Characters in Buried Stars. Be warned of spoilers ahead.
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Han Do-yoon
Han Do-yoon
Voice Actors: Park Sung Tae (Korean), Tetsuya Kakihara (Japanese)
Lead Bassist and founder of the rock band Masquerade, and the main character. Notorious (at least according to some embittered band members and fans) for dividing up the band—first when they had a shot at the big time, then leaving his bandmates behind in Buried Stars when he was the only one to pass the preliminaries. Placed fourth.
- Amateur Sleuth: As the protagonist of a survival mystery, he takes on this role. Inha even lampshaded that he should have join the police force due to his detail gathering (and his ability to get people talking to him).
- The Band Minus the Face: Blamed for trying to leave Masquerade as this when he stayed in the contest even when the other members did not clear the preliminaries.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Averted, in reality he is far from inclined to betray anybody, even if he himself is paranoid of inadvertently doing so. This is Played With in his hater's perception, as they'll frequently suggest that he's probably backstabbing the other contestants while they're trapped.
- The Confidant: Unlocking the other haracters' rapport events has them confess their secrets to Do-yoon, such as Gyu-hyuk's struggles with his father, the real reason why Juyoung left her agency, etc.
- Dub Name Change: Ryou Aoba in the Japanese audio.
- Everybody's Dead, Dave: In Show Ended, he is the only survivor (sort of, Inha's technically alive but unresponsive) before he crosses the Despair Event Horizon and kills himself.
- Fans Prefer the New Her: In-universe, he used to have long hair and wear red contacts, making him an Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette in his old photos. He's not completely comfortable with his new look, but fans love it.
- The Heart: He helps keep the survivors group stable, driven home in the disaster that is Show Ended, when his despair-induced non-intervention leads to everyone but Inha dying.
- Heroic BSoD: What separates the True End from most other endings is that in the latter case, during crucial moments, Do-yoon most likely freezes up from shock or fails to act due to falling into a depressed state. It's taken to the logical conclusion if you manage to tank his Sanity Meter, which nets you a Non-Standard Game Over where Do-yoon blanks out for the rest of the night. And in all endings that he survived, it took a month for him to be able to walk without assistance due to the horror he faced.
- Hopeless with Tech: Downplayed, since he's mostly clueless from indifference and picks it up quickly when he has to (and how oblivious he is can depend on player choices), but he's known to be old-fashioned and doesn't normally use most of the functions on his smart watch or social media in general.
- It's Popular, Now It Sucks!: In-universe, he starts off popular as an indie rock star until said popularity on Buried Stars became increasingly controversial. Now, he has a sizable Hatedom.
- Laser-Guided Karma: While he doesn't deserve the sheer amount of vitriol he gets (or, for that matter, the events of the entire game), he really did abandon his band to further his career. Said decision ultimately tanks it, both because of the backlash and because no matter the ending, if Do-yoon survives, he's too overwhelmed by guilt to pursue music for the time being.
- Lead Bassist: The bassist of Masquerade and by far the most popular member, both for being the most talented of the group and for being one of the founders who wrote many of their songs.
- Living Emotional Crutch: He becomes one to Gyu-hyuk, especially if the latter's rapport is maxed out. The achievement for unlocking the relevant epilogue is, fittingly, titled Mutual Reliance.
- Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold: He comes off as standoffish, with his haters mocking him for keeping his thoughts hidden, and he even admits that he has an "unlikable" face. On the other hand, his fellow contestants, who know him more personally, are aware that he's a kind and loyal friend.
- Nobody Loves the Bassist: Woosuk, JunglePenguin (an in-universe Fan Hater), and others accuse Do-yoon of discarding his bandmates because of this—he wants the attention himself. They're not entirely wrong.
- Safety in Indifference: Downplayed in his backstory, where due to his father's work that makes them travel a lot, he feels lonely despite being treated okay by his relatives. This in turn, he used those emotions of make music and start a band.
- Save the Villain: Played with. Gyu-hyuk may be the killer, and saved at the very beginning and at the true end of Irregular, the "villain" role more properly goes to Seungyeon.
- The Team Normal: Relatively, compared to the others he doesn't have any major issues that plagued him, as his problems start after joining Bstars.
- Undying Loyalty: He shot down the chance for a record deal when it meant kicking out weaker members of his band, and the only reason he agreed to joining Bstars was because he hoped it would bring them together again. It turns out that he eventually subverted this, however reluctantly, as Seungyeon made him realize that Masquerade was falling apart despite his efforts and had become a sinking ship.
Seo Hyesung
Seo Hyesung
Voice Actors: Nam Do Hyung (Korean), Hiro Shimono (Japanese)
A Delinquent 20-year-old who, at least according to Seil, doesn't have much stage talent. What he does have is social media talent, and a drive to have the spotlight on him. As this suggests, he's pretty abrasive. Placed fifth.
- Becoming the Mask: While not the best student in middle school, he was pretty good-natured. That all changed when Kun-wook framed him for being his high school's resident bully. Believing he couldn't play the part of the good guy until he made up for what happened, he acted like a more typical delinquent. And by the time of his involvement in Buried Stars, he is one for all intents and purposes.
- Cynicism Catalyst: His high school incident taught him that being a decent person means nothing, as it's those with power and wealth who determine reality and can turn everyone against you.
- Dead Artists Are Better: As Do-yoon sadly notes, he achieves the fame and popularity he always wanted only through dying in Route A.
- Dub Name Change: Yuuma Tsukamoto in the Japanese audio.
- The Fake Cutie: His stage image is that of a Keet dandy, which belies his less than pleasant personality.
- Fiery Redhead: Has red hair (though it appears to be dyed) and is the most impulsive and easily angered member of the cast.
- Frameup: A victim of this. He wasn't the bully, rather Song Kun-wook was. Kun-wook and his wealthy family used their influence to force the school to blame Hyesung as the aggressor.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Inha outright states that no one else likes Hyesung. Do-yoon is pretty much the only contestant who does, and in turn Hyesung shows his nicer side only around him.
- He Knows Too Much: Hyesung does, and he also makes the fatal mistake of recording the conversation, which even he seems to realize was a bad move, judging by his terrified look just before he's murdered.
- I Have No Son!: Was effectively disowned by his family and is on his own now.
- Golden Ending possibly suggests that he becomes Inspirational Martyr for his journalist father Seo, that starts gathering information about his son by contacting such people as Plug Hole.
- Jerkass to One: Inverted. Do-yoon is the only one he ever exposes his softer side to.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Towards Do-yoon, whom Do-yoon describes him as surprisingly sweet at times and he in turn is only nice to Do-yoon (it's telling that nearly every conversation raises his rapport points, sometimes even if Do-yoon is scolding him), and he genuinely loved Seungyeon, his ex-girlfriend, whose death devastates him.
- Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: He's only golden towards fellow underdog Do-yoon. Everyone else, he's abrasive towards, even with his depressive qualities. It's likely that everyone who acts as though they're better than him, consciously or otherwise, reminds him of the Song family.
- Likes Older Women: In one conversation, he not so randomly mentions that he likes older women, as younger women are too clingy for his tastes.
- No Such Thing as Bad Publicity: In-universe, he believes in this, especially now that he's neck-deep in a scandal anyway. As he puts it, if people are going to write him off as a psycho, he'll make sure he's at least a popular one.
- Only Mostly Dead: In Route B, Do-yoon checks Hyesung's pulse instead of Gyu-hyuk and realizes that Hyesung is still alive, if barely.
- Professional Butt-Kisser: During B-Stars, Hyesung spends a lot of time appealing his likability to the judges & Seungyeon while looking down on the other contestants.
- Skewed Priorities: After learning that they can access to Phater, Hyesung starts to use it because it could help him gather enough votes to go to the finals, even though said show is on the verge of breaking down.
- Sour Outside, Sad Inside: As insufferable as the others find his attitude, they acknowledge it's coming from a place of pain: Seungyeon's death hit him the hardest, someone on Phater is disrespecting her memory by impersonating her, and if their threat is real, then he's going to be murdered within the hour so he's unsurprisingly on edge.
- Tragic Villain: Villain is putting it strongly, but he's eventually more antagonistic than he is helpful. However, it's less that he wants to be this way (he doesn't, as Do-yoon realizes) and more that he genuinely feels that he has no other choice. Winning Bstars is everything to him, as his life prospects are bleak otherwise, and he's desperate for a taste of power as anything less means those like the Song family can ruin his life again.
- Used to Be a Sweet Kid: One of Hyesung's middle school friends will defend him against the rumours of him being a delinquent, as he wasn't like that when they knew each other. Some of the characters, if you bring the topic up, will point out that even perfectly nice kids can still grow up to become terrible people, so it doesn't mean much. It turns out Hyesung became the way he is due the Song family ruining his life by framing him for their son's bullying in high school.
Oh Inha
Oh Inha (formerly Yu Pil-woong)
Voice Actors: Kim Yeon Woo (Korean), Yōko Hikasa (Japanese)
Not much is known about her past; in the present (i.e. on Buried Stars), she's known to be rather snobby. In reality, she's just willing to stand up for herself, and deeply loathes criminal behavior. Placed third.
- Abusive Parents: She suffered physical abuse from her father.
- Accidental Murder: In Show Ended, Seil falls off the stage during an altercation with Inha and gets impaled on debris, horrifying Inha and kicking off the "Everybody Dies" Ending.
- Becoming the Mask: She has problems with this, on account of trying as best she can to shed the foulness associated with being Yu Ilchun's daughter. Late in her rapport path, she realizes she's been trying too hard to run away from her past, at the expense of determining who she really is—the sort of thing that made her perfect prey for Seungyeon.
- Dub Name Change: Kunika Hoshino in the Japanese audio.
- Embarrassing First Name: Her original given name, Pil-woong, means "must be male". It says something that her father never came up with a backup plan for having a daughter. Even one of the Phater users in the present day finds it ridiculous.
- Everyone Loves Blondes: This appears to be invoked by Inha, who dyes her hair blonde and wears blue contacts as part of her stage appearance. She actually has brown hair and brown eyes.
- The Glasses Gotta Go: She doesn't wear glasses when on camera, since as she points out, they're not exactly star material.
- Family of Choice: Her former dance crew is this for her, to the extent that she put down their studio as her address and not her family's home.
- Final Girl: In Show Ended, where after she accidentally killed Seil. She fell into despair and locks herself into the staff room until the rescue team arrives.
- Hates Their Parent: She despises her father for ruining so many lives in Busan with his Con Man activities. This led to an impressive act of calling the police to her own house while he was there, saying that a murderer and swindler was there. He was arrested just as he departed.
- Love It or Hate It: In-universe, the Buried Stars announcer declares this in regards to Inha, who fittingly is right in the middle of the top 5.
- Mean Character, Nice Actor: She's made to be the Alpha Bitch of the season, but off-camera, she's perfectly friendly, if somewhat abrasive. In certain epilogues, the media quickly gets bored of her when they realize that without the "magic" of Bstars—in Inha's own words—she's just an ordinary person.
- Meaningful Rename: In addition to the situation in Embarrassing First Name, she renamed herself Inha—"clear river"—to signify her goal of purifying herself of anything to do with Yu Ilchun. "Oh" happens to be her mother's family name.
- Mysterious Past: Inha's (and presumably Hyesung before his scandal broke out) biggest appeal is this, as unlike the other Top 5 (Gyu-hyuk's father is nationally acclaimed musician, Juyoung is a former Idol Singer and Do-yoon is an indie rock musician), the show never explored her past and only focused on the present.
- Take a Third Option: After maxing out her rapport, in her With Both Feet segment, she neither join the next season of Bstars or going back to her dance crew in Busan, instead choosing to study in stage direction and hoped Do-yoon would eventually participate in one of her directed shows in the future.
- Trauma Button: Letters (especially when they are anonymous), since even after moving around Busan, she still received letters from her father for forgiveness.
Min Juyoung
Min Juyoung
Voice Actors: Kim Haru (Korean), Rina Sato (Japanese)
More traditionally good-looking than Inha, Juyoung was once the lead of the girl idol band Beloved, before a mysterious incident caused her to leave the group, ending both it and their talent agency. She gets a lot of flak as a result. Somewhat vulnerable to panic attacks, not that her haters believe it. Placed second.
- Cassandra Truth: A good portion of the public on Phater thinks her panic attacks are really sympathy ploys, especially when it gets out that she was a barista who actually partook of coffee, which exacerbates the symptoms. In truth, it just takes a lot to conjure a panic attack. Like being in the editing hell that is Buried Stars. Or being trapped in a collapsing building. Or being asked by your talent agency to play prostitute.
- Determinator: Provided she survives to that point, then Juyoung is the only character who will always rejoin Buried Stars and continue her career, in spite of the traumas she's faced. Many, including Do-yoon, respect her tenacity.
- Dub Name Change: Reina Yoshida in the Japanese audio.
- Gold Digger: The scandal surrounding her departure from Beloved has her accused of being this, as she supposedly dated and strung along a wealthy man. Of course, the truth is more complicated than that.
- Good Is Not Soft: She has a gentle and kind demeanor, but she's actually one of the most competitive contestants—who explicitly states that she won't settle for anything less than the top—and when push comes to shove, she can be as forceful about stopping a conflict as the other parties are about starting one.
- Good Parents: After leaving Beloved, Juyoung fell into a depressive state, but her parents are willing to wait for her to pick herself up again, even letting her work as a barista with a different identity. This enables Juyoung to become relatively well-adjusted in the group.
- The Heart: To an extent, she shares this role with Do-yoon, as she's usually the other person trying to calm everyone down. Like with him, her inability to do this in Show Ended (as the pressure of doing it alone triggers a panic attack) leads to disaster; when a similar scenario plays out in Route B, she puts herself between Seil and Inha and helps quell the latter's rage.
- Hidden Depths: She has a good knowledge when it comes to tech, being the one who mentions the metadata of a photo and opposed to having the same password as the cast due to security concerns, which proved to be founded when S_seungyeon used that photo to provide its validity
- Idol Singer: A former one in her band Beloved, which she parted on bad terms as she leaves on her own. Soon after, her band and the company that managed them went under.
- Nervous Wreck: Downplayed as she simply has panic attacks that she is almost getting under control, but participating in B-stars and its manipulation and finding herself in a collapse building make it worse. Ironically, outside of said attacks, she's actually one of the most level-headed and rational characters.
- Nice Girl: Alongside Gyu-hyuk, she has one of the most moderate personalities in the cast. Talking to her is often good for Do-yoon's Sanity Meter for this reason.
- Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: In contrast to Inha, she has dark hair and is described as having pale skin.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: If her rapport is maxed, she decides to sue her agency for trying to prostitute her. Most agencies refuse to take her on after this, as she's now a known whistleblower, but many people applaud her for standing up for herself.
- Worthy Opponent: In a survey, Gyu-hyuk listed her as his top rival.
Lee Gyu-hyuk
Lee Gyu-hyuk
Voice Actors: Ryu Seonggon (Korean), Takuya Eguchi (Japanese)
At first, he was "just" a well-talented competitor on Buried Stars. Then it came out that he was the son of legendary musician Lee Byung-hee, which just increased his popularity. Despite being his son (and being part of the powerful Lee family in general), he's genuinely modest and kind-hearted. Placed first.
- Best Served Cold: Subverted. The others initially assume that Gyu-hyuk joined Buried Stars to get revenge on Seungyeon, but he actually didn't learn about what she'd done until the start of the game—just moments before he impulsively murdered her.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Gyu-hyuk is a genuinely kind person who's difficult to anger... but you would be wise not to test that. Namely because of his tendency to bash in the heads of those who wrong him.
- Black Sheep: For pursuing music, he (and his father) is considered this to their prestigious family.
- Broken Ace: Talented, handsome, kind, always at the top of rankings, and the son of a celebrity in a prestigious household. This has resulted in his derogatory name of the Silver Spoon, as people assume he's had it easy all his life. In reality, as he confesses to Do-yoon during his rapport events, his father never supported him, and he grew up in poverty and miserable with the world.
- Conditioned to Accept Horror: He didn't have a happy childhood, having to tend to his ill mother (who had diabetes) when his father abandoned them and forced him to accept the horror of nobody being able to understand him.
- Dub Name Change: Keisuke Suzuki in the Japanese audio.
- The Glasses Gotta Go: He normally wear glasses but is made to wear contacts for the show.
- I Owe You My Life: Gyu-hyuk is incredibly grateful to Do-yoon for saving him at the start of the collapse, in what was almost a Heroic Sacrifice, and it forms the basis of his devotion to him.
- Living Emotional Crutch: He becomes one to Do-yoon, to the extent that it's implied in Inha's version of Isolated Bond that Do-yoon couldn't bring himself to accuse him. If you max out rapport with him, it's made particularly evident if he's not arrested in Route A, he visits Do-yoon daily despite his schedule and sate his depression.
- Modest Royalty: Not literally royalty, obviously, but he doesn't rely on the Lee name at all, despite all the grandeur attached to it.
- Nice Guy: Like Juyoung, his calm and polite personality means that it's easy to raise rapport points with him, and he won't often lower Do-yoon's Sanity Meter.
- Orphan's Ordeal: For Gyu-hyuk, his birth mother's death was just about the worst thing to ever happen to him, and he still hasn't really recovered. To a lesser extent, when his father then took him in but still neglected him, his stepmother was the only bright spot—but then she died as well.
- Relative Button: Most of what he does is either to avenge his late mother or to protect her memory.
- Scholarship Student: Gyu-hyuk is one despite his seemingly prestigious background, which pisses off some of the cast (especially Inha) and the public for taking away another person's chance. The truth, according to him, is that he struggles to afford the university fees as his family didn't support him financially and his professor (who doesn't know about his background) helped him to obtain a scholarship when he asks to drop out. Moreover, he's actually born out of wedlock, and he's only adopted by his father after his birth mother died .
- Sharp-Dressed Man: Always seen in a suit for his stage appearances.
- Trauma Conga Line: Abandoned by his dad. Lived in absolute poverty with his mother until she committed suicide. Worked three jobs to pay for college. When he finally moves on, prevails and is about to make it big as the winner, his past haunts him again.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: In certain endings, he admits that he got addicted to the limelight for this reason, since as much as he hated living in his father's shadow, it also felt like his father—who in reality neglected him—was speaking to him through people's praise.
- Worthy Opponent:
- Just as Gyu-hyuk put Juyoung as his top rival, she likewise considers him to be hers.
- Hyesung put Gyu-hyuk's name down on the survey as well, implying that he does respect him. Not that it stops him from trying to blackmail Gyu-hyuk, though he doesn't enjoy the act.
Chang Seil
Chang Seil
Voice Actors: Lee Kyungtae (Korean), Soichiro Hoshi (Japanese)
The floor director for Buried Stars's fourth season. He and Seungyeon were the only non-contestants trapped in the building's collapse.
- The Atoner: If you max out rapport with him, he's determined to face the consequences of his past deeds, although the epilogue reveals that it's not going so well for him.
- Beneath Suspicion: He's the one who sent Seungyeon the blackmail note, but he's pretty sure she never once suspected him.
- Butt-Monkey: Seil is aware that he's doomed to be a loser all his life, is at the very least treated poorly by Hyesung and Seungyeon, and just about every route will involve some combination of: becoming the target of mob controversy on Phater, having his humiliating past resurface, being accused of Inha's stalker (he is one, but not the one), having Hyesung's murder pinned on him, and being killed.
- The Dog Bites Back: This is what the others believe to be the case, with regards to Seil murdering Hyesung, who always mistreated him, but it's subverted as Seil is innocent.
- Dub Name Change: Naoto Shimizu in the Japanese audio.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Not to Hyesung's extent, but Inha—whom he's closest to among the group—admits that while she likes him, he's kind of annoying.
- Just Following Orders: How Seil tries to justify the things he did while working for Seungyeon, though his diary makes it clear he hated it. In Route B, he accepts through Do-yoon's urging that he had more agency than he convinced himself he had, and especially if you max out his rapport, he decides to take on his share of the blame.
- Loony Fan: In Show Ended, Seil is revealed to be the one that stalked Inha, though it's subverted in other routes where he confirms that he's separate from the stalker who sent her threats and the like. He is stalking her, but more because he has delusions of being her manager of sorts in order to prove himself to Seungyeon.
- Nervous Wreck: Seil is cynical and paranoid to a fault, with a Phater user referring to him as "neurotic". Often, when things go badly for him, it blows up precisely because he reacts in the worst way possible.
- Perpetual Frowner: He's rarely happy, with his smiling portrait still looking like a grimace. Do-yoon even comments on how he looks like a different person when talking about something he's passionate about (i.e. when he's actually in a good mood).
- The Scapegoat: The police will pin the crime on him if you let the true murderer get away.
- Small Name, Big Ego: He admits that this used to be the case, back when he joined Bstars with delusions of grandeur and assumed that others just couldn't appreciate his musical talent. Ultimately, he had to accept that he wasn't as good as he thought he was.
- Sour Outside, Sad Inside: He's depressingly realistic, blunt, and grumpy, but most people probably would be after years of being in an abusive work relationship and forced into illegal activities.
- Weak, but Skilled: In a sense. He doesn't have much talent, but his theoretical musical knowledge surpasses that of the contestants' and he often helps them out with quiz missions and the like.
Shin Seungyeon
Shin Seungyeon
Voice Actors: Lim Yoonseon (Korean), Eri Kitamura (Japanese)
The genius behind Buried Stars's incredibly popular fourth season. Which is unfortunately the only good thing that can be said about her. Has a bad habit of distorting how the contestants are in order to garner viewers. Found dead in the beginning.
- Bad Boss: It's an open secret that she's not a great boss to work for. When Phater mentions an incident where she verbally abused Seil—her usual punching bag, as her right-hand man—in front of everyone and you bring this up to him, he just tells you that it was always like that.
- Buried Alive: She's ultimately responsible for this befalling her and the others. Seungyeon could never handle being told "No". Or "Wait", for that matter. So when the time came to prepare a venue for the finals, and the popularity of the show was higher than ever, she bribed the construction companies to cut corners to allow for more audience more quickly. The building did not last very long after the finals began.
- Dub Name Change: Yoshie Tanaka in the Japanese audio.
- False Friend: Both Seil and Inha note that Seungyeon is good at coming across as an understanding lifeline and confidant, except it's a trap that'll turn you into her puppet. It's also suggested that she never really cared about Hyesung—whose feelings were genuine—and was merely playing with him, especially given that she also propositioned Gyu-hyuk.
- Freudian Excuse: While it doesn't justify her behaviour, her past of being abused and neglected sheds a lot of light on her treatment of others. In particular, why she was so quick to assume that Gyu-hyuk would abandon her if she didn't start making threats.
- It's All About Me: And she assumes that's how everyone else thinks, too. Portrayed for all it's worth in the Irregular flashback at the true ending; she demands that Gyu-hyuk attend to her despite Do-yoon being in an even worse situation, and flatly assumes that he's there just to get revenge for his mother's death.
- Manipulative Bastard: She essentially played on the insecurities or desires of most of the cast to varying degrees, with Seil, Inha, and Hyesung being her biggest victims as well as Do-yoon. Juyoung, due to the strength of her personal convictions, was really the only one who was beyond her influence.
- Posthumous Character: She's briefly alive at the start of the game, but most of her important deeds comes only after she's discovered to be dead.
- Prima Donna Director: Her editing style brings lots of viewers in, yes, but it doesn't let the stars be shown for who they really are.
- Sacrificial Lamb: She's found dead about an hour after the collapse, from falling debris. Or rather, murdered with a piece of already-fallen debris.
S seungyeon
S_seungyeon
A mysterious Phater user who appears after the survivors find Seungyeon's corpse. They threaten to kill whoever's in last place with voters at regular intervals, unless they can confess their sins. Actually a rather disturbed former staff member.
Tropes:
- Big Bad Wannabe: For all his bluster, he actually can't do anything to the survivors since he's nowhere near the event. All it takes is a short phone call for him to lose his account access and his delusion of actually killing the survivors falls to pieces.
- No Name Given: Even when it's discovered not only that he was former staff, but also that he committed a very specific mistake, no one can remember his name. Not even Seil!
- Red Herring: He mostly ends up just providing cover for the real killer.
- Troll: What he really is. He obviously can't kill anyone when he isn't at the collapse site, but he can still torture the contestants psychologically.
- Walking Spoiler: Not much can be said about them without revealing that they're not actually the antagonist of the game.
Plug Hole
PlugHole (Ha Su-chang)
Voice actors: Lee Joo Chang (Korean), Hikaru Midorikawa (Japanese)
Another mysterious Phater user who offers his assistance to Do-yoon to deal with S_seungyeon. And later, to flush out the killer.
- Brainy Specs: Their Phater profile picture is a pair of glasses. He wears them on his face to face meeting with Do-yoon in the True Ending.
- Deadpan Snarker: Has a rather sardonic way of speaking, making him instantly recognizable when he meets Do-yoon in person in the True Ending.
- Do Not Call Me Sir: He has Do-yoon cease with the honorifics when they meet in the True Ending.
- Dub Name Change: Tatsuya Kouno in the Japanese audio.
- Living Emotional Crutch: He becomes somewhat of one to Do-yoon, since as someone not currently trapped in the building, he's able to offer clear-minded advice and be a source of stability. To this end, the key difference between Show Ended and the primary route is whether or not Do-yoon pays attention to his messages.
