The morning after the dinner, Liam woke with a sense of unease. The events of the previous night replayed in his mind not as triumphs, but as calculated manipulations. He had used his knowledge of these "characters" to earn points, like a player optimizing a game.
While eating breakfast alone (his mother had already left for work), the system showed the new mission:
Mission: "Liam's Life"
Description: Explore and establish your background in this world
Objective: Discover at least 3 key aspects of Liam Parker's life before your arrival
Reward: 10,000-25,000 points
Note: This mission will affect future interactions with main characters
Strange. Why did the system want him to explore his own background? Liam thought he knew everything: absent father, working mother, average teenage life. But something about the mission suggested there was more.
He decided to start with his room. He had never truly examined it thoroughly, merely accepted it as part of his new reality.
At the back of the closet, behind boxes of winter clothes, he found a shoebox sealed with tape. He opened it. Inside were photos, letters, and a journal.
The photos showed a happy family: a younger Liam (eight years old?) with a man and woman smiling. His parents, he assumed. But they didn't match the descriptions in Liam's memories.
A letter, dated five years ago:
"Dear Liam,
I know this is confusing. Mom and I love each other, but sometimes love isn't enough. I promise it's not your fault. I'll visit every weekend. Love you always.
Dad"
But according to his memories, his father lived in San Francisco and called every other week, he didn't visit. Something didn't add up.
The journal was more revealing. Entries from a twelve-year-old Liam:
"Today Mom cried again. She says Dad found someone new. She says promises are like clouds: pretty but they fade away."
"Turned 13. Dad called but didn't come. Said work... always work."
"Mom works more. The house is quiet. Learned to cook pasta. It's easy: water, salt, wait."
The last entry was from two years ago, just before Leo reincarnated:
"Sometimes I feel like no one sees me anymore. Like I'm a ghost in my own life. Mom looks through me. Dad sees someone else. At school, I'm the quiet kid. I don't even know who I am anymore."
Liam (Leo) felt a knot in his stomach. This boy, the real Liam Parker, had been suffering. He had been alone, invisible. And then he, Leo, had arrived with his point system and his obsession with a TV family, and had taken this body without considering the life he was replacing.
+2,000 points - Significant emotional discovery
Mission progress: 33%
He searched for more. In a nightstand drawer, he found medication: antidepressants prescribed to "Liam Parker" eighteen months ago. There were three bottles, all nearly full. Liam hadn't taken them because "he" didn't feel depressed; he felt like an adult in a teenage body with a magical system.
But the real Liam... the real Liam had been medicated. And he had stopped taking the pills without a second thought.
That afternoon, he called his mother at work.
"Liam? Is everything okay? You rarely call."
"Yeah, Mom. Just... wanted to ask you something."
"What's up, honey?"
"Did Dad... used to visit on weekends?"
Silence. Then a sigh. "Why are you asking that now?"
"Found some old letters. He promised to visit every weekend."
His mother made a sound between a laugh and a sob. "Yes. He promised. For six months. Then he met Sharon. Then work became more demanding. Then... you know."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Tell you what, Liam? That your father prioritized his new family over you? That some adults don't keep their promises? I thought... it was better to let it go."
Liam felt rage, but he didn't know if it was his or the original Liam's. "And the medication? Why did you stop asking if I was taking it?"
"Because every time I asked, we fought. And I was so tired, Liam. So tired of fighting with everyone."
The conversation ended awkwardly. Liam hung up feeling worse than before.
+3,000 points - Significant family revelation
Mission progress: 66%
That night, Liam didn't use the system. He didn't check points or missions. Instead, he went for a walk. He walked aimlessly through his neighborhood streets, thinking about the strangeness of his existence.
Was he Liam Parker? Or was he Leo Martínez in Liam Parker's body? Or some combination? And what right did he have to use this boy's loneliness as an opportunity to play a character in his favorite show?
He passed by the Dunphy house. The lights were on. He could see figures moving behind the windows: Phil trying to fix something, Claire on the phone, Hayley and Alex in what looked like an argument.
A family. Dysfunctional, complicated, but a family. Something Liam (both Liams) had never truly had.
At that moment, a notification appeared without him seeking it:
System Analysis: Ethical Conflict Detected
User showing signs of "meta-knowledge fatigue"
Suggestion: Consider "Authenticity" system upgrade
Cost: 50,000 points
Effect: Reduces feeling of manipulation, increases genuine connections
50,000 points? Almost everything he had. But the idea was tempting. Less manipulation, more authenticity.
He decided to postpone the decision. First, he would finish the current mission.
The next day at school, Hayley approached him in the hallway.
"Hey, are you okay? You look... different."
"Different how?"
"I don't know. More serious. Less... perfect."
Liam smiled weakly. "No one's perfect, Hayley."
"My dad tries. It's adorably pathetic." She paused. "Hey, my parents talked about you last night. They say you were amazing at the dinner."
"Thanks."
"You know how weird that is? Normally my parents agree on nothing. But they both think you're... well, a good guy."
Liam felt a new kind of discomfort. They weren't praising Liam Parker. They were praising Leo Martínez disguised as Liam Parker. Or perhaps some combination he didn't even understand himself.