38th Death - The Night We Met

'Marcel or Amélie should've let me know something like this!' Jiho thought as he walked away from the spot, pouting.

'It was those two Frenchmen with Marcel at the time… Haah.' He slapped his cheek.

'Why did I do that?' He paused.

'Well, it doesn't even feel like a slap.' His gaze dropped to his status window.

[Status Window]

STAT POINTS AVAILABLE: 15 (+400)

[Strength]: 40

[Agility]: 40

[Vitality]: 100

[Perception]: 100

[Intelligence]: 10

'Hm. I got 15 points. Might as well toss them into Intelligence. Skill efficiency is always useful.'

"15 points to Intelligence!"

[Intelligence]: 10 >>> 25

'Now I've got 400 points left. I'll figure out what to do with them later... While keeping an equilibrium is important, I think I should make Vitality or Perception a priority. Unlike Strength or Agility, there's no harm in keeping these two higher than all of them. Anyway, why put the stat points behind a plus sign?' His gaze narrowed.

[It's because those stat points are a reward for an achievement, Boyo.]

"Didn't ask," he muttered.

[You were about to.]

"...True. So, what achievement? What did I even do that's so impressive?" He kept walking, adjusting his bag.

[How about ya' look for yourself?]

"Alright." He pulled up the status window, scrolling through past messages.

[SYSTEM MESSAGES]

[MULTIPLE ACHIEVEMENTS UNLOCKED!] (Read more to see rewards!)

[MULTIPLE TITLES UNLOCKED!] (Read more to see rewards!)

[LEGENDARY SKILLS UNLOCKED!] (Read more to see rewards!)

[EXTRA EXP GRANTED DUE TO ACHIEVEMENTS!] (Read more to see reward!)

[SECRET CHALLENGE COMPLETED!] (Read more to see reward!)

'Hmm… Let's start with the singular one. This… Secret Challenge.'

He tapped the notification.

[SECRET CHALLENGE COMPLETED!]

You are the FIRST player to discover the zombification secret—WITHOUT GUIDANCE, NO LESS!400 STAT POINTS REWARDED FOR YOUR EFFORTS AND LUCK!

'Huh. So that's where the extra points came from…' Jiho exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. 'That's from when I killed a zombie while my zombification hit 100%. I really am lucky.'

He scrolled again. 'Next up… EXTRA EXP?'

He tapped.

[EXTRA EXP GRANTED DUE TO ACHIEVEMENTS!]

You are the ONLY player to survive the quarantine zone without activating the system! 50,000,000 EXP REWARDED!

'I guess that's what leveled me up to 50…'

His eyes drifted down to the next message.

Legendary Skills.

He swallowed.

I wonder…

His hands trembled slightly. A smile threatened to creep onto his face.

Jesus… This… really is kinda fun…

His heart pounded as his fingers hovered over the message prompt.

So engrossed in the game-like reward system, he didn't notice the presence stopping behind him.

"Uh… Hello?"

A timid voice.

Jiho froze. His breath hitched- he knew this voice.

"…Eunhee."

His voice was subdued as he dismissed the status window. His expression, unreadable.

Her lips parted. "It… really is you, huh?"

She stopped too.

"...."

"...."

Jiho replayed the lines he'd rehearsed. The ones he memorized in front of a mirror.

The words he was supposed to say. The way he was supposed to act.

But when he opened his mouth—they were gone.

"You want something?" His tone came out impatient, detached.

But it wasn't the line he had prepared. It wasn't the sharp response he was supposed to throw back at her.

"Ah... I... Uhm..." She fumbled. "I couldn't sleep… so I went to the park. This place… calms me down. It… I…" She hesitated. "I knew it calms you down too, right?"

"It doesn't calm me down at all." Jiho's response was immediate, sharp.

He looked ahead. He should walk away. Why wasn't he moving?

"Right... J-Jiho..." Her voice trembled slightly.

She forced a laugh. "You… grew taller, haha. Your voice is… kind of… deeper, too."

She looked away, brushing her hand through her hair. Awkward.

Jiho didn't understand.

He had rehearsed for this. He had waited for her to say something like this. He had the perfect response—he knew exactly how to throw it back in her face.

So why… why wasn't anything coming to him?

"Uh…" She hesitated again, shifting on her feet.

For a second, she almost reached out.

"I... I know it might not mean much coming from me… right now," her voice wavered, "but I'm… really glad to see you. Really… really glad that you're alive."

Something in Jiho snapped.

His muscles tensed, his teeth clenched.

"Great," he spat, voice tight, strained. "Go celebrate with Daniel, then."

Her breath hitched.

Jiho stepped away.

Her lips parted, eyes widening. She had feared this—feared he would distance himself.

But hearing him say it… and watching him walk away…

Made it real.

"Don't… please… Jiho, don't walk away…!"

Her voice was small at first.

"I'm… I'm SORRY!"

She leaned toward him, desperation creeping into her tone.

Jiho pursed his lips. Pressed them into a thin line. Kept walking.

"I'M SORRY!!"

Her voice cracked.

"You… out of EVERYONE… didn't deserve—"

Jiho stopped.

His head half-turned.

"Didn't deserve what?!"

His voice was razor-sharp.

"You falling for Daniel? Is that what I didn't deserve?!"

Eunhee had come to apologize.

She had planned to apologize for lying to him.

But the second Jiho spat those words back at her…

Was that really all she came to apologize for?

"I… right after that happened… I…" Her hands clenched at her sides. "I looked for you…! But then… you died… I… I had to… I had to stay with Daniel!"

Jiho let out a breathless chuckle, still turned away.

"I'm really happy for you," he muttered.

Eunhee's lips parted.

"Look at you," he sighed, rubbing his face. "Feeling guilty for falling in love with that backstabber…"

His head lowered.

"You're definitely going to have to stay with him now."

His voice was rasp. Dry. Final.

"Since we're DONE."

She clutched her dress tightly.

"... Please, look at me." She pleaded.

Jiho exhaled sharply.

"... For what?"

"Just look at me. Please…"

"Have Daniel do that."

His voice wavered. Just slightly. Cracking at the edges.

And Eunhee heard it.

Even before she processed what he said, she felt it.

Jiho let out a forced chuckle.

"I bet," he muttered. "He looked at you lots of times, didn't he? Go to him."

His voice turned hollow.

"We're done. I'm done. With you. And him."

He started walking away.

Tears climbed up Eunhee's throat. She fell to her knees.

Jiho stopped.

"I don't get it, Eunhee."

Her head snapped up.

His tone was calm. Unforgiving.

"Why are you so bothered?"

"...?"

"You've apologized. I didn't accept it, and I mocked you." His voice was firm. "So why aren't you going back to him? Why are you crying here?"

Eunhee let out a soft, shaky chuckle, wiping her tears.

"Because… unlike me," she murmured, "you bothered enough to ask me just now."

Her voice wavered. "While I just… up and left you on that rooftop."

Jiho lowered his head slightly.

"You're that much better than me."

The words slipped from her lips before she even processed them.

But Jiho caught it instantly.

His Perception stat kicked in.

That phrase—too familiar.

A script.

His mind rummaged through old memories, and then—

He remembered.

-------------------------

"I always make her believe her friends are better than her. Elevate their image instead of my own. It's a scummy tactic, but it works."

Daniel's voice echoed in his mind, from a conversation nearly two years ago—just before they started high school.

Jiho had frowned at the time. "Why? Wouldn't that make her admire them more and look away from you?"

"Ah, you'd THINK THAT!" Daniel had grinned, proud of himself. "But I figured it all out!"

He had leaned forward, voice brimming with confidence.

"Jiho, you hate having to act all dignified when an army general walks into the room, right? Someone you DEFINITELY think is better than you in everything? You have to be respectful, all polite and smiley, right? That's kinda exhausting, isn't it?"

Jiho had hesitated. "I guess...?"

"YEAH! So, I make her think her friends are army generals. I make her believe they're SOOO much better than her, so being around them exhausts her!" Daniel had explained, his eyes practically glowing with amusement. "So she likes being with ME more, because I'm just a NORMAL person she doesn't have to exhaust herself for!"

Jiho had paused, considering it. "Should I do that with Eunhee, then?"

Daniel had perked up immediately.

"OOooooooooooh? You like Eunhee, Jiho?"

Jiho had stammered. "I… I mean… Maybe…"

Daniel had hummed, tapping his chin. "You could. But... I feel like that wouldn't work on Eunhee."

Jiho had blinked. "Why not?"

Daniel had smirked.

"Because she knows you too well to fall for that bullshit."

A pause. Then, his smirk faded slightly.

"Besides… if you really care about her, you wouldn't even try that."

His voice was softer now.

"Because you don't want your relationship to be built on a lie… like all of mine."

He looked down, smiling just a little—but it wasn't smug.

It was somber.

Jiho frowned. "But you don't lie to me."

Daniel's eyes widened slightly, like the thought had never crossed his mind before.

For a brief moment, he just stared at Jiho.

Then, he let out a small, relieved chuckle.

"Ah… I guess… I don't. Haha."

---------------------

Jiho chuckled—low, bitter.

"Ah… Hahaha…"

His forced smirk barely held.

"You really are Daniel's girlfriend."

Eunhee's breath caught in her throat. Her face paled.

Jiho finally turned to her, locking eyes with her teary gaze.

"Daniel told me the best way to get a girlfriend is to isolate her from her friends." His tone was unnervingly even.

"Make her believe the people she... " He took a breath, "might have loved were always out of her reach. Make her act refined, make her feel exhausted trying to be perfect around them—so that when she's with him, she feels… safe."

His lips curled into something that wasn't quite a smile.

"...!" Her breath stilled.

"Funny thing is," he exhaled, "he told me never to do that with you. Because he didn't want our connection, when we'll eventually be lovers, to be built on a lie."

A pause.

Then, his voice darkened.

"But hearing you say that… That fucking 'phrase'."

His smirk faded. His gaze sharpened.

"I see."

Silence.

"A connection is just that much stronger and certain when it's built on a lie, then."

Eunhee's stomach churned. A sickening nausea clawed up her throat.

That pure Jiho… was slipping away.

And there was nothing she could say to stop it.

'No…'

'Don't… become like him, Jiho… Not you…'

Jiho let out a deep sigh, kneeling to meet her gaze.

"Thank you, Eunhee." His voice was quiet, almost relieved. "I get it now."

She lifted her head weakly.

"I'm sorry you fell for it. But it was inevitable."

Her lips parted, but nothing came out.

'Inevitable… I… Ha… Wha…'

Her gaze dropped, defeated.

Jiho lowered his own as well. "There was nothing you could've done," His voice softened even further. "It wasn't your fault."

And then, a chuckle. Somber this time.

"And... Because of that… I know that you felt the same for me, at some point." His words were calm, resigned.

"Thank you."

Tears wouldn't stop falling from her eyes.

And through the haze, she saw his palm reached out to her.

"Can I escort you home?" His voice was steady, composed, and tired all the same.

She looked up.

It wasn't mockery.

It was sincere.

Jiho's transformation was complete. He truly… no longer saw her as guilty.

He truly believed that her no longer loving him was inevitable when faced with someone like Daniel—a master at lying. And that lying is needed to build something strong.

"Y…" Her breath came out ragged, "Yes…" She lowered her head, reaching toward his palm.

Jiho helped her up.

Her hand stayed in his.

And as they walked, she clung to it. Caressed it. Held onto him, as if trying to hold onto something slipping away.

Because the direction they were headed wasn't her house. It was Daniel's.

And Jiho was leading the way.

She didn't resist.

They passed by the park; where Jiho had once stood flustered. Excited. Earnest.

She squeezed his hand tighter.

Jiho's grasp remained firm. Not pressing, not pulling.

Just holding.

Before long, they reached Daniel's apartment, and Jiho let go of her hand before Eunhee did.

She took a shaky step forward, pausing at the door; then turned back, wanting to say something.

But the words wouldn't come.

She looked down.

She turned away, stepping inside.

Jiho watched the door close behind her.

'... Goodbye, Eunhee.'

He turned around and walked away.

[Hey, Boyo. Now that you're done with that, check out the legendary—]

The system's voice cut off.

[Boyo...?]

It repeated itself.

Jiho's breath hitched. Tears slipped down his face.

"Show me how to lie…" His voice trembled. "Is there a stat for that?"

[Nah. Even if there were, I wouldn't tell you about it.] The message prompt flickered. [There are lots of books about it, though.]

Jiho clenched his teeth. Another sob tore through his throat.

"I want to be very…" His fingers curled into fists. His breath came out ragged.

"Very good at it." His voice cracked.

"Very… Very… Good at it… The best…"

Silence.

Then, the system's response.

[… Yeah, me too, Boyo.]

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Background Music: Lord Huron - The Night We Met (Alive From Whispering Pines)