Chapter 617
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 617
Chapter Title: SAO(9)
With his plea for help, Haito gave me an address.
Gangnam-gu, Sinsa-dong 625-13. A quick search showed it was an officetel that screamed luxury. The kind of place only the truly wealthy could dream of. It looked like Haito's place... How was I supposed to take this? Honestly, I was suspicious.
After two weeks of silence, he invites me to his home?
Even if we'd gotten... intimate in that way, it was still just in the game. Asking to meet in real life... that was basically telling me to betray my boyfriend. Knowing what a sleazy, dirty bastard Haito was, this felt like a dangerous invitation I couldn't easily accept.
-Tap tap tap tap
-Tap, tap
"Please head out right away!"
But before I knew it, I was already in a taxi.
The whisper from Haito had been full of typos, unlike him. The short sentences screamed urgency. I couldn't help but worry. Was something really wrong? I'd usually brush it off as a joke... but not this time. Words like "hurry" and "save me" didn't sound light at all. Anxious, I headed straight to the officetel.
-Tap tap tap tap, tap...
-The door is closing.
"Hurry... hurry..."
No makeup on her face. Barefoot in slippers.
But whatever, what could I do?
Only after reaching the elevator did I catch a glimpse of myself. I looked utterly out of place in this fancy officetel—below average, to put it mildly. But instead of feeling embarrassed, I rushed to room 2103, where I figured Haito was, punched in what I guessed was the code...
......Ah, it opened.
I'd entered Haito's home.
-Slam!
"Ugh!"
The moment the door opened, a stench poured out.
Garbage bags piled up right in front of the entrance.
Frowning, I stepped into the living room, where a "Gahyunjang" greeted me. The virtual reality device essential for playing The Fantasy. Spotting the top-tier model, I couldn't help but admire it... until I noticed someone collapsed on the floor next to it.
"Haito!"
It was Haito, the one I'd longed to see for the past two weeks.
***
'If you'd been even a little later, there could have been serious aftereffects.'
'Thanks to your guardian, we got through the crisis. Truly fortunate.'
Myasthenia gravis—a disease where muscles weaken abnormally or fatigue easily.
Beyond simple muscle loss, it could cause breathing difficulties or full-body paralysis... a rare condition, and Haito had it. Severely, at that. The doctor said he needed meds regularly just to breathe. Fortunately, it wouldn't worsen further...
"......Haito."
Wrists thinner than mine, a woman's.
Fingers slimmer than mine.
Compared to his in-game self, this frail figure sent chills down my spine. So small and fragile—could he even manage daily life? After emergency treatment, Haito lay in the hospital bed like a true patient. Delayed meds had led to malnutrition too... It hurt my heart. He was so pitiful; a light touch might make me cry.
'Just my guess, but... the caregiver must have siphoned off his meds. A month's prescription could fetch nearly a grand on the black market. Probably needed quick cash for gambling or debts. It happens.'
'Swapped them with cheap hormones... then bolted when the patient let his guard down. He kept taking the fakes, and symptoms worsened. ...That's why it's best to leave it to family, but he has none...'
'Without the patient or proxy, we can't even prescribe. We'd love to deliver, but the law... It's a shame all around.'
Someone as close as family...
How could they stab a rare disease patient in the back?
Haito had been tricked by his former caregiver into taking the wrong meds.
Without entering the life-support Gahyunjang... he'd have starved or suffocated, per the doctor. A close call with death. And the life support had ended, ejecting him... If I hadn't come, it would've been disastrous. The thought filled me with dread.
I didn't want to lose Haito now.
I gripped his hand tightly, pouring in my worry.
"......Ugh."
"H-Haito!"
"Where... Haah, hospital, huh."
Did my feelings reach him?
Haito finally came to.
His complexion was still poor, but...
Seeing him like this eased my mind.
"......Jay? You're Jay, right?"
"Yeah. Don't you recognize the face?"
"I do, but... how'd you get here?"
"Whaaat?! You called me!"
"......So it wasn't a dream."
"......No, it was real."
"You actually came to save me. ...Thanks, I lived because of you."
"Wha... We allies gotta help each other out."
"Ha, haha... Yeah, help each other."
"Ah... No, I mean..."
"You heard everything?"
"......Some of it."
"I see..."
"......It's Jinhee."
"Huh?"
"Yu Jinhee, my name. Call me Jinhee here."
"Yu Jinhee? Sounds so country-bumpkin."
"......What?! Gam Deok-bae's way more bumpkin than me?!"
This was our first real-world chat, but...
It didn't feel awkward.
Haito teasing as always, me snapping back. But one crucial difference: unlike Haito, Deok-bae's smile never reached his eyes. Was it because his rare disease secret was out? I felt a distance The Fantasy never had. That distance... complicated my heart.
====
When I first started the netori, I'd picked a penalty mission.
And the penalty I chose? Myasthenia gravis.
A whopping 2 million-point penalty.
This rare case of myasthenia made daily life impossible without meds, and even with them, only the bare minimum was feasible. If you counted wheeling around as living, that is. Breathing was so hard he needed an oxygen tank. Netori? Nearly impossible.
But in a game fantasy genre? Different story.
Enter VR, and the penalty vanishes. Exploiting that, I became a healthy Deok-bae and half-succeeded at netori. All that remained: sex in reality. At this point, it was an advantage.
"How's your body? You okay?"
"Wish I could say yes... *cough cough*..."
"Sh-Should we call a doctor?"
"Nah. Don't fuss."
Just sitting there, he could get pity. Was this really a penalty?
Unlike with Yu Jay, Yu Jinhee was even softer. Worth bribing the doc.
A slight cough, and she'd worry. Nice to watch.
One thing to watch, though...
Don't play the spoiled act.
"Still... you're awake, so we should talk."
"I said I'm fine. I know my body best."
"B-But maybe we should call anyway..."
"Drop it."
"At least a nurse, then..."
"......I said I'm fine!"
"Kyaa?!"
"I said no need!"
"......H-Haito."
"You pitying me right now?"
Begging for pity backfires.
Better to get rough. Show fragility, draw her in. "He shouldn't, it'll hurt him..."—stir maternal instincts. That was real-world netori.
"Hoo... Thanks for saving me, but who asked for pity? Huh? Did I?! Don't half-ass pity me when you barely know— just leave, I don't need you."
"......You do need me."
"What? I don't!"
"How'll you get home? Then what at home?"
"......I'll manage. Butt out."
"Wow... 'Save me' one sec, now 'get lost'?"
"Why? Want payment? Fine, name it. How much?!"
"Scared of pity that bad?"
"......What?"
"Afraid you'll rely on someone again without realizing?"
"Wh-What're you saying? Fuck off!"
Did I misjudge?
Rough was good...
But the result wasn't what I expected.
-Thud crash
-Thump
"......Y-You, what the hell?"
"Wow... I figured, but you're really weak."
"What the hell was that?!"
"That your max resistance?"
"L-Let go! Let me go!"
"So weak... and don't need help, my ass..."
"Ugh! Let go! Haa, haaa... Let gooo!"
Jinhee pinned me to the bed, straddling and restraining my arms. With myasthenia, I couldn't fight her. Opposite of The Fantasy, she loomed over me. Meant to trigger maternal care, but stirred something else.
"You're actually cute. Like an elementary kid."
"You crazy?"
"And Deok-bae, you're a year younger than me, right?"
"......What?!"
"Wanna call me noona?"