PDS Chapter 1.3

In the end, I used the save function even in the new game. 

Whatever.

I hadn’t done anything yet, so it wouldn’t have much data saved anyway. Since it was the very beginning of the game, I’d rather just start over than reload to this point.

‘Besides, saving costs nothing and is practically unlimited.’

I really hoped this would bring him back to his senses. Saving the game data was his primary function. I was already freaked out enough; I really didn’t need him to become something even more terrifying than he already was.

“Well, I’m going now.”

I walked past Yeon Suho and started down the stairs. I could vividly feel his gaze on my back, even without looking.

…I was pretending to be calm, but my heart was pounding like crazy. I wanted to run down the stairs three steps at a time, just to get away from him as quickly as possible.

I tried to act natural, but my anxiety got the better of me, and I almost tripped. I steadied myself, pretending nothing had happened.

Rule number one of escaping a dangerous situation: it was important not to provoke the other party.

My footsteps echoed rhythmically through the empty stairwell.

Tap, tap. Tap, tap.

“…….”

With each step, the cold sweat trickling down my back intensified. 

What was going on?

I finally reached the bottom of the stairs, the exit leading to the fourth-floor hallway.

Trying my best to ignore the oppressive feeling emanating from behind me, I eventually had no choice but to turn around and look up.

“Hey, why are you following me?”

Unlike before, Yeon Suho hadn’t stayed put. He was following me. 

Why? Why was he doing this? 

He was supposed to go to the next save point and wait there.

At my question, which seemed almost like an accusation, a look of anxiety flickered across his face, his eyes welling up slightly as he answered.

“A-Am I… bothering you?”

But even after seeing that pitiful expression, my heart didn’t waver. Because that was the exact look I should have been wearing.

“I-I just… The school feels different today, and… I’m scared…”

“…….”

“…C-Can I… come with you, senior?”

“What…?”

This was seriously weird. Why was he acting so out of character?

The very first time I suggested we go together, Yeon Suho had reacted as if I’d said something completely absurd. His response—something along the lines of, “Me? With you?“—had been so dismissive that I was almost offended.

But after that second bad ending, he had definitely changed. He was initiating conversations, seeking me out, even asking to come with me.

‘There are some games where the story development changes drastically depending on your choices.’

Thinking about it that way, maybe it wasn’t so strange that he was deviating from the script I knew. Perhaps I had triggered some hidden condition, unlocking a new route.

Still suspicious, I asked,

“You want to come with me?”

“If… if you’ll let me…”

“What if I say no?”

“…Then… I’ll just… follow you from a distance… so I don’t bother you…”

See? This was exactly what I found so strange about him.

He acted all timid and shy, but he still said exactly what he wanted to say. Even for a fictional character, he was awfully brazen about stalking me.

‘He’s definitely not programmed with any common sense.’

Anyway, I figured this was a crucial branching point in the game. I had just saved, too, so after a moment of consideration, I carefully asked,

“Do you want to… leave this place… with me?”

I was prepared to die again after asking that question. After all, I had no way of knowing how he’d react to the words “leave this place.”

At my question, Yeon Suho suddenly froze.

As expected. I pulled myself together and tensed my legs, ready to bolt at any moment.

‘…Wait, what?’

Then, to my surprise, he slightly lowered his eyes and quietly nodded.

His slightly protruding upper lip trembled almost shyly. Looking closer, I noticed a faint blush coloring his usually pale cheeks.

That alone was enough to transform his gloomy, almost ghostly appearance. A hint of life bloomed on his face, and he almost looked… cute.

‘…Huh.’

What was I saying? Had I somehow been influenced by the protagonist’s personality?

‘Is there some kind of affection stat boost or something…?’

He truly was the game’s sole heroine. The fact that I had to be murdered twice and see two bad endings to unlock him as a companion was a terrible game design, though.

‘Still, having a companion definitely opens up more possibilities.’

Right now, I finally felt like I had a better grasp on some of the puzzles I couldn’t solve in my previous playthroughs. Wow, so this was what it took to get past those roadblocks.

‘This game is insane.’

After calling myself foolish and ignorant, it turns out those were just prerequisites for recruiting a party member. Ridiculous.

I still wasn’t over it. And I was still wary of Yeon Suho; I didn’t fully trust him.

But one thing was certain—this had made some progress in the game.

Moreover, having him as a companion wasn’t just useful for solving more puzzles.

‘Now I don’t have to go searching for him every time I want to save!’

Being able to save anytime, anywhere was a huge advantage. Just in case, I asked,

“Can you do that remembering thing automatically at regular intervals, even if I don’t ask?”

“At regular intervals?”

“Like… every ten minutes or so?”

He readily agreed. 

Autosave was possible too? If there was a way to activate such a useful feature, he should have told me sooner.

Drawn in by the convenience, I decided to officially accept him as my companion.

“Ahem. Fine, you can come with me.”

If I were playing this on a screen, a system message like “Yeon Suho has joined your party!” would probably pop up around now. Every time I moved my pixelated character, his sprite would stick close behind me, trailing after me everywhere. And if I opened the character menu, I’d probably even be able to check his status.

‘But the game I’m stuck in is incredibly unhelpful because it doesn’t offer any of those convenient features.’

I had to rely on intuition, memorize or write down everything myself, and manually check everything one by one. From remaining HP, status effects, equipment, items, progress, and even puzzle clues—everything.

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

“Come closer.”

Before officially starting the game, I called my new companion over.

Both for my own safety and to progress through the game, I needed to check his belongings.

“Ah, wait… s-senior…”

I lightly pulled him towards me and started patting him down, checking his pockets. Yeon Suho flinched in surprise, but I continued without hesitation.

Normally, I wouldn’t even consider violating someone’s privacy like this, even if we were close.

But this wasn’t the real world, and Yeon Suho wasn’t a real person. My way of thinking, accustomed to the rules of this game world, saw nothing wrong with it.

Yeon Suho just flinched with each touch, offering no resistance as I patted him down, lifted his clothes, and checked his pockets.

‘If this wasn’t allowed, the game would have stopped me. This means this search is completely permitted within the game’s system.’

And if it was allowed, there was no reason not to do it. In fact, I should do it.

I grabbed his thin forearm, almost small enough to fit in one hand, and ran my grip down to his wrist, checking if he had anything hidden under his clothes. 

He was… rather frail.

Yeon Suho was wearing a loose-fitting long-sleeved gym jacket over his white short-sleeved uniform shirt. Even though it seemed a bit much for summer, it wasn’t actually that hot in the game, and he was wearing shorts, so it just made him look more like a cute, innocent underclassman which fit his character design.

They did a good job with his design. His default standing image was probably something harmless, like him looking at the player with his hand over his mouth.

‘That makes the twist all the more shocking.’

And while I was pretty tall myself, he was still taller than most girls. If the protagonist were a girl, as originally intended, his gloomy yet subtly alluring demeanor, combined with his younger age, would have definitely appealed to the player’s protective instincts.

‘Too bad the one who got possessed was a big, bulky guy like me. It kinda ruins the dynamic… Oh, shit.’

Lost in my thoughts, my hand brushed against his lower body, and I felt something in his back pocket—the damn scissors. 

This little freak.