episode_0148

“After all, home is the best.”

This was a truth that did not change no matter what world I entered and the great sleep I experienced.

It’s funny, but I really thought of this house as my home, so I felt comfortable as soon as I came home, even though I had only recently moved in.

I sat on the ground, leaning back on the sofa.

Perhaps because it was an expensive sofa, it was nice to lean on it.

“…Should I have bought something cheaper?”

I thought it was a sofa made of natural leather and designed by a famous luxury bag designer.

I couldn’t really feel the difference from other sofas.

Now that I think about it, is it really meaningful that a bag designer designed a sofa?

Well, I was in good form.

Should I say that it looks expensive?

Looking at the house like this, I felt like I wanted to show it off.

I felt proud.

“Okay, shall we have a housewarming party?”

With that in mind, I turned on my phone and searched through SNS and phone number lists to find someone to invite.

I realized it there.

Should I say it’s my network?

That the people around him are quite twisted.

Most of them are women.

There were very few women I got to know through casual encounters.

Most of the men who had a little money were the boyfriends of those women.

I had no intention of inviting them.

“…As expected, there is only Hannah.

In the end, I decided to have a simple housewarming party with Hanna.

It seems like you’re still busy with social media activities and filming these days.

It’s been a while since I checked Hannah’s SNS account.

Hannah’s popularity gradually increased, to the point where her videos and advertisements were now visible even if they were not on her account.

Of course, it may have been an unauthorized video, but it was like the inevitable fate of a popular influencer.

Hannah didn’t seem to care much.

After a long time, I pressed the call button and called Hannah.

[Hello?]

As soon as the dial tone rang, Hannah answered the phone.

I was taken aback by that speed.

“What is it? Did you get it right away?”

[Oh, I happened to be taking a short video with my cell phone…]

It seemed like he was talking about the recently popular shorts and reels.

A video I saw a while ago came to mind.

I remembered mainly filming things like dancing or challenges.

“Sorry for disturbing you. Should I call again later?”

[Oh, no! I can talk on the phone…]

I could feel the urgency even through the phone.

And then an unfamiliar female voice was heard.

[Sister, is this the boyfriend I told you about last time?]

[Hey, hey shh!]

He seems to be talking about me outside as well, and that too as a boyfriend.

When you become famous, you tend to hide things like men’s stories, but it seems like you’ve been proudly revealing yourself.

I was somehow grateful for that, so I decided to politely accept it.

“Hello. This is Hannah’s boyfriend.”

[oh! hello~.]

[Oh really…]

When I said hello, a bright greeting came back from the other side.

Although Hannah was complaining, I could feel a subtle smile in her voice.

[Why did you call Hannah?]

Instead of Hannah, the woman next to her asked the question.

I answered calmly, saying I had nothing to hide.

“Actually, I just moved and I wanted to bring a housewarming party…”

[Really? Then, is it okay if I go too?]

[Why can’t you go there!]

[Oh, why~! Sister, I’m curious about your boyfriend!]

The two seemed to be closer than I thought.

It was understandable because I didn’t know much about the people around Hannah.

What I found really surprising was that Hannah surprisingly stopped women from coming to our house.

Originally, I would have tried to seduce her and bring her back.

I was curious about his reaction, so I answered for him.

“Well, it’s okay. Come.”

[Really? Did you hear that? Take me too!]

[Phew… Okay, I’ll contact you later…]

Only after receiving my permission did Hannah reluctantly answer.

Then, the sound of moving footsteps was heard for a moment, and Hannah answered quietly.

[Then will next week be okay for the housewarming? I think it will be time…]

“Okay, see you then.”

Even though I was busy, I felt like I could make time next week.

Two women are coming to this house.

Just in case, I need to buy some more things like cups and bowls.

Now that the housewarming event has been decided, I decided to open the quest board and choose a quest as usual.

Actually, I had a few quests in mind that I had decided on in advance.

I chose a quest from the quest board and slowly began to ponder it.

“The future…”

I looked at the quest board and muttered.

Although I thought I had gone through quite a few quests and experienced many different worlds, there were still countless different worlds unfolding before my eyes.

Among them, the thing that caught my eye the most this time was none other than the quest in the cyberpunk worldview.

It was a world set in the future, the 2050s.

There have been many times when I have been to the past.

Such was the case with China in the martial arts world or fantasy worlds that seemed to be set in the Middle Ages.

Although none of them could be said to be based on actual reality, they were depicting the past in the background.

In fact, the clothes, carriages, and food exuded the scent of the distant past.

“Those places weren’t bad, but…”

I was starting to want to go on a quest set in the future.

Meanwhile, I discovered that the cyberpunk genre novel I was reading had a quest.

It was a fun novel to read, but there were many things that were disappointing.

It was also disappointing that the ending was a bad ending that left some lingering memories, perhaps due to the dark atmosphere unique to cyberpunk.

Since it was a novel, it was also disappointing that it was difficult to fully understand even though it described the future landscape.

For example, things like cars floating in the air, modified humans, and high-performance AI robots.

It can be imagined in many ways, but it cannot be expressed perfectly through any description.

The thought of seeing such things in real life made me a little excited.

However, the uneasy thing is-

“Maybe you could fight someone with a gun…”

And with people holding future guns and weapons.

I would try to avoid fighting as much as possible, but I never knew what would happen to people.

Although I was a little hesitant, I checked my body by clenching and unclenching my fists.

I thought that if I had become considerably stronger through this quest, I would at least be able to escape in the cyberpunk world.

No matter how future I am, it won’t be easy to match myself as I run and use my strength.

“Good.”

I slowly read the quest description.

[Reveal the corruption of gangs or companies.]

[In this quest, you will act as a righteous reporter.]

[To collect evidence of corruption, you must target women in gangs or companies.]

It’s that kind of quest.

This time, it felt like I was possessed by a good man, but I didn’t feel very good.

Since this is a genre that is basically based on melancholy, the position and situation of Seon-yeok were not very positive.

At least the world in this novel was one where bad guys benefited.

I closed my eyes tightly and accepted the quest.

***

For a moment, I felt a floating sensation, as if my body was floating, and when I opened my eyes.

“Isn’t this… a car?”

For some reason, I woke up in a car.

And that too in a very different car.

It was a car that lacked many of the things that a car should have.

Navigation, air conditioning, emergency light buttons, instrument panel, and even the steering wheel.

If it weren’t for the seats or the car’s unique semi-circle shaped windows, you wouldn’t have known you were inside a car.

“There was no description of the inside of the car in the original…”

Then suddenly the window next to me flashed.

[draft]

[Call/Reject]

An unfamiliar name appeared in the window along with a currency sign.

Is it both a window and a screen?

I touched the call button floating on the window with my finger.

Then a woman’s voice rang out from inside the car.

[I finally got it. Did you find the gang base?]

“Gang base?”

After hearing that, I looked at the windshield of the car.

The outside was visible.

Like a lie, a group of men armed with firearms were seen lining up and entering a building.

“…Uh, I think I found it?”

[Okay, record your location and come back here right away.]

“…I’ll try my best.”

And just like that, the call was disconnected.

It was novel to be able to talk by touching the window next to you.

“What now…”

Honestly, I have no idea.

Should I know where this is, record the location, and go back knowing where the person I was talking to is?

Even if I know, I can’t go.

Because this car didn’t even have a steering wheel.

I can’t even drive.

No license.

I was in a daze from the start and suddenly heard a voice.

[Shall we record the location and go to New Koreatown?]

“…who?”

[Vehicle artificial intelligence is in the sky.]

“…Okay, please do me a favor.”

I suddenly answered, and the location was recorded, and the vehicle started moving.

I felt like I finally understood why there was no steering wheel or navigation.

This vehicle’s artificial intelligence solves everything.

It was a future technology that was difficult to keep up with.

The car was moving and I couldn’t hear the slightest noise.

When I glanced outside through the window, I saw a vehicle floating subtly in the air and moving.

“…Wow, I’m dizzy.”

Even though my mind couldn’t keep up, I just stared blankly out the window.

A city filled with apartment-sized holograms and giant neon signs slowly began to appear.