Lee Minjae had come to the conclusion that his big sister was always out to get him. Lee Seonhwa had a habit of dragging him into whatever new obsession she had at the time, whether it was cooking classes, random TikTok dance trends, acting lessons, singing, bungee jumping, skydiving, or even binge-watching her favorite K-dramas.
No matter how hard Minjae tried to avoid her constant rambling about her latest interests, she always found a way to make them sound just convincing enough. In the end, he had no choice but to give in.
The problem with Seonhwa was simple—once something caught her interest, she would dive in headfirst… and drag Minjae along with her.
Around four to five months ago, she picked up yet another obsession. But this time, it wasn't a class or some extreme activity.
It was a romance game.... more specifically, It was an Otome game called 'Lords and Love's Deception.'
Minjae could still clearly remember the day that she had practically forced him to play the game against his own will.
It was the month of April, as he remembered. The day that Seonhwa had barged into his room, she was clutching something that seemed to vaguely resemble a DVD, Minjae had no clue on what it was, but it was pink in colour. He couldn't clearly see what was written on it, but he was quite sure that he saw a blonde haired girl surrounded by a bunch of annoyingly handsome men
Minjae sighed as he placed his phone on his study table, "Don't tell me that you found something interesting again."
'H... How did you figure it out so quickly?"
"We live together," Minjae replied in a slightly annoyed tone. As much as he admired his sister's enthusiasm for trying new things, he was honestly tired of being dragged into them.
"Well, since you already know why I'm here....Let's get straight to the point." Seonhwa replied in an overly enthusiastic tone, which only made Minjae regret his decisions.
"What do you need me to do now?." Minjae questioned his sister, his tone made it clear that he didn't want to take part in whatever Seonhwa had planned for him.
"I recently found this new game called Lords and Love's Deception," Seonhwa said as she pushed Minjae to the side and sat cross-legged on his bed
"Does it have action?" Minjae questioned as he swatted Seonhwa's hand away
"No."
"Ok.... Does it at least have violence in it?" Minjae continued as he glanced at the cover, he somewhat felt the need to bleach his eyes after looking at the cover page.
"If it doesn't have action or violence, then what kind of game is it?" Minjae asked, sounding genuinely disappointed.
"It's an Otome Game." Seonhwa replied with a big smile that reached up to her eyes.
"Doesn't that mean it's a romance game?" I asked, having heard about otome games before from my friend's girlfriend, who was just as obsessed with them as my sister.
"Uh… yeah. How'd you know?" Seonhwa asked, clearly surprised that her younger brother even knew what otome games were.
"Heard about it from Taehyun's girlfriend," I replied, nervously scratching the back of my neck.
"Oh! Since you already know what it is, then you should definitely give it a try," Seonhwa said brightly.
"No," Minjae answered without hesitation.
"EH!? Why not!? It's literally the best game ever!" Seonhwa complained, clearly offended.
"My answer is still no," Minjae said without even thinking twice.
"Please… Just this once, I promise that you'll like it… Pretty please, Jae," Seonhwa begged while giving him her best puppy-eyed look.
"Ugh fine! This will be the last time, I'll play the game and quit if I don't like it. Deal." Minjae said with a frustrated sigh.
"HELL YEAH!" Seonhwa shouted loud enough to nearly burst Minjae's eardrums.
"HEY! Are you trying to make me go deaf?" Minjae yelled, immediately covering his ears.
"Your ears are a small price to pay for peak fiction, Jae." Seonhwa said proudly
"You're way too obsessed with this game," Minjae muttered in disbelief.
"You won't be saying that once you get addicted to it," Seonhwa replied confidently.
"I highly doubt that," Minjae muttered under his breath.
Ignoring his lack of enthusiasm, Seonhwa immediately grabbed the pink game case she had brought with her and shoved it directly into his hands. The cover featured a blonde-haired girl standing in the center while several ridiculously handsome men surrounded her.
"…Why do they all look like models?"
"Because they're the male leads," Seonhwa answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Male leads?"
"Yep. Each one has a different route, personality, and ending."
Minjae's expression immediately worsened.
"So you're telling me this entire game is just flirting?"
"It's not just flirting," Seonhwa protested. "There's plot, political drama, betrayal, emotional trauma...."
"And flirting," Minjae interrupted flatly.
"…And flirting," Seonhwa admitted without shame.
Minjae let out a long sigh as he looked at the game case again. He had a bad feeling about this and instantly came to regret his decision of accepting to play the game. Looking back on it now, Minjae should've known that agreeing to play the game would ruin his life. Unfortunately for him, Minjae had gotten addicted to the game just as his sister said he would.
[Present Time]
The room was dark, the curtains drawn closed, and the only source of light came from the TV screen illuminating Minjae's face. The room was mostly silent except for the occasional sound of fingers tapping against a game controller.
Click. Click. Click.
The sound of buttons being pressed echoed softly through the dark room. Minjae had been playing Lords and Love's Deception for so long that he no longer knew how much time had passed.
Minjae grabbed a can of coke and popped it open, finishing the entire thing while continuing to play the game. Letting out a satisfied sigh, Minjae immediately returned his attention to the game, playing for another two hours straight.
After what felt like only a few minutes to him, Minjae finally paused for a moment and leaned back against his chair. A tired sigh escaped his lips as he rubbed his eyes briefly, his vision slightly strained from staring at the bright TV screen for hours without rest.
The room around him remained completely dark, illuminated only by the pale glow coming from the television. Empty snack wrappers and crushed soda cans were scattered carelessly across the floor, clear evidence of how long he had been sitting there.
Frowning slightly at the mess on the floor , Minjae turned his head toward the wall clock hanging to his right. The moment he looked at the clock, his expression froze.
"EH! WHAT!?"
Minjae's eyes widened in disbelief as he practically shot up from his chair. His gaze remained fixed on the wall clock, as if staring at it longer would somehow change the time displayed on it.
"How the hell is it already 3 AM!?"
Running a hand through his messy hair in frustration, Minjae looked back at the TV screen where Lords and Love's Deception was still running.
"This stupid game is seriously ruining my sleep schedule…" Minjae muttered under his breath before sighing tiredly. "Might as well go for a walk."
With another tired sigh, Minjae tossed the controller onto the couch before slowly getting up. His entire body felt stiff from sitting in the same position for hours, causing him to stretch his arms slightly as a quiet groan escaped his lips.
Grabbing the black hoodie hanging from the couch, he casually threw it on before making his way out of the house.
He had to make sure to lock the door since Seonhwa had gone to her friend's house for a sleepover.
"Of all the days she could've gone… It just had to be today." Minjae thought to himself as he let out a frustrated sigh.
Shoving both hands into the pockets of his hoodie, Minjae began walking down the quiet street without any particular destination in mind.
The cold night air brushed softly against his skin as he walked past rows of dimly lit buildings and silent apartment complexes. At this hour, the streets were practically empty, with only the occasional passing car disturbing the stillness of the night.
DING!
The sudden notification sound caused Minjae to pause mid-step. Letting out a quiet sigh, he pulled his phone out of his pocket before glancing down at the screen. As expected, it was a message from Seonhwa.
[Seonhwa: Don't tell me you're still playing Lords and Love's Deception 💀]
Minjae stared blankly at the message displayed across his screen, the cold night air brushing softly against his face as he stood beneath the dim glow of a nearby streetlight. For a brief moment, he contemplated ignoring her completely. Unfortunately, knowing Lee Seonhwa, she would only continue spamming his phone until he replied. Letting out a tired sigh, Minjae unlocked his phone before lazily typing out a response with one hand.
[Minjae: Maybe]
Barely a second passed before his phone vibrated violently in his hand.
[Seonhwa: I KNEW IT! SEE? I told you the game was good]
Minjae could practically imagine the smug expression on his sister's face through the screen alone. Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he lowered his gaze back toward his phone before typing another reply.
[Minjae: Don't get too happy]
Another notification appeared almost instantly.
[Seonhwa: Too late! My little brother finally understands peak fiction 😌]
The corner of Minjae's eye twitched slightly.
"…She's seriously annoying," he muttered under his breath before shoving his phone back into the pocket of his hoodie.
Letting out another tired sigh, Minjae continued walking down the nearly empty street.
The cold breeze brushed softly against his skin as he walked beneath the dim glow of the streetlights. At this hour, the city felt eerily quiet, with only the occasional flickering convenience store sign disturbing the stillness of the night.
Minjae absentmindedly shoved both hands deeper into the pockets of his hoodie as his thoughts drifted back toward the game.
That final route was seriously frustrating…
Just thinking about it made him click his tongue in annoyance.
The male lead had spent nearly the entire story misunderstanding the protagonist before suddenly realizing his feelings near the ending.
"How does someone fumble that badly?" Minjae muttered under his breath.
At that exact moment...
HONK!!
A deafening sound suddenly shattered the silence of the night. Minjae's eyes widened slightly as an unbearably bright light flooded his vision from the side. Instinctively, he turned his head toward the source of the noise... And froze. A massive truck was speeding directly toward him.
The screeching sound of tires echoed violently across the empty street as a massive truck sped directly toward him at terrifying speed.
What the—
BANG!!
A sharp pain exploded throughout his body the moment the truck slammed into him. Minjae felt his vision spin violently as his body was thrown across the road like a ragdoll before crashing harshly against the cold pavement. For a brief moment, everything around him became strangely muffled.
The ringing in his ears and the unbearable pain felt almost unreal. Warm liquid slowly trickled down the side of his forehead as Minjae struggled weakly to keep his eyes open. His blurry vision shakily drifted toward the night sky above him.
…Am I seriously going to die because of a truck?
Minjae's breathing became uneven as he lay motionless against the cold pavement, his entire body screaming in pain every time he tried to move even slightly.
"OH GOD—"
A panicked voice suddenly rang out from the distance.
"KID! Hey, kid, can you hear me!?"
Minjae weakly shifted his gaze toward the blurry figure stumbling out of the truck. The man's face was pale with horror as he frantically pulled out his phone with trembling hands.
"Kid! Hey.....stay awake, alright!?"
"Hello!? Please hurry!" the man shouted frantically into the phone. "I...I hit someone...."
His voice shook violently with panic as he desperately explained the situation to the operator. Minjae could barely process the words anymore. The ringing in his ears grew louder. His eyelids slowly began to feel heavier. The cold pavement beneath him… the distant sound of the truck driver's panicked voice… Everything around him gradually started fading into darkness.