Jin sat in the oversized chair of the fancy-ass mansion, staring at the ceiling like it held the answers to life's biggest questions. And honestly? At this point, it might as well have. 'Cause nothing else in this damn world made sense.
"...I refuse to believe this is happening," Jin muttered, rubbing his temples.
It had to be a fever dream. Or a stroke. Maybe a really bad case of sleep deprivation. But, no, every time he blinked, he was still here.
The NPC butler in the corner was still standing there, holding a tray like he had frozen mid-animation. Another maid was still sweeping the air. And one guy in armor? Yeah, he was stuck walking into a wall, taking one step forward, getting pushed back, and repeating.
Game bug? Dream? Nightmare?
Jin didn't know. Jin didn't wanna know.
Then came the final boss of all confusion.
Haruto.
Jin flinched as she stepped into the room, smiling like a concerned parent who had just found their kid sulking in the corner after a bad test grade.
"Jin, you okay?" Haruto asked, eyes full of totally unnecessary kindness.
Jin, who was not okay, forced a very stiff, very fake smile. "Yeah. Totally. Just thinking."
Haruto tilted her head, blinking. "Thinking about what?"
Jin sucked in a deep breath. Okay. He could do this. He could totally act normal.
"...Life."
Haruto nodded slowly, like she was really considering that answer. "Mhm. You've been through a lot, huh?"
You have no idea, buddy.
Jin wanted to scream. But instead, he did the next best thing. He decided to keep his brain busy by focusing on something equally stupid.
Names.
Haruto. It sounded too masculine. Too… off. His brain refused to accept the name anymore. Haruto was—no, she was—ugh. No, screw it, I'm just calling her Yuna now. Yeah. That made sense. Yuna sounded nice. Yuna sounded right. Yuna—
Wait. WAIT. HOLD UP.
Jin sat up suddenly, realizing Haruto was still here. And not just that—she wasn't being annoying? That was weird. That was dangerous.
Haruto scratched her cheek, fidgeting slightly. "Uh… you sure you're okay? You're not… mad at me or something?"
Jin blinked. "...Mad?"
Haruto hesitated. Then, in the most hesitant voice possible, said, "I-Is it okay for me to… not bother you?"
Jin's brain short-circuited. Did… did Haruto expect him to yell? Did she want him to freak out? What kind of weird reverse psychology nonsense was this??
"No, no, no, hold on, what do you mean 'not bothering me'? What, you wanted to be annoying?" Jin asked, waving his hands in frustration.
Haruto immediately looked guilty, taking a step back. "I—I mean! No! I just—!" She fumbled with her words before shaking her head. "Never mind. If you need space, I'll give you space!"
Then, like a defeated anime protagonist, Haruto turned around dramatically, her cape (did she even have a cape??) fluttering behind her as she walked away in retreat.
Jin just watched, utterly dumbfounded.
Did… did Haruto just admit she had a 'Bother Jin' setting in her brain?? And now she was actively fighting against it??
...What the hell was this world.
Jin let out a long, long exhale. "Okay. Okay, you know what? I'm done. I need a break."
And just like that, he made the smartest decision of the day.
Bath time.
He marched off to the massive bathhouse inside the mansion (because of course this dumb world had a bathhouse), ready to finally get some peace and quiet.
Except, the moment he pushed open the doors, he got hit with something else.
A loud, obnoxious, way-too-familiar SYSTEM MESSAGE.
[NEW ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED!]
[BOUND BY UNIVERSE – JIN & HARUTO, BEST FRIENDS FOREVER!]
"Nothing can separate you now! Your fates are eternally linked! Have fun, Jin!"
Jin froze.
Stared at the glowing text.
Read it again.
And then—
"...I AM GOING TO BURN THIS GAME TO THE GROUND."
---
Jin sank into the warm water, releasing the longest, most defeated sigh of his miserable existence.
"...This is nice."
No dumb NPCs doing weird bugged-out routines. No glitchy knights stuck in a running animation. No cursed romance events. Just silence.
He leaned back, letting the steam melt his brain into mush. Yeah. This was it. The only good thing in this damn world. The one tiny blessing in this entire bug-ridden disaster.
And yet—
WHY THE HELL AM I EVEN HERE?!
Jin slapped the water, sending a splash flying as his rage reignited.
"Goddamn Eternal Love Fantasia devs, WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!" he screamed at the ceiling. "Is this an RPG? A dating sim? A life simulator?! PICK A DAMN GENRE, YOU HACKS!"
Nothing in this world made sense! One second, it was a game with quests and skill trees, the next, it was forcing him into rom-com nonsense, and NOW he was stuck in some isekai nightmare where reality itself was actively bullying him.
And don't even get him started on the biggest plot twist of all.
Haruto was actually a girl.
Yuna. Yeah. That name made a hell of a lot more sense now. The weird romance flags, the shady writing, the way the game had always been kinda sketchy with its best-friendship system… yeah. In hindsight, so obvious.
Jin groaned, sliding deeper into the bath until only his eyes were above the water.
"…How the hell do I escape this cursed world?" he muttered.
And then—
DING!
A bright, glowing message appeared before him.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE:HAHAHAHA. NO. THIS IS YOUR REALITY NOW, WEIRDO. GOOD LUCK!]
Jin stared.
Read it again.
Slowly, he lifted a hand out of the water.
Flipped off the glowing text.
"SCREW. YOU."
The system message flickered. Then disappeared.
Jin let out another groan. "I just wanna go home… back to Tokyo… where things make sense…"
And then—
Disaster struck.
A loud splash.
Steam shifting.
A heavy presence entering the bath behind him.
And then, the absolute nightmare—
A soft, playful voice spoke.
"Jin~ A TRUE BROTHER DOESN'T BATHE ALONE!"
Jin stiffened.
No.
No. No. No.
That wasn't a guy's voice.
That was not the deep, dramatic tone he expected.
It was soft. Teasing. Feminine.
Slowly—painfully—he turned his head.
And there—standing in the thick, swirling steam—
Was Yuna.
Completely. Naked.
The steam covered just enough, but it didn't matter. That was still Haruto in his mind! And yet—
Yuna smirked, stretching her arms lazily above her head. "Hahaha~ Don't be shy! A bond of men is forged in the bath, you know?"
Jin's brain crashed.
His face turned red.
His soul left his body.
That wasn't a guy's voice.
That wasn't a guy's posture.
That wasn't a guy's anything.
"…I AM GOING TO DROWN MYSELF."
DING!
[NEW ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED!]
['BOUND BY THE UNIVERSE – JIN & YUNA, BEST FRIENDS FOREVER!']
Jin stared blankly at the floating message.
Then back at Yuna.
Then back at the message.
"…I AM GOING TO KILL WHOEVER WROTE THIS GAME SCRIPT."
TO BE CONTINUED.