Chapter 1329

<Episode 1329> 1329. Ghost Romance

“†You woke up after being crushed by a severe spirit oppression.”

My eyes shot wide open.

I was lying in bed, just like when I first came to this world. The ceiling with the turned-off fluorescent light came into view. This was the second time I was seeing this ceiling, so it still felt unfamiliar.

I lay there on the bed for a while. I hadn’t expected that I’d see a bad ending right from the start.

‘The highest difficulty level… Could it really be this intense? If so, maybe the strategies I know won’t work?’

The system and choices seemed faithful to the original game but the content was different.

‘Just now, my affinity suddenly skyrocketed. Perhaps the condition for a happy ending isn’t based on affinity after all.’

Of course, this was all mere speculation. I needed certainty. I had to confirm whether the strategies worked or not.

“†You must go to school by 9:30 AM.”

I got up, took a shower, and changed into my school uniform. Sitting on the sofa, I glanced at the kitchen with the dining table. Maybe because I didn’t approach it, even though I saw the bread on the table, no options appeared.

I moved closer to the dining table. The world froze as if waiting for interaction, and then the options appeared.

“1. Eat the bread.”

“2. Do not eat.”

I already knew what would happen if I chose to eat it. So, I selected option 2.

“2. Do not eat. V”

The options disappeared like fluttering petals, and the frozen world resumed. I stood still, wondering if choosing option 1 would make my body move automatically… But nothing happened. Just in case, I grabbed the bread. The system didn’t stop me.

‘…Even though I chose not to eat, can I still eat it? Maybe I should try once. Perhaps it’ll yield a different result this time.’

After pondering for about thirty seconds, I made a decision. I decided to eat it. I needed to know what would happen if I reversed my choice.

‘It’s not like the kidnapping-and-confinement bad ending will kill me painfully.’

Still, it’d be better not to fall asleep again. I took a bite of the bread.

“†You ate the bread on the dining table.”

“†Oh no! The bread contained sleeping pills!”

“†You fell asleep.”

When I opened my eyes again, my body was restrained, and Ji Da-hye stood in front of me.

“Senior Yoo-jin… I’ll take care of you for the rest of your life. Nyaaah…”

Ji Da-hye, now in her underwear after taking off her school uniform, approached me with a dangerous look on her face.

‘At this point, it’d be nice to have sex at least once…’

“†Ji Da-hye’s affection increases. Ji Da-hye’s affection: 117”

“†You realize you’ve been captured by Ji Da-hye and will be imprisoned forever.”

“†Your vision goes dark.”

“Starting over from the beginning.”

“2. Do not eat. V”

I threw the bread into the food waste bin.

‘Eating one bite sends me straight to sleep… How did Ji Da-hye get such powerful sleeping pills?’

While in the game, I accepted whatever happened, but now, thinking about it…


It seemed like something was off.

Jidaehye was a student. Nothing particularly special about her…

“Must be possessed by a earthbound spirit. Could it be the power of a earthbound?”

Upon reflection, I realized this world did have supernatural forces.

I clicked my tongue and looked around the house. In the original game, there were a few special items. Depending on those items, the story would progress differently and strategies would change.

“There it is.”

I pulled out a rod placed under the wardrobe. It was a dark, stubby rod similar in length and thickness to a flute. At the end of it, the Korean words “Demon-Exorcising Rod” were written.

This was the exorcism weapon used by the original protagonist.

“Holding this around will be inconvenient… Ah, what if!”

I shouted towards the empty air.

“Inventory! Bag! Backpack!”

But nothing happened. Having no choice, I put the Demon-Exorcising Rod into my bag.

Leaving the house, I didn’t know the way to school but had money, so I took a taxi to school.

Instead of entering the main gate directly, I stood in front of it and looked at the school. The cool morning air and students entering the school created a nostalgic scene. However, I couldn’t indulge in admiration forever.

Because I could see the ghostly aura lingering over the school.

The original protagonist was born into an exorcist family and was an exorcist. In other words, it meant I had to engage in exorcism activities. If not? In the original game, the protagonist would be killed by ghosts or the entire neighborhood would be massacred by ghosts, leading to the worst bad ending.

Also, leaving ghosts alone could greatly interfere with the strategy. So, it was best to clear them all out when the opportunity arose.

“The reason I brought the Demon-Exorcising Rod was for exorcism, but it’s just a basic weapon. There are other ways to deal with ghosts.”

I wasn’t a veteran player of the original [Ghost Romance]. My playtime didn’t even reach 10 hours. But through the internet, I had thoroughly studied the strategies and techniques for overcoming the game.

“First things first…”

Suddenly, the world stopped. Sounds disappeared, and the students heading to school froze. The sparrows flying in the sky were suspended in place.

『1. Enter through the main gate.』

『2. Enter through the back gate.』

Two options appeared.

With these suddenly appearing options, I had no idea how the results would turn out.

『1. Enter through the main gate. v』

For now, I chose the main gate. Time resumed, and my body automatically entered the main gate. My body only stopped after reaching the entrance of the school.

Looking around, nothing happened.

“Hey, hey, what kind of cosmic joke is this? Never thought I’d meet you here. Heheh.”

At the sound of some absurd voice, I turned my head back.

There was a bespectacled pig staring intently at me. Shorter than me but with a belly that bulged like Nam Mountain. I immediately knew who he was. He was the protagonist’s friend commonly found in visual novel games. His role was to give the protagonist various kinds of advice.

His name was Shin Ohjeong. He was in the same class as the protagonist and even sat next to him. Shin Ohjeong was good with computers and had a keen interest in ghosts. His future aspiration was to be an assistant to an exorcist… Simply put, someone who wanted to leech off the protagonist.

“Shin Ohjeong… Can’t you speak without using that damn tone?”

“Heh heh, this tone is my identity.”

“Identity my ass. Anyway, meeting you was good. Lead the way.”

Normally, I wouldn’t even talk to a guy like this, but… Shin Ohjeong was quite useful. I could obtain various pieces of information through him.

“Ask me to walk ahead…? Well, it’s not a difficult task. As your assistant, I’ll grant that request.”

“You’re such a prick.”

“Heh heh. You’re unusually irritable today. Hell’s Six Section Staff Seong Yoojin…”

“Six Section Staff? What’s that supposed to mean? Don’t call me weird names.”

“Stop denying your nickname.”

Nickname? That was a story never mentioned in the original work. I frowned while he pulled out his smartphone from his pocket.


“Knew you’d show up like this, so I made sure to gather evidence ahead of time.”

“Evidence?”

“The moment Hell’s Six Punishment Rod was born… That was quite the thrilling instant.”

He fiddled with his smartphone and showed me a picture.

It was a photo of me. A photo of me swinging an exorcism rod at delinquents. Both the rod and everyone involved were soaked in blood—though I swear it wasn’t mine.

‘This guy used to be bullied back in the original story. The protagonist rescues him…’

The turning point where the protagonist and Shin Oh-Jeong become friends. This must be it.

“Punish meat (육), punish seal (단), rod rod (봉)… Six Punishment Rod. Your reputation has already spread around here. You should be careful. I heard the delinquent gang doesn’t look kindly on you…”

“What’s this ‘punish seal’ and ‘rod rod’? Did you come up with that name?”

“Hehehehe.”

“This guy is for real.”

I thought about killing him but decided against it. If I’m gonna kill him, it’ll have to be after using him.

Shin Oh-Jeong walked ahead and started talking. He liked chatting—not because he enjoyed small talk, but because he loved showing off whatever information he had.

“Did you know? The owner of Obi Convenience Store was murdered early this morning. I saw it on my way here; the cops were all over the place.”

“Obi Convenience Store?”

“The one near the back gate.”

“Ah.”

The back gate.

Looks like the choice appeared because of the murder case.

‘Since an event popped up, this isn’t just an ordinary murder. Dammit. There weren’t any murders in the original game…’

I hope this doesn’t interfere with the heroine’s route.

“The strange part is there’s absolutely no trace of the killer. It was definitely murder, but there’s not a single clue left behind. No fingerprints, nothing caught on CCTV or dashcams. The convenience store’s internal CCTV didn’t even capture the owner being killed. And there’s no sign of video tampering.”

“Oh, really? How do you know all this?”

“I overheard what the detectives were saying.”

“Cops are slacking off again.”

“In my opinion, this looks like the work of a ghost. What do you think, expert?”

“How did they die?”

“They were slashed to death with a long sword.”

“A katana?”

“Yeah.”

“In that case, it must be a ghost’s doing.”

“…Are you going to get involved in this case?”

“Why should I? I haven’t been hired for anything.”

“This is the third murder case. If we let this guy run loose, there’ll be more victims.”

“The police will handle it.”

“No! You need to step in! The police are useless! They’re just tax thieves!”

Shin Oh-Jeong went on a rant about how terrible the police were. I half-listened as we arrived at the classroom: H Grade 4th Class.

Shin Oh-Jeong sat down, opened his bag, and began munching on a triangle rice cake. I took my seat by the window and pulled out a textbook from the desk drawer. There was one with my name written on it.

‘This is my seat.’

Crunch crunch crunch crunch crunch.

Annoyed by the sound, I turned my head. Shin Oh-Jeong had already eaten six triangle rice cakes. Narrowing my eyes, I noticed a ghost behind him. It had emaciated limbs but an abnormally bloated stomach, with its face dominated by a gaping mouth. It was a Hungry Ghost (Agui).

‘So this guy’s possessed too.’

This was serious business.

Hungry Ghosts only appear in the second half of the original timeline, specifically during the toughest route—the Exorcism Route.

‘So I’m forced into the Super Hard Mode Exorcism Route?’

Fortunately, I know a simple way to deal with Hungry Ghosts.

“Shin Oh-Jeong. We’ll start the exorcism ritual at lunchtime. Go buy some supplies outside later.”

“Huh? An exorcism ritual?! Got it!”

Shin Oh-Jeong crunched into his eighth triangle rice cake.