Sojjang from the Countryside Comes to the Big City (2)

Thankfully, Sojjang was able to be born.

I quietly read from the script I'd prepared.

"Year 210 of the Seona Era. In the little village of Soseona, Sojjang was born. Sojjang was amazing. How amazing, you ask…? Shall we find out together?"

I hadn't locked down the fine details. I didn't know them myself.

I'd just figure them out as I went. And if I messed up… it was my server!! People were allowed to mess up a little. So mean!!

"Sojjang is young. She's ten years old."

Should I check the chat reactions? How's everyone liking this? Think it's fun?

Give me some energy, please~

"Don't act up? Uh… all of a sudden? Uh… okay. I won't act up."

That was flustering. Seriously flustering.

But even when I was flustered, I couldn't show I was flustered. That only invited a hundredfold, a thousandfold, a ten-thousandfold brain-melt spiral.

Okay. Okay. Let's do this well. We push through and win.

"C-city… city hazing, what's with that!! Are the city people scared of Sojjang?!"

They were scared I'd succeed in the city, weren't they?!

F-fine. In that case… I was calling in the hometown crew. The people who'd hyped each other up with me back in the countryside. I was gathering them all.

"I-I'll bring the countryside people over. Re… reinforcements of thirty. They're all country folks and my friends."

Sojjang's success myth of overcoming city hazing. Ehehe.

The delusions just kept flooding in. Perfect. I was absolutely going to pull off this grand enterprise.

"Heading in as Sojjang."

I had come up to the city from the countryside. Time to immerse. What would Seona the fresh-faced social newbie even try to do? First things first.

"Where am I? Who am I?"

Hey, I was immersing here and they kept interrupting. Was this the city's hazing? I had to endure all of it. I had to win.

If I saw it through to the end, I would win everything. I would win it all!!

"Uwaaaaaaah!!"

I let out a roar.

A powerful roar that would crush every single hater.

After that, I wandered here and there. Having a dream was a beautiful thing; it gave you a reason to live for tomorrow.

Dreaming of running my own business, I threw myself into boring manual labor.

But no matter how hard I worked that manual labor, the money in my pocket stayed exactly the same.

I had to buy food because I was hungry. I had to drink water. I had to pay taxi fares… the money just wouldn't pile up.

"Yes, this is the admin."

"It's Sojjang."

"What seems to be the issue?"

"It's Sojjang."

"Yes. What seems to be the issue?"

"I'm not making any money. Is this a bug?"

I had no choice but to suspect a bug. I'd worked hard for two whole hours and I had zero money. I hadn't done a single wasted thing.

I'd scrimped and saved so viciously for the business… and I had nothing. Not a single coin. I was serious!!

If that wasn't a bug, then what was it?

"Um. Admin. It's a bug."

"It is not a bug."

"…Give me proof. You don't have any proof."

"I do."

"Uh… I wasn't expecting that. That is…"

There was proof? Meaning I was the one who failed to save? No. That couldn't be right.

I had really, truly scrimped and saved like a maniac.

"Then how do the city people save up?"

"Sojjang-nim has very large spending habits. Your hands are far too big."

"M-my hands are small. Look."

I spread my hand flat and shoved it right up to the cam. See? My hands were small. Not big at all!!

"Sojjang-nim. That is not what I meant. When you buy water, why do you purchase twenty bottles at a time? You only need them to fill your hunger. Why buy ten at a time only to let them expire and vanish? Why take ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a taxi for a distance you could walk in one minute?"

"Uh…!! That is…!! I studied. I'm from the countryside but I studied."

"What does studying have to do with this?"

"I bought a lot so I could sell to people who needed them. Sell food and water to the people laboring alongside me and I'd make money, right?"

"And did you make any?"

I got completely dismantled. College education really did make people sharp.

I hadn't made money. I'd actually lost it… There were so many difficult customers. They'd ask me to knock the price down a few won… and I did.

"I gave them a discount."

"So you took the loss, correct? You became a sucker. People are calling you 'Sogu' now, you know."

"Sogu? That has a nice ring to it? Sogujjang. I'm Gujjang. How's that?"

"…"

Gujjang… was I the only one who thought it was fine? I tilted my head slightly and checked the chat.

A bit? I scratched my head. Which part was the bit? Ah!! Sojjang was the bit, that was right!!

Ah. So that was what they meant. I almost misunderstood for a second there.

"Tch… well then, do your best, Gujjang-nim."

"Yes!! So there was no bug, right?"

"Yes… there is none."

"Understood."

If there had been a bug I was going to demand compensation.

You know the thing… "Scatter the feed!!" That whole protest thing. Shame.

I'd post a bunch on the café. Lie down. Lie down. Spam the lying-down emotes like crazy. Then I'd happily eat the free feed and go back to having fun in the game.

If they didn't give it I'd protest to the bitter end. Even if I wasn't angry yet, not getting free feed automatically made me angry.

A staring contest? A game company doing a staring contest with a customer? Immediately: lie down. Lie down. Lie down.

While I was busy imagining all that, Neoul vanished in an instant.

"He's gone… Should I have just protested? Lie down. Lie down… Should I have done that?"

I checked the public opinion once.

Public opinion was seven-to-three. The "yes" side was stronger. Not only that—suddenly a bunch of screenwriters appeared who started writing the story for me.

Some told me to pick a fight with the police, others said to form a protest corps and start a civil war.

These people still didn't understand my heart.

"I don't do that kind of thing. Achievement farming is more ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠important. I have zero interest in that. Tell other people to do it."

I just… wanted to become the best. That was all.

And along the way there shouldn't be any real hardship. A little bit of effort was fine. But hard suffering? Absolutely not.

I didn't particularly want to go that far.

I felt the need to organize things somehow. The viewers had such different thoughts from me… At this rate, wouldn't there be a misunderstanding? That worry even crossed my mind.

How should I clean this up?

"Hmm. Any good ideas?"

I thought about it. What would be good? Tch… tch.

I had grown. I could think of something.

I wasn't the old stupid Seona anymore!! I thought like a maniac, and in the end I cracked it.

Whew. Worth all that experience I gained.

"Ah. Let me organize this cleanly for you. Everyone. I have zero interest in war. Do whatever you want. As long as you don't break the rules, you can do anything on the server. But if later, after the war ends, you need a bloodline, just say the word. I'll make one Jungjjang and treat her as the royal dynasty bloodline."

I took one deep breath and continued.

"So originally this was a dynastic nation. Jungjjang is now the surviving bloodline, and now… they start a war to make Jungjjang—not me, Jungjjang—the king. If they succeed, Jungjjang becomes king. If they fail, Jungjjang becomes president."

A good question came in.

"Ah! Why is it king if they win and president if they lose? Ah~ let me explain. Actually, I'm the black curtain behind the civil war. Jungjjang ordered everything from behind the scenes. All of it. She's the mastermind. But she doesn't appear. She only shows up at the very end for the achievement ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠farm. She funded both sides. Okay?"

Jungjjang was the black curtain. Got it? This was my server so the RP was fine.

"We're good now, right? No more mentioning civil wars or wars… or coups… none of that. Any questions? Uh… make a political party. But you're going to make it right here? Well, I don't really mind."

There were more over-immersed people than I expected.

But the funny part was… they were people who weren't even playing the game.

They were pouring their entire passion into it like it was a notebook game.

People like that joining would be fun, so I called Neoul.

"Neoul-nim."

"Yes. What is it?"

"What's the max for server expansion?"

"Up to two hundred, and after that you need to discuss it with the admin."

"Okay then. There are some people in chat who are over-immersing, you know? I'll pick them with a special admission process. I want to see just how huge a splash they can make."

I specially admitted the four people who'd been over-immersing this whole time into the server.

I was going to see how well they could write the story.

Once or twice was fine. But they kept going and going, so now I was curious.

"If it's boring the Jjang-nims will… take care of it themselves. Our angel is kind, but the Jjangs are evil. You must be confident you can satisfy those kinds of people if you're coming in…"

Hmm… was this my fault again? I really could never understand the viewers' hearts.

Seona diligently saved money.

On the surface she worked hard, yes—but ninety-five percent of her capital came from people she happened to meet who, as if entranced, poured huge sums into her as investments.

With that enormous capital she started a business, and for some reason the rumor spread through the entire city in thirty minutes.

Crowds poured in, and Seona raked in huge amounts of money.

The sum Sojjang held was astronomical; the admin even made an official statement that Sojjang alone possessed wealth comparable to the entire city.

Sojjang was overjoyed. She laughed and laughed.

Having made a fortune, Seona achieved two goals in a single stroke.

Becoming the chairwoman of a major corporation, and getting her hands on serious money.

Satisfied with Sojjang's life, Seona retired from the chairwoman position.

She sold the company at an absurdly high price to a Jjang-gang she just happened to meet, and began charity work.

For some reason every single gang donated to the charity fund. Not only that—the police and the hospital did too…

Seona was moved by what a beautiful world it was.

That emotion lasted only a moment. For the first time a fight broke out between gangs, and Seona went to watch and died.

She called the police, but the police never came.

The reason: there were no police.

But Seona thought ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it was because the police had no commissioner and their discipline had completely collapsed.

Disappointed, Seona… went looking for Nem-mo. It wasn't their first meeting; they had met a very long time ago while playing Rust.

Back then Seona hadn't grown yet and was full of fear.

But now she had grown tremendously, so talking to her wasn't scary anymore.

"Raming. Raming."

"What?"

"Where are you?"

"I'm at the hospital. Why?"

"Uh. When is Nem-mo-nim coming? Ah. I'm hurt. Heal me a bit."

"Why are you looking for Nem-mo? She'll be here soon?"

"She needs to come quickly."

Goosebumps rose all over Raming's body. She froze for a second, then mustered the courage to ask.

"Why? What's with Nem-mo?"

"Ah! So I can give her the police commissioner position. Right now the cops are going wild because they don't have a commissioner. The moment she arrives I'll hand it over."

"Uh… has this been discussed?"

"No. Do I need to discuss it? Is it company internal regulations? Then can I ask you a favor? Please do it for me. I really didn't know that one."

Raming lost her words, but when she thought about the future that was about to hit Nem-mo, her mood improved.