A New Beginning
Next day.
Doun wore long clothes, the hat pulled low over his eyebrows, and the sunglasses Lee Doun had given him. When he checked the mirror, the burn scars were almost invisible.
Was it okay to go to crowded places? It was terrifying. Frightening. What would people think when they saw his scars… even if he went with Doun? Even if the scars showed on the outside… wouldn’t Doun protect him? If not… if Doun turned away… then what?
Shaking his head to dispel the sudden negative thoughts, he muttered, “Doun won’t do that.”
At the apartment entrance, Doun was already waiting.
“You waited?”
“Just left. I was supposed to meet Na-eun before, so take a taxi from there.”
“Yeah…”
The playground was already crowded in the morning. Since it was vacation, many peers were there too. The people passing by seemed to be staring at him.
Did his scars show? The bad words from his middle-school classmates came back to mind.
“Eunhye, are you okay?”
“Ah… um… yeah…”
An ambiguous sound came out. He couldn’t correct it now. His only concern was whether people could see him or not.
“Eunhye, don’t worry. Nothing is showing right now.”
“Huh?”
Did Doun know his fear? Doun spoke in a calm voice. Na-eun standing beside him also looked at Doun.
“Doun is right. It’s fine, Eunhye.”
“Yeah…”
Thanks to Doun and Na-eun’s words, the gazes of others no longer bothered him.
Walking through crowded places felt good. Maybe because he was with close friends, or perhaps because such an experience was rare after so long…
He couldn’t ride the fast rides. The hat might fly off. Doun and Na-eun were being considerate too, so they didn’t ride the fast ones either.
“Doun. Na-eun. Try this one. I’m fine.”
He pointed at the fast ride, feeling guilty that they weren’t riding because of him.
“It’s okay. You two ride. I’ll wait on the bench ahead.”
He pushed the hesitant pair. They said they’d come back quickly and headed to the ride.
“Wow!!!”
“Aaaaaaaa!!!”
Whenever the ride spun fast, people screamed. Even in the 360-degree spinning ride, Doun’s face was clearly visible. And the girl sitting beside him…
Na-eun was so pretty. She was good at studies and had a kind personality. When Doun and Na-eun stood side by side, one side of his chest ached.
Na-eun was the most popular girl in middle school. All the boys liked her. And according to rumors… Doun liked her too…
Was it true? Curious. If it was, would he still like her now? But he didn’t ask. He was afraid of hearing an answer he didn’t want.
Na-eun was perfect, and he was compared to her. He…
“Eunhye, you waited long. Next time let’s take the slow one.”
“Yeah…”
“Eunhye, is something wrong?”
“No. Let’s take the next ride!”
To hide his lack of energy, he forced himself to speak energetically.
“Eunhye… next time let’s ride the one we just took.”
Doun said with a serious expression. He had been acting bright, but Doun had noticed his mood.
“I… can’t…”
“Even if I rent the entire park, I’ll make you ride.”
“Huh?”
Though it was just words, he was happy.
“Thanks…”
“Eunhye, cheer up.”
Doun patted his shoulder. Doun acted like an adult sometimes. Like now. He didn’t dislike it. He understood him as an adult.
He played until sunset.
Dark night. The playground sparkling with colorful lights had a different beauty from the day.
“Let’s go back now.”
“No~ Doun, play a little more. I have to go to academy tomorrow…”
Doun and Na-eun had grown much closer. Just a few months ago they had been quite stiff, but even when Na-eun clung to Doun’s arm and acted spoiled, their behavior didn’t feel awkward.
In the Hero game, even when meeting Doun every day, he couldn’t do that. If he were as pretty as Na-eun… if he had a bright personality…
**
**
The playground. It had been fun. After returning to the past, life day by day had become happy.
The sight of his healthy mother was good. Hyemi’s bright expression was good too. And today, even the playground he had never been to since birth was good.
After saying goodbye to Eunhye and Na-eun, he entered the house carrying the bear-shaped chocolate to give Hyemi. The chocolate cookie bought at the playground looked small in quantity, but it was a 20,000-won item.
“Oppa! You went to the playground!”
“Yeah? Didn’t I tell you…?”
Only told Mom, right?
“How can you go alone? Why didn’t you take me!”
Hyemi said with an angry face. Hyemi thought she was more mentally mature than him. In the past, that had been true.
For thirty-five years, Hyemi had always been more mature than him. Because of that, Hyemi’s expression was angry even though she wasn’t actually angry, and she deliberately made a stern face while scolding him like he was a little brother.
But today Hyemi’s expression was sincere. She was unhappy that he hadn’t taken her to the playground.
“Hyemi, you’ve never been to the playground?”
“No! When would I have gone!”
That was right. Mom had been busy working, there was only one brother, and he locked himself in the room every day.
Thinking about it, even in the past, after returning as a middle-schooler, it must have looked the same to Hyemi.
“Sorry, Hyemi. Eat this and cheer up.”
“Eh? What?”
Hyemi’s expression softened when she saw the large cookie box with a bear drawing.
“Hmph. Oppa. Do you think this will cheer you up?”
She said that, but her mood had clearly improved. She wasn’t angry now, but she had been deliberately making an angry face.
“Sorry. Next time let’s go together.”
“Really? You have to go with me.”
“Yeah. Yeah.”
Hyemi took the chocolate cookie and walked toward the TV, stepping with rough angry steps.
“Ah… what to do…”
He entered the room and habitually turned on the computer, but he couldn’t play Hero today. The update had blocked the connection.
Instead of logging into the game, he went to the homepage.
『Update Information』
World expansion of the game Looking for a Hero (shortened to Hero).
[Leon Territory → Holy Royal Empire]
NPC growth is activated.
[NPC growth is affected by training and enlightenment, unlike users.]
NPC AI has been enhanced.
...
Hero will continue to be with you in the future.
*The Hero game will continue for free.
“Ah!?”
Update-related content was posted on the notice board.
- Game world of Looking for a Hero (shortened to Hero) expands.
[Leon Territory → Holy Royal Empire]
- NPC growth is activated.
[NPC growth is affected by training and enlightenment, unlike users.]
- NPC AI has been enhanced.
...
- Hero will continue to be with you in the future.
*The Hero game will continue for free.
Many contents, but three stood out.
First, world expansion. The Grey Wall he had seen while chasing Kses now allowed passage beyond it.
Second, NPC growth. While the Cain and Seolhwa characters grew, the party mercenaries’ growth had been stagnant. If they could grow too, it would be very helpful. Though the growth method differed from users’.
Third, the free declaration for the Hero game. He already knew this. Even in twenty years, the Hero game would remain free. Of course, only within the game world. Future VR game devices would be sold for money. The device for accessing Hero was exclusively sold by Human Games, generating enormous revenue. The current game currency cashout fee would also continue to be collected in the future. The game was free, but Human Games profited in various ways.
Anyway.
“With this free declaration, more users will come.”
Korean games were overflowing with RNG items. Items with probabilities lower than lottery draws were everywhere. Even after spending a fortune to level up a character, it wasn’t the end. In smartphone games, item value had a shorter lifespan than PC online games because game companies constantly updated better items. Longer intervals than in the PC era… Ultimately, users had to keep spending money to maintain high ranks. Like a hamster wheel, steadily, without rest… Users felt they were competing with other users, but eventually only the game company won as time passed.
In this situation, the Hero game declared itself free. Users tired of pay-to-win and those burdened by continuous spending would become interested in Hero.
He checked the update completion time written at the end of the notice again.
“From tomorrow 12pm…”
He closed the computer and lay on the bed.
At that moment, one text message arrived on his phone.
“What? A joke text?”
He answered possible just in case. It might be giving products to some users for the major update anniversary. Other games sometimes sent gifts to game BJs or special users.
He wasn’t a streamer, but he had completed this update event. Cain had missed Kses, making Pirion Territory important, and it was likely the world-expansion update had been done because of that.
“Ah… maybe not a joke text?”
The more he thought, the more his unnecessary expectation grew. He fell asleep with that puffed-up dream.
**
Next morning.
A text came back from the number that had visited yesterday. Ding dong. Ding dong.
“Wow. It’s real!”
He opened the door and came out to the living room. Hyemi got up in response.
“Eunhye, I’m leaving.”
“Eh? Okay…”
He confirmed Hyemi sitting and stood at the entrance.
“Who is it?”
“I am from Human Games.”
A young woman’s voice came from in front of the entrance door. He checked the person outside through the peephole and opened the door.
Jet-black hair, black suit jacket and pants, black stockings, and even black shoes… A woman in all-black fashion was holding a black box.
“You are the person from Human Games?”
“Yes.”
Human Games had a strikingly beautiful woman, as if they hired based on appearance. While he was staring blankly at the woman, she handed him the box.
“Please check the box.”
“Yeah… ah… what is this?”
The box contained a ring. A red gem set in a gold ring… It was exactly the same as the ring he had received from his self-made wife in the game.
The woman in the black suit didn’t wait while he calmed himself. She handed him a document and told him to sign the confirmation.
He quickly scanned the content. It was a confirmation signature for receiving the ring from Human Games.
But the text next to it caught his eye.
“Can I receive this in cash?”
“Yes. Shall I give it in cash?”
“Yeah.”
The ring was unnecessary. He wasn’t going to wear it. It wasn’t something worth giving to anyone either. He had given 40 million won to his mother, leaving 1 million won in his account. No, even that was spent, leaving no 500,000 won. Since the opportunity had come, he wanted to pay the high school tuition himself.
“Then… deposit 27 million won after tax.”
“Yes…”
The woman took out her smartphone and deposited it immediately.
“Oppa, who was that?”
Hyemi came to the entrance.
“Wow… she’s pretty…”
“Hello. Then I’ll be going.”
The woman greeted Hyemi and left.
“Oppa, who was she?”
“I don’t know either.”
“No, you don’t know the person and talked for a long time?”
“No. Just because of the game…”
Hyemi’s questions continued for a while, and he vaguely answered. He didn’t want to tell Hyemi the details. He wanted to keep the 27 million won secret.
To distract Hyemi, he said he was buying a pork cutlet set and special tteokbokki.
“Ha… now can I play the game?”