ICPBAG CH 01

For quite a while—no, for a very long time—there was a BL web novel that caused a huge craze across various online communities.

It was a modern fantasy. At first, I thought it was just another typical gate-and-hunter story, but I’d been completely baited.

Even though tags like “organization” or “dark angst” were attached, the main keyword was still “hunter genre.”

The title of the work was <The Night Has a Thousand Eyes>, abbreviated as <Night Thousand Eyes>.

I usually only read female-protagonist modern fantasy, so at first I didn’t pay it much attention.

Then, as that niche genre only appeared once in a blue moon and there wasn’t anything worthwhile to read, I started looking elsewhere.

Right then, I noticed a strange phenomenon: every Wednesday past midnight, message boards would be flooded with posts labeled “ㅂㅊㄴ.”

[ㅂㅊㄴ] This chapter is absolute legendary ㅅㅍㅅㅍ (32)
[ㅂㅊㄴ] Author nimㅠㅠ how far are you going to torment our baby kittyㅠㅠ (7)
[ㅂㅊㄴ] Did Manager Cha show up this chapter?? (9)
[ㅂㅊㄴ] Cha Wooshin is a lifetime top, but if you met him IRL your life would be ruined (15)
[ㅂㅊㄴ] Honestly Joo Inhyuk has main top energy, 인정? (24)
[ㅂㅊㄴ] I just want everyone to be happy. (3)

Even without reading it, I ended up memorizing the characters’ names, nicknames, and even the rough plot.

While mindlessly scrolling, I clicked on a random post.

[ㅂㅊㄴ] Haven’t read it yet, convince me. (13)

I haven’t read this yet—can I start now?? I heard it’s ending soon.

Also, is the main top decided now?

Anyway, convince me. For reference, I like spicy stuff. I eat everything, no preferences.

Guest(1): I like spicy too but I’ve lost my sense of taste. Highly recommend.
└ 0044: OP going to pay right now
└ 0046: It tasted sweet to me thoughㅎㅎㅎㅎㅎjmt Michelin-level~~

Guest(2): It’s ending soonㅋㅋㅋ no regrets after death

Guest(3): Yeah main top is Cha Wooshin
└ 0043: Look at this Cha stan still in denial
└ 0043: ?ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Joo stan spottedㅋㅋ just go to sleep~~~
└ 0045: Manager Cha diesㅋㅋㅋ how can he be male lead if he’s dead?
└ 0046: No spoiler tag, violation;
└ 0051: ㅋㅋㅋㅋ he’s not dead yet but apparently it’s a spoilerㅠ so sad

Guest(4): But this might be a sad endingㅠ It’s my life novel so I reread it a lot and recommend it to everyone, but I’m worried about the ending. Judging from recent foreshadowing, it feels like there’s no hope. Still, if you’re okay with that, try it. The worldbuilding is solid and the characters are charming. It reads pretty smoothly overall.
└ 0050: I don’t think it’ll be sad.
└ 0052: But considering how the author makes them suffer, it probably won’t be a fully happy ending. Maybe a merry-bad ending??

After reading the comments, I ended up starting it.

It was about to finish anyway, and if it was shaking entire communities every week, the quality was probably guaranteed.

Plus, since it was long, I thought it would be good for killing time.

It had enough clichés to read easily, but as the chapters piled up, the emotional toll became significant.

I had definitely started it lightly, but in hindsight, I should never have begun.

I stayed up all weekend, and even on Monday, from my commute to after work until I fell asleep, I couldn’t put my phone down.

Once I got immersed, I quickly caught up to the latest chapter.

The story went like this: gates opened simultaneously across the world, and towers descended.

“Gates” were passages to another dimension, the demon world, essentially entrances to dungeons. The “towers” were both a disaster and the key to salvation for humanity.

They were considered salvation because humans capable of resonating with the mana emitted by the towers began to appear.

These individuals, called resonators, possessed supernatural abilities capable of fighting monsters.

Governments classified them separately from ordinary people, naming them “Awakened,” and gave them the occupational title of “Hunters.”

The story begins with the main bottom being rescued by main top candidate #1 during the appearance of a high-grade gate.

The main bottom was a hidden powerhouse. A sickly pretty boy type, oblivious but positive, like a sunshine character.

Though he possessed the strongest power, he was unaware of it and grew over time, resembling a shonen manga protagonist.

Then came the two tops.

First, candidate #1.

Joo Inhyuk, an S-rank national Hunter belonging to a government association, known as the “national hero.” He was principled and righteous, but somewhat unreadable.

And candidate #2.

The embodiment of a guilty man with obsessive tendencies. Cha Wooshin, an S-rank guild Hunter who led a group under the association’s management.

He wasn’t just “guilty”—he was an actual criminal.

He was the boss of the top-ranking guild “Habaek” and the illegitimate son of the guild union leader. He was so insane that no one dared touch him.

Despite being illegitimate, he was overwhelmingly powerful, and by mid-story, he became the boss.

Anyway, the story revolved around these three.

I started following it as a serialized work, but it finished during that time, so I quickly read to the end.

Afterward, I felt like spitting it out.

When the word “fin.” appeared and the scroll wouldn’t go any further, I was left in confusion.

“This is how it ends?”

I hurriedly checked community reactions, and as expected, everything was in chaos.

[ㅂㅊㄴ] Not even a threesome ending, it’s a kill-everyone ending f*** f*** f*** (38)

If you hate spoilers, go back.

I usually lurk, but I’m so pissed I had to post.

Seriously, is there something wrong with the author? They never communicated with readers and just used all that built-up narrative to turn the protagonists into misery fodder. If it was going to be like this, they should’ve just pushed Joo Inhyuk as the main. What the hell is this? What did I even read?

I was so dumbfounded I just laughedㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Just saw the publisher notice—no side stories either. Fine, f*** it.

Guest(1): Where’s the notice?
└ 0238: Publisher blog ㄱ

Guest(2): In many ways, it’s a life novelㅋㅋㅋ but I won’t reread it.

Guest(3): I saw community reactions and now I can’t open the final chapterㅠㅠㅠ Does everyone except Inhyuk die?
└ 0238: Yeah, but at the end it’s implied he does the opposite of suicide
└ 0239: What’s “opposite of suicide”?
└ 0239: The opposite of dying by your own hand.
└ 0240: What the hell.

└ 0241: But isn’t that open to interpretation? Joo Inhyuk is a man of conviction—he’d never do that. That’d be total character break.
└ 0242: I think so too. That’s why he’s the most pitiful. Is that even living?ㅠㅠㅠ
└ 0242: 0241 sounds like they know him personally? Then why did Manager Cha dieㅋㅋ He’s not the type to sacrifice himself for others
└ 0244: Because it wasn’t “others.” He’s a devoted lover.
└ 0245: Random but lolㅋㅋㅋ he’s been guild master for ages, why are you still calling him “manager”

Guest(4): Anyway the final villain is Kim Yuaan
└ 0240: He went dark and caused everyone’s death
└ 0242: Don’t insult our baby kittyㅠ

Excessive immersion is bad for mental health. Fiction is just fiction.

I closed the community site and deleted all volumes of Night Thousand Eyes from my shelf.

The only consolation was that my favorite, Joo Inhyuk, survived—though not mentally intact.

After that, I didn’t read web novels for quite a while. I had been too immersed.

Maybe that’s why.

While absentmindedly crossing the street, my consciousness suddenly cut off.

I thought I heard blaring horns as my vision dimmed, but when I woke up, a deafening explosion was ringing in my ears.

“Survivor located. A female student wearing an ivory-colored uniform.”

With indescribable, throbbing pain, my body lifted into the air. No—more precisely, I had been pulled tightly into someone’s firm embrace.

“Pulse, breathing, normal.”

A low, indifferent voice. Yet the hand brushing across my cheek carried a warm touch.