“Have a good trip.”
“Yeah. If you need anything, contact me or the manager. What do you want for dinner?”
“Uh… pasta?”
“Got it. I’ll get takeout from somewhere good. I’ll finish up quickly and come back, so just wait a bit. Okay?”
“Okay.”
When Wonyoung waved his hand, Heegang turned around reluctantly, then turned back and kissed Wonyoung’s forehead with a peck before whispering.
“See you later.”
“…Uh, uh-huh…”
Feeling warmth spreading from his forehead where Heegang’s lips had touched, Wonyoung mumbled a response. Soon after Heegang closed the door, the sound of the lock clicking could be heard.
Only then did Wonyoung hit his own head.
“Pull yourself together, Heo Wonyoung.”
[This statement is incompatible with your character. Warning 2. If warnings accumulate beyond a certain number, a penalty will be imposed.]
Those filthy, petty bastards. Seeing this, the game is definitely still running.
“Status window.”
Just in case, when Wonyoung opened the status window, as expected, the mission section was completely empty.
Wonyoung was staring blankly at the empty status window when he habitually lowered his eyes and paused.
“Hm?”
‘The affection levels…’
Kyung Taerim
080/999
Ki Siyeon
093/999
Baek Heegang
508/999
In the status window, only Heegang’s affection level had risen abnormally high. All he’d done was be confined here.
‘Is this another bug? Or… I don’t know what it is, but I’ve got a bad feeling.’
If the game got twisted, there might be problems for him too, trapped in this game. The missions hadn’t been appearing either, and feeling suspicious, Wonyoung called the System.
“System-ssi, are you there?”
As expected, the System didn’t appear either. Of course, he knew it came and went as it pleased, but with these minor problems piling up one after another, Wonyoung was starting to feel uneasy somehow.
After pacing back and forth in the room racking his brain, Wonyoung finally made a decision.
‘I’ll escape.’
Of course it was impossible, but his intention was to create an irregularity in the play. Something might come up in the process.
Having made up his mind, Wonyoung thoroughly investigated the room.
‘First of all, I can’t get out through the window.’
He didn’t know what floor this was, but looking at the view outside the window, it was at least the 30th floor or higher. It was a height he couldn’t survive. Then there was only one way out. Wonyoung approached the door.
The door was made of ordinary material, but it was impossible to tear off the lock mechanism with his bare hands. And it’s not like there was any useful weapon. There’s no way Heegang would have left such a thing.
Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Wonyoung first tried turning the doorknob. Then an unexpected message blocked his view.
[You cannot leave the area while an ending is in progress.]
“What? Ending?”
An ending? What ending?
At the appearance of a word he hadn’t thought of at all, Wonyoung froze in place. Was this also a bug? Or…
Click, click. Wonyoung frantically shook the door. But there was no way the door would open. Even so, he didn’t give up and even threw his body against it, struggling to open the door.
“Ugh!”
After several attempts, when he lost his balance and collapsed, the same notification window as before appeared before his eyes again.
[You cannot leave the area while an ending is in progress.]
“What the hell is this!”
Even venting his irritation didn’t change anything. Wonyoung looked around searching for something to break the door with, but soon gave up. Judging by the notification window appearing, this wasn’t a physical problem.
In the end, there was only one method again. Wonyoung spoke with a desperate heart.
“System-ssi. Let’s talk. This is important.”
The System didn’t appear, but Wonyoung continued speaking.
“There’s something I really need to ask. An ending out of nowhere—I need to understand the current situation. If…”
What if everything just ends like this?
Wonyoung’s gaze, thinking of the worst case, dropped downward.
“…If you keep this up, I’ll only give you a 0.5-star rating later.”
When Wonyoung finished speaking and raised his head, a glowing orb was floating in front of his eyes.
“Did you call me, Player-nim?”
“System-ssi!”
Wonyoung ran over happily. It was the first time since meeting the System. The System jumped up in surprise.
“Why, why are you doing this! Are you going to hit me again?”
“No. I was going to hug you because I’m happy to see you.”
“Liar.”
This little bastard.
Wonyoung, who had briefly flared up, soon came to his senses thinking this wasn’t the time and asked.
“It says an ending is currently in progress—what does that mean? An ending?”
“Ah.”
At Wonyoung’s question, the System spun around once with a swish and said.
“Congratulations! You’ve achieved the conditions for obtaining an ending!”
“…What?”
“Mm.”
The System, looking at Wonyoung who was dumbly asking back, seemed to ponder a bit before saying ‘Ah, it should be fine’ and opening its mouth.
“Player-nim, by achieving the ending conditions with the capturable character Baek Heegang, you are currently proceeding with Ending #9 ‘Forever Until Death (Emperor Confinement).'”
“Wh-what did you say?”
Forever until death? Wonyoung was thinking what kind of ominous name is that, when the System said.
“Player-nim has successfully completed the game!”
“…I have?”
“Yes! When today passes, you’ll be able to go back home…”
“I can’t!”
At the sudden outburst, the System stopped abruptly. Wonyoung was just as flustered. However…
‘It’s ending? I’m going home? So suddenly like this?’
Wonyoung stammered out excuses to the System.
“I mean, I’m a perfectionist, so this kind of lukewarm ending doesn’t sit well with me… And also…”
Then the System asked.
“Player-nim, do you not want to end the game?”
“!”
Wonyoung clearly had an expression of someone hit right on the mark. Both the System and Wonyoung himself knew that was his true feeling.
But why. He surely wanted to go home. He should go back.
Lost in thought and saying nothing for a long while, after some time had passed, Wonyoung quietly asked.
“If it ends like this, do I just return to my life? And everything I experienced here becomes like it never happened?”
“Correct.”
The System answering confidently had a tone as if asking wasn’t that what Wonyoung wanted. Wonyoung knew that too, but an affirmative answer didn’t come out. He wasn’t happy, nor satisfied.
Why. Why was that?
But what was certain was that Wonyoung had no intention of ending this game right now.
He might regret it later. Even harder things might be waiting ahead. However.
Ending it like this felt so unsettling he couldn’t just stay still. Then there was only one conclusion.
“What if I don’t accept this ending?”
“…”
“What if I continue playing this game?”
Looking at the silent System, Wonyoung suddenly felt anxious and asked.
“Is it irreversible? Do I have to reset or something…”
Wonyoung now knew to some extent about the rules of romance simulations. If you got an ending you didn’t like, you had no choice but to go back to a save file or play from the beginning.
But would that work? Could he say the three people he met that way were the same as the three people he met this time?
“System-ssi.”
When Wonyoung called its name restlessly, the System finally opened its heavy mouth.
“Do you truly want that?”
“…Yes.”
“Truly?”
“Yes.”
The eyes of Wonyoung answering like that held no wavering. Confirming his will, the System rotated once and said.
“Very well. Then Player-nim will branch out from Ending #9. What kind of conclusion you’ll meet there again, no one knows.”
“…! Is it possible? Going back?”
“As I said, it’s not ‘going back’ but ‘branching out.’ And you, Player-nim, will have to endure the entire process.”
At the System’s words, Wonyoung anticipated that this method would by no means be easy. Still, he had to try every effort he could. Living happily ever after while confined like this—that was a bad thing for Baek Heegang too.
When Wonyoung, having steeled his resolve, nodded, a mission window appeared before his eyes.
[※Mission Alert※]
Objective: Before the ending, escape from Heegang’s house or solve his problem.
Reward: Continuation of play possible
Upon Failure: Ending #9 Forever Until Death (Emperor Confinement) or Game Over
Soon, the number 24:00 appeared above the status window.
“From now until tomorrow, before you face the game’s conclusion, Player-nim must complete the mission. Please note that in the worst case upon failure, it could result in a game over!”
Seeing the terrifying content of the mission window, Wonyoung’s resolve weakened and he cautiously asked.
“Just in case I’m asking, but when you say game over…”
“It’s death.”
“This is a game where you die?!”
When Wonyoung screamed in horror, the System said soothingly.
“Ah, Narae of this world dies and Player-nim will play Narae of a new world. Until you meet an ending.”
Narae of this world…? Narae of a new world?
But before Wonyoung could question that part further, the System said.
“Well then, my part seems to end here. I hope you achieve a great victory! Now, let’s shout together! CUTE LOVE START!”
“…Cute… Ugh, do I really have to do this?”
“I helped you, didn’t I! This time for sure, cutely! Please.”
Well, it was true that he came and saved the day this time, so Wonyoung made the most abangabang expression he could.
“CUTE LOVE START!”
“Yay!”
The System disappeared, and a strong sense of doubt hit Wonyoung, left alone. Am I really becoming an abangsu… After worrying, Wonyoung first sat on the bed and examined the mission content again.
[※Mission Alert※]
Objective: Before the ending, escape from Heegang’s house or solve his problem.
Reward: Continuation of play possible
Upon Failure: Ending #9 Forever Until Death (Emperor Confinement) or Game Over
Wonyoung had to choose one of the two. Escape or resolution. Especially escape—if it failed, Heegang’s vigilance could intensify, and even if he tried to switch to the resolution path afterward, the possibility of it becoming difficult was high.
