episode_0010

It happened when I was in middle school.

At the time, there was an old game center near the entrance exam academy I was attending.

Phew-

Even though it was a no-smoking area, there was a middle school girl smoking a cigarette.

Hair dyed bright red and a jumper worn loosely.

They say he’s a delinquent, but he goes around alone because he doesn’t seem to have any particular group to hang out with.

―When I stopped by for a moment after finishing school and was hanging out in front of the claw machine, the girl suddenly approached me.

“What is it?”

Of course I don’t know her name, age, or where she lives.

The only information that can be inferred is that he is a student at a nearby middle school is based on the school uniform worn under the jumper.

I hated it because I didn’t want to get involved with something like that, but the warning came back in an indifferent tone… .

“Ah, my brother there is so frustrating. It’s already been a week and everything is gone?”

“Ugh.”

“I’d rather buy it with money. Well, it’s none of my business, so do whatever you want… .”

Perhaps due to smoking, he gave advice in a husky voice for his age. As if I was bored, I had a lollipop in my mouth.

I was definitely caught up in a lottery machine full of fox character dolls for several days.

Did that ridiculous appearance seem pathetic even in the eyes of Saengyangachi?

“-I’m going to pick out a doll myself and give it as a gift. It feels like cheating if you buy it.”

“Pupup. That’s why? It’s pure Ozzy. I guess he has a girlfriend because he looks weird?”

A girl who is giggling as she takes the candy out of her mouth for a moment.

What’s not cool is your appearance.

I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud because I was afraid of a counterattack.

“I just wanted to give it to my childhood friend who lives next door. I’ve been liking that character lately… If you tell me it was hand-picked, they’ll like it even more.”

“I lost my money a long time ago, but isn’t it meaningless? You don’t want to admit it?”

“Don’t worry.”

Of course, there is a reason.

When I tell Yena that I bought her a doll, she will react with laughter and say, “Don’t spend the allowance your dad gave you on useless things!”

If I were to say that I got it all at once with a 500 won coin, wouldn’t I hesitate to accept it?

-My childhood friend is indebted to me in one way or another, so I do my best to repay him when I get the chance.

“Somehow, I like it. I’ll help you pick.”

The girl breaks the lollipop in her mouth and approaches the lottery machine.

I was surprised because Nallari Girl’s suggestion was far from what I expected.

“Huh?”

“The boss here, I don’t like it when he glances at my legs. Well, I don’t want to criticize you for watching you smoke, but I can’t see you making money by catching a slut.”

From the president’s perspective, I think that’s a reasonable deal… … . I was treated like a brat for no reason.

The gangster arbitrarily picks up my 500 won coin from the glass box, inserts it into the machine, and points with his hand to give an order.

“If you want to be selected, do as I tell you. I’m a pure brother. Do you understand?”

“… How can I trust you?”

“I have a lot of younger siblings, but it’s no joke to be like a fool going around the house. Since I don’t have any money, pick out the toys and bring them to me.”

With a bitter smile, he throws the remaining stick into the whack-a-mole hole.

If it’s similar, I feel a sense of kinship because it’s a similar situation.

Anyway, as soon as I grabbed the game stick, she started firing at me with rapid fire.

Front, back, back. Just one second to the side, yes, there.

listen. Hey you idiot. Okay, lift it up there. Touch the lower button. Get down right there! That’s it!

-It’s a bit rough, but I picked up the fox doll that I couldn’t get even after dozens of attempts as soon as the gangly girl did as she was told!

“Thank you. Yena will be very happy.”

Take out the soft fox doll from the storage box.

His golden hair and sharp blue eyes closely resemble my childhood friend. Maybe that’s why you like it?

“Hey. It worked! I really enjoyed it for the first time in a while.”

The red-haired girl slaps my back hard and makes me happy as if it was her own business.

-Except for the smoking, isn’t he a surprisingly nice guy?

“There, oppa, come with your friend next time. I was bored. Are all the kids at your school so cowardly that they run away when you talk to them? Isn’t it funny?”

If I see someone swinging a baseball bat right now, the country will run away.

And this place is located in the center of I City, quite far from Nakwon Middle School, which Jena and I attend, so it takes about 40 or 50 minutes to walk from home.

“My coming and going around here is a secret from her… … … .”

“Secret? Ah, it’s probably a trivial story. take no interest. It’s our anniversary. Do you want to have a bite?”

Light the candle and blow it towards me.

A cigarette, still intact, is stuck between my fingers.

“Not unfolded… . If a doll smells like cigarette smoke, people get the wrong idea. Don’t blow this way.”

After that, I ran into this girl a few times in the arcade.

It was a brief moment, as we lost touch with each other shortly after.

-I was secretly hoping that he wouldn’t show up at my funeral.

***

Shin Jeong-gyu, 18 years old, second grade at Nakwon High School.

It’s been five days since I devised and implemented an unprecedented method of suicide: cutting out the tongue and causing blood to fill the lungs.

You can return to the save point you designated right away, but you can still enjoy the thrilling moments.

‘You’re crazy.’

As a spirit, I watched every move that happened in Yena’s room.

Lie down on the bed and cry. I keep muttering that I’m sorry.

for me. Just for me.

Some people may feel pathetic, but it’s been a long time since Joo Yena cared only about ‘me’ over the years.

It’s okay if those feelings are cheap sympathy or self-reproach.

‘You’re finally looking at me straight-.’

That’s fortunate for me.

With this momentum, there probably won’t be many more left! Because I’m not a sadist.

Currently, Jena, who was almost on the verge of breakdown but held on with her mental strength and is still standing at my funeral wearing her mask as usual, is dozing off.

‘… It must have been difficult.’

After the market started on the 3rd, Joo Yena was the only one guarding the mortuary.

Yena’s father, who considered it his duty to care about me, the son of old childhood friends, only showed his face because he was busy with work.

[（´○｀）～ゝ It’s frustrating.]

[The constellation ‘The opposite of the one who lives is suicide’ suggests that you go for a walk outside while the person you are scolding is asleep.]

‘Is that so?’

The above is a flashback to something that happened in middle school.

It was natural, but she, whose name I did not know, did not come to the funeral.

I wonder if the gangster girl is still staying in the arcade there.

Now a free spirit… Since it is in a similar state, its movement speed is comparable to that of a gale.

It’s possible to make a round trip in about 20 minutes, so maybe you could check it out?

-As I was floating in the air, two men outside the funeral home caught my eye.

“There are amazing coincidences. I would have guessed that the little boy happens to be a student in your charge.”

“cub. It just tarnished the school’s image. He’s a disgusting guy even to death.”

The person who said he was sick of it was our class teacher.

In short, he is a ‘snob among snobs’.

From his perspective, the reason he neglected me, who was probably a delinquent student, was because he couldn’t touch me, the parachute that Jena’s father had thrust into him.

The homeroom teacher gives another man a servile smile.

“How is your daughter doing in high school?”

“Gorum.”

“If you live in a dormitory in a foreign country, you have to be careful. Do you call often to check? You might be playing with love. Now is the time to worry about college.”

“… Has my daughter ever disappointed me? I’ve never had cancer in my life. Maybe it’s because I grew up properly since I was young.”

I get irritated when I see the man stroking his mustache and strutting around.

‘He’s a fucking idiot detective.’

The mustachioed man’s relationship is so bad that I don’t even want to explain it.

“Ech. Ugh.”

He pauses for a moment to tickle his unlucky mustache, and then lets out a loud cough.

The only way to physically interfere in this spiritual state is to create a breeze.

“What’s wrong?”

“Usss. Who curses at me? Let’s go in.”

As the mustachioed detective – probably Mr. Son – insists, the homeroom teacher also hesitantly opens the door to the ceremony hall and enters.

It’s clearly related to my suicide, so I’m chasing after them.

[I ask if anyone knows the constellation ‘The opposite of the one who lives is suicide.’]

‘no? ‘I don’t know this person.’

[…] … ;cow; … … ]

If it were you, would you let me know?

As I entered the funeral hall again, a junior member of the club happened to be passing by holding on to the wall. I stumble.

For some reason, Dahyun Jeong is taking off her headband.

Did you personally visit Yena to hand her a paper bag? … ?

‘It’s a shame. It should have come a little sooner.’

-It’s a shame that we didn’t get to see the moment Yena received the envelope, but the end of this episode was starting to come into view.

The moment she opens the envelope, she will return to the save point.

Not long after, the two uninvited guests arrive at my funeral booth and talk to our Miss Jena.

‘… Damn it, if I ever see you again in real life, I’ll pull out your mustache.’

It’s embarrassing to hear that I’m mentally ill.

Anyway, Yena smiled and fought back against the provocations of the two unsuspecting visitors. Although he is smiling, his eyes are gradually dying.

“Aha, haha. I don’t want to talk any more with rude people, so please leave.”

***

Is it around 2 am?

Jena was the first to come out of the funeral home. The constellation fusses.

[The constellation ‘The opposite of living is suicide’ asks when we will die again.]

“Not yet. Yena said you had to read the note.”

The goal of this episode is to remind us of our ‘promise’.

Yena just hesitated and didn’t open the paper bag yet.

Yena, who had been wandering around for a while after leaving the ceremony, stood in the middle of a lonely road with an unknown smile on her face.

‘what the. Why is he so dangerous over there?’

There has always been a bit of a goofy side to me.

However, during the Cold War, they maintained a strict attitude towards me.

[well… Self-harm blackmail group?]

‘I’m serious, but don’t be rude.’

Curious about the intention, my childhood friend opened the envelope and checked it right at that moment when I approached him.

“I didn’t forget my promise.”

“Yes! Hehehe, I didn’t forget either.”

There are no more fake smiles.

There’s something different about the way he smiles brightly like a child and holds the letter in his arms like a teddy bear… … .

I’m sure you realized something.

Now you can return to the save location. Just before I command the Constellation, a dump truck literally speeds down the road in the distance.

―Baaa!!!!!

Even though Yena looks like she’s in a trance, she doesn’t avoid it.

Even if I push it, it will only have a small wind effect.

‘Fuck.’

It was a momentary thing.

From 3D to 2D, the human body crosses dimensions.

The skin turns pink or bright red.

You don’t have to say everything you learn in life science class, step by step.

I can’t even find a shape.

I didn’t feel like I was going to die, but it wasn’t a very pleasant experience. Even more so is Yena, who cried for me for several days.

-dead. Completely dead.

No. Dead… … ?

Is that bitch Joo Yena dead? I feel strange.

My heart is filled with some unidentified, unsettling emotion. What on earth is it?

I held on to my trembling heart and came back to my senses.

‘Wait a minute, what happens if Yena dies? Can I go back to the save point?’

I don’t think this case was mentioned in the skill description window?

At that moment, the status window beeps.

[Loop 2 – ‘Cut off the naughty tongue!’ has ended.]

[The creative suicide method is commendable, but since the target to be scolded returned dead contrary to the user’s expectations, 20pts will be deducted!]

[Do you want to start loop 3?] – [Y/N]

Y, a positive answer unconsciously flowed from my mouth.

***

When I came to my senses, the words came out of my mouth naturally.

“… Don’t be funny. Are you sorry for coming now?”

The save point I specified is correct.

I tried to check Yena’s changed attitude after 5 days of separation… … He pauses and looks at the blonde girl in front of him.

I remember Yena, who became a rat, and a corner of my heart pricks.

“Ha… ha… That’s it. The first one might not have been a dream-.”

Joo Yena catches her breath by tracing her lips with the back of her hand.

Slowly, the elevated wall eyes turn towards me. And then-.

He came over and gently hugged me from the front. It touches my skin.

A sweet scent, similar to vanilla, lingers under your nose.

I was taken aback because I didn’t expect it to be the right time yet.

“What, what is it?”

“Shin Jeong-gyu.”

“What are you doing? Let go.”

“It’s regular. I’m sorry for not noticing-.”

You are called by your proper name, not “you”, “hey”, or “you idiot”.

Yena comforts her lips, which still have open wounds.

Let’s swallow and wait to see what they will say-

“You are seriously ill. Let’s go to the hospital together. If hospitalization is necessary, we will provide support at our home. Got it?”

… … It’s still not good. this.