Chapter 01
If you had to name the most talked-about game right now, it was undeniably Two Choices.
And if you had to name the most cursed-at game? Also Two Choices.
Two Choices was an RPG created by Rayti, one of Korea’s three major game studios.
Its premise—hunters, mysterious “gates” that appeared thirty years ago, a system that blended into people’s daily lives, and a protagonist who battles invading enemies—was nothing new in fantasy games.
But, as its title suggested, it gave players a unique “faction choice”: you could experience the story either from the protagonist’s side or from the enemy’s.
That dual-route system generated huge buzz even before release.
After launch the game was showered with praise for its striking visual effects, diverse characters and illustrations, and fluid animation.
It rocketed to the top of the app store, thrilling gamers who had been starved for something fresh.
At first.
Within two months the problems surfaced.
Players realized the game pushed microtransactions outrageously hard.
Every update’s new “package deal” made the pay-to-win nature more blatant.
Free event resources dwindled, while the higher you leveled your characters, the more essential gacha rolls became.
Yet many players couldn’t quit—after all, they had invested in raising their characters, and the story was fun enough to keep them hooked even as they cursed.
That’s why the game’s community forums were always on fire.
A year after release, Two Choices had become infamous.
Is anyone still stupid enough to keep playing this?
lol that’s me T_T
Swore I’d stay free-to-play but my wallet’s already empty…
Can’t we just blow up our guild?
I’m the guild master…
My cursed sense of responsibility keeps making me spend.
Wish everyone would just leave.
Be rational—quit before you sink more money.
…But I’m an irrational human.
Rayti, you monsters.
What were you thinking?
Who makes players pull three 3-stars in a row just to earn a single item?
Are you insane?
Other gamers mocked Two Choices players for enabling greedy devs.
Yet I was still one of those stubborn players.
I’d started only because my younger brother, Seo Go-gyeol, had worked on the early planning.
I wasn’t chasing rankings or building a powerful guild like others.
I played for the story, determined to unlock every route.
In particular, I was obsessed with the storyline of the protagonist Baek So-hyuk’s older brother, Baek Woo-jin—I’d seen nearly all of it.
“The protagonist’s own family as the villain, huh.”
Baek So-hyuk and Baek Woo-jin weren’t related by blood; their parents had remarried.
They got along decently until a tragic accident killed their parents, after which their relationship unraveled.
Because of their shared past, So-hyuk couldn’t easily cut Woo-jin off despite his crimes.
But with every episode Woo-jin’s misdeeds escalated—like letting a defeated enemy race escape, causing civilian casualties—until So-hyuk finally killed him.
I tried everything to save Woo-jin, but every route ended the same.
“Honestly, his character design is a mess.
Good-looking face, but everything else is a disaster.
No wonder his early popularity tanked.”
Driven by jealousy of his stepbrother, Woo-jin even joined an enemy guild and chose the rival faction during the major “choice” event.
He briefly rose to the enemy leadership, but was only a puppet of a hidden mastermind—barely even a mid-boss.
Players universally trashed him.
Still, I couldn’t give up.
I replayed his chapters ninety-nine times trying to save him.
Just now, on my hundredth attempt, I tried once more—if not to save him, then at least to find a route where he reconciled with his brilliant little brother.
“Finally hit a hundred.”
The result was inevitable: Woo-jin died, bleeding from his brother’s sword.
“Well, of course they wouldn’t bother adding a secret route for such an unpopular character.”
I flicked past the familiar final illustration and his standard dying words:
[I hated you from the start.
I was sick of being compared to a so-called brother who wasn’t even blood.]
“I’m the one who’s sick of you.”
Not once, even at death, did he speak kindly.
“No wonder no one likes you.”
A dramatic death can redeem a character, but Woo-jin stayed pathetic to the very end.
I’d just decided to quit for good when a notification popped up.
[Baek Woo-jin has died 100 times.
A hidden event is triggered!
Accept?]
〉Yes
〉No
Surprise quickly gave way to suspicion.
Rayti giving away a hidden event for free?
For an unpopular character like him?
Then came rationalization.
I’ve already spent enough money—might as well see the free content.
Casually, I tapped Yes.
The window vanished, but nothing changed on my phone.
I prodded the screen again—and was hit with a sudden, crushing dizziness.
I toppled from my chair, dimly thinking I should call emergency services, but my body wouldn’t move.
When I finally came to, clutching my splitting head, I was in a bed.
Did I faint?
But even if I had, who would’ve carried me here?
I had no family besides the younger brother who died last year, and hardly any acquaintances.
I’d always assumed that if I collapsed, I’d die alone.
Nothing about this made sense.
And this isn’t even my room.
I staggered up.
The headache faded as if by magic.
My body felt lighter than ever; even the constant aches in my neck and shoulders were gone.
But my hands looked strange—too pale, covered in unfamiliar scars.
No way…
I stumbled to a full-length mirror.
The face staring back was all too familiar yet completely foreign: sharp, striking features with a perpetually irritable air.
It was Baek Woo-jin.
Have I looked at his face on my phone so much that I’m dreaming about it?
I slapped my cheek.
Pain exploded—sharp enough to bring tears.
That wasn’t a normal dreamlike sensation.
Did I… get pulled into the game?
Before I could process it, something else bizarre happened: a blue, translucent window appeared above my head.
[System Quest 1: Create My Own Friendly Guild!]
Difficulty: F
Clear Condition: Recruit at least 3 friendly guild members.
Time Limit: 14 days
Reward: 1,000 Diamonds
Penalty for Failure: None
It looked just like the in-game quest notices I knew so well.
This didn’t seem hard.
But then the text glitched, and a new quest popped up.
[Special Quest 0: Create My Own Friendly Guild!]
Difficulty: F
Clear Condition: Recruit at least 3 friendly guild members.
Time Limit: 14 days
Reward: 1,000 Diamonds
Penalty for Failure: Death
What?
More shocking than the web-novel-like situation was that ridiculous penalty.
Two Choices was notorious, sure, but its quest difficulty and penalties were usually well balanced.
The condition itself wasn’t hard—similar to an early quest where you simply joined a guild—so this seemed like a basic system mission.
But when it turned into a “special quest,” it suddenly carried a deadly consequence.
Wait… does “death” mean me?
Or this character?
THE END
