Supporting Characters in the Game are Obsessed

The sun had set and the dark dawn engulfed the city.

The moonlight couldn’t pierce through the gray clouds dominating the sky, and only the holographic lights leaking out from the upper or middle class illuminated the quiet streets of the lower class.

The young man, Lee Siwoon, who was about to enter an old bar, suddenly stepped back from the now chaotic entrance of the bar.

“Damn, what the hell is that woman doing?!”

“Hey, move it! Run!”

At the same time he stepped back, two men in shabby clothes burst out of the entrance, running away.

They could’ve glanced at Lee Siwoon, who was standing right next door, but they were too preoccupied with fleeing and disappeared into the alley without looking back.

‘…Hmm.’

Should I just go back?

After a brief moment of thought, Siwoon shook his head to clear his mind and entered the bar.

The neon lights flickered inside, making it look almost like a club.

There were several broken chairs and a few intact ones scattered around, and some people who looked like unconscious vagabonds were lying around as well.

Siwoon cautiously stepped past the fallen vagabonds.

His steps were leading him to the stage.

On the stage, he saw a woman with red hair sitting while holding her eyelids.

“Hey, Andrea.”

“…Ah, it’s you, Siwoon.”

Andrea looked up at Siwoon at the sound of his voice.

“You’re finally calling me by my name correctly.”

“…Well, I can’t keep mispronouncing the name of the person I’m working with.”

Andrea sighed heavily in response.

Since she wasn’t wrong, Siwoon nodded and picked up one of the intact chairs lying on the ground to sit in front of her.

“So what’s going on today?”

“…Same as usual.”

Andrea continued speaking.

“They told me to get lost if I’m going to sing a boring song, so I gave them a reason to leave instead.”

“Your personality hasn’t changed at all.”

Siwoon chuckled from behind the mask he was wearing.

That smile didn’t sit well with Andrea, and her eyes sharpened a bit, but she didn’t get angry.

They had already worked together several times as mercenaries for side jobs.

Others thought Andrea’s main job was being a mercenary, but in truth, being a singer was her main gig, and the other was just a side hustle.

“If you get banned from here, there won’t be any place left for you to sing. You should’ve tried to calm yourself down a little.”

“I’ll just sing on the street then.”

Did a vision of Andrea singing on the street pop into Siwoon’s mind?

He nodded earnestly.

“Well, you do sing well.”

Hearing his reply, Andrea leaned back against the chair.

Her blood-red hair cascaded down.

A moment of silence passed.

It was quite some time later that Andrea called out to Siwoon again.

“……Hey.”

“Hmm?”

Not looking at Siwoon, Andrea muttered weakly.

“What if I just give up on being a singer?”

“You? Why all of a sudden?”

“It’s not sudden… well, you get it, right?”

There were a number of reasons she didn’t need to say.

There were too many bars she had already been banned from to count on fingers.

And the mercenary job she started as a part-time gig turned out to be something she was quite talented at.

If she were to talk, it would go on endlessly.

It felt like the world was telling her to give up on being a singer.

‘…I bet this guy agrees too.’

Since he was her partner in mercenary jobs.

He would probably prefer it if she focused on mercenary work instead of wasting time on a singing career that wasn’t going anywhere.

But her expectations turned out to be wrong.

“No, absolutely don’t give up.”

“Why?”

Siwoon spoke with conviction.

“You can definitely succeed as a singer.”

“…So what? Look at the mess I’m in right now.”

“Sure, it’s a bit tough now, but things will change soon.”

As if he was saying it was fate.

Siwoon looked straight at Andrea.

“I mean it. Should we bet on it?”

“…Huh, a bet?”

Noticing that Andrea was losing her fighting spirit from his answer, Siwoon continued with a confident voice.

“Let’s make a bet, alright? I guarantee it. You will become the most famous singer in this city.”

“……”

Staring blankly at the air, Andrea turned her gaze to Siwoon.

It was a tone that believed in her more than she believed in herself.

And while it was just words,

for a person to fall in love,

and for the thorns of a rose to break,

there doesn’t need to be any other reason.

20. People Who Don’t Want to Go Out (3)

Moments after reminiscing about the past, Andrea found it hard to assess the emotion she was feeling now.

It was a feeling she had never experienced in her lifetime, and she thought she wouldn’t feel it in the future either—envy.

‘…Haa.’

Catherine had created many memories with Siwoon over the past ten years, and the artificial intelligence named Eve clearly held feelings for Siwoon that were more than just affection.

But what about her?

She had only received comforting words at the bar.

‘…Envy, jealousy.’

It was an emotion uncharacteristic of Andrea.

Yet it was the feeling that now dominated her heart.

Of course.

She thought it was absurd that she was feeling such emotions.

If things had gone as they should, she would have already given up on love due to Catherine’s existence.

She had hidden those feelings well until now.

And while cheering for Catherine and giving her advice, she was helping that love come true from behind.

But now that a future where they could all be together seemed possible, her envy over the relationship of the other two felt laughable.

Come to think of it, it was the same during the live broadcast.

If they were going to acknowledge polygamy, they should just acknowledge it.

Why did she have to add that she was aiming for first place unnecessarily?

In her own actions, Andrea felt shame and self-loathing.

“…So.”

Just as she fell into thought, Catherine spoke up.

“Why is that?”

“……Uh.”

The reason for her feelings.

“…Just because?”

“……”

“No, seriously….”

Since it was Andrea who had first brought this up, she now wanted to crawl into a mouse hole as the situation unfolded.

In any case, the fortunate part was that she could hide her flushed face behind the mask she was wearing.

But the heat didn’t escape.

Andrea fanned herself with her hand, trying to change the subject.

“Anyway, we ended up living together.”

“You’re still just on the same level, though.”

“Let’s ignore the small stuff.”

“Is that a small thing?” Catherine murmured as she looked at Andrea.

“What I mean is, there’s gonna be a need for rules.”

“If you mean rules…”

The one who answered Andrea was Eve.

Though her face was devoid of emotion, it seemed like she found Andrea’s words interesting.

“I’m not talking about anything grand.”

Andrea kept speaking.

“Let’s just agree not to fight with each other while living together.”

It was also a message to herself.

Since she had come in late, she didn’t want to interfere with the two, and the most important thing was that Siwoon wasn’t uncomfortable.

Living at her own pace or someone else’s pace, Andrea thought that would work.

“…Have you decided?”

“You sent me a message, after all.”

And after receiving that message, Andrea had posted a question about polygamy in the vehicle and had appeared on the live broadcast.

Catherine, upon hearing her answer, set down the shopping bag and stretched widely.

“Well, that’s good enough.”

“…You knew, roughly?”

“I just asked you about polygamy, what’s with that?”

Yet even as she said that, she seemed to have had a clue.

Andrea approached Eve and reached out her hand.

It was a gesture asking for a handshake.

“…Well, let’s do our best together.”

Looking down at Andrea’s hand, Eve slowly grasped it.

“Having multiple people for service is a rational choice.”

“…Huh?”

Not understanding Eve’s statement, Andrea asked back.

However, Eve didn’t respond and turned her gaze back towards the convenience store.

She was waiting for Siwoon’s arrival.

In any case, it seemed to be a gesture of permission.

Seeing the two, Andrea let out a light sigh and said.

“Who would really believe that three people love one guy like this?”

At that moment.

Catherine responded to Andrea’s statement.

“Three? What are you talking about?”

“It’s you, me, and Eve, so that’s three people.”

Then Catherine shook her head firmly.

“No, there could probably be a few more added.”

“?”

“…Maybe four, five, hmmm. It could go up to six at most…”

Andrea momentarily failed to comprehend what she had just heard.

*

I had fully indulged in solitude at the convenience store and felt it was time to head back, so I bought a drink and went outside.

I returned to the three people waiting for me outside with the cold drink in hand.

…..

But somehow.

It felt like Andrea was looking at me with the eyes of a trash-bearer, unlike before I entered the convenience store.

“……”

Did she suspect I intentionally took a long time to come out?

I wasn’t sure what I had done wrong, but I decided to start with an apology.

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