Chapter 3
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 3: Unfamiliar World (2)
My name is Seol Ji-hye. I am an ordinary female student entering high school this year.
I was lying on my bed looking at my smartphone. On the screen, 'Louie', the center of the currently hottest male idol group 'Blue Boys', was doing a fan meeting live stream.
As Louie's milky-white face appeared in a close-up filling the screen, the real-time chat window scrolled up insanely fast.
"Ehehe... Cute."
The corners of my mouth ascended without me realizing it. That is a man. Transparent skin that stimulates protective instincts, slender lines that look like they'd collapse if you tapped them, and a shy smile. I would have no wishes left if I could see a man like that in person just once.
My brother, Seol Jin-hyuk... honestly, isn't that kind of 'Flower Boy'. His lines are a bit rough rather than delicate. Still, it's true that he has a decent appearance that wouldn't look out of place anywhere. In my eyes, he's much more handsome than that idol.
But the problem isn't his appearance, it's his personality.
My brother is the crystallization of timidity.
Like all men in this country, it's basic that he grew up precious like gold and jade, knowing nothing of the world. But my brother is severe to the point where he was afraid to even come out of his room.
The so-called 'Hikikomori'.
School? He dropped out in his second year of high school saying the gazes of the female students coming to watch a male student were scary. Going out? He can't even go to the convenience store alone. He had a severe obsession that someone might attack him.
Even to me, his family, he's a person who can't make eye contact, stuttering "Uh.. Yeah.. Ji.. Ji-hye...". It's not that we don't love our brother. Mom, my older sister, and I all cherish him terribly. If he wanted, we would pluck the stars from the sky for him.
I just wish he wouldn't be so intimidated even at home, and walk with his shoulders squared. But my brother always just crouched and hid in the corner of his bed, in the darkness.
Like a mole refusing all the light of the world.
That brother has been a bit strange since this morning. No, not just strange...
Bang—!
Without warning, the door opened as if it were breaking.
"Eek?!"
I pulled the blanket up to my neck without even being able to turn off the NewTube video I was watching.
What? Mom went to work? Is it a thief? A robber? I clutched my surprised chest and looked toward the door.
My brother was standing there. Messy bird's nest hair and a sagging hoodie. It was definitely my brother Seol Jin-hyuk... but he was standing with his weight on one leg, blocking the middle of the doorway imposingly.
"Hey. I'm making ramen. You want some?"
"......"
I doubted my ears. What did he just say?
It was a vibe unimaginable from the usual brother. It was like the force of a 'bad woman' appearing in a drama. No, it was rougher and cruder than that.
"I asked if you're gonna eat ramen. How many should I boil?"
At my brother's urging, I answered in a daze.
"Uh... Uh..."
"I'm boiling two packs. Come out and eat a bit."
As soon as he heard my answer, my brother left abruptly. Without even closing the door.
I stared blankly at the open door.
"...What is it?"
Did puberty come late? or did he see something like 'How to become a Tough Guy' on the internet and is copying it? More importantly, he's boiling ramen? My brother?
Feeling anxious, I crept out to the living room. From the kitchen, the sound of water boiling could really be heard.
My brother's back. The back that was always hunched from crouching in front of the computer was strangely straightened out. But was his back originally that wide? I thought he was rugged, but today his frame looks even bigger.
Bubble bubble.
My brother grabbed the hot pot with his bare hands... no, with a dishcloth, and slammed it down on the dining table.
"Hey! It's done. Come out!"
A ringing shout. I flinched and sat modestly in front of the table. was my brother a creature capable of making such a loud voice?
My brother flopped down opposite me and picked up a handful of ramen with his chopsticks.
Slurp──!
"Huaaaa...! That sobers me up...!"
"......"
Was my brother originally like that...? It feels like the person suddenly changed.
"Hey, are you sick somewhere?"
My brother asked bluntly with red broth stained around his mouth.
"Huh? N-No..."
"Then why are you eating so daintily unlike your usual self. Aren't you usually the type to one-shot the broth and let out a burp?"
...When did I...?
Still, how long has it been since I ate with my brother like this. It was nice...
He was a person who would only secretly take and eat the food after I disappeared if I left it in front of his room door.
Come to think of it... this is the first time in my life my brother has cooked for me. No, it's the first time in my life a man has cooked for me at all.
The mood was strange. It was definitely unfamiliar and baffling... but a feeling of my heart getting fuzzy.
Just as the corners of my mouth were about to rise without me knowing.
"Hey, Seol Ji-hye. You gonna mix rice too?"
At my brother's blunt voice, I snapped back to reality.
"N-No... I'm fine."
"Really? Then I'm eating alone."
Watching my brother mix rice, a different thought suddenly occurred to me.
A few days ago, my brother insisted he would go to college. At the time, it was commendable that he said he would do something of his own will...
Suddenly, I started to get worried. Some change seems to have happened to my brother... Is it because of college?
My brother is a man. In Korea, for a man to go to college, it's a free pass as long as he submits an application.
Departments falling short of quotas are everywhere, and universities offer scholarships and dormitories to attract even one more male student.
The problem was my brother's will.
Someone who is afraid to even go outside can't possibly handle campus life at a university where there are thousands of women.
So we naturally thought my brother would give up on college and just rest at home taking groom classes.
But seeing him change so suddenly like that... the stress must be severe. Because he stubbornly refused to go to a Male University... he must have applied to all general universities saying he would overcome his trauma, and maybe that was the root of the problem.
"Brother... um... you know..."
My brother looked at me with a spoon in his mouth. His eyes are intense. They seem sharper than my older sister's.
"Why."
"Um... Can't you just not go to college? At least... maybe go somewhere close..."
I mustered up the courage to speak.
There was no need to go to college. Do you know how rough university campuses are these days? There's no way the energetic and hungry sisters (female students) would leave a innocent boy like my brother alone. He wouldn't even be able to salvage his bones.
He could just stay safe at home, and later marry a capable and kind sister that Mom introduces. I can even work part-time and give him allowance.
But my comfort seemed to have touched a nerve with my brother.
"Hey."
"Y-Yeah."
"The university acceptance announcements haven't even come out yet, why are you saying that crap trying to ruin someone's life? Don't jinx me."
"......?"
My brother is denying reality.
It's already been 3 days since the acceptance announcements were made. Did he apply and forget the date? Or did he delude himself into thinking he failed a test he couldn't possibly fail and erased his memory?
But I know for sure my brother checked the acceptance notification...
"What do you mean, they already came out."
At my words, my brother's expression became blank. Then he frantically checked his phone, and suddenly screamed and ran into his room.
A moment later.
—Hooooooooooooo──────!!!
A beast's roar burst out from the room.
—Ook ook ookiki!
"...?"
What is it? Why do I hear monkey sounds from the room? Did my brother go beyond changing and actually go crazy? Did he devolve?
—Uheheheheheheheheh!
It's over. My brother finally couldn't handle the stress and lost his mind.
Bang—!
The door opened as if breaking and my brother ran out.
"Gatekeeper, Gatekeeper!! Open the door!!"
...What is a Gatekeeper now.
My brother strode into my room and abruptly thrust his cheek forward.
"Hey. Hey hey hey hey, slap my cheek a bit. I won't retaliate."
"......"
My jaw dropped. Touch a precious male's face? And a slap on the cheek?
How could I... It's impossible. I don't want to be hated by my brother. No, before that, my hands are shaking so I can't do it.
"Uh... W-What are you talking about, Brother! How could I slap Brother's cheek...!"
No matter if we are family, laying a hand on a man's face, his jade body, is a social taboo. If Mom finds out, I might get removed from the family register.
"Anyway, hurry up and do it."
"Why, seriously..."
I really don't understand. I felt like my eyes were spinning.
"Ah, hurry. Hard!"
I lifted my trembling hand and tap, touched my brother's cheek. It was on the level of dusting him off. How could I dare use force.
Tap.
"Hey, hit me hard! No, you don't act like this normally!"
My brother hit his chest as if frustrated. I don't act like this normally? When did I ever hit my brother? I've never even fought with him... In the first place, we hardly even talked... My brother was the one busy locking the door and hiding!
"Um... Brother... Can I ask why you are being like this...?"
Please just tell me the reason. Because I'm scared to death.
"I got accepted to Hoyeon University."
"..."
"Really, I got accepted to all the universities I applied to!"
Hoyeon Uni? It is a prestigious university... But don't men usually get into almost any co-ed school? The score cut-off would be at rock bottom. If my brother just wrote his three-syllable name correctly, it would be an acceptance.
"Um... so, are you really going to go to university?"
I asked carefully.
"Other men... don't really go to college..."
Usually, men go to safe Male Universities, or listen to online lectures at home. To walk into that dangerous wolves' den on his own feet? My brother who was a hikikomori? What kind of rough things does he intend to suffer?
But my brother snorted as if mocking my worry.
"Did you eat something wrong without me knowing, or did you replace the udon noodles in your brain with ramen noodles while eating ramen? Your nonsense is flowing like a river since this morning."
My brother looked at me pathetically.
I asked sincerely.
"...Um.. Brother.. It seems like... you're a bit different today."
I simply can't understand. To really change like this in a single day.
"What nonsense. I'm the same as always. Whatever, forget it. Rest up. I'm going."
Bang. The door closed.
"......?"
What is it really? It's clear he's crazy.
I sent a message to Mom with trembling hands.
She checked it later, and a reply came after a good while.
I'm worried... They say if a person changes suddenly like that, it's a sign of death... Am I worrying too much... Is he doing that because of stress?
Bang—
The door opened hard again. I was startled out of my wits.
"I'll give you a quiz."
"Uh... Suddenly..? Um... No.. Okay."
What is it..? What is he trying to say this time.
"First, what is our dad's name?"
"...?"
"If you don't say it quickly, I will consider you a monster wearing the mask of my sister."
Dad? We don't have a dad. Mom received a donation from a top-grade sperm bank using the National Merit benefits and gave birth to my older sister, me, and my brother.
"...Brother. We don't have a dad, remember?"
"Are you crazy? Come here. Brace yourself. Where did you take my sister. If you don't tell the truth starting now, it's one flick to the forehead for each lie."
Wh.. What..? I'm genuinely bewildered.
"Ah.. No.. Uh.. We.. Mom received a sperm donation and gave birth to us."
"...What?"
My brother opened his mouth wide as if he was the one more flabbergasted.
"Ah... Uh.. Okay.. Let's move on from this for now..."
"......"
"Okay... This time it's Korean History.. No, should I call it World History quiz... Anyway, what is the gender ratio of our country currently?"
Why is he suddenly asking that... I should answer first.
"Uh.. That..? In school and on the news, they taught us it's 1 to 9 right now..."
"Men are 9..?"
"...No. That.. Men are 1..."
Ending with that question, my brother went out again.
And a while later, a message came from Mom.
Did Mom also feel that my brother has changed... It seems tonight's dinner table will be very different from usual.
"Huuup..!"
I, Seol Jin-hyuk, am currently tightly plugging my nose and struggling to breathe. Until my face turns red.
Others might ask if I'm a crazy bastard if they saw me, but it's a logical action in its own way. The most basic method to check if this is a dream, Reality Check, abbreviated as RC.
If it were a dream, I would be able to breathe even if I plugged my nose.
"Puha...!"
Blocked. My breath is blocked. Oxygen doesn't enter my lungs. In other words, it's reality.
I went through thorough verification besides that too.
Looking in the mirror (My face is the same). Poking the wall with my index finger (Doesn't go through). Reading a book (Can see it clearly). Turning the light switch on and off (Works well).
All experimental results pointed to a single conclusion.
"Is it really reality..."
At least it means it's not a 'life flashing before my eyes' or 'path of light' ending right before crossing the Jordan River after dying.
Then, I should move to the next step. The thing that follows like a national rule in these situations.
I checked once more if the door was tightly closed. Because even for me, this is a bit embarrassing. After looking around, I whispered very quietly into the empty air.
"...System."
Surely... will it appear...?
It doesn't appear...
"Status window... Status... Inventory... Skill window..."
No reaction.
"Open... Release... Awaken... Sssuuu..."
Guess it doesn't work. Usually in times like this, it's normal for something to appear in front of your eyes with a 'Ding-'.
Could it be flashing behind my back? No... let's just give up.
"Sigh, I should just play games..."
I turned on the computer monitor. The familiar desktop came into view. But...
"...Huh?"
Something is empty. The icons for Legacy Era Legend, Mushroom Game, Steam, Battle Grid, and more importantly than anything else, the sanctuary of my soul, commonly known as 'The Vortex'. The 'Heroes: Arena of the Storm' icon had disappeared completely.
All that remained were disgusting icons like Hangul (Word processor), Excel, and Online Lecture Player.
"Ah..."
Did the 'me' of this world not play games?
Well, searching it up, they said this is a world where gender roles are completely flipped. Male-Female Reversal World... No, let's just shorten it and call it the 'Reverse World'. Rolls right off the tongue.
Anyway, the original owner of this Reverse World, meaning the Fake Jin-hyuk guy, seems to have been a model student who didn't even glance at games.
"This is annoying too..."
I don't know. Just gotta install it again.
Come to think of it... Could 'The Vortex' be a God-Game in this world line?
In the original world, 'The Vortex' was called a 'High-Class Restaurant' due to all sorts of forced hate and lack of updates, and the users were an endangered species.
But in this Reverse World where common sense is flipped...! You never know. It might be beating Legacy Era Legend and taking 1st place in market share?
I typed 'Heroes: Arena of the Storm' into the Googol search bar with trembling hands. Surely the game wouldn't just not exist in this world line...
Oh. Yes... The Vortex, you were still alive...
Yeah, at least it's something that the service hasn't ended. In this world line, it's a relief that the server shutdown notice hasn't popped up even before it got popular.
Now, the long-awaited user count... concurrent users...
"......"
Ah. F*ck.
It's no different from the original world. It's still a dead game.
"Dog f*cking..."
While spitting out curses, my finger was honestly pressing the [Install] button. It can't be helped. My body remembers the Storm of the Vortex.
While the installation bar was filling up, I stared blankly at the monitor and suddenly had another thought.
But sh*t, where did all my friends go?
My r*tarded but kind friends. Ugly bastards. I frantically turned on the PC messenger.
Friend list.
"......"
Still, there are no friends in the friend list. Only family exists. Fake Jin-hyuk, just what kind of life did he live...
No, wait. It might not simply be because Fake Jin-hyuk was a loner.
Since the gender ratio of this world is roughly 1 to 9...
"Ah, sh*t. They got Thanos-ed."
The men. Not just half, but 80% were blown away, so my friends might have been among them...
'I got hit by a guy worse than Thanos...'
I realized it only now. Because I was originally introverted but not abrasive, lazy but honest, and anyway a kind and ordinary normal person, I had at least managed to make a few same-sex friends and live.
But this Fake Jin-hyuk bastard went beyond having a narrow circle of human relationships, it's safe to say he just had none. If it's like this, the category name shouldn't be Friend List, but Family and Misc. List.
I just went from a loner to a loner with zero friends.
"Huh..."
I don't know. I should just go play in the Storm of the Vortex. But maybe because the server for this sh*tty dead game is far away, the installation still hasn't finished.
"Sigh... Nothing in life goes right, f*ck..."
Still, did they say humans are animals of adaptation? Or is it because the scenery of my room is exactly the same as where I used to live?
I have already half-adapted to this ridiculous situation. So what if it's this, so what if it's that. It's already spilled water.
Honestly, even now I am quite flustered, but what can I do. It's not like the world will return to normal just because I scream and roll around here. Let's push the complicated stuff to later. It's not like a solution is coming to mind right now anyway.
I turned on the PC messenger. While scanning the friend list, I discovered my sister's profile.
[Seol Ji-hye]
Too honest. In the original world, I saved her as 'Northern Barbarian'. The Fake Jin-hyuk of this world must have been quite polite to his sister. I should change it later.
I placed my hands on the keyboard. I was thirsty.
A moment later.
Knock knock.
A careful knocking sound was heard.
"Brother... can I come in?"
"Water."
"......"
Creeaaak.
The door opened. Seol Ji-hye hesitated and entered the room. A glass cup was held in the punk's hand. Her expression still looked bewildered as if she didn't understand the situation.
"Brother, that... I really didn't know what it was about so I brought water for now but..."
I swiveled my chair around to face the punk. And like a King receiving tribute, I accepted the cup very naturally.
"Thanks. I'll drink it well."
"......?"
Seol Ji-hye's expression became even more baffled. It's already absurd that she fetched water at the single word 'Water', but my reaction being like that must be dumbfounding.
I opened the wallet that was on the desk. One blue bill. I took out a thousand-won bill.
"Here. Errand fee."
I pressed the crumpled bill into the punk's hand. Seol Ji-hye's eyes, receiving the money, shook as if an earthquake had occurred. My brother is giving me allowance? And for fetching a single glass of water?
Really, where else would there be such a kind brother?
Anyway, before the punk could say anything, I waved my hand and issued an eviction order.
"Now close the door and go. It's cold."
"...Uh.. Uh.. Okay..."
Ji-hye backed out with a blank face, clutching the thousand-won bill.
"Um... if you need anything else call me again."
"Yeah~ rest up."
Click.
The door closed.
Left alone in the room, I couldn't control my twitching lips.
'It works. F*ck. This works.'
It's something unimaginable in the original world.
If I sent a single word "Water" on messenger, a 'F*ck You' symbol would have flown back instead of water... But this works. And very politely at that.
I feel f*cking fantastic.
At this rate, it seems possible. Next time, before sleeping, I should try "Lights".
If you can't avoid it, enjoy it. That is my life motto.