My love game with them that will lead to certain death

"I'm just waiting for this to be over."

Get rid of this nightmare simulation and return to real life.

This is the only true wish that Yukinoshita Yukino has that she cannot tell anyone else.

"Has this child's self-destructive tendencies become so serious...? This is a bit difficult to deal with..."

Of course, the unequal information gap between the two led to a perfect misunderstanding by Ming Hai.

"But anyway...thank you for getting me away from that place."

Yukino smiled sincerely, which was a rare occurrence for her - it wasn't that she was impolite, it was just that it was difficult for her to express her feelings so frankly.

After all, if you don’t say something now, you will never have the chance to say it again.

"It feels terrible to be lying in the ward receiving nutrient solution and taking medicine to maintain vital signs every day, but my physical condition is still getting worse. What's more..."

The girl paused, and Ming Hai could understand her unspoken implication.

"You're welcome. It's a good thing to get away from that kind of family atmosphere as soon as possible."

The curly-haired young man waved his hand, indicating that Yukino didn't need to be so polite to her.

"The key to getting along with parents is that distance creates beauty. Sometimes the emotions between family members can only be expressed positively when they are thousands of miles apart physically."

"...Well, that kind of tense atmosphere all the time is very uncomfortable."

"And when our generation grows up, maybe those of us who originally hated our parents' preaching-style management and forced kindness will slowly become adults who are exactly the same - the dragon-slayer boy eventually becomes a dragon, that's the saying~"

Ming Hai squinted his eyes and began to doze off, stating serious facts in a light-hearted tone.

“…I don’t want to be that kind of adult.”

Yukino's fingers that were holding the blanket tightened gently, and she turned to look at the young man's calm profile.

"Besides, I don't think you'll ever be that kind of adult."

"Haha, who can tell what will happen in the future? If this is a game, what you just said, Yukino, would have already become a flag."

"Well...and I guess I won't have the chance to see that day."

"........."

The originally relaxed and humorous atmosphere gradually froze, and Ming Hai rested his palms on the sand somewhat uncomfortably.

"Thank you for everything you've done for me so far... but I'm tired of the current situation."

Yukinoshita Yukino had long been fed up with her sickly body, her family who had become as cautious as a frightened bird and were afraid of everything, and the never-ending treatment process.

If my life ends sooner, perhaps I can wake up from this nightmare sooner and return to normal life.

So far, the only thing stopping Yukinoshita Yukino from trying to return to the real world is the mysterious young man beside her.

"…If I said I wished to disappear from this world tonight, how would you respond?"

The moment when the simulated self's life comes to an end is the moment when he is freed from this nightmare.

At the same time, this may also be the moment when Yukinoshita Yukino will never see Toru Narumi again.

The curly-haired young man was stunned for a moment, no longer keeping a nonchalant expression on his face. After a long silence, he forced a bitter smile and looked away.

"...Then this feeling will disappear with you tonight."

On the silent seashore, it was a world of only the two of them - Toru Narumi seemed to have made a confession, and the same seemed to be true to Yukinoshita Yukino.

But only he himself knew that this was not the case.

Chapter 16 Self Control

Toru Narumi felt that he didn't like Yukinoshita Yukino.

First of all, it would be lame to actually like a game character, and the same goes for characters in a simulation.

Secondly, he is actually a person who is not so sensitive to his own emotions. Just like people are always "arranged" by the world to have a suitable posture and have to cooperate and make corresponding actions, Ming Hai will choose to show emotions that meet the expectations of bystanders in most cases, otherwise he may be considered alternative and inhuman.

What's more, his special treatment of Yukinoshita Yukino is only because of her irreplaceable importance in this future simulation. A real player will do anything to pass the game with high scores.

From the above reasoning, it can be concluded that Ming Hai believes that he does not like Yukino, but only takes such good care of her out of humanitarian desire to protect her and his own selfish desire to pass the level perfectly.

But this makes things difficult.

Because after he said words that were almost equivalent to a confession, Yukino's face gradually turned red with helplessness for the first time.

This time I went too far in my boasting.

But what if that's not the case? One of the three great illusions in life - she likes me. If you really believe this perception, you will end up making a fool of yourself.

At this point, Ming Hai's mind suddenly flashed with a long-lost memory - it was a real experience outside the simulation. Because it was too embarrassing, he kept it in the depths of his memory and locked it in a cabinet, unwilling to think about it anymore.

"…What is this, a confession?"

Yukinoshita Yukino turned her head away, pretending to be calm while burying her face in her arms. Even though her voice was a little unstable, she still wanted to pretend to be relaxed and indifferent.

"We haven't known each other for long, right? And you actually attacked your ex-girlfriend's sister. That's a bit bad."

"Why do you assume that what just happened was a confession of love?"

"…Whether it's liking or loving, what does it really mean?"

The black-haired girl took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled it all through her nose. The sight of her delicate body rising and falling made it hard not to feel concern for her.

"If it is an emotion that constrains the other person like family affection, then it can also be considered a toxic substance."

"Hmm - I'm surprised that Yukino, who is an excellent student, would ask such a question."

Ming Hai curled his lips and tilted his head to search for the corresponding explanation in his knowledge reserve.

"So-called love is actually a psychedelic drug that makes you willingly eat shit and still find it delicious."

"I thought you would start from the perspective of oxytocin and dopamine. It seems that I overestimated your knowledge."

"Um... then 'Love is wanting to touch but then pulling back?'"

"It's a very classic saying, but it has been misused by a bunch of high school students who copied it to pretend to be affectionate."

"That can't be helped~ I don't know what kind of feeling love is either."

"…Isn't that how I felt when I was dating my sister?"

Yukinoshita Yukino was silent for a while, and then she spoke in a calm tone about the issue that was actually on her mind.

"Ah? That's probably the hormones of teenage boys and girls."

At least that's what Toru Narumi, the "setup" of this simulation game, thought when he entered it, so he could only use this statement.

“…Is that so?”

The girl once again buried her face between the blankets wrapped around her arms, making it impossible to see the expression on her face.

"To put it in simpler terms, love is the kind of feeling that makes people's blood boil and they won't turn back until they hit a wall."

But when it comes down to it, having a crush on someone is actually just "deifying" them at the beginning.

The greatest charm of a loved one comes from one's imagination. Love is more like expectations that may not really exist being projected onto the object. In the end, what people like is just the floating phantom of the other person that they have imagined.

Even though he knew all of this, Toru Narumi still could not deny from objective facts that the current Yukinoshita Yukino was the person who best fit the image in his mind.

"As for my feelings for you... I may have more than just that."

Ming Hai turned around and stated this solemnly, just in time to meet Yukino's confused gaze.

"I hope you can have a better life and take control of your own life, instead of being kept in that white cage like a sick canary."

"Why would you do this for me...?"

If it was Haruno who asked him to do so in the first place, then for Minghai, visiting the hospital frequently was already the most he could do.

But this idiot even took Yukino, who was almost suffocated by the high-pressure living environment, and escaped without caring about the impact this would have on his life.

Therefore, Yukinoshita Yukino was very confused.

"It's not possible to get to the bottom of everything and find out the truth."

The curly-haired young man smiled and crossed his legs comfortably, as if this escape was just a place for him to rest and recuperate on the beach.

"There's no need to ask so many questions. I just want to make you smile again. Who knows, I might be able to do something even more unpredictable for you, okay?"

This person is the biggest variable in this terrible simulation.

“…He’s an idiot.”

Although her mind told her not to believe what others said blindly, Yukinoshita Yukino still noticed it.

She was just like her sister in that she was fascinated by the man in front of her.

Mysterious and frank, sophisticated and smooth but also detached and straightforward. He seems to care about nothing but is willing to offend the Yukinoshita family for her and take her away.

It's not an exaggeration to say that Narumi made Yukino's originally terrible simulation journey less painful.

"I've thought about ending it all."

Having gotten the answer in her heart, Yukino was no longer silent, and her deep blue eyes stared at the calm sea.

"When I was lying on the hospital bed, helpless and watching my body getting worse and worse. When my mother told me how hard it was for them to cure my illness. When I felt the pain coming every night and felt like dying... even when I saw the sea just now, I wondered if it would be better to end it like this."

Having suffered enough from illness, she thought it might be a good experience to experience death in a simulation.

"But every time I think about this, I can't help but think of--"

The girl sat up and pulled a metal-like object out of her collar.

That was the whistle that Ming Hai had given her before.

"Since someone has promised me that they will come to me if I ask for help, it seems like a good idea to wait until I have used up this opportunity before considering ending it all."

Her pale face revealed a pure yet somewhat awkward smile.

"Even if we never have the chance to meet again... just being by your side right now is enough."

He spoke words that sounded like a farewell forever.

Chapter 17 Even if this love ends tonight

Since entering the simulation, Toru Narumi has been playing this "game" with a very straightforward approach to problem solving.

How can I get a better evaluation? How can I get a better ending?

The key to the problem actually lies only with Yukinoshita Yukino.

If her story could only end in tragedy, this simulation was bound to not get the result that Ming Hai wanted.

Then new problems arise: how to prevent the tragedy that happened to Yukinoshita Yukino and let the story move towards a hopeful happy ending?

If it was for other reasons, perhaps Ming Hai could try to turn the situation around, but the persistent illness was the biggest problem that he was unable to reverse.

How can Yukinoshita Yukino be freed from her illness?

The curly-haired young man with a frown on his brow came back to his senses, and as he pulled his consciousness back from his thoughts, the expression on his face relaxed a little.

As night fell, the sea breeze blowing in from afar was mixed with a bit of chill, which made the girl who was sleeping on his shoulder subconsciously wrap herself tightly in the blanket.

Yukino accidentally fell asleep while waiting for the comet. She became a little sleepy as she took medicine at a regular time and in a fixed amount every day.

Ming Hai felt the steady breathing of the girl on his shoulder blowing into his ears, and for the first time, he looked into the distance with some confusion.

What else can I do next? If I continue like this, I will be caught by the Yukinoshita family sooner or later, and by then it will be close to the time when the simulation results will be settled.

This won't do. I haven't made Yukinoshita Yukino happy in this simulation yet. As long as this goal can be achieved, Ming Hai is willing to pay a higher price -

“… a more expensive price.”

He was slightly startled as he suddenly thought of something, and his eyes, staring at the sea, flashed with a light that symbolized inspiration.

Isn’t this a common plot in all the old-fashioned third-rate love stories, especially those that are popular in Korea?

[The old-fashioned way to deal with terminal illnesses - organ transplantation. If you really like her, then it's not a bad idea to do this. Unfortunately, you don't love her. ]

"Who said that? What if I really like it?"

Moreover, Ming Hai had never tried what it would be like to test the brink of death in a simulation world.

He gently placed Yukino steadily on the sand covered with his coat, and walked towards the direction of the waves against the salty sea breeze.

It was already late at night, and the clear sky showed no sign of a comet about to pass by.