Chapter 33: The Game Is Not Meant to Be Won

“Ah. Ah…”

“D-Director Yoo Hyunjae?”

Yoo Hyunjae was still alive.

For a moment.

A strange gurgling sound began escaping from the lips that had been smiling normally just a moment ago.

His eyes, which had been full of life before, rolled from side to side before dropping with a dull thud.

With the support that had held them in place gone, his neck bent at an impossible angle beneath the weight of his own head.

And the body that had remained upright in the chair collapsed, following the exact shape of the backrest.

“Mr. Seon Yuhan… don’t tell me his bones… all of them…?”

I didn’t even think about moving the corpse.

I just stared at Yoo Hyunjae, slumped over in the chair.

He looked like a doll.

A doll clumsily stitched together from flesh and blood by a child.

A doll whose creator had forgotten to put bones inside, unable even to stand upright, with its insides spilling out everywhere.

A doll abandoned before anyone had ever gotten the chance to play with it.

Yoo Hyunjae had died.

For the first time.

The very first time.

And for some reason, that felt so…

Terrifying.

“I’ll move the director somewhere else.”

Rrrk… Rrrk…

As I carried Yoo Hyunjae’s corpse away, I had to shake my head over and over to drive away a fear I could not understand.

I couldn’t keep thinking about it.

Not anymore.

【Welcome to the land of happiness, Happyland!】

Now it was my turn.

【What is your name?】

【▶ Seon Yuhan】

【▶ binary】

【▶ Hwang】

【▶ Lee Jeong-u】

【▶ I forgot】

The beginning was similar.

Since all events, including the attractions, seemed to be subject to randomness, the order and types varied slightly.

But the overall flow was the same.

Ride attractions.

Encounter food stands.

Answer questions about your name.

【Seon Yuhan!】

【Ah】

Ah?

【I】

I?

Was that an error?

Why was that appearing?

【ㅇ】

【ㅡ】

Eu?

【ㅇ】

【ㅠ】

Yu?

What the hell does that mean?

Just as I tilted my head in confusion.

【Ma】

【Machine is】

【Machine is the one that stays or the one that leaves I remain you have gone who are you machine is the one that stays or the one that leaves I remain you have gone who are you machine is the one that stays or the one that leaves I remain you have gone who are you machine】

The phrases began multiplying until they filled the entire screen.

At the same time, a fragmented mechanical voice started playing, stretching and breaking apart exactly like the text.

“……”

Don’t tell me.

Ding!

As if trying to hide that screen, a pop-up window appeared.

【Hello, Seon Yuhan. We are LabyrinSoft. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused during your playthrough of 《Lost In HAPPYLAND》.】

An apology?

Did that mean this was not part of the game’s original design?

Wasn’t it true that only the rules of one labyrinth could interfere with the rules of another?

Just like when everyone forgot Jung Jiho in Will You Come to the Bookstore?, and even Teacher Goose from Saenal Daycare ended up forgetting him.

【Measures have been taken to correct the detected error. As compensation, you will receive a reward through a special event. We once again apologize for any inconvenience this error may have caused.】

I rubbed my arm unconsciously while staring at the screen.

For now, I had to focus on the game.

【Oh! While you’re happily having fun, a blazing light watches you from above. It’s time to eat!】

A pixel-art restaurant appeared beneath the sign:

【Happy Restaurant】

【Your meal is ready. It smells delicious.】

The illustration showed three dishes.

Tonkatsu covered in thick sauce.

Tomato pasta loaded with meatballs.

And a huge hamburger overflowing with juices.

【You can only choose one! What will you eat? The chef especially recommends the tonkatsu.】

【▶ Tonkatsu】

【▶ Pasta】

【▶ Hamburger】

The recommended menu item was the tonkatsu?

【Hamburger!】

And how exactly am I supposed to trust that?

People who are desperately trying to survive.

Or who, if they are going to die, at least try to hurt me before they go down.

【Amazing! The flavor of the thick hamburger meat and the fresh, crisp texture of the vegetables form a perfect combination.】

Crunch! Chomp! Crack! Crunch!

【You happily enjoyed your meal.】

I have to survive.

【The chef’s eyes grow moist. He seems moved by how much you enjoyed eating.】

Just like they wanted to survive.

That tonkatsu made with unknown ingredients.

The chef must have added some special ingredient.

Poison.

Explosives.

Whatever.

If I could only choose one of the three dishes, then according to the rules, the chef could probably only tamper with one of them.

That was why he went out of his way to recommend it.

【I can’t wait for dinner. Perhaps then you’ll taste the true flavor of a real chef.】

“……”

Dinner.

When that time came, I would have to eat carefully.

Very carefully.

【An employee dressed as a lion is selling hot dogs. They look delicious. You are full right now.】

【▶ Eat】

【▶ Hold back】

If you’re full, the logical thing is to hold back.

What if you get sick from overeating?

【Hold back!】

Craaack!

“Huh?”

Crack!

Crunch!

The screen was splattered with vivid red ketchup stains accompanied by disgusting chewing sounds.

“Eh? Mr. Seon Yuhan, didn’t you just choose ‘Hold back’?”

【No matter how full you are, there’s always room for snacks! You happily lick the ketchup left around your lips. It seems you won’t be hungry for a while.】

“Ah, seriously, what kind of garbage is this…!”

Hwang Juyeon almost raised her voice, but seeing the sleeping child beside her, she closed her mouth.

“It seems that even if you choose to hold back, there’s still a chance you’ll end up eating.”

“That’s ridiculous…”

【Look! It’s the ‘Twist Train.’ A hunt for hidden snacks inside a train that twists and twists! Be happy!】

【▶ Be happy】

【▶ Be unhappy】

The attraction in the illustration was a small three-car electric train resembling a subway train, violently swaying up, down, left, and right without moving from its place.

【Be happy!】

Rumble! Screeech!

【The train has stopped. Which car will you open?】

【▶ Car 1】

【▶ Car 2】

【▶ Car 3】

So it was a guessing game.

Or perhaps a game of scent.

Since I had no clues, I decided to simply choose the top option.

【Car 1!】

Bang! Crack!

【Correct! Your senses perfectly located the snack that was sneaking between the train cars.】

The sound of someone chewing something hard like a dog treat, though slightly soft, echoed before being swallowed.

What an appetite.

It was even making me hungry.

【There is graffiti on the wall. Waiting for happiness while doodling is also part of the charm of an amusement park.】

This was an event I had not seen before.

Perhaps because this was the first time I had survived past lunchtime.

【As you look at the mischievous graffiti, you feel as though you are about to begin a treasure hunt.】

A treasure hunt?

Now that I think about it, when the error appeared, they said they would give me a reward through an event.

This was probably it.

As always, this game did not hand out a single reward easily.

【You examine the graffiti.】

[↓Come here

●●

▼▲

Cometotheticketbooth]

【They hope you won’t be able to read it. But you can. Where will you go?】

【▶ Restroom】

【▶ Ticket Booth】

【▶ Prayer Room】

…Of course.

I could read it.

【Ticket Booth!】

【How strange. There’s nothing in the ticket booth. Has someone already taken the treasure? You examine the booth carefully.】

[　　 Admission Fees
Adults: 10,000 won
Children: ⑦,000 won]

【It seems someone likes the number ‘7.’ They even circled it. You open the cash register. Could there be treasure inside?】

【There is a note.】

[You can’t escape but you can kill if you come to the control office there will be a corpse enter calmly open the paper drawer in the upper compartment there is a key don’t be afraid and come pray]

Grammatically, there was nothing strange about it.

But considering it was an emergency situation, it contained too many unnecessary words and sounded odd.

“This…”

“It looks like a coded message.”

Even so, the clues were sufficient.

And it did not seem very complicated.

“A code? And how exactly are we supposed to…? Ah! Could the ‘7’ be the clue?”

“Probably…”

I copied the message exactly into the Tarae Diary and circled every seventh word.

Just like the number 7 had been circled in the price list.

[You can’t escape (but) you can kill if (you come) to the office there will be a (corpse) enter calmly (upon) entering open the (paper) drawer in the upper compartment (there is) a key don’t be (afraid) and (come) pray]

“But… you come… corpse… upon… paper… there is… afraid… come…”

No.

Reading it properly.

“Ferris wheel… pig compartment… weapon.”

There was a weapon in the pig compartment of the Ferris wheel.

I didn’t know exactly what the pig compartment was.

But it would probably have a pig drawn on it or something similar.

That was why they had specified it in the message.

【Where will you go?】

【▶ Control Office】

【▶ Ferris Wheel】

【▶ Prayer Room】

If the note was read normally, the control office was an intermediate stop and the prayer room was the final destination.

But if you followed the hidden message in every seventh word…

【Ferris Wheel!】

I was going there and destroying everything.

Their treasure.

The weapon they planned to use to kill me.

【Look! It’s the ‘Observation Wheel.’ Its twelve cabins are decorated with adorable animal drawings. Which one do you like best?】

【▶ Rat】

【▶ Ox】

…

【▶ Dog】

【▶ Pig】

They seemed to be the twelve zodiac animals.

【Pig!】

【Without hesitation, you run toward the cabin decorated with an adorable little pig and open the door.】

Thunk!

BOOOOM!

Ratatatatat!

BOOOOOM!

“Ah.”

With a horrifying explosion, the screen began shaking and flickering once again.

【What a shame! When one takes up piracy, sometimes they misread a treasure map and end up empty-handed. You are no longer in a condition to enjoy happiness. But you can still be happy.】

【CONTINUE】

【EXIT】

“What the hell? Why is this happening? Don’t tell me it was a trap too?”

“Ha…”

I had been deceived.

Now I understood why it had seemed so easy.

The clues were too obvious.

And precisely because of that, I overthought everything.

No.

They made me overthink it.

They.

Now that I thought about it…

[↓Come here
●●
▼▲
Cometotheticketbooth]

“If someone has enough reading comprehension to go to the ticket booth instead of running straight to the restroom after seeing this, then they won’t blindly trust the contents of the note either.”

That was what they thought.

Humans.

Especially since the system remembered that I had previously distrusted the chef’s recommended menu item in the restaurant.

…They’re studying me.

【CONTINUE!】

【The wise decision of someone like you never wastes an opportunity to be happy.】

“Mr. Seon Yuhan… are you going to keep going?”

“Yes.”

【But happiness always comes at a price!】

【Don’t worry! It won’t hurt. A small contribution will make you happy: Appendix】

“I suppose I’ll keep playing.”

And he kept playing.