Tears 9, 10 (티어즈 아홉개 열개) is a Korean visual novel developed and released by Team DTR. It was first released in 2002 in its native country, and then made its way onto the international market via iOS and Android in 2011. A Steam port using the Unity engine was released on January 31, 2018.
This visual novel provides examples of:
- All Just a Dream: The good ending, in which Taehyeok and Haran do their best to protect Yeonji from harm (and especially being raped), is all just a dream born out of Taehyeok's regrets of not saving Yeonji.
- Amusement Park: Taehyeok and Yeonji go to one, after being given free tickets by Haran.
- Disappeared Dad: Yeonji was looking for her father, who mysteriously disappeared several months before. Eventually, Haran was able to track his whereabouts, and it turns out he died in a factory accident. Taehyeok can convince Haran to tell the painful truth to Yeonji, or otherwise. Yeonji's reaction remains the same no matter the choice: She cries.
- Fingore: Yeonji lost one of her fingers after a factory accident. She tries to hide it with her mittens, but Taehyeok soon discovers the ugly truth once he takes her mittens off while she was asleep.
- Golden Ending: The true ending is unlocked after achieving both the good and bad endings. It reveals the contents of Yeonji's diary, which is kept by Taehyeok after her passing. The diary documents Yeonji's adventures in Korea, where she has experienced both kindness and discrimination from Koreans as she and her father search for her sister Minji, as well as her fateful encounter with Taehyeok and the events that unfold afterwards.
- Hope Spot: After all the crap she went through, Yeonji is eligible to go back to her native China with the help of Taehyeok and Haran. But before she can leave her hellish life in Korea behind to become a pianist, she gets into another factory accident that nearly ends her life. When Taehyeok finds her in the hospital, she is on her last legs.
- How We Got Here: The story starts with Taehyeok telling his friends about a girl he met in the not too distant past.
- I Let Gwen Stacy Die: Despite Taehyeok and Haran's best efforts to protect her, Yeonji still dies at the end. Taehyeok regrets this, especially in the bad ending route.
- The Illegal: Yeonji is actually an illegal immigrant from China. She's been the subject of discrimination and forced child labor by native Koreans, but she still doesn't give up on her dream to become a pianist.
- Rape as Drama: It is heavily implied that Yeonji was raped by a factory manager. Her panic attacks that trigger once she's being touched is an indication.
- This Is My Story: Taehyeok the protagonist provides much of the narration to his friends about his fateful encounter with Yeonji and the moments he spent with her.
- Updated Re-release: The characters were redrawn with better quality art styles in the remade versions for smartphone and Steam, unlike the early PC and GP32 versions.
- Utsuge: You'd be hard-pressed to not shed tears for Yeonji. Especially when you learn that she dies in the one true canonical ending.
