---
The rain was soft—too soft for a thunderstorm. It whispered like a secret through the trees as I stood at the edge of the mansion's gates, umbrella crooked, suitcase wet, and soul mildly suffering.
"You're kidding me," I muttered, staring up at the gothic silhouette in front of me. "This is where I'm supposed to live now?"
The iron gate creaked open on its own. Naturally. Nothing says 'congratulations on your inheritance' like haunted metal welcoming you with open jaws.
Sakuragi Ren. Age seventeen. Orphan. Inheritor of a creepy mansion from a relative I never met.
That's me.
I stepped inside, shoes sinking into the soaked gravel as lightning spiderwebbed across the sky.
A crow cawed.
Of course a crow cawed.
My entire life had been average until two weeks ago. Then some government-looking guy in sunglasses handed me a will and said:
> "Your great-uncle Renjirou Sakuragi has passed. He has left you the Sakuragi estate in Yurei Town."
I didn't even know I had a great-uncle. I also didn't know Yurei Town existed. But hey, free house. Beats the orphanage.
Or so I thought.
---
The inside of the mansion smelled like old books, forgotten tea, and mild depression. The furniture was all covered in white sheets, like ghosts frozen mid-haunt.
I wandered through the place with the same caution one would have when disarming a bomb with chopsticks. There were portraits with eyes that followed you, doors that squeaked even when you didn't touch them, and a mirror that reflected me blinking slower than I actually was.
"Yup. Definitely cursed," I whispered.
Still, the upstairs bedroom wasn't half bad—massive bed, a dusty bookshelf, a cracked window with a view of misty woods, and even a working lamp. I unpacked slowly, unsure if I was unpacking into my life or a murder story.
---
That night, sleep didn't come.
I kept hearing creaks and whispers. At one point, I swear someone giggled near my door.
At 3:12 AM, I gave up and decided to explore.
Which is how I found the hidden library.
---
The secret door was behind a bookshelf in the main study. Cliché, I know. But when I accidentally leaned on a book titled "How to Love a Shadow", the shelf slid open with a groan like a sigh from the dead.
Inside was a spiral staircase.
I was already too tired to be scared, so I went down, flashlight barely cutting through the dark.
What I found was... odd.
A stone room. Dozens of floating candles. And in the center—a pedestal. On it hovered a strange black cube, softly pulsing like it had a heartbeat.
"…The heck?"
As I reached out, it disintegrated into sparks and reformed into a glowing, transparent screen in mid-air. A floating digital panel hovered before me—humming, glowing blue, surrounded by rotating rings of text.
> [SYSTEM INITIALIZED]
[Curse of the Heartbound activated.]
Any female target who makes eye contact and receives verbal interaction will become romantically affected.
Affection Threshold: 10 Texts.
Fail to reject within 10 messages, and the target will suffer consequences.
[You cannot escape.]
I blinked.
"…Is this a prank AR app?"
I swiped my hand at it.
It shrank into a small blue hexagon and floated beside me like a loyal ghost.
I walked away.
It followed.
I ran.
It hovered calmly beside me, pulsing once.
I left the room in a hurry.
---
The next morning, I went to town. Needed food. And also—normal human interaction.
Yurei Town was small, quiet, and eerily clean. I found a quaint bookstore that smelled like warm paper and coffee. It was run by a soft-spoken librarian named Shimizu Aoi.
Should've been a red flag that her eyes were violet. Not "dyed" violet. I mean "unnatural anime-girl" violet.
"Looking for anything?" she asked, tilting her head.
I looked up. Met her gaze.
The system chimed beside me.
> [Target Locked: Shimizu Aoi]
[Affection Initiated]
[10 Texts Remaining]
"Oh no," I mumbled.
"What?"
"Nothing," I lied.
I paid for a book I didn't want and bolted out of the store.
---
I ignored her texts for three days.
Aoi started sending daily messages.
> Aoi: It was nice meeting you today!
Aoi: That book you bought… have you read it yet?
Aoi: You left your umbrella here… but maybe you did that on purpose?
Aoi: It's okay. I don't mind the rain if I'm waiting for you.
Aoi: Ren-kun, do you believe in soulmates?
I stared at the floating panel as it counted the messages.
"…How is that five already?!"
> System: You are currently at Message 5/10. Target's emotional investment has increased by 37%.
"This is a joke. This is still a joke. I'm being punked."
But when I went back to the bookstore to return the umbrella, I found Aoi had changed.
Her voice trembled when she said my name.
She wore a ribbon the exact color of my eyes.
She had drawn a tiny chibi version of me in her journal.
I panicked and said something stupid like: "I'm allergic to bookstores."
She smiled.
"I'll start bringing books to your mansion then."
That night, she did.
---
By day ten, the texts were obsessive.
> Aoi: I dreamed of you again.
Aoi: I think I'd die if you stopped texting me.
Aoi: Are you scared of me? I wouldn't hurt you. I just want to be near you. Always.
I didn't reply.
I thought if I just stayed silent, it'd reset.
---
On the twelfth day, she didn't message.
On the thirteenth, I went to the bookstore.
It was closed.
A note was taped to the door.
> "Shimizu Aoi has been hospitalized due to sudden cardiac collapse. She is currently comatose."
I couldn't breathe.
The glowing system floated in front of me and pulsed red.
> [You Failed.]
[Target's emotional threshold exceeded. Soulbound decay in effect.]
One warning only. Next time, it may not be reversible.
---
I stood outside in the rain for hours.
I didn't cry.
Not because I wasn't sad.
Because I was horrified.
The system wasn't a prank.
This curse was real.
And people would die because of me.
---
That night, I sat in the library again, staring at the floating system in front of the pedestal.
It hummed like it was breathing.
I wanted to smash it.
Instead, I whispered, "Why me?"
No answer.
---
The next morning, someone knocked on the mansion's front door.
A girl stood there.
Short black hair. Athletic build. Bandaged hand.
She wore a hoodie with the bookstore logo.
"…You're Sakuragi Ren?"
"…Yeah?"
She bowed.
"I'm Aoi's friend. Her last message before collapsing was that she wanted to live here... with you. So I'm here now. To take her place."
She didn't ask permission.
She walked in like the house already belonged to her.
---