First Come, First Served

— Episode 12 —

The top floor of the Awakener Management Bureau. A VIP room open only to SSS-ranks.

"Mr. Bonghyuk? How is everything—is the coffee nice and cold?"

Director Oh's attitude had turned deferential in the blink of an eye. What had begun as hauling Bonghyuk in for questioning had swerved, mid-stride, from 'detainment' into 'VIP protocol.'

"It's good, thanks."

Sip, sip. Bonghyuk drank the coffee Section Chief Jeong had handed him.

No matter how he looked at it, Director Oh could not bring himself to believe it. That unemployed-looking young man had Awakened as a shaman, and could supposedly see what awaited inside the Tower. And yet... If Wooseok himself vouches for him, what choice do I have but to believe it?

"Please rest here for a moment."

"Yes."

With a flick of his eyes, Director Oh Jeonghun summoned Section Chief Jeong Heeju and Jeong Wooseok into the next room.

Conference room. Three people seated side by side. Arms crossed, Wooseok spoke first.

"What is it you want to ask, hyung? I'm telling you, it's real. I didn't believe it at first either. But the Eternity Room appeared exactly like he said it would, and surviving a hundred days inside meant a clear."

Oh had already heard all of this on the way over. The Director hummed low in his throat.

"It makes no sense whatsoever..."

"Of course it doesn't. But what can you do? It happened. You think I'm lying? Would I have put myself through an eternity in there otherwise?"

"No, I suppose not—"

It was then that Section Chief Jeong Heeju cut in.

"Director. At this point, shouldn't we be believing him?"

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, the Director answered.

"Well, believe him we must—what else is there? Fine. Let's assume Do Bonghyuk really can see inside the Tower. Then what should we be doing?"

Wooseok replied offhandedly.

"Doing? We throw everything we've got at clearing Hell, obviously."

At those words, Oh Jeonghun turned something over in his mind, then called for his section chief.

"Section Chief Jeong."

"Yes, Director."

"Designate Do Bonghyuk as a top-priority national asset and assign him a security detail on par with an SSS-rank."

"I'm sorry—an F-rank?"

To a flabbergasted Section Chief Jeong Heeju, the Director said:

"Does he still look like an F-rank to you? Effective immediately, he is to be treated as more important than any SSS-rank in South Korea. Block all information from leaking abroad, and inform the SSS-ranks that from now on, they enter Hell only after a divination from Do Bonghyuk. We are forming a dedicated Hell team. Draft the preliminary plan around him."

"Understood!"

Time remaining for South Korea: roughly one year and eleven months.

Into that despairing timetable, a reversal card had landed in his hands. Director Oh intended to do this properly—clear the floors of 'Hell' faster than any other nation and use that intelligence to seize the initiative on the world stage.

But that hope would never come to pass.

"I'd rather not?"

"Wh-what?"

"I said no."

"Huh?"

What was this? He had come back bursting with excitement to explain the plan after the meeting, only for the man to shake his head with total indifference? Cold sweat suddenly beaded down the Director's spine.

"M-Mr. Bonghyuk? Allow me to say it again—dedicating yourself solely to Hell-difficulty divinations would be far more valuable to the nation and its people. We will compensate you at the very highest level. 200 million won per Hell reading. What do you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠say?"

200 million won for a single reading. An astronomical sum. And yet Bonghyuk shook his head.

"Sorry, but the skill's condition is first come, first served. SSS-rank or the President himself—everyone waits in line."

Despite himself, the Director's voice rose.

"No—how can you say that? This is the very lifeline of our nation right now. No—of humanity itself. You hold the power to save mankind, and you'd rather sit around doing trivial little readings?"

Bonghyuk's eyes narrowed to slits.

"Trivial, you say? Watch your words, please. Everyone who comes to me carries problems that matter to them. And—"

Bonghyuk looked at Jeong Wooseok.

"The person who's going to clear Hell is standing right there anyway, isn't he?"

And there he was. The Hell shuttle.

The Rite-Bearer. Jeong Wooseok.

"What? Me?"

"Yep, you. Jeong Wooseok will be the one clearing it, continuously. Right?"

Caught off guard by the sudden remark, Wooseok faltered.

"Well—I mean, I was always going to keep challenging it..."

"And you'll keep getting my readings too, obviously? For you and you alone, I'll skip the queue. You're the Rite-Bearer."

Wooseok opened his mouth to say something, then abruptly shut it.

"No. Just for the final try."

"Ah, pride."

Bonghyuk turned back to Director Oh.

"So I don't need anything else. Just let me do my readings in peace. No fuss, no fanfare—I'm not exactly hoping to get famous. And I never said I wouldn't read Hell, did I? Anyone who wants a reading just has to get in line."

Do Bonghyuk: capital-I Introvert. The textbook embodiment of I want to make serious money without a single soul knowing my face! Read a few fortunes, live the sweet life, call it a day. And one more thing. Readings for Hell left him utterly drained...

"Ha. Honestly."

Nnngh— Director Oh pressed a hand to the back of his neck and groaned. But what choice did he have? Do Bonghyuk might now matter to South Korea as much as an SSS-rank—no, more so.

"Very well... Then what is it you wish for..."

"That you don't bother me."

Ahem.

And just like that, the Awakener Management Bureau had become the nuisance.

— Comments —

AwakenersNet had been turned upside down as well.

Bonghyuk made it home. After all the commotion at the Bureau, he was completely drained.

"Haah. Exhausting."

His basement studio was exactly as empty as he'd left it. The lights came on to reveal the bare little room, and the moment the tension drained away, his stomach growled.

"Guess I'll boil some ramyeon."

Out of habit, he opened the cupboard and reached for a packet—then stopped short.

The Tower Coins that had come in today. A full 50TC. Fifty million won. Enough to pay off nearly all of his debt. If he kept doing readings, the money would only keep piling up. He stared blankly down at the ramyeon packet in his hand.

"...One real meal wouldn't hurt, right?"

He put the ramyeon back in the cupboard. Come to think of it, he couldn't remember eating a single proper meal since Awakening. Squeezed by debt, he'd gotten so used to scraping by on ramyeon and convenience-store triangle kimbap that it had become second nature.

Just then, his phone went off with a long buzz. When he checked it, a pile of messages from Jian and Doyeon was waiting.

How touching—people were worried about him. Smirking, Bonghyuk typed out a reply.

The instant he hit send, replies came flying back like bullets.

Well, he could afford to eat something decent for once, couldn't he?

"I said I'd buy you something nice—why on earth did you bring me to a place like this?"

When Bonghyuk asked grumpily, Jian just grinned.

"Because this place is the real deal. Expensive doesn't automatically mean delicious."

The place Jian and Doyeon had dragged him to, after he'd offered to treat them, was a neighborhood pork-belly joint charging 10,000 won per 100 grams.

Shabby sliding doors and a sun-faded sign. A grease-smudged menu hung crooked on the wall, and a vent fan caked with old oil whirred overhead. Customers were packed around every table—somewhere someone was yelling, Auntie! One more soju over here!—meat sizzled as it hit the grills, and raucous laughter all tangled together into a cheerful din. On an ancient TV in the corner, breaking news was running the story of Jeong Wooseok clearing Hell's 7th floor.

The three of them settled into a corner table.

Sizzle—

On the grill, the pork belly browned to a tempting gold. Fat bubbled and popped, and the rich, toasty smell stung his nose.

Bonghyuk picked up a golden-edged slice, dipped it in salt, and popped it into his mouth.

"Whoa! How is this so good?"

"Right? And look at you dipping it in salt, Mr. Bonghyuk—a true connoisseur. Pork belly was made for salt."

"Whoa. Noona. Hyung. This melts. It melts."

Without anyone bothering about who grabbed first, pork belly disappeared into mouths all around. They'd been picking away at the grill for a good while when the room suddenly stirred.

A low buzz of voices.

"Huh? Isn't that Jeong Wooseok?"

"No way. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠That's really him, isn't it?"

"He's so tall. Wow."

Every customer's gaze swung to the entrance. Bonghyuk turned his head too. There stood Jeong Wooseok.

The moment he spotted Bonghyuk, he strode straight through all those stares without missing a beat, yanked out a red plastic chair, and sat down.

"Wh-what are you doing here?"

"How come I'm the one getting left out?"

Bonghyuk asked, dumbfounded.

"Why would you need to come?"

"I'm wounded."

"More importantly, how did you even know I was here?"

"Any SSS-rank can find that out."

"Unbelievable."

Jian quickly held out an empty glass and offered him a slice of meat.

"M-Mr. Jeong Wooseok, sir, have a slice! The meat here is really delicious."

Sitting around the same grill as the nation's greatest hero. Jian was quietly marveling at the strangeness of it.

Wooseok silently picked up a slice and put it in his mouth.

"...Tasty."

"See? This place is the real deal!"

Doyeon chimed in, thrilled.

In the end, the four of them sat around the grill, cooking meat together. Around that sizzling grill, there were no SSS-ranks and no F-ranks. Only hungry people waiting for the meat to cook.

Meanwhile. Pattaya. Beneath the pouring sunlight, at the poolside of a luxury resort lined with palm trees, SSS-rank Awakener Lee Chaerin lay sprawled across a sun lounger, sipping a rainbow-colored cocktail.

"Mmm~ this is the life."

A honey-sweet vacation, earned by clearing Hell's 6th floor. The azure sky beyond her black sunglasses. Pool water lapping at her toes. What more was there to say? She was having the time of her life. Even the foreigners at the next table sneaking glances her way put her in a good mood.

You've suffered enough, Lee Chaerin. You've earned this much pampering. I approve. Heh heh.

With that haughty Jeong Wooseok finally slumped before the 7th floor, an era belonging to Lee Chaerin was waiting just ahead.

Which shoot should I take first?

Of all the endorsements Jeong Wooseok shot, the one she coveted most ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was the luxury brand ambassadorship. Especially Chanelle. Clear the 7th floor, and the next ambassador would naturally be her. Just thinking about it made the corners of her mouth curl up on their own.

In high spirits, she sipped her cocktail and lazily picked up her phone.

Any new articles about me?

She was skimming the headlines out of habit when—

Pfft—!

Chaerin sprayed out her cocktail and bolted upright on the lounger.

"Cough! Cough! Shit, what is this? Jeong Wooseok cleared the 7th floor?"

She ripped off her sunglasses and read the article again.

"Is this real? He was supposed to be retiring!"

The hand gripping the screen trembled violently. While she was off enjoying her vacation, Jeong Wooseok had cleared the 7th floor? She couldn't believe it.

"What kind of... what absolute nonsense is this?!!"

Crash—

The strength left her hand, and the cocktail glass hit the ground and shattered. The foreigners around her flinched and stared, but nothing registered in Chaerin's eyes.

"When... just when?!!"

The past seven years. Seven years living crushed beneath those three syllables: Jeong Wooseok. They were both SSS-rank, yet because she cleared each floor a step behind him, every ad, every interview, every roar of the crowd had gone to him. Always second. A perpetual runner-up. So she had gritted her teeth and conquered the 6th floor. Finally, dead even. From here on out, the comeback—so she had believed. And Jeong Wooseok had climbed one more floor, all by himself.

Her heart hammered, and her hands shook.

"No..."

Then, suddenly, a strange sentence from the article brushed across her mind.

An Awakener's assistance is said to lie behind this breakthrough. That Awakener reportedly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠possesses the unprecedented ability to predict in advance the stages that will appear inside the Tower; the Awakener Management Bureau, however, declined to comment on their identity or other specifics.

"A helper? Jeong Wooseok, of all people? What now? Predicting the stages that appear inside...?"

What on earth was that supposed to mean? Chaerin snatched up her phone.

"Seo Yujeong, Seo Yujeong. What did I save her under? Ah, here it is."

She dialed Seo Yujeong, a junior of hers from the same SSS rank. A long while later—

"Oh, unni? What brings this? Oh, right. Congrats on clearing the 6th floor. Late as always, though."

Somehow, laughter kept bleeding into the girl's voice. But right now, Yujeong was the only person she could ask.

"Yujeong. Do you know anything about Jeong Wooseok clearing the 7th floor?"

"What would I know? I just saw the article pop up out of nowhere."

"Do you know what that 'helper' business is about?"

"Roughly? Not exactly."

"Then tell me roughly."

"Unni, you haven't checked AwakenersNet?"

"Why would I go to a place like that?"

"Which is exactly why you don't know. Here, look at this. Sending it now."

A single message arrived from Seo Yujeong. It was a post laying out everything there was to know about Bongmudang.

Her jaw hung open the entire time she read it.

What in the world is this...?

He could foresee what Hell had in store? Jeong Wooseok had gotten a reading and walked straight into Hell's 7th floor?

Chaerin frantically searched for flights on her phone.

"Flights... the fastest one. I have to go now. I can't go back to those days again..."

If this was true, then cost be damned, she had to get one herself. That 'divination' of his.