#56

Then, Seo Duseok dramatically raised both hands to chest level in a surrendering gesture.

“Surrender, surrender. I was just messing around, but isn’t your expression a bit too scary? Man, you’re as prickly as ever.”

“Seo Duseok-ssi. I’d appreciate it if you dropped the disrespectful attitude and focused on the conversation properly.”

“Oh wow, if our honored guest insists, then of course, I have to oblige. What should I do? Should I cup my ears like this to show that I’m paying attention?”

As he spoke, Seo Duseok cupped his hands into the shape of a trumpet and brought them to his ears. Watching him, I was left speechless.

……What’s with this guy? Is he deliberately trying to pick a fight? Or is he testing my patience? I generally try to avoid conflicts with others whenever possible, but that doesn’t mean I let people who provoke me get away with it.

“Whoa, your eyes look like they could pierce right through me. I’m so terrified I might wet myself—should I take a quick trip to the restroom?”

“……You’re not going to gain anything by provoking me like this.”

“But when else would I get the chance to mess with such an honored guest? Don’t you think? You gotta enjoy the moment while you can.”

At his words, I frowned slightly, displeased. That smug confidence—it was the kind that came from knowing he had the upper hand. Which meant he had enough information to be aware of my current predicament. I didn’t like his lack of manners one bit, but that fact alone was satisfying.

Still, I had no intention of letting him get away with this nonsense, so I began applying subtle pressure.

“Sure. That’s a good mindset. You should enjoy yourself while you can—life is unpredictable, after all.”

It was a veiled threat—if he kept acting like this, I’d make sure his future was anything but easy. Seo Duseok’s lips stretched into a thin line, and his eyes rolled around as if he were deep in thought. After a brief silence, he seemed to finish calculating his next move and put on a pitiful smile.

“Ah, why are you like this, dear guest? Like I said, I was just joking around. Honestly, I was a bit surprised that you really didn’t seem to remember me from last time. So, I got a little carried away. Just this once, let it slide, yeah? I’ll tell you everything I know.”

Surprised that I really didn’t remember him?

I crossed my legs and leaned back against the sofa at Seo Duseok’s cryptic remark. Then, with a slight tilt of my chin, I gestured for him to continue. He was on the receiving end of the same arrogant gesture he had just used on me, and his face twisted in visible displeasure. That reaction was satisfying. I smirked.

“You don’t remember a thing, yet your personality is exactly the same……”

“So, is that a problem?”

“Oh no, of course not. I was just saying it’s nice to see that our honored guest is as consistent as ever.”

With a sigh, Seo Duseok rose from the sofa and walked over to a framed picture hanging on the wall. Then, he started taking it down.

I watched him, confused. What the hell was he doing? My confusion only grew when I saw the safe hidden behind the removed frame. I frowned.

“……Isn’t that way too cliché? Hiding a safe behind a picture frame?”

“It’s not cliché—it’s classic. Our honored guest just seems to have a problem with everything I do, huh?”

“Good to know you’re aware.”

“So cold. Can’t you be a little nicer to me? After all, I did carry out that strange request of yours. Oh, but I suppose you wouldn’t remember that either?”

Even as he unlocked the safe and retrieved something from inside, he didn’t stop talking. His endless chatter was exhausting and downright irritating. I just wanted to get the information I needed and get out of here as soon as possible.

Soon, Seo Duseok returned to the sofa and placed an envelope on the table in front of me.

“What’s this?”

“It’s something you left with me. You told me to give it back when you came back for it.”

“That was my request?”

“Yep. The job was simple—drop a letter in your mailbox yesterday and return this to you when you came looking for it. Oh! And you also told me not to ask why you wouldn’t remember anything when you came back for it. At first, I thought you were talking nonsense—how could someone predict they’d lose their own memories? But now I see you were serious. Do you have some rare medical condition or something? Ah, never mind. Forget I asked. You told me not to be curious, so I take it back. Pretend you didn’t hear that, honored guest.”

Ignoring his constant babbling, I picked up the envelope from the table. It looked identical to the one I had received yesterday. But the contents would be different, wouldn’t they? Maybe this one held the answer to getting back to my original world.

As my heart pounded against my ribs, I took a deep breath to calm myself and tore open the envelope. Then, without hesitation, I unfolded the paper inside.

[If you want to return, make the ‘characters’’ misery level 100%. That’s the reason ‘I’ exist in this game world.]

Two short sentences written in my own handwriting.

I stopped breathing for a moment.

The me inside this game—Goo Won—knew. He knew this world was a game. But how? How could he possibly know? How did he figure it out?

Everyone else was unaware that this was a game—Secretary Sung Yoojun, Manager Ahn Siwon, even the supposed protagonists of this world, the members of Tartarus. But Goo Won knew.

And he told me that if I wanted to return, I had to make the characters’ misery level reach 100%…… He was telling me to completely ruin Tartarus’s lives.

This…… This is supposed to be a method to return?

I clenched my trembling lips together as anger surged through me.

Because of the contents of the letter, I couldn’t help but think about the Misery Meter—the thing I had avoided since meeting Tartarus. It had felt like an invasion of their privacy, so I never opened it again.

And as if responding to my thoughts, the semi-transparent screen appeared in the air.

[Would you like to check Player Goo Won’s information?]

[Yes / No]

The timing was impeccable.

Was the game telling me to check the kids’ misery levels immediately? Was I supposed to start planning ways to make them suffer?

I scowled deeply and glared at the floating screen with murderous intent.

Across from me, Seo Duseok shivered and rubbed his arms.

“Hey, honored guest? Your eyes are terrifying. What’s written there? Did it say the world’s going to end tomorrow or something?”

I didn’t answer. Instead, I shifted my gaze from the floating screen back to the paper in my hands.

……This is the so-called way back?

Scoffing, I tore the paper to shreds.

“Ah! That’s just cruel. I took such good care of that for months, and you rip it up like it’s nothing?”

“It’s none of your concern. Stay out of it.”

“Geez, talk about cold.”

“Seo Duseok-ssi.”

I was already in a foul mood, and his constant prodding only made it worse. My voice turned ice-cold. But even my warning didn’t seem to faze him. He simply leaned back against the sofa, still running his mouth.

“Man, don’t be so grumpy. I just find it fascinating, that’s all. When you first gave me that letter, you looked like the happiest person in the world. And now that you got it back, you look like someone just died. How can someone’s reaction change so much?”

“……I looked happy when I gave you this?”

“Of course! I thought you had just won the lottery or something. Though, I guess every day must feel like winning the lottery for someone as rich as you.”

Seo Duseok kept talking, but I barely heard him. I could only feel horror at the thought of Goo Won writing this…… and being happy about it.