The Careless Supporting Character Slacks Off Today (1)
November, preparing for winter. Hyundae High School in Seoul.
"Aigoo~ What's the point of studying when you're someone like me~"
"What are you saying now? You should at least try. If you messed up your school records and ruined your early admissions, you should do well on the CSAT at least."
"How much time is left? Studying now won't change anything."
"You have to. If you want to go to the same university as me, the CSAT is all that's left."
The third-year students were buzzing with talk about the upcoming CSAT in a few days.
"I can just study for another year~ I'll be your junior."
"Don't say nonsense. As if you'd actually study. Right, Joyeon?"
"... Huh? What?"
The boy who had been staring blankly out the window until just now—Ju Joyeon, who would become an adult in a few months—turned his head at the sound of his name and looked at his friends.
"Were you even listening to me?"
"Huh? No?"
At his shameless reply, his friend Han Yeoju pressed her forehead and sighed.
"Nam Juin said he isn't studying. We're not students anymore—we'll be adults in a few months. We need to think about the future. Go to a good university, study hard, earn pocket money from part-time jobs, get certifications, prove our competence to land good jobs..."
"Ah, hold on."
Joyeon raised his hand to cut her off before she could launch into a full-speed lecture.
"I don't want to hear that realistic stuff. It gives me a headache."
"See? You're the same, Joyeon? Me too."
Nam Juin, who had been half-ignoring Yeoju's nagging from beside them, chimed in agreement.
"And honestly, I already messed up my early admissions too. But I'm still not studying."
"Ooh~! Ju Joyeon~!"
"Yeah~!"
As Joyeon and Nam Juin high-fived in solidarity, Han Yeoju gave them an incredulous look.
"That's not something to brag about! You need to start studying too!"
"Yeah. I should. I know I should... but how do you make yourself do something you hate?"
"Don't even say that!"
"Listen, Yeoju. I'm not like Nam Juin, skipping studying without a single thought."
"Huh? Joyeon? Where did our close friendship from just now disappear to?"
Ignoring Nam Juin, who was already trying to nap on his desk, Joyeon continued.
"University, you know... no matter how I think about it, it just doesn't seem fun."
"... What?"
"From what I've seen spending nearly half my life studying, university life probably won't be much fun either. So I don't really want to stay a student any longer."
"F-fun? What are you even saying? Life isn't a game, you know?"
"I know. But that's exactly it. Student life, this life right now... it's just too boring."
Joyeon muttered while gazing blankly out the window again.
"This world is too boring. I'll just live half-heartedly. I don't feel any need to live seriously."
"Need...? Joyeon, do you realize how dangerous what you just said sounds? What would your parents think?"
"Well~ Both of them aren't really interested in me anyway~ Even if I suddenly died in some ridiculous accident, they probably wouldn't be too shocked... Huh?"
Zzt... zzt...
[...Ready... now?]
While half-listening to Yeoju's nagging and watching the main road in front of the school, Joyeon's vision blurred. A voice he had never heard before faintly reached his ears.
"Huh~?"
Joyeon rubbed his eyes and stared out the window again. His focus returned, confirming the problem wasn't with his eyes. The road itself was becoming hazy. Not just the road—the entire school building began to tremble slightly.
Grumble... rumble...
"Whoa? An earthquake?"
"Mmm... let me sleep... stop shaking me..."
The sudden shaking threw the class into confusion. Nam Juin, who had been on the verge of dreamland, waved his hand irritably, thinking someone was shaking him. But Joyeon, still looking outside, realized this was no ordinary earthquake.
"... What is that?"
The road in front of the school, which he had seen for nearly three years, cracked open, and unfamiliar trees and forest began emerging from the gaps. At the same time, the faint voice from earlier grew clearer inside his head.
[Ah, ah! Mic test~ Can everyone hear me?]
[If you say it like that, the humans on my side won't understand.]
[Aah, right, sorry sorry.]
There were two voices. One sounded like a playful boy. The other was much gentler, like a young man.
Following his instincts, Joyeon stood up from his chair while listening to the voices echoing in his mind.
"W-what? What is this sound? Huh? Ju Joyeon? Wait! Where are you going!"
Startled by the sudden voices, Yeoju spotted Joyeon leaving the classroom alone. She glanced between Nam Juin and Joyeon in panic before finally calling after him and following.
"Ugh~ So noisy~ Let me sleep a bit... sleep..."
Nam Juin showed no intention of getting up.
****
"Hey! Ju Joyeon! Where do you think you're going?"
"Where? You'll see if you look outside."
"Outside? There's an earthquake right now... Huh? W-what is this?"
Once outside the building, Yeoju could clearly see that the area in front of the school was different from usual. Enormous trees had sprouted between the wide roads she knew so well. The sight of city and forest layered together left her frozen in disbelief.
Leaving the hesitant Yeoju behind, Joyeon strode toward the main road without hesitation.
"H-hey! Isn't that too reckless?!"
"Aren't you curious? What the hell is going on right now? Logically, this shouldn't be normal, but it's clearly happening right in front of us. It's not some fake video."
"W-well, that's true, but..."
As they talked, the voices in their heads returned.
[Ahem! There was a bit of biased talk earlier! But don't worry. I'll explain fairly to both sides. First, I should introduce us, right?]
[We're what you call gods. We don't have names, but you can just call me 'Mado.' And this one here, call him 'Hyundai' for simplicity. The humans in my world are used to me occasionally giving oracles, but it won't be the same for Hyundai's side. This guy's never spoken to the surface before.]
"Gods, they say?"
"T-there's no way gods actually exist."
[Interfering is a hassle. People start depending on you for no reason.]
[Anyway, everyone must be confused by this sudden situation. Those under my management might think it's some magical phenomenon, but the modern world side must be really shocked. It's a world where nothing like this has ever happened.]
[That's right. The modern world is so boring. Really boring!]
The god calling himself Hyundai suddenly shouted in irritation.
[So! I decided to make this world more fun.]
"More fun?"
Even as the self-proclaimed gods kept talking, Joyeon continued walking toward the transformed road.
"J-Joyeon. Let's go back now. This looks really dangerous."
"Dangerous, my ass. We're not the only ones here."
"What?"
At Joyeon's words, Yeoju looked around and saw quite a few people who, like him, couldn't suppress their curiosity and excitement.
[I've decided to merge the modern world I manage with the magic world this guy manages. Literally combine them into one.]
[We have a duty to watch over the worlds we each manage. And as long as we fulfill that duty, getting involved in the world isn't a big deal. So if we combine two completely opposite worlds... I got curious which side would win if they fought.]
"Fight...? We have to fight?"
"Hmm. So there are people in the other world too? I'd like to see them. Would they look just like us?"
"Why do we have to fight?"
[There! Good question! Ah, you're not the only one who thought that. Quite a lot of humans are wondering the same thing right now. Why do we have to fight?]
Hyundai spoke as if answering Yeoju's question.
[Rather, why do you think we wouldn't fight? In this situation?]
"This situation?... Well..."
Even the usually thoughtless Joyeon roughly understood what the god meant. Two worlds had merged, interlocking with each other. The landmass had suddenly doubled. And so had the number of 'Dominators' who owned that land. Who did this forest they were walking through in Korea belong to now?
[Could you really avoid fighting? You guys? Kekeke!]
"That god's insane! What is he thinking?"
"Who knows~"
While Yeoju raged at the god's malice, Joyeon was more interested in the strangely shaped flowers by the roadside.
[Still, to help everyone escape this sudden situation, I've given everyone simple convenience features. It took quite a bit of time to prepare.]
[People from the modern world I manage should be familiar with this. It's the inventory, status window, and notification window you see in games.]
[My world might find these terms unfamiliar. I'll explain simply. Think of the inventory as a small extradimensional space where you can store items you cherish. Everyone will now be able to use small extradimensional magic. The status window shows a comprehensive view of your basic abilities—more detailed than the stat plates adventurers get from guilds. The notification window is like a log that explains special events happening to you in text. Simple, right?]
[And lastly, it would be frustrating if you couldn't understand each other. I've made it so you can understand the languages used in each other's worlds, so no need to worry.]
[There are also cognomens, titles, and special arrangements we've hidden in advance, so look for them carefully.]
[Ehehehe~ I can already see plenty of humans falling into chaos. Try your best to survive in this apocalypse. We'll be watching~ If you're lucky, you might even get to talk to us directly, so hang in there.]
The gods' voices, which had been explaining for a while, completely disappeared.
['World Fusion' has been completed.]
The notification window announced that the two worlds had fully merged. Meanwhile, Joyeon and Yeoju had wandered deep into the forest, far enough that no other people were in sight. They arrived in front of a large cabin.
"Ooh~ A cabin. Wonder if anyone's inside?"
Joyeon immediately reached for the cabin door. Seeing this, Yeoju grabbed his arm in shock.
"Wait...! You're going in? That's way too dangerous! If what those so-called gods said is true, we might have to fight people from the other world!"
"Come on... Who would kill someone they just met? Would you kill an unarmed person who appeared in front of you? No, right?"
"T-that's true, but it's still too dangerous. A cabin sitting alone in the middle of the woods? There's no way that's normal. Let's just go back."
"It's fine, I told you. It's not like I'm going to die."
Joyeon shook off Yeoju's hand and placed his hand on the cabin's door handle again.
"I have a bad feeling about this..."
Feeling an ominous presence, Yeoju broke into a cold sweat and slowly backed away.
Creaaak...
As Joyeon pushed, the large wooden door opened with a small noise.
"Oh, looks like it was used recently? Opens easily."
Joyeon leaned his face inside and peered around. The interior was almost pitch black, completely blocking out sunlight.
"Ju Joyeon...! Stop it~"
From a short distance away, Yeoju called out in a small voice.
"Don't be so scared. There's nothing here. Come take a look too."
"Just come back~"
Sighing at Yeoju, who kept telling him to return instead of listening, Joyeon shook his head.
"You're such a coward. I said there's nothing here."
Flash!
A bright red glow appeared inside the previously empty cabin.
"Hii?! J-Joyeon!"
Seeing the glow, Yeoju screamed in terror.
"Why. Why are you screaming like that."
But Joyeon, who had turned toward Yeoju, hadn't seen the glow. Then—
Grab!
A thick arm as wide as a man's thigh shot out from inside the cabin and seized Joyeon's arm.
"Joyeon!"
"Uwah, hup!"
Another hand covered Joyeon's mouth as he tried to scream, and he was dragged into the cabin.
Creaaak...
The open cabin door swung shut by itself.
Yeoju trembled in fear, unable to make a sound.
"Uh... uh, adults! I'll go get the adults!"
Realizing she couldn't handle this alone, she made excuses and bolted away in panic.