Ghost Romance

My eyes snapped open.

I was lying in bed, just like when I'd first arrived in this world. The dark fluorescent-lit ceiling stared back at me — the second time I'd seen it, and it still didn't feel familiar.

I stayed there for a while. I had never expected to hit a bad ending right from the start.

Maximum difficulty is this brutal? …Does that mean even the strategies I know are useless now?

Looking at the system and the choice prompts, it was faithful to the original game and yet completely different in content.

Her affection shot up out of nowhere earlier. Maybe affection isn't even the condition for a happy ending.

Of course, that was pure speculation. I needed certainty. I had to confirm whether my strategies still worked or not.

I got up. Showered, changed into my school uniform. Sitting on the sofa, I looked toward the kitchen where the dining table stood. Maybe because I hadn't gotten close enough — even though I could see the bread on the table, no choices appeared.

I stepped up to the table. The world froze as if waiting for an interaction, and the choices floated into view.

I already knew what happened if I ate it. I chose option 2.

The choices scattered like flower petals and vanished, and the frozen world started moving again. I stood still. I'd half expected my body to move on its own the way it had when I picked option 1… but nothing happened. Just in case, I picked up the bread. The system didn't stop me.

…So even after choosing not to eat it, I can still eat the bread? Should I try? Maybe I'll get a different result this time.

I thought it over for about thirty seconds and made my decision. I'd eat it. I needed to know what happened when you reversed a choice.

It's a kidnapping-and-confinement bad ending — not like I'm going to die in agony or anything.

Still, better not to fall asleep if I could help it. I bit into the bread.

When I opened my eyes again, my body was restrained, and Ji Dahye ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stood right in front of me.

"Yujin sunbae…. From now on, I'll take care of you for the rest of your life. Haah…"

Ji Dahye, stripped down to her underwear, approached me with a dangerous look on her face.

At this point I wouldn't mind just having sex once, but…

I threw the bread in the food waste bin.

A sleeping pill strong enough to knock you out the second you take a bite…. Where the hell did Ji Dahye even get something that potent?

Back when it was just a game, I'd shrugged off whatever showed up. Thinking about it now, something felt off.

Ji Dahye was a student. The only special thing about her was…

She's possessed by an earthbound spirit. Is it the spirit's power?

Come to think of it, this world did have supernatural forces.

I clicked my tongue and searched the house. In the original game there were a few special items. Depending on which ones you found, the story branched and the strategies changed.

Found it.

I pulled a rod out from under the wardrobe. Dark and roughly the length and thickness of a danso flute, with the Korean characters for Exorcism Staff written on the tip.

The exorcism weapon the original protagonist used.

Carrying this around is going to be a pain…. Wait, maybe—!

I looked up at empty air and shouted.

"Inventory! Bag! Backpack!"

No response. Resigned, I stuffed the Exorcism Staff into my bag.

I left the house. I didn't know the way to school, but I had money. I took a taxi.

Instead of walking straight through the front gate, I stood in front of it and looked at the school. The cool morning air, students filing inside — the scene carried a strange sense of nostalgia. But I didn't have time to get sentimental.

Because I could see the ghostly aura clinging to the school.

The original protagonist was an exorcist born into an exorcist family. In other words, he was supposed to do exorcism work. Skip the exorcisms? In the original, the protagonist got murdered by ghosts, or the entire neighborhood was massacred by them — the absolute worst bad endings.

Leave the ghosts alone and they'd almost certainly interfere with the romance routes too. So I needed to clean them all out while I had the chance.

I brought the Exorcism Staff for exorcisms, sure…. But it's just the starter weapon. There are other ways to catch ghosts.

I wasn't a veteran of the original Ghost Romance. My playtime didn't even hit ten hours. But through the internet, I'd absorbed every strategy and tip the hardcore players had to offer.

First things first…

Suddenly the world froze. Sound vanished. Students on their way to class stopped mid-step. A sparrow mid-flight hung motionless in the air as if pinned there.

Two choices appeared out of nowhere. I had no idea what either would lead to.

I went with the front gate for now. Time resumed, and my body walked itself through the entrance on its own. It only stopped once I was at the school entrance.

I looked around. Nothing happened.

"Hey, hey, what kind of twist of fate is this…. Never thought I'd run into you here. Keuk-keuk."

At that absolute garbage of a voice, I turned my head.

A bespectacled pig was staring straight at me. Shorter than me, with a gut sticking out like Mount Namsan. I knew who he was instantly. The classic best-friend character you find in every dating sim — the one who exists to give the protagonist advice.

His name was Shin Ojeong. Same class as the protagonist. Hell, he sat right next to him. Shin Ojeong was good with computers and obsessed with ghosts. His dream career was "exorcist's collaborator"…. In short, he wanted to freeload off the protagonist.

"Shin Ojeong…. Can you do something about that shitty way of talking?"

"Heh heh. This speech pattern is my identity."

"Identity my ass. Whatever. Good thing we ran into each other. Walk ahead of me."

Normally I wouldn't even speak to a guy like this…. But Shin Ojeong was useful. I could pull a lot of information out of him.

"You're telling me to walk ahead…? Well, it's no great hardship. As your collaborator, I shall grant that request."

"You little shit."

"Heh heh. Extra prickly today, aren't we. Hell's Flesh Judgment Staff, Seong Yujin…."

"Flesh Judgment Staff? What the hell is that? Don't call me weird shit."

"Do not deny your epithet."

Epithet? That wasn't in the original. I frowned. He pulled out his smartphone.

"I knew you'd react like that, so I collected the evidence early."

"Evidence?"

"The moment Hell's Flesh Judgment Staff was born…. Truly a thrilling instant."

He worked the phone and showed me a photo.

It was a picture of me — swinging the Exorcism Staff at a bunch of delinquents. The staff, me, the delinquents — all covered in blood. I can guarantee none of that blood was mine.

This bastard used to be a bullied nerd. In the original, the protagonist is the one who saves him…

The reason the protagonist and Shin Ojeong became friends. This was probably it.

"Flesh, yuk Judgment, dan Staff, bong …. Flesh Judgment Staff. Your renown has already spread through the area. Best be careful. Word is the school thugs have their eyes on you…."

"Judgment and staff? You made that name up yourself, didn't you."

"Hoohoohoohoo."

"This fucking guy."

I considered killing him, then dropped it. If I was going to kill him, I'd use him first.

Shin Ojeong walked ahead and started talking. Not so much that he liked chatting — more that he loved showing off by dumping everything he knew.

"Did you know? The owner of the Obi convenience store was murdered early this morning. I passed by on the way here — cops everywhere."

"Obi convenience store?"

"The one near the back gate."

"Ah."

The back gate.

So ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the choice prompt had appeared because of the murder.

An event triggered, so this isn't a normal homicide. Damn it. There were no murder cases in the original game…

I just hoped it had nothing to do with the heroine routes.

"The strange part is there's zero trace of the killer. It's definitely a homicide, but not a single scrap of evidence. No fingerprints, of course, and the perpetrator doesn't show up on any CCTV or dashcam. The store's own cameras just… skip the moment the owner dies. No signs of tampering, either."

"Oh yeah? How do you know all that?"

"I eavesdropped on the detectives."

"Those cop bastards. Doing a half-assed job."

"In my opinion, it looks like a ghost's work… but what's the expert's take?"

"How'd he die?"

"Cut down by a long blade, apparently."

"Like a Japanese sword?"

"Yeah."

"Then it's a ghost."

"…Are you going to get involved?"

"Why would I? Nobody hired me."

"This is the third murder. Leave that thing alone and more victims will pile up."

"The police will handle it."

"No! You have to step in! The police are useless! Tax-sucking parasites!"

Shin Ojeong launched into a long rant about the cops. I mostly tuned it out. Before I knew it, we'd reached the classroom. Class 4, Year H.

Shin Ojeong sat down at his desk, opened his bag, pulled out a triangle kimbap, and started chomping. I took the window seat to his left. Reached into the desk drawer and pulled out a textbook. My name was written on it.

Yeah, this is my seat.

Chomp chomp chomp chomp chomp.

The irritating noise made me turn my head. Shin Ojeong had already demolished six triangle kimbaps. I narrowed my eyes. Behind him, I could see a ghost — stick-thin arms and legs, an unnaturally bloated belly, half its face nothing but a gaping mouth. A hungry ghost. An agwi.

This bastard's possessed too.

That ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was a serious problem.

Hungry ghosts only showed up in the mid-to-late game of the original — and only on the hardest route, the full exorcism route.

Super Hard Mode really does force you onto the exorcism route, huh.

Fortunately, I knew a simple way to deal with a hungry ghost.

"Shin Ojeong. We're starting an exorcism ritual at lunch. So go outside later and buy some stuff for me."

"Ahem? An exorcism ritual?! Understood!"

Shin Ojeong went right back to chomping on his eighth triangle kimbap.