by Geli Cake
The room was silent.
'Is he asleep?'
It seemed plausible. Chahyun was the type to show it immediately when he lacked sleep. Even today, he had dark circles under his eyes and had been listless all day.
"Whoa!"
"...."
However, at the light knock, there was a clattering sound from beyond the door, followed by an abrupt silence. Chayun was pretending not to be in the room.
'Is he avoiding me?'
Haylan's eyebrow twitched, staring disapprovingly at the firmly closed door.
Meanwhile, the white figure continued to roam the hallway as if it owned the place, grating on his nerves. There were many things he disliked.
Haylan grabbed a nearby decorative item hanging on the wall.
"I know you're awake, so open this door."
The warning had been given. After waiting for a while and receiving no response, Haylan raised the metal decoration and slammed it down.
Crash! The old doorknob easily broke under the impact.
"Eek!"
He kicked open the now freely swinging door and stepped into Chahyun's room. Chahyun, startled, flattened himself against the wall.
"Why did you break the door?!"
"Why are you avoiding me?"
Chahyun's pale face and inability to speak properly were unsightly. He felt the same. He didn't understand why he felt this way. If Chahyun avoided him, he should just leave him alone. Haylan thought he had become quite impulsive lately.
"As if there was anything to see."
As he pretended to scan Chahyun's body, Chahyun's face flushed red.
"Don't sexually harass me!"
"Don't make a fuss over nothing."
He was right, wasn't he? He hadn't stripped Chahyun naked or made him crawl around like a dog. Haylan had simply watched him.
Actually, he barely remembered what Chahyun looked like while masturbating. What remained vividly in his mind was the look in Chahyun's eyes afterward. The turbulent, dark eyes were so intense that he couldn't forget them.
Driven by the desire to see those eyes up close, Haylan approached Chahyun. With each step closer, Chahyun's flustered expression became more apparent.
"...!"
Standing before him and looking down, Haylan saw Chahyun squeeze his eyes shut, as if hoping he would disappear.
Chahyun's face flushed red, then turned pale, repeating the cycle several times. Haylan quickly realized.
He's conscious of me.
'But why?'
Embarrassed about being caught doing something shameful? But considering Chahyun's usual behavior, he would probably just scratch his head and act normal. Had he misjudged him?
Then, something flashed through Haylan's mind. He immediately voiced his thoughts.
"Do you like me?"
The moment he uttered those words, confusion flickered in Chahyun's wide eyes.
"Why would I?!"
"…You don't have to shout."
It was just a casual question, but Chahyun's vehement denial was surprisingly hurtful.
Then what about you? Why did you look at me like that? And why are you hiding now?
"Do you dislike me then?"
"Aaack!"
Chahyun hid under the blanket. His reaction was amusing. Haylan thought he was starting to understand why Chahyun kept teasing him. Was it the sense of superiority from being the teaser instead of the teased?
Perhaps he quite liked being the subject of that intense gaze, even for a brief moment.
Chahyun's face flushed crimson as he waved his hands.
"It's not like that! I just, j-just… your face."
"What about my face?"
"...Don't get so close to my face."
Chahyun mumbled, then quickly lowered his head. He had been acting strange. Haylan asked tentatively,
"Do you like my face?"
"...."
Chahyun's silence confirmed his question, and Haylan commented on his answer,
"You have peculiar tastes."
He had always been curious about the expression of someone in love. Would their eyebrows furrow, pupils dilate, and mouth fall open uncontrollably, as described in books? Would their partner's breath feel sweet? Would their fingertips tingle just from looking at them?
"Then, want to try loving me?"
At his casual tone, as if he were asking, "Want to try this?" Chahyun was stunned for a moment before asking back,
"Lena, do you perhaps like me?"
"I'm trying to make you fall in love with me but I have no intention of liking you."
It was a matter of probability. Chahyun was more likely to fall in love than he was.
─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───
Hey, wait a minute…
I felt completely disoriented by Lena's crazy remarks, one after another. And even the system was malfunctioning in the midst of all this.
"Then, want to try loving me?"
Flip. I heard the sound of a page turning.
[Main Story Progress: 12%]
Seeing that, I realized the main story involved at least two people.
'Haylan and Lena.'
Haylan was the protagonist of the original story, so that was understandable, but…
'Who are you?'
I had entered this house legally, and if I wanted to leave, I could just ask for permission and go out.
'What genre has it become now?'
The newly added affection system and Haylan's attitude towards me. Since he's growing up, is it a parenting game like Princess Maker? I entertained the possibility.
But if it was a parenting game, the man in front of me didn't fit the narrative. Why would the progress increase when a helper system suddenly tells me nonsense to try loving him?
'Has this really become a dating sim?'
A gay dating sim at that?
I glanced around. I hoped the guidebook would answer my question, but it ignored me when I needed it the most. It was truly capricious.
It didn't really matter that Lena was a man. Perhaps thanks to his beautiful face, I didn't feel much resistance. In the first place, I didn't even consider him human.
Everyone in this world was a character. Created by someone with a specific intention.
'Then what am I?'
I felt like my face overlapped with that of a man who became famous for marrying a character in an interview. But I didn't want to marry Hatsune Miku… I couldn't hide my awkward expression.
I was the key to conquering this unfinished world. What did the system want from me?
"Lena, do you perhaps like me?"
"I'm trying to make you fall in love with me but I have no intention of liking you."
His words seemed harsh at first glance, but I didn't think much of it. Neither of us was taking this conversation seriously. More than anything, I was completely bewildered.
"I'll try my best, too."
Huh?
I blinked up at him, dazed, feeling a hand suddenly grab my wrist. I was dragged out of the room, my wrist still in his grasp.
'Wait a minute.'
The moment I stepped into the hallway, stepping over the broken door, I was startled as I belatedly remembered the gost. But strangely, it didn't show any aggression towards me.
"...?"
As if under some confusion debuff, it just hovered in the air, spinning and watching us.
I stared at the ghost, bewildered, as Lena dragged me along. Its empty eye sockets were facing me, but it didn't attack.
'Don't tell me.'
I turned my head to look at Lena.
'Is it because of him?'
We soon arrived at the dining room. While I kept looking back anxiously, wondering if the ghost was following us, Lena sat me down at the table and walked naturally towards the kitchen.
'How is he so skilled?'
He seemed to already know the layout.
Stealing clothes, stealing food. He was clearly experienced. Soon, Lena returned, carrying a loaf of bread and a whole jar of strawberry jam.
"Eat."
He opened the jam jar, spread a generous amount on the bread, and handed it to me. It wasn't an offer, but an order. I returned took a bite of the bread he offered, and Lena immediately asked,
"Do you feel like falling for me now?"
What kind of novel nonsense was this? I stared at him with a dumbfounded expression.
And then I understood what he meant by "effort." Lena had said he would try his best to make me fall in love with him. What kind of thought process led to this conclusion?
"Is this… your 'try my best'?"
Did he think I'd fall for him just because he gave me a piece of bread? I asked out of disbelief, and Lena, as if hit by the truth, averted his gaze.
"This isn't working."
Lena took a bite of the remaining bread and muttered, frowning,
"Why is it so tough?"
That's because it's bread that needs to be warmed up to be soft.
"Wait a moment."
I got up, feeling hungry myself. Lena followed me back into the kitchen and watched quietly as I turned on the stove and heated the bread.