Start of Semester (3)

Ddal-lang.

With the cheerful sound of a bell, I entered the cafe 'Old Bean'.

The interior lived up to its name. Old wooden tables, soft lighting, and calm classical music flowing from the speakers. At the counter, a middle-aged ajumeoni owner was reading a book.

"Welcome."

The owner glanced at us over her glasses. Her eyes lingered for a moment since two men had walked in, but that was it. She indifferently turned her gaze back to her book.

'Pass.'

This dry reaction. I like it so much. We ordered two iced americanos and plopped down in a corner seat.

Now that we had ordered, we had nothing left to say, so as if by agreement, we both pulled out our smartphones. This is just how it is when guys go to a cafe together.

"......"

"......"

The idle silence before the vibration bell rings. I blankly stared out the window, while Hyun-woo was busily searching for something.

Then, Hyun-woo suddenly spoke up.

"Jin-hyeok-ah."

"Yeah."

"How did ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you end up coming to our school? The Computer Science department."

He asked while still looking at his phone. Perhaps because he had talked about his own dream (becoming a game developer) earlier, he seemed curious about my situation too.

"Me? Um... I don't know."

I fiddled with my straw and gave a half-hearted answer.

"I just heard CS is good for employment? I figured if I at least learn a skill, I won't starve to death."

At that, Hyun-woo's eyes widened as he asked back.

"Employment? That's unexpected."

"What is?"

"I mean, we get the Male Subsidy anyway. Money gets deposited regularly just for breathing, so why worry about employment? You could just do what you want or just play around."

"Ah..."

Right. I forgot. This world was a place where even if a man didn't struggle to work, the country would shove money at him, saying, 'Please, just stay alive.'

"Well, that's true."

I rested my chin on my hand and replied nonchalantly.

"But you can't live like a Middle Eastern oil tycoon on just the subsidy. My dream is to be a rich unemployed person."

"Puh-huh. I'll give you that."

Hyun-woo chuckled.

To be honest, I hadn't thought much about it. A dream? A goal? I didn't have anything grand like that. When I was a kid, I babbled about being the president or a scientist, but once I grew up, my only thought was 'I want to win the lottery and just eat and play for the rest of my life.'

How many people in this day and age actually have dreams? No, there are probably many. There are kids with sparkling eyes like Hyun-woo right in front of me. It's just that I don't have one. No passion, no desperation.

'I'll just go with the flow.'

I let out a pi-sik smirk and waited for the vibration bell to ring.

However, Hyun-woo put down his phone and stared intently at me.

"Then did you only run toward the goal of getting into school?"

"Well, pretty much? Isn't that how all Korean high schoolers are?"

"Then..."

He suddenly threw a completely unexpected question.

"Are you a GED student too?"

"...You too?"

I asked back reflexively. A GED? In my memory, I was a perfectly ordinary high school student who wore a uniform, skipped night self-study, and climbed over walls.

"No. I went to high school. I graduated too."

Having said that, I suddenly became curious. That was me in the original world, but what about the Jjap-Jin-hyeok of this world? They said he lived as a hikikomori, so did he even go to school? Or did he do homeschooling in his room?

But well, the fact that a university acceptance letter came out means his high school graduation status was recognized. Whether he took the GED or graduated, who cares.

"Ah... You went to school. That's amazing."

Hyun-woo looked at me with genuine respect. Was going to school something to be amazed by? Seeing my confusion, he added with a bitter smile.

"I dropped out while attending."

"Why? Were you bullied or something?"

"No, it wasn't that..."

Hyun-woo poked the ice with his straw and spoke in a small, crawling voice.

"It was an all-boys school, but it was a school with a dormitory. But I insisted on commuting because it was close to home."

"And?"

"That was a mistake. On the way to school every morning... the stares were too burdensome."

His shoulders slumped.

"When I got on the bus, everyone would just stare at me... when I walked, people would whisper behind my back... some noonas even followed me all the way home. It was so scary I couldn't keep going. So ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I just dropped out and took the GED."

"......"

It made sense. In ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this world, a man—especially one without a guardian—commuting alone would be no different from crossing a safari savanna buck naked. For a timid guy like him, it must have been unbearable terror.

"I see. You had a hard time."

I offered a calm consolation and accidentally blurted out.

"I went to a co-ed school before transferring to an all-boys school."

"...Huh? Co-ed? A mixed-gender school?"

Hyun-woo's eyes bulged as if they were about to pop out. It was a look as if he were seeing a survivor who had returned from the depths of hell.

"Wow... how did you attend that? Your mental strength is truly top-tier. Weren't you scared?"

"Well, it was manageable."

Of course, this is my memory from the original world. I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠got along fine with the girls there, bickering and all. But what if it were this world? I probably would have run away because my energy was drained like Hyun-woo, or I would have become an outcast with a reputation for having a nasty personality.

Either way, the conclusion is the same. Both of us endured in our own ways to survive in this exhausting world.

Jing—ji-ing.

Just then, the vibration bell on the table rang. It was perfect timing.

I took a sip of the iced americano I brought from the counter, then furrowed my brows.

"Ugh, it's bitter. Is this poison?"

As expected, americanos aren't my thing. Without hesitation, I pressed the syrup pump at the self-service bar.

Once, twice... five times.

Only after confirming the black poison had turned into sweet sugar water did I put it to my lips again.

"Mmm... yeah, this is coffee."

I can feel the sugar hitting my bloodstream. Chewing on the straw, I subtly moved toward the main point.

Using the excuse that I was a 'shut-in' and didn't know the ways of the world, I intended to sneakily dig for information about the common sense and social atmosphere of this world.

"Hey, but do women really go to the military?"

"Huh? Of course. How could a man hold a gun? We're nationally designated protected subjects, so we don't even get a physical exam."

"Ah, right. That's true."

Complete exemption. Even checking again, it's a cheat-level benefit. I rested my chin on my hand and threw the next question.

"Then since they don't go to the military... what do men usually do after graduation? Is it easy to get a job?"

"Employment?"

Hyun-woo blinked as if it were an unexpected question.

"Hmm... if you want to, it's basically a free pass, but most try to avoid hard work. Usually... 'Marriage for support' is the trend."

"Marriage for support?"

"Yeah. Meeting a woman with good capabilities and getting married. Since the Male Subsidy comes in, there's no worry about living expenses, so you help out with housework, enjoy your hobbies, raise the kids... that's the best life route."

Wow. To think being a 'shutter man' is the number one career aspiration. Of course, it's a sweet deal, but this lazy atmosphere with zero social ambition is really hard to get used to.

After that, we shared more trivial small talk. Then suddenly, as if remembering something, Hyun-woo asked.

"By the way, Jin-hyeok-ah. What was that 'Hiyoshi' you mentioned earlier?"

"......It's not Hiyoshi, it's Hias."

I corrected him with a serious face. How could he call that great name something that sounds like a Japanese monkey's name?

For a moment, a sharp headache flashed as if I'd been hit in the frontal lobe with a blunt instrument.

Something about... every time I mention this rootless name, a corner of my chest feels strangely aching.

Anyway...

"Heroes Arena of the Storm. The Storm of Time and Space."

"Ah... what kind of game is that?"

Hyun-woo's innocent question. It awakened the soul of the 'Restorance' buried deep in my heart. I put down my straw and spoke with a serious expression.

"Listen. This game was an ambitious project made by a company called 'Frost'. It's similar to Rel, but different."

"How is it different?"

"First of all, you don't have to get the last hit. There are no items. You share experience points like it's communism. So no matter how well I do, if one teammate throws, everyone goes down together. It has a very equal and shitty system."

"......"

"The impact? It's like hitting a paper doll. Matching? You have to wait at least 10 minutes for a single match. Updates? They've been stopped for years. It's practically a corpse on life support."

I spoke with passion. The ruined league, the vanished tournaments, and the users who left. As he listened to that long and tragic epic, Hyun-woo's expression gradually crumpled.

"...Then why do you play it?"

"I wonder that too."

I don't know either. I just do it because I can't forget that taste. My affection for this trash game is probably an incurable disease I'll have for the rest of my life.

After ranting for a while, the coffee cups were empty. Looking out the window, the sun was slowly setting.

"Let's go. We should head out."

We stood up from our seats. As we left the shop, the afternoon sunlight was quite warm.

"Today was fun. See ya."

I waved at Hyun-woo and asked.

"Should I walk you home? The villa you live in is quite a walk from here, isn't it?"

In this world, there's a perception that it's dangerous for a man to walk alone. It was a consideration in its own way. But Hyun-woo waved his hand.

"Eh, it's okay. The sun is still up. I can just take the main road."

"Really? Then get home safe. See you tomorrow."

"Yeah. You too."

He walked away, waving his hand. Watching his narrow back disappear, I suddenly fell into thought.

'...That guy is surprisingly a romantic.'

There was something he said in passing during our conversation. He said he absolutely hates harems or dating multiple people. He just wants to live a normal, cozy life with one person he clicks with.

Come to think of it, it's obvious. Men like us, who are timid and have weak energy, find it overwhelming to handle even one strong-willed woman of this world. But three or four? That's not a blessing; it's a shortcut to death from overwork. It's an act that hastens one's end.

Men are already rare, and the ones that do exist are either hiding or are these modest romantics. It might be a natural progression for women to fall for each other and become couples.

'The North Pole might have already completely melted in this world...'

Since lilies would be in such full bloom that the Earth would have heated up.

"Sigh... I don't know."

Let's stop worrying about other people's love lives and other people's worlds. I let out a huge yawn and turned around.

Time to go home and rest.