010. Nameless Monster (4)
Goryeo abandonment. This custom referred to children abandoning their elderly parents amid hardships like war or famine. It was like dumping the dog you'd raised in the wilds—leaving your own parents in the mountains. How heartbreaking was that? Discarding the parents who raised you just because they were no longer useful.
In truth, evidence for such a custom's existence was scant. The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty were filled with decrees stating that those who abandoned their parents would face extreme punishment. Would the culture of parent-dumping vanish overnight just because the Goryeo Dynasty gave way to Joseon? Baffled Korean historians launched investigations and finally uncovered the truth: this barbaric custom was a fabrication from the Japanese colonial era.
It was a myth cooked up by the Japanese occupiers to demean Korean culture, claiming, "Your traditions are savage!" And now, in 2023, Goryeo abandonment was being practiced in the modern world.
"Ugh... ugh..."
The modern Goryeo abandonment usually took the form of offing someone else's parents in cyberspace. The method Kim A-ram's enemy was using was particularly vicious: blatantly slapping an insult to the opponent's mother into their username.
This way, you could piss off the target without directly insulting them, and the odds of getting hit with a criminal defamation charge were way lower than spewing slurs in the comment itself. The nation's legal system couldn't touch it.
For instance, even a bland comment like that would ruin Kim A-ram's mood thanks to the username, and with no slurs in the text itself, winning a lawsuit was a long shot. And the ploy worked like a charm—without lifting a finger, Kim A-ram's spirits were getting crushed in real time.
Ugh...!
Every time she saw that ID, her heart actually ached. The world felt suffocating, heat rising to her face. If only she had the personality to ignore it, but Kim A-ram's temperament wouldn't let her. She was anxious. Terrified her personal info would leak online. Or that more people would join in slinging mud at her mom. Checking that hellhole only amplified her stress, yet she couldn't stop.
Ugh... ugh... Why? Why do I have to go through this?
Of course, she had karma coming. Deleting a game company's server files—what a crime. Wiping out a year's worth of Im Seong-u's labor. Erasing Han Yu-ra's youth poured into the challenge. Even if it ended in an attempt, it was attempted murder of a corporation. Then she tried pinning it on Yoon Se-hee.
-You're hiding something right now, aren't you, Se-hee?
-Pardon?
Ha... I do feel kinda bad for Se-hee.
She'd even gotten physical with Yoon Se-hee at the event hall. And after that—
She'd indirectly Goryeo-abandoned someone else's parent. But Kim A-ram lacked the EQ to reflect on that. In her mind, she was the pretty, innocent victim.
Assholes?
The only thing that mattered to her was that she was getting Goryeo-abandoned online. With a tense expression, she lurked the boards.
It's here...!
Like Voldemort, just the mention of "Aram@WhoreMom" soured moods—this troll posted shitposts hourly, never sleeping. Kim A-ram gritted her teeth.
Sweat trickled down the side of Kim A-ram's head. Her heart pounded wildly.
Ig... Ig... Ignore it.
She decided to play it off. Just keep denying she was Aram.
First, find allies... Someone's gotta be on my side...!
She scrolled back to her own post. No good news awaited, but she couldn't ignore it. Was public opinion against her? Or for her? As a natural political animal, Kim A-ram couldn't endure without checking.
But the first comment demolished her "expert insight."
Obvious manipulation. Some psycho lurking, sniping first comment the instant a post dropped.
Cunning.
Rational folks weigh all comments equally, but in the "real game," the first one set the tone. The enemy knew it, waiting patiently to strike first. Chills ran down her spine.
Ignore. Ignore it, Kim A-ram.
Kim A-ram's blood pressure spiked; she clutched the back of her head, eyes bloodshot as she replied.
Uh... uh... ugh...
How do you stop them? If they're dead set on blowing cash, what could she do? Sighing in frustration, she scrolled down.
Kim A-ram's chest felt torn apart, not just stuffy.
You... fucking... frustrating... idiots!!!
She clawed at her hair. She'd always seen Korean mobile gamers as dumber than Moran's street dogs or pork soup slurpers. Idiots who'd stuff wallet cash into any probability pit. That's how she wrote her proposals. She couldn't fathom why anyone would defend when she'd spelled out her devious intent.
"I'm the fucking planner, I designed it— who the hell are you to...!"
And some were digging into her dox.
"Ugh... uwoooook!"
Consumed by rage, she kept replying.
Should she dox herself and spill the full planning intent? If it came out she was a Railroad Software employee, she could force "Aram@WhoreMom" to change IDs legally. And if proven malicious design, Sepiros Online would take a massive hit.
No... nah...
They'd still gacha anyway.
You... you'd do it. 'Cause you're braindead...
Kim A-ram gnashed her teeth. Only play: find and expose game flaws.
But as she typed, she spotted it. The chatter.
Ugh... ugh... ughhh...
Aram@WhoreMom was a blatant sniper, fine—but others catching on was dangerous.
Please, please... please...!
Kim A-ram hammered the keys one last time. Unaware her fragile state would drag her to hell.
The instant she hit post, chills shot down her back. She hit edit fast—but...
Wh... what's this.
Already screenshotted in a concept thread.
A... aaa...
She checked replies.
That was the spark.
"Hweeeeeuk! Hweeeeeeuk! Hweeeeeeek!"
She clutched her head, flailing in the chair before toppling backward.
Thud!
The wheeled chair crashed through to the floor below; she spewed tears and snot pathetically.
"Kkwek! Hkkwek! Hweeeuk!"
"A-ram! What the hell are you doing?!"
Then—her mom burst in. Despite A-ram's puberty-era lectures on knocking, mom ignored it.
"Get up! What ugly scene is this?!"
"Mom! Get out! Get oooout!"
A-ram chucked a pen at her mom rudely. But mom wasn't watching that.
She might've pitied her jailbound daughter as mentally frail, but in her hand was a plate of peeled fruit.
Peeling fruit and this bitch...!
From mom's view, inevitable.
"You little—!"
"Hweeeek!"
Mom grabbed Kim A-ram's hair, yanking her back like a four-legged beast.
-Wham!
Mom unleashed a back attack on her spine. Like a fridge dropping from height, Kim A-ram's lips parted in a pig-slaughter squeal.
"Kkeeeek!"
"Die, you bitch! Die!"
Regretting ever birthing her, mom hammered vengeful back smacks.
Of course, she had zero ties to prostitution or the trade. But raising a fuckup kid? Eternal sin. A daughter's crimes fall on the mother.
"Hwek! Hweeeuk!"
Beaten on the back, she wept. Despite her wrongs, wronged Kim A-ram yearned to flee. Late 20s and spanked by mom—humiliating.
Hwek... hweuk... Why... why only me...
Early summer, when all sprouts greedily bud. Late 20s were hard to waste, and people don't change easy.