#127

The voice filled with disgust made me nod in agreement. At my calm acknowledgment, Cheon’s face twisted in anger.

“Is this person crazy? How dare he threaten my older brother like this?”

“He’s your brother, too?”

“Crazy. Don’t say such terrible things. I’ve never had someone with such a messed-up personality as my brother.”

She shuddered, clearly disgusted, and I burst into laughter at her reaction. As I laughed, the displeasure that had been on Cheon’s face slowly faded away. She pouted with a calmer expression.

“But still, the fact remains that what that person said is the only clue we have. You know that, right?”

I know.

Despite my distrust, right now, the only clue we had was exactly that. I reluctantly clicked my tongue, not wanting to admit it, but Cheon continued.

“If you really hate it, just ignore it. I’ll trust it and try to move forward. There’s no need for us to act together. We can just do things our own way.”

Move forward? I looked at Cheon with a subtle gaze, intrigued by her cryptic words.

She blew out a sigh at my scrutinizing look and continued.

“That person said the more we move within this world, the faster our game worlds collide and turn this place into reality.”

“Game worlds collide? What do you mean by that……?”

I asked, unable to grasp the explanation, and Cheon shook her head.

“I don’t know either. Originally, only one game should exist, but when I came here through another game, maybe something went wrong. And the more we progress in the game, the bigger the error becomes, leading to collisions between your game and mine. Maybe the games can’t maintain their form anymore?”

I listened closely to Cheon’s hypothesis with an intrigued expression. Seeing my interest, Cheon continued quietly.

“As evidence…… well, honestly, it’s not really solid proof, but I came to you, right? Actually, I’ve been here for about a month, and during that time, I couldn’t get close to your area. That blue electric barrier appeared out of nowhere and kept me from getting through. I tried to break through it, but I failed every time. But yesterday, I managed to get through.”

“So you’re saying the game has weakened because of the errors? Weak enough for you to break through? And you think it’ll keep getting weaker?”

“Yes.”

At Cheon’s confirmation, I tapped my index finger on my thigh, deep in thought.

It wasn’t entirely an absurd hypothesis. In fact, it seemed highly likely that this could be true. Realizing that I was considering her idea positively, Cheon hurriedly spoke up.

“And one more thing. The fact that the people here see me as ‘Goo Cheon’ could be evidence too.”

“What do you mean?”

What’s wrong with people seeing Cheon as Cheon? I tilted my head in confusion, and Cheon awkwardly scratched her cheek.

“Actually, when I first came here, everyone recognized me as you, oppa.”

“They recognized you as me?”

“Yes.”

Ah, then maybe…… I suddenly recalled the report from Secretary Sung Yoojun about sightings of someone who looked like me in various parts of Seoul.

“Could it be the person who appeared all over Seoul, who looks like me, was……?”

“Probably me? I’ve been traveling a lot for work, you know.”

Somehow, I felt like a mystery was being solved. I spoke up, quietly happy to have uncovered the truth behind the sightings of Goo Won that had been steadily popping up.

“Why did people mistake you for me? And why are they recognizing you properly as you now?”

Cheon quickly responded to my almost muttered words.

“I thought about that too, and I think it’s because Idol Misery Simulation 2 is a single-player game.”

What does the game being single-player have to do with Cheon being mistaken for me here? I tilted my head and pondered for a moment, then suddenly blurted out the thought that came to me.

“Is it because two players unexpectedly entered the single-player game, and both were mistakenly recognized as the same person?”

“Yeah. Then, when you and I met, it was no longer possible to recognize us as the same player, maybe?”

It sounded pretty convincing, so I narrowed my eyes and stretched my lips out to the sides.

“……Feels like some kind of bug occurred.”

Cheon let out a soft chuckle at my somewhat reluctant words.

“Right? To me, it feels more like proof that what that person said is actually true.”

Proof that it’s true…… I slowly blinked, sorting out the information I had heard from Cheon today in my mind. The more I calmly pieced things together, the more I started to think that maybe the words in-game Goo Won had said to Cheon were actually true.

“……Is the game really falling apart?”

I muttered as I looked around. Could this world, which is nothing but a game, actually be turning into reality? If this place really changes into reality, then maybe I…… A faint hope blossomed in my heart, and as I gently chewed on the inside of my lips, I slowly took a deep breath and spoke.

“Cheon, earlier you said the more we move, the faster the game turns into reality, right? What does moving mean?”

“That? It means clearing quests.”

“Quests? Are there quests? I don’t have anything like that.”

I blinked in confusion, and Cheon looked at me with a pitiful expression.

“Of course there are. Making Tartarus miserable. That’s your quest.”

“Oh, right.”

That’s my quest. I scratched the back of my head, embarrassed by the realization. Seeing that, Cheon made a face that seemed to say, ‘How hopeless.’

“Ugh, such a game noob.”

“Couldn’t know everything.”

“You shouldn’t not know. Especially in this world.”

……Well, that’s true.

I forced a smile to get past the awkward situation, but Cheon let out a very deep sigh. Noticing that Cheon’s lips were about to move again as if she was about to say something more, I hurriedly changed the subject.

“So, what’s your quest? It doesn’t seem like it’s something like making someone miserable, like mine.”

If it had been a quest like that, Cheon definitely wouldn’t have taken it on. As I thought that, I looked at Cheon, who scrunched up her nose and rolled her eyes.

What’s with that strange reaction? I’m starting to get worried……

“What’s wrong? Is something bad going on?”

“No, it’s not that…… I’m just worried you’ll be shocked when you hear it.”

……What could possibly make her worried that I’d be shocked? I could feel my heartbeat speeding up, and I looked at Cheon with eyes full of unease. Cheon, who was quietly staring into my eyes, let out a heavy sigh and slowly opened her mouth.

“Oppa, I told you that I came through a game, but it’s not the same game as yours.”

“Right.”

I nodded with a serious face, noticing that Cheon’s voice was filled with hesitation. No matter what Cheon said, I decided I shouldn’t be surprised. I made up my mind and focused all my attention on her slowly opening lips.

“……It’s called ‘Urban Legend Simulation.’ That’s the name of the game I came from.”

“Oh, I see. Urban Legend Simulation……”

“……”

“Urban Legend Simulation?”

For a moment, I couldn’t understand what Cheon had just said, and I furrowed my brows. Then, a few seconds later, I couldn’t help but display a horrified expression.

“Urban Legend?!”

A game with a name like that couldn’t possibly not be scary! When you think of ‘urban legends,’ it’s not just ghosts or spirits—it often involves crimes that happen in the city too! I felt the color drain from my face and screamed in a sharp voice.

“Isn’t that a horror game?!”

“Yeah, well…… it’s a horror game.”

Cheon, avoiding eye contact, traced the air with her gaze. I stubbornly followed her eyes as they wandered, forcing her to meet my gaze.

“No, a horror game……! Isn’t that dangerous?!”

“Ugh, why are you yelling? My ears aren’t broken, you know?”

“Don’t change the subject!”

With a sharp reprimand, Cheon pouted and spoke grumpily.

“It’s not that dangerous. It’s just a game where you do some exorcisms.”

“Exorcism! Are you crazy?!”

In an instant, I felt my blood pressure shoot up, and the world before my eyes seemed to darken. Just doing exorcisms? How could exorcism ever be something you just ‘do’? I grabbed my aching head and let out a quiet groan.

“That…… That’s really not a dangerous game. It’s just solving some urban legends, exorcising a few ghosts—that’s all. The quests aren’t that hard either. You know, I’m good at games.”

“You……!”

I barely managed to keep my voice down, grinding my teeth. Cheon, realizing her mistake, cautiously glanced at me.

“I had no choice. That was the only way to find you.”

“Who? That guy? He told you that and gave you that…… Ugh…… You actually took it and played it?!”

At my sharp question, Cheon pressed her lips together tightly. From that silence, I could sense an undeniable confirmation, and I clenched my fists.