Chapter 8 - The human heart doesn’t always work out that way (1)
The belated memory struck my mind with force.
Why didn’t I realize it sooner? Perhaps it was because the game I briefly played a few months ago had left only a fleeting impression, making it challenging to connect the dots.
Or maybe, I was just being careless. After all, retrospectively, the incident didn’t seem to have much to do with Lee Ji-woon.
Park Ha-eun. The main heroine of the game, and simultaneously the character with the most divided opinions among players.
The reason for this love-hate relationship among gamers stemmed from Ji-woon’s obsession, triggered by past memories, as I mentioned earlier.
From the perspective of someone playing the protagonist, it was uncomfortable to see the heroine showing interest in the golden sun. (Even if it wasn’t necessarily romantic affection.)
However, even those players didn’t genuinely dislike Park Ha-eun as a character. Well, perhaps “couldn’t” is a more accurate word.
Today, March 11th, after finishing classes, Park Ha-eun was on her way home when she was hit by a truck while crossing the pedestrian crossing with a green light.
But it wasn’t the end. As the victim of a severe traffic accident, Park Ha-eun missed the golden hour for treatment as the truck driver fled the scene.
Although she didn’t die, she was left with permanent lower-body paralysis. A few months later, when she returned to school, Park Ha-eun’s appearance was grim—a horrifying sight as she sat in a wheelchair, a blanket covering her legs.
Of course, the truck driver was caught and punished by the law, but that didn’t restore the injured body and spirit of Park Ha-eun. Confined to the hospital, she spent days in a daze until the protagonist, Yoon Dong-gun, reached out his hand and helped her step back into the world.
The protagonist, who always instilled hope and became a source of strength whenever Park Ha-eun was about to give up, made it not so difficult for feelings that remained merely friendly to evolve into affection.
Currently, Park Ha-eun does not harbor feelings beyond friendship for the protagonist, but after that incident, she begins to develop a fondness for him as he genuinely cares for and comforts her. This is the entangled story she has. In other words, it was said that this is where the trigger for the progression of her relationship with the protagonist occurs.
The first significant event in the story was the “heroine’s wheelchairization.” It was no surprise that public opinion exploded, especially, This incident, encountered within the first hour of gameplay, unfortunately provided a pretext for an endless rush of refunds.
I couldn’t help but wonder what the creators were thinking when they introduced such a plot twist. Still, ultimately, it wasn’t my concern—I wasn’t the one profiting, and I had my own responsibilities. Of course, I had to request a refund back then. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have ended up trapped in this ridiculous game. Frustrating.
Now, as Lee Ji-woon, I had more urgent matters to attend to—protecting my own backside. Perhaps, psychologically, I was ten times more injured than someone physically injured due to the heroine’s wheelchairization.
Even though my memories of the story surfaced late, my course of action remained unchanged.
In the story that follows, Lee Ji-woon’s actions are nothing but mockery towards Park Ha-eun. He mocks her after the rough ordeal she’s been through, gradually building up a confrontation with Yoon Dong-gun.
It was as if he had taken the first step towards juvenile detention. Essentially, his actions were comparable to taunting a victim of a serious crime, which would justify a harsh response from tough individuals. The situation escalated to the point where I felt an intense urge to shatter the image of Lee Ji-woon on the screen.
The solution was straightforward. I would do nothing today, tomorrow, or the day after. No matter how much time passed, I wouldn’t utter a single word about what Park Ha-eun had experienced.
After all, Park Ha-eun would eventually recover thanks to Yoon Dong-gun’s comforting presence. Although she couldn’t erase the scars left by her injuries, well, what did it matter? Honestly, she was just a character in a game—a database composed of zeros and ones.
So, think rationally, Lee Ji-woon. I had no need to take any action. I would silently do my best from where I stood.
Yes, that’s all I needed to do…
“Why does my heart ache like this?”
Even as the water poured down, my heart wouldn’t calm. Turning the faucet handle to switch to cold water did little to dispel the lingering discomfort. It continued to suffocate me, as if I were holding something back.
Even if I scold myself that it’s just a world within a game, the sting in my heart doesn’t easily fade. Perhaps something has changed since I became possessed by Lee Ji-woon’s body. Or maybe, Lee Ji-woon wouldn’t have been the type to help even if he had known about this in advance.
My mind became cluttered. My mood swung wildly up and down. It should have been enough to just stay still. There was nothing good about stirring up trouble.
“…Sigh.”
I pressed the shower handle tightly, shutting off the water. As the steam gradually dissipated, I saw my reflection in the mirror merge with Lee Ji-woon’s image. It was me. Not Lee Ji-woon, but myself.
Somehow, I had become a resident within the database. And soon, this virtual world had become my reality—an unfortunate twist of fate.
“Right. A mask should suffice, damn it.”
I am an ordinary human. Even though I had been a character beyond the monitor, I still harbored the desire that no harm would befall me—an ordinary human.
At the very least, if someone were a typical person, they wouldn’t simply stand by when someone they knew was in danger of becoming a victim of a crime. Even if that person wasn’t a superhero, couldn’t they at least make some effort to reach out, even if they wouldn’t sacrifice themselves to save me?
The most appropriate approach would be to call and suggest having dinner together, using what was mentioned in the morning as a pretext. Revealing everything truthfully wouldn’t be believable, so this level of pretext seems most suitable.
By altering Park Ha-eun’s route as she returns home, we can prevent the incident from happening. Although getting involved with Park Ha-eun wasn’t ideal, at least it provided an opportunity to handle the situation more smoothly.
In any case, the events involving Park Ha-eun and Yoon Dong-gun are already overflowing. Even if this one thing had unfolded differently, nothing would have changed significantly.
“…But wait, her phone is off?”
I stepped out of the bathroom, still dripping wet, and immediately called Park Ha-eun. Unexpectedly, her smartphone was turned off. Why? Was the battery dead? Or was it malfunctioning?
Then, what if…
“For the sake of plausibility, what if Park Ha-eun’s phone became inoperable at the moment of the accident?”
It made sense. If the smartphone’s signal was dead, it would be difficult to ask for help from anyone else.
I wanted to smash the head of the creator who only gave such precise plausibility in this situation. Is this something you can’t give up on? Hipster bastard. Once I get out of this world, I’ll have to find them and split their head open to see what’s inside.
“…I need to hurry.”
Unbeknownst to me, the day had faded, and darkness had crept upon the streets.
The night’s shadow fell unusually fast, and today, it felt particularly damp and gloomy.
***
“I’ll go, Ha-eun! Take care on your way home!”
“Okay, see you tomorrow~”
Night.
Walking on the streets darker than usual was a high school girl who was far from ordinary.
Although she was smaller than average, her figure, which highlighted her femininity, was enough to captivate many men. In fact, since elementary school, there had been no shortage of boys showing interest in her, making it a fact known to everyone but herself.
“…It’s unusually dark tonight.”
The deepening night shadows were due to the streetlights.
The streetlights, installed at regular intervals to drive away the darkness, were currently failing to fulfill their duty for some unknown reason.
It was as if someone had tampered with them, setting the stage for an imminent event.
In fact, Park Ha-eun, standing in front of the crosswalk, was unaware of the truck speeding towards her.
“Hmm-hmm~ Hm-hm~”
Of course, the sound of the truck’s exhaust was quite heavy to hear in the middle of the night. However, Park Ha-eun’s ears were filled with the beautiful melody coming from her Bluetooth earphones.
This situation, like adding insult to injury, could have been seen as a grim reaper’s gesture, signaling her to accept her fate.
“Why am I so… sleepy… damn it…”
The truck driver had been exhausted from work that started the previous weekend.
He should not have been behind the wheel in his condition, but he insisted on carrying out the cargo transport at night.
If he delayed the delivery scheduled for today, he would face complaints from customers and nagging from his manager. For him, who had several such incidents before, today was like the last line of defense.
Thus, the tragedy had perfectly taken root within the narrative. The truck driver with closed eyes. The speeding vehicle. The melody from the Bluetooth earphones that even the loud exhaust couldn’t penetrate. Park Ha-eun, focused on it. And the streets, unusually deserted tonight.
Snap-
As the green light came on, Park Ha-eun stepped onto the crosswalk, oblivious to what this action would bring upon her.
With this, the meticulously calculated misfortune was set to unfold, ready to take away Park Ha-eun’s legs as she took two steps, then three, moving forward. The grim reaper’s blade was prepared to take half her life as it hovered over her thighs.
And then.
“…Ah.”
As Park Ha-eun belatedly noticed the truck’s headlights and turned her head, the truck driver was still not awake from his slumber.
Reality was harsh. The short prelude that unfolded without giving her a chance to be startled didn’t even allow Park Ha-eun time to prepare mentally.
5m.
3m.
1m.
The distance that closed in the blink of an eye, a luxury in such a brief moment, was about to deliver an irreversible tragedy to Park Ha-eun.
Yes, it seemed inevitable.
“Uriaaaaaaaaah!!!”
With a booming shout, Park Ha-eun’s body was lifted into the air.
The strong hands that scooped up Park Ha-eun belonged to a stranger wearing an inverted bread bag over his head.
The man, whose body was mostly covered as if to hide his identity, had hands that were unusually deeply tanned.
He got caught
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