Taking a Deeper Breath
I started an Instagram account, and a small problem popped up.
The DM alarms, like notifications, heart alerts, they just wouldn’t stop ringing. Someone might say, “Just turn the alarms off then, right?” And they wouldn’t be wrong—if we were only talking about the likes and hearts. The real problem was the DMs. Even if you disable the alarms, the damn record still stays. From my previous life, I’ve had a chronic illness where I can’t stand seeing red notification numbers on KakaoTalk, so I couldn’t possibly leave those “new DM received” alerts staring me in the face.
But if I tried to click every single one of those countless DMs to clear the notifications, this is what would happen:
“What the hell do you want from me, seriously…”
First, I blocked every single one of the bastards sending these rude messages. But the number of people I’d blocked that way had already reached the triple digits. This clearly wasn’t sustainable, so I decided to hand the matter over to an expert.
“So what you’re saying is, your Instagram blew up and you’re getting flooded with DMs, making it impossible to ignore them?”
“Yeah.”
The self-proclaimed internet ghost and keyboard warrior specialist, Yujin, spoke while taking a long sip of her grapefruit ade at the café. For some reason, Last and Han Cheolho were sitting beside her too. It looked like business at the detective agency was unusually slow.
Yujin continued, “Unnie, this might be rude to ask, but… are you bad with machines and stuff?”
“Huh? No?”
It was a remark that stung my pride a little. With the number of keyboard clicks I’d done in the other world, I could probably surpass the personal assets of Three Castle’s chairman. And she was calling me a machine idiot?
“Then could you press the settings button in the top right?”
“This one?”
I obediently followed her instructions for now, just to hear what she had to say.
“Yes. If you go in there, you should see something that says ‘Receive DMs only from people you follow,’ right?”
“Ah.”
And then I regretted it. I suddenly understood how old people felt when they desperately tried to keep up with new technology so they wouldn’t fall behind the times.
“Once you tap that and hit save—”
“Wait!! That’s enough explanation!!”
I desperately clamped my hand over Yujin’s mouth as she tried to give an unnecessarily detailed breakdown. She flailed around in my arms, her face turning blue before she finally went limp. I felt heat rising all over my body. My face was probably bright red too. It was absolutely not because of embarrassment.
—Flap, flap… While I was fanning myself with my hand, Han Cheolho spoke up.
“Honestly, I don’t know much about Instagram or any of that, so I thought you were just overreacting. But I can definitely feel the stares now.”
My gaze swept across the surroundings. He was right. I’d been sensing multiple eyes on us for a while now. And they were the sticky kind of looks, different from the ones at the restaurant.
“Come on, no way. There’s a celebrity right here, you know.”
I deliberately ignored those gazes and gave Last’s shoulder a couple of light taps. After all, he was the famous person who’d been trending on the internet for a while. At that, Last, who had been spacing out, flinched and looked at me.
“Hm? Why are you so startled?”
“No, it’s nothing. Just…”
Last awkwardly grabbed his cup and downed his drink. What’s with him? Han Cheolho, who had been watching closely, spoke up.
“By the way, you two don’t speak casually with each other?”
“Sorry?”
“You’re the same age, aren’t you? You’re going to keep using honorifics forever?”
Uh… speak informally to Last? ‘Me?’
For a moment, I felt the urge to run away from this table. Since they had come out because I called them, I couldn’t actually do it, but asking me to drop the formal speech… that was seriously no easy task.
Think about it. Imagine your ultimate idol is standing right in front of you. A celebrity, film director, actor—doesn’t matter who. Could you casually say “I’m a fan! Sign this for me!” in banmal to them?
To me, Last was exactly that kind of revered idol. The fact that we were even mixed together in each other’s daily lives was already pushing it. And now they wanted me to speak casually?
That was when it happened.
“Then… Yuha-ya.”
“Yeah? What?”
I slammed my hand down on the sofa I was sitting on. ‘You fucking bastard! No warning before dropping that on me!!’ I had answered reflexively! The people around us turned their heads at the noise, their gazes focusing on me. I apologized and sat back down.
“Haah…”
When I sighed, Han Cheolho grinned like a thug.
“Looks like Jinhyun landed a solid hit.”
“What? How?”
“It’s the first time I’ve seen Yuha’s smiling face collapse since the hospital.”
“......”
And you have a talent for making people speechless like a damn gorilla.
“So when are you going to drop the honorifics?”
Han Cheolho pointed at Last as he spoke. When I turned my gaze that way, I saw Last staring at me with eyes full of expectation. Seriously, what is with this guy…
“Just wait a little. Give me a moment.”
I took one deep breath. Okay, let’s organize this. He called me Yuha, so… what the hell am I supposed to call him?
Last? No, absolutely not. Jinhyun? His full name feels way too stiff. Then… no way. ‘Jinhyun landed a solid hit.’ Do I have to call him Hyun?
‘Fuck!!’
I imagined myself affectionately calling out “Hyun-a~” in my clear voice. I wanted to run away from this place immediately.
“Saintess-nim!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
At that moment, three massive figures came thundering toward us from far away. All three were enhanced humans wearing tank tops that showed off their deltoids and sporting crew cuts—the classic helchang look.
“It’s an honor to meet you in a place like this!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
“I will never forget the sight of you shouting for freedom in front of all those people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
“These are our Instagram IDs!!!!!!!!!!!! If you could just follow us back, we would have no other wishes in life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
The three men’s booming voices shook the entire café as if an earthquake had hit. In the end, we got kicked out of the café together with the nuisance helchangs. Honestly, it was a relief.
*
A.G.O’s office near Royal Road. Looking out one window, you could see buildings packed like a forest rising up the golden city like a hill. From the opposite window, the dark city grew thicker with fog the further down you looked. In this space that perfectly displayed Minos City’s wealth gap, A.G.O was holed up in her dark office, staring at her phone.
“I got blocked…!! W-why…!?”
The phone A.G.O was looking at displayed a photo from the newly created Instagram account of Chae Yuha. It was a picture of her drinking beverages at a café with what looked like three other people. According to Yujin, Instagram was originally meant for constant activity. She had uploaded it under that influence. Of course, no one’s faces were visible.
A.G.O felt an overwhelming sense of envy toward the three invisible people who had gone to the café with Chae Yuha. I can drink beverages well too…
So at some point, she finally sent the DM she had been holding back to Chae Yuha’s ID. This was the result.
—Blocked.
“Uwaaang…!!”
A.G.O spent that night crying, unable to sleep.
*
-Tak. The sound of a phone snapping shut echoed. Nadja, a researcher affiliated with the Cheongang Group and the mother of nanomachine technology, glanced around the café near the bustling streets.
“Hm, did they already leave? I came as quickly as I could.”
Looking slightly disappointed, Nadja entered the café and activated the radar installed in her eyes. She was searching for a seat that matched what she had seen on Chae Yuha’s Instagram. Soon she found a good seat by the window with a nice view. Whether it was good luck or bad, the beverage cups from Chae Yuha’s group were still sitting there, not yet cleared away. They had been forcibly kicked out and never got the chance to clean up after themselves.
Nadja inwardly shouted “Bingo” and located Chae Yuha’s cup. She pulled a saliva collector from her sleeve and smoothly swiped the rim where lips would have touched.
“Excuse me, what are you doing?”
A Vitaloid asked from behind Nadja. It seemed to be one of the café employees.
“I was about to sit down, but the cups hadn’t been cleared yet.”
“Ah, I’m so sorry! I’ll clear them right away.”
The Vitaloid quickly gathered the cups and carried them to the sink. Nadja watched the Vitaloid’s back for a moment before quietly slipping out of the café. In her hand was the successfully collected saliva sample.