Chapter 1: Unreality
sBb4Dawn.C8PmRT6
J8VSIt was around four in the morning.A5SYwtL
wlO56While everyone else was asleep, I was still wide awake, clicking away with my mouse.WHiLoa
OtbThe monitor, the only source of light in the dark room, glowed faintly.mbz
1RRVeA file had just finished downloading on the desk. After a moment’s hesitation, I opened it.zRwS
oXYA[Unreality.exe]sdd
72qFWUnreality.mRrU
DDYA legendary horror game made with RPG Maker, created by an anonymous Japanese user in the 2000s.dr89
JtqWL0Nowadays, with highly advanced computer graphics and a flood of AAA horror games, you’d think old games no longer have a place. But the gritty, pixelated, eerie vibe typical of RPG horror games had me completely hooked.H5aOEH5
W7wSince I started getting into these games, I think I’ve played almost every horror title out there.OVRw
NgFkIK8From classics like Ao Oni and The Witch’s House, to obscure foreign titles I played with the help of machine translators.TQrP
nyZrjThat’s why “Unreality” was the perfect game for me.PZuH
RnQPPNo matter how much I searched horror communities, all I ever found were vague rumors. No videos, not even screenshots. It was a real mystery.yKmPvPR
4hvZn8And that mystery only fueled my curiosity. I spent years looking for it.sJwl
wUQI scoured Korean forums, foreign sites, anything for a clue about “Unreality.”DQ85L
wHvFThen, finally, a week ago, I found something: a Japanese blog where someone had reviewed the game.DuqdL
YO40Unfortunately, the post had long since been deleted, but the blog’s address was still accessible. Using every translation tool I had, I emailed the author.GbuIQ9
P4GbOne, two, three days passed. Just when I’d given up hope, I got a reply.DYp
5b00Vc[No subject]KzVN
kCC[Sender: Anonymous]8CHWn0
7AO8[Attachment (1)]dTvfGO
SuiJ3Not a single word. Just an attachment. Unreality.wd3U8xn
4Lh3imjIt was suspicious—sending only a file with no message or context—but I didn’t care.2Nl
8tZI was too excited at the thought of playing it.Hk7
RXpfwBRHeart pounding with anticipation, I opened the executable.GpvZ
oVHrI[Warning!]eOQSo
seW[Do you want to run Unreality?]ZoYbZS
ActlDuD[This file may contain a virus.]PeIhP
dHzI ignored the warning without a second thought and clicked “Yes.”5yr
MBpA black window opened, emanating a creepy atmosphere. I stared at the monitor, as if something might suddenly appear.Y4DU
nPHsBn2The program flickered a few times, then shut down.5B5l
hW941JmClick.AwuE3Q
jjwLThe dark screen reflected my face, looking pitiful.lU5Zzo
Nxzr9U“…What was that?”0Di
mUff8I tried again, but the same thing happened. It closed before it even began.lFxo
tz4tz4QI fought with the file for about 30 minutes before accepting the truth.RB2RUm
G2HThe game wouldn’t run. It wasn’t just a simple error. It had never been designed to launch in the first place.fTCx
efggXf“Unreality.exe” was a catchy name, but in the end, it was just an empty file with nothing inside.beb83ii
AiZPwg“Ah…”EfL0nZz
i90mHI’d been completely fooled.MgpRp
CwuLThat file sent by an anonymous source was nothing more than bait to reel me in.FrT
bGuPThe excitement that had reached its peak collapsed in an instant.lhficmk
AlKASome crazy Japanese guy had cruelly crushed the heart of a desperate person.FlY3G
DxOQBj‘I just wanted to play a game—why do this to me?’B2ms
8DKMy reflection in the monitor looked utterly miserable.izCNfN
sEvTEven a baby getting its candy taken away wouldn’t wear such a defeated expression.X8rprW
aOLsI was wrecked, inconsolable. Exhaustion hit me all at once. I rubbed my face hard to stay awake.TKcv
0Lpt‘What if the file really had a virus?’HUU9l71
yzaqjI’d ignored the warning without a second thought, and now I felt like a complete idiot.Huzq9R
Ra7DC7uI ran the antivirus multiple times before calming down. Luckily, my computer was fine. The file didn’t contain any viruses.wuV5GH
iPAIt was just a hollow shell, created to mock me.ea1WXO
i8C“Seriously.”fkiU31
Is5QEouA huge wave of emptiness washed over me. And with it, all the curiosity I had for “Unreality” vanished.Ype2B
3jD5I muttered something under my breath and collapsed onto the bed. I didn’t want to look for “Unreality” anymore.CSv
rPBh8LnThinking about how hard I’d tried just to play it made me feel like a complete fool.jjodKRK
HhgDkThat game I’d longed for so desperately had left me with nothing but a vast, hollow void.TfRxY
izBMsxx***2Ey
fPLP56WTime to clock in, just at the brink of being late.30qz
bEhqI barely made it to class, dragging my feet as I silently took my seat. I was utterly exhausted from staying up until four in the morning doing stupid things. All that fatigue from the sleepless night hit me in one go.afSv3bk
FBme3My eyelids began to droop.BBt
uvD4I practically smashed onto my desk. “Sleeping for a few hours won’t end the world, right?”WVxxcD
y3QLSo, as always, I fell asleep. And not long after, I opened my eyes—not because someone woke me, but simply because I woke up.yjV
pq8HInterestingly, no teacher came to wake me today. Maybe that’s why I slept straight through. After that long rest, the exhaustion was completely gone.7rme
u2MtGIt must be lunchtime.zdz1Y
id7MWI sat up listlessly and stretched hard. At the same time, an overwhelming deja vu washed over me.Hs2N4A
rGWVThere was something strange in the classroom. The atmosphere just didn’t feel normal. Only then did I look around, feeling a bit alarmed.TTJH8
IsQQ“What the hell…?”pwP
0rCkOddly enough, the classroom was already dark.5vnzk
I8MsNot because the lights were off—but the curtains were completely open.lG9
EN8And not just the classroom—so was the hallway, and even what I could see outside the window: total darkness.mMTBg5f
H9aVWwComplete darkness.Fy8koN
pnM1UYLike midnight.Bum7qT
drDPa‘Midnight?’iuYAd
flu6iQI glanced at the clock on the classroom wall. Unfortunately, the hands pointed precisely at 12.E5rtaFo
PH5Dead-on twelve. And of course, it wasn’t noon.CKRJS
l2oZMkgIt was midnight. I had woken up after midnight.ovcWP
Y18ANobody had bothered to wake me?Ktl
CFZNuI realized something was seriously wrong. I grabbed my throbbing head and started packing my things.lyurL
XrFu3While shoving my backpack in a hurry, my attention landed on a notebook. It was open right on my desk, impossible to ignore.bXU
Zo5aDid I fall asleep using it as a pillow? I couldn’t remember.grLsw4
qC4v8IAnyway, the open notebook had a number written in it, with no context:Jn26f
5pz0[00:00]NNA09
uLiI didn’t recall writing that. Though it felt suspicious, I dismissed the distraction immediately.5WfQDa
ebzzQNo time for that. I grabbed my bag and bolted for the back door.2SXU
2n4f9LOClackx4e
5wyuG4It didn’t open.6x6Z4lg
ix1It was locked. After several attempts, I had to give up.Rge0
b33q0But classroom doors—they usually lock from the outside, right? This lock was on the inside.PecLoyx
Y0EIt made no sense, but I didn’t dwell on it. Escaping school was the priority.ghMc89
GMGUIf the back door was locked, there was still the front one. I headed there, half-dreading the result. Same situation.DKAW2
DHh5tWLocked with a padlock facing outward. Unless someone came and unlocked it from the other side, I was trapped.yfq
rQ2uH9Both doors were locked.V0r
qsHMXThat’s when it hit me—I was stuck in the classroom. Literally locked in. Is this a dream?rw9X1
IrVLThe absurdity left me stunned. I pinched my cheek, poked the wall like an idiot. And that’s when a message appeared floating in the air.zPqlM
ougNvFlashWWp
dbE[Initiating tutorial.]n65nrdJ
fkvzUp[Escape the classroom within time limit.]LhZFtT
FGjr6ag[Reward: Status window]foa
k2k0P[Failure penalty: Death]9vNOQl
c6M[Time remaining: 10:00]rk2hW
YKKy5jE‘What?’QyI1tZ
0eoJtVI blinked, stunned at what looked like a video game interface.7DSIzG
OmFgkvhTutorial, reward, failure penalty.Oo1VOL
VCWM1A mission window, complete with a live timer at the bottom.i6V
QvCxfkh[Time remaining: 9:48]ZPn
2uFzbdApparently, I had to escape the classroom before time ran out. But what did all this mean?qBQN
CFHToo real to be a dream—too surreal to be reality.YWfU2
Jp1I couldn’t grasp it, frozen in place, lost in thought. Meanwhile, the timer mercilessly counted down.OBB2Y
VMTZwC[Time remaining: 9:13]1yY5s
sC3F2LI had a gut feeling something terrible would happen when the time ended. Reluctantly, I began searching the classroom.lGhNNHa
hv2On the surface, everything looked normal—but there was something unsettling in the air I couldn’t explain.Xor
H9qOFirst thing that caught my eye: the lockers.qWF1H9
7lkVAt the back of the classroom, they lined up neatly. And one stood out.cEe
zyV7oRight in the middle, painted a deep, industrial red.4wy
8fF182It was also padlocked—a few weeks ago there had been a theft in the neighboring class, and we were warned to secure our belongings. Since then, some students started locking their lockers.q264
ZyXPmThat red locker probably belonged to one of them.EEnPBKM
ar9aar9But honestly, with that ominous look, I doubt anyone wanted to use it. Other than that locker, nothing else was obviously weird in the classroom—though I didn’t check everything thoroughly.7STeAl
lHvDI looked in logical places—the teacher’s desk drawers, behind the TV—searching for the back-door key, but found nothing helpful.B0oG2
AboThe timer was about to hit zero. Maybe to show time running out, its color shifted to a dark red.JlN
0COiStill, no clue how to escape.efG5
rzo[00:00]hZQ3L
W5zFinally, time was up.4SyPV68
NnUJI braced for something horrific to happen—or so I thought. But nothing happened.08j6ff
VSvejig‘Ridiculous. I frightened myself for nothing.’IyYf8uZ
0wSI exhaled in relief. Then I heard a dull, heavy vibration.Zm1
0wdmSIt came from the hallway.TCpqT
8pa5KTMy relieved expression vanished. I turned slowly in that direction.6cz6
Ookz‘Did someone come?’natLlev
uWIfejwI peeked out the window. Just like the classroom, the hallway was engulfed in darkness. I heard shuffling footsteps in the distance. Soon, the silhouette of a bulky figure appeared, approaching.lepWL
SjoniI couldn’t see clearly in the dark, but the dim light from the emergency exit sign and fire extinguisher illuminated just enough.oiOrT
l8fX4sKHe wore a plain, sloppy blue uniform and a matching cap. In his right hand he held a flashlight.SnP
NZV‘The guard?’K7gl
5XdTHe looked like one of those nighttime school security guards.AQvc
DaueSince it was late, he probably had the night shift. It’s the same person I always saw entering school, so seeing him made me feel a strange mix of relief—and dread. I was about to call for help, then froze.56aD
X0mF‘Something’s off…’5Qw
2gtI couldn’t explain why, but the guard didn’t feel normal. His usually friendly morning expression was now utterly stiff.xAsvfy2
vgQYxC7More than expressionless—frozen, inhuman. A chill ran through me. The classic “uncanny valley” feeling.hV9tV
8LCqWBThe guard shuffled down the hallway toward the classroom.GvcvZM
6XLWHis awkward, unnatural gait made me feel like I was watching a moving mannequin.i2uNX
AghTfInstinctively, I ducked. My first thought was to hide before he noticed me.erw
QBD0GcThe footsteps drew closer. I covered my mouth and nose—to stifle any noise.ghwpVS4
b9kI cocked my ear and focused entirely on the hallway.nWW
Bf8‘Is he gone?’i1AS
HZqmCEAt some point, the steps stopped. I was hiding in a blind spot under the window, so I couldn’t see the hallway outside.lfnJi
mh2I had to rely on my instincts. Maybe he didn’t see me and had passed.0n3VDU
JNKyIL‘Let me check.’rg2
9mtCK3xI peeked slowly through the window and froze.O6XpW8
rNuzKThe guard was right there—standing directly in front of it, eyes wide open, like he’d known all along I was hiding there.ShA9xe3
JPv4nP9The moment I raised my head, our eyes locked. His were red, bloodshot—and fixed directly on me.M4It5b
rFDry“Shit!!”kga
j3AoBI yelped and fell backward in shock, knocking over every desk around me.VbR3gW
jmJdYet still, the guard didn’t take his gaze off me.hYRqim
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