Joo-o was really something unique. I knew he was weird from our first meeting, but the more time I spent with him, the stronger that feeling grew.Dr. Jeong once said that innocence and naiveté aren’t the same. I considered him the latter—harmless, with no memories or even basic common sense—but every time I met those red eyes glittering with cunning, I began to question that judgment.‘It’s nothing special, but it still gives me the creeps.’It’s not that it bothers me that he’s not as dumb as he pretends. In fact, I’d rather have him somewhat capable than a hollow doll; he’s more useful this way for our return trip.It’s just… the way the hairs on the back of my neck keep standing up makes me uncomfortable. That sense of foreboding only comes when you’re about to die in some crisis.Maybe that’s why I kept my guard up around a guy who stared blankly at the air. All things considered, intelligence aside, Joo-o really didn’t know much.I cracked my arms with a creak and stretched. Then—thud—a piece of candy in plastic wrapper fell to the floor.Apparently Joo-o had slipped it between the chairs at some point. He keeps leaving this crap for me even though I never eat it.I peeled away the shimmering aurora-patterned wrapper and popped a red hard candy into my mouth. It was disgustingly sweet.Complaining that it was amazing I could still taste anything while carrying that thing in my mouth all day, I stuffed the crinkled wrapper into my pocket.Lately Joo-o’s been collecting candy wrappers. He’s not a crow, but he really does gather the oddest things.[Would you like to view the log?]“Yes”[Day 5682]People who know secrets are always busy and restless.I don’t know who decided that, but it seems true. Maybe it’s the same reason the protagonist always draws all the attention.Thanks to that, even though I was sitting in the perfect position for someone to sneak up on me yesterday, I couldn’t dash in to help.It’s a little sad, but it’s okay. I am Secret Agent Joo-o.Hmmm….The Jaegang District is a nice place. You can smell grass and fresh water everywhere. It smells more like sunlight than Starlight Avenue. Of course, it’s fake light.Best of all, no one here pokes your head or bothers you with annoying chatter. If you smile when our eyes meet, they smile back. Maybe it’s because I’m # Nоvеlight # not wearing a hat here?But Jin Muhae said that if I went without a hat, something annoying would happen.“Hello. Haha!”“Uh, hey? Uh… hello?”And people keep offering me food! On my first solo walk without Jin Muhae, a little human let me take a bite of their ice cream.I could swallow both the ice cream and the hand holding it in one gulp, but I’m Joo-o, who knows that’s not allowed.So I ate only as much as the bite mark of that little human. It was sweet and sour, smelled strongly of fruit, and almost made me drool.I hadn’t spent any dil, yet I got something delicious. It felt like an item copy glitch.Since then, whenever I see something I want to eat, I catch someone’s eye and smile slightly. When I make the expression Jin Muhae likes, people give me chocolate, candy, and sometimes even meat.Some of it isn’t even game items. It’s the pretend snacks that extra NPCs only pretend to eat.When I searched the convenience store or vending machine in Jin Muhae’s character, none of this food existed—but here it is in my hands.A more hidden hidden moment! Every time something new appears in a game I thought I’d mastered, my body tingles with electricity and I feel alive.I practically bounced as I walked. Jin Muhae, not knowing why, told me not to run around anywhere.Ah. Of course, I’m the “human” who helps Jin Muhae, so I’m not just playing all day.I discovered something even more astonishing than candy. That’s why I became Secret Agent Joo-o—and got so busy.Exposure level. Since Chapter 2 began, that gauge has only risen—and never fallen. But now, something seems to have changed.“Our shop’s clothes would look great on you.”“It’s fine. Jin Muhae already bought me something.”Take the clothing store owner I just greeted, for example.He’s not spying on Jin Muhae. He’s… what should I call him? A Central-friendly figure. A true extra NPC without a side quest.But if you search every corner of his shop building and use the key you find, you learn his cousin works for the security agency.In other words, he’s an NPC whose dialogue automatically changes as exposure rises. That bit of hospitality I just got was only the welcome you taste until you finish the first quest upon entering Jaegang District.Sure enough, the dialogue that should have changed after the cutscene somehow reverted to the early lines. It happened right when I started farming snacks around Jaegang District.I still don’t know much, so I haven’t figured out why Jin Muhae isn’t pairing up or anything like that.But I can tell there’s some… some… cause and effect behind these changes.When I greet people in Jaegang District, smile, and receive food, my exposure level decreases.Once exposure rises, it almost never falls—so I don’t know how this is happening.“Looks tasty.”“Uh… this? For me?”It’s strange. The more often I go for walks, the more people recognize me—and yet my exposure level drops.Maybe the exposure tied to Jin Muhae isn’t fame, but Central’s negative attention—some difficulty metric?Whatever it is, the conclusion is that it’s good for Jin Muhae that I wander around everywhere. Lately I’ve been taking slow walks around the park every day.It’s a shame I can’t hug Jin Muhae and bury my face in him during our rare downtime… but I can bear it.Even if I’m hungry or angry or want to sniff him anywhere, I hold back because I’m human.Crunch. Crunch.Of course, lower exposure also increases the chance of story changes.But if Jin Muhae is happy, then I’m happy too.[Log saved.]Crunch!Joo-o—who had been sitting in the park grass staring at nothing—finished chewing the apple candy.The tart juice wetted his mouth and he couldn’t help but smile, his lips moist.Now the quests were starting to deal with Solar City’s secrets. Deep stories wouldn’t appear yet, but it was clear Jin Muhae’s interest would turn that way.Unfortunately for Muhae, Solar City’s research didn’t align with our return trip. Still, it would influence his future decisions in the story.So Joo-o had to act too. As if he didn’t know them, I could sneakily shift the kind of information Jin Muhae encountered—make him think the test subjects there were something else entirely.‘Of course I won’t lie to Muhae.’I would never commit the horrible act of feeding manipulated information to Muhae—the precious protagonist I’d waited fifteen years for.After all, I’d longed for him just as much as I’d always missed La Vida Blue’s story. I wouldn’t ruin it wholesale, no matter how my reason wavered.But that was fine. Solar City had always intended to use the Blue Crystals rather than destroy them. There were abundant records defending Blue energy.I’d only select a few pieces of information he hadn’t discovered and slip them to him. It’s like covering your eyes and pretending nothing’s wrong—but the judgment is entirely Jin Muhae’s.‘Didn’t see anyone from the cutscene today?’And Joo-o’s work didn’t end there. A few days ago I saw a cutscene agent near our hideout.No doubt Cheong was working behind the scenes to prick Muhae. That side of the block sometimes hides or grabs quest items first to request a private talk, or raises combat difficulty just to watch how we deal with it.In the past, Joo-o purposely crossed Cheong to increase clear rewards—but real-life Muhae couldn’t care less about rewards and would just find Cheong annoying.So I planned to block him just enough. When Muhae was angry, he’d snap at him, refuse hugs…I’d waited for Jaegang District so I could cling to him in bed—but if he didn’t touch my waist in the morning, I’d feel the world collapse.‘Ugh. Not in a good mood.’Jin Muhae’s hands were rough. Bigger and thicker than my face—yet not clumsy.When he pushed his warm hand inside my clothes, I felt like I’d swallowed a handful of scorching glass.My insides heated and my vision lit up. Rubbing my stomach made me itch below, and pulling at my chest twisted my waist.The more he smelled, the stronger his scent grew. It was different from normal. The more I inhaled, the stiffer between my legs and the more my body melted.In fifteen years of memories, I’d never felt anything like it. I’d wasted more than enough seed—though I hadn’t even paired up.All I could think was that I wanted him to touch me more, harder, and keep going.If he hadn’t pushed me away, I could’ve pressed my hips harder against his warm thighs.I tried to lick up his seed scattered everywhere but got chased off.‘Does he hate pairing up?’Suddenly I recalled his disgusted face in the sewer tunnel. Had I said or done something wrong again?I narrowed my eyes and struggled to recall any pre–La Vida Blue memories.But… hmm. I still don’t know. Details about pairing are almost blank, only the concept remains.“Tch,” I clicked my tongue and got to my feet as Muhae taught me. To be honest, not just before possession but even the moment I first dropped here feels hazy now.Adapting to a monster’s body and life is like that—destroying and devouring your last shred of humanity to survive.“It can’t be helped.”I shook crumbs from my hair and checked my wrist. The Link Watch Jin Muhae bought me signaled it was time to move.“Hmm….”I’ll keep Cheong’s schemes a secret for now. Muhae has to be in a good mood for me to be happy.I’ll just work harder behind the scenes in places he doesn’t notice.It’s nothing new. Unlocking the locks on Jin Sung-jo’s legacy, finding clues, guiding him here—that was all me, Joo-o.“I miss Jin Muhae.”As that thought solidified, my once-clear red eyes went blank again. I must’ve spent too much energy thinking.Like always when my mind clears, I hummed La Vida Blue’s theme and retraced my steps at a leisurely pace.

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