Solitude, Seen From Both Sides

When I first met Jeong Iheon, I let my guard down because of his gentle, friendly attitude.

As a result, he lifted me by the waist once and somehow saw straight through my entire way of living.

After that, there was even an incident where I fell asleep leaning against his arm, only to wake up tightly bound.

‘Anyway, he’s a seriously dangerous person….’

I closed my eyes sluggishly, letting my thoughts trail off in fragments.

Just as that drowsiness before sleep was taking over, Jeong Iheon spoke in a very quiet voice.

“Because I’m the quietest, I’m the most comfortable, right?”

What—how does he know that…?

The sound hit me just before I drifted off, and I startled violently, my body shuddering against his back.

I’d overreacted without realizing it.

Feeling my reaction, Jeong Iheon let out another soft laugh.

“Having such sharp hearing must be exhausting, Doya.”

You lunatic….How did you figure that out too?

‘Just how much has this man figured out about me?’

After that, I kept observing Jeong Iheon.

While watching him, I picked up a lot of information I didn’t even need.

His eyes were a vivid, gleaming blue.

His hair was a grayish silver, so in places without much light, it looked surprisingly similar to mine.

When he wasn’t smiling, his face looked like someone enduring a dull, tedious life.

His build was similar to Won-gyeong’s—tall and solid.

At first glance, he gave off a sharp impression, but when he smiled, he became excessively gentle.

Jeong Iheon smiled like someone who had never once been angry.

Because I kept watching him even from a distance, I ended up drawing Won-gyeong’s sharp gaze.

“Why are you staring at Jeong Iheon like that?”

Won-gyeong was trying not to interfere too much, aware that our situation wasn’t normal.

But unable to suppress his jealousy, he finally showed his irritation with a stiff expression.

Unlike Jeong Iheon, whose expression changed drastically when he smiled, Won-gyeong didn’t look particularly frightening even when scowling.

His face was naturally gentle.

But when you looked into his eyes, it was different.

The amethyst-colored irises had cooled completely, radiating sharp hostility.

There was killing intent in his gaze.

As he leaned in, halfway through handing me my portion of food, I pushed his forehead away with my one still-usable right hand.

“I told you not to come so close.”

The tension drained from his purple eyes, replaced by longing.

I deliberately ignored that look.

Expressing emotions while under a curse would never end well.

That was why I’d told Won-gyeong we should keep a certain distance.

He’d agreed at first, but over time, he kept narrowing that distance bit by bit.

This time too, he’d deliberately sent Jaeyul away on some errand and then boldly taken his seat.

Jaeyul stared blankly at the spot that had been his, then settled elsewhere.

From across the room, Jeong Iheon’s bored expression shifted into interest as he watched us.

If I could just punch that endlessly smiling face once, I felt like I could do anything.

[The player has observed a specific target for an extended period.]

[The observed target has been set as priority capture target.]

[Capture target ‘Jeong Iheon’ is now set as top priority.]

[This setting cannot be changed until capture is completed.]

[Capture progress is measured by affection or physical contact.]

[Event probability with the priority capture target has increased significantly!]

…It seemed I’d watched him for too long, because the system started generating nonsense.

‘Capture? What capture. This thing still hasn’t given up on being a dating sim, has it?’

I scoffed and ignored the system.

If it were useful, I wouldn’t, but this was completely ignorable.

[Main Scenario ‘2 – Companionship’ in progress]

[Priority capture setting has generated a sub-scenario.]

[Sub Scenario ‘Jeong Iheon 1 – Solitude’]

Avoiding Won-gyeong’s jealous, watery gaze, I accepted the preserved food he handed me.

While watching the system messages continue to appear, I started thinking.

Even though I told myself I wouldn’t be manipulated by the system, wasn’t I already inside its scenario?

Were the scenarios triggered by my actions truly my choices, or were they outcomes the system had already designed?

If everything followed its script, did my free will even exist?

No matter how much I asked, the only one who could answer was me.

With no conclusion in sight, I mechanically ate the preserved food.

It tasted like a biscuit, faintly nutty.

While eating absentmindedly, I noticed crumbs on my mouth, and Won-gyeong raised his hand.

I placed the food on my thigh and pushed his hand away.

Repeated rejection darkened his expression.

Seeing that, I sighed and turned to him.

“Do it.”

“…Are you sure?”

“It’s fine. This much.”

As I turned my head, his face lit up brightly.

[Capture target ‘Won-gyeong’ affection has reached maximum.]

[Status effect: ‘Curse’]

The system window appeared briefly beside his face, then vanished.

His affection for me was nothing more, nothing less, than a status effect.

‘Isn’t there an item that cures status effects?’

I thought flatly as I rested my face against his hand.

The tip messages that appeared so often in rifts or hidden fields rarely showed up in reality.

This time too, no answer came.

I’d think about it later, next time I entered a rift.

“All done. You’re clean now.”

“Thanks.”

I thanked Won-gyeong briefly and checked the system again.

[Sub Scenario ‘Jeong Iheon 1 – Solitude’]

So far, I’d confirmed two main scenarios and—what—four sub-scenarios?

The main ones were ‘Encounter’ and ‘Companionship’.

True to their names, I’d encountered the targets and was now traveling with them.

The main scenarios were straightforward reflections of events.

But the sub-scenarios were vague.

Jaeyul’s was ‘Scorch Marks’.

Won-gyeong’s was ‘Observation’.

And for some reason, there was one with my own name—‘Only Good Will’.

Jeong Iheon’s was simply ‘Solitude’.

Only the one with my name felt different.

‘My scenario seems to indicate a direction for my actions.’

It appeared when I acted alone, without a capture target nearby—but I didn’t have enough data to be sure.

Jaeyul’s scenario succeeded. Won-gyeong’s never progressed.

Unlike Jaeyul’s, which required strict objective completion, I’d paid little attention to Won-gyeong’s ‘Observation’.

As a result, affection rose, but the scenario progress remained unchanged.

So scenarios weren’t completed by affection alone.

My appetite suddenly vanished.

Staring at the food I hadn’t even eaten halfway, I waved Jaeyul over.

“Did you call me?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Eat this for me.”

I treated Jaeyul exactly like a childhood friend.

Over the past few days, I’d complained to him, dumped my leftovers on him—things like that.

“You barely ate yesterday too. Try to eat a little more.”

“My stomach feels off.”

Even at such unreasonable requests, Jaeyul only frowned faintly in concern.

I forced myself to eat one more bite just to appease him. Satisfied, he ate the rest without hesitation.

Won-gyeong had said he could take it instead, but his affection wasn’t something I could easily accept.

Physical intimacy, if necessary, I could manage. Sharing emotions was another matter entirely.

Especially with someone I’d soon part ways with.

“Aren’t you eating too little? You’ve lost a lot of weight since we first met.”

Jeong Iheon commented, looking at my now-looser clothes.

I felt Ju Noeul glance at me.

He always did that.

But the moment I looked back, he’d snap his gaze away like a cat pretending not to stare.

I couldn’t figure him out at all. He avoided eye contact, yet never refused to carry me. He didn’t talk either.

[Player health has slightly decreased.]

I sighed at the system message, glancing again at Ju Noeul’s blank profile.

I knew I should eat properly. But I’d grown too accustomed to being alone.

Sharing space, conversation, meals—it all drained me psychologically.

‘Solitude.’

Jeong Iheon’s scenario title surfaced naturally.

I was used to solitude.

Maybe Jeong Iheon was the opposite.

I stared at him across from me, thinking that.