VSP 2

The truth that he and Cha Dogyeong were originally supposed to end up together was creepy enough, but the most shocking part was something else.

“I am not only a character in a novel, but the protagonist is Cha Dogyeong?”

[That is correct. Sejun-nim is just a villain.]

“Villaaain~?”

[Honestly, you bullied him a lot. You picked fights for no reason.]

“……”

That was true. From the first time Seo Sejun saw Cha Dogyeong, he disliked him and felt restless if he could not harass him. Cha Dogyeong was an annoying bastard, and he really had no manners, but Seo Sejun hated him just as much without reason.

Now that he realized the truth, he could see that it was all the author’s manipulation, but that did not make it false.

“But why are you suddenly doing this to me…?”

[It seems that the author happened to interfere with my log, and we must fulfill the author’s wish.]

“Hah? Why me?”

[Because only then will the author not lose affection for this novel.]

“What does that have to do with me?!”

[Do you know what happens to a work when the author loses affection? Our world could collapse in an instant! The fate of this world is on you, Sejun-nim!]

He wanted to argue in many ways, but he had nothing to counter with. Collapse of the world? How much had he fought to protect this world? Of course, if divided into shares, Cha Dogyeong probably took nine out of ten, but he still had laid his spoon on it too.

Sejun lowered his tone and asked.

“What do I have to do…?”

[You must fulfill the author’s wish.]

“Wish?”

[Yes, because the author built up a lot of regret when the novel’s genre was forcibly changed. So it is necessary to connect the original coupling.]

Wait a second, that meant…

Before Sejun could object, a mission suddenly appeared at the top of his status window. The space that had been empty ever since his dungeon-clearing days was suddenly filled with a mission.

<Cha Dogyeong eating 0/1>

Sub mission: (Loading…)

And it was an EX-rank mission, something he had never even imagined.

[Good luck, Sejun-nim.]

•••

After that, Sejun stayed lying down for almost three days without moving.

If someone asked whether a fully healthy adult could just lie around all weekday, the answer was yes.

After the Final Dungeon, civilians often called it a gate, but hunters used the word dungeon more, so it was sometimes called the Final Gate too, anyway, whether by the name used in this world or in the original novel The Genius Hunter Smashes the Gate, it was treated as the final dungeon, after that, the frequency of dungeons appearing dropped drastically.

Naturally, Sejun’s main job as a hunter also decreased drastically, so even if he rested with the attitude of ‘Those who worked hard, leave,’ no one could say anything.

He did not know what others did with such free time, but Sejun chose to hole himself up at home and spend his days leisurely.

So his plan all along was to just lie around for days reading comic books. But now that he had unintentionally learned the secret of the world, his mind was tangled, and he could not focus on comics or anything else.

“……”

He just lay blankly in the hammock. In the exact posture his mother used to nag was bad for the back.

He thought maybe if he went dungeon raiding, it might help clear his head a little, but it was too bothersome. It was not like there was a dungeon he absolutely had to enter.

Back in the days when everything was happening at once, maybe. But now, even without him, there were plenty of hunters to clear dungeons, and after the final dungeon was cleared, even the frequency of A-rank dungeons dropped noticeably, and no clear S-rank dungeon appeared, so there was no reason to be drafted as an assault member.

Most importantly, Sejun did not lack money or items to the point that he had to cling to dungeon clearing.

He was already a successful hunter!

And since he had no friends, there was no one to meet or look for him, so even if he lived quietly for three days, nothing changed.

[How long do you plan to keep lying around?]

Normally, no matter what laziness Sejun indulged in, the system showed no interest, but by the third day it finally spoke, sounding exasperated.

Sejun shot back as if he had been waiting.

“Shut up, leave me alone.”

[Will reality change if you do that?]

“You damn bastard.”

[It is obvious you were waiting for me to call.]

Sejun’s back tremble. He immediately denied it.

“Wha-what nonsense is that!”

[Am I seeing you for the first time, Sejun-nim?]

This guy? The truth was, he really had been waiting for the system, sulking, to talk to him, so Sejun could not argue back and only let out a snort.

“Why are you suddenly talking to me? Why not just leave me be.”

[Because if I leave you alone, something serious will happen.]

At those words, Sejun got up from the hammock. Then his leg got caught in the net and he fell out with a crash.

“Ow, damn…”

[The only S-rank hunter in the world who really lies in a hammock and then falls out groaning is Sejun-nim…]

The system spoke in a tone that sounded genuinely like it was pitying him, and Sejun jumped back up.

“Shut up! What is the big news? Tell me that first!”

[You will understand if you check the mission window.]

Sejun immediately opened his status window. When he had just awakened as a hunter, he had been forced by the system to clear various essential missions, but ever since he reached a certain level, his mission window had always been empty. Seeing a mission there felt strange.

<Cha Dogyeong eating 0/1>

Below the crazy mission that had not changed no matter how many days he stared at it, the sub mission that had only been loading was now completed.

<Cha Dogyeong eating 0/1>

Sub mission: Flirt with Cha Dogyeong (13 days 23 hours remaining)

And the mission content was just as crazy as the main one.

This is insane.

The thought came into Sejun’s head without him realizing. Insane. Completely insane. How could something so ridiculous be standing there as a mission?

Sejun rubbed his eyes. He could not believe this absurd reality. But even though he rubbed until his eyelids hurt, the missions in front of his eyes did not disappear. Instead, they burned deeper into his vision.

Flirt with Cha Dogyeong.

“This must be insane.”

In the end, Sejun could not hold back and shouted it out loud.

[It is big news, right?]

“No, big news or whatever, it just seems crazy. Or wait, am I the crazy one?”

Could it be that him being a character in a novel, being originally a BL protagonist, and having to seduce Cha Dogyeong were all just hallucinations and delusions he was seeing because he had gone insane?

Or maybe he was inside a dungeon right now.

“Aaagh.”

As he writhed in misery, running away from reality, the system watched silently, then spoke.

[(Pathetic) How about you stop running from reality and think seriously about the mission.]

“Did you just call me pathetic?”

The word “pathetic” that had been written in the system window immediately slid away.

[I did not.]

“……”

He wanted to curse.

But they said the system’s self that each hunter had was derived from that hunter himself. So cursing at it would be like spitting at his own face.

Sejun sprawled flat on the floor. He was too lazy to get back up and lie in the hammock again. He just did not want to do anything.

[You always act like this, so what’s new…]

He was even too lazy to grumble back “shut up.” Sejun simply closed his eyes.

[Are you going to sleep? There is still plenty of time, but it will not be easy. It would be better if you think about it at least a little.]

“I am not doing it.”

[…What?]

“Why the hell should I even do the sub mission!? The main mission already pisses me off enough!”

[If you do the sub mission, the main mission will naturally be completed too.]

“That is exactly what I hate!”

Sejun threw a tantrum. He flailed like a child screaming “Nooo!” The system watched him struggle for a while, then finally sent another log.

[If you do not complete it within the time limit, there will be a penalty.]

“Ha! Bring it on! I don’t care if this damn world collapses!”

No, shit. That cannot happen. After everything he had been through, how could the world just collapse?

He shouted bravely on the outside, but in truth, he was scared. The sub mission was part of a mission with the fate of the world hanging on it. What kind of terrifying penalty would fall if he ignored it completely?

But in the first place, telling him to seduce Cha Dogyeong was already a penalty.

Flirt with Cha Dogyeong? The standard was absurdly vague. What exactly was he supposed to do? To flirt, he would have to meet Cha Dogyeong, but that bastard would never meet him. They had spent all that time together without ever contacting each other separately.

In the end, Sejun rationalized with all kinds of reasons.

Even if he wanted to do the mission, since Cha Dogyeong would not meet him, he had no choice.

[You will regret it…]

The system muttered in pity, but Sejun forced himself to ignore it.