The First Free Weekend

A few days ago had been Parents' Day.

Today was the first weekend since I'd cut those people out of my life for good.

I'd worked overtime all week to prepare that gift. Scraped together every last won I had and picked it out with real care. And this was what I got back.

"Hyun's mom—my friend's son is a doctor, you know—got a premium model. And you bring me this cheap junk and call it a present?"

My mother dropped the envelope and spat the words at me.

"You little shit. I gave birth to you, raised you, and this is all you can manage?"

That was my mother in front of me and my father behind her. Sound like some fabricated rage-bait post from a community board? I wish it were.

I didn't flip the dinner table. I just quietly put on my shoes and opened the door. I never looked back once. For a world collapsing, my steps felt absurdly light—and that, more than anything, almost made me laugh.

I stopped by a convenience store and paid for a single triangle kimbap.

"Do you have a points card?"

"No."

That was the first conversation I'd had that day with anyone who wasn't family. Somehow, it felt like the far more normal one.

I ran the numbers in my head. Six months of installments on that food waste disposer. Thinking of it as the price of never having to see those people's faces again, it suddenly felt like a bargain. If I'd known it would end like this, I would have cut them off ages ago.

Five hundred for the deposit, forty-five a month in rent, utilities separate. A one-room apartment I'd scraped and clawed to get so I could live without watching anyone's face. It was small and run-down, but it was entirely mine. The thought of how many years I'd endured just to hold on to this cramped little room drew a hollow laugh out of me.

"Haa..."

I let out one long breath and switched on my only emergency exit.

G.O.G. Girls of Gate.

The game itself was pretty well made. Set in a world where Gates had appeared in reality, hunters fought their way through it—each character with a unique Exclusive Weapon system. You pulled them from the gacha, raised their affection, and unlocked their stats. Blacksmiths, mages, spirit users—every class under the sun, every tragic backstory you could invent. I was always drawn to the ones with the heaviest stories. Every time I personally saved a girl born into a cruel fate, something empty in me felt a little less empty too.

"Hehehe..."

"Alright. Finally saved enough. Let's go!!!!"

I hit the pull button with the currency I'd hoarded so desperately for this day.

...

"Ah..."

A dud, of course. Trash game.

I switched over to the cleansing content and started clearing Gates, and at least that emptied my head a little. Then a popup appeared.

Character quality kept dropping, the monetization only ever squeezed harder, and that director Baek Jae-min just kept hanging on.

"Baek Jae-min, resign already. Boooo."

I tossed the nonsense into my empty one-room and set the phone down. Boiled some ramen, ate alone, and lay down on the bed.

Then the phone buzzed.

"Hello?"

"Hey—is that for real? You actually cut off your parents?!"

"They're not my parents. Call them those people."

"What the hell kind of—$@#$!@$!?!"

It hurt my ear, so I pulled the phone away a little. Seemed like she was getting angry on my behalf.

Her voice dropped a register. It was Lee Rin. My childhood friend. The only person who knew my situation from start to finish.

"...So. Are you okay?"

"A little gloomy, I guess. But also kind of relieved."

"Yeah, that tracks. Those people are seriously..."

She tacked on some curses after that; cleaned up, it roughly meant people who never learned how to be human. Listening to her, I found myself smiling.

"Well, that's good, then... Want me to cheer you up? One look at my gorgeous face and you'll feel better."

"Too late. Go to sleep."

"Hey!! My fa—"

I hung up. She talked like that, but she'd been worrying a lot. She always did.

I'd waited years telling myself it would change someday, that they'd understand someday. That someday finally shattered over a single food waste disposer. What an idiot, waiting that long.

All those stubborn years suddenly felt wasted. If I'd just saved more money in that time, I'd be better off now.

...I should sleep. I'm tired.

My eyelids grew heavy. Even this one-room's stained brown ceiling was starting to get old—

Huh?

It's white?

I sat bolt upright.

Where am I?

It was a ceiling I'd never seen, and yet my head was calmly insisting this was home.

I bolted to the mirror.

My jawline was sharper. My skin was clearer. Was this some kind of scam? I hadn't even died unfairly and reincarnated—did I really deserve a reward like this on top of everything? If I had died, well. What a magnificent end.

A headache hit, and memories surged in like a wave.

"Kh..."

Name, job, face, relationships—the whole package. And at the end of it, one thing stood out crystal clear.

I had entered the world of G.O.G.

Face upgraded. Relationships upgraded. I got to live in the world I'd always wanted.

I'd escaped that sewer of a reality. At this point, I figured even God had a decent conscience.

My name was Kim Woon. Same as before.

Thank god. I was already losing my mind—if the name had been different too, I'd have been completely finished.

My job was blacksmith. Not an Awakener, but a young shop owner making his way by repairing gear and refining consumables for low-rank hunters. And through the gaps in those memories, one familiar face overlapped with the rest.

The person who'd set up this very workshop for me after I'd lost my parents young in a monster accident. My childhood friend's father. A skilled hunter, apparently, who'd supported me in every way until I could stand on my own as a blacksmith.

The word parents landed heavy in my chest. Even with the burns from my previous life still raw, was I really going to get choked up over the parents here? Weird.

But the weirdness didn't last. It felt less like possession and more like two versions of me had fused into one. That, if anything, was a relief.

I washed up and left the house to open the workshop.

"Hmm-hmm~"

A tune came out on its own. Hard not to hum when your whole life just got an upgrade.

Not being an Awakener was a little disappointing, sure—but I already had a foothold, and I was basically safe ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rear-line support. My life was precious. Forging and selling equipment from the back suited me far better than trading blows with monsters at a Gate.

I arrived at the shop. It wasn't spotless, but that distinctive, well-ordered workshop smell hit me at once. It felt like the first time and completely familiar all at once. The tools on the walls, the materials stacked in the corners—all of it sat easy in my hands. It was strange how my body remembered this space before I did.

I left the sign on CLOSED for now. Trust was everything in this business, and I wasn't about to take customers before I'd even adapted to this body.

I stood at the forge, poured molten metal, and brought the hammer down a few times.

Kang. Kang. Kang—

My hands moved on their own. Not a trace of awkwardness. It was so natural it almost gave ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me chills. But the moment I adjusted my grip on the hammer, a strange tingle ran through my fingertips. Not quite static—something else. I just couldn't put a name to it.

I shrugged it off as my imagination.

"...I could probably open for business as early as tomorrow."

I muttered it to myself and was tidying up when the old calendar on the wall caught my eye. Next week's regular day off had a circle drawn around it.

Ding-a-ling~

"We're not open to—"

"Isn't today a business day? Why'd you put up the CLOSED sign?"

"..."

"...? What's wrong? Are you sick?"

That voice. My body knew it first.

"...No. Wait—it's you? Weren't you supposed to be at the Academy today?"

"There you go again. I told you I have a free period! You forget everything, I swear. The school's right around the corner—what are you going to do if you're this out of it?"

Long black hair. Pale white skin. A face so beautiful it stopped me cold was talking to me like we'd known each other forever, and a guy like me—who never got the girl—just froze.

It was Lee Rin.

But something about her felt strangely unfamiliar today. It was definitely a face I knew, and yet my eyes kept drifting toward her like I was studying a stranger. The body's memory of a face seen every day and the feeling of looking at her with these eyes right now sat just slightly out of alignment.

"Woon, why are you staring like that? Is there something on my face?"

When I didn't answer, she waved a hand in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠front of my eyes in frustration, then grabbed my wrist and pulled.

"...Hello? When someone talks to you, you're supposed to answer."

"No—hold on. You're acting weird today. Why is your face so red?"

"It's nothing. Really."

"You know your earlobes go red first every time you lie, right? We've known each other for years. You think I wouldn't notice?"

Bull's-eye. I couldn't say a word. She had a whole database on me.

"...So. What is it. Are you going to tell me or not?"

Lee Rin narrowed her eyes and tilted her head. Her hand was still locked around my wrist. My body already knew—once that look came out, she wasn't the type to back down.

"I told you, it's nothing."

"Lying again. Look at your earlobes. Your earlobes."

"Come on."

I tried to pull my hand free, but Lee Rin only tightened her grip and refused to let go. The fact that she hadn't changed a bit was strangely reassuring.

"...But are you actually okay? Your face looks off today. Did something happen?"

The playfulness had drained from her voice. She looked up at me with worried eyes, and for a second I couldn't find a single word to answer with.

"No, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I just... didn't sleep well, I guess."

"If you didn't sleep well, then you didn't sleep well. Why does your face look like that? You're really weird today."

The moment I finished the excuse—

Zzzt—

Something hot surged up through my wrist. My vision flashed pure white.

"Huh? Wh-what is this?!"

Lee Rin yanked her hand back in shock too. But it was already too late.

Unfamiliar text was rising into the center of my vision.

"What...?"

Staring at the status window floating in my vision, I let out a hollow laugh.

I was the only blacksmith who could forge Exclusive Weapons?