Resort Getaway (1)
Seyoung Resort.
Even someone like me, who had nothing to do with places like this, had heard of it.
Some guy on the gallery had posted photos from a trip there, and it honestly looked incredible.
I’d even gotten a VIP ticket.
So now the question was: who should I take with me?
But when I thought about it, my options were pretty limited. There were only so many people I could call.
So I picked up the phone right away.
“Hello~!”
The first person I contacted was Hong Si-yeon.
We video-called, but somehow the scenery behind her looked different from usual.
What the hell.
Was she in the United States?
“What’s up?”
“Ah... well.”
I hesitated, then told her about the resort.
The future changed.
She dropped everything and flew back to Korea on a whim.
Then, after spending time at the resort without thinking ahead, I saw myself following my grandmother and not being able to do a thing for about two months except work like a dog.
“I’m coming!”
“If you come now, can you really handle the aftermath?”
“Uh... hmm. A few days of overtime should do it.”
“Then let’s go together next time.”
“Ugh... it really does sound good...”
“Don’t trust tomorrow’s you too much.”
Then she would collapse.
After lingering in disappointment, Hong Si-yeon finally nodded.
“Then should we go together next month?”
“Well, I think the resort ticket itself can probably be extended...”
But then we wouldn’t be able to make it to the collaboration event.
“Then let’s go together next month!!”
“Yes. I’ll think of it as a scouting trip and go first.”
The VIP ticket was expensive, but not so much that it would burden either me or Hong Si-yeon.
In that case, there was no need to obsess over a free ticket.
If I could go, I’d go. If not, well, that was that.
Anyway, since Hong Si-yeon couldn’t make it, I should ask our newbie... though “newbie” was a stretch at this point, since Han Yu-na was already holding down a spot in raid groups.
“What are you doing?”
I called her on video.
As expected, she picked up immediately.
I could see what looked like her office, so she was probably at work.
“I’m working.”
“Good grief, you’re working yourself to the bone. Anyway, the reason I’m calling is...”
Just as I was about to get to the point, I saw her past.
It was peak season lately, so she was living by the minute, slicing her schedule down into tiny fragments to get everything done.
And yet a four-day, three-night vacation right in the middle of that?
I could already see the future where she came back and suffered like hell.
“Never mind.”
“...Just say it.”
“Haha. Well, you see...”
I smiled and told her why I was calling.
As expected, Han Yu-na said she’d go without even hearing the whole thing.
She was exactly the same as Hong Si-yeon.
“Don’t trust tomorrow’s you too much.”
“...I’m only trusting the day after tomorrow’s me.”
To joke with that dead-serious expression on her face. Incredible.
Still, there was no need to force her to go.
“How about coming to our hotel instead? I can go down there once in a while for work.”
“They don’t do Dungeon & Saga events there.”
“I was actually planning to push for one.”
“Then I’ll definitely go.”
“We’ll take good care of you.”
So Han Yu-na couldn’t go either?
Then next was Mr. Cheol-hon.
“But why would a resort collaborate on a game event like that?”
“Game companies even make wine. Why wouldn’t a resort do a collaboration?”
“Fair enough.”
“And from what I hear, the parent company behind Dungeon & Saga is talking about acquiring that resort or something.”
“Ah. In any case, I can absolutely go.”
I knew I could count on you!!
Cheol-hon didn’t seem to have any problems... huh?
“What’s wrong?”
“Here. Mr. Cheol-hon, turn this card over for me.”
“Pardon?”
He looked confused, but flipped the card over.
Smiling, I said, “You’re going to get a girlfriend at the resort.”
“...Really?”
“Yes.”
I’d seen it.
The future where, after going to the resort with Cheol-hon, he ended up with a lover.
“Who is it? Is she pretty?”
“Well, beauty is subjective...”
“I mean objectively...!! Compared to our boss...?!”
“No, if you’re comparing her to Si-yeon, you’d have a hard time bringing even a celebrity over...”
What a shameless man.
Still, I could see the two of them falling for each other at first sight and getting all sweet and lovey-dovey, so it probably wasn’t a problem.
“Anyway, look forward to it.”
.
.
.
And so, the day of the resort trip finally arrived.
I had a driver’s license, but I was only a beginner, so Mr. Cheol-hon volunteered to drive instead.
“Don’t you want to ride the sports car?”
“That thing’s really uncomfortable.”
“True. Then get in my car.”
The car Cheol-hon drove was a midsize domestic model.
Solid. Stable. Comfortable.
“Let’s get going.”
Being the best driver on the team, Cheol-hon started the car and set off.
There didn’t seem to be any special events on the way, so I might as well get some sleep.
I’d been gaming all night last night, and my eyelids felt like they weighed a thousand pounds.
“Get some rest.”
“I will. If you want anything to eat along the way, just buy it yourself.”
I set the card down, closed my eyes for a moment, and then—
“We’ve arrived.”
“...What? It felt like I just closed my eyes.”
We were at the resort.
“You must’ve been really tired. You were snoring too.”
Cheol-hon looked extremely pleased.
He seemed proud that he’d managed to put me to sleep so comfortably in his car.
“Ah, um. Sorry for leaving you to drive by yourself.”
“It’s part of my job, isn’t it? But... wow, this resort really is nice.”
“Right?”
Just like I’d seen online, the resort really was beautiful.
It had a water park, a golf course, a sauna, and hot springs.
But that wasn’t the important part.
“Sir. We’re going straight to the event hall, right?”
“Naturally! Let’s check in and head over right away.”
Cheol-hon was a Dungeon & Saga newbie too, one I’d brought in last time, so of course I had to take him along.
After checking in together and tossing our luggage in the room, we headed straight for the resort event hall.
“Ohhh...!!”
This wasn’t some half-assed event put together just to fill space.
The hall was fairly large, with hands-on booths, cosplayers, and even staff from the game company all present.
“Welcome!”
“Please come try the game!”
“And we’ve even got a special guest performer!!”
A special guest? Who was it... huh?!
When I stepped farther inside, I saw NC.A, dressed as a female infighter from Dungeon & Saga.
The username was MerleBoboSucker.
She was having a blast.
Her face was full of smiles as she posed in all sorts of ways and took pictures with people.
“Boss. Look over there.”
“Looks like a new raid boss.”
My blood was already boiling as a Dungeon & Saga player.
Let’s just leave her to enjoy herself over there.
We could have our own fun just fine.
.
.
.
It was a satisfying event.
They said it would be running again tomorrow, so I’d come back then too.
I’d also gotten a ton of coupons, so I’d have to deck the characters out in new avatars.
“Sir. What would you like to do for dinner?”
“There’s a restaurant downstairs, so let’s go there.”
That’s how we ended up at the restaurant.
It was a pretty upscale place.
The coupon I got from Gong Yun-seok even included a restaurant voucher, so I could order whatever I wanted.
“What do you want?”
“When it comes to men, it’s obviously meat.”
“Exactly.”
We ordered two steaks, plus some side dishes.
All around us, people were happily tearing into their meat.
Then my gaze locked onto the table next to ours.
“Sir? What is it? Is there something over there?”
“Mr. Cheol-hon. You know how to do the Heimlich maneuver, right?”
“Huh? Yes.”
“Get ready.”
The instant the words left my mouth—
“Ghk?! Cough...!!”
An old man sitting at the table next to ours clutched his throat.
He was choking, gagging as though he couldn’t breathe.
The people at his table were panicking, not knowing what to do.
“Move.”
“Yes!!”
Cheol-hon shot up from his seat and grabbed the old man.
Then, after a few attempts at the Heimlich maneuver, the piece of meat lodged in his throat finally popped out.
“Kkhh! Cough! Haaah...! Huh...!!”
Only then could the old man breathe again, gasping for air as the surrounding diners rushed over.
After I briefly explained what had happened to the people who were asking, Cheol-hon turned to me.
“Good heavens. And you didn’t even turn a card over. How did you know?”
“The way he was eating made me nervous.”
In truth, I’d seen it in the future.
Cheol-hon, however, was just impressed.
“Th-thank you! Thank you!”
The woman kept bowing over and over in gratitude.
As Cheol-hon prepared to brush it off, he froze.
Yes.
This was the scene.
The future I’d seen for Cheol-hon.
The man and woman stared at each other in a daze.
So that’s what falling in love at first sight looks like.
Good for them.
Anyway, the situation was more or less settled.
Even the old man, who seemed to be the woman’s father, had recovered and seemed to think very highly of Cheol-hon.
“Sir. What do I do...?”
“What do you mean, what do you do?”
“No, this is the first time I’ve ever felt like this... was this it?”
“Yes.”
Why ask me?
Anyway, since he’d even gotten her phone number, Cheol-hon looked pretty happy.
“He says he wants to buy me a drink at the bar tonight... I don’t know what to do...”
“What do you mean, what do you do? Go.”
“What about you, sir?”
“I’m going to the bar too. I’ll be drinking nearby, so don’t worry.”
I’d checked my own future in the mirror, and there wasn’t anything special waiting for me.
I told him that over and over, just in case he was worried, and only then did Cheol-hon agree to make plans.
“If anything happens, call me right away.”
After repeating himself a dozen more times, Cheol-hon left.
All right. Then I’d better head to the bar too.
It was a bar in a good resort, so the atmosphere was excellent.
I sat down at a decent table and started sipping a cocktail when—
“Huh?!”
“.....”
Black-rimmed glasses.
A hood pulled low over her head.
I knew that face.
NC.A.
Seo Yu-rim.
MerleBoboSucker.
The famous celebrity who’d been over there earlier, posing as a female crusader and taking pictures with everyone.
She and another woman who looked like her companion had walked into the bar and spotted me.
“Huh? Isn’t that the guy who was with the one who saved that person at the restaurant earlier?”
Oh. So she’d seen me earlier.
The woman beside Seo Yu-rim looked intrigued.
But Seo Yu-rim was different.
I could practically see what she was thinking.
“Hello.”
“Uh... yes. Ah, hello.”
She was probably wondering if I knew she was MerleBoboSucker.
“Would you like to have a drink with us, if you don’t mind?”
“Sure. Why not.”
Seo Yu-rim sat down beside me.
Seeing that, her companion smirked mischievously as though this had become much more entertaining, then wandered off to another part of the bar.
She seemed to be making some enormous misunderstanding.
“You’re Kang Noah, right?”
“Yes. You recognized me. Then you must be Seo Yu-rim.”
“...You recognized me?”
“You’re pretty famous.”
She fiddled awkwardly with her glass.
Then she asked carefully, “Noah, have you... perhaps...”
Before she could finish, a scream rang out from outside.
“Aaaahhh!”
It was a horrible scream.
What was going on?
We immediately ran outside.
And saw it.
A drunk woman had apparently fallen and hit something, because she was bleeding as she sat on the ground, grinning stupidly to herself.
“......”
Cheol-hon had also come running out after hearing the scream.
The look he gave back and forth between her and me made me feel inexplicably dirty, and at the same time, I swear I could hear the Conan BGM starting up somewhere in the distance.
Why did incidents and accidents always break out wherever I went?
Was it just my imagination?
“Sir. That woman...”
“Hm? No, she has nothing to do with me.”
“Ah. I see. I thought maybe you were going to talk to her...”
“Of course I’m going to talk to her.”
The reason was simple.
If I left that woman alone, she’d kill herself after downing a ton of sleeping pills four days from now.
Even if I’d seen her past and she wasn’t a bad person, reaching out to her couldn’t possibly be wrong, could it?