Danny's apartment had never felt this suffocating before.
He stood motionless in front of the mirror, drenched in cold sweat. His reflection grinned back at him—lips stretched unnaturally wide, teeth clenched so tightly they looked ready to shatter.
He tried again to force his lips down, his trembling fingers digging painfully into his cheeks.
But the moment he released the pressure, his face snapped back into that same horrid, wide grin.
Snap.
Like a grotesque puppet, his muscles moved against his will.
"Damn it! STOP!" Danny roared, his fists slamming into the bathroom counter hard enough to draw blood from his knuckles.
But the reflection?
It only smiled wider.
His phone buzzed, a cold vibration that seemed to crawl straight through his skin.
📧 FROM: Fate Exchange
"Side Effect Alert: Psychological and Physical Adaptation in Progress. Estimated Adjustment Time: Unknown. Thank you for participating in the Grinning House Trial."
He frantically scrolled through the message.
📄 Side Effects:
Involuntary smiling: Active
Emotional suppression: Initiated
Potential permanent effect: Pending
At the bottom, a final line in blood-red font:
"Smile. The world watches those who smile."
Danny staggered into the living room, gasping for air. His jaw throbbed with each forced smile, muscles burning like they were being ripped apart from the inside.
He collapsed onto the couch, head in his hands, eyes squeezed shut.
"This isn't real… this isn't real…"
But when he opened his eyes, the television had turned on—by itself.
The screen flickered with static. Then slowly, the snow cleared, and a faint, grainy image appeared.
It was him.
Sitting right there, in his own living room.
But this version of him was… wrong.
Its skin was pale as wax, eyes sunken and completely black. And that smile…
That cursed, impossibly wide, horrifying smile stretched all the way to his ears.
And then—
The version of him on the TV raised a hand… and waved. Directly at him.
A bone-deep chill washed over Danny. His body refused to move.
The temperature in the room plummeted. His breath turned visible, small puffs of fog curling in the air.
From somewhere behind him, he heard it—a slow, deliberate inhale. And then… the sound of a woman laughing softly.
His phone vibrated again.
📧 FROM: Fate Exchange
"Agent Wong, it's time for your next listing. Are you ready to meet the new owner of your smile?"
His fingers shook as he typed back a single word:
"Yes."
The moment he hit send, the TV flicked off.
The laughter stopped.
And yet… that unbearable, bloody smile remained frozen on his face.
He stared into the mirror one last time before grabbing his coat.
"Fine," he muttered under his breath, his voice low and hollow.
"If I'm cursed to smile… I might as well keep selling until I can buy my way out of Hell."
But deep down, he already knew—there's no buying your way out of this.
And as he opened his apartment door to step into the night, a single thought crossed his mind:
What if the next buyer… isn't even human?
[End of Chapter 5]