Chapter 02
When I raised my head, I caught sight of the smooth metal ribs of an umbrella stretching out in the darkness.
So it wasn’t that the rain had stopped.
It was the umbrella.
“My goodness, you’re completely soaked. Let’s go.”
The man who held the umbrella removed the leaf stuck to my cheek, then gently wrapped an arm around my shoulders.
“Ah!”
He hadn’t used much force, but when my shoulder was pulled down, the spot I had hit in the car earlier sent a sharp jolt of pain through me.
At the sound that escaped louder than expected, the man looked startled and quickly let go.
“I don’t think I grabbed you that hard.”
“It’s probably from when I hit it in the car earlier.”
“You were hurt in the car?”
“It suddenly broke down and shook really badly.”
“Here?”
He lightly pressed the spot, as if touching cotton. I nodded.
“Then… does this hurt?”
His hand slid down from my shoulder and settled on my upper arm.
“Uh, well… it’s okay.”
Please let go.
I was just about to say that when glowing letters gathered beneath the man’s chin.
[???]
Why three question marks?
Come to think of it, unlike the driver, this man’s words didn’t appear as subtitles either.
Just as I started to realize something was different—
“I see.”
The man pulled my arm closer and pressed me against him, as if he were about to hug me.
Why is he acting so familiar when we just met?
I fidgeted uncomfortably, and the man glanced at me before tilting the umbrella toward my side.
Under the slanted umbrella, I could see his shoulder quickly getting wet.
“Um, your shoulder is getting soaked.”
“I know.”
The umbrella tilted even more toward me.
That’s not what I meant!
“No, I mean your shoulder. Yours.”
I gently pushed the umbrella pole.
“Oh.”
He looked at it once, then tilted the umbrella back toward me again.
“I’m not made of sugar.”
And he said that ridiculous line completely seriously.
Of course you’re not made of sugar.
But by that logic, does that mean I am?
“Let’s hurry. Catching a cold would be bad.”
The man urged me forward while I stood there stunned.
Is it really okay to follow him?
Taking a step without thinking, I consciously observed him.
It was pitch dark, so I couldn’t make out his appearance at all.
Under normal circumstances, I would never have followed someone like this.
Who in their right mind follows a strange man they don’t know?
These days they teach kids that from elementary school.
And on top of that, this guy had something weird about him.
Three question marks?
That can’t be normal. He has to be suspicious.
In situations like this, the usual move would be to knock the guy down, steal the umbrella, and run.
But for some reason, I didn’t want to do that.
In the dark, rainy night, even though he was a stranger whose face and name I didn’t know, I wasn’t scared.
Maybe it was because of the umbrella tilted toward me.
Or the firm hand holding my arm.
Or maybe I was just exhausted from being soaked in the rain while stuck in an incomprehensible situation, and my judgment was dulled.
“Do I have a leaf stuck on my face too?”
In the darkness, the man’s eyes glimmered faintly.
Only then did I realize I had been staring straight at what I assumed was his face.
Instead of dodging the issue, I asked honestly.
“I was wondering why you’re helping me.”
“You’re a precious guest who came to my home. There’s no reason not to help.”
“You know me?”
“How could I not recognize you, Suzy?”
Wait—Suzy?
That’s my name.
My eyes widened as I looked at him. In the darkness, I could vaguely see the corner of his lips curve upward.
“You don’t recognize me, do you? Well, it has been a long time.”
At that moment, lightning struck without a sound.
In the brief flash of light, the man’s face was revealed.
I froze as if I’d been struck by lightning myself.
Rain clung to his deep golden hair. Long lashes hung over slightly lowered eyes, beneath which shone dark violet irises.
The lines from his forehead to his brow bone and down the bridge of his nose were smooth like polished marble, and his jawline beneath his ear was elegant and refined.
A face where every line and plane had been combined in the most beautiful way possible.
How can a face like this even exist?
The moment was brief, like a rapidly spinning kaleidoscope, but just those few seconds were enough.
He was incredibly handsome.
“No, handsome” wasn’t even enough to describe it.
This face felt like something a god had carefully crafted using only the most beautiful and perfect elements.
If I were a god, I wouldn’t send a face like this down to earth as a human.
I’d make it an angel and keep it by my side.
Maybe the reason I kept following him despite feeling uneasy was because my instincts had already sensed the overwhelming aura of a beautiful man radiating from him.
Thank you, Lightning, for telling me that following this man wasn’t a bad choice.
And while I’m asking—could you strike one more time?
A little longer.
Just once more.
As soon as that thought crossed my mind, a thunderous sound shook the sky as if it were collapsing.
The three question marks floating in front of him scattered, then reformed into new words.
[You have met ‘Killian Clyke’!]
“Killian…”
When I murmured his name, he used his gloved fingers to brush my wet hair back.
“So you recognize me now.”
He sounded relieved as he stopped walking.
Then he turned his body, which had been facing forward the whole time, toward me.
“Nice to see you again, Suzy Hampton.”
He said that and held out his hand.
I was wondering how he knew my name—turns out it was just that the person he knew had the same first name.
Only the last name changed, but suddenly it felt like I’d become a foreigner.
“…Yes. Long time no see.”
Awkwardly, I took his hand.
Through the soft, rain-soaked leather glove, his firm hand completely enveloped mine.
Flash.
My vision brightened and darkened again. The lightning was shorter this time.
“We should finish introductions once we’re inside.”
Killian released the handshake with a hint of regret and urged me onward.
I dropped my doubts and followed him obediently.
The road remained wet, and the surroundings grew quieter and more ominous with every step.
A few minutes later, Killian tilted the umbrella back, which had been deeply inclined toward me.
Right in front of us stood a tall iron gate made of towering bars.
“We’re here. The modest villa of the Clyke family.”
He extended his hand toward the mansion beyond the massive iron gate, which looked at least three meters tall.
“Modest?”
The structure he pointed at was far too large to be called modest.
Just from the front, there were more than ten large windows, and at the top left stood a towering Gothic spire.
And between the gate and the main building lay a vast garden with a pond at its center.
This wasn’t a villa—it was more like…
“Isn’t this a castle?”
“Imitating something doesn’t make a dog into a wolf.”
Killian dismissed my objection curtly and pushed the iron gate open with one hand.
He just pushed it open.
It looked incredibly heavy.
Maybe it wasn’t as heavy as it looked.
I touched the iron pillar and stepped into the wide garden.
The moment the building—like a cultural heritage site from centuries ago—came closer—
[〈Tutorial: The Road to Dreambound Mansion〉 has been completed!]
No one told me about this.
What do you mean “completed” on your own? And also…
“Dreambound Mansion?”
The instant I said the name, Killian twisted one corner of his mouth upward.
For some reason, his atmosphere completely changed.
The danger-detection alarm I’d developed at work started blaring in my head. I hurriedly threw out an excuse.
“The, uh, driver told me. He said this place was called Dreambound Mansion… maybe he was mistaken?”
Sorry for using you as an excuse, Mr. Driver. I had no choice.
I laughed awkwardly and watched Killian’s reaction.
“Oh,” he said, returning to his gentle demeanor.
“That’s not wrong. That’s what this place used to be called. ‘Dreambound Mansion.’”
At that moment, an unexpected memory suddenly surfaced.
***
A stormy night.
Visibility reduced to nothing.
At the end of it, a beautiful castle standing like a cliff.
In this mansion, beautiful and dazzling as if in a dream, unfolds—
“You’re going to die here.”
A curse.
“What? Someone’s talking. Who is it? Who are you?! There’s no one here!”
Unexplainable phenomena.
“Help me! I don’t want to die!”
And something that is trying to take your life.
Welcome.
This is Dreambound Mansion.
July, 20XX.
We invite you into a nightmare.
I remembered.
Dreambound Mansion.
This was the game advertisement I had seen just before falling asleep on the subway.
