“Is This the Home of Mr. Kang Seongho?”
A man with a gruff voice had come looking for my father. My heart pounded. Most people hunting down a deadbeat dad who racked up massive debts and fled weren't up to any good.
“That's right, but he's not home right now.” I answered without opening the door.
“We know.”
He knows? They knew and came anyway. That meant their business wasn't with Dad—it was with me and Mom. My tension spiked.
“Do you have something to say to me?”
“We could talk to you, son, but it'd be better with your mother, Oh Mijin.”
“I'll hear it, so tell me.” I was shaking already—Mom would be a wreck. As the man of the house, it was only right that I handle this.
“Looks like you and your mother paid off Kang Seongho's debts.”
“How do you know that?” Mom and I had cleared private loans—no bank records, so even a credit check wouldn't show it. Yet this guy knew.
“We're experts in that line of work. We find out quick.”
“...I see.”
“I've got information for you, so no need to be so tense.”
“What kind of information?”
“We don't know how you and your mother scraped that money together, but do it one more time.”
“Why should we?”
“We've got Kang Seongho.”
They had my father. Shock stole my voice.
“We're letting you know we caught the bastard who borrowed our money and ran.”
“I-is that so?” The guy wasn't hiding his dangerous vibe at all. I worried for Dad.
“We shook him down, but he was short 180 million.”
“And?” I pulled myself together fast, forcing calm as I asked what they wanted. Inside, I was terrified something bad would happen to him.
“If it's not settled in two weeks, we can't guarantee his future. You can pay it off as family or cut him loose—your call. But you should know. Better to prepare for the funeral than get blindsided, right?”
Blackmail. Straight-up threats with my father's life on the line. It wasn't easy, but I fought to stay composed.
“I have no way to verify he's really with you, or proof we owe 180 million. You know that, right?”
“Heh. Smart kid. Of course we'd show proof. Download FlashTalk and send your ID. I'll leave my card in the door. Later.”
As he left, I peeked through the peephole. A man in a black suit walked away. I moved to the balcony and watched him meet some underlings at the apartment entrance, then drive off in a sedan.
I installed FlashTalk—popular with criminals for its self-destructing messages—and messaged the ID from his card. He sent proof they had Dad, plus the loan contract.
A few hours after the guy left with news of Dad, Mom came home.
“How'd it go?”
“Everyone's struggling these days—jobs are hard to find. Nothing but stuff you'd hate, son.”
I nodded quietly and headed to the sofa.
“Mom. I need to tell you something.”
“Bad news?” My heavy, dark mood was obvious. Worry etched her face.
But she had to know. I sat her down and explained—her husband, my father, was in deep shit. She'd verified the evidence herself and started trembling.
“I looked it up online. Hazard Korea—super infamous. Illegal outfit, but supposedly reliable. They keep their word.”
“M-Minseong... what'll happen to your father?”
“If we don't pay... hah—we probably won't see him again. He did the one thing they hate most: ran. Should've avoided that crew at least...”
Hazard Korea was notorious even among illegal lenders. They traded on trust and terror, operating way beyond the norm. Mom and I had zero leverage against them.
“How much do they want?”
“180 million. No more interest piling on.”
They capped the debt at a fixed amount—no extra interest. Sounds good, but it meant death for the borrower if unpaid. Nothing to celebrate there.
“W-what do we do?”
I'd already thought it through. Calmly, I laid it out.
“Two options. One: we abandon Dad.”
“...”
She had no words for that brutal reality.
“Two: we head to the Tower's second floor right now. No other choices.”
Rewards scale with floors. The Tower was our only shot at nearly 200 million.
“Right now, to the T-Tower?”
“Yeah. Time dilation means it's slower inside, but who knows what's waiting. Better go ASAP.”
We could bank on bigger second-floor rewards, but no guarantee it'd hit 200 million—might need to push to the third. No time to waste, I told her.
“Son. What do you think we should do?”
“Tower. Can't just abandon him like this.”
If it were hopeless, we'd cut ties. But we had the Tower. Dangerous, sure—but he was my dad, her husband. No regrets from chickening out.
“Guess we have to.”
“Yeah. Let's go. We'll figure it out there.”
“Okay, son. Let's do it!”
Dad's mess had plunged our family into crisis after crisis. Hesitating now would just waste time. If we were gonna try, better hurry—even if we failed.
Mom and I decided to challenge the second floor immediately. We slipped into our laundered leather underwear. Short time back in reality, but we'd readjusted. Awkward in just undies, but we'd adapt quick.
I told prepared Mom:
“Mom. To the Tower!”
Entering Tower Floor 2.
“Yeah! Son.”
Light flared. Mom and I warped somewhere new.
The Tower welcomes back the returning player.
Warrior Mode activated.
Back in the Tower. I scanned around.
The terrain's pointing us forward.
A sheer cliff blocked retreat—only one path ahead.
Distributing necessary items for Tower Floor 2.
Robe to ward off the cold distributed.
Brown robes materialized in front of us with a flash.
“Son. Clothes!”
“Yeah. Let's put 'em on.”
Tower-provided? Wear it. I grabbed them, handing the smaller to Mom.
“Feels soft inside, unlike the look.”
“Yeah. Pretty nice.”
Rough exterior, but plush lining. Still, the robes worried me.
Bad weather ahead.
No robes on Floor 1. Meant harsher conditions. No pure joy here.
Re-providing weapons selected on Floor 1.
Axe and shield appeared—brand new, unlike our old ones. Tower hooked us up fresh.
We grabbed our weapons.
Distribution complete.
Happy adventuring!
We waited, but no more alerts.
“Mom. This way.”
“Yeah, son.”
One path. We followed the trail between trees. After thirty minutes, something besides trees appeared.
“Mom. Village ahead.”
“Yeah. People live there?”
“Dunno yet. Stay cautious.”
I took Mom's hand, heading toward the medieval-looking village.
As we neared:
“Son. People! It's inhabited.”
The forest village had residents. They spotted us, poured out, and gathered at the entrance, waving.