Wonyoung remained silent throughout the journey. His mind was complicated with many things. He even had a premonition that…… this might be the last time.
“It’s here.”
“This is……”
Eventually, the place where Wonyoung’s footsteps stopped was in front of the cafe where he used to work. The suspicion had started the last time he came to work.
Muraei Cake. Was it just a coincidence that the cake named after Naraei remained in this place?
“……The game creator might be here.”
“Hyung, you mean……”
“Yeah. The cafe owner.”
At Wonyoung’s answer, Siyeon showed a shocked expression. Of course, his guess could be wrong. But somehow…… seeing the door marked “Day Off,” he didn’t think it was a mistake.
The cafe with its lights off looked like a good place to hide.
“The door is closed.”
“……It’s not locked.”
Wonyoung, who had tried turning the doorknob, responded that way.
And before opening the door, Wonyoung looked at Siyeon, Heegang, and Taerim’s faces one by one.
He wouldn’t leave these people behind so helplessly.
Wonyoung steeled his resolve and opened the door. The door opened with a jingling bell sound.
“Boss, are you here?”
The inside of the cafe was quiet. At first glance, it seemed completely empty. Is he not here? Wonyoung and the three men searched inside the cafe just in case. That’s when it happened.
“Wonyoung-ah. Look at this.”
When he approached at Heegang’s call, he saw a laptop placed in the space behind the counter. On its screen, Wonyoung’s status window and his current appearance were displayed exactly as they were.
“……This is……”
“This is exactly like a game.”
The atmosphere became heavy at Siyeon’s sharp muttering. In the meantime, Taerim, who was examining the screen closely, said,
“……There’s a lock on my name. On the other two people’s names as well.”
At those words, when they examined the screen, they could see locks drawn next to the names of the three men displayed above the affection level window. They could soon figure out what it meant.
Kyung Taerim 🔒
998/999
Ki Siyeon 🔒
998/999
Baek Heegang 🔒
998/999
“……The affection levels are locked. So they can’t reach 999.”
“What changes if it becomes 999?”
At Siyeon’s question, Wonyoung, who had been narrowing his eyebrows in thought, hesitated. Because suddenly, a certain ending came to his mind.
‘Could it be the Hidden Ending 0……?’
While Wonyoung was pondering, Siyeon asked,
“Is there a way to unlock this?”
“What would you do by unlocking it? Won’t an ending just happen?”
It was Taerim who refuted Heegang’s answer.
“Well. I think there must be a reason why the creator locked it.”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
When Siyeon, who had chimed in agreement, tried clicking here and there, Heegang irritably reprimanded him.
“Don’t just press anything. What if something goes wrong with the game or Heo Wonyoung?”
“Oops……”
Siyeon hesitated at the unexpected consequence, but Taerim stepped forward.
“Give it here. With this kind of thing, you just……”
It was the moment Taerim grabbed the mouse and clicked something.
“What are you doing right now?”
At the icy tone—a voice that wasn’t unfamiliar but one they’d never heard speak in such a cold manner—everyone turned around in unison. The cafe owner was standing there.
Wonyoung stepped forward and opened his mouth.
“Boss. No…… Game Creator.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I’ve already seen everything. The status window details and even my surveillance. There’s only one person who could do that. Someone other than us who knows this world is a game.”
“……So ‘he’ is on your side too.”
The cafe owner—no, the Game Creator—who had been silent, muttered quietly. They couldn’t understand what he meant, but they could at least tell that he acknowledged he was the Game Creator.
“So it really is you……”
The Game Creator who tried to erase me……
Although he had already anticipated this, the approaching shock was unavoidable. What supported Wonyoung at that moment were Taerim, Heegang, and Siyeon, who had stood beside him at some point.
They were looking at the creator who made them with hostile eyes.
“Why are you looking at me like that? If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have even met Heo Wonyoung.”
“So what? Should we be grateful?”
“It wasn’t thanks to you in the first place. Because of you, we almost lost Heo Wonyoung twice.”
“I feel so betrayed, seriously. Did you have fun deceiving us all this time?”
At the three people’s cold attitude, confusion appeared in the Game Creator’s eyes. Soon it changed to anger and turned toward Wonyoung.
“It’s all because of you. Heo Wonyoung, you ruined everything.”
“……”
Wonyoung calmly received that gaze and answered.
“You’re right. I ruined the game. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to meet these three people.”
“Wonyoung-ssi.”
Wonyoung sent a look to Taerim, who was calling him worriedly, as if telling him not to worry, then continued speaking.
“I didn’t come here to fight with you, Game Creator. I came to ask for permission.”
“……Permission?”
At the Game Creator’s question, Wonyoung nodded once.
“I…… love the world you created. I want to remain in this world.”
“That’s why I proposed it. If you return to being Naraei……”
“No, that’s meaningless. I need to remain here as Heo Wonyoung.”
At those words, the Game Creator gave a crooked smile.
“Then you have to disappear. You have to face an ending and disappear. Because you’re not the protagonist of this world.”
Wonyoung readily admitted it. He’s not the protagonist. However.
“What they chose is me, Heo Wonyoung.”
“……Then what about Naraei.”
Just as Wonyoung was about to answer that Naraei was also within him, a shrill voice struck his ears.
“Are you saying Naraei was abandoned?!”
At that moment, the space shook and something like noise occurred. Taerim quickly caught Wonyoung as he staggered.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes. But……”
Wonyoung looked at the Game Creator who was panting in bewilderment. It was his world, his story. He wouldn’t be pleased with things getting tangled. But at the foundation of his actions…… there seemed to be something more deeply rooted.
“Leave it to us now.”
Sending the surprised Wonyoung back, Taerim stepped forward. Siyeon and Heegang also gathered by his side. As if protecting Wonyoung.
“Stop playing with our lives now.”
“We have emotions too. You’re not going to say that even making you our enemy is part of your written story, are you?”
“This world is no longer yours.”
At the three people’s firm assertion, the Game Creator’s eyes wavered.
“Why……? You weren’t like this before…… so many times, so many times.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You’ve loved Naraei every time.”
At that moment, the three people felt dizzy and slumped down. Wonyoung hurriedly checked on them.
“Are you okay?!”
“What is, this……”
Taerim muttered unconsciously.
What flashed through his mind were countless memories. Memories that had been erased with each reset.
The role as an attackable character that had been repeated over and over.
‘Naraei-ssi. I love you.’
Other memories, not those experienced with Heo Wonyoung.
It was the same for Siyeon and Heegang.
“This is crazy.”
“……”
Taerim staggered to his feet. Shock and confusion were fully revealed in his eyes.
“You, what the hell have you been doing to us until now……?”
“Don’t tell me you thought this was the first playthrough?”
“What?”
Wonyoung looked at the Game Creator in bewilderment. Then, could it be…….
“You’ve repeated countless playthroughs. The Naraei summoned each time was different, but still, he was Naraei. You’ve loved Naraei over and over again.”
“So you’re saying you erased the three people’s memories…… every time a playthrough ended?”
“How else could the game proceed?”
“Are you insane?!”
Wonyoung involuntarily jumped forward. Then, the reason they’re suffering so much right now is…….
“Remember. Now you understand, don’t you? What you loved was Naraei, and what you had to love was also Naraei. Due to the aftereffects of too many memories and resets, you gradually escaped my control, but still, loving Naraei is your fate.”
“What the……”
“……Hyung……”
At Siyeon’s small call, Wonyoung turned around. He was trembling in his limbs.
“Siyeon-ah, are you okay?!”
“I…… died. So many times.”
“What?”
Died? To Wonyoung, who was asking back in a daze, the Game Creator said,
“Siyeon-ssi has loved Naraei over and over again. So he tried to leave the organization for Naraei.”
“……But……?”
“But if he didn’t receive Naraei’s choice, he had no choice but to die. Even so, until the end, he loved Naraei.”
Wonyoung inhaled. Then, how many times exactly has he…….
“Aren’t you curious about Heegang-ssi’s story? He killed Naraei countless times.”
“……What?”
Wonyoung looked at Heegang. Heegang, who had turned pale and was looking at Wonyoung, covered his mouth.
“Urgh……!”
“Heegang-ah!”
Wonyoung hurriedly approached Heegang and tried to check on him, but Heegang roughly brushed away Wonyoung’s hand.
“Don’t come close……”
“Hee, Heegang-ah.”
“I, I, Rae……”
Wonyoung didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know how to handle this. In front of the Game Creator, he was too powerless. He couldn’t find a way to help those who were suffering.
“Stop it……”
In the end, there was only one thing he could do. Wonyoung stood up abruptly and shouted at the Game Creator.
“Stop right now! I just need to return to being Naraei! So the three people’s memories……!”
“Wonyoung-ssi.”
At that moment, Taerim’s hand wrapped around Wonyoung’s shoulder. Wonyoung turned around. The Game Creator, who saw him, smiled and said,
“Ah, you must be curious about Kyung Taerim-ssi’s story too. He……”
“Shut, up.”
“……”
At Taerim’s murderous tone, a look of bewilderment crossed the Game Creator’s expression. If he didn’t receive Naraei’s choice, he became pessimistic about the fact that he would now never be able to smell the scent again…….
“The one here isn’t the me from back then.”
