Juhwan hesitated, then lifted his trembling hand and made a small, polite gesture toward the table.
"Shall we… eat?" he said softly, his voice barely holding itself together.
Han Sooyeon didn't move. She didn't nod, didn't lift her hands. She simply sat there, head bowed, hair draped over her face like a curtain of ink.
Then, without warning, the glass in front of her began to empty on its own.
The murky drink—dark and viscous—sank lower and lower, vanishing as if something unseen were drinking it.
The floating eyeballs inside spun lazily, their movements twitching, unfocused, before sinking to the bottom and dissolving into pale mist.
Juhwan's blood ran cold.
He stared, frozen, every instinct screaming at him to look away.
'She's not even touching it…'
The glass hit the table with a soft clink, empty.
He forced his eyes down to his own drink—the cup labeled Tears of Sorrow.
The liquid shimmered faintly, a pale, translucent gray that seemed to move even when still. It didn't look edible. It didn't even look real.
'If I don't drink it, she might think I'm rejecting her… and that might mean death.'
His throat tightened, but he steeled himself. Slowly, carefully, he brought the cup to his lips.
The moment it touched his tongue, a chilling cold rushed down his throat, so sharp it made him shiver.
It didn't taste like anything—not metallic, not sweet, not bitter. It was like swallowing air from a frozen grave.
He almost gagged, but forced himself to finish it, gulp by trembling gulp.
When the cup was empty, he set it down with shaking fingers, his breath fogging in the cold air.
Then, his phone buzzed faintly against his leg.
He glanced down.
[You have gained +1 Sanity.]
[You have gained +1 Courage.]
He blinked in disbelief.
'What… does that even mean?'
The numbers didn't matter right now. The trembling in his hands hadn't stopped, and Han Sooyeon was still staring at him—or maybe through him.
But he knew one thing for sure.
He had to see this "date" through to the end.
Just as he tried to steady his breathing, his phone buzzed again—sharp and sudden in the silence.
He froze. Slowly, he lifted it under the table, afraid the glow might offend her somehow.
A new system panel blinked into view, the text bright against the darkness:
[What would you like to say next?]
[1. "The food was delicious."]
[2. "I like your hair."]
[3. "Do you remember how you died?"]
Juhwan's face drained of color.
'Are you kidding me? Who wrote these!? Number three is literally suicide!'
His eyes darted up at Han Sooyeon.
She hadn't moved an inch. Her face was still hidden behind that thick curtain of black hair, unmoving and lifeless—but somehow, he could feel her watching him.
Sweat slid down his temple.
'Option one might be safe, but… what if she knows I didn't actually like it? What if she can tell I'm lying?'
He swallowed hard.
'Option two… at least it's neutral, right? Complimenting her hair can't be that dangerous.'
His thumb hovered for a heartbeat.
His mouth opened on its own.
The words spilled out, voice trembling.
"I… I like your hair."
The sound hung in the air between them, fragile and thin.
The candle flickered. The garden wind shifted, brushing against the back of his neck.
Slowly—too slowly—Han Sooyeon's head tilted to the side.
The curtain of her black hair swayed, revealing the faintest glimpse beneath: pale skin marred by black stitching running along her cheek.
Her lips curved—barely a movement, but unmistakably—into something like a smile.
"...Thank you."
Her voice rang again, directly in his head—soft, echoing, too close.
Juhwan's chest tightened. The air around them seemed lighter, less suffocating, just for a second.
He exhaled shakily.
'Did… did that actually work?'
A faint chime came from his phone.
[Affection +5]
He blinked at the message, both relieved and horrified.
'This really is a dating sim… but with ghosts.'
He forced himself to sit straight, pretending composure while his pulse thundered in his ears.
The candle between them flickered once, then began to fade.
The air grew lighter—like pressure slowly lifting from his chest.
Juhwan blinked, confused. The tablecloth fluttered though there was no wind. The chairs creaked softly, edges of the world dissolving into faint wisps of light.
It was ending.
Han Sooyeon didn't move. She simply sat there, hands folded on her lap, the faint threads of her form breaking apart piece by piece—like ash drifting away underwater.
Her drink, her chair, the cracked tiles beneath her—all of it dissolved into white static.
"...It's over?" Juhwan whispered, almost afraid to believe it.
Then, the system tone chimed through his phone.
[BZZZT]
[Mission Complete: Blind Date Invitation]
[Completion: 89%]
[Bonus Reward: +20 Points]
[Affection Achieved: 5%]
[Han Sooyeon – Profile Unlocked (Partial)]
He stared as new panels slid across the screen.
━━━━━━━━━━━
Kang Juhwan – Player Stats
Sanity: 2
Courage: 2
Affection (Han Sooyeon): 5%
Lives Remaining: ♥♥♥♥♥
━━━━━━━━━━━
Below it, another screen unfolded—gray and glitching around the edges.
━━━━━━━━━━━
Target Profile: Han Sooyeon
Status: Deceased (Bound Entity)
Affection: 5%
Emotional State: Unknown
Last Memory: [???]
Special Trait: [???]
Danger Level: 4 (Dangerous)
━━━━━━━━━━━
The numbers meant nothing to him yet—but seeing her name there, seeing it officially recorded in the system, made his stomach twist.
He looked up again.
Han Sooyeon's body was nearly gone now, only her head and shoulders faintly visible. Her long black hair swayed softly, untouched by gravity.
She didn't say a word.
She only looked at him—no malice, no warmth, just that blank, eternal gaze that made it impossible to breathe.
For a moment, it felt like she wanted to remember him.
Or curse him.
He couldn't tell which.
Then she was gone.
The candle snuffed out.
The table vanished.
The garden was empty again, silent and gray beneath the dying moonlight.
Juhwan stood alone, shaking, his phone still glowing in his hand.
'That… was a date?'
He wanted to laugh. He wanted to scream. But no sound came out.
Only the soft hum of the system remained, and somewhere in the dark, he could still feel the faint trace of her presence lingering, watching, waiting for whatever came next.
"Haaah…" Juhwan exhaled, the breath tearing from his lungs like he'd been holding it for hours.
His hands were trembling, and only now did he realize how tightly he'd been clutching his phone.
The night air felt strangely normal again—cold, still, but no longer suffocating. The garden was empty, silent. Even the flickering remnants of ghostly light had faded into nothing.
He glanced around once, twice, to make sure she was really gone.
No sign of Han Sooyeon. No sound. No eyes watching him from the dark.
"...It's over," he whispered to himself, barely believing the words.
Then he turned and walked—fast, almost stumbling over his own feet. Every shadow on the street made his pulse spike. Every gust of wind felt like something reaching out to drag him back.
He didn't stop until he reached his apartment door.
He slammed it shut, locked it twice, and leaned his forehead against the cool metal.
'Never again,' he thought. 'I'm not doing that again.'
But the system's faint glow from his phone said otherwise.
He ignored it. Tossed the phone onto his desk. Kicked off his shoes.
Then collapsed face-first onto his bed.
His entire body ached, like he'd been holding tension in every muscle since the date began.
'I survived… that's what matters,' he thought drowsily.
His eyes were already half-closed, exhaustion wrapping around him like a heavy blanket.
Tomorrow was clear—no classes, no part-time work.
He could finally rest.