Chapter 42 What a Harem Is
What It Means to Be a Harem Protagonist
Episode 43
"It's your child. You'll... take responsibility, won't you?"
Park Ha-rin pressed her unmistakably voluptuous body against me, leaning close to my ear. Her bewitching voice slipped between breaths, lightly grazing the shell of my ear.
For a moment, my mind flashed white, and my heart pounded wildly.
Her eyes gleamed mysteriously, their hidden meaning still indecipherable.
No—her lips, in stark contrast to her sinister expression, were forcing an unbearable responsibility onto me.
'What the hell do I do? What do I do? Fuck, what do I do? Seriously, what the fuck am I supposed to do??'
Thoughts tangled endlessly in my head, but I couldn't grasp a single clue on how to handle this.
Then, in the midst of it all, a sudden voice cut in.
"Park Si-hyun?"
At that moment, my heart attempted a legitimate escape from my body in protest. Choking back my breath, I looked up the stairs.
Hazelnut-colored long hair fluttered in the wind, and her eyes sparkled with anticipation and a joyful smile.
But Kang So-eun, realizing her expression had faltered upon seeing me, awkwardly composed herself and slowly descended the stairs.
"......"
Just then, Park Ha-rin glanced sidelong at Kang So-eun.
Meanwhile, Kang So-eun stared at Park Ha-rin in confusion.
But soon, she saw it—the two pregnancy test strips clutched in Park Ha-rin's hand.
"??"
Kang So-eun froze for a moment, staring at the pregnancy tests. But then—
"Park Si-hyun?"
A chill seeped into Kang So-eun's voice.
Kang So-eun and Park Ha-rin both turned their gazes toward me simultaneously.
I smiled between their piercing stares.
...No, I crumbled into dust with a smile on my face.
#
I was dead—mentally, at least. Looking back on my life, I thought I hadn't lived too badly.
But then—
『「Optimal Progression」 is restoring your shattered psyche.』
I came back to life.
"...?"
『「Optimal Progression」 is restoring your broken mind.』
"..."
When I opened my eyes, the gazes of the two women looked ready to tear me apart on the spot. Just their stares alone brought tears of vertigo to my eyes.
"Park Si-hyun?"
"Park Si-hyun?"
One woman was carrying my child, and the other had been fucked senseless by me.
"...."
Surrounded by these two women in this moment, every cell in my body screamed danger as it desperately dredged up memories from the past.
When I was little, I once found spiders mating on a tree and was fascinated.
─Wow~! Noona! What are they doing?
Park Ha-rin, who had been stalking me, flipped her long silver hair over her shoulder and smirked confidently.
─Huh? That? It's nothing special. Just something we'll do later.
─Wow~! So we'll do this later...?
I didn't understand the spiders' strange movements, but I happily watched them again anyway.
Then—CRUNCH!
The female spider ripped the male's head off.
─...Huh? ...Wha?
Chomp, chomp.
The female spider chewed up the male spider deliciously. The headless male twitched helplessly, trapped in the female's legs.
Unfortunately, the male couldn't escape until death took him.
─Uh... uh... So we'll... do this... later...?
Frozen stiff, I turned to look at Park Ha-rin.
─Yep♡ We'll do this later, okay? Why? Don't wanna?
The adorable Park Ha-rin stared at me with a delighted expression.
Slurp.
Her red lips glistened with saliva as she watched the female spider kill the male, her face flushed with ecstasy.
─So cool♡
─Heeh~ Heeh~~ Hehe...
─You'll do it with me later, right?
─Heeh......~
I gazed at the distant mountains. The weather had been so nice that day.
─You don't wanna get eaten by noona? Why aren't you answering?
Back then, Park Ha-rin had whispered into my ear. My fragile mind couldn't withstand the pressure and promptly blacked out.
Now, returning to the present, I understood. My current situation was—
Gooo-
—eerily similar to that of a male spider who had ejaculated into two females and was now surrounded by them.
Fear gripped me so tightly that my mind began to slip away. Yet, despite it all—
『「Optimal Progression」 is restoring your broken mind.』
My psyche kept collapsing and reforming.
"Hey."
"Park Si-hyun."
Right now, I was like the male spider—headless and on the verge of being devoured by two females.
Sweat poured down my back under the overwhelming pressure, and fragmented memories kept flashing through my mind.
For some reason, my life only seemed to replay scenes of blood and naked flesh.
─Hahh♡ Si-hyun-ah. Si-hyun-ah, I'm—I'm cumming!? I'm cumming, ahh...!?
─N-noona, your pussy's gonna break! S-stop!? Hahh♡
Come to think of it, in just this one day, I'd popped the cherries of two beautiful women. Hell, I'd even taken Park Ha-rin's anal virginity.
...Yeah. I'd creampied the most gorgeous women in this world—heroines—to my heart's content, filling their wombs with my seed.
How proud I'd felt every time my cum gushed out inside their trembling holes, stretched around my cock.
'Ah, that feeling was insane. The sensation of my cum spurting deep inside a woman's pussy...'
Both heroines had lost their minds to my massive dick, driven to the brink of death by relentless orgasms. Their faces, already wrecked beyond recognition, twisted grotesquely as they screamed.
Most men probably couldn't even imagine the heroines making such grotesque expressions.
The fact that these stunning beauties could be completely ruined by just my cock—that was a privilege exclusive to me, the wielder of 「□□□□□」. By now, it was an ability that had briefly lifted me to heaven before slamming me straight back into hell.
Crack—
『「Optimal Progression」 is restoring your shattered psyche.』
But I felt no regret. I had sown my seed into these breathtaking women and fulfilled my duty as a man.
'...Today, I took Park Ha-rin and Kang So-eun's virginities and thoroughly enjoyed every fold of their pussies.'
With that, I had accomplished the mission of a dating sim protagonist.
—Si-hyun-ssi.
—I'm free today, so...
But visions of plump, round asses waiting for me flickered in my mind.
'...Hayase noona. I didn't want a lucky sukebe moment—I wanted to see that ass in person.'
Though, at this rate, I wasn't sure I'd make it out of here alive.
"♪"
"...."
Kang So-eun side-eyed Park Ha-rin, but Ha-rin remained aloof, utterly indifferent. Instead, she maintained her Universal Hand pose, index finger pointed firmly at the two lines.
And witnessing all of this was Kang So-eun—my girlfriend.
...This was bad.
Meanwhile, whether out of a desire to look sexy or not, Ha-rin's ass, pushed back slightly, was undeniably alluring.
The sheer black mesh panties teasingly revealing her skin, the hot pants giving a glimpse of her plump thighs—it was driving me wild.
I stole a glance at the soft flesh peeking from beneath her hot pants.
'Her ass is extra plump now that she's lost her virginity.'
I reached out to give it a little squeeze—but the moment I did, I felt Kang So-eun's glare burning into me and immediately pulled my hand away.
—...♡
Ha-rin shot me a lewd, inviting gaze. After leisurely eyeing the two of us, she smirked, her expression relaxed and flushed.
—Wanna do it?
Her lips curled suggestively, throwing me a seductive look that screamed she wanted me inside her. The sheer lust in her eyes was almost frightening.
"...."
But I wished she wouldn't look at me like that when other people were around.
Yet Ha-rin oozed raw sexual energy, making it blatantly obvious—to anyone watching—that there was something special between us.
At the very least, anyone could tell our relationship wasn't normal.
Even if those signals were entirely one-sided on her part.
"Park Si-hyun."
"Park Si-hyun?"
"...."
"Park Si-hyun?"
"Park Si-hyun?"
"...Huh? Yeah."
Their voices were the kind I could listen to for the rest of my life—but unfortunately, right now, I really didn't want to hear them.
Because—
Groooowl—
『Obsession is spiraling out of control.』
A storm of darkness was erupting from the two heroines' irresistibly sexy bodies.
Gulp—
Two pairs of eyes moved in unison, their gazes crossing like blades.
"Park Si-hyun."
Kang So-eun spoke first. But her voice was strained, as if desperately pleading for something.
"If what I'm thinking is true... you're the absolute worst. Tell me I'm wrong. Tell me I'm just imagining things... That's basic courtesy toward your girlfriend, isn't it?"
Tears welled in Kang So-eun's eyes.
Meanwhile, at the word "girlfriend," Park Ha-rin's eyebrow twitched.
"...Girlfriend?"
Kang So-eun sniffled, forcing herself to maintain a composed expression as she answered.
"...Yes. Si-hyun and I are in a serious relationship—one where we've even talked about marriage."
"Oh. Really? And... since when was that your decision?"
Kang So-eun's eyes sharpened instantly. In response, Ha-rin smirked arrogantly.
Then, with deliberate ease, Ha-rin spread her hand open.
"Well, I'm pregnant with Si-hyun's baby."
Over ten pregnancy test sticks tumbled out of her palm.
Kang So-eun was stunned into silence.
"Ha... ha...."
...And me, caught in the middle? I just smiled vacantly as my soul left my body.
『「Optimal Progression」 is restoring your shattered psyche.』
###
Incest—
It was an extremely sensitive topic in society. Even in the Tower, where rape and violence were commonplace, incest was still met with disgust.
And yet, my relationship with my sister had just been exposed to Kang So-eun.
"Pfft—HAHAHA!"
Park Ha-rin clutched her stomach, cackling. She didn't care about other people's feelings or the mood—she was too busy reveling in her own amusement.
"Get it now? You were never his girlfriend—you were just a quick fuck for his big dick. So stop getting in our way and scram."
Ha-rin shot Kang So-eun a dismissive, condescending look.
I was too dazed to react.
But then, Kang So-eun clenched her fists and spoke up.
"Park Si-hyun."
Ha-rin's eyes darkened with displeasure.
—Should I kill her?
Before Ha-rin could move, I quickly covered her mouth.
"Mmph?"
She frowned, clearly annoyed, but—
"So... I wasn't your first?"
Kang So-eun held back her tears, staring at me with heartbreaking desperation.
Ha-rin had humiliated her, but Kang So-eun still wanted to hear it from me before making her judgment.
"Stupid little shit."
If that was the case, then floundering around any further and hurting my woman would make me a complete idiot.
"Yeah. You're my first."
Ha-rin's eyes wavered slightly, while So-eun's face brightened into a radiant smile.
There was no proof in my words, but So-eun wiped her tears as if reassured, choosing to believe me.
-So that pregnancy test is fake, right?
So-eun's expression hardened as she descended the stairs. The moment her eyes met Ha-rin's on the same step, the two began glaring daggers at each other.
『The obsessions of two women who have recognized each other swell to terrifying proportions.』
"Grrk—what the hell!?"
The tension between them was so overwhelming that my vision darkened at the edges.
-She probably used the pregnancy test to test my love.
Having finished that thought, So-eun opened her mouth.
"...Nice to meet you, unnie. My name is Kang So-eun. I heard Si-hyun's noona saved us. Thank you so much."
Her greeting was polite, directed at Ha-rin, but her next words took even Ha-rin by surprise.
"Unnie—no, can I call you sister-in-law?"
Ha-rin's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, but she remained silent, refusing to answer.
Given that the other party was Park Ha-rin, anything So-eun said was bound to be problematic.
Yet, So-eun's sudden remark wiped the composed smile right off Ha-rin's face.
"...Huh?"
Ha-rin's gaze swept over So-eun, her eyes slanting in displeasure as she tilted her head.
"That's weird. There's no way I'd ever have a sister-in-law in this lifetime."
So-eun raised her voice, flustered.
"Lifetime? Isn't it normal for a younger brother to marry another woman?"
Ha-rin flicked the pregnancy test in her hand.
"Are your eyes just for decoration? Or are your ears too? What did I just say?"
So-eun hesitated for a moment, but after glancing at the pregnancy test, she answered calmly.
"Looks like someone's pregnant. I don't know who, but congratulations."
"My baby. Right here."
Ha-rin pointed at her own stomach with her index finger.
"Si-hyun's baby is inside me."
Both So-eun and I froze, unable to speak.
"I got pregnant with the load Si-hyun pumped into me~♡"
Ha-rin smiled brightly, as if our reactions didn't matter.
"It's my and Si-hyun's baby. What, got a problem? Want me to show you the paperwork?"
So-eun couldn't respond, her eyelids trembling.
Her gaze filled with betrayal, sharpening into something that looked like it could claw me apart. Seeing this, Ha-rin furrowed her pale brows and cut in.
"Hey. Who the hell are you to look at Si-hyun like that?"
"It's my heart, so what?"
Ha-rin and So-eun's stares clashed head-on. Sparks—visible only to me—erupted between them, a dark storm of emotions stabbing into my brain.
"Grrk—!"
Ha-rin was brimming with resentment toward So-eun for stealing her first love.
Meanwhile, So-eun was drowning in betrayal toward me. She was utterly disillusioned by the taboo relationship between me and my sister.
In the midst of it, So-eun asked me with uneasy eyes.
"...Is she really pregnant?"
"No, I—"
The moment I tried to deny it, a bitter, piercing light flashed through Ha-rin's eyes.
Right then, I faintly sensed her emotions—through Read.
Trapped under the weight of that feeling, I stopped mid-sentence.
Ha-rin gripped my hand tightly, as if pleading. What I felt from her was the fear of being rejected by me.
At that moment—
『Read weaves a connection between the owner, Park Ha-rin, and the owner and Ha-rin's child.』
The child's fear transmitted through Ha-rin's hand, tangling my emotions into chaos.
"Stop it..."
Amid the boiling emotions, I shot Ha-rin an angry glare. But the moment our eyes met, I couldn't help but be stunned.
"Why...?"
Ha-rin had always been dignified, reliable—a mature woman.
Seeing her struggling to hold back tears, I couldn't handle the shock.
Her child being denied by its own father—Ha-rin, suffering that humiliation, forced a smile.
『Read discerns Park Ha-rin's true feelings.』
Watching her like this, I clutched my forehead in turmoil.
"...Ha. Hahahaha."
The root of my predicament was always Park Ha-rin. Because of her pregnancy, I had lost everything that mattered to me—Se-eun, my friends, my daily life.
"You know why, so... why are you making that face?"
I understood the intent behind Ha-rin emphasizing her pregnancy to me.
She just wanted to share the joy of it with me. She only wanted to be acknowledged by me.
And yet, I had never once shown happiness at the fact that she was pregnant.
"Fuck."
Of course not. Incest was a taboo that would socially bury any modern person. No one would ever accept the relationship between me and Ha-rin.
But—
"...Sorry."
Ha-rin's voice grew small.
"I thought you'd be at least a little happy."
I looked up at the ceiling, my emotions in turmoil. I didn't want to see Ha-rin's sorrowful face. But when I caught sight of her forcing a smile to hold back her tears, I couldn't help but avert my eyes. The truth was, I didn't want to hurt either her or the child.
Yet if I turned away from her now, I could return to my ordinary life. In that case, she would be left alone, and the child would be born without me. If even I abandoned Ha-rin, she would end up as lonely as she had been in the game.
Even knowing that, I tried to pull my hand free from hers. But then—
〈The child in Ha-rin's womb resonates with the mother's sorrow and grieves.〉
Reading that message, my hand froze. Ha-rin's sadness shook me to the core.
'Stop it. I'm sick of this already.'
Just as I was inwardly recoiling in disgust, my gaze fell on Ha-rin's stomach. And I realized—the child inside her was suffering, caught in the center of our turmoil.
〈The child's emotions are swelling.〉
With that message, my vision began to blur. No—it was as if the world itself was losing color and slowing down.
"!"
Within that space, So-eun was engulfed in fury, while Ha-rin drowned in melancholy. Both of them radiated darkness.
〈Their obsessions are leading to ruin. They are undergoing corruption.〉
Their sorrow, despair, anger—all their negative emotions manifested vividly before me. Every one of them tightened around me like a noose.
The ground beneath my feet was sinking deeper into their darkness. All I could feel within it was a suffocating sense of powerlessness. No—it was closer to exhaustion, a resignation born of fatigue.
'If Ha-rin has gone this far, then she's already wrong. She brought this on herself.'
I wanted to deny reality. But the question echoing in my mind forced me to confront it.
'So... you're saying I should pretend I don't know her? That I should just... keep acting like I don't care?'
Defiance flared in me, and I tried to move against the darkness—but it only tightened its grip, refusing to let go. The deeper I sank into that void of loss and helplessness, the more I could do nothing but let out a hollow laugh.
'What's the point of trying anyway...'
Cynical thoughts and memories of the past seized me.
—They say the world is made up of 0.1% geniuses and 99.9% ordinary people. Did you really think you and I were the same? No, you're just dull. No matter how hard you try, it's useless.
—Hah. What the hell have you been doing all this time? Wasting four years here?
—Ugh. Just go play your games. Why are you even in this lecture, dragging others down? If you're stupid, just stay quiet and out of the way.
I was nothing more than a coward who turned to games to escape even the smallest hardships of reality. My life was already a mess, and the game was the only place I could lean on.
Even if 25 wasn't that old, I had never prepared myself to take responsibility for anything. No—I didn't have the ability, nor the confidence. And now, after three years in the game, had anything really changed? No, I was still running away, still afraid of being responsible for someone else.
"What the hell am I supposed to do?"
No one answered. Only the darkness of Ha-rin and So-eun surrounded me.
'Pathetic. Again.'
My lower half had already disappeared into the abyss. My vision, too, was swallowed by darkness. Nothing mattered anymore. I wanted to give up.
But the moment I tried to close my eyes—
Light pierced through.
That light spilled from the child inside Ha-rin's womb.
"..."
What was I supposed to feel, seeing that faint glow?
I didn't know. But—
'Right.'
There was only one thing.
More than anything, I wanted the heroines to see a happy ending, not a bad one.
Because that was just... nicer to look at.
The moment that simple thought took root—
〈Optimal Progression is activating.〉
A platinum radiance flowed from the child.
〈May your light continue to shine through the darkness until the very end.〉
With that message, the figures of Ha-rin and the child flickered into view.
"Ah."
I stared blankly at Ha-rin's stomach.
Her child—if we, the parents, didn't bless it, then it would be born without anyone's blessing at all. Because of our sin, that child would have to live its entire life branded a sinner.
"...Haah."
No, that wasn't quite right. I was the biggest sinner—the one who had tried to leave Ha-rin and the child in an incomplete family. I was the one shaping that child's future into something so bleak.
"I can't... keep being like this."
Self-mockery seeped into my muttering.
"I, of all people, know the pain of growing up without a father..."
A child raised like that would have been fine with just me.
Wasn't that why I had clung so stubbornly to this?
Then and now, all I ever wanted was a happy ending where everyone could be happy.
With that thought, I looked at Ha-rin.
She was always beautiful, but she was prettiest when she smiled. I wanted to preserve that smiling face of hers as the final illustration of my story. And if that moment included the child, it would be perfect.
'Yeah. That's the golden rule of romance game endings, isn't it?'
I was family to Ha-rin and the child, bound by blood. No matter how much criticism I faced, I had to be someone they could rely on, at least in the end. I couldn't be the one to abandon them.
That much, at least, was a responsibility I couldn't hand off to anyone else.
'Was there ever a reason to hesitate?'
There never had been.
As the light grew brighter, I raised my head.
No more shame. My resolve to take responsibility for my family solidified.
The moment the darkness began to recede—I took Ha-rin's hand.