Game 15: The Guy Who Married a Ghost and Then Pawned Her Off
Han Tae-yang's (한태양) lungs were crumbling. His heartbeat was skipping like a scratched CD. His lips were locked in a vacuum kiss with a woman who wasn't technically alive, and he thought, Yep. This is how I die. Not in a fight, not a blaze of glory… but as the side dish of some undead romance scam.
And then.
---
🛎️ [System Alert!]
Congratulations!
You have been forcefully bonded with [Cursed Entity: Ghost Bride].
---
A sharp chime rattled his eardrums. His whole skull vibrated like someone had dropped a karaoke mic inside. He blinked, chest still caving, as words scrolled across the dark air above him.
Bonded?
The ghost froze mid-kiss, her eyes flickering with confusion. Tae-yang, on the other hand, wheezed and hacked like a 90-year-old smoker but somehow managed to croak, "S-share all stats… and kills…"
The system whirred like an old PC booting Windows XP.
---
🛎️ [Shared Stats Acquired]
Bond Perk unlocked. Skills synchronized.
[Sippy-Soul Straw] – drain the life force of weaklings to recharge mana. (Warning: does not work on tax collectors or landlords.)
[Oops, Wrong Wall] – ability to phase through non-magical walls, but may exit in embarrassing positions.
[Tiptoe-of-Regret] – half-baked phantom steps that make you look mysterious but mostly just squeak. Good for confusing pigeons.
---
Han Tae-yang's vision brightened. His chest inflated again. He felt mana bubbling in his veins like soda.
His lips curled. Slowly. Cockily.
He tightened his grip on her shoulders. "Hah! You thought you were drinking me? Newsflash, sweetheart, plot twist, I was drinking you."
The ghost bride flinched, her pale eyes widening as her own essence tugged away from her. Her hands trembled against his chest.
Tae-yang leaned back, wiping his lips dramatically. "That kiss? Acting. The panic? Oscar-level performance. All according to plan. I let you think you had me, when really I was just… seasoning my trap."
He laughed. Loud, cocky, completely fake. "Han Tae-yang doesn't lose. I'm the main character. You? You're the DLC pack."
The ghost hissed, but the bond was sealed. A phantom chain glowed around her wrist, tethered to him. She was now his familiar.
Inside though, Tae-yang was sweating harder than a thief in church. Plan? Bro, I was seconds from cardiac arrest! I just got lucky the system felt pity for me.
But he didn't need her. He didn't want her. He stared at her pale face, then muttered, "Not for me. I already got enough problems. This one's for Ha-neul."
From his pocket, he pulled out a pendant.
It was ugly. And beautiful. Bronze edges crusted with mossy green, its center a glassy orb swirling like fog trapped in marble. Etchings ran across its rim: old Hangul script mixed with foreign runes, spelling nonsense like a madman's diary.
He lifted it. The glow matched the ghost's chain.
"Yo, bride," Tae-yang said with a smug grin. "New house. Get in."
The ghost froze. Then, bound by the system, she flowed like mist into the pendant. The orb flared with silver light, the fog inside thickening until a faint woman's silhouette curled within.
---
🛎️ [System Chime]
Hidden Quest Completed!
Quest: Survive the Unmapped House.
Reward: [Vivid Memory] – perfect recall of all explored areas and routes.
---
Tae-yang blinked. Then snorted. "Oh. Nice. Basically a free GPS. Now I'll never get lost in a bathroom again."
Later that night, at home, he called Ha-neul into his room.
His younger sister shuffled in, oversized hoodie dragging, coughing lightly. She stared at him suspiciously. "Oppa. Why are you smiling like a scammer?"
"Because, baby sister," Tae-yang said, theatrically holding up the pendant like it was Simba on Pride Rock, "your brother has found you… a personal bodyguard-slash-roommate-slash-unholy nightmare."
He pressed the pendant to her hands.
The system flared again.
---
🛎️ [Familiar Transfer Ritual Initiated]
Entity: Ghost Bride → New Master: Han Ha-neul.
---
The orb pulsed. Mist spiraled out, wrapping around Ha-neul. For a second, the ghost's cold aura surged, threatening to crush the walls. But the bond stitched itself tight, merging with Ha-neul's fragile body.
Han Tae-yang grinned. He still felt the stats in his body, solid, humming, boosted. But the annoying ghost-skills were gone, ripped away to his sister.
Perfect.
"Now you've got a ghost maid. Don't let her possess the fridge."
Ha-neul blinked, looking at the pendant, then at him. "…You are insane."
"Correction," Tae-yang said, stretching his back like a king, "I am generous."
The next morning, Seoul buzzed with gossip. The mana from the Challenge Tower was still invisible to most, but those who had awakened could feel it like static in the air, humming under the concrete.
And rumors spread.
Items outside the Tower, once worthless props, were beginning to shift. To change. Soon they would become Relic Copies, cheap counterfeit versions of true Holy Relics. But fakes or not, they still pulsed with mana.
Collectors were panicking. Black market runners were drooling. Hunters were sharpening knives.
And where was Han Tae-yang?
He wandered. Ate some bread at a street stall. Mocked a busker's guitar. Pocketed free soy milk from a convenience store tasting stand.
And finally… he arrived at the steps of the National Museum of Korea.
Its glass walls gleamed under the morning sun, banners flapping in the breeze. Inside: artifacts, antiques, treasures… and now, the highest concentration of soon-to-awaken Relic Copies in the entire country.
Han Tae-yang shoved his hands into his hoodie pocket, smirk tugging at his lips.
"Perfect place to start a crime spree."
He stepped through the doors.
Authors note:
Important Broadcast of Clone Number One.
Oi oi oi, humans! This is Clone Number One speaking live in the shadow dimension of the author (yes, I escaped again... do not ask me how). You should pay attention to you before you get lost like a noob in a 100-floor dungeon before you dive into this chapter.
All the chapters of this story are being rewritten!
Our writer, the great Little LYTA has blasted through and is in Chapter 40 of the great re-editing crusade. All that precedes 40 is glossy, smooth and full of new surprises, and in case you miss it, you will surely get lost. Don't say I didn't warn you. Re-read. Re-READ. RE-READ!
[?][?] The protagonist is no longer Kim Do-hyun, but the ultimate, spicy, clone-abusing Han Tae-yang. It is the same world, the same mess but everything is new as a respawn point at dawn.
Current stats:
There were 82 chapters in Story originally.
Re-write entire: 40 chapters (and more).
Skeleton? Rebuilt. Muscles? Buffed. Comedy? Overdosed.
Now for the fun part:
ALL top supporters, commenters, gifters, voters, readers, golden ticket droppers, and active fans have been... ahem... absorbed into the story as characters. Yes, you, yes you reading this, your name might be canon. Wish to be remembered when this novel explodes? Leave your mark. Stand out. When the book goes mythical, your name will be heard in the annals of webnovel history.
Side note: Little LYTA is in webnovel account restrictions (ask me not, long story with a coffee spill and possibly a cursed system administrator), and therefore cannot respond to your comments. BUT, he sees everything. So support, lay aside your thoughts, and in case you have questions that are burning, or fan missions that are a secret...
Join the Discord: @lyta17
Every member of the server will receive special fan rewards (believe me, it is worth it, most likely).
Alright, that's all from your humble servant, Clone Number One. I'm off to convince Tae-yang not to send me to work at "Crazy Tom Logistics" again. My back hurts, man...
[?][?] Let's do this, fans. Re-read, support, and leave your mark. The tower awaits.
.Clone Number One, signing off [?]