Transmigrated as the Side Top used as an Emotional Trash Can - Chapter 12.1
I called ‘Baek Hanrim’ to the rooftop of the apartment building I had seen that evening.
‘Baek Hanrim’ appeared before me drenched in sweat as though he had just stepped out of the shower. From the way he gasped for breath as though he might faint, I could tell he had run here at full speed with all his strength.
“That’s the fastest you can run?”
“Haa, you… really… have no… fear….”
I greeted him while standing with both feet on the railing, precariously balanced as though I might fall at any moment. Seeing him spot me from the bottom of the apartment building and race up as though he had been struck by lightning was deeply satisfying.
“Actually, I fell a few times. You should’ve seen your face each time.”
“…It doesn’t sound like you’re joking.”
“Think whatever you want.”
Then I fell one more time and watched him become overwhelmed with shock and horror.
Would you like to restart?
Yes / No
“…It doesn’t sound like you’re joking.”
Judging by the way he repeated the same words like a broken audio recording as the situation immediately before my fall replayed, I could tell that ‘Baek Hanrim’ wasn’t some free being capable of defying the system’s laws.
“I guess you can’t do this.”
“I have no intention of trying it here. Come down.”
“You come here.”
I already told him I wasn’t interested in being trained like some mutt.
At my words, he approached and held out his hand as though telling me to grab it. So this really was the ‘Baek Hanrim’ from the original story.
“So this is how the real one acts.”
I took his hand and lightly jumped down from the railing. Part of me wanted to pull him down with me, kill ‘Baek Hanrim,’ and see how the system reacted. But I didn’t want to treat a person, presumably, that coldly.
“Hanrim-ah, you don’t actually intend to play the doppelgänger game properly, do you?”
I spoke while gripping his hand tightly, with no intention of letting go. If he had truly intended to compete, he wouldn’t have treated my injury and come just because I called him once. At my question, the original Baek Hanrim answered obediently.
“I don’t enjoy competing.”
Even the doppelgänger version of Baek Hanrim was too kind for his own good. He acted as though he had no desire to steal a life where he would obsess over Kim Jihwan and remain alone for the rest of his days. In any case, I wanted to continue existing without damaging the world of this novel too severely, so this was welcome news.
“Did I change the novel’s course a lot?”
“I’m not sure. I only lived my own life. I didn’t read the version of this novel that exists now.”
“You’re aware that this is a world inside a novel?”
“I have no choice but to be. System windows appear in front of me, and I experienced being pulled into a book.”
I had finally met another player capable of holding a conversation, but he didn’t seem to know much. At least it sounded as though system windows appeared before the original Baek Hanrim too…. Was his system very different from mine?
“Did you love Jihwan because you also received a message telling you to ‘Love Kim Jihwan’?”
Baek Hanrim’s cheeks flushed as he answered my question.
“My feelings were real. No one forced me. That’s why I had no regrets.”
I let out a quiet sound of admiration as I looked at Baek Hanrim’s face. How could that purely overwhelmed expression belong to someone who had spent his entire life in unrequited love? So this kind of love existed too. A kind that allowed someone to love to their heart’s content without regret, even if that love was never returned.
“What will happen to you when this game ends?”
As midnight drew near, I asked him one final question. Baek Hanrim smiled softly and gave his last answer.
“I think I’ll return to where I belong.”
♪o(ﾟ∀ﾟo)(oﾟ∀ﾟ)o♪
You have successfully cleared the game.
A reward will be granted.
Please select one of the following.
1 Penalty Removal Ticket / 10 Affection Level Increase Coupons
“Oh, penalty removal or an Affection Level increase….”
I couldn’t tell whether this was a huge gain or not, so I stared hard at the text while quietly calling out things like cash shop and item exchange. A system that sold things like this was practically a rule in game stories. But nothing appeared.
Ah, couldn’t you please make things a little easier for me?
Thud-.
A bundle of papers about the size of banknotes, labeled Affection Level Increase Coupons, materialized inside an envelope and fell before me. Rather than choosing a single item to remove some penalty I knew nothing about, ten Affection Level Increase Coupons seemed like the better option.
I didn’t know how many percentage points each one would add, but they might come in handy if the level ever plummeted into the teens again or stayed stagnant without rising. I took out one coupon and turned it this way and that. Conveniently, it said that to use it, I only had to say the target’s name and tear it.
“Kim Jihwan.”
Riiip.
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