My Friend Doa
Choi Chunsam came charging straight at us — or more precisely, straight at Choi Ara.
He was a small man, his head almost completely bare save for a few wisps of white hair. His life's final flying kick landed square in Choi Ara's stomach, and —
Puh-BOOM!Ssssss…
The Choi Ara standing next to me exploded…?
Choi Chunsam's triumphant flying kick sliced through empty air.
"Tch…. Tsk tsk. A Division after all."
He clicked his tongue, then turned his head and looked at me.
"So, Hunter Han Doa — what brings you here?"
His expression was perfectly calm, as if nothing had happened at all.
Hold on. You just tried to full-force kick your own granddaughter…?
Then again, I didn't have a grandfather — or any family, for that matter.
Well. Families like that exist, I guess.
So I just let it go. Compared to the family horror stories floating around on Shorts, Reels, and community boards, this was mild.
"Ah, Hunter Choi Ara said she wanted to take a photo with me."
"Hm? Ara did? Ha…. That kid's gotten herself hooked on some gallery or other again…."
Choi Chunsam muttered under his breath.
"Well, if it's Ara you're after, she'll be in the room down in that corner."
He pointed me toward Choi Ara's room, then turned and walked off.
Just as he'd said, a small room sat tucked into a corner. Yellow tape was plastered all over the door, the words DO NOT CROSS LINE stamped across it.
I knocked and waited a moment. The door cracked open just a sliver. An arm shot out, grabbed me, and yanked me inside.
The room was so vast I couldn't take it all in at a glance. What filled it: dozens of computers… and dozens of Choi Aras.
In the darkness, the glow of the monitors served as the only light.
"Uuuugh, it's freezing…."
The air conditioner was running at deep-freezer levels, and I shivered. The other Choi Aras, dressed in all kinds of outfits, were hard at work on their computers. A quick glance told me they were chatting among themselves, leaving comments and trading upvotes on each other's posts.
"This way, pleaseee…."
The Choi Ara who'd pulled me in let go the second I was through the door, startled. In a trembling voice, she led me toward an even more secluded corner of the room.
There, on a small mattress shoved into the corner, something with pink hair was curled up inside a warm blanket. She was stuffing snacks into her mouth while juggling three smartphones at once — lurking on community boards, playing a mobile game, and scrolling Reels. Only then did that Choi Ara notice me.
"Ah! You're here…! Just a second…."
She scrambled upright from her sprawled position. Given how well her midsection had developed, the effort of moving her body looked like a bit of a struggle.
Choi Ara opened a door I hadn't noticed in the dark and stepped into another room. Everything in it was green. A single camera stood in the center.
"This is the photo room…! The whole background is chroma key, so… hehe."
A small shopping bag sat in the corner.
"Ah, by the way… how old are you…?"
Choi Ara asked carefully.
"Twenty."
Is she trying to reassert dominance with age?
"Huh? I'm twenty-one, though… yo."
Realizing she was older, she started to slip into casual speech, then caught my eye and tacked the polite ending back on.
"Hmm. Just talk comfortably, then."
She was my unnie, after all. I gave her full permission to drop the formalities.
"Th… thank you!!"
No, I said you can talk casually…
Just then, a knock came, and a Choi Ara walked in with shopping bags piled in her arms. Right — she'd said she was going out to buy clothes for me to wear. The memory of store clerks dressing me up like a doll came flooding back, and a wave of exhaustion hit me hard.
"Pick one!"
Choi Ara handed me a shopping bag, and I looked through it. Something smooth and silky caught my fingers. I pulled it out of the bag, stretching it upward, and only then realized what it was.
A bunny girl outfit.
I stared at Choi Ara.
"Uuuh…? Ah! That's one I bought to wear myself later!"
She declared it was her own clothes with total confidence.
"Aren't you embarrassed?"
Wearing something that cut out that much fabric…. Even if I were still a guy, I don't think I could have put that on.
"I'd get so many upvotes and likes, though?"
She hugged the outfit lovingly against her body.
"Aaaah…. I can already see the likes."
She was an even more severe attention-seeker pink-haired menace than I'd thought.
"Alright, alright, let's shoot!"
The clothes she handed me were a crop top and jeans. The jeans clung a little too tightly, but… it seemed fine enough, so I took the photos as I was. We snapped several shots, trying to look like the closest of friends — and even I couldn't escape the midriff disparity.
"Wow, you're actually really pretty…."
Choi Ara said, staring at the photos.
"So, about the friend fee?"
Feeling awkward, I steered the conversation toward money.
"Aaaah! Right. Gotta pay…. Haha."
Hm?
Her eyes just flickered a little there.
"How much would work? Fifty thousand won…? A hundred thousand?"
Choi Ara named absurdly low amounts.
"One billion."
So I named the biggest number I knew.
"What?"
Choi Ara's eyes went round as saucers.
Hey, you said you'd pay whatever I wanted.
"Ah… no, Doa…. Hunter Han Doa. This isn't an excuse, I swear — I can pay, but my grandfather manages my bank account… haha…."
The moment she got desperate, she snapped right back into formal speech and started making excuses.
"Then get blocked."
As I said it, I snatched Choi Ara's phone in one quick motion. Her face froze solid, and tears began welling in her eyes.
"Just a little… just give me a little time…! I'll really pay, I swear! It's not that I don't have money…."
Watching Choi Ara crumple again, tears dripping onto the floor, I thought to myself:
Is a gallery ban really that serious…?
Even I couldn't just ignore a girl crying that miserably right in front of me.
"One week. Pay me within one week. If you don't, I honestly don't know what I'll do. Right, Meonji?"
I deliberately pulled Meonji out from my clothes as I said it.
"Yes! Yes! Of course!!"
The effect was tremendous. The moment I handed her phone back, her tears cut off instantly, like a kid who'd just been given candy. She started grinning to herself, already fretting over which photo to post.
Leaving that Choi Ara behind, I walked out of the room.
"Uhehehe…."
Staring at the photo of herself and Han Doa, Choi Ara was lost in pure bliss.
Until now, almost no photos of Han Doa had existed online. The few that did showed her in grubby clothes or just a tracksuit. Even so, her radiant looks had kept public interest climbing — and Ara herself had once posted on the community boards just to siphon off some of that attention.
Had a pajama party at my place yesterday too
And then, like a bolt from the blue, that single comment from the board admin.
A ban is ABSOLUTELY!! NOT!! HAPPENING!!!
So she'd gone to the Association President, saying she wanted to invite Hunter Han Doa to the S-class Hunter group chat and needed her number — and the President had, surprisingly, handed it over without a fuss.
And after all that trouble, the photo with Han Doa.
Han Doa was even prettier in person. Ara herself didn't exactly lose to anyone in the looks department, but Han Doa was something else entirely. Something more refined…? Almost aristocratic.
Beaming, Choi Ara logged in on her forty-second alternate account and posted a verification thread. The reaction was explosive.
Admit it?
"Talk about me too…."
Every single comment was about Han Doa.
"Well, at least I didn't get banned, so that's a win!"
Being positive about everything, Choi Ara brushed it off without a second thought.
"But one billion, huh…."
Truthfully, she had more than enough money. She'd climbed the Tower to the 45th floor, and she was an S-class Hunter in a major guild like Cheongung. The problem was that every last won of it was managed by her grandfather, Choi Chunsam….
She used to handle her own finances — until she poured way too much into mobile games, and eventually… asked her grandfather for a loan, which is how her spending habits got exposed. Now she just received a reasonable monthly allowance….
"Eh, if I explain the situation, Grandpa will say yes!"
Being positive about everything, Choi Ara brushed it off without a second thought.
The moment I climbed into a taxi headed back to the hotel, my phone rang.
It was our Association President — Kim Rice.
"Yes, Mr. President."
Thinking of Kim Rice's hair and wig — closer to sushi than kimbap, really — I answered the call.
"Hunter Han Doa. I'm sorry for the sudden request, but would you climb the Tower again?"
"Has the investigation into the incident wrapped up?"
Last time, something had happened and he'd said they'd look into it further and get back to me. Apparently it had finished faster than expected.
"Yes. The investigation is more or less complete. And as you know, Hunter Han Doa, what we call the 20th floor is actually three floors total — the 18th through the 20th."
The President explained it simply, and —
I did not know that!
I had no idea. So what he was saying was that the 18th, 19th, and 20th floors were collectively referred to as the 20th floor?
"Why are they grouped together as the 20th floor?"
When you don't know something, asking is the most important virtue. I learned that from army Shorts.
"Ah. Well… it's exactly as it sounds. The 18th, 19th, and 20th floors are all connected as one enormous space. And the 18th and 19th floors have no combat zones. In other words, if they can't clear the boss fight on the 20th floor, they can't leave the Tower. That's why the 20th floor has the largest population of Residents — people who can't get out."
The President's explanation ended there.
"So should I start climbing the Tower now?"
I asked, and the President paused for a moment before answering.
"…Yes. However, please wait before entering the 20th floor — that is, the 18th floor. We'll finish some additional investigation and get back to you."
With that, the call ended.
The taxi arrived at the hotel, and I sank into the soft bed in my room.
"Mmm… since we're heading back into the Tower tomorrow, get some good sleep."
Stroking Meonji, I drowsily pulled the blanket over myself, cranked the air conditioner to max, and drifted off.