The Tutorial Is Too Hard (2)
Han Chaeyeon. She had been a rising idol star, her popularity skyrocketing for quite some time.
"Chaeye, you made the news. They're calling you the Thousand-Year Idol."
"...Ah, yeah. Thanks."
"I'm jealous. Honestly, even if you combined our whole group, none of us could match your popularity."
Whenever she heard things like that, Chaeyeon never knew how to respond. Humble words or words of comfort both felt like hypocrisy, like a thorn stuck in her throat.
She just threw herself into her work with everything she had. Someday, she believed, the group would succeed together.
-Breaking news. Love Pink's Ise-yeon has been found dead at her home...
-High possibility of suicide due to internal group conflicts...
-Han Chaeyeon, dubbed the Thousand-Year Idol, named as the main bully.
It happened in an instant.
A group member had died. She didn't know why. Really, she didn't.
Just because they were in the same idol group didn't mean they were all close. Especially for Chaeyeon, whose schedule was packed to the brim. She didn't have any close members in the group to begin with. Bullying? It was impossible.
-How can she be so shameless?
-A person died, and she's making excuses.
-I was a real fan, but this is too disappointing.
But people didn't believe her. They trusted the neatly edited videos instead.
"Ms. Han Chaeyeon! Do you have any words for Ise-yeon?"
"Is the bullying rumor true?"
"How much is the penalty fee for dropping out of Ice Princess drama?"
"Ms. Han Chaeyeon! Ms. Han Chaeyeon!"
The endless shutter clicks and questions hit her the moment she stepped out of the house. The label "killer" followed her everywhere. That was when Chaeyeon suddenly thought: I want to be reborn. I don't want to live in this world anymore.
"Ms. Han Chaeyeon?"
"...!"
"Right? Love Pink's Han Chaeyeon."
Chaeyeon snapped back to reality. An unfamiliar man was staring at her up close.
She quickly turned her head and pulled her hat down low.
"No, it's not."
"...You look way too similar no matter how I see it. Whatever— that's not important right now."
The man glanced at the people chatting nearby and spoke.
"Say 'status window.' Everyone's talking about it."
After the man left, Chaeyeon muttered to herself.
"...Status window."
**
"Then, let's summarize what we have so far."
The medical student calmly laid out the situation.
"First, everyone here has experience playing Another World. Just to be sure, I'll ask again. Has anyone here never played Another World even once? If so, raise your hand."
"Raise? What's that?"
"Raise your hand, you idiot. Embarrassing as hell. You don't even know what 'raise your hand' means?"
"Ugh, Korean is so freaking hard."
The high school girl grumbled but didn't raise her hand.
The medical student was convinced.
"I don't believe it either, but this seems to be a high possibility of being inside the game world."
"What?! What kind of nonsense is that? Do you know who I am?"
A middle-aged man in a suit jumped up, yelling.
The medical student pushed up his glasses and replied.
"I don't care who you are, and I was dragged here too."
"So where the hell is this?!"
"High possibility it's the game world."
"Then let me out! This is a joke, right? I'll sue all of you."
"I'm already in five lawsuits. It's a world where stating facts gets you sued."
"You're a commie bastard. I knew it from the moment I saw you."
Chaeyeon sat in the corner, hugging her knees. A scary situation. But what scared her more was her identity being exposed.
It had been a year since the scandal broke. She'd survived this long by avoiding the internet entirely. But in reality, there was nowhere to hide.
If only I'd come here alone. Then I could definitely survive well.
"E-everyone, calm down!"
At that moment, the unemployed young man stood up and shouted.
"This isn't the time to fight!"
"Who the hell is this kid with no life experience lecturing adults?!"
"If this is the Another World world, monsters will attack soon!"
"W-what?"
The young man spoke urgently.
"In Another World, the first respawn zone is random. Could be a village, a forest, or worst case, a dungeon."
"...!"
"This is a dungeon. Fuck, this is insane."
At first, everyone ignored the unemployed guy, but once they grasped the situation, it changed. They'd all played Another World casually, but this guy seemed like a real veteran.
"You seem to have played this game a ton. I didn't know that fact either. What was your level?"
"55."
"Whoa...!"
"For real? Old-timer status?"
The first full VR game, Another World. Anyone who'd played knew how hard it was to level up.
"Well, I quit when other games came out, but I was in the early beta squad."
"Nice, we can just follow the unemployed guy's lead."
"Don't call him unemployed! He has a job."
"A job? Didn't know that. What is it?"
"Uh, freelancer."
The medical student pushed up his glasses and spat out.
"Rice leech, in other words."
"...".
As the young man was at a loss for words, a man who'd been quietly observing stood up.
"Shall we move? Sitting here won't solve anything. If we go outside, we might learn something."
"We can trust the old-timer."
"Let's do it!"
"Fuck it!"
"You're all crazy. You think this is an amusement park?"
They rose one by one amid the noisy chatter. But Chaeyeon stayed seated.
...I hit 89. So 55 is high, huh.
A busy idol schedule. But she'd been a trainee for a long time. Back then, Another World was her only solace in an uncertain future. She quit when her idol career started, but she was still a pretty high-level player.
Even so, she kept quiet because of her blessing.
Star's Blessing. What ability is it? I still can't get a feel for it.
When she played Another World, hers was the Dream blessing. She didn't know much about Star's features...
It's dark and murky. They don't seem like good people.
Faint, distorted black star dust was trickling off everyone.
"You planning to stay there forever?"
"Gasp."
Chaeyeon jumped at the voice right next to her. A handsome man smiled kindly.
Was there a guy like this earlier? And didn't everyone just leave...?
"Sorry if I startled you. You seemed lost in thought, so I wanted to snap you out of it."
"Ah..."
"Anyway, you staying here?"
"N-no, not that, but."
Was it because she was still shocked? For some reason, her pace faltered around this man.
"Solo play is a good mindset, but at first, it's better to stick together. Higher survival rate."
"R-really...?"
The man naturally extended his hand. Before she could think, Chaeyeon grabbed it and stood.
She patted her butt out of habit—she always lost things. That's when she noticed her hat had fallen off. Her face must be exposed.
Her heart felt like it stopped.
"Of course, I get that you can't trust those people much."
But the man looked her straight in the face, talking casually as if it were nothing.
It felt so unfamiliar. People always reacted somehow. She was a famous idol, after all.
Still, his attitude gave her a sense of stability. And more than that.
...He has a different color.
Gray star dust fell from him. She didn't know what it meant, but it was better than black—she followed him.
**
"Why can't we trust them?"
The two walked the narrow dungeon corridor, talking.
"You'll see."
"Huh?"
"Simple example."
The man pointed at the laborer uncle walking ahead.
"That guy has lots of scars on his hands, right?"
Chaeyeon nodded.
"His clothes suggest construction work, but look closely—thick calluses on the outer sides too."
"You're right. For that job, calluses on the outside..."
"Yeah. High chance he uses violence often. And those two high school girls."
"...Aren't they normal high schoolers?"
"See the tear on the skirt side?"
Chaeyeon nodded. But she didn't think it odd. Korean uniforms tear easily if shortened.
"But the shoes are high-end. Wearing expensive shoes but walking around with a torn skirt."
"...!"
"Plus, her gait suggests it's a size too big. Probably stolen from someone."
He pointed out oddities about each one without hesitation.
"College kid with five lawsuits? Makes you wonder."
"That injured guy keeps glancing our way? Like 'why do you have what's rightfully mine?' Not a good person."
"Especially that quiet guy. Hand in his hoodie, fiddling with something—probably a weapon."
Chaeyeon couldn't hide her surprise.
"How can you tell all that just by looking? Is your job...?"
Definitely a profiler. Or detective? Too young for detective, though...
"Detective."
"...Pardon?"
"I'm a detective."
"R-right."
Maybe just a weirdo.
But his serious expression made her burst out laughing.
"Ahaha."
She laughed for a while, wiped her tears, and said.
"You're really humorous."
How long has it been since I laughed?
After the scandal, in seclusion, she rarely talked to anyone. Laughing freely like this was truly a long time.
Her favorability toward this man shot up.
Maybe I'm a little smitten.
Smiling, Chaeyeon asked.
"What's your name?"
"Hm."
The man paused.
"Hmm."
...It wasn't brief; it was forever.
Is asking his name such a dilemma?
As she felt awkward, he said.
"Nam Doil."
"...You're kidding."
"Not a joke."
He blinked with a perfectly sincere face.
Chaeyeon replied awkwardly.
"Ah, a-ah—so that's why you joked about being a detective."
"And you?"
"Huh?"
"Your name."
"...".
But when asked hers, Chaeyeon clammed up too. Only after a long time did she point to herself.
"Y-you don't know me...?"
"No, I don't."
"...W-were you locked in a mountain or something?"
Chaeyeon had subtly high pride.
"No."
"T-that's weird. You have to know me. Think hard, like with the others."
A bit embarrassed, she did her trademark dance move. Anyone on Insta, TikTok, or even YouTube would recognize it. And as a top idol, even that small gesture oozed star power. The kind of sight that would make any man smile warmly.
But he remained expressionless from start to finish.
Her dance slowed to a stop.
"You're terrible at dancing."
"...".
"Ah, looks like they found something. Let's hurry."
He walked past her quickly.
Frozen for a moment, Chaeyeon chased after.
"I really am famous."
"I see."
"N-not joking, for real. I'm an idol, an idol."
"Underground idol? You work in Japan, huh."
"N-no! I'm the center of a major agency group that topped Melon. Think, Love Pink—know it?"
"Ha."
The man sighed tiredly at her.
"Don't assume everyone knows you. You're just one out of 8.26 billion people."
"!"
"Focus on the dungeon instead. Cia, I'm leaving you behind?"
Chaeyeon stared blankly as he ignored her and walked on.
...Who's Cia?
Realizing he might actually leave, she ran after him.
"My name's Chaeyeon! Han Chaeyeon!"
**
"Hic."
Fern was bawling her eyes out.
"Waaah— Mom."
She had no mom, but sometimes she instinctively called for one.
"W-what do I do? If I don't ask if I can eat humans, S-Sisilia will... get mad. B-but if I ask, S-Sisilia will get mad too."
Fern stared blankly at the shattered crystal orb.
-Fern. This is your life. Because it's a 1-gold crystal orb. Cherish it. Lose or break it, and you're gone. Not death—erased!
Even a dummy like Fern knew the weight of those words.
But she felt wronged. Because the one who broke it was...
"Following Sisilia's order means betraying Sisilia. Then she'll erase me. B-but staying still betrays Sisilia too... Waaah, what do I do? What do I do?"
...the respawned baby Sisilia.