Start
Start
"Haa..."
I let out a deep sigh.
I was an ordinary student. I was an average South Korean male with average grades, average height, and finally, even an average appearance.
But my home life wasn't.
It was a home in the bottom 30%. It was because my family environment was just that bad. It couldn't be helped. If there are kids born into good family environments, conversely, there are bound to be people born into bad ones.
Because in a capitalist society, not everyone can live well.
Didn't someone say it? People come to Silicon Valley dreaming of becoming kings of industry, but everyone forgets the fact that someone has to clean the toilets.
Anyway, that was that.
"I don't want to go to high school..."
I said with a haggard expression.
Middle school ends at 4 PM, but high school was different. The 2010's mandatory night self-study was waiting for me. No matter how early I finished school, it was 9 or 10 PM.
Furthermore, what was even more shocking was that thanks to the existence of "zero period," I had to be at school by 8 AM. It was safe to say there was almost no free time on weekdays. For a third-year middle schooler like me, it was too cruel.
"I'm home..."
I arrived home.
However, there was no one inside. It wasn't even 20-pyeong, but a cramped 15-pyeong house.
It wasn't a very big house for my parents and me to live in. It might have been a bit spacious if parents with a young child lived there.
Mom and Dad were out working. On the table was a meal Mom had set out for me to eat for dinner. I ate alone. This situation was very familiar.
Because I'd been staying home alone since elementary school.
Kkureureung-! Kkureureung-!
It was raining outside.
A calm darkness where nothing could be seen had settled in. The moonlight couldn't be seen because of the clouds.
I stared blankly outside. On a day like today, staying cooped up at home was the answer.
However, I had no choice but to go out.
"Ah, damn it!"
Because I had left my phone in my school desk. I don't use my phone much, but it wasn't to the extent that I'd leave it at school.
Fortunately, the school was right nearby, so it didn't take that long.
I changed into thick clothes and went outside. An umbrella was essential. Going without one when it was raining like a downpour, like it was now, was suicidal.
It was like a flood had broken out in the sky. It was raining so hard I couldn't see an inch in front of me.
"Wow... it's raining way too much, isn't it?"
But there was no other way. Should I say the school at night was terrifying? I hesitated after arriving in front of the school. It was because all sorts of scenes from horror movies I'd watched in the past popped into my head.
There were even things that happened in an empty school. Ghosts or murderers!
I paced back and forth in front of the school gate, then went in. I just had to grab my phone and leave.
Fortunately, the 3rd-year classroom was on the 1st floor, so it didn't take long to retrieve it. I didn't even run into the security guard. I gripped the phone tightly in my hand. To think I went through all this hell because of this phone!
That was when I was about to leave the school.
Flash!
However, I saw a flashing light in front of me. At first, I thought it was lightning. If not that, there was no way a light would appear in the empty air.
But it wasn't.
What kind of light is that?
Feeling unnecessary curiosity, I approached the light. If someone saw it, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a will-o'-the-wisp.
As I grabbed the light floating in the air.
My vision changed.
"Uwaaaaaaaah!"
I felt like I was flying through the air and struggled.
I was actually flying!
I lost consciousness at the sight rising incredibly fast.
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Beep- Beep-
"Ughhh."
I opened my eyes while hearing irregular mechanical beeping sounds.
"Uh?"
My head felt like it was splitting. Holding my head with my hands, I had no choice but to roll around for a while. As time passed, the pain subsided. Only then could I see the scenery around me. The scenery I saw from the window was...
"Uh...?"
If what I'm seeing isn't an illusion, this place was space.
Earth was visible right in front of me. I couldn't help but scream. No! Is this some kind of alien ship? Or is it a hidden camera show? But it was too realistic for that.
In the first place, I'm not a celebrity or anything, so there was no reason for them to do such an elaborate hidden camera prank on me.
"Is anyone there?"
I said, walking around inside the spaceship.
But only unpleasant mechanical sounds could be heard, and not a trace of aliens was visible. From the start, there were no signs of aliens living on this spaceship. Should I call it an empty spaceship?
Shiiiiiing-!
The door opened automatically. I wandered here and there. But the owner of the spaceship was nowhere to be seen. Could it be that I'm trapped here? I had an ominous thought.
A person dies if they can't drink water for 3 days. That meant my lifespan was only 3 days. When I thought that, my heart sank.
I ran around in a hurry. I had to search the whole spaceship to find a way to return to Earth.
How many hours did I wander? I was able to arrive at a place where there were capsule-like things. Something was written under the capsule in an unknown language. I tilted my head.
There was a button under the capsule. I pressed it firmly. I had been going around pressing this and that anyway. Who knows, maybe something would happen. I didn't have time anyway. I couldn't see any water or food at all. In a few days... no, even after just two days, I'd be a living corpse.
Pshiiiiiik!
As I pressed the button, the capsule trembled with a loud roar.
I looked inside the capsule with surprised eyes.
Bubbling!
Bubbles were rising inside the capsule. And soon, not long after, the bubbles took on the shape of a person.
"Whoa!"
A person crawled out of the capsule. However, I couldn't help but be shocked when I saw the person who crawled out. It was because an adult woman wearing nothing crawled out of the capsule!
It was my first time seeing a naked woman.
I'd seen it in adult videos or comic books, but should I say this was my first time seeing it in real life? I didn't know where to look. The woman who came out of the capsule had such a great body. Plus, her face was pretty too.
However, the woman who came out of the capsule had an expression that wasn't embarrassed at all. Should I say she was expressionless to begin with? I spoke to her. She was the only other person here besides me.
"Excuse me...?"
The woman looked at me and then said.
"Hello, Captain-nim."
"Yes?"
I tilted my head, looking at the woman who called me Captain-nim. Captain? Could it be that I'm the owner of this spaceship?
"I'm the captain?"
"Yes. You are the Captain-nim of this Genesis."
"Gasp...!"
Without even knowing why, I had become the owner of this spaceship.
-------------------------------------------
I took off my outer garment and gave it to the woman. It was a bit awkward to keep talking while she was naked.
"So. This spaceship is a Medical Ship?"
"Yes, Captain-nim. It is a Medical Ship that was completed and set sail in the year 9999."
"No... then where did the people who were here go? It's not like only one Medical Ship came, right?"
At my words, the woman tilted her head.
"I am sorry, Captain-nim. I cannot answer the question you asked, Captain-nim."
"Huh?"
"Insufficient data."
In the end, I couldn't hear from the woman about the actual owner of this spaceship. However, the fortunate thing was that this woman knew a lot about the spaceship.
"This is the bridge."
"Wow..."
Should I call it glass? The scenery visible outside the transparent window was majesty itself. Earth was shining brightly, and the sun could be seen in the distance.
If someone who claims the Earth is flat saw this, wouldn't they foam at the mouth? Because the Earth was in the shape of a sphere.
"Can you move the spaceship right now?"
"Currently, fuel is insufficient. A large amount of fuel is required to move the spaceship. Currently, the Genesis only has enough energy to maintain its current state."
"Really? Then if we're here, won't we be seen from Earth?"
"Stealth mode is activated on this ship."
Fortunately, there was no such thing as the spaceship being visible from Earth. Listening to the woman, she said it wasn't difficult to maintain the current state, it was just that there was a lack of fuel to set sail.
"Ugh..."
Anyway, a spaceship like this! It's the kind of spaceship you only see in movies, isn't it? I pinched my cheek to see if this was really a dream. But seeing as it hurt, it wasn't a dream.
I looked at the woman and said.
"I want to go down to Earth... how do I go down?"
"That is simple. You can use the Warp Portal you came on, Captain-nim."
The woman took me to the front of the portal. It was the light I had seen at first. However, it was a bit of a shame to go down right away. So I looked around the spaceship more.
Thinking that I could go home now, should I say the fear from earlier had disappeared?