Perfect Answers

Clack.

Chunk…….

A small fragment of a gold coin dropped out of the slot.

Eight questions answered instead of nine — so even added to what I already had, it would fall just short of a full token.

I found myself looking at the man holding the quarter piece.

"Now that I think of it."

If he hadn't stopped me partway through, I would have filled out a whole token.

"Why did you stop me earlier? I could have completed it."

Even if it was no use for Lee Jinsu, who was already dead, it could have been spent on someone else. Handled well, it might even have served in one of our own moments of crisis. Why do something so self-defeating?

"I'm sorry. Before I knew what I was doing — a mistake."

Seeing him admit it so cleanly somehow left a bland taste in my mouth.

"I know it's none of my business, but I didn't think that was a story we should be hearing. Anymore."

Was he out of his mind?

"That can't weigh more than a life."

I was disappointed. Disappointed in a man who would spout that kind of nonsense when any of our lives could fly away at any moment.

I didn't think he was a bastard, exactly — but I hadn't believed he was quite such a saint, either.

And where had the conspiracist gone — the one who swore that if he ever found a time-regressor, he'd seal him back inside a labyrinth if that was what it took to run experiments? That part had looked sincere.

"I know. I do know."

You know that, and you still do it?

"I'm not entirely sure myself why I did it."

Truly a man in possession of an unpredictable moral code. No wonder he's exhausting to deal with.

Then again, perhaps there was some other scheme at work, and this was merely the excuse.

Perhaps he was wary of my stake in a completed 'Life' growing too large.

"Then use it however you all see fit."

As if a scrap of coin like this amounted to anything.

Tap.

I set the gold fragment down on the table — not a formal transfer, simply a declaration that I would make no further claim to this 'fragment of Life.'

"Once it's complete, I won't care who it gets used on."

At that, as if it had been some kind of signal, voices rose around us.

"Mr. Seon Yuhan."

"Could you give me a hand?"

"Of course."

It really was much lighter this way.

"Thank you. Let's go together."

"I'd rather go alone."

"No. Together."

Her feelings must have been troubled. But refusing over and over seemed like it would only look strange, so I nodded.

……Not a single word passed between the two of us until we had shoved the body into the restaurant's freezer.

Click.

She shut the freezer door, and just as she was about to step out of the cafeteria—

"Mr. Seon Yuhan."

Hwang Juyeon's mouth opened for the first time.

"I'll ask you point-blank."

"Sorry? By all means."

"Well?"

Out of nowhere? I'd assumed she was about to bring up the gold coin, of all things.

The eyes set within those fox-like lids stared straight at me.

At her words, I hastily clamped a hand over my mouth and widened my eyes.

Hold it in. Don't laugh. Don't laugh. Don't laugh.

As if that were possible.

If something about me had changed, then from that moment on it had been less a matter of hiding and more of…… simply letting go.

"I honestly…… had no idea. But I was never the bright, cheerful type to begin with. Perhaps you're confusing me with someone else——"

"No, of course I only met you today, Mr. Seon, so I don't know what you're usually like. That's not the kind of difference I mean. Still — three hours? Four, now? I've been watching you up close this entire time."

Hwang Juyeon's gaze and voice were resolute.

Right. Laughing at that earnest face would be poor manners.

But the 'fact' that we had known each other for barely three or four hours was simply too entertaining.

I couldn't stop covering my mouth.

The magician's sharp fox eyes furrowed slightly. Discomfort and hesitation were written in that expression. A faint tremor, too.

"You look at me like I'm a thing. As if I'd turned into a doll that only looks like a real person."

I hadn't thought of it that way.

If I had, I would probably have given up on everything long ago——

"At best, even when you're being kind — an animal?"

Apparently I was the clock running a minute slow.

"I see people as people. The same as me."

……It's a question of scale.

"Ah."

This time, at last, her face filled with genuine surprise.

How did this woman manage frontal assaults like that? If it were me, I'd never have touched it head-on — I'd have been scheming to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠slip a knife in from behind.

"Really…… it seems something even you yourself weren't aware of was at work. I've heard such anomalies exist. Well, you'd know better than I would, Mr. Seon."

Whether she found my expression convenient to interpret, Hwang Juyeon let out a small sigh and let her face soften.

And if that wasn't it?

Then what was she planning to do?

Conspire with the others behind my back and kill me? Did she really think I wouldn't notice?

This is a man whose mind goes there first, even in the middle of someone else's show of concern.

"It might be something we can settle with that gold coin. Of course, anyone in genuine danger should use it first — but if there's room to spare……"

"I understand what you mean. Still, there's no need to trouble yourself over it to that extent."

There was no need to agonize this much over a person like her. No need to let it weigh on the mind, either.

If someone looks dangerous, handling them in due measure is the wise course. That's what I would do.

……I do think it's better to save as many people as possible. Naturally. That conviction won't change going forward.

But it cannot come before my own survival.

It can never outweigh my life. Never.

Don't be fooled into thinking a person becomes 'better' just because they've stepped forward and taken a few risks on someone else's behalf.

People like this never betray.

Because not for a single moment were they ever on your side.

"Still…… thank you. For saying that to me."

Somehow it felt like something inside me was twisting.

Honestly, a blow to the back of the head would have been far preferable.

Even now, I was secretly hoping Yu Hyeonjae and Lee Nahyeon might appear behind me with cords and clubs in hand.

"……I've talked too much. Let's go. Everyone must be waiting."

But nothing of the sort happened.

We walked side by side in silence once more, all the way to the arcade.

It was very quiet, and very peaceful.

I'll have to be careful.

From now on.

Five of us remained now.

Me, Yu Hyeonjae, Lee Nahyeon, Jeong Jiho, Hwang Juyeon.

"Please enjoy the other amusements I have prepared while you wait for your friends to arrive."

The host pressed us with the very same words, over and over, like a parrot.

"Jeong Jiho."

Those strange horizontal pupils suddenly fixed on the child.

The child's eyes went round as saucers.

"I have learned that Jeong Jiho is a very, very fun playmate."

"I don't understand."

Hosu answered Hwang ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Juyeon's question, which had sounded almost like a mutter to herself.

"All of you must enjoy the games, you see."

The host gave no reply to that.

"So — I was thinking I'd give it a try this time. I can't do that one again, I take it?"

What Yu Hyeonjae pointed at was——

"That's right. The chance to receive a prophecy from 'Project Delphi' comes only once for each person."

Die and come back, and surely you could receive it again.

And if he received it a second time — would Yu Hyeonjae's curse of a prophecy change?

"Then this one."

Beside me, Lee Nahyeon sucked in a sharp breath.

"Yu Hyeonjae. Will you enjoy 'True Stories'?"

"Yes. We'll skip the rules explanation."

He was hardly going to enjoy 'Garden of Psyche' or 'SongSong Darts' — games that claimed one person each.

Still, he'd probably be quite good at 'Idle Hamster.'

Though it was dangerous, of course, that the 'hamster' was not in fact a hamster.

They had said the card's condition almost never affected the original — not that it never did.

"Now then, the first case!"

As requested, the host laid the top card on the table with no explanation of the rules.

"Huh? That one……"

Lee Nahyeon, who had been craning her neck with the greatest interest, blinked.

It was the same problem as before. Lee Nahyeon's first case.

"Whoa. It just runs the same questions? Surely it would shuffle them——!"

The event cards were never shuffled; every player faced them in the same order.

The host allowed non-participants to watch freely, and even let spectators learn the answers to questions a player failed to solve.

Which meant the more people who played before you, the fewer question chances you burned — and the more cases you could clear.

"Doesn't that just make it easier for whoever goes later? I mean — not that I'm criticizing you, CEO, obviously……"

In other words, the structure made it possible to sweet-talk those around you, sacrifice the earlier players just enough, and complete a full 'Life' token the easy way.

And since losing didn't seem to mean instant death, it would only make things easier still.

"Correct."

The CEO of Yuwi Guild declared the answer without asking a single question, as expected.

"Yes, Yu Hyeonjae. Please state your answer."

"The man had been abducted and shut inside a refrigerator. When he came to and pushed the door open, he found himself in what appeared to be a warehouse, where he discovered all manner of corpses inside the identical refrigerators — and realized that he, too, was meant to have arrived there dead. While searching the area for a way out, the man finally accepted that escape was impossible, and that should his being alive be discovered, he would only die a cruel death. So he climbed back inside a refrigerator of his own will and closed the door. A few minutes later, he was dead."

"A perfect answer. Yu Hyeonjae has solved the first case."

The answer written on the back of the card was, unsurprisingly, exactly that — differing only in the details of the phrasing.

He recited it as though he had memorized the whole thing.

"Yu Hyeonjae. Will you continue to the next case? Or would you like to stop enjoying 'True Stories' here?"

"Continue."

"A wise choice. Now, the second case!"

"Correct."

"Yes, Yu Hyeonjae. Please state your answer."

The case Lee Nahyeon had failed for want of question chances was settled the same way.

"……And so the woman, realizing that she had lost her will to live so completely that she had forgotten even her longing, killed herself."

"A perfect answer. Yu Hyeonjae has solved the second case."

"Mmmgh……."

Beside me, Lee Nahyeon whimpered like a puppy that badly needed to go out.

It wasn't a competition, but perhaps it felt like something being taken from her; she looked a little put out.

"Yu Hyeonjae. Will you continue to the next case? Or would you like to stop enjoying 'True Stories' here?"

"Continue I shall."

"A wise choice. Now, the third case!"

But from here on, it would be different.

A new ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠problem — one none of us had ever seen.

Four students in school uniforms, drawn apart from one another.

Perhaps to conceal the precise cause of death — there were no traces of blood or the like.

Above the students, each frozen in a different pose, the letters W, X, Y, and Z were written in red.

The student sitting slumped against the wall — W.

The student collapsed on the floor — X.

The student in a pose much like the first — Y.

The student face-down on a desk — Z.

"That's insane. Four of them? Didn't the difficulty just spike out of nowhere? Guess I was fated never to solve one anyway……"

"No, come on… You'd have done just fine too, Nahyeon, if you'd had the chance."

……Hold on.

A thoroughly unpleasant sense of déjà vu.

Could that possibly be——

Isn't that the very case I edited at the Sin-gye Daily?