BJ Villainess

Ding!

[Quest: Do not remove the ruby ring until January 31

st

failed]

▸

Failure: Significant decrease in affection

Ozworld glanced at the ring buried in the dirt, genuinely puzzled.

“Strange. I’m sure I’ve treated you well in my own way, but why are you doing this?”

“Are you seriously asking that? Think about what you’ve done since the beginning. You toyed with me, treated me like a joke, and now you want to play lovers? You psycho!”

Ozworld didn’t hide his weariness and sighed, muttering, “So I buttoned the first button wrong. Is that why you won’t reconsider your opinion of me?”

“You think it’s just that? Just that?”

“You forgave Euges, who wasn’t much different from me.”

I bit my lip, feeling on the verge of madness, but Ozworld kept provoking me.

“Don’t you think you have too strong a prejudice against me, Miss Theresa?”

“Prejudice? This is unbelievable…”

Ozworld was gravely mistaken for something.

“Even if you had acted normal from the start, you’re fundamentally twisted. I would have hated you regardless. Definitely.”

When I poured out my resentment and frustration, Ozworld suggested with a doubtful expression, “Shall we test that theory?”

“What?”

“Honestly, this game was very unfair to me from the start. So let’s test it fairly, with a zero-bias state where you have no preconceptions about me.”

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

“Just as I said. Let’s see what happens if we meet when you have no memories of me.” Ozworld checked his pocket watch and continued, “It so happens we have the perfect stage for this experiment.”

Ding!

[A demon dungeon is being created.]

Dungeons usually require a demon contractor to create them. However, Ozworld ignored such rules and created a dungeon in mid-air without any medium. The door’s appearance was very different, lacking any fantasy elements, and it looked like something from modern Earth.

Just before the door opened, Ozworld touched my forehead. “Let’s meet again in ‘Seoul.’”

“Jiwoo, wake up. We’re here.”

Someone was shaking my shoulder, waking me up. I lifted my drooping head and slowly opened my eyes, still groggy. I was inside a car.

The man in a suit who was driving got out and opened the door for me. Naturally, I turned my gaze to the woman who had woken me up. She had stylishly curled hair from an early morning visit to the beauty salon. It was my mom.

But had my mom always been this young? Her face was wrinkle-free, and she looked like an elegant bride in her luxurious dress. No one would guess she had an eight-year-old daughter.

I began to look around, feeling like I was rummaging through old memories. It was a garage, unfamiliar yet oddly familiar.

“…Where are we?”

“This is your new stepfather’s house. Our new home.” Mom got out of the car first, snapping at me to make sure I had my phone. “Don’t forget your phone. Bring it with you.”

“

, okay.”

My silver slide phone was casually placed on the luxurious leather seat. Mom had handed it down to me when I started elementary school. I slid it open, feeling nostalgic, and saw a new message.

“?”

Being unsociable and not having made any friends yet, I rarely received messages.

, but there was one person. A kid who liked to brag about their wealthy family and often sent pointless messages. But the message wasn’t from that friend. The message was like this.

[Dungeon Quest: Zero Base Seoul]

Most of your memories are currently locked. It’s okay. In ‘Seoul,’ you will surely be rewarded for your efforts. But remember, at the moment of choice, picking one means losing the other forever.

▸

■■

: Live as ‘

■■

‘.

▸

■■

: Live as ‘

■■■

‘.

※

Hidden parts will be revealed upon achieving the ‘Proposal’ event.

Or maybe it was some new type of chain letter.

Frowning, I put the phone in my pocket.

Mom, seemingly skeptical of my reliability, kept warning me.

“I’ve told you repeatedly, listen to your stepfather and get along with your siblings. Jiwoo is already eight years old, so you should know how to yield to your younger siblings, right?”

“Yes, I will,” I replied, but something felt off. I felt a sense of déjà vu like I had experienced all this long ago. It wasn’t just a feeling; vivid scenes of this house filled my mind, matching what I saw. I felt like I knew exactly how the inside of this mansion looked, even though I had never been inside before.

I wondered if I had some spiritual power but then dismissed it as irrational. It was a rather mature thought for an eight-year-old.

When we walked through the door connecting the garage to the house, we entered a spacious living room. The staff greeted us with polite bows.

“Welcome, Madam.”

Mom, trying to maintain a dignified expression, couldn’t hide her joy as her lips curled up slightly.

Then, a middle-aged woman in a neat business suit appeared with two children. “You came early, Madam.”

“Oh my, Ms. Jo, I didn’t see you at the front, so I thought you weren’t home.” Mom smiled, but her mood seemed slightly soured.

The girl holding Ms. Jo’s hand ran to mom with a big smile.

“Auntie!”

“Hello, Umi. We’re going to live together from now on.”

“Then we can play with dolls every day!”

“You should call me ‘Mom’ from now on.”

The girl seemed delighted with the new stepmom, but the boy holding Ms. Jo’s other hand looked less enthusiastic.

Were they that small back then? The siblings glanced at me but didn’t seem interested in introducing themselves.

Mom, distracted by Umi’s clinginess, forgot to introduce me. Suddenly, I remembered a scene where Ms. Jo gave mom a sharp look, prompting her to scold me.

Mom had been furious, feeling disrespected by Ms. Jo, and as usual, I bore the brunt of it.

I bowed politely before Ms. Jo could glare at me. “Hello, I’m Shin Jiwoo.”

Only then did mom, looking surprised, introduce me.

“Ms. Jo, this is my daughter Jiwoo. Jiwoo, from now on, you should introduce yourself as Chae Jiwoo, not Shin Jiwoo.”

Well, staying here doesn’t mean I’ll become part of the Chae family.

I didn’t respond, which seemed to make Umi, who had been eyeing me warily, a bit more relaxed. Thinking back, Umi and Bohyeon had disliked me from the start. It wasn’t just that they didn’t want a stranger in their home; it felt more intense.

But how did I know that?

It was when I felt a mild headache from the tangled memories.

“Mr. CEO is here.”

At the employee’s words, we all turned to see a middle-aged man entering through the front door.

“

, you’re here already?”

It was my stepfather.

* * *

Since my stepfather and mom were both remarried with children, they skipped the wedding ceremony. Instead, they decided to have a family meal to declare that we were now a family.

In the dining room, the kitchen staff busily prepared a hearty meal. The table was rectangular, and seating was assigned based on hierarchy. My stepfather, who always pursued a horizontal structure at his company, naturally took the head seat at home.

“How old is Jiwoo again?”

It was mom who answered my stepfather’s question. “She’s eight.”

Mom was always worried that I might misbehave and attract my stepfather’s ire. After all, I was noted for my lack of social skills even in kindergarten. However, she didn’t realize that my stepfather wanted to appear as an enlightened person who treated his stepdaughter no differently from his biological children. So, his attempt to start a conversation with me failed.

He smiled kindly and asked again, “I’ve seen you a few times, haven’t I?”

“Yes.”

We had only met a few times in passing because mom had been reluctant to introduce me.

“You’ll be living here now. Is that okay?”

“You’re my stepfather now.”

So, I have no choice but to live here. What could I do about it? That’s what I meant… But he interpreted my words favorably.

“Yes, I’m Jiwoo’s father now.” He then turned to mom and asked, “Did you tell Jiwoo what I do for a living?”

“She knows you’re the CEO of a big company—”

I interrupted mom, recalling the information I had about my stepfather. “I know. GQsoft. ‘Legend of Fire’ is its most famous title.”

My stepfather was the CEO of a major gaming company.

“That’s a game adults like. How do you know about it?”

“It’s also the most famous game in the country. A new game is coming out soon, right? I saw the trailer.”

“Do you like games?”

“Yes. I’m also interested in game development.”

“

, really?”

My stepfather seemed genuinely intrigued by me, surprised that an 8-year-old could talk like this instead of showing fake politeness.