooheon Kim knew how wrong she was.

-

"ELISA GRIFFITHS, you're dead to me!"

Jooheon Kim, age 19, was just recently admitted into a community college.
The otome game she's been crazed about since high school, 'Warriors of Love', blew up earlier this year after their sudden two year hiatus ended.

With her spirits low, the enraged girl lightly tossed her phone on her bed.
"Ugh, what am I doing? I'm raging about a mobile game when I have tests that start in a week. I should study, but..."

Jooheon winced as she recalled the memory of her yelling, disappointed parents. The sound of their anger echoed in her crowded mind. It hasn't been too long since they barged into her room and destroyed her belongings as " punishment" for not getting into a prestigious college.

Not to mention, last week she discovered that her only "friend" had been badmouthing her behind her back ever since high school.

...

"Studying can wait, first, let's stress-relieve!"

She picked up her phone again after a brief moment of silence and resumed with the game. However, seeing the "Bad Ending" screen only made the girl sigh and her frustrations flushed back into her.

"I can't believe I thought I could get along with Elisa...I guess they do say looks can be deceiving. I was a fool to trust this two-faced girl.

At first, I squealed about her adorable design and her gentle, cute manners. I even interacted with her a couple times and considered her a good friend in the game. She looked like she wanted me to be with her older brother, so I didn't suspect or doubt her at all.

Who knew she was a bro-con (overly obsessed with her brother) and tried to seduce the other male leads? She acted sweet in front of everyone, but her cruel true colors slowly got revealed to the MC as the story progressed. Just now, I was raging because she delivered twisted information and pulled out her best acting skills to make her brother, Erin Griffith, drop all his affection towards me.

I was on his route, so when his affection bar dropped to 0%, it was game over. How ironic. I got backstabbed in real life, and also in game."

Jooheon sighed and plopped down on her bed. She's been through a few game-overs already, and more than half of them were caused by Elisa. In other words, this wasn't anything new, but it was still frustrating nonetheless.

The college student reluctantly lifted a finger and hovered over the  glowing "Start Over" button on the screen, when...

UGH!

A sudden pain in her chest made Jooheon gasp, a cry escaped her lips as immense pain spread throughout her torso. In the process of her clenching her bed sheets and groaning, she'd accidentally brushed over the glowing button on her phone and pressed it.

"H...hel...p..."

That was the last noise Jooheon would ever get to muster out her weak body. Her vision quickly deteriorated and she could no longer feel any pain.

Jooheon Kim, age 19, died unexpectedly in her college dorm.