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A peaceful Saturday morning.
Ding!
The moment I opened my eyes, a Neotube live notification went off, and I unlocked my phone, doubting my own ears.
There was only one streamer I had live notifications turned on for. What the hell was he playing this early in the morning?
…?
What? Did I accidentally turn on notifications for someone else?
A boomer-ass intro line.
…But is it really him?
Like I was possessed, I tapped into the stream, and the man’s voice sounded more extra than usual, like he was embarrassed.
“So… today, uh, I’m going to try one of those dating sim games.”
-How much did they pay you?
-Doesn’t this guy not play games like this?
-Who are you?
-Shh. He’s bravely revealing his hidden tastes. We respect it.
“It’s not an ad or anything. And ‘a game like this?’ Are you disrespecting dating sims right now?”
-Gasp… damn…
-He’s pinning it on the viewers.
The streamer running this broadcast, Mo Je-won, was the type who focused on macho physical games, absurd humor, horror, and skill-based games.
So seeing someone with zero connection to text adventures bring a dating sim was weird, sure, but I had been watching his streams consistently for eleven years. As a hardcore fan, it was something to cheer about.
Whatever it was, a fresh genre was always welcome.
I gave a small nod.
Even better.
“No, I mean, when I heard the company that made ‘The Witch’ made a dating sim, I got way too curious.”
So this was that company’s next release. Only then did Mo Je-won’s random game pick start to make a little sense.
‘The Witch’ was a puzzle adventure game I’d enjoyed too.
The setting was dark, but with cute pixel characters, clever puzzles, and an impactful story, it got hugely popular with everyone despite its short playtime.
And the company that made that game suddenly switched genres?
Dating sims weren’t really my thing either, but I did get curious.
“Honestly, you’re curious too, right? The title is ‘Survive.’ What kind of dating sim title is that? Maybe it’s actually a skill-based game wearing a dating sim mask.”
-Sure, sure. Let’s go with that.
-LOL, great excuse.
“Ahem. I’m saying I’ll satisfy your curiosity for you. Just be grateful.”
-We are grateful…
-Overwhelming gratitude…
“Then, let’s begin Double Busters’ long-awaited new game, ‘Survive.’”
With that, Mo Je-won hit Start, and background music that was a bit creepy for a dating sim began to play. In the center, the game title, ‘Survive,’ appeared like a warning.
A clear bell chime rang out, a massive mansion zoomed in, and then the doors opened to reveal a lavish interior.
A chandelier that looked dazzling even though it was just an illustration, antique furniture, and even a high ceiling and staircase that resembled a castle.
It hinted at an enormous interior.
But even more eye-catching than the luxurious mansion was a man standing at its center.
Had I fallen asleep?
I snapped awake.
My last memory was that I’d gotten so impatient with Mo Je-won that I bought the game myself and even took three days off work to binge it all day.
Judging by the soft mattress, it seemed I’d safely fallen asleep in bed…
But even though I couldn’t see anything in the pitch-black darkness, something felt off.
‘My phone…’
I hurriedly felt around the bed for light, but found nothing.
With no other choice, I swung my feet off the bed, and a cold floor met my soles.
It wasn’t an ordinary wooden floor. It was so smooth I could slip… marble?
My apartment floor isn’t marble.
…
‘Th-Then where am I…?’
As a chill ran down my spine, I remembered a conversation I’d had with my younger brother once.
“Hey. Even traveling alone as a guy is dangerous these days. Be careful.”
After seeing a news story about someone getting kidnapped while traveling, locked up, and put through hell until ransom was paid, I’d said that to him.
“Ah, hyung. I can take anyone. You should worry about yourself.”
“Just listen for once.”
“Mm… but if it’s you, hyung, I feel like you’d survive even if you got kidnapped.”
“So you won’t come save me?”
“Come on, of course I’d come save you. What do you take me for?”
“I don’t need your help.”
“Are you sulking, hyung?”
Maybe I should’ve told him to come save me.
Regret came rushing in belatedly.
No, no. It was too soon to conclude it was a kidnapping.
If my memory was intact, I’d been at home.
The odds of being kidnapped were extremely low.
First, I needed light to figure out what was going on.
Feeling around for a switch, I gathered my courage and took one more step forward.
Splat.
But that step was ruined by something my foot touched.
From the instant sensation, it felt like liquid. Warm, sticky, and wrong.
‘…What is this now?’
A sense of dread crept over me.
While I wrestled with my anxiety alone, my eyes slowly adjusted, and silhouettes around me started to appear one by one.
I found fabric that looked like curtains nearby and hurriedly pulled it aside.
And the view outside the window was utterly alien.
‘Holy shit, where am I?’
This was absolutely not the Korea I knew.
Instead of cramped cement buildings, an open panorama stretched out, and a moon that was clearly twice the usual size filled my vision.
Looking down beneath it, there were tightly packed little wooden houses. Even from far away, they didn’t look like modern architecture.
Without realizing it, I stumbled backward.
Splat.
At the sound again, I ended up confirming what the liquid on my foot was, something I’d momentarily forgotten…
‘Aaaah!’
It looked slightly bluish under the moonlight, but it was unmistakably blood!
And that wasn’t all. Following the bloodstains across the floor, my gaze landed on a collapsed person!
It was a man in old Western-style clothing, and his abdomen was badly wounded. He’d been slashed so brutally it was hard to keep my eyes on him.
‘Is he alive?’
I rushed over, gently shook him, and even put a finger under his nose.
The result told me one thing. The thing in front of me was a corpse.
In my thirty years of life, it was the first time I’d ever seen a dead body.
I wanted to pass out.
‘I’m going to lose it.’
Was it really a kidnapping after all?
If so, this guy must’ve been another victim. Looks like he was murdered in the end.
‘Then me too…’
The thought that I might end up like that if I stayed still sent goosebumps all over me.
There was a door behind the dead man. I was about to bolt for it, but I couldn’t.
Because I heard messy footsteps and voices outside the room.
“Here. Robert-nim is in here…”1
“Open the door right now!”
My shoulders instinctively hunched at the sound of the door being pounded like it might break.
‘N-No. Wait…’
Before I could even gather my thoughts, the door burst open with a puff of dust, and soldiers in silver plate armor stormed in.
The soldiers flinched at the corpse, then the moment they saw me standing there, they roughly bound me.
Then a man’s and a woman’s voices followed…
“Father!”
“Aah! No!”
“M-My lady. Robert-nim is already…”
“No! We can still save him. It’s not too late!”
Sobs, shouting, voices trying to stop it all.
“Was it you?”
The soldiers were pressing my head down so I couldn’t move, and even when I glanced sideways I could only see people from the waist down, but I could roughly tell what kind of situation this was.
Two unknown people, a man and a woman, stood in front of me.
“I asked if you did it!”
‘Wh-Who are you?’
I wanted to ask even a stupid question, but my mouth wouldn’t move.
“…Take them to the underground dungeon.”
While I stood there dazed, the soldiers hauled me up by the shoulders. I tried to resist, but the arms holding me didn’t budge.
Just like that, I was thrown into a damp, gloomy prison underground.
‘What is this situation right now…?’
What was with this architecture that looked medieval? What was with those outfits in this day and age? And this prison, what even…
Only a single torch on the wall lit the room. The bars were rusted, unpleasant even to touch, and a damp moldy smell crept up.
‘A movie set…? It doesn’t feel like it. Does a place like this still exist these days?’
No way. With the disgusting sensations on my skin and this absurd situation I couldn’t understand at all, I slumped down like I was exhausted.
But then.
‘Huh?’
What is it? Something feels bare down there. A reckless sense of freedom, like I’m not wearing pants…
!!?!
I really wasn’t wearing anything on my lower half!
But that wasn’t even the problem right now!
Because instead of pants, I was wearing a white dress!
And that wasn’t all. Slender arms and legs. And, and the wrong parts sticking out…
A silent scream escaped me.
Wait. Let’s think again.
Becoming a woman. That’s realistically impossible, isn’t it? Which means this is…
‘It’s a crazy dream. Why would I dream something like this?’
It was so vivid I couldn’t even think it was a dream.
A dream where I become a woman.
It was so ridiculous I let out a hollow laugh.
I sighed in relief and leaned back against the wall, relaxing.
Then suddenly, a voice spoke.
“Serves you right. You didn’t listen to me, and now look what happened.”
Startled, I jumped up, and outside the bars stood a woman who I hadn’t noticed arrive.
“Exactly. You should’ve crawled to the lady from the start. Just because you’re a little pretty, you got above your station and started wagging your tail, and that’s what happens. A maid who killed the next duke. And who’s behind it, I wonder? You’ll be tortured to uncover that, and in the end you’ll be executed in a pathetic way.”
Her face wasn’t visible in the shadow, but one thing was clear. She was mocking me.
Because the corner of her mouth, what I could see of it, was twisted upward.
“Testifying about me won’t be a good choice. Because if I’m backed into a corner, you know whose name I’ll drop, don’t you?”
It didn’t reach her, but I answered hard in my head anyway.
‘I don’t know.’
“Remember this well. If you’re the only one who dies, then at least what that person wants will be achieved.”
‘Who the hell is “that person?”’
When I said nothing and just stared blankly, the woman sighed like I was boring. Then she insisted she trusted I’d understood, warned me again and again, and left me behind.
What was going to happen to me now?
Was I going to be executed like she said?
I thought that as I watched soldiers come in and open the barred door of my cell.
I didn’t want to start the day feeling like this, so if possible, I hoped I’d wake up before dying.
Maybe my wish was granted, because my vision went black in an instant.
And in the pitch-black darkness, glowing blue letters appeared one after another.
…Pardon?
TL Note: “-nim” is a Korean honorific showing respect. ↩️
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