A Toast to Fifty-Eight Years
“…I can’t sleep.”
Was it because she had slept the entire time on the plane and the boat to Sumatra? Although her body felt incredibly heavy from the accumulated fatigue and jet lag, her eyelids were strangely light. Standing on the hotel terrace and staring blankly at the night view, Mari turned her head to look at Cindy, her pistol, which had completely changed shape after being enhanced.
“If I had just sold it, it would have been ten million dollars?”
What Akemi had told her afterward was shocking. If she hadn't used the magic stone for the enhancement and had simply sold it, it would have fetched at least ten million dollars.
“Seriously…”
With that kind of money, she could have quit being a hunter altogether, settled down somewhere, and lived a peaceful life! Hearing those words, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret, wondering if it would have been better to sell the magic stone instead of upgrading Cindy.
“But still, look what I got.”
There was regret, yes, but this was a gift from Yunjae. What had she even done to deserve to wish for more? She might have missed out on ten million dollars, but it wasn't her item to begin with, and her gun was now vastly more powerful. If she could at least work as a B-class hunter, her financial situation would be much better than before. Of course, for now, she was just an office assistant making thirty million won a year.
“Since he’s a game character, he probably doesn't sleep.”
Mari looked at the empty space beside her, wondering what Yunjae was doing right now.
…He said he stepped up because the two of us still have our whole lives ahead of us, right?
When she thought about it, he hadn't taken on this task out of some grand sense of duty to save humanity. He had done it entirely for her and Akemi. He wanted to eliminate the danger before she could die of old age.
“What a dummy…”
Everything he thought and did was starting to feel incredibly endearing. Smiling to herself, she placed Cindy on the bed and walked out of her room.
“Yunjae.”
When she called out to him in the room right next door—
“Ah! Miss Mari!”
As expected, he was far from asleep. He opened the door, looking exactly the same as always.
“Ah! Your pants!”
Because she was wearing hot pants under a long shirt, it looked as if she wasn't wearing any pants at all. When Yunjae jumped back in shock, Mari narrowed her eyes.
“I am wearing pants, you know.”
“Ah, it was just an optical illusion.”
Yunjae let out a sigh of deep disappointment.
“You brat, you're secretly a pervert, aren't you?”
“Ah! My imagination was just shattered, that's all!”
“You really have a dirty mind!”
“I lived alone for fifty-seven years, I couldn't help it! I'm a man too, you know!”
Perhaps because he had been told he looked like a girl so many times, he was strangely confident when it came to this. Still, to think that the savior of humanity was a guy like this!
“But really, that ‘Ah!’ of yours never goes away, does it?”
She had gotten used to it by now, but she doubted other people would adapt to him so easily.
“Ah, it’s an old habit. I’ve used it since I was a kid.”
At his honest reply, Mari burst out laughing.
“Who has a habit like that?”
“Ah, really! We used it all the time in my family!”
“Hmm, so it pops out whenever you're flustered.”
Yunjae scratched his head at her words.
“To be honest, it wasn't this bad before, but spending all that time alone in there made it worse. I'm still not used to the fact that people are actually talking to me…”
“Because in the game, no one ever spoke to you first?”
“Ah, yes!”
It was now an accepted fact that Yunjae had lived alone inside a game for fifty-seven years. There was simply no other way to explain his terrifying strength. Besides, his claims were always remarkably consistent.
“I suppose so…”
When she thought about it that way, it made sense that he would jump in surprise whenever someone spoke to him.
“And I'm also terrified of saying the wrong thing. Right now, I'm just a pathetic loser who wasted two-thirds of his life on a game… So I get flustered without realizing it, and my thoughts get jumbled.”
He had obtained god-like power, but it wasn't without its costs. It was worth considering what fifty-seven years of absolute isolation and social disconnect would do to a person. In fact, the fact that he had maintained this level of sanity after being alone for so long was nothing short of a miracle.
“But really, how did you survive fifty-seven years all by yourself?”
It was an unimaginably vast amount of time.
“Ah, that's because of Auntie Rosa!”
“Hmph, because Auntie Rosa was too pretty?”
Mari, who had already lost to Auntie Rosa once before, asked with a pout. Yunjae gasped and shook his head frantically.
“Ah! It’s not like that!”
He took a deep breath, looking deeply emotional just thinking about it.
“Auntie Rosa had a set line.”
“A set line?”
“Yes.”
As the memories washed over him, Yunjae smiled. It was a bright smile, but there was a deep, wistful sadness in his eyes.
“Today was really hard, wasn't it?”
“Huh?”
“You did great today, too!”
Did he really survive fifty-seven years on just those words?
“I heard that every single day. Whenever things got hard!”
“Ah…”
It was hard to believe, but those words had undoubtedly been the driving force that kept him going through fifty-seven years of isolation. The thought of him enduring those long decades on a single programmed line of dialogue made Mari's chest tighten, and her eyes grew moist.
“I see. That's why Auntie Rosa…”
She had thought he just liked her because she was pretty, but in that situation, anyone would have clung to her.
“Yes. And Auntie Rosa really was beautiful. I don't know why they made a general store NPC so pretty…”
Thump!
“You brat! Don't ruin the emotional moment!”
“Ah! But I'm genuinely curious!”
Watching him get flustered again, Mari couldn't help but laugh. His imperfections made him feel so much more human. He was completely different from people like Taejun or Gyojin, who looked down on others just because they possessed superior power.
“Anyway, won't you get used to it over time?”
“Yes! It’ll be hard at first, but I think if I do office work, serve customers, and meet lots of people, I’ll get better. I’ll have to work hard at it, though.”
Perhaps that was the real reason Yunjae wanted to work part-time. To him, hunter work was just an extension of the game life he had grown sick of over fifty-seven years. Since he had no need for money, he simply wanted opportunities to interact with real people.
“So that's why you wanted to work part-time. To adjust quickly.”
Yunjae blushed in embarrassment.
“Ah, I actually just wanted to experience an office romance…”
“You brat, was that really your only reason?!”
“But I have to do it before I get any older, Miss Mari! I might pass away from old age soon. I'm a seventy-seven-year-old virgin!”
It was so absurd that she wanted to yell at him, but remembering the fifty-seven years of hell he had endured alone, Mari found herself unable to get angry.
“Anyway, you don't look old at all. You look like you're in your teens.”
“Ah, but I'm seventy-seven.”
“Hmph, if that's the case, you should go to a nursing home or a senior center and flirt with the grandmas!”
“Ah! I refuse to accept flirting with grandmas as the final romance of my life! I was originally in an environment where it was impossible for me to be a lifelong virgin!”
He really seemed to want to experience romance. At his unusually passionate declaration, Mari burst into laughter once more.
“Well, you have an office romance waiting for you now. What are you worried about?”
“Yes!”
Watching him grin foolishly at the anticipation of an office romance, she could only shake her head. He looked like a beautiful girl, yet he was surprisingly dirty-minded!
“I'm going crazy. Do you really like it that much?”
“Ah, I've always had a thing for women in suits…”
“A thing? An ideal type?”
“Yes!”
“It sounds like a guy lacking confidence dreaming of a successful career woman.”
“Ah, that's actually quite accurate! Though I doubt someone like that would ever like me.”
He truly seemed to have zero self-confidence. In fact, he didn't even seem to realize how incredibly attractive he was.
“…You don't need to be so insecure. You're not lacking anything. And you're not even that short.”
“Ah, but I'm just a game character, my forearms are thinner than a girl's, and I'm just a mediocre guy who wasted fifty-seven years on a game.”
“Didn't you say you saved the world a thousand times?”
“Being rank one in a game doesn't make me rank one in the real world. A game is just a game, not the real world.”
Why did a guy like this have to get sucked into a game? He was completely unsuited for it.
“…Anyway, what were you doing?”
Talking to him made her boredom vanish completely. When Mari asked, Yunjae smiled brightly.
“Ah, I was looking up bedding!”
Mari's eyes widened.
“Y-You still haven't decided?”
At this point, it was practically an illness.
“Now I'm actually curious. What on earth are you looking at? Can I come in?”
“Ah, please do!”
It had only been about a week since Yunjae had returned to the real world. Although Mari was the person he had spent the most time with, it was still only a week.
Thump!
As Yunjae fidgeted nervously, Mari found herself growing tense as well.
…Why am I like this?
During her hunter days, she had shared rooms with male hunters countless times because she was broke. There had been plenty of bastards who tried to take advantage of her while she slept, and she had fought them off fiercely to protect herself. Because of that, she had never felt fluttered or scared when left alone with a man. But this was different.
First of all, he was a man, but he possessed a face that was prettier than her own. And because of his height, his build looked even more delicate.
Of course, he was an incredibly powerful hunter, so if he ever harbored bad intentions, resisting him would be impossible. But—
“…Ah, I feel a bit shy.”
With him blushing and fidgeting just because she entered his room, what could he possibly do?
“A-About what?”
If anyone was going to do anything, it would have to be her.
Thump!
Am I crazy?!
With her heart racing for no reason, Mari quickly pointed at the monitor to distract herself.
“A-Anyway, is that it?”
“Yes! I was looking at Provence style!”
“Pfft!”
That damn Provence bedding!
“I really need to just buy you one. I'm so sick of hearing about it…”
Pushing her fluttering feelings aside, she examined the screen and tilted her head.
“…Didn't you say Nordic modernism would be bad for rolling around?”
He was looking at Nordic bedding on another tab.
“Ah, since you like Nordic style, Miss Mari… I thought it would be selfish of me to only go with my taste…”
“Then you'll never decide! How long are you going to agonize over bedding?!”
At her laughter, Yunjae pouted.
“That's why I'm so worried. Since our spaces are separate, we could go with different vibes, but then I don't know what to do with the living room…”
“Just buy a sofa for the living room and call it a day!”
“Ah, the sofa is the face of the house!”
If he was going to be that stubborn, there was nothing she could do.
“…Fine, I'll match your Provence style. Let's unify everything under Provence. Please!”
“Ah, really?”
“I don't really care. As long as it's warm.”
“Then okay! I'll look for the most modern Provence style possible!”
“Sure.”
Before meeting him, she had no taste of her own; she just took whatever she was given. But after meeting him, it felt like choices had finally appeared in her life.
As Mari sat on the chair with her legs pulled up, staring at him, Yunjae grew incredibly flustered.
“Ah, what is it, Miss Mari?”
“N-Nothing…”
Equally flustered, she stood up.
“I was just thinking we should have a beer…”
“Ah, hotel beer is expensive!”
“So what? Demian is paying.”
“But just because he's paying for the hotel doesn't mean we should abuse the service! He already paid for three empty rooms!”
Thanks to the 300% reward from Mamon's Grace, Demian had ended up booking three rooms.
“A can or two is fine! Do you know how much money that guy makes?”
He really was a bundle of anxiety.
“Besides, you saved the future.”
“…Then just one can! I was actually debating it!”
It seemed he had wanted a beer as well.
“See? It's fine.”
“But people can really get hurt over the smallest things. We have to be careful.”
It was an incredibly timid way of thinking, but she didn't dislike his thoughtfulness.
“Here.”
Unlike those who treated everyone else like garbage once they gained power, he treated every single person as a precious individual. It made her feel good.
“Thanks!”
Yunjae took the beer and smiled softly.
“It's been almost fifty-eight years.”
“Then let's toast to fifty-eight years.”
“Yes, Miss Mari!”
With a genuinely happy expression, Yunjae clinked his can against hers.
“Ah!”
At the crisp, refreshing taste, Yunjae gasped in admiration.
“Ah, foreign beer tastes so strong! It's not the taste I remember!”
“Isn't it usually like this?”
“Hmm, I think I'd need to water it down to get the taste I remember.”
“Is that even alcohol?”
“But I like this better!”
Watching him enjoy it, Mari smiled.
“By the way…”
“Yes?”
“Before you went into the game.”
She had become genuinely curious about Lim Yunjae, the person, rather than the game character Slender Forearms.
“What did you do back then?”
She wanted to know what kind of life he had lived, and how much loneliness he had endured inside the game.
“Well…”
Surely no one would interrupt them this time. Yunjae, who had been sulking because his answers had been cut off twice before, felt reassured by the quiet atmosphere.
“I was originally in Hongdae…”
Flash!
At that exact moment, Akemi materialized in the room.
“Yunjae! What do I do?!”
She was wearing nothing but a thin slip over her underwear. Shocked by her sudden appearance and scandalous attire, Yunjae's jaw dropped, his words cutting off instantly.
“……!”
He was so stunned that even his signature “Ah!” was forgotten.
“Akemi! What are you doing?! Why are you dressed like that?!” Mari yelled, her face turning red.