Chapter 85: Horror Game
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 85: Horror Game
As I stepped outside, snow was fluttering down from the sky.
“It’s cold…”
I zipped my puffer jacket all the way up and shoved my hands deep into my pockets.
The walk from my house to Doah's studio was about seven minutes.
If I ran, I could make it in under three, so I headed down the slope at a brisk pace.
I took out my phone.
[Doah. I’m at the studio entrance now.]
Less than thirty seconds after I sent the text, Doah came out to meet me.
Wearing fluffy slippers and even fluffier-looking pajama pants, Doah threw her arms around me.
“Oppa!”
“What’s this? Shouldn’t you be getting back inside?”
“I think I’m so screwed…”
Doah was rambling incoherently, completely out of it at the thought of having to play a horror game.
If this were a comic, she’d have spirals for eyes. I couldn’t help but smile at the sight.
I placed a hand on her head and coaxed her back inside.
Her stream was currently muted.
I waited for Doah to give me instructions on how she wanted me to act.
“First, Oppa. I think it’d be good if you stayed next to me.”
“But wouldn’t that be a little weird if I’m right beside you?”
“You’re right…”
If I made even the slightest sound, it would be a complete disaster.
“Oppa. For now, just stay over there.”
“Over there?”
Doah pointed to a sofa in a small lounge area.
“Yeah. Just sit there and don’t say a word.”
“But will that be enough?”
I could just watch the stream on my phone with my earphones in, but she was the one who was scared.
“Just sit there so I can run to you if I get too scared.”
I nodded in understanding. Doah sat back down in her chair and, with a determined expression, gave me the signal that she was starting the stream.
[Ahem ahem!]
As Doah went live, I fumbled in my pocket and took out the wireless earphones I’d brought.
I could feel the delay between her actual voice next to me and the sound coming through the broadcast, so I had to turn up the volume on my phone.
[Well… now… for real… that…]
Tears welled up in Luka’s avatar’s eyes.
But the chat was only getting more fired up, demanding she play the horror game.
[Luka-tan! Hurry up and start!!!!!]
I wasn’t sure if this was what the emotes were made for, but the Pink Army was spamming the ones holding light sticks.
Looking frustrated, Doah smacked her forehead with her hand.
[Okay… then… as promised… the horror game… I’ll… sob waaaaaah.]
Luka let out a wail.
Ah, I shouldn’t laugh.
Doah could see my face at any moment.
But what could I do? She was so cute that I couldn’t stop smiling.
If I were watching this at home, I wouldn’t just be twitching my facial muscles; I’d be laughing my head off.
[O-Okay, I’ll start it now?]
The moment she pressed the start button, a spine-chilling BGM played as the screen faded to black.
Like most horror games, the perspective was first-person.
Luka’s small avatar in the corner perfectly mirrored her real-time expressions.
Creeeeak—
The unsettling sound effects unique to horror games grated on my ears.
[Ugh… seriously… why is even opening a window so scary… ugh…]
Not a single ghost or monster had appeared yet, but Doah kept looking up at the ceiling.
The game I had recommended to her was actually on the tamer side of horror games.
It had a decent story and a reasonable difficulty level, so I figured even Doah, who couldn’t handle anything scary, would be able to clear it.
The first mission was to find the key to the basement.
Clicking the directional keys, Luka aimlessly searched the abandoned house.
[Hey. The interaction key isn’t working?]
…That’s because it’s not an interactable object!
A devastating sense of frustration washed over me before the game had even truly begun.
The Pink Army seemed to feel the same way, as the chat was flying by.
[No]
[Luka-nim! To the right, not there!]
[True lol]
[Ugh… I think my blood pressure’s gonna make me pass out…]
Wow, there’s someone who thinks just like me.
Honestly, I wanted to go over there right now and take control of the mouse myself.
Hey! Just go to the right, please!
[Ah. To the right here.]
Finally spotting the key on the drawer, Luka was able to enter the locked basement.
The first event was waiting for her.
And it was…
[Kyaaaaaaaaaa!]
Her scream pierced through my earphones faster than the broadcast signal.
Doah covered her eyes with both hands.
The moment she entered the basement, a blood-red hand had grabbed the protagonist.
Next on the screen was the face of a woman with a twisted neck.
In shock, Doah couldn’t even touch the keyboard for a while.
[Ah… ugh…]
Doah looked over at me, her eyes trembling.
I wanted to tell her it was okay, but making a sound was forbidden.
I just nodded, encouraging her with a gesture to start playing again.
[…Everyone.]
Luka’s avatar started to cry.
[If I don’t make a sound for more than five minutes, you have to call 911 for me. Got it?]
Dragged away by the ghost, the protagonist woke up in the deepest part of the basement.
The mission was simple.
Escape this place alive.
But of course, there were items and quests needed to do so.
Sometimes she had to find a key or a lamp, and other times she had to exorcise the vengeful ghosts of a family.
[W-What do I do now?]
Luka asked in a terrified voice, and the backseat gamers in the chat kindly gave her instructions one by one.
[To the left here?]
My girlfriend diligently followed the chat’s commands.
As with many horror games, there was the fear that came from the darkness.
Moving with a limited field of view creates an extreme sense of terror.
Even though Doah wasn’t actually in the house, she was hunched over, her fingers moving cautiously.
[…Guys, when is the ghost coming out?]
Just walking through the eerie background music was enough to build up stress.
The tension of not knowing when something might pop out was what really wore you down.
And actually, our dear Luka-tan didn’t need to worry about that.
Because…
[This. You’re saying I should touch this?]
Luka found a doll in the shape of a small child.
Trusting the viewers’ words without a shred of doubt, she once again let out a high-pitched scream like a dolphin.
[Hyaaaaaaaaaaaaaak!]
No, Luka.
Don’t you look at that and think it’s suspicious?
It was a doll that was obviously cursed to hell and back.
The moment she pressed the interaction key, the doll’s face twisted grotesquely, and the now-sentient thing began chasing the protagonist like a hunting dog.
It moved with an inhuman, monkey-like agility.
Doah frantically mashed the keyboard, running for her life.
[You said to press it, you bastards!]
The fact that she wasn’t holding back her curses made her seem twice as cute to me.
She had barely sworn at all since her debut.
It seemed she just couldn’t hold it in at this moment.
After barely managing to trap the doll behind some bars, Doah’s hands were trembling as she reached for her tumbler.
[Guys… my hands are really shaking… I just touched my tumbler to get a drink, and they’re shaking like crazy?]
After taking a sip of water and catching her breath, she asked the viewers a question like a student waiting for lunchtime.
[How far am I now…?]
In terms of game progress, she was about 50 percent done.
There had been some pretty scary scenes, but the highlight hadn’t even started.
The most grotesque and terrifying ghost of all…
The ‘mother’ hadn’t even appeared yet.
Wow, the people making clips are going to have a field day today.
If my exams were over, I’d definitely be making clips and having fun too, but I didn’t have the time for that yet.
The game was hurtling towards its climax.
It was time for the ‘mother,’ the peak of the game, to make her appearance.
As the BGM changed, Luka must have sensed that something was off, because Doah’s face went pale.
[Guys. What is it? What’s happening? Someone tell me, quick.]
But all that came back was a chat full of laughter.
As if they had all agreed, the Pink Army collectively took a vow of silence.
The protagonist reached the heart of the winding underground passage.
I bit my lip to keep from making a sound.
Even though I’d seen it once before, scary is scary.
No, in my case, it was less about being scared and more about being startled.
It was the moment Doah turned a corner.
The background music cut out abruptly, and the screen was filled with the image of a woman with bugs pouring out of her eyes.
“Oppa-aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
Doah threw her earphones off, ran over to me, and threw her arms around me.
From her dropped phone…
[Oppa…?]
[Did she just say Oppa?]
[Wasn’t it Appa (Dad)?]
[Where did Luka-tan go?]
…Wow, Doah-tan.
This is salvageable, right?
As I held her, a cold sweat trickled down my back.