Chapter 85
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 85
As I spoke, her expression began to brighten even more.
“See? Told ya so, didn’t I?”
“Uh, yeah…”
Then, looking more energetic than I had ever seen her, she burst into laughter and continued.
“Right? The truth is, if you just read it, I guarantee it’s a good time, man!”
It was a twisted kind of good time.
“I feel like if I could just solve the new reader problem, something would happen… Is it just too long, so people feel burdened?”
The reason was a bit more fundamental than that.
“If I just had a review or something, I feel like it could really blow up with new readers…”
She trailed off, staring at me intently.
A silent pressure bore down on Dokyun’s shoulders.
I couldn’t bring myself to meet her eyes. This vile acolyte of evil was determined to drag me down into the abyss with her.
I couldn’t think of a single way to refuse. I was terrified of the sticky madness in her eyes, a madness that promised she would cling to me relentlessly, ignoring any excuse I could possibly offer.
I had to give up. I had lost.
As Dokyun nodded, weeping tears of blood on the inside, her expression grew even brighter.
“Thanks, man!”
My stomach churned.
Forcing a hollow, worn-out smile, Dokyun continued to give soulless replies before finally speaking with a heavy heart.
“By the way, you’ve been out for a while this time, haven’t you? Shouldn’t you be heading back soon…?”
It had only been two days, but I no longer had the energy to continue this conversation. When I posed the question, she answered with a broad, refreshing smile.
“It’s still fine, man!”
“I, I see…”
What the hell was Eun-seol doing? Why was she doing this to me? Had I done something wrong?
My mind grew complicated. A host of thoughts bloomed within me, stirring my emotions into a chaotic storm. On top of that, the contents of the novel I had just read became razor-sharp blades, tearing my heart to shreds.
A tidal wave of negative emotions.
Dokyun’s heart began to sway back and forth like a sailboat caught in a sudden tempest. The vessel, tossed precariously on the waves, resembled the five stages of death I had once heard about.
First, denial.
Right, I must have done something to get on her nerves without realizing it. The one person who knows better than anyone that dealing with this freak gives me high blood pressure wouldn’t have let her out for no reason.
In other words, after the stage of rationalization came the stage of anger.
No, but even so, does it make any sense to screw me over like this without a word? Fine, I teased her a little. The mood felt a bit down, so I might have said something like, ‘Now that you have a cast on, you must be a couple of inches taller.’ But was that really enough to screw me over this badly?
The anger erupted, and what followed was fear.
Don’t tell me she’s lost control. Has Go Eun-chae started to take over? Is this all actually Eun-chae’s conspiracy?
A sudden dread washed over me, and I entered the stage of bargaining.
No, that can’t be it. If that were the case, Eun-chae would have come out herself and caused some trouble. This must just be Eun-seol messing with me because she was displeased about something. Still, this is too much just for a little teasing. When she gets back, I’ll make her pay for this, big time.
What could I get from her? As my thoughts drifted, the strength drained from my entire body, and my head slumped forward.
The name of the emotion that surfaced was resignation.
I already knew. Eun-sam was one of Eun-ah’s alternate personalities who had to emerge eventually, and today just happened to be that day. I was only feeling this way because the novel I’d just read had dealt me a deep, internal wound, causing my emotions to boil over. I had to accept it. Today’s events were simply things that were bound to happen. And in the end, I was the one who had agreed to read that novel.
As his thoughts reached that point, Dokyun felt a profound sense of regret and despair. But soon, he gathered the fragmented emotions that were shredding his heart and steeled his resolve.
Right, it’s not like I could avoid her forever. As long as she’s one of Eun-ah’s alters, I need to understand her.
Last Christmas, Eun-seol had told me that every one of Eun-ah’s personalities had a reason for existing.
I had to find out that reason. Only by knowing it could I pull Eun-ah completely out of her delusions. I had to integrate those personalities and fit the shattered fragments of the past, which had broken off along with them, back into their rightful places.
Since she was already out, figuring that out was the right thing to do.
I steeled my heart and firmed my resolve. A moment later, however, I felt another surge of emotion welling up, and I vented it internally.
But why the hell does a freak like her even exist?
Dokyun’s gaze shifted back to Eun-sam. She was giving me a thumbs-up, a wide grin splitting her face.
Watching her carefree expression, as if she didn’t have a single worry in the world, Dokyun felt his mind once again fill with confusion.
In a way, it was only natural.
An alternate personality is a type of defense mechanism. It meant she was a personality created to avoid something. I had no idea what she could possibly be running from to spawn a monster like that, nor did I want to know.
As I stared at her for a moment with that thought in mind, she scooted closer to me and spoke cautiously.
“By the way, dude.”
“Ah, yeah?”
Eun-sam’s eyes narrowed as she glanced back and forth between my face and her smartphone. A fresh wave of fear washed over me, and I answered in a trembling voice. Eun-sam leaned in even closer and continued.
“So… which novel are you gonna give your ‘Life’s Work’ to?”
Life’s Work.
It was a feature on the platform, something like a special recommendation you could give to the most impressive novel you’ve ever read.
Befitting the name ‘Life’s Work,’ you only got one chance per account. Once given, it couldn’t be taken back, so it was a feature that required the utmost caution.
For that reason, Dokyun had never used it.
For Dokyun, the ‘Life’s Work’ was something he had vowed to bestow only when a novel appeared that he could bet his entire reading life on. In other words, it was like his carefully guarded virginity.
But now that she had mentioned it, a sense of dread began to bubble up.
“Ah, I’m still thinking about it…”
Please. Please, let it not be what I think it is. I replied, avoiding her gaze.
“Hmmmm…”
Her stare felt like it was burning my skin. The humming sound from her lips felt like it was tightening around my neck. My palms began to grow slick with sweat.
The standoff continued for a moment.
Then, her lips parted.
“Well then, how about my novel?”
“Ah…”
Dokyun’s eyes squeezed shut. She was so hateful for saying something so cruel. I clenched my fists for a moment.
“W-Well, I’d like to think about it a little more…”
After offering that roundabout refusal, Dokyun cautiously opened his eyes to check her expression.
She was wrinkling her nose, her eyes narrowed.
She was displaying her displeasure openly.
The situation was both difficult and terrifying.
What was difficult was the way she was pressuring me, giving me the side-eye right in front of my face.
It was easy to decide not to do something and simply look away. However, it was hard to ignore someone who brought up the thing you weren’t doing and implicitly demanded to know why.
To make an analogy, it was like going to the gym. If you just sign up and don’t go, your body is comfortable. You can shake off any sense of guilt. But not going to the gym after you’ve gotten to know your trainer is a different story. The subtle glares and pressure have a way of making a person shrink.
I had already read the novel and said it was fun. It was far too difficult to come up with an excuse to back out now.
Next, what was terrifying was the thought of my carefully guarded virginity being defiled by that novel.
My virginity, which I had so preciously protected, would be sullied by that novel that smelled like balls that hadn’t been washed in three days. Next to my profile, it would forever display: [Life’s Work – The Legend of the Seven Dicks].
The thought sent shivers down my spine. I was terrified of that title being branded onto my profile like a scarlet letter. That brand would become a stumbling block for every review I would ever write in the future.
“Uhm…”
I had to refuse, no matter what. I couldn’t be defiled like this. As I thought that and looked at her, I saw her place a hand on my thigh with a sly smile.
“How ‘bout it? I’ll make it real good for you, man…”
The way she wiggled her right eyebrow as she said it was utterly terrifying.
If this kept up, I might really fall into utter degeneracy.
Dokyun’s mind started spinning furiously. It was rotating so fast that if it went any quicker, his thoughts might just snap.
His mind began to search for an excuse. The creepy sensation of her hand on his thigh continued for a moment.
“Ah!”
A suitable excuse came to mind.
Shifting his gaze to her, Dokyun saw her looking at him with an expression fit for a middle-aged man in a porno. He quickly blurted out his words.
“When it’s finished! I’ll do it then…!”
It was the best excuse I could come up with.
“The novel isn’t over yet, so… o-once it’s complete, I can press the button while savoring the lingering emotions, don’t you think…?”
Dokyun’s voice trailed off as he saw her smile fade.
“Hmm…”
Her face showed she was starting to think.
At that, Dokyun’s fists clenched tightly once more.
Please, spare me.
I didn’t want to be defiled like this.
I stared at her with desperation for a long while. After some thought, she finally nodded and gave her answer.
“Alright, man.”
An affirmative reply. At that, Dokyun’s expression lit up.
“Th-Thank you!”
“Huh?”
“Ah, just talking to myself!”
I was so happy I almost let it slip.
Startled, Dokyun hastily took back his words and smiled at Eun-sam. She nodded in response and continued.
“There are about 30 chapters left until the end… so it should be done within the year, man!”
She cheerfully announced the date of my execution.
I had to find a new excuse by then. Since she wasn’t always out, it would take some time for her to write 30 chapters.
As I was thinking that, Eun-sam spoke up again.
“No, wait.”
“Huh?”
“I have to write the side stories, too… so there are about 40 chapters left, man.”
A stroke of good luck. The deadline had been extended.
“Ah, right, the side stories! Of course! The longer a novel is, the more essential the side stories are to let you savor the afterglow!”
At this truly welcome news, Dokyun raised his voice. Eun-sam looked at him, then a sly smile formed on her lips as she spoke.
“My dude… you must have really enjoyed my novel, huh?”
“Uh, yeah? Ah… yeah!”
Sweat pooled in my hands. Forcing an awkward smile, I managed to reply and then looked at her, trying to make my own smile seem as natural as possible.
The sight of her blushing slightly, looking shy, was seared into my eyes.
A pang of guilt crept up, but no matter what, some things were just wrong.
I felt sorry for Eun-sam, but if I stamped her novel as my ‘Life’s Work,’ I didn’t think I could ever forgive myself.
I did not want to declare a story where men swung their dicks around like swords to compete for supremacy as the greatest work of my life.
Continuing this topic any longer felt like it would grind my mental state to dust. Dokyun quickly racked his brain and came up with a different subject.
“Oh, now that I think about it…”
“Yeah?”
“What kind of person is the one who hasn’t come out yet?”
I had said it just to divert her attention, but once the words were out, Dokyun found his own mind drawn to the question.
I dared to predict she was an even bigger troublemaker than Go Eun-sam.
The Thanos of her bank account, causing financial losses wherever she went.
And she was a personality I would have to face someday. Eun-seol had said she doesn’t come out in the winter, which meant I would likely meet her in about two months.
As I thought of her, a new kind of anxiety, different from before, began to rise. My expression hardened slightly. Eun-sam seemed to ponder the question before answering.
“Hmm… she’s fun?”
Fun.
At her words, Dokyun looked at her. A broad smile spread across her lips as she continued.
“She’s a riot, man. I think you’ll like her when you meet her.”
After she finished speaking, Dokyun watched her smile deepen.
‘A riot,’ she says…
My anxiety grew even stronger.
Would what Go Eun-sam called a riot actually be a riot for me, too? Or was it the kind of thing that was only fun for them?
As I looked at her with that thought, she nodded again and added another piece of information.
“She’s my online community guru, man!”
Not understanding her, Dokyun stared blankly for a moment before the meaning belatedly hit him and his jaw dropped. With a somewhat wistful expression, she gazed into the distance and continued.
“After meeting my guru, I learned what real life was all about, man…”
“Hah.”
A dry, humorless laugh escaped me without my realizing it. Then, a hand rose to cover my face.
A sense of despair and anguish washed over my entire body.
A monster was sleeping inside her.
The source of Go Eun-sam’s dark evolution was in there.
The person who introduced her to the kind of online community that could turn a normal person into a moron in three days…
…It was you.
It was the last personality, the one who had yet to appear.