I want to avoid the bad ending - Chapter 2

Since I’d already seen Park Sena and Seo Daejin while playing the game, they didn’t feel unfamiliar, but the man was a different story. Even though this was just a game, dealing with someone I’d never seen before made me feel a bit uneasy.

“I’ve been stuck here the whole time. The door just locked out of nowhere, and I couldn’t get out.”

“Whoa, same here. We can’t even leave the mansion right now. The front door’s locked.”

“Really?”

The man’s face scrunched up, visibly taken aback by Park Sena’s comment.

…Something felt off. His reaction seemed a bit too rehearsed, almost like he was pretending to be surprised. It was like watching someone act like an NPC. The way he looked around, his movements—everything felt that way. Though, to be fair, he probably is just an NPC.

My guess is that this version of the game is a harder one, and if that’s the case, this NPC must be a new side character created by the developers. He definitely looked more polished than the other side characters. Is his concept supposed to be the “good-looking NPC”…?

“How did you end up here?”, Park Sena asked him.

“I was chased all the way here by some strange person holding a knife.”

“Oh, same here! We ran all the way here, but I think that psycho is still in the mansion.”

“He was lingering outside this room for a while earlier, but it got quiet, like he’d already left.”

He was talking about the psychopath. It seemed like he, too, had been chased into this room by him. Park Sena and I nodded at his words.

“Aha…”

“And…”

“And what?”

Curious, I asked as he continued speaking.

“Really handsome.”

“Huh?”

“I’m talking about that guy.”

What the hell is he talking about? Is he crazy?

Did the game’s dialogue glitch or something? How can he mention how handsome that psycho is in a situation like this?

I let out a scoff of disbelief and shot him a suspicious look. Who says something like that after being chased by a guy with a knife?

“You said he had a knife, didn’t you? Isn’t it a bit weird to be bringing up how attractive he was…?”

“Is it? But when someone’s that good-looking, it’s hard not to notice, don’t you think?”

The man just smiled brightly at my words, shrugging his shoulders. It seemed like his comment was not only about the psychopath but maybe even at his own appearance. He’s definitely crazy.

People who know they’re good-looking are always this obnoxious, aren’t they? I let out a hollow laugh, deciding I’d be better off just avoiding this guy for my own peace of mind.

After watching in silence, Seo Daejin spoke up, eyeing him with suspicion.

“Enough chit-chat. What’s your name and age? I’m Seo Daejin, twenty-five. This here is Park Sena, also twenty-five, and over here is Han Jaeyi, same age.”

Seo Daejin introduced us in turn, starting with himself, then Park Sena, then me.

He didn’t seem ready to let his guard down yet, which made sense; we had no way of knowing if this guy would be helpful or dangerous. Likely, he was thinking the same about us.

The man just smiled, his eyes curving with amusement, and answered without a hint of concern for Seo Daejin’s wary gaze.

“My name is Jeong Haeyoon. I’m 25.”

“Really? That’s convenient. So, let’s just talk casually then?”

[Information Unlocked]

[Character profiles and relationship charts are now accessible]

Oh?

Suddenly, a status window popped up showing character info and relationship charts.

[Seo Daejin,

25 Years Old]

[Park Sena,

25 Years Old]

[Jeong Haeyoon,

24 Years Old.

Affection: 65]

What’s with the affection stat under Jeong Haeyoon’s age? And he’s younger than us—who does he think he’s fooling?

I felt a surge of annoyance. His looks weren’t the problem here.

“Hey, you…!”

Just as I was about to shout, my lips froze mid-sentence. It was like some spell had sealed them shut, and all I could do was make muffled noises.

What’s going on?!

As I stood there, fists clenched in frustration at this bizarre situation, Jeong Haeyoon just laughed shamelessly. I’m about to lose my mind!

Looks like the system’s set up to prevent me from mentioning our ages. That’s so frustrating. I really can’t say it?

Jeong Haeyoon glanced over at me again with a smirk. That guy… he’s totally messing with us.

“Mmph, mmph!”

Anger bubbled up inside me. A twenty-four-year-old, speaking so casually to a bunch of twenty-fives!

While I was fuming, Park Sena stepped in, smoothing things over.

“Alright, let’s just speak casually. We’re all the same age, after all.”

“But…!”

“It’s dangerous here, so let’s stick together. There’s a psycho wandering around, and we could end up dead if we’re not careful. But if we work together, we can escape the mansion faster.”

I tried to interrupt Park Sena and ask Jeong Haeyoon why he was lying, but even that got blocked before I could say a word.

This is ridiculous!

I hated not being able to clear things up. This was driving me insane. Even though I’m pretty tolerant and this is all just a game, growing up in a society that values respect makes it hard to tolerate going along with someone lying about his age. Still, it seemed like I’d have to put up with this liar for now.

“Sure, let’s get along.”

Jeong Haeyoon’s glanced at Seo Daejin and Park Sena before he looked directly at me, smiling kindly.

“Looking forward to it, Jaeyi.”

“…”

I didn’t back down from Jeong Haeyoon’s cheerful smile and gave him a sharp glare. This sly fox. I’ll get to the bottom of your lies eventually.

But right now, my second problem was the affection level. I didn’t know why it showed up, but the whole thing was tied to Jeong Haeyoon.

Do I actually have to raise his affection level? Will it affect the game if it drops?

When I’d played “The Black Mansion” before, there hadn’t been any affection system like this. Just as I was puzzling over it, another system window popped up, floating in the air.

[Ending conditions are now accessible.]

[ED 1: Escape Together

Type – Happy Ending

Achievement Condition – Maintain Jeong Haeyoon’s affection level over 90 and escape the mansion.]

[ED 2: No Way Out

Type – Bad Ending

Achievement Condition – Jeong Haeyoon’s affection drops below 30.]

[ED 3: A Tragedy of Love and Hate

Type – Bad Ending

Achievement Condition – Jeong Haeyoon’s disappointment grows to the point of resentment.]

[ED 4: Miserable Death

Type – Bad Ending

Achievement Condition – Be killed by the psychopath.]

[ED 5: In The End, You…

Type – Hidden Bad Ending

Achievement Condition – ???]

What the…?

Why on earth does the affection system have to apply to Jeong Haeyoon, of all people, and not Park Sena or Seo Daejin? And I’m supposed to butter up that liar? The thought alone made my blood boil.

As if it’s not enough that an affection system randomly showed up in the game, now I have to keep it above 90? What kind of nonsense is this?

If the affection level drops below 30 or I somehow offend him, I’ll get another bad ending. I’m already busy keeping an eye on that psycho, and now I have to manage this guy’s affection too? I feel like I’m going to lose my mind.

For someone like me, who’s never cared much about impressing others and just does things my way, these conditions felt like a massive chore. And what’s with the ‘Hidden Bad Ending’? That means I could end up with a bad ending for reasons completely out of my control.

“Ah….”

In other words, it means I have to go out of my way to be nice to this guy. I shot a glare at Jeong Haeyoon, who still had that innocent smile plastered on his face.

Even if Park Sena or Seo Daejin die or go missing, it probably won’t affect clearing the game. The real problem is Jeong Haeyoon. I have no idea how to deal with someone so hard to read.

“Did you find anything unusual around here? Like a key, maybe?” Park Sena asked Jeong Haeyoon. If he’d been stuck here for a while, he must’ve looked around, right?

“Nope, haven’t seen anything like that.”

Nothing? Really? Have you just been sitting here staring at the wall this whole time, Jeong Haeyoon? Well, can’t expect too much from an NPC, I guess. Holding back my irritation, I spoke calmly.

“Then should we take a look around? There might be a key somewhere.”

All three nodded in agreement, then spread out in different directions as if on cue.

I pretended to check the desk, all the while sneaking glances at what Jeong Haeyoon was doing. He was also looking around, lifting up the bed’s blanket and checking under the pillow. But it didn’t seem like he was finding much.

Useless. Shaking my head, I rummaged through the desk drawers in hopes of finding something.

“Hey, check this out!”

Suddenly, Seo Daejin, who’d been searching along the wall, shouted. We went over to him, and he pointed at a hidden corner next to the bookshelf. A board was fastened to the wall, seemingly set up to block something.

“Looks like we’ll have to break it…”

I rubbed my chin, staring intently at the board. I wanted to try touching it, but held back, worried I might trigger another trap if I wasn’t careful.

“Move aside!”

Just as I heard Seo Daejin’s voice, his foot suddenly swung past right in front of me. Whoa. In that split second, I felt an arm grab mine, pulling me backward. When I came to my senses, Jeong Haeyoon was grinning at me.

Then it happened.

Bang!

“Agh!”

With a loud thud as his foot hit the board, Seo Daejin let out a scream, grabbing his foot in pain. It must have really hurt. If that had hit me instead, I’d definitely have a bruise on my face.

Granted, kicking a hard board with only sneakers, no wonder it hurt. But for a game NPC, his reaction felt surprisingly realistic.

“I did good, didn’t I?”

“What?”

With a hand resting on my shoulder, Jeong Haeyoon’s voice sounded right by my ear.

Wait… was he actually asking me if he did a good job?

Jeong Haeyoon chuckled as he watched Seo Daejin hopping around, clutching his foot. Then he glanced down at me with a proud look in his eyes, sending a sudden chill down my spine. Isn’t concern the usual reaction when you see someone in pain?

As unsettling as it was to hear him fishing for praise, I had to admit, if Jeong Haeyoon hadn’t pulled me out of the way, I probably would’ve been kicked somewhere by Seo Daejin’s foot.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───