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Every new chapter I build up more theories and I genuinely feel like I'm working on a case, so to help me sort them out imma list my theories here lol (quick summary at very end lol)
1. It's like a sword art online type thing. As in they entered some kind of virtual reality game and played so much they forgot how to get out. Proof for this is that he knows about the fact that he knows he is in the game 'dreadful night' as he states in the literal first chapter. Also would make sense as to why he knows there is a way to get out but he may have forgotten or it just doesn't work anymore. It seems dying was the usual way as he says everytime he dies he sees a 'game over' screen and is forced to restart. Maybe there used to be an option to quit game after death but something happened and this function was lost.
2. Sentient NPCs with the mc being the only real player. Don't have much proof for this one but I have seen it get thrown around a lot. But from what I've gathered this game is supposed to be an RPG which normally has only 1 main character that you play as (Pi Bada) and the rest of the characters are NPCs. Maybe after so many times of replaying the game the NPCs gained consciousness but to keep that conscious state they must save their 'memories' in the tapes.
3. Sentient NPCs but Dohas a virus. This used to be a game but they developed consciousness due to a virus messing with the system (doha), links to how he says he will get 'deleted' almost like how knows he doesn't actually exist. Also doha is the only one who can kill the killer I'm pretty sure. In chapter 19 Doha remarks hoe mcs blows don't make any damage at all and even after being hit by a metal bar he can still move, whereas all Doha has to do is knee him in the face. Also it would explain his abnormal strength and personality.
4. All of them are real people. Maybe they were game testers. Linking back to point 1, the mc knew about the game and it's story as well as knowing a synopsis of each characters personality and behaviour. Maybe they were payed to test the game and accidentally got sucked in, Jumanji style and are now stuck in the CD game, except their real bodies still exist on the outside but their mind was transported into the game. Which could explain what happened to Park, maybe his real body was injured resulting in him being affected in game.
5. This one links heavily to the previous one but more on maybe the was to leave the game fully is actually to not save your cassette, like you gotta wonder what the role of the cassette is. Does it act as the almost soul gem (Madoka reference if yk yk) for their consciousness. Like the cassettes are what holds their actual personality so if it is played the character will run on autopilot and act as the og NPC. And maybe the reason Park is injured is because the wrong tape was played. The tape clearly had the same design except there was a main difference, the colour. The one they just found was black while his normal one was white. From what I've reread black cassettes are normally played to save game data and to unlock new areas of the game, such as the haunted mansion. Each new location having a new set of endings more difficult than the others. Meanwhile the white cassettes are used by the other characters to save their memories, seen by Hyungshin who regains his memories at the beginning by placing his cassette into the car at the beginning of tge game. But then that would not explain how Doha and mc keep their memories. So maybe playing the black cassette for game save also saves the current memories, so because mc keeps saving the game he is in turn keeping his memory. But onto the topic of the black copy of te cassette maybe it's a virus that affects the characters or maybe it weakens the link between the game and the real world. So you still have the last injuries.
IN CONCLUSION:
All of the characters are real NPCs, but they get 'possessed' by the souls of real players. The same players. The bodies themselves are empty troupy husks of characters that follow a script exactly. Our characters are game testers who are testing the game for bugs but end up stuck due to a massive virus they failed to control. This forces the consciousness of the game testers into cassettes which when played will ensure the tester remains conscious. Due to this virus the function to leave the game was erased and the only way to escape is to finish the game in full. Doha on the other hand also used to be controlled by a real tester however I think this virus took control of Doha and uses him as his host so it can have a human form. This is why Doha is incredibly strong and also the only character who can kill the 'killer' as he is a virus as can basically bipass the laws of the game. The virus has done this as it may have grown sentience and 'fallen inlove' with the mc. Which is why Doha sometimes messes with the plan so the ending doesn't go to plan. Also again Doha mentions how even if the games data is destroyed and he is deleted he will stay by mc side. Does that mean he knows that if the game is destroyed he won't be able to stay with mc? Maybe the virus is elongating the process of finishing the game so he can figure out a way to fully take over te real Dohas consciousness so when the game ends he will still exist. Also side note Doha is the only one with freaky eyes that glow so take that to face value.
Basically friends(?) sign up to test a game and end up being stuck in game due to love sick virus who wants to be with mc but can't due to lack of physical body, so the virus plans to steal a body and therefor be able to leave game at end and stay with mc as Doha.
Sorry for this long ass rant but please tell me your theories I want to know what talk think, am I reaching