Transmigrated as the Side Top used as an Emotional Trash Can - Chapter 68.1

“With a penalty like x4 stacked on, of course the rate would practically stop.”

The reason the affection level wasn’t rising wasn’t because I couldn’t love Kim Jihwan. I already loved Kim Jihwan. The problem was the system that quantified it, slapped penalties on it, and defined it however it pleased.

“Why are you doing this….”

If this state continued for about a year, the roulette would spin.

It would be a disaster if I ended up in a world-setting transfer where I was trapped and suffered for months or years, rather than something short and joke-like like now.

“Anyone can see that choosing the Penalty Removal Ticket is the right answer, but….”

“What’s Search History though?”

I stood at a crossroads between investing in the future and satisfying my immediate curiosity.

If I removed the penalty quickly, the affection level would rise at a steadier pace. And if the penalty disappeared entirely, then just staying beside Kim Jihwan like I had when we were young would make it shoot up.

I knew that.

But for some reason, I kept hesitating.

“Love Kim Jihwan.”

I pointlessly read aloud the sentence the system always displayed.

Why was the system giving me an order like this?

Was it because of something commonly seen in fiction, like the ‘will of the original work’ or intervention from ‘God’?

“There were stories where the author was the villain too.”

Was the ‘author’ my enemy?

To begin with, did I even have such a concept as an enemy?

I was being tormented one-sidedly, so should I really call that an enemy? Wasn’t it just an abuser? This was unfair.

This system and world kept putting me through the trouble of dying and forcing me along. If I wasn’t being punished for some sin I had committed, then what the hell was all this unjust suffering supposed to be?

“So, this choice isn’t simply a future investment versus curiosity.”

It was a crossroads between obedience to the system and investigating the system.

“One is a guaranteed reward, and the other is an uncertain challenge.”

I felt like I was standing before the blue pill that would let me continue a sweet dream and the red pill that would awaken me to the truth of the world in the movie 〈The M*trix〉.

Of course, this dream wasn’t sweet, and learning the truth wouldn’t necessarily mean understanding everything either, but which choice had the protagonist of that movie made again?

I hummed, “Hmm-,” for a moment, then made my decision.

“I’ll take the red pill too.”

“What the hell is this, seriously….”

It seemed my challenge into the unknown had failed spectacularly. Seriously, what was this?

“Since it’s a search history, going from the bottom upward should be chronological, right?”

Who the hell was this person who had searched for gay novels right after looking up a subway map? And then the topic suddenly drifted to watermelon out of nowhere. Judging by the date, it was summer, so maybe they started craving watermelon.

“There’s another one?”

“…Ugh.”

The moment I saw the word chemotherapy, nausea suddenly rose in my stomach. Was the owner of this search history sick, or did they have someone sick by their side?

“Ugh… Hhk….”

I felt like my insides were turning over.

The feeling was so unpleasant that I shoved away all the records floating before my eyes, bent over, and panted for breath. It felt like I couldn’t get enough air. My nose and throat stung badly.

“Hey, Baek Hanrim. Teach says to come inside.”

Kwon Jayoon’s voice calling me snapped me back to my senses.

I was currently in the hallway outside the faculty office. After escaping the ‘creepypasta,’ I had returned to the morning when the theft incident had caused an uproar, and I found the shoes hidden behind the lockers.

Thanks to that, Kwon Jayoon was cleared of suspicion.

“Jayoon-ah, are the places you got hit okay?”

“I’m gonna squeeze a fucking settlement out of him. That delinquent bastard.”

Kwon Jayoon rubbed his red, swollen cheek with the back of his hand and gave a nasty grin. He had been beaten unfairly, but he had also been one of the main causes of the commotion, so he had been called to the faculty office. I was waiting too, since I had to speak with the teacher as a witness.

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