I Want to Avoid the Bad Ending - Chapter 4

Smiling slyly like a fox, Jeong Haeyoon moved on to inspect the table and the refrigerator. Even with his prince complex¹, at least he does what needs to be done.

Well, as a helper NPC, that’s the least he can do. I also walked toward the utensils and tried touching them.

[The utensils are humming as they dance around.]

“La la la, la la.”

“No way. The utensils are singing.”

“Where?”

Jeong Haeyoon’s eyes lit up as he turned toward me. As I stared at the dancing utensils in stunned disbelief, a system window popped up.

[An old song seems to be needed.]

An old song? How am I supposed to find something like that?

I couldn’t help but frown. I have no idea where I’m supposed to find and bring whatever it is they want. Still, it seemed like these utensils held the key to moving forward.

“Whoa, they’re even dancing!”

Jeong Haeyoon, who had been looking somewhere else, came closer and stared at the utensils with his mouth wide open, as if he were seeing a fascinating toy. I shook my head quietly so Jeong Haeyoon wouldn’t notice. He looked so much like a childish little kid.

“Have you heard something like a radio around here?”

“A radio? No, I haven’t,” Jeong Haeyoon replied, shaking his head.

The dancing utensils lost their rhythm and began moving out of sync, looking ridiculous. They then bumped into each other and began fighting.

“Hahaha, look at them go!”

Jeong Haeyoon laughed at the sight.

Are you really laughing in a situation like this?

I glared at Jeong Haeyoon but he ignored my stare completely and grabbed a fork nearby, waving it beside the utensils while humming along. What a lunatic.

“Let’s try to find something that could play music,” I sighed, suggesting to him.

Jeong Haeyoon tilted his head in confusion.

“Music? Why?”

“Maybe if we play the song those utensils want, they might give us something.”

I grabbed Jeong Haeyoon’s arm, stopping him from fooling around with the fork, and led him out of the kitchen. As we entered the living room, I saw Park Sena rummaging through the sofa, while Seo Daejin stood in front of the fireplace, watching her. A dry laugh escaped me. Isn’t that guy a total dictator?

“Did you guys check the whole kitchen?”

Seo Daejin glared at us with a suspicious look. That was something he should’ve been asking Park Sena, not us. It was laughable how this shameless dictator was interrogating me about whether I’d done my part.

“And you? Have you been searching? Why does it seem like Park Sena’s the only one working hard?”

“I was searching, okay? I’m just taking a short break.”

It didn’t seem like just a short break, though…

When I shot him a skeptical glance, Seo Daejin snapped, pointing an accusing finger at me.

“So? Did you actually search the kitchen or not?!”

“Obviously. We’re not like you.”

I purposely said “us” when referring to both Jeong Haeyoon and myself. Maybe it touched him, because Jeong Haeyoon’s eyes lit up as he grabbed my hand tightly. I wanted to pull away because Seo Daejin was watching, but I managed to stop myself.

“Have you seen anything that looks like a radio?”

“What? A radio? Pfft, do you really think you can break the board with something like that? How stupid. Just hurry up and find something useful to break the board!”

Seo Daejin barked arrogantly, arms crossed. His rude tone made me frown instinctively. If I could, I’d rush at him right now and teach him a lesson.

Sigh…

But fighting here would be just a waste of energy. Clenching my fists tightly, I held back my anger and turned away.

Behind me, Park Sena raised her voice at Seo Daejin, telling him to start looking for something too. But it didn’t seem to work.

I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Park Sena being stuck with him, but searching for a tool was the priority.

“Let’s try searching the big room or somewhere nearby for something that makes sound.”

“Okay.”

Jeong Haeyoon nodded obediently and followed behind me. We walked past the living room and arrived at the lobby.

At first, I hadn’t noticed since the game started in the hallway, but the lobby was several times larger than the living room and looked luxurious, thanks to its elegant wallpaper and marble floors. Walking on it with shoes instead of indoor slippers made me feel guilty, as if I owed the unknown owner an apology.

Conveniently, a statue stood in the middle of the lobby, so I gently placed my hand on it.

[Would you like to save your progress?]

▶ Save.

Once I finished saving, I took another slow look around.

“This place is ridiculously huge…”

“If we played hide-and-seek here, you’d never find anyone. Don’t you think?”

As I muttered to myself, Jeong Haeyoon suddenly chimed in with a question. His eyes, scanning the surroundings, were full of curiosity. Unlike earlier, he seemed noticeably more upbeat. I gave a casual nod in response.

“Yeah, it’d be hard to find anyone here.”

“Do you like hide-and-seek, Jaeyi?”

“Hide-and-seek?”

There was an unusual gleam in his eyes, like he’d found a hidden gem. Is he a little immature or what? Hide-and-seek, at his age?

I was a bit taken aback, especially since we were supposed to be clearing the game, but I went along with it anyway—couldn’t risk lowering his precious affection points.

“Yeah, I used to play it a lot as a kid.”

“Really? How often?”

“Uh… I think we played almost every day whenever I met my friends at the playground.”

“Which friends?”

Does it really matter? Is he seriously talking about hide-and-seek and asking about my friends right now? Besides, it’s not like he would even know who my friends are.

I was too dumbfounded and caught off guard to respond. Instead, I slowly ran my hand down the back of my neck, conveying how uncomfortable I felt.

“I don’t know… it was a long time ago, so I don’t really remember. Let’s focus on searching the big room again.”

“…Alright.”

I changed the subject to end the conversation. I was a bit nervous that this might affect his affection level, but thankfully, nothing came of it.

Instead, Jeong Haeyoon seemed a bit down, and the air around him grew slightly heavy. Was he sulking? Maybe I shouldn’t have changed the subject.

I couldn’t afford to humor him any longer. The clock was ticking, and I was starting to feel anxious. I quickly headed to the big room where I’d previously met Seo Daejin and Park Sena. Even after another look, the room didn’t seem to have anything special. The room still had its bookshelf, desk, and bed, and nothing else stood out.

That being said, there was something on the desk that hadn’t been there before.

“Huh. It’s chocolate.”

Sitting alone on the desk was a piece of chocolate. Did someone leave it behind after we left?

Growl. Come to think of it, we’d been wandering through the mansion for quite a while, it was no surprise I was feeling exhausted. Without thinking, I stepped toward the desk and reached out my hand. But suddenly, a force pulled me back from behind.

“Watch out!”

Jeong Haeyoon suddenly pulled me back into his arms.

Thud!

Right then, a spear shot up from the floor in front of the desk, piercing the air.

“Holy crap!”

If I’d taken even one more step forward, I would’ve been skewered like a piece of meat and sent back to the last save point. The sharp blade stood tall, pointing straight at the sky.

“Damn, I almost got totally screwed.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah… if it weren’t for you, I’d be dead for sure.”

Startled and gasping for air, I felt Jeong Haeyoon patting my back and checking me over. His hands brushing over my chest and waist were particularly irritating… but thankfully, I didn’t have a single scratch.

But how did Jeong Haeyoon know that a spear would come out of the floor? Has he experienced something like this before?

Something was off. The spear hadn’t even appeared yet, so how did he know to pull me back in advance? Was it because he’s a helper NPC? Was he just trying to save me?

I stared at Jeong Haeyoon, who tilted his head with an innocent expression, as if he had no idea what was going on. Did he really not know? The more I thought about it, the stranger it seemed.

How did you know a spear was going to pop out here?

…It’s what I wanted to ask, but my lips felt like they were sealed shut with glue. Why?!

This is just like how I couldn’t bring up his actual age earlier, maybe I’m not allowed to mention anything that could interfere with the game’s progression.

Still, I should at least thank him. If it weren’t for him, I would’ve been sent back to the last save point.

“…Thanks.”

“You nearly got pierced through. You’re sure you’re not hurt?”

“Yeah. I’m fine, really.”

As Jeong Haeyoon examined my shoulders, chest, and even my stomach, I gently pushed his hands away. He looked a little disappointed, his lips parting as if to say something.

…What kind of perverted guy is this?

I glared at him like he was insane, but Jeong Haeyoon, seemingly concerned, continued speaking.

“Maybe I should take a closer look to make sure you’re really okay…”

“No, it’s all right. I’m really okay.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I’m telling you, I’m fine.”

It wasn’t until I said it twice that he finally backed off.

Not only does he have a prince complex, but he’s a total creep too. It made me curious about what kind of environment Jeong Haeyoon grew up in to turn out like this. Then again, he’s just a supporting character in a game, so maybe it’s got nothing to do with his upbringing and more about how the character was programmed… It made me wonder just how twisted the developer’s mind must be.

Swallowing a sigh, I turned my attention back to the desk. The chocolate remained exactly where it had been. Although I hadn’t managed to ask Jeong Haeyoon how he’d know about the spear, I decided to test how much he knew about what could happen next. Surprisingly, the words spilled out of my mouth with ease.

“The spear won’t pop out again, right?”

“Yeah, probably not.”

“Have you ever experienced something similar in this mansion?”

“No, nothing like this has ever happened.”

“…”

He says he’s never experienced anything like this before. So how can he be so sure there won’t be any more traps after this? Still, he didn’t seem to care that I was suspicious of him.

I decided to stay quiet, not wanting to stir up unnecessary trouble and risk lowering the affection level. It’s not that I don’t trust Jeong Haeyoon at all, but I can’t completely trust him either. The smartest move right now is to keep the affection level stable and make decisions based on the situation as it unfolds.

After checking my surroundings, I picked up the chocolate. I split it in half and gave a piece to Jeong Haeyoon.

[You have obtained a Memory Fragment.]

[You can now view the Memory Fragment.]

A Memory Fragment? What’s that?

I opened my inventory and noticed a new item labeled “Memory Fragment” in the corner. When I accessed it, all the other items were locked, except for the chocolate.

Whose memory is this?

I clicked on the chocolate’s Memory Fragment to take a look.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───