Affection Is a System Error

I bit my lip as I checked the objective details again.

Not knowing what the penalty was made it impossible to know how I should act.

‘If it turns out to be a dangerous penalty, I’m screwed.’

If emotional exchange failed, I would eventually have to induce physical contact, but unlike Jaeyul’s dream, there was no notice saying this was a ‘Hidden Field.’

Unlike when I forcibly heightened Jaeyul’s arousal, I was in a situation where I couldn’t rely on the system’s assistance.

The feeling of manipulating another person’s sexual response was never pleasant, and when things progressed under those conditions, it naturally led to excessively intense acts.

I had no desire to have that kind of relationship with Won-gyeong, but there was a huge difference between having an option and not having one at all.

He was the type who would immediately grow suspicious if an inexplicable sensation appeared in his body.

The complete opposite of Jaeyul, who accepted everything without resistance.

So if physical contact did happen, it had to be a relationship framed around achieving a shared objective.

‘But I already got rejected. How am I supposed to do that?’

When I didn’t move from where I’d spoken with Won-gyeong earlier, his gaze, which had been scanning the room, briefly landed on me before sliding away.

I stopped overthinking and walked toward him.

If nothing progressed by the time the seventy-two hours were up, then I’d think about physical contact.

For now, I’d try this so-called ‘emotional exchange.’

With a trembling voice, I spoke to Won-gyeong.

“But isn’t this place really creepy? It’s honestly scary.”

Only after the words left my mouth did I realize it.

I’d never experienced a normal human relationship in my life.

To survive, I had always lived by acting harmless and naïve so as not to appear threatening to other survivors.

To gain favor or lower their guard, I constantly disguised myself as ‘weak and easily frightened.’

So when the situation demanded that I flirt with a man, the only thing that came out were these trite, outdated lines.

It was truly horrifying.

Suppressing the urge to bite my tongue, I forced my voice to tremble as I expressed fear.

It already felt far too late, but I had to at least try to start a conversation.

Won-gyeong never initiated conversation unless it was strictly necessary, so it had to be me.

Won-gyeong, who had been examining the room’s oddities, furrowed his brows when I voiced my fear.

“Suddenly?”

Yes.
Suddenly.

I’d been sprawled out on the bed just moments ago, so I couldn’t even respond to his question.

Faced with Won-gyeong’s cold gaze, I cursed internally.

[The target’s favorability has decreased!]

[TIP! If the target’s favorability is low, the probability of the player becoming endangered in this scenario increases significantly.]

[TIP! Clichéd approaches are a major cause of favorability loss. Try harder. Speak with sincerity!]

The system streamed messages as if it were mocking me.

‘I knew this wouldn’t work either!’

I buried my face in my palms and let out a long sigh, then took a deep breath and lifted my head.

When it came to relationships, I had only ever used deception.

There was no way I could suddenly hold a sincere conversation now.

‘Then… let’s act instead.’

If talking only lowered Won-gyeong’s favorability, then I’d show him, within his line of sight, that I was earnestly trying to escape this rift.

“I’ll check the room too. I’ll look over here, so you keep checking that side.”

I spoke as calmly as I could.

Would this leave at least a slightly better impression on Won-gyeong?

I allowed myself a small sliver of hope.

“That side is somewhere I already checked while you were lying down.”

[The target’s favorability has decreased!]

Yeah.
Nope.

[TIP! Careful observation is an expression of interest. Try observing the target more closely! You might notice something different from before.]

My expectations collapsed instantly.

Along with Won-gyeong’s even colder reply, the system popped up.

I was certain that the conversation I’d had with Won-gyeong before the objective appeared had been far more sincere than this.

Because of the system, I’d completely lost my sense of how to hold a normal conversation.

‘How did I start talking back then?’

Chewing on my lip, I mechanically scanned the room and ended up discovering yet another ‘mysterious formation’ I hadn’t even been looking for.

[You have acquired a ‘Mysterious Formation.’ Progress has been updated.]

[Progress 2/3]

Seeing the updated progress message, I clutched my head.

Damn it.

About fifteen minutes passed with me keeping my mouth shut, since every time I opened it, favorability dropped.

I’d deliberately searched the room half-heartedly to avoid finding another formation, but of course, I found it anyway.

A bizarre formation drawn on the back of a picture frame.

Pretending I hadn’t seen anything, I hurriedly flipped the frame back over, but the system was faster.

[You have acquired a ‘Mysterious Formation.’ Progress has been updated.]

[Progress 3/3]

[All ‘Mysterious Formations’ have been collected!]

[The objective has been completed. Interpretation and activation will proceed automatically.]

[Interpreting the first formation.]

[1/ A spell that binds fate.
The man and woman targeted by the spell temporarily become a soul-bound community.]

Are you kidding me?

Before the spell that forcibly bound fate could activate, I screamed cancel over and over in my head.

‘Don’t do it. Seriously, don’t!’

If you run this, I swear I won’t do anything ever again.

I mean it. I’m serious!

[Interpreting the second formation.]

[2/ A spell that increases affection.
The target of the spell temporarily feels intense favor toward a specific person.]

Feel affection? No, seriously, don’t!

[Interpreting the third formation.]

[3/ A spell that prays for fertility.
The target of the spell temporarily enters a state of emitting strong sexual attraction.]

I couldn’t even curse anymore.

All three spells were things that should never, ever be applied to me.

[All ‘Mysterious Formations’ have been fully interpreted.]

[Activation will proceed immediately.]

[Activating]

Aaaagh!

Without even pretending to listen to me, the system moved on its own.

No matter how much I screamed, it didn’t stop.

As activation began, red threads like scarlet string started floating in midair.

What began as a single strand multiplied, proliferating rapidly.

Won-gyeong didn’t seem able to see them, reacting to nothing at all.

He’d said he could handle magical things, so the thought struck me that he might know how to stop this formation from activating.

Even if it made him suspicious, I tried to part my lips to tell him immediately.

No.
I tried to.

At some point, unknown red threads had begun wrapping around my entire body.

‘Why am I ending up like this?’

[Activation system in progress]

[Installing program.]

[Restricting physical movement during installation.]

[This body part cannot be used until activation is complete.]

[Please wait.]

It was the system.

After reading the messages, I widened my eyes and struggled to move my body.

But like sleep paralysis, my body refused to budge even an inch.

I groaned, trying to call out to Won-gyeong, but the system had completely seized control of my body.

That was when Won-gyeong noticed me struggling.

Seeing me standing rigidly in place, staring into empty space, he must have found it strange, because he approached with a puzzled expression.

As he moved, the densely packed red threads filled the room and began wrapping around us like a cocoon.

They drew rapid circles around me and Won-gyeong, completely enclosing us in a deeply ominous sight.

I knew it instinctively.

If Won-gyeong came any closer, something terrible would happen.

I had to avoid it.

‘I need to move, but I can’t!’

[30 seconds until activation.]

Stop it.
Please, just stop!

I twisted desperately, but nothing happened.

In the meantime, Won-gyeong reached out his hand.

He slightly furrowed his brows and bent down to meet my eye level.

“Why are you sweating so much?”

As he asked in a puzzled voice, his hand touched my bangs, damp with cold sweat.

At that moment, the red threads pulsed.

[The mysterious formations have been activated.]

[The target’s favorability has temporarily reached its maximum.]

[The player’s favorability toward the target ‘Won-gyeong’ has temporarily reached its maximum.]

[The relationship with the target ‘Won-gyeong’ has changed to ‘Affection.’]

[TIP! Compared to favorability, the ‘Wariness’ stat is high.

If the gap between favorability and wariness is large, the target’s ‘Obsession’ stat may increase.]

[TIP! We recommend lowering the ‘Wariness’ stat quickly.
This stat can be reduced through physical contact.]

System messages flew chaotically across my vision, flashing in vivid red.

This was insane.

When I saw the message saying even my favorability had reached its maximum, my blood ran cold.

No.

‘I can’t love him.
Absolutely not.’

The thought struck me violently.

As my body began to move again, I bit down on my lip until it bled.

‘I can’t love anyone.
I never will.’

There was a memory I forced myself not to recall.

The happiest memory of my life, and the one that made me the most miserable.

The memory of loving someone.

I had tried again and again, almost like brainwashing myself, to erase that memory.

And as a result, I truly did forget the moment when I loved someone.

Now, I couldn’t even remember who that person had been.

That memory had sunk to the deepest part of my chest, never to resurface.

I made myself that way.