Parallel World: Class Society Korea (1)

It was a Monday afternoon in March, a little chilly but bright with sunlight. 'Classes are all done for today.' I was sitting on a bench near the campus fountain, taking a break. The sun felt nice, classes were over, and heading straight back to the dorm felt like a waste, so I lingered outside. This was one of the perks of dorm life at school. Lately, I'd been spending more time alone on benches like this. Not that I was doing nothing—I was exactly "reminiscing." Last Monday, Lee Ayoung. Wednesday, Kang Dahyun. Friday, Cha Eunyung. When I sat quietly, the intense memories from last week came flooding back into my head.

'Hmm... come to think of it, I left my phone in the dorm.' As I was enjoying the "reminiscence," I suddenly remembered my phone back in the dorm. If I'd brought it, I could've ordered delivery food before heading in now that classes were done. Too bad. Still, it wasn't a big deal. No one would steal it while it was in the dorm... I sat there blankly again.

'Hm?' While I was sitting near Nuri University's central fountain, staring into space like an idiot, my gaze was suddenly drawn to a girl standing by the fountain. 'Lee Ayoung?' It was definitely her. Even though the bench was a bit far from the fountain, her beauty made her easy to recognize. I'd run into her here by chance, even though we were supposed to meet later that afternoon for our part-time job at the student support center.

She wore a flowing floral dress and flat shoes, with a white bag slung diagonally across her body. The half-exposed pale thighs beneath the gently swaying dress caught my eye. The slightly clinging floral fabric subtly highlighted her slender figure. 'Is she... waiting for a friend?' With her usual bright, sparkling eyes, she kept glancing at the watch on her wrist, clearly waiting for someone. As she looked around to see if the person had arrived, she spotted me and approached with a delighted expression.

"Hello, Juwan~"

"Ah... hello!" I was startled for a moment—I hadn't expected her to greet me so warmly—and managed a reply. Lee Ayoung was always kind to everyone around her and the first to say hello. I just hadn't expected her to approach someone sitting far away so casually.

"Um... are you waiting for someone too, Juwan?"

"No. I was just resting before heading back to the dorm. You look like you're waiting for someone... meeting a friend?"

"I arranged to meet my boyfriend for a bit before my part-time job this evening. I've been waiting a little while."

"Ah..." The fact that she had a boyfriend came back to me. He was also a second-year like her, but since he'd already done his military service like me, he was older—a senior in the business administration department. In other words, he was my classmate in the same major... but someone I didn't really know. The business department was so big that it was hard to know everyone. Still, the guy I'd glimpsed recently was undeniably handsome. I'd overheard her talking with friends who came to find her during our part-time job at the student support center. That was when I learned her boyfriend's name was Park Yoon-seok.

Since Lee Ayoung had no idea I often stole glances at her or eavesdropped on her conversations, she probably assumed I didn't know her boyfriend's name. I spoke to her again.

"Do you have time for a date before your shift?"

"I just want to see his face one more time. Hehe."

'She sees that face every single day—doesn't she get tired of it? Anyone listening would think he was leaving for a long trip.' I felt a twinge of irritation at Ayoung and her boyfriend's affectionate relationship. The guy named Yoon-seok hadn't done anything to me personally, but the fact that he was dating ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Ayoung was more than enough to annoy me.

Just then—

'Huh? A parallel world?' I still couldn't get used to the quest window suddenly appearing in midair. It startled me every time, like a bug suddenly flying into my face. I quickly calmed my surprise and read the quest window slowly.

'Hmm... a parallel world... I get that part, but I have no idea what these keywords mean.' A parallel world... I figured it was a world similar to mine but different in some way.

"Juwan? Did something surprise you all of a sudden?"

While I was momentarily absorbed by the quest window, Lee Ayoung, who had been talking to me just moments ago, asked with a curious expression.

"It's nothing. I just remembered I left my phone in the dorm."

"Ah~" I made up an excuse about the smartphone I'd left behind, and Ayoung accepted it without suspicion. Watching her nod in understanding, I thought she really trusted people easily. She seemed genuinely pure and innocent. Her figure had the beautiful curves of a ballerina. Her clear, sparkling eyes. Seeing Ayoung up close, I was struck again by how beautiful she was. I recalled overhearing her tell friends that she'd done ballet as a child. I didn't know why she'd quit, but her dance background gave her figure an elegant, flowing line. Even now, several male students passing the fountain were stealing glances at her beautiful back.

Ayoung remained completely unaware of the desire-filled looks from the other guys, wearing her bright smile as usual. 'Ah... no, I need to focus on the quest window. I got distracted by Ayoung without realizing it.' I looked back at the quest choices floating in front of me. 'What to do... even looking again, I still don't get it...' Class... customs... Animal Kingdom... None of them made sense. 'Hmm... when I don't know, I might as well just pick number 1.' Without much thought, I pressed the first choice firmly.

-Flash.

A sudden burst of light filled my vision. When it faded, the scenery looked no different from usual. But then an enormous number of notification windows flooded my sight.

'Huh? What the—' I couldn't help but panic at the hundreds of notification windows flashing before my eyes. 'What is all this...' It was hard enough to read hundreds of windows, let alone figure out if I needed to read them all. Just then, a broadcast came through the speakers installed throughout Nuri University. Normally they only announced simple campus news or played music, but this time the announcement was something entirely different.

"Ha... this is getting ridiculous..." What was all this? It felt like too much information was pouring in at once. The campus broadcast was so alien that it took time to process. 'No... this really is another world...' Come to think of it, the quest window had clearly said I was being transported to a parallel world. This was undeniably a different world from the one I lived in. Yet... the fountain was spraying water normally. The campus buildings were Western-style, just like the original Nuri University. Students dressed in ordinary modern clothes—jeans, shirts. Nothing looked different from the school I'd just left. But I had definitely been moved to a completely different world that only looked the same.

'This is fascinating...' -Thud, thud. Footsteps began echoing around me. Suddenly, more people were moving near the fountain. 'What's going on all of a sudden? Is this because it's a parallel world? Why is everyone suddenly moving... Ah, it's break time.' Looking at the clock tower a little distance away, it was 1:50. Usually, university schedules had breaks or ended classes at the 50-minute mark. Of course, there were classes that ran straight for two and a half hours without breaks or professors who forgot about breaks and just kept lecturing, but normally the number of people moving around campus increased every hour at the 50-minute mark.

'Looking at it like this, there's really nothing different.' I'd heard that strange campus broadcast earlier, but it still didn't feel real. Even the students' clothing looked no different. Boots... sneakers... shoulder bags... leather jackets... red name tags...? 'Oh!' Now I saw them. Students dressed like ordinary people but carrying lots of stuff or diligently following someone. Red name tags attached to their chests or bags. "Whoa... it's real." "What is?" The exclamation slipped out without thinking, and Lee Ayoung, standing beside me, tilted her head with clear eyes and asked. When she tilted her head slightly, her short hair swayed, adding to her charm. Moist eyes, calm smile, a somewhat mysterious aura. She looked especially beautiful today. Still amazed, I opened my mouth to answer her.

"No, it's just that red name tag..."

"This one?"

"Huh?"

Lee Ayoung smiled brightly and pointed at the red name tag attached to the chest of her floral dress. It was the name tag indicating a nobi's status as a yangban's personal property. I sat on the bench staring blankly at her name tag, then slowly raised my gaze. Clear eyes, flawless skin, swaying short hair, an earring on her left ear. Her beautiful appearance made it impossible to imagine her class as a "servant." 'Wait... could it be...' Blinking, I looked at Lee Ayoung who was only watching me, and one thought came to mind. 'Could she... be mine?' The announcement had said yangban students attached red name tags to their personally owned nobi. Was Ayoung... my property in this parallel world? 'I need to check.' Sitting on the bench, I examined the red name tag on Ayoung's chest for a moment, then spoke to her.

"Ayoung... are you my servant by any chance?"

"What? Pfft... What are you talking about?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

She answered with a small laugh, as if it were funny. 'Huh? She's not mine? Or... she's not a nobi?' Thinking about it, it really didn't make sense. It was absurd for someone as beautiful and innocent-looking as Ayoung to be a slave. No matter how messed up the world was, that couldn't be right. More than that... the floral dress swaying in the breeze, the smooth thighs half-exposed beneath it, the lips with a light pink tint. What kind of slave would dress so prettily and wear makeup? She looked like an ordinary female college student... no, an exceptionally beautiful one. Then Ayoung spoke again.

"Of course I'm Young Master's servant. Whose servant would I be~? And please just call me 'hey' or ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠'you bitch' like usual."

"...What?"