Creating Hidden Endings

Seeing the expression on his face change in an instant, I thought of the lion leading its pack. A lion that hangs leisurely on the wide rocks of the meadow, but turns into a predator when a threat to its pack appears. 

Even when he’s smiling, I never know when he’ll change his mind and show his teeth; the guy in front of me was the one who was hiding his furious wildness. 

So I’m hoping he doesn’t put on a serious look in front of me. Because I’m afraid I’m going to have a heart attack.

“That’s a bit difficult. Then you might end up like that guy.”

Look! This jerk, he shows me that on purpose, right?! 

While holding down the desire to ask questions like that, I gave a sullen smile with an expression that looked as pitiful as possible. 

I know. I don’t like myself like this either. 

“Please, can you spare me?”

“Of course, I will save you. You’re a difficult guest to bring. Even that man is still alive.” 

Yes, there is literally ‘living’. It’s just a matter of ‘only’ being alive. 

Is it all about breathing? I was the person who hated being sick the most in the world, so I frowned reflexively at the words and quickly lowered my head again. 

Because my goal right now was to keep my temper as low as possible, twist my tongue, and get released without being hit by a single hit. 

“Yeonwoo-ssi.”

“Y, yes.”

I purposefully dragged my words and created a small teary sound. I thought he’d let it go if I pretended to cry and looked pitiful. 

Then the hand that came under the neck grabs the chin at will and forcibly lifts it up. I looked at the man with a surprised face at the sudden contact. The man who made eye contact looked at my face slowly and smiled softly. 

He was a really handsome person regardless of gender, so I might be thrilled, but it was more terrifying than that.

“Did you know I don’t like fake crying?”

“I, I didn’t pretend to cry! I, I really cry—”

If there’s a jerk who won’t cry in this situation, bring them here! 

The man who looked down at me with a strange expression as I was squinting my eyes to quickly squeeze out the tears opened his mouth again without taking his hand off my chin. 

“Don’t speak informally to me.”

“….”

You punk. I can just talk informally as I please. 

I glanced at the man in fear and resentment, and our eyes met. As soon as I pretended not to do so and nodded my head obediently, he finally let go of his hand holding my chin as if he was satisfied. 

They say that crying means you’ve lost, but in that sense, I’ve already lost. It means I wanted to cry.

“Okay. Now, should we continue the discussion? Yeon Seonwoo-ssi, you know me right?”

Who wouldn’t be able to recognize that face that comes out every time when you turn on the TV? And I’m confident that I know more about that man. 

So, as I nodded my head carefully, the man gently folded his cool eyes. That didn’t mean that the cold light in his eyes was hidden. 

“Who am I?”

Who? What do you mean who is it????? 

Indeed, I wanted to shout angrily at the question. You’re the star of this crazy game! 

“Hunter Lee Jehee—”

Lee Jehee smiled brightly, and I wondered whether he liked my answer, which I finished quietly and hid my inner feelings. That’s the smile I’ve seen playing hundreds of times. 

Still, I looked down, avoiding the unfamiliar face. 

Damn, I think I’m a little scared.

*****

When I woke up in the morning a month before I was caught by Lee Jehee, I was surprised by the unfamiliar scenery inside the house and fell out of bed. It wasn’t the small and precious one-room I’ve always seen. As if I had moved while sleeping, I woke up in the house I saw for the first time. 

“W, what is this? Where am I?”

I got up in a hurry and ran to the living room. I wandered all over the house wondering if anyone really moved me, but I was the only one in this place. 

Did I come into someone else’s house because I was so drunk? But I didn’t drink yesterday, did I?

Rather, I came back from work early and fell asleep satisfactorily after seeing the ending of the game I had been playing for a week. But why did I open my eyes at a place I’ve never seen before?

“I’m going crazy—”

I kept looking around the house in puzzled. The place where I woke up looked like an ordinary family house. A typical villa house with a typical structure. 

Standing blankly in the living room, I’m looking around and moved again. I don’t know what happened, but I thought I should get out before I was mistaken and turned into a thief. 

After doing this, I hurriedly checked if there was a cell phone or wallet in case the owner appeared and shouted, ‘A thief!’. Because even if I went out, I had to pay for a taxi or even a bus to go home.

With that in mind, I looked around for a while, found a wallet I did not know who belonged to, and happily picked it up. And the moment I pulled out the money from the wallet and looked down at something, I was overcome with a strange sensation. 

It was a very strange feeling and a bad feeling. 

<Hunter ID

Name: YEON SEONWOO

Hunter Proof Number: SP9002-B7853MH5801 

Nationality: Korea

Address: XX-X Sadang-dong, Dongjak-gu, Seoul. 

We certify that the above person is a hunter officially registered with KHU. 

Korea Hunter Union> 

“…What is this?”

There was a picture embedded in the unknown thing that was written as Hunter’s ID, and the person in the picture was me. The name written next to it was the familiar name I had been using for 29 years. 

But everything else was an incomprehensible list of words and numbers.

Hunter? Is this a word that can only come from novels like “How I Fallen into the World And Becomes a Hunter?” 

I couldn’t believe this ridiculous situation, so I laughed dryly and collapsed on the sofa. At that time, the remote controller under the buttocks was pressed, and the TV on the wall turned on and the news came out. 

The news of Lee Jehee, the master of the Yeolmu Guild, breaking up has surprised and confused many people.  About a month after the news of the engagement, many people are asking the guild to confirm whether the news of the breakup is true or not, but the guild side is consistently silent and unanswered, increasing the suspicion. Therefore, it has been confirmed that Hunter Shin Sora is currently living in a house with no outside contact, and in the case of Master Lee Jehee, he is attending the World Hunter Federation meeting, so he cannot be contacted due to—] 

“What’s that?— Is it a new entertainment show?”

The serious anchor’s voice was funnier than the comedy. Obviously, what was coming out on TV was a news report, which was ridiculously playful. 

Guild, Hunter, Master. They’re no joke. 

Is it okay to say such crazy things in the news that is supposed to pursue the public interest and fairness? Besides, what else is the name of Lee Jehee or Shin Sora? It was the same as the names of the main characters in the game I was playing till yesterday, so only laughing came out of my mouth.

“Is the news crazy? Wait, Yeolmu guild Lee Jehee?” 

For a moment, I leaned my head against the unpleasant sensation of the nape of my neck. 

Hunter Jaehee Lee. How many times have I seen that expression in the game ‘Returning D-Class Hunter’?

With a stiff face, I looked down at the Hunter ID in my hand once again. Then, I slowly lifted my gaze and looked at the TV screen, and involuntarily tapped and spat out words. 

“Status window.” 

[Yeon Seonwoo Lv. 52

Attribute Class: C-Class

Primary Trait: Supporter 

Secondary Trait: Mentalist 

Awakening Traits: – (Unawakened person) 

Physical Attack Power: 52 

Magic Attack Power: 204 

Physical Defense: 82 

Magic Defense: 30

Status Abnormality Resistance: 1,052

↓ Expand] 

Looking at the board engraved with letters floating in the air, I opened my mouth with a puzzled face. Yeolmu guild, Lee Jehee, Shin Sora, Hunter, and even this blue-colored transparent plate that pops out when called a status window. 

All of that was the same as what I saw in the game, ‘Returning D-Class Hunter’. It was a game with crazy degrees of flexibility, but it also had a terrible difficulty because it was impossible to save.

“No way—”

The gaze automatically turns back to the TV. Beyond the screen, a handsome man who looked deeply like a 3D character in the game was waving. Underneath it was the phrase “Master Lee Jehee, who leaves the country to attend the World Hunter Federation Conference.” 

Am I crazy or is this world crazy? If it’s not that—.

I hurriedly found my cell phone and accessed the Internet. And I searched for words such as Hunter, Guild, and Lee Jehee in the search box. Then articles related to him appeared one after another. It’s as if the character Lee Jehee is a living real person. 

How can this happen? 

Lee Jehee was definitely the main character in the game I played. Because ‘Returning D-Class Hunter’ was the title referring to the main character in the game, Lee Jehee. 

This game has a typical story of saving a world in crisis by gathering colleagues and leveling up while playing as Lee Jehee. And I was the player who watched the ending of the game. 

In a game with a high degree of freedom where I can date any of the characters, I focus on my liking with Shin Sora while ignoring the favorability of other characters. 

Thanks to that, the game I played ended with the two gettings engaged. It was a very satisfying ending for me, as Shin Sora was my favorite character among the characters in the game.

Although I didn’t see all the endings, I thought it was okay and ended the game—.

However, there is news in front of us that the engagement between Lee Jehee and Shin Sora has been broken. That was the article that popped up as soon as I searched for Lee Jehee.  

And if the article was true as they said. 

“—Crazy! Am I in the game right now? In the game that ended, too?!”

The moment I realized that I grabbed my head and screamed. I can’t believe it, but it was the reality.