01. Hello!
01. Hello!
Year-end party.
A gathering to reminisce about the past year and send it off... but from my short experience, it's just pounding booze and partying.
Even the girls from the other departments were coming, so there weren't any brave souls returning to Another World who would say no.
Just in case, I tucked the CC Card safely in my pocket and went, but there wasn't even time to pull it out.
"Drank it!"
"Chugged it!"
"Die!"
Now I knew why Uncle said a early-20s liver could melt steel.
Countless soju bottles piling up on the table.
That young, healthy liver that could melt steel? Er, it left behind just a "I'm dying-" and perished.
"Geuwaeek!"
"Kyaa! Jin-woo's puking!"
"Ooh, so that's what we ate."
In the Hongdae alleyways, amid the stuff spewed without the owners knowing, one more from our club senior got added.
I too barely held on with my head throbbing like it might shatter, forcing down water.
"Hey! Guys! We ain't stopping here, right?!"
"Gotta keep going! Even if we die, gotta go!"
No way could a dead liver stop our insane brains, so we charged on to who-knows-what round it was.
If I hadn't caught a quick nap in the noraebang karaoke, I might've turned into a real corpse.
"10!"
"9!"
"8!"
Everyone stared at the TV hanging in the bar and shouted in perfect unison.
Fuuuuck. Thinking about the last six months just makes me curse.
Blown half a year away.
"3~!"
"2~!"
"1! Wooaaah-!"
Uwaaaah-!
Cheers like thunder roared over Hongdae from the bar and all the surrounding ones.
At the same time, people's hands swarmed the kiosk, spewing out countless bottles of soju and snacks.
"Hey! Let's watch the sunrise till morning!"
"Or how 'bout Jeongdongjin? Go see the dawn?"
"O?"
Naturally, the ones who suggested it were the first to bail from the drinking session.
Over a dozen had been together, but only a few remained.
"Hey..., let's just do hangover soup and go......"
"Gonna die......"
How much did we even drink?
Just the N-bills so far had blown past my monthly living expenses by a mile.
"Yeah...."
I'd long forgotten about the CC Card tucked in my pocket amid the fun.
The 24-hour Pork Bone Soup joint was, as always, the place to swear eternal friendship.
"We're sticking together till the end."
"Yeah, man, what's a guy friend or girl friend? We just gotta pound booze and hang like this."
"You ain't crushing on me or something, right?"
"You crazy?"
In the corner of the hangover soup spot, they shouted about being eternal friends, but excluding those damn guys gazing at each other with the fondest eyes, only the real ones were left.
"......"
"......"
"......"
Everyone just hanging their heads, waiting for the Pork Bone Soup—it was kinda funny.
Of course, me too.
No clue how many times I'd already hit the bathroom.
"Hwaaaang~! When's Do-jin coming baaack!"
"Yeah, he's still in Another World. One month left."
The one left with the real ones across from me was Lee Hana.
And she'd been a couple with Kim Do-jin, still on hero duty, since high school, right?
"Hwaaaang~! In the end, only you're left! What a hollow, empty life!"
"......Where the hell do you even hear crap like that?"
"They made us read Chai-kov-sky's Crime and Punishment in liberal arts."
Was that even in there?
The author's name was already wrong, so I didn't wanna think about it anymore.
I dunno.
I was barely hanging on right now anyway.
"Slurp!"
"Slurp!"
Pork Bone Soup came out, and we slurped down the broth in no time.
Couldn't stomach the chunks though—my gut was seriously twisting.
We each settled our bills and stepped out; the two from the corner who'd sworn eternal friendship had already ditched.
"Guys, we're heading out first."
"Our paths overlap, so going together~."
Lame excuse, but whatever, gotta believe it.
Then the rest of the friends who'd been with us shambled off like zombies.
"Haa...."
Deep breath out, and white vapor clouded the air.
The world's so fucked.
"Ah~. Wanna fuck, bro."
"......Why say that...? To me...? Oh my...?"
I shook my head at Lee Hana's words.
"What? I'm out."
"Taxi? Surge pricing's on by now."
"Poor solo liver doesn't know the word taxi. First bus it is."
"Hey, wait up then."
Wondering what, I looked over, and she held up her phone to show me.
What, hypnosis app?
"Dad's coming to pick us up, I'll give you a ride. You've seen my dad a few times."
"Ah, nah. Gonna head out cool and solo."
I waved it off and turned to go, but her dad beat me to it.
"What kinda booze did you kids chug like this?"
Lee Hana's father stepped out of the car with a displeased look.
Wouldn't any dad be pissed seeing his daughter hammered like this?
"Hello, sir. I'm Gwak In-mok, friend from the same department as Do-jin and Hana."
"Friend with the unique name, that you?"
"Yup, heh heh heh, that's me."
My name's pretty unusual, so adults always remember it.
"Then...."
"Dad! Drop this guy off on the way too!"
"Daughter~, you're a grown adult, can't talk so rough."
"Aaa~!"
Honestly, even to me, the uncle had a deep, resonant voice, thick neck, sharp angles—like an old-school handsome actor.
"In-mok, was it? Hop in, I'll drop you."
"Ah~, yes. Thank you."
I climbed into the back seat, and someone was already in the spot next to me.
"Hello~!"
"......Uh, yeah, hello."
Someone who looked exactly like Lee Hana was sitting there too.
"Ina! Why're you in the back! Take the front!"
"Ah~! Unni told me to! Said there'd be no bass if I sat shotgun!"
She'd mentioned having a little sister—this must be her.
Hana up front buckled her seatbelt, turned around, and said.
"In-mok In-mok, know this?"
"......?"
"This one's a freshman in our department. Came in March. Gotta haze the shit outta her."
Ah.
That speech pattern.
Forgot about it while in the army, but now I remembered.
The drunk slur that pops up when the booze hits. She was fine till now, but guess the warm car brought it out.
Natural phenomenon I saw a lot back when I was a freshman drowning in booze—always avoided it then.
"Sunbae-nim! Nice to meet you! Unlike unni, I'm super polite and sweet!"
"Ahaha."
Just gave an awkward laugh.
With my guts churning straight to the afterlife, couldn't muster any real reaction or reply.
And in the warm car heater, my own buzz started rising.
Dunno why I did it. Don't even remember, honestly.
Pulled out the CC Card I'd tucked away so preciously and bonked Lee Ina on the head next to me.
"Eh...?"
"Huh?"
Lee Hana turning around and Lee Ina next to me both looked baffled.
Bonk!
Bonk!
While I was smacking today's first-time-see Lee Ina's head with the CC Card, the uncle up front spoke.
"You're drunk."
That was the last thing Uncle said before my memory cut out.
§
"Fuuuuck......"
What the.
What'd I do yesterday?
How the hell did I get home in one piece?
Tons of questions.
Then one KakaoTalk from Hana pieced it back together.
Suddenly whipped out some weird card and smacked Ina's head a few times then passed out
Dumbass lol
The pic showed me passed out slumped in the back seat.
Clutching the CC tight in my hand.
Then the memories flooded back.
"Urk...!"
But more urgent than unbreakable black history spirit was fixing my flipped guts.
Dash!
"Geuwaeek! Uwook! Waeek!"
Puked it all up and finally my stomach settled.
Brushed my teeth to kill the stale mouth, then chugged cold water.
"Ah. CC. Where'd I put it."
Rifled through every pocket of my scattered clothes and finally found it in the inner one.
"......"
Looks unchanged......
Hungover head pounding, I staggered to the game console.
Slot for the card up top center.
"Psh, no way. Bullshit."
= Please! Please! Please!
Just ignore the synonym.
Click.
Nice snug fit sound.
<Recognizing player>
<Gwak In-mok>
"......Huh?"
Why's my name auto-registered? Dumb thought.
Bound item, that's the proper adult mindset.
Screen showed me. Butt-naked even.
Right, my body was customizable too. If you had points.
Earning points was so brutal, I focused on heroine training over MC investment.
Squeeze.
Not about me anyway, so hit button for heroine list.
After eons of loading, I let out a death-cry.
"Urk...!"
For real?
Face identical to Lee Hana's.
<#Lee Ina>
Name auto-registered too.
And naked character like me.
Realistic graphics made it feel like she was really in the console.
"......It's real, this is real. Real."
Some say they'd take a hypnosis app over lotto or lottery.
Not hypnosis app, but feels like I scored even better.
And as a true <#Hashtag - Raising People Around Me> player, I knew what to do right now.
<#Hashtag Story Registration>
Assigning the first hashtag.
Write in the 4 input slots, AI analyzes and finds fitting hashtag.
At this point, kinda doubt if AI's real, but if it tastes good, who cares.
But what to raise her as...?
Unlock everything and you get 6 hashtags, all linked and interacting.
Mini-games to boost Alteration Rate.
Hit 100% Alteration Rate for points each time. Earning points this hard, why invest in some no-face MC.
"Too many raising tech trees?"
Mind map exploding in my head with hashtag paths.
Dry hand wiped my face, smile blooming wide.
Tap, tok dok.
Keyboard for PC, but console input's a drag.
Still, heart pounding—not the hangover.
<#Story>
Lots of guys approach you often with impure intentions just looking at your face and body.
Because of this, you find suspicious, unfamiliar men extremely unpleasant and hate them.
You made a contract with a trustworthy person and started fake dating.
Once you proudly announced you're dating, all the approaching guys backed off.
Hashtag Story registration had a set format.
(Problem)
(Reason)
(Method)
(Solution)
Fill the 4 slots accordingly.
No set length, but too long/short and AI chops or twists it into the hashtag.
Loading feels draggy for no reason.
Not impatient though.
Like I said, got tons of strategy help. Naturally, his #Hashtag Gallery strategy hashtag list too.
Thanks, SAIMIN HITOZMA-nim.
<#Lee Ina>
<#Contract Dating>
Lee Ina, little sis of my club senior I met yesterday for the first time, became my 1-star heroine the moment she turned adult on Jan 1, right from my hand.