You Took the Bait (1)

The house I returned to after what felt like three years was exactly the same. My parents' beloved faces and voices were a given, and even the friends I'd been close with until the moment I possessed a character in the game were unchanged. Yeah. They were all the same. The one who'd changed was me. The world hadn't shifted—I had.

The way I kept a slight, unconscious distance from my family and friends because their every action felt both comforting and awkward was all on me. If even the familiar walk to school I used to take every day felt this strange, it was only natural that people would feel even more off. 'It's been a while since I've been to school too.'

I'd been heavily influenced by that other world, so not only conversations but everything felt unfamiliar. It was going to take time to adjust. Humans really are such treacherous creatures. You miss them so much, but when you finally see them, it gets awkward. You want to avoid them, yet you don't actually want to avoid them. It was a strange contradiction.

Still, it couldn't be helped. To them, it might not have been even a full day since they'd last seen me, but for me, three whole years had passed without seeing my friends. So feeling out of place in the group was inevitable. It was kind of like... if I had to put it in fantasy terms, it was like a human transferring into an academy full of demons. That inexplicable sense of distance made it even worse.

In that situation, one of my friends suddenly spoke up.

"Are you sick or something?"

"...No, I'm not sick. Why?"

"Your face looks pale. You sure you're not feeling off?"

He was hitting the nail on the head more than I liked. I tried to act casual.

"Not really?"

"See? Even your tone feels kinda distant. You mad at us or something? Wait, don't tell me you're pissed because we went to the PC bang without you yesterday?"

If I could see one of those dramatic, anguished emoticons from anime right now—the ones with the BOOM sound effect—it would be perfect for this moment. I blinked rapidly, looking flustered.

"Laon's not the type to hold a grudge over something that petty after just one day—mph!?"

"Shut up for a second. I wasn't asking you. Laon, is that really it?"

When I stayed silent, he scratched the back of his head with an awkward expression.

"For real? Ah, damn. Sorry. This hyung's in the wrong here."

One of the other guys grinned slyly and slung an arm around my shoulder. Startled, I stared at him for a moment before quickly looking away.

...What was his name again?

I thought hard about it. I genuinely couldn't remember. After three years, my memories were all jumbled up. I eventually recalled it, but the uncomfortable silence that stretched during that time was unavoidable. I noticed him swallowing nervously.

Right. Park Si-woo. His name was Park Si-woo. He was the guy with maxed-out friendliness, I think.

Park Si-woo tried to shift the heavy atmosphere, continuing as if nothing had happened.

"You hate FPS games and Overwatch, right? That's why we didn't invite you."

"...Ugh, I get it. And seriously, what the hell are you doing? Get off me. I told you I'm not mad."

Seeing my delayed response, he clicked his tongue and started exaggerating dramatically.

"He's mad, he's totally mad. Our Laon's upset? This hyung will specially treat you to a movie and dinner to celebrate getting my part-time pay, so cheer up already."

"Then we should go eat beef. Just so you know, I like all-you-can-eat beef."

"Who are you? Have we met before? I said I'd only buy for Laon. I don't remember offering to treat some random stranger."

The way he said it in a voice that almost sounded cold made the other friend get worked up.

"Why are you discriminating against me like that? Don't you feel bad for me? While you're at it, buy for me too."

"Ah, get lost. Feel bad? Bullshit. You've got plenty of money and you're still begging? Just buy it yourself."

"Buy it for me."

"Ha, fuck. If you want to eat so bad, you pay, you bastard."

"Buy it for me. If you don't, you know I'll lie down right here like a rain-soaked puppy and whine until you say you'll buy it, then follow you around all day."

The other friend looked at him with a fed-up expression. "You know I actually mean it when I say I'll do something, right?"

"...What kind of nonsense is that... Fine. Talking more is just gonna hurt my throat. Sigh, next time you have to buy, you little shit. If you run, you're dead."

Of course I know. Watching the friend happily declare he'd buy a buffet later, a smile naturally formed on my lips. This kind of peaceful normalcy... it had been so long. In that other world, even rest had been incredibly precious. It really drove home how different a peaceful world was from one on the brink of apocalyptic doom.

"Hey everyone! Kim Ha-jun's treating us to beef! Who's coming?"

"...What? Hey, shut up?!"

"Oh, for real? Ha-jun's buying beef? Then I'm in."

"Beef? Then I'll take sirloin, please."

It was break time, so not only the kids in the classroom but even those in the hallway started raising their hands. Seeing that, I couldn't help but feel the corners of my mouth lifting for real. So I naturally jumped on the bandwagon too.

"You really pulled solid aggro. A man's word is his bond, right?"

"...I'd rather be a girl. But hey, Ryu Laon, you should be on my side!"

"Nice, nice. Ryu Laon. Now that's the Ryu Laon we know."

Starting with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠one friend's applause, the whole group began clapping. As the victim's expression gradually lost all life, I burst out laughing. His face was so ridiculously realistic that I couldn't hold it in. A small pfft escaped me, and his expression turned ominous.

"Where the hell is a bunch of high schoolers ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠supposed to get the money to buy beef for everyone? If you betray me like this... Huh? You little shit."

"Wait, wait. I surrender, I surrender."

As he playfully wrapped his arm around my neck like he was choking me, I laughed and tapped his arm in surrender. In that moment, a different scene flashed before my eyes.

A nostalgic landscape and voices. What appeared in my vision was someone I'd thought I'd never see again. My pupils trembled faintly.

It was a feast of memories I thought I'd never see again. My friend looked flustered when I suddenly closed my eyes tightly to block out the sight, trying not to let the longing surface, but I didn't care about that right now.

'Get a grip.'

I can't go back anyway. I know full well that clinging to it will only make me miss them more.

"Laon?"

"I'm fine. Guess my condition really is as bad as you said today."

"Is it... that time of the month?"

"Will you shut your damn mouth already?"

With that, the conversation ended. I sat through classes until school let out, then parted ways with my friends and headed home. It should have been a lonely hotel room with no one to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠welcome me, but now my mom was there. And my dad too.

When I opened the front door and stepped inside, Mom greeted me with a smile.

"You're back?"

"Yes, Mom."

"Go wash up and get ready for dinner. Dad came home early too, so we're eating together as a family for the first time in a while."

This was what little happiness felt like. A happiness I could never have felt in that other life without a family. I was grateful once again that time in reality hadn't moved forward.

Surprisingly, the time that had passed in the game world hadn't affected reality at all. Thank goodness. When I realized that three years in that world amounted to less than half a day here, I felt a strange emptiness but mostly just relief. If three years had actually passed in reality too, the sense of alienation might have driven me to dark thoughts. My physical body here might not have been safe. And lying in a hospital bed as a vegetable was the last thing I wanted.

Back when I was in the game world, I'd vaguely thought that just being able to return would be enough. I sat at the dinner table, eating the meal Mom had prepared, then spoke up with a serious expression.

"Mom."

"Yeah?"

"Yesterday I joined the hero's party and saved the world."

"Stop talking nonsense and eat your food. While you're at it, cut back on the games. You're a senior now—you need to prepare for the college entrance exam."

Just as expected, Mom's reply was exactly what I'd anticipated. What about Dad?

"Sounds like an interesting dream. Did you defeat the Demon King?"

"...I didn't completely defeat him. I only drove him away."

"Very detailed. Maybe it's an omen. Something good might happen for our son soon."

Dad smiled kindly, his face warm and gentle. He was still the same Dad. He was probably the only one who could take his third-year high school son's ridiculous nonsense and respond to it half-jokingly, half-sincerely with such generosity. I laughed.

"This is why I like you, Dad."

"Flattery won't get you anywhere. Did your allowance run out or something?"

I shook my head at Dad's question and went back to eating quietly. In the middle of it, I heard ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Mom say not to give me any since I'd just gotten my allowance not long ago, and I smiled inwardly.

The monster who had dyed the skies red with blood, the one called the Heavenly Demon or Heavenly Ghost, no longer existed.

......I, Ryu Laon, had returned safe and sound. To the world where I truly belonged.

Time passed quickly. There were times inside the endless prison of flowing time when I drowned in nostalgia and missed Leticia and the hero's party, but now it was just... that. Their faces would occasionally appear in my dreams, but as time went on, I learned to accept it with indifference. It wasn't reality—it was a game. Just a fleeting dream that had passed in an instant.

I graduated from high school, became a freshman in college, worked part-time diligently, and lived an ordinary life. Of course, I'd wavered a bit last year, but I'd shaken it off. A friend had told me that the sequel to the game I used to play had come out, that the reviews were great, and that I should really try it. But I firmly refused. The last thing I wanted was to turn it on and get possessed again, so I hadn't touched it at all.

I told myself I'd hold out even if I was curious until I graduated college. I stayed away from computers and didn't buy one... but eventually I gave in to my friend's temptation and bought one anyway.

"Honestly, I can't resist a sequel."

I admitted it. How could I not buy this? The first game was an apocalyptic RPG, and the sequel was a yuri visual novel. The story was set at the point where Leticia's younger sister was the heroine attending the academy. And Leticia had become a teacher instructing students. None of it made any sense.

One reason was that I was curious how that tiny little sister of Leticia's had grown up. But more than anything, I was dying to see what the mature, adult version of Leticia looked like—overflowing with womanly charm.

"I can't resist it. No way. Come on, there's no way I'll get possessed again this time."

Foolishly unaware that I'd set my own death flag, I pressed the play button. I would come to regret this day endlessly.