Chapter 14: The Rewritten Script of Love
"I'm just waiting for all of this to end soon."
Get rid of this nightmarish simulation as soon as possible and return to real life.
Yukino Yukinoshita had only one true wish
one she couldn't confide in anyone else.
"Has this child's self-destructive tendencies become this severe...? This is getting a bit tricky..."
Of course, the unequal information gap between the two led to Narumi's perfect misunderstanding.
"But anyway... thank you for getting me away from that place."
Yukino smiled sincerely a rare occurrence for her. It wasn't that she was impolite, but rather that she found it difficult to express her feelings so frankly.
After all, if you don't say something now, you might never have the chance again.
"Lying in the hospital ward, receiving IV fluids, taking medication just to maintain vital signs, and yet my condition is still deteriorating it's just awful. And what's more..."
The girl paused mid-sentence, but Narumi understood the unspoken meaning hidden behind her words.
"You're welcome," he replied. "It's better to get away from that kind of family atmosphere sooner rather than later."
The curly-haired youth waved his hand lightly, indicating that Yukino didn't need to be so polite.
"The way to get along with your parents," he continued, "is that distance makes the heart grow fonder. Sometimes, the feelings between relatives can only be expressed when they're physically separated by thousands of miles."
"...Yeah, that kind of tense atmosphere is really uncomfortable."
"And when our generation grows up," Narumi said, half-smiling as he leaned back, "those who initially loathed their parents' constant preaching and forced 'good intentions' might eventually become adults just like them. That's how it goes, isn't it?"
He squinted lazily at the night sky, speaking serious truths in a light, cheerful tone.
"...I don't want to become that kind of adult."
Yukino's fingers tightened slightly on the blanket. She turned to glance at his calm profile, the faint light tracing the curve of his jaw.
"Besides," she added softly, "I don't think you'll become that kind of adult."
"Haha, who can say for sure what'll happen in the future?" Narumi chuckled. "If this were a game, what you just said, Yukino, would already be a flag."
"Hmm... and I don't think I'll ever see that day."
"…"
The originally relaxed and humorous atmosphere froze in an instant. Narumi awkwardly placed both palms flat on the sand.
"Thank you for everything you've done for me so far... but I'm fed up with the current situation."
Yukino Yukinoshita had long grown weary of her sickly body, of her family who behaved like frightened birds always on edge, always watching her and of the endless cycle of treatments and medication.
If life were to end sooner, perhaps she could wake up from this nightmare and return to a normal life.
So far, the only thing preventing Yukino Yukinoshita from trying to return to the "real world" was the mysterious young man sitting beside her.
"...If I said I wished I could disappear from this world tonight, how would you respond?"
The moment your simulated self faces the end of your life is also the moment you're freed from the nightmare.
And perhaps… the moment Yukino Yukinoshita will never see Toru Narumi again.
The curly-haired youth fell silent, his usual nonchalance stripped from his face. After a long pause, he managed a bitter smile and looked away.
"...Then this feeling will also disappear with you tonight."
On the silent beach, in a world that seemed to exist just for the two of them, Narumi Toru's words sounded almost like a confession.
And Yukino Yukinoshita felt the same way.
But only he knew that the truth was not so.
---
Narumi Toru knew he hadn't fallen in love with Yukino Yukinoshita.
First of all, it would be lame to genuinely fall for a character in a simulation. The same rule applied to fictional characters in games or stories.
Secondly, he was not a particularly sensitive person when it came to his own emotions.
Just as people are always "arranged" by society to act in certain acceptable ways, Narumi, too, often displayed emotions expected of him. If he didn't, he'd be considered eccentric, unapproachable, or simply too strange for others to understand.
Moreover, his special treatment of Yukino Yukinoshita stemmed not from love, but from her irreplaceable importance within this simulated future. After all, any good player would do whatever it took to achieve a perfect score in the game.
Based on that reasoning, Narumi convinced himself that he hadn't fallen in love with her.
He was only protecting her out of humanitarian concern perhaps mixed with a selfish desire to see the simulation through to its best possible ending.
But that made things... complicated.
For the first time, Yukino's pale cheeks were tinged with color—a faint blush of confusion after hearing words that sounded dangerously close to a confession.
This time, he'd taken his teasing too far.
But what if that wasn't the case?
One of the three great illusions of life is "she likes me." If you actually believe that, you're bound to make a complete fool of yourself.
At that thought, a distant memory suddenly flashed through Narumi's mind
a real-life experience outside of this simulation. It was something so humiliating that he had buried it deep within himself, locking it away like a shameful secret he never wanted to remember.
"...What is this, a confession?"
Yukino turned her head away, burying half her face in her arms. Her voice trembled slightly, though she still tried to sound indifferent.
"We haven't known each other that long, have we? And to actually go after his ex-girlfriend's sister that's pretty despicable."
"Why did you assume that what I just said was a declaration of love right from the start?" Narumi replied evenly.
"...Whether it's liking or loving, what does it all really mean?"
The black-haired girl inhaled deeply, then slowly let it out through her nose.
Her delicate shoulders rose and fell with the rhythm of her breathing, a small movement that somehow carried an unbearable sense of fragility.
"If it's an emotion that, like kinship, creates a constraint on the other person," she said softly, "then it could be considered a toxic substance."
"Hmm I'm surprised that Yukino, the top student, would ask such a question."
Narumi tilted his head, lips curling faintly as he rummaged through his mental "knowledge base" for an answer.
"So-called love," he said, "is actually a hallucinogenic drug that makes you willingly eat shit and still think it tastes good."
"I thought you'd approach this from the perspective of oxytocin and dopamine," Yukino said, sighing faintly. "It seems I overestimated your knowledge."
"Um... so 'love is wanting to touch but then pulling your hand back'?"
"A very classic saying," she admitted, "but it's been overused by too many high schoolers pretending to be sentimental."
"Well, there's nothing I can do about it," Narumi replied, scratching his cheek. "I don't really understand what 'liking' is either."
"...Isn't that how you felt when you were dating my sister?"
Yukino Yukinoshita remained silent for a long time before calmly asking the question that had been lingering in her heart.
"Huh? That's probably just teenage hormones acting up."
At least, that was what Narumi Toru the "setter" told himself when he first entered this simulation game. It was the only explanation that made sense.
"...Is that so?"
The girl buried her face again between the blankets draped over her arms, hiding her expression.
"To put it simply," Narumi said lightly, "love is the kind of feeling that makes you feel hot-blooded and won't give up until you hit a wall."
But in the end, having feelings of love for someone is actually just "creating a god" in the beginning.
The greatest charm of the object of one's affections comes from one's imagination. Love is less a feeling and more a projection an illusion built upon expectations that may not even exist.
In truth, people often fall for the phantom they themselves have created, not the person standing before them.
Even though he was fully aware of this, Narumi Toru couldn't deny the objective truth that Yukinoshita Yukino fit perfectly into his image of that illusion.
"As for my feelings for you..." he began, his tone softening. "I may have feelings for you that go beyond that."
He turned his head just in time to meet Yukino's startled eyes.
"I hope you have a better life," he said quietly, "and that you take control of your own destiny rather than being kept in that white cage like a sick canary."
"Why would you go to such lengths for me...?" she asked.
If it had all started with Haruno's request, then visiting the hospital occasionally would've been more than enough.
But this idiot had gone far beyond that taking Yukino, who had nearly suffocated under the pressure of her family, and running away with her, completely disregarding the consequences for himself.
To Yukino Yukinoshita, his behavior was incomprehensible.
"It's probably impossible to get to the bottom of everything and figure out the reason behind it," Narumi said, smiling faintly. He crossed one leg over the other, as if this entire reckless escape was nothing more than a change of scenery.
"There aren't that many whys in life. I just wanted to see you smile again. Who knows, I might even do something more unpredictable for that?"
This person, Yukino thought, was the greatest variable in this disastrous simulation.
"...You're an idiot."
Despite her rational mind warning her not to believe such words too easily, Yukino still felt it deep inside.
Just like her sister, she, too, was drawn to him.
Mysterious yet honest. Worldly and sophisticated, yet straightforward.
Seemingly indifferent to everything, yet willing to offend the entire Yukinoshita family just to give her freedom.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Narumi had made Yukino's once-miserable simulation life a little less painful.
"I've also thought about ending it all," she said at last.
Having found her answer, Yukino broke the silence. Her blue-gray eyes reflected the moonlight over the calm sea.
"Lying helplessly in a hospital bed, watching my body worsen day by day. Listening to my mother repeatedly tell me how hard it was for them to 'save' me.
Every night when the pain strikes and I feel like I'm dying... Even now, seeing the sea, I wonder if it would be better if it all just ended here."
Having suffered so long, she thought that dying at least in the simulation might not be such a bad experience.
"But whenever I think about it," she whispered, "I can't help but think of—"
She reached into her collar and pulled out a small metallic object the whistle Narumi had given her before.
"Since someone promised to come to my side if I just ask for help," she said softly, "then it doesn't seem so bad to use this one chance first... and only after that, think about ending it all."
Her face was pale, but her lips curved in a faint, awkward smile—one that was somehow both pure and painful to look at.
Even if we never have the chance to meet again... it's enough that we're together right now.
She uttered words that sounded almost like a farewell.
Since entering the simulation, Narumi Toru had approached it with a pragmatic mindset.
How can I get a better rating?
How can I reach a better ending?
And soon enough, he realized the crux of the problem lay entirely with Yukino Yukinoshita.
If her story could only end in tragedy, then no matter how many choices he made, this simulation would never yield the "perfect" result he wanted.
A new question then arose: how could he prevent Yukino's tragedy and guide her story toward a hopeful, happy ending?
If it were anything else, Narumi might've found a way to change the outcome—but her illness remained the greatest obstacle, one that even he couldn't overcome.
How could Yukino Yukinoshita be cured?
The curly-haired youth, who had been frowning deeply, suddenly exhaled and forced a small laugh as he shook off his thoughts.
As night fell, the sea breeze grew colder. The girl resting against his shoulder instinctively tightened her grip on the blanket, seeking warmth.
While waiting for the comet, Yukino had dozed off, her breathing growing steady and faint against his arm. The medication she took daily probably made her drowsy as well.
Narumi could feel her quiet breaths brushing his ear.
For the first time, he found himself gazing into the distance not with calculation or sarcasm, but with genuine bewilderment.
What should I do? he wondered.
If things continued this way, they would eventually be dragged back by the Yukinoshita family, and then this entire "mock exam" of a simulation would soon end.
That wouldn't do.
Yukino Yukinoshita hadn't been made happy yet.
And Narumi Toru was willing to pay a much higher price to achieve that goal.
"...An even more expensive price," he murmured under his breath.
Suddenly, a spark of inspiration flickered in his mind. His eyes gleamed faintly as he stared out at the dark horizon where the sea met the sky.
Don't all those cliché, third-rate love stories especially the Korean ones end up like this?
[The old-fashioned approach to terminal illness organ transplantation would be worthwhile if you truly loved her. But unfortunately, you didn't love her.]
"Who says so?" Narumi muttered with a crooked grin. "What if I really do?"
After all, he had never tried flirting with death inside a simulated world.
He gently shifted Yukino, laying her down carefully on the coat spread over the sand. Then, standing up, he turned toward the ocean.
The salty breeze struck his face as he took one step, then another, toward the waves.
It was already past midnight.
The clear sky stretched endlessly above him empty, silent, and devoid of any comet to be seen.
END OF THE CHAPTER. 🪨