Chapter 38
As Baek I-hae walked toward her room, she pondered deeply.
‘Won’t the sound of my phone call with Ye Eun-seol leak outside? He seems to have a lot to say, and with my time limit, it’d be best to uncover his identity quickly.’
Seo-yeol and Seo I-heum were in the middle of a conversation, so they likely wouldn’t call for her until dinnertime. Seo Do-gyeom had assigned a ton of homework under the guise of review, so things should be fine for a while.
Arriving at her door, Baek I-hae cast a subtle glance toward Seo Do-gyeom’s room.
After gauging the situation for a moment, she opened the door silently and slipped inside. For some reason, it felt like she was sneaking around for an illicit affair, making her heart race wildly.
First, Baek I-hae sent Ye Eun-seol a text asking if he was available for a call, then propped her chin in her hand.
“……Only yes or no answers are possible.”
It seemed laden with restrictions, yet on the flip side, since there was no limit on the number of questions, there was a positive way to look at it.
Ye Eun-seol, who appeared to know Seo Do-gyeom’s personality well. And Ye Eun-seol, who seemed to hold memories from when he was female.
Baek I-hae gripped a ballpoint pen and scribbled various words across her notebook.
She jotted down regression, reincarnation, possession on the paper, and placed an X beside each.
‘He said it was similar.’
Given his averse reaction to the game analogy, it was clear his situation wasn’t the same as hers. She added the word ‘dream’ next to the others.
‘There’s a possibility he glimpsed the game scenario in a dream. That’s why he might have described it as similar to regression or possession.’
Baek I-hae let out a heavy sigh. Even with no limit on the number of questions, pinpointing the exact truth was a challenging task.
She mulled it over briefly before speaking up.
“Player, are you listening?”
[Player: ?]
Fortunately, a dialogue window popped up in the air like a screen. The prompt response, as if the player had been watching her deliberate, felt a bit unsettling, but she didn’t let it show.
“You said you’d answer my questions last time. Can you do that now?”
[Player: I think I already answered when you asked if Ye Eun-seol is the original female protagonist.]
“Besides that, you haven’t given any proper answers. And in the end, you weren’t even helpful.”
[Player: I-hae, so cold. Me, upset.]
At the utterly unconvincing attempt to act cute, Baek I-hae twisted her face into a menacing scowl. It was an aura so fierce that if the player were standing before her in human form, she might have grabbed them by the collar.
[Player: I-hae, scary.]
“Cut the nonsense. What you want is this game’s happy ending, right? Let’s not waste our energy on pointless things and just cooperate.”
For Baek I-hae, it was to return home; for the player, to witness the happy ending.
She suddenly wondered why the player was so fixated on the happy ending, but she quickly pushed the thought aside. Her own priorities mattered more than the motives of some faceless entity.
[Player: What are you curious about?]
Thankfully, the player seemed open to dialogue. Still keeping her voice low in case it carried outside, Baek I-hae replied.
“Information on Ye Eun-seol. Just enough not to influence the plot.”
[Player: Sly question.]
Though deemed cunning, Baek I-hae remained unabashed. Under her glare that silently demanded compliance, the player fell quiet for a moment before the dialogue window appeared again.
[Player: Ye Eun-seol, 18 years old, second-generation chaebol heir, mixed heritage but with black hair and black eyes; aside from his sharp features, it’s hard to spot any mixed traits; possesses the bad ending memories of the original female protagonist.]
She never would have guessed that flashy blonde hair was dyed.
Having unintentionally glimpsed Ye Eun-seol’s personal details, Baek I-hae’s eyes widened in shock at the final piece of information. Bad ending.
It was an answer she hadn’t anticipated in the slightest.
“Bad ending? I know about the happy ending and the sad ending, but there was a bad ending too?”
The sad ending was already brutally harsh for the female protagonist. To think there was an even worse conclusion.
[Player: The sad ending involves killing everyone connected to the female protagonist right in front of her and then imprisoning the original Ye Eun-seol.]
Yes, in that scenario, the female protagonist being forced into a confession and succumbing to despair—that’s the sad ending, isn’t it?
Baek I-hae tilted her head in confusion. Then the player continued speaking.
[Player: After that, Ye Eun-seol escapes with the help of an accomplice but gets caught, and then she’s killed by Seo Do-gyeom along with the accomplice. That’s the bad ending.]
“……That’s a lie. No matter how insane Seo Do-gyeom might have become, he wouldn’t kill someone he likes.”
Baek I-hae denied the unbelievable information. But she had no basis to judge whether those words were true or not.
If it was true, then from Ye Eun-seol’s perspective, who remembered the bad ending, there was more than enough reason to hate Seo Do-gyeom.
Clutching her dizzy head, Baek I-hae continued with her questions.
“Why does Ye Eun-seol have those memories? And besides, she’s become a man. From the basic bone structure, it’s definitely not just cross-dressing.”
[Player: Just like you were given a chance, Ye Eun-seol was given one too. A chance to see a happy ending.]
“Are you talking about a chance to have a normal romance with Seo Do-gyeom? ……Then why did she become a man?”
[Player: The perspective on a happy ending differs from person to person.]
Did that mean Ye Eun-seol’s hidden preference was for love between men?
In any case, if Ye Eun-seol also wanted a happy ending, then achieving Baek I-hae’s goal would be easy. Right now, Seo Do-gyeom held affection for Baek I-hae, but according to fate, he would turn his heart toward Ye Eun-seol.
Thinking that way made her heart sting just a little.
“So, does Ye Eun-seol remember it from dreams? You said it’s not regression or reincarnation.”
[Player: She died and started over. It’s close to the concept of regression. The reason I said it’s similar is because the gender changed.]
The player was providing more useful information than expected. Enough that there was no need to ask Ye Eun-seol directly.
But without showing any satisfaction, Baek I-hae continued her questions with a sour expression. She planned to squeeze out as much as she could.
“Why can’t you tell me information about yourself? Is there a player attached to her like you are to me?”
[Player: No. The one who regressed her imposed restrictions and conditions. Otherwise, the original plot would change too much. If not followed, it proceeds straight to the same conclusion as the bad ending.]
“……Meaning death.”
The player didn’t deny it. Seeing that, Baek I-hae let out a hollow laugh.
‘Whether it’s you or me, what the hell are we even doing?’
Only then did she understand why Ye Eun-seol, despite realizing something about her, had worn that expression wishing for recognition but hadn’t explained anything.
In a way, Ye Eun-seol might be in an even more frustrating position than Baek I-hae.
‘Who am I to pity someone in my own situation?’
Still, in the end, both she and Ye Eun-seol were aiming for a happy ending, so she was a good partner for forming an alliance.
Relief washed over her at the thought that she no longer needed to test him. With a much lighter expression, Baek I-hae smiled.
“Thanks for telling me. You can be helpful sometimes.”
It was a bit suspicious that the player had answered so readily, but she decided to think of it as goodwill extended because the player also wanted a happy ending.
Despite Baek I-hae’s praise, the player responded as if displeased.
[Player: ……? That doesn’t sound like praise.]
“It’s huge praise.”
Even she realized it lacked conviction, but oh well.
Just then, a call came in from Ye Eun-seol, and she pressed the answer button with a smile. Since the player didn’t speak anymore, the chat window didn’t appear.
“Hello.”
-What the hell did you do?
A sudden interrogation.
The startled Baek I-hae just blinked, and Ye Eun-seol asked again, sounding frustrated.
-What did you do to get the restrictions lifted just for you!
It seemed like a change had occurred after hearing information from the player. Roughly grasping the situation, Baek I-hae was about to reply but then made a sulky face.
‘But why is this guy still being a jerk even after the restrictions are lifted?’
No matter the process, it was ultimately a good thing for her, yet he was throwing a tantrum for no reason.
“Well, I don’t know what you’re talking about? Did some restrictions suddenly get lifted or something?”
Baek I-hae feigned ignorance with brazen nonchalance. The slight sympathy she’d felt vanished in an instant.
-You know something, don’t you? I knew you were suspicious from the start. Originally, there was no one by Seo Do-gyeom’s side.
