I Hate Summer

The rain had stopped, leaving behind the scent of wet earth. A mix of sharp, metallic soil and the musty stench rising from the sewers filled the air. While the sky was pitch black with no moon in sight, the city blazed so brightly it hurt the eyes. The wet asphalt glistened under the glow of neon signs. The acrid aftertaste of exhaust fumes stung my nose.

The sticky summer breeze brushed against my cheek. Even at night, it was hot and humid. Summer always put people in a foul mood.

The messy night market stalls were crowded as usual. I pushed through the throng of people and grabbed some tteokbokki, fried food, and fish cakes from my regular spot, then headed toward the old apartment building nearby. At this point, the whole routine felt numbingly familiar.

I took the elevator and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠arrived in front of my destination. Room 1004. I naturally punched in the door lock code and opened the door. The sight that greeted me was absolute chaos.

I growled the words. The sound of quick, light footsteps followed. A beautiful girl poked her head out from between the walls, wearing dolphin shorts and a sleeveless top that revealed a generous amount of cleavage. Her full breasts jiggled with every movement.

“Don’t you ever clean this damn house?”

Completely ignoring my grumbling, Han Yeoreum snatched the plastic bag and tore it open.

She tilted her head, her blue eyes sparkling. Her long black hair flowed like gentle waves. If you only looked at her appearance, she was the very picture of a beautiful girl. Too bad her complete lack of domestic skills and her tomboyish personality completely canceled out any goodwill her looks might have earned her.

I said while skillfully tidying up the room.

Han Yeoreum rubbed her eyes sheepishly.

Han Yeoreum kicked me lightly with her foot.

I shoved a piece of fried food into the mouth of Han Yeoreum, who had jumped up in anger. She immediately started chewing quietly. With a personality like that, calling her a monkey wasn’t exactly wrong.

The reason I even got to know her was just as ridiculous as her personality. There was a game called Murim Electric. You could call it an RPG set in the modern era. It was about a world where modern martial arts factions existed alongside gates that spawned monsters. True to its trashy world-building, its main feature was unlimited player killing.

Even in the game I couldn’t beat her, so what made her think the real world ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠would be any different?

The persistent PK player who had been chasing after me, a perfectly mannered gamer, turned out to be Han Yeoreum. That was the stupid story behind how we met.

When we actually met up for the so-called “real life PK,” a pretty girl in a school uniform came out and glared at me. For a moment, I was completely speechless. Once we met face to face, it turned out there was a three-year age gap between us. We both felt awkward, so we just grabbed a meal, exchanged numbers, and went our separate ways.

Before I knew it, things had turned into this mess.

Han Yeoreum said both her parents had passed away. And that was the same for me. Thanks to that strange sense of mutual understanding, we became close quickly. Of course, we weren’t exactly a man and a woman in that sense. We were more like bad friends.

Time flew by, and this year was the year Han Yeoreum had just become an adult.

Han Yeoreum pouted her lips.

A kick immediately flew my way. A seated kick like that was way too slow. I easily dodged it.

I spoke to Han Yeoreum, who had finished eating everything I bought and was now patting her stomach.

She jumped to her feet and headed to the other room. I quickly cleaned up the mess from the food and followed right behind her.

Today was the day of Murim Electric’s main event: the ‘Demon King’s Descent.’ If we couldn’t stop it, the world might be destroyed or something like that. The game company needed to make money, so they obviously wouldn’t actually destroy the world, but there was no doubt that failing would trigger some massive patch.

Only the top ten rankers were allowed to face the Demon King. Han Yeoreum and I were ranked first and second respectively. At first, I had wondered how a girl like her had managed to reach second place. But after seeing her fight, I understood immediately. She was a barbarian warrior through and through. The fact that she ran around doing that with a delicate female character was a talent in itself.

Anyway, ever since that real-life meeting, we would get together like this whenever there was a major event and clear it together. Games really were more fun when played with others.

Han Yeoreum glared at me. Even while running her mouth, she diligently finished preparing for the raid.

Our armor durability was in tatters, and our weapons were practically falling apart. We only had one chance left.

Han Yeoreum sat down cheerfully.

We gathered everything we had and finished our preparations.

We threw open the menacing door. The Demon King was sitting atop a vast throne room. He opened his eyes with a flash. Immediately, both of us died.

While I was clicking my tongue in frustration, the Game Over message disappeared and something else appeared.

Han Yeoreum tapped my shoulder.

Han Yeoreum and I confidently pressed YES. Our bodies were instantly enveloped in bright light, and our consciousness flickered.

…

When I opened my eyes, we were in a different place. Han Yeoreum was lying next to me, sprawled out on her back with her stomach exposed.

It wasn’t the old apartment where Han Yeoreum lived. This was clearly the interior of a luxury apartment. My body felt hot. My head was throbbing. Slowly, new knowledge was forced into my mind, as if someone was injecting it directly.

I pulled back the curtains and threw open the window.

‘….’

The moment I saw the scenery outside, I had no choice but to accept it.

This place was inside Murim Electric.

Because the massive view of the Jungwon Martial Arts Academy was right in front of me. I had visited it a few times in the game, so I was certain. The Jungwon Martial Arts Academy was a world-class institution for training martial artists, established in Jungwon-gu, Seongnam-si. Since Murim Electric was a Korean game, everything naturally revolved around Korea.

When I looked in the mirror, my face was the same, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠aside from my body becoming a bit more muscular, everything else was almost identical. If this was really inside the game, then using the system might be possible.

It was a bit embarrassing to say out loud, but now wasn’t the time to worry about that.

I whispered it quietly so the still-unconscious Han Yeoreum wouldn’t hear. Sure enough, a holographic window appeared before my eyes.

From traits to martial arts, these were all things I had never seen in the game before. Among them, one thing in particular caught my eye.

Heavenly Demon Divine Art. It wasn’t even the Heavenly Demon Divine Art I knew. It was some kind of unicorn technique. Feeling utterly dumbfounded, I clicked on the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, and the detailed description appeared.

I had no idea where to even begin with my complaints. First of all, unicorns that seek pure women don’t have wings. The ones with wings are pegasi. What kind of insane creator came up with this?

The more I read the description, the more my mind went blank. A virginity detection technique? I was completely at a loss for words.